So, with great fear of jinxing everything I'm about to update everybody on, I'll go ahead and say that I think things have finally gotten into a pattern of leveling out. And that's good. Very good indeed. Why? Because for a while, I seriously thought that my capabilities were greatly waning. I was questioning everything, and I really wasn't sure if I was doing things even a little bit right. Lately, though, I've even sat down in the recliner in the living room and watched a little HGTV when the kiddos all hit the sack. THAT is PROGRESS!
These days are different. Some days are a lot different, some days are a little different, and some days still require a great deal of Dt. Mt. Dew. But all in all, things are getting easier.
Maya's eating is going very, very well. She's taking all of her meals by spoon now, with virtually no bottle feedings at all, except for fluids. She's off all baby food (with the exception of fruits, just because baby food is easier) and she eats the same food we eat. My mom bought a Baby Bullet for us to use, so we puree everything that she eats. She's still not chewing regularly. She likes the flavor of yogurt melts, so I use that to manually help her learn to move her jaw up and down. She seems to like the way it sounds when she uses her teeth, so that's a little motivation for her to do it on her own. She won't do it for long, though, and she still doesn't know what to do with the food once its chewed up. Again, its another new sensation for her that she'll have to get used to, but just like the other I'm confident that she'll pick it up when she's ready. For now, we're just crazy happy to get her meals out of a bottle and into a spoon.
She's started school at the Sprayberry Center. She goes on Mondays and Fridays, and here she receives occupational therapy, speech therapy, and physical therapy. When I picked her up today, I got the chance to see her in action with her physical therapist and was able to talk to her about her progress and where we may see her at the end of the school year. The therapist was helping her move from a sitting to standing position, and she said that she was very happy with where Maya was right now. She expects Maya to have some orthotics soon to help her with support, primarily because her feet are so tiny. Keep in mind that she's 3 1/2 and she's wearing a toddler size 3 in a shoe. Just to give you a comparison, Daisee just turned four and she's in a 10. She also expects to for Maya to be using a walker in the next few months, because her core support is increasing so well. The grand result is that we fully expect her to be walking by the end of the school year. This is fantastic news, obviously, and that day will certainly be welcomed with open arms. And yes, we're still trying our darndest to get into RISE. We'll keep trying until we eventually (hopefully) get accepted.
(Sorry that you're so blurry, Mattie. Its just a cute pic of Maya that I needed to use.)
The other kids are making it in this big ol' family of six. Ryan just returned from the Ironman Competition at Auburn University. His CAP squadron competed as a team of six. They didn't place in the top three, but I'm just extremely proud that he put his heart and soul into trying. There were all sorts of physical tests they had to put themselves through, and I really wasn't sure he'd be all into competing, but he was excited to go, but EXHAUSTED when he came back. I guess doing 600 sit-ups in less than 24 hours will do that to you.
Daisee is still queen bee, with all of her eye-rolling and attitude-ing going on. She's really kinda becoming a little sassy-pants, and we're having to put her in her place a little more than we used to. I mean, we discipline, then turn the corner and go laugh when she says, "oh, grief . . ." at the thought of doing something she was told to do that wasn't exactly on her agenda at the moment. We were hoping that when she had her checkup for her eyes a couple of weeks ago, we would see a little improvement, but we got nada. One of her eyes sees 20/30, which isn't that terrible, but the other sees 20/70 which is just awful. We're trying some prescription eye drops to try and strengthen the weak eye, and we'll go back in January to see what kind of progress we're making with those. In the meantime, she'll just keep wearing her glasses and look cute.
Gavin is still doing well with homeschooling. We're not attending co-op anymore, but he and I take Fridays and do something fun. A couple of weeks ago we just had a science experiment day and got to make our own weather station and all sorts of goopy, gooey stuff . . .
We also got to go to All Fired Up one week and get artistic. He's doin' up his own little soap dispenser . . . 'cause he's a germophobe and all. He doesn't mind telling you that, either.
I know most of you want the dish on the kids, but for those that like a little romance in there with their comedy, Craig and I are still all up into each other, too. Date nights continue to be a must, the occasional bouquet of flowers gets brought in, and an occasional 'just because' peck on the cheek continues to be appreciated and loved. As I look back over the last seven years, God has truly had his hand all over us and our family. I just never dreamed that all of this 'stuff' would happen when I joined forces with Craig Stewart. Lots of ups and downs . . . LOTS. But there's nobody in the world I'd rather ride the coaster with. Another challenge? Bring it.
Just not today. Property Brothers is about show, and I'd like to see that first.
Love,
Paige
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