OcTober OT

Audrey had a great month and met one of her goals! She was crying a bit more at the start of each session earlier in the month, but by the end of the month the tears were gone. She is stacking one inch cubes now: up to 8 of them one day--that is a huge deal for us. She's been stacking big blocks but she always knocked the little ones over everytime she got to 3...AHHHHHH! So last week when she stacked 8, I was delighted. We are working on drawing horizontal lines using her right hand. She still switches hands a lot, but she tends to initiate activities using her right hand...so I'm using that as her "preferred" hand. Also working on Wheelbarrow walking to improve upper body strength (she doesn't care for it), stringing beads, completing basic shape puzzles and disconnecting/connecting large pop beads to increase strength. She has a great attention span when doing an activity she prefers. When doing an activity that isn't a favorite?...that's a different story :D. The girl's got spunk!

Get Up, Stand Up...

Lately the doll-faced diva has been channeling a little Bob Marley. She is standing up for her rights... and her toys, and whatever is on my night stand. No longer content to sit and take anything, she is pulling herself to a stand with ease and creatively maneuvering to get what she wants. This, of course, means I will no longer be able to keep anything below "see" level.

All this cruising around is building her muscles for walking, and in the last couple of weeks she has shifted from using my support for added power to holding my hand for balance. Big transition! We're all looking forward to the day where we can change her tune to "These Boots Were Made For Walkin'" But we also know that celebs tend to work on their schedules, not ours. I just cater the set and do wardrobe.

Percussion Discussion

Audrey is usually one for vocals, but today in the church nursery she showed great action on the drum. As I sat her down with the toys, she immediately went to a drum container full of musical instruments (no surprise). The top of the container (the drum lid) was several feet away, in a pile of other toys. She found the drum stick and banged away, but realized something was not right. She looked around for the lid and scooted over to it. Grabbing it, she placed it on top of the drum (which was not very easy and took several tries). Then banged away on her completed drum very, very proud of herself! It was an impressive feat, especially considering that she had never played with this before! She realized that the drum was not complete, found the missing part among other objects, and successfully put it together in a matter of just a minute! I was very impressed! and she banged away on the drum laughing and smiling extremely proud of herself. It was great to witness!... Next instrument, the guitar!

Pillow Talk

Audrey made clear this weekend that baby pillows are SO passe. She is now sleeping with a grown-up pillow, which she is less inclined to hurl from the crib when she gets bored. She likes keeping a book in bed, too, and points at the words and pictures. Recently, she's been a big fan of Click Clack Moo, Cows That Type. I'm not sure if she finds it more amusing that cows can use a typewriter or that the farmer is frustrated by their persistence. I'm leaning toward the latter, since I get that same look of amusement when I express frustration over yet another tossed sippy cup or bowl of ravioli. Life with a diva can be challenging at times.

This is also true as it relates to fashion. Missy Kissy has outgrown everything and demanded a new wardrobe so she can look her best on the preschool stage. She is particularly fond of her new striped legwarmers. Because of her therapy schedule, Audrey considers herself a working woman and has also demanded work-appropriate attire. Her most recent request was for Tina Fey glasses, but I have to put my foot down somewhere.