Piper's Sunglasses

Piper knows she's funny and clever. These pictures were taken over the last few months, you can also see evidence of the changing of our seasons. Both Piper and Morgan love the small collection of kids sunglasses we have and Piper likes to get creative with them. She actually asks me to pull over the car and take pictures of her now!

Creatures of Habit

Recently I have realized how much we are all creatures of habit. Morgan tends to do this in an obsessive way, but it is really not far off from what the rest of the family does. David likes to have his protein smoothies every morning and the girls help him make it the same way every day. I have my rituals in getting ready in the morning and preparing to go to bed at night. Being a "planner" by nature I have many routines and ways I like to plan out my days, weeks, etc. A little spontenaity is necessary too, but I definitely err towards the routine.

Yesterday was a perfect example of us being "creatures of habit." I decided spontaneously to take Piper to the mall in the morning. It was the first day in a while we didn't have any plans and I thought it might be fun to take her to the play area and then go "shopping." We also haven't been to the mall in quite a while, so it was a nice change of pace. When we go I always like to park in a certain area because of easy access to the escalators and play area. There is also a favorite coffee spot by this entrance, but since I had already had an iced coffe at home I wasn't planning on going there.

So...we went to the play area, then a ride on the kiddie ice cream truck. Then I coerced Piper into going for a "walk." She doesn't yet understand the concept of "shopping," but she might now after yesterday. I wanted to get a few hair accessories for Morgan. She recently has become more interested in (and tolerant to) wearing pretty things in her hair. I usually put her hair partially back with a ponytail holder, but lately she has allowed me to clip a pretty flower in it. She's worn one a few days to school and comes home still wearing it! So, I took Piper to Claire's and we had a fun time trying on hair accessories. She was surprisingly cooperative and even handed the sales associate our items to buy. It also helped that we bought some more "princess" stick-on earrings. She loves them and we recently ran out. I might have a little shopper on my hands!

On the way out of the mall I steered us back towards the exit close to our car. This also leads us back by the coffee place and when Piper spotted it, she pointed and said "Coffee and cookie, Mama!" Ahhh...she remembered the usual routine. She also remembered that sometimes that I would buy her a shortbread cookie when I got my coffee. She literally dragged me into the store. I'm surprised she didn't order the coffee herself! As soon as I did she pointed to the jar of cookies to make sure I got one and headed right to the spot we usually would sit. When I got the goodies and headed over to her I sat down across from her. She immediately pointed to the spot next to her and said "sit here Mama." I guess we know who was in charge at that moment! Though I wasn't intending on getting a coffee treat that day, it didn't take much for me to be persuaded by a cute little blond girl. Our routine won out that day, bit I didn't mind at all.

Robot Doggie

Here's is our Piper and her friend "Robot Doggie." This is a cheap little pull toy I bought for Morgan ages ago when she began to walk. Morgan liked playing with it, but it went by the wayside with a bunch of other toys a while ago. In fact I tried to sell it to a consignment store and they rejected it on the basis that they had too many baby toys. I put the doggie and some other rejected toys in Morgan's closet with the thought in mind that if a friend with a baby comes over we'd have something for the baby to play with. I forgot about these toys until Piper found them. About a two weeks ago she appeared at bedtime with the doggie and said "Look, it's Robot Doggie!" Though, the way she pronounces it, it sounds more like "Robodoggie". So, that is it's name. We're not sure where this name comes from, but it makes sense as all the dog does is make a mechanical "arf" sound when you pull him by his leash (no batteries required either).


She loves to pull him around the house, feed him at meals and brush his teeth before bed. Even the first night we "met" him he had an unfortunate incident. Piper took him in the bathroom while Morgan was finishing her bath with David. She said "Uh oh, Robot Doggie's sick" and proceeded to lean him over the edge of the toilet, complete with barfing sounds. Morgan was so amused by this that she asks if Robot Doggie is sick almost every night. Most of the time Piper obliges and makes Robot Doggie "get sick" in the potty...and we all laugh. Hilarious.

Honestly Robot Doggie is currently getting a lot more love than any of the dolls/babies in our house. He sleeps in Piper's bed at night as well. We'll see how long the Robot Doggie obsession lasts, but in the meantime it's very entertaining.

Character

We have lots of names for our Piper girl... Biscuit, Miss Mess-a-mess, Baby, Pipie, the Piper Pooper...but lately she's just blossomed into what we can only call "a character."

