Sunday, November 28, 2010

Thank you!

I'm feeling pretty thankful at the end of this four-day weekend; for my parents, my husband, my extended family, my friends, my home and my health; but most of all for Paige and Skylar, who teach me something profound each and every day. Paige, for reminding me how joyous it is just to be in the world learning new things, and Skylar, for impressing me more each day with her maturity and attitude - living life with gusto. Man, I love these girls.


Skylar's hearing test last Friday (the 19th) went very well. After speaking with various doctors including a radiologist, we decided to postpone the CT scan and just do the fancy hearing test, (ABR), which still required sedation, so it was an early morning affair that took all day from which to recuperate (us, not her). She was amazing, as usual. I was pretty much a wreck, but the staff were so caring and helpful, I actually felt fine about the procedure itself. We didn't learn much new information, but her audiogram was confirmed and refined, enabling Doctor Katharine to program her hearing aids more accurately. Her most severe hearing loss is in her right ear at the 4000 hz frequency. She can only hear sounds in that frequency at 90 decibels. With that severe a loss, hearing aids can't amplify the sound enough to enable her to hear it. So high frequency sounds like sh, f, ch, and s will take a lot of work to produce. It's much better in her left ear, so that should allow her to compensate for the right ear. Her speech sounds continue to improve daily. Awesome progress; I'm so proud of her.

Paige sang me this little song the other day. What a sweetheart. She continues to show love and support for her sister in a way that is nothing short of amazing. She also really enjoys her one-on-one time with me, and I have a pretty good time with her, too. :-)


Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Visit to Danville

Skylar and I traveled down to see my brother's family for the weekend - a special trip for just the two of us. At the Portland airport, in between our two home bound flights, she told me "Just Mommy and Skylar went on an airplane. Just us." And the previous night, getting ready for bed: "I had a good day," followed by a satisfied sigh. After taking most of the car ride to warm up to her cousins, Sky started talking and laughing more than ever as K & A played with her and showed her their things. They really had a great time. And I must say, traveling with one kid is so nice! The multiplier effect takes hold of the four of us sometimes, and it is really good to get some quality one on one time.

The car ride home to K & A's















Playing with Polly Pockets with Katie



















Oak Hill Park Slide with Anika















Walking back home



















Paige is really looking forward to her turn to visit in the spring, but she had some fun over the weekend herself!