Much better...

Yesterday, my husband and I went to Emily's determination of services meeting. It went great! I was so glad to finally see people that I could believe would take care of my daughter and give her what she needs while she is in their care. We also finally got to meet the actual Special Ed director yesterday. The lady that has been handling our case has not been on my good list AT ALL. So glad I don't have to work with her anymore. The therapists were present, along with the preschool teacher, and the principal of the school. It was just great to meet all these people and to see the determined look in their eyes. We will be having another meeting in July because of her Diabetes. We will be looking more closely at what all will need to be done with all of that. Hopefully by then Emily will be on a pump. I discussed this with her doctor at her last visit, and he seemed confident that she would do fine with a pump. OMG this would change our lives. No more shots. May 11 is the appointment, and I am so ready for it. She should be on a saline drip through the pump for a little while to get used to doing the placement and to make sure everything is functioning correctly. Then, I pray to God that it can just be a smooth transition. I'm ready for simple.

Evals...

Well, the therapy evaluations have started....for school as well as the next few months before she goes into school. Emily and I went to the school and met with the Speech Therapist that will be working with her when she goes to school in August...LOVE HER! :) She did a LLOOONNNGGG evaluation on her, asking all sorts of questions and getting Emily to do a few things, and we're still not done. We will probably have to meet once more to get the rest of it done. It's coming down to the Early Intervention deadline, and I'm getting slightly worried that they are not going to make it. It's no skin off my nose because she will not be going to school until the Fall, but they have a very strict deadline that is about 2 1/2 weeks away, when she turns 3. In that 2 1/2 weeks, we have to finish the evals and have a meeting with the therapist, the Sp.Ed director, and the Early Intervention director, on top of them having to have ALL their paperwork in. It seems like to me that it's not enough time, especially considering there's only two days a week that I will be able to meet with them...hmm...Anyways, she will also be having a Speech evaluation at the clinic that she has been getting her PT and OT from next Friday. We're doing this so there will not be any lapse in service when she turns 3 and cannot get therapy through EI anymore. I'm fairly excited about this one. These therapists at this clinic really have their priorities straight, and I love them all to death. I am really happy that Emily is going to get Speech therapy from there for the next few months. Well, I hope everyone has a great weekend! I'm planning a shopping trip with my oldest tomorrow. Growing growing growing!

The Little Engine That Could...

Sometimes this is what I feel like...lol! Just constantly going uphill, move back down a little, and then just keep chugging upward. Eventually, I know we will get to the top, but it sure is tiring. Emily is continuing (at her own pace) to progress. She's had another sinus infection this week (the second in the last two months), so we didn't have speech therapy yesterday. The last week, however, she did good. She continued to use her signs and is starting to make some new sounds. She did something big tonight, though, which is the big reason I am writing this blog. She ate all of her mashed potatoes with a spoon! Yey! This is such a big step for her. She has always just been contented to use her hands, and when Emily is content doing something, it is sooo hard to get her to do something different. I loved it! She just amazes me all the time. I love her so much, and sometimes, I have days that I just curl up on the couch or in the bed when I get free time, and I just cry because that's all I know to do. Some days, everything just hurts. But, I always think about how close we came to losing her and I thank God for letting us keep her, and I know that I would take the hurt over and over and over again to keep her here with me where I can see that sweet smile every day.

We're hoping to start a feeding class that her Speech Therapist recommended sometime soon. It's supposed to deal with some sensory issues, and she has developed some pretty severe ones, which is why it's a big deal that she ate with a spoon tonight. I'm pretty excited about it. It's a 12 week program that deals with eating, drinking, etc.

I am also fixing to start fundraising for TEAM EMILY for the Diabetes Walk in May. It's going to be closer to us this go around than it was back in November. I'm super excited about it. I'm hoping for a bigger team and more money to give the Diabetes Foundation of MS. It's a lot of work, but it's fun and so worth it when I think about possibly having a cure for Type 1 Diabetes someday...oh what a day that would be! :)

Hope everyone has a great weekend! Enjoy the snow if you are getting any! We might be...I'm ready for Spring myself :)

Busy Busy Busy!...