She's basically confirming that she's definitely (so far) a "typical" child, known as "neuro-typical" or NT in the special needs world. But, for us she seems like she's just brilliant! We are amazed everyday at how she learns something new completely on her own or busts out with something amazing verbally.

As for the verbal dynamics, on Sunday we arrived at church and I took her to her Adventureland classroom. As we were getting close to our turn to check in she wanted me to put her down. As soon as I did this, she did a cute little "jig" and said "I so excited!!" Huh?! Cutest thing ever! Also, this coming from a kid who three months ago would cling to me terrified that I was leaving her in that class. I'd say she's adjusted well.

That night I was making dinner and accidentally splashed a bit of boiling water on my arm. I let out a yelp of some kind and a few seconds later she shows up in the doorway and says "What's wrong, Mama?!" I was able to explain that I was okay and she went back to playing.

We've also had several instances of times she will get a bmp or bruise, then she'll cry for a bit. Then, once she calms down some she says "I feel better."

Today I got her out of the car and set her down in the garage just as a FedEx truck was pulling out across the street. She kind of freaked out and as soon as I picked her up she said "I too little, I so scared!" The fact that she can express her feelings this way is invaluable! We are constantly amazed, and a lot relieved, that she is showing these skills.

Our girl is also a character because she is so creative. She has a sense of humor too! She was so proud of herself with these two pairs of sunglasses on. She laughed and laughed and I had to pull over the car to take a picture.

She has also blossomed with her imaginative play. She found this binky in a cabinet in her room and brought it and a blanket downstairs. She plopped herself down on the kitchen floor and said something like, "Look, I a baby! Waaaah Waaaah!" Incredible.

And, the best for last...this morning I was doing Morgan's hair and as soon as I was done Piper gave her a big hug and said "I love you Morgan!" So sweet!

But, don't be deceived, this character has her sassy, defiant side. More soon...

Sister Time

Morgan and Piper are currently playing in Piper's crib. I sent Morgan upstairs to "get" Piper when she woke up from her nap. When I got up there, Morgan had climbed into Piper's crib and was VERY proud of herself.

They are playing together very nicely. Every time I go in the room to check on them, Piper waves at me and says "Bye Mama!" until I leave.  Yay! Bonus blog time.

Piper has a stinky diaper though. I don't know how Morgan can stand that. Ick.

She's a Biscuit!

Piper, that is...and she's doing just fine! One of our nicknames for Piper is "The Biscuit." Long story...we called her this even since she was in utero and is still fits her somehow.

We had our follow-up meeting with the physical therapist on Thursday. Piper spent some time playing while the therapist ran through the remaining screening tools with me (social/emtional, cognitive and adaptive skills)...as well as testing her on a few items directly. All in all she's doing well! Later, the therapist told me she mentioned earlier in the day that she had the follow-up with Piper and the other therapists that met with us last week said "Oh that Piper? She's doing great!" So, this was even before she did the testing today.


That was so nice to hear as we have been through so much with Morgan. I think another reason I pushed to have this done was because Piper is the absolute youngest in her "pre-preschool" class. Her birthday is August 27, and our cut-off for K in Washington State is August 31. Sooo, that means we'll have to deal with the dreaded "do we hold her back?" question as we get closer, but we'll take it year by year. It is just hard to gauge how she is doing because all the kids in her class are older and showing so much more of their social skills.

The therapist did give us some activities and other recommendations of what we can do with her at home to be sure she is making progress in her gross motor development. She's also going to call us in about six weeks to see how she's doing.

Yay Piper!!

Piper's Developmental Screening - Part 1

So, I don't think I mentioned this here...but a few weeks ago I decided to schedule a developmental screening for Piper. Wondering if she was developing on track was making me nuts, so I thought the best thing to do about it was have some professionals help me determine where she is at. I went through all the protocol required to sign up with Early Intervention, as we did with Morgan, just in case Piper qualified for services. We finally went for the screening Tuesday morning.

I got up in the morning thinking, "Okay, good or bad, we're going to have all the info we need today." Well, not quite.


As usual, these things never get completed quickly and it's still more waiting for us. BUT...we did get some good information and good news, just not everything we wanted to know.

