On a Lighter Note...Kiera understands Toddler Property Laws

I laughed today because I had 2 of Kiera's dolls. I handed her one and held one myself, so she immediately wanted the one I was holding. I gave it to her and picked up the other, to which she responded by taking the one from my hand again. It cracked me up. Toddler Property Law: What's yours is MINE. If it was MINE and I give it to you, it's still MINE. For a kid who doesn't talk, she certainly seems to communicate well. :) We've been working on some sign language for a while now. She understands perfectly well the signs for mommy and daddy, but she insists on grabbing my hand to put on her chin instead of her own. I've tried using her hand on her face, and she smiles because she knows the sign, but now her response is to put my hand on my face for me. It's adorable. I'm not quite sure how we are going to progress to her using her own hand independently.

She went to her first birthday party for a friend last weekend. She seemed to have fun; although, it was during her nap time and really stretched her tolerance of me running her social life.

The most fun thing this week was we got to take her to mass. I cried when mass started because it just hit me that this was such a delayed chance to feel normal. Our church had a special mass for the handicapped and their families and care givers. It was much lower attended, like 30-40 people, so I was less worried about exposure to bugs. I also felt more comfortable about her vent alarms and such going off during mass since we were with people familiar to the irregular. There was a pot luck afterwards, so we took her booster chair to include her at the table. She just played with utensils (Kiera is still very wary of any FOOD and won't eat), but she seemed to enjoy being part of everything. The funniest thing was she would cry EVERY time the congregation would sing. It was like clockwork. I don't know if the volume was too much for her or what? Maybe watching American Idol has made her a critic. :)

I still need to schedule her hearing screening but was waiting till RSV and flu season were over. I guess they may be able to give some insight into what's up with her. She'll have to be sedated for the screening though...she has to be pinned down just to look in her ears. I know she can hear, but maybe she still has some sensory issues. I also need to schedule her primary pediatrician's appointment and follow up on her vision and extratropic gaze. I was avoiding those for the same reason.

Therese