Hello to you all! I hope all is well with everybody. Things around here have been a little busy, and it seems that they are fixing to get a little busier...this week at least. A few updates on Emily being busy learning first of all. She is doing great right now! Her Speech Therapist has been doing a great job experimenting and trying to figure out how Emily learns the best, and she has learned that Emily needs to "see" things in order to learn them. In other words, we are learning some signs. It seems that when she sees us signing the word on top of saying the word, something registers, and she just gets it! It's amazing! :) We have also been trying to learn some songs that involve some motions about body parts such as "Head, shoulders, knees and toes" and "The Wheels on the Bus". She's been doing "The Wheels on the Bus" motions for a while, but now, she's finally starting to sing the words as well. I just love watching her sign a word while she says it. It's just the sweetest thing! She's also starting to point at stuff while someone is counting, if that makes any sense. LOL It's one of those things you would almost have to see. Basically, the therapist had a counting book that she was reading to her, and, as she was counting, Emily started to point at the individual things on the page as she counted. To both of us, this was pretty amazing because we had not worked with her at all with numbers or counting or anything like that. It just appears that she figured it out on her own, maybe with the help of a big sister or something, as well :). All of this will play a big part in tomorrow, as well, I figure. I'm taking Emily to be evaluated for school tomorrow to see what services they think she will need and how often. This is the first big step in getting her into school. Since we have decided to wait until August to let her go, we still have quite a few more months. However, there's so much to be done from getting this eval done to start getting Emily to wear her Medic Alert bracelet (which she did this morning...it was so cute with the little lady bugs! I picked that one because she has always been my little stinker bug, so it just fit :) ) to getting everybody at the school that will be in contact with her educated about Diabetes. It all starts this week! Busy Busy Busy!

School Woes...

Ugh! Will this ever end? Will I ever be completely comforatable with every aspect of sending Emily to school? I met with the pre-k teacher today and the school nurse, asked some questions, and have come to this conclusion...I don't think I'm ever gonna be comforatable with this. There's just so much more to think about with the Diabetes, and I want somebody to look me in the eye and tell me that they are gonna take care of my baby!!! All I have gotten so far is a bunch of hesitant answers because nobody has ever had to deal with the Downs Syndrome and the Diabetes. At least one question that has been nagging at me the last few weeks has been answered...send her in March or wait til the beginning of the next school year in August. The answer seems a bit easy now...August. I don't like all the hesitation, and I feel that I need more time to pound all this stuff into these people's heads! I think it will just be easier on everybody if we wait til August...including Emily. She was sooo tiny compared to all the other kids in that classroom...made me a little nervous about that, too. But, August is far enough away that I think she will be walking and doing some other things that I think she needs to be doing before she goes to school. That's just the way it is. Now, the daunting task of getting her therapy worked out to where she can still get it after she turns 3. Probably lots of paperwork, etc. Oh joy! I guess I just wish it was easier. Who doesn't wish their life was a little easier and less complicated? Have a great weekend!

The Snow Days!...

Well, the winter freeze that has swept across the South has froze up our area. The schools have been shut down the last two days because of icy roads. It may not be a whole lot of snow and ice compared to what some of yall see (Sara :) ), but it's a rare thing that we get two days of schools shut down and any kind of accumulation on the ground. It's not supposed to get back up above freezing until Monday, so this is a little uncomforatable for all of us southerners down here. We're getting a little chilly! LOL We love the snow, though, because we hardly ever see it. So, I thought I would share some of our snow with yall today.

A step in the right direction...quite literally!

Today, I got to see Emily getting even closer to doing something that I have waited for almost two years for her to do...she's ALMOST walking. A step in the right direction...I turned around today and witnessed her standing on her hands and feet, but then...all of the sudden...she moved one hand forward and then a foot...then she moved the other hand and foot. She took a couple of steps before she sat down and started grinning probably because of the look that was on my face. She can always tell when I am super proud of her. :) Then, this afternoon, I was sitting here at my computer, and she started doing it again, except this time, she walked a complete circle around the living room...TWICE! LOL! It was so funny and cute, but it just makes me know that she is on her way. LOL And as I am sitting here typing, she is continuing to do it! It would be such a blessing to see her walk and to know that she has come that far. That's the next big milestone we are waiting on, and I know it's just around the corner.