First off, as soon as we showed up and checked in...out of nowhere comes Morgan's old Speech Therapist. I can't remember if I posted about this, I think I did...but, this is the woman who just offhandedly stated, while walking out the door after an appointment, that she thought Morgan would be diagnosed with Asperger's or some other form of high-functioning autism. This was after we had been to one consultation where they said no autism. Of course, ultimately she was right, but it was brought up so nonchalantly like it was no big deal. I remember that feeling of my blood running cold and somehow knowing my life was changing forever...then she just left me there alone.

Anyway, she walks up to us in the waiting area, says hello and asks about Morgan. I went on to tell her she was doing well in school and then it dawned on me that she didn't know Morgan DID actually get a PDD diagnosis (this was after I mentioned it like she knew). The way she approached us, I though she was going to be one of Piper's screeners...but then she asked if I'd checked in and then disappeared into a back room never to be seen again. It was so strange. Then I got a little angry...it was like she showed up just to get the satisfaction that she was right about Morgan. And how the heck did she know we were there? I didn't see her talk with any other patients/clients, then she was gone.

So...back to Piper. After that therapist disappeared, the actual screening therapists came out and greeted us. We went back to a large room and they started running Piper through the usual paces, a lot of it familiar as we went through it with Morgan many times.

I was SO proud of Piper! She did better than I expected at following directions and listening to the therapists. I thought she might get shy or non-cooperative, but she got through it with only minor redirection.

In the end she was evaluated in the areas of Speech/Language, Physical Therapy (gross motor) and Occupational Therapy (fine motor/sensory). She scored slightly behind in OT, but still within the average range and the same was the case with PT. This surprised me as gross motor was an area of more concern for me. I was surprised that she didn't qualify for services. Go Piper! The Physical Therapist does want to do a follow up next week to go over some exercises we can do at home. That works for me.

As for Speech/Language she also scored within the average range and actually above it in expressive language. Wow! Here's the odd thing...they didn't fully complete the test. They had to decide to stop as our appointment time was ending. Piper wasn't getting enough questions/items wrong in a row to stop the test in the way it is structured (they have to get 5 or 6 in a row incorrect to stop the testing). Does that make sense? This only makes me nervous because Morgan always does this with this particular test. She can go on and on and complete questions/items much higher than her age because it only requires "static" answers that are easy for her (like identifying colors/shapes, pictures, etc.) To me, this means we could be concerned...or the reality might be that Piper is really just pretty smart. Of course, I hope he latter is the case.

So, they're scoring up their tests and I ask "What about the social/emotional, and adaptive skills tests"? They paused and said "Funny you should ask that..." They did not have a designated person to administer these tests at that time. I was quite annoyed because those are the areas that are crucial in knowing if Piper is doing okay. Morgan was/is obviously delayed in these areas.

So, when we have our follow-up with the PT next week, she will administer the social/emotional and adaptive skills screenings. More waiting. They did say from what they saw yesterday, their gut says Piper is doing just fine. That was nice to hear. It was especially nice to hear from the Speech Therapist that she thought Piper's language was developing typically and her usage of her language is as is should be. In comparison, Morgan was/is drastically different.

So, all in all it was good, but I'm still a little nervous about next week.

Rigidity

It just breaks my heart that Morgan goes through such anxiety from day to day. It is so hard for us to manage, and so many times there is nothing we can do about it.


We took the girls to the local "Jump and Bounce" today. They always have a great time there. Because of the holiday it was packed today and I'm sure both girls were completely over stimulated by the time we left.

When we got home for lunch, Morgan refused to eat any of the mac and cheese I made. She then choose to go right to "quiet time"...but once she was there she got upset again and wanted to come back to the kitchen to eat. By that time we had let Piper sit in Morgan's usual spot, which completely threw Morgan into a tizzy. Can we say "rigid"?! We finally got Piper to switch back to her own spot/seat (I know, so not fair), but once they were seated in the appropriate places they both melted down. Morgan could not calm herself, so we decided to just put her upstairs again for quiet time. Piper calmed down pretty easily and ate a little...then went down for her nap. Morgan is still upset and crying in her room. At this point we just have to leave her there. There is no reasoning with a child with autism. Either she'll finally calm down or cry herself to sleep.

There are a lot of things we are doing with/for Morgan to help reduce her anxiety/rigidity and make her more flexible, but as with all therapies, they take time. We are barely at the beginning of our marathon.

Let me give you another example of what we see often. The other day Piper wanted to play with the cookies and cakes in our little kitchen play set. Morgan came to join us. We had a fun little game with the cookies, but when Piper went to get the cake all hell broke loose. When we usually play this game we sing Happy Birthday together and blow out the candles, then remove the candles from the cake and cut pieces for us to pretend to eat. This time Piper, being the flexible kid she is, decided to just bring the cake over to us, leaving behind the plate and wooden box we keep it in. Morgan became upset, so I grabbed the plate as I thought that would help. Apparently that wasn't good enough, we needed the box too. I kept telling her it was okay if the cake was on the plate without the box, but that did no good. With Morgan, we have to play the game exactly the same way each time, or she loses it.

There is no flexibility for our girl in her play, no creativity, no real "pretend." Same means "good" to Morgan. If she knows how it goes, she likes it. Anything new or different thrown in can cause total meltdown. Occasionally I throw something in that goes over OK, but I find I have to build it up before I actually do it, so she has some warning. This is good, but then the next time we play if I don't do the "new" thing the same way she freaks out. She locks in on anything she likes and can't venture outside it. When I play with her alone we can sometimes manage these issues so we can still have fun. When she plays with Piper it is more difficult because Piper has no clue what Morgans needs or what her issues are in this area. Unfortunately she is starting to learn this and either will accommodate her or just not want to play with her. Truthfully, it's not a lot of fun to play with Morgan. Piper is taking a jump forward in her creative play and I'm really enjoying it, but when Morgan wants to jump in...total buzzkill.

Last example of rigidity. This one is food related. I'm sure I've mentioned Morgan's beloved "dinosaur" sandwich. If not, it is a peanut butter and honey sandwich cut into two dinosaur shapes with a special bread cutter. She has a particular technique to eat this. She pulls the bread apart, eating the honey side first. While she eats the honey side, she holds the PB side in the other hand. I know...so odd. Lately we have had a few bread issues, such as one time the head just fell off the dinosuar and another time the bread was had some odd creases in it. Wouldn't most kids think that he head falling off was just hilarious?! When this happens Morgan demands it be fixed, which generally is impossible. Or, she asks for a new one. We accommodated this for a while, but lately have just told her if there's something wrong with it, don't eat it, and we're not making a new one. Depending on how hungry she is determines whether she'll have a meltdown or just not eat the offending sandwich.

This is exhausting.

Pipey

Morgan has decided that Piper's name is now "Pipey" (or "Pipie"?). The majority of the time she calls her by this new name. At first I thought this sounded really odd, but it's grown on me. I don't plan on calling her "Pipey", but it sounds pretty cute coming from her sister.

Morgan tells us directly, "she is not Piper, she is "Pipey" She has even gone as far as pointing out Piper's name letters in her bedroom, telling us to take down the "R". I've asked, "How do you spell it?" She says it's "P-I-P-E." Explaining that this, in fact spells "pipe", not "Pipey" is totally lost on her. She insists this is how it is spelled.

We'll see what this morphs into next week...

The Car Wash

Morgan and Piper have a love/hate relationship with the car wash. Basically this means Morgan loves it and Piper hates it.

It had been quite a while since our last trip to the car wash. It had been snowy and slushy and the car was filthy! The girls would brush up against the doors getting in and out and their jackets were a mess. I hate spending the money on it, but there is no way I'm washing my car in the driveway in a Spokane winter. It had to be done. Morgan was so excited when she heard where we were going in. She'd say "We're going to give the car a bath!" Piper was unaffected until we made the turn to the entrance and she heard the roar of the machinery. She suddenly panicked and started pointing in the opposite direction saying "Go that way, go that way!" I kept telling her it would be fun. She started whimpering as we got closer. Morgan just got more excited!

We managed to avoid a major meltdown. I carefully explained as the car maneuvered through, that it was getting rinsed and then the soap was coming (just like washing her hands), then scrub scrub scrub, rinse and dry. Finally at the end I asked them to look for the yellow light to change to green which meant it was all done.

As we exited the car wash and made the turn onto the street Morgan said "Yay, we did it!" and Piper said almost simultaneously "Whew! We made it!"

Dancing Queens (or not)

Saturday morning Morgan and Piper had their first dance recital! We were so excited, but apprehensive as well. We have one "dancer" with autism and the other is technically too young for the class she's in. Anything could happen, right?

Morgan loved being on the stage so much it was hard to keep her off of it. In fact she broke away from us just as the teacher/director, Miss Michelle, was welcoming everyone and introducing the first dancers. Morgan ran right on the stage and David had to catch her halfway across. I'm sure the audience thought it was funny, but we were sweating it backstage wondering how this would all go.

Here's Piper's first performance:

Yes, we are "that" family, with "those" kids.

She ran right to me when she exited the stage. I tried to get her to go back out once, but then she just sat in my lap and watched. When they finished she clapped and said "again!" Sorry, not so much Piper.

And we will not be showing you her second "performance"... as she did manage to sit in the stage... in her spot... the entire time... but did not move. Hmmm. She did go out at the end for the finale, but ended up crying and her sweet teacher managed to mostly calm her down until I came and got her. Well, we knew she was the youngest. We'll be curious to see how she does at the next performance. Really, I didn't have high expectations for this and was just glad she got to be there. Everyone commented on how cute she is though!

As for Morgan, check this out:

She turned in TWO, yes TWO amazing performances! Really! She ran out there and went right to her spot and danced with all the other girls. It was backstage that was tough. She did not want to hang out and wait her turn to dance. She finally interacted a little with the other girls, but she mostly demanded to go find Miss Michelle, or go potty, go home or go on stage. This involved a lot of tag-team running after little girls. Exhausting.

Oh, and Morgan capped the show off in and interesting way. We were in the wings wait to go on for the finale and we heard some little pops coming from her. Usually she just says "I tooted" and laughs. This time she persistently tried to get her teacher's attention... "Miss Michelle! I tooted!" Again and again. Luckily Miss Michelle was too busy herding girls onto the stage to notice.

Whew! We are constantly amazed at what Morgan can do when she wants to...but that's the trick, the motivation. It's a constant juggling of pushing her limits as well as giving her space and allowing her to be in her comfort zone. I think it works this way with most young kids, but with the ones on the autism spectrum we have to deal with the extremes.

Overall we are so proud of both girls. They will learn and grow from these experiences their own ways.

Tinker Hell... I mean, Bell

This little sprite-ly creature has managed to take over our house lately. This can be good and bad. I bought the first movie and costume for Piper for her birthday. The idea came from the fact that Piper loved to wear Morgan's Sleeping Beauty costume, but it was just too long for her and she'd trip all over herself. One day when shopping at Toys R Us I saw the Tinker Bell costumes and thought, hmmm, that just might be right for Piper since the skirt is so much shorter. Friends had told us the movie was cute, so we tried it out.

So, three more movie sequels since, we are now in Tinker....Hell. I love it because they love it. They ask to watch one or more of the movies (only about an hour and ten minutes long) each day and they are still totally entertained by them. They like to wear the costume and have Daddy "fly" them around the house. But...I don't like it because if Morgan doesn't get to watch it she throws an absolute fit and it keeps her from doing other, more social activities. So, it's a challenge to keep things balanced and make everyone happy.

A bit more info on the movies. We also love them be cause they are a nice length and the plots are not too scary or complicated. Sometimes Disney goes a little overboard in those areas, especially introducing the topic of death at an age where kids can't possibly understand what's happening. The Tinker Bell movies are fun and sweet with just the right amount of conflict, but always with a happy ending and wonderful music to enjoy.

That said, Morgan and Piper did get their first glace at the "Disney Fairy" toy section at Target this week. There may be a few more items appearing at our house soon, but hopefully ones that will encourage some imaginative play and not just fill the house with junk. So, family members, if you are reading this and think you may wish to include a Tinker Bell item in a holiday or birthday gift...please ask me which one would be most appropriate and I'll be glad to provide you with the information.

Halloween

Though I've post-dated this post, obviously I'm behind on so many topics I've wanted to blog about. So much going on, yet so little time to write about it.

The girls had a FABULOUS Halloween this year! We had Gram and Grandpa B visiting and we made our way over to Couer d'Alene Place for a little Trick or Treating. I think CdA Place is Halloween "Mecca." Our friends just moved into their new home their...they had 450 kids show up and their door that night! Wow! We literally felt the crunch too. There were a few homes that had narrow entrances to their porches, and the number of kids coming in and and out caused a bottleneck several times. Morgan got the hang of it quickly and as she finished at one house she said, "More houses!" every time. Piper was so cute running with those little legs to keep up with the bigger kids.

As you can see, we had the most adorable pumpkin and cupcake!

Halloween Dancers

Morgan and Piper's sweet little dance studio had a Halloween "Performance" for us on Friday. All the kids wore their costumes and had a brief class. Then they got to play some special games with Teacher Michelle. At the end of class we got to see their tap dance they'd been practicing for a few weeks. I don't know what got in to Morgan and Piper, but they paid attention so well and did more of the actual dance than they ever did before. I have the actual videos of the dances, but have just realized I need to get a wireless router before I can upload to YouTube. They are too large to email from my iPhone, and the 3G only goes so far to get it on YouTube. Hopefully I can do that this week. Until then, photos will have to suffice. Note: the pics from Piper's class are from my phone...and mu Dad took the gorgeous ones of Morgan's class. Thanks Dad!

All little tapping at the end



She actually stood nicely at the barre and participated! 

 Speaking of participating...look at Morgan go! (Piper in the background)

Look! She's even standingon her "pink tape"!

 And a pose!



And another pose! Amazing!

Piper's Dance Class

We were finally able to start Piper in her own dance class on Friday! We had trouble finding shoes in her size as she has smaller feet for her age. It turned out they were bigger than we thought (though still small in comparison). So, the size 7 shoes (the smallest ones they have at Payless Shoes, where most of the kids get their dance shoes)...are still big, but not too bad. I moved Morgan up a size in her tap shoes, so Piper is now wearing hers and the itty bitty ballet shoes are sooo adorable! Here's Piper in her class!

 Most of the kids are just fascinated by Teacher Michelle. She wears super pretty ballet outfits and tutus. Piper wanted to hold her hand while they "chasse'd" across the floor.

 Turning with her arms "above" her head.

The girls' favorite part of class is the "wand" dance they do to a song from the Tinker Bell movie. We just got this movie, so both Morgan and Piper recognize the song.

Let me know if this video plays okay. I had to reduce the size of it a little when I emailed it from my phone. It's more of the "wand' dance. I'm amazed how Piper mostly follows along and listens to direction.

Speaking of "listening to direction," it will be an adjustment the next few weeks because this was the first week we tried Piper's class, which is followed by Morgan's class. It was two loooong hours in that dance studio. It was hard for me to get Morgan to understand that the first class was only Piper's and that she'd have to wait for her own class. I finally distracted her with the iPad (loaned from the WSU study). Unfortunately it distracted another child in Piper's class who didn't feel like participating, oops! I was able to get that child back into the class though (most parents don't stay for the class, so her Mom wasn't there).

Another way I was able to help Morgan understand when her class was going to start was telling her that when her "friends" got there it was time. Specifically we talked about a girl Morgan is fascinated with..." Kai Lan." Yes, there is a pretty little Asian girl in Morgan's class with the same name as the animated character on Nick Jr. I'm pretty certain Morgan thinks she's the same person. So...when the kids' in Morgan's class arrived, including Kai Lan, they gathered around Teacher Michelle. Morgan got as close to Kai Lan as she could... then Kai Lan moved as FAR away from Morgan as she could. Honestly it broke my heart. This is where it starts, people! I was grateful Morgan didn't keep following her and really didn't noticed how Kai Lan pretty much shunned her, but it really hurt my heart. Later in class there was a part where the girls lied down on the floor in a sort of spoke pattern. Morgan was the only one not in the circle. Another little girl noticed and said "Morgan, come here!" Morgan turned around looked at the girl, smiled, and joined the group. Yippee! That is the kind of girl Morgan needs as a friend. One who wants her to be a part of the group, not outside it.

Whew, it takes a lot out of me physically and emotionally, but they both love their "dance class." As long as the teachers says Morgan is doing okay, we'll stay. Hopefully as she gets more in tune with the routine, she'll be able to pay attention better and better.

Piper's Tea Party

This afternoon Piper decided she wanted to have a Tea Party. She didn't use these words yet, but she grabbed my hand, took me over to the little kitchen and pulled me to sit down. When I sat she put a saucer and tea cup in front of me, saying "There go Mama." They she took one over to Morgan, who was playing across the room. She put the saucer and cup in front of her and said "There go Morgan!" (BTW, she now calls Morgan by her name, not Boo Boo. She's figured out how to pronounce it and is very proud of herself!)

Then she came back to me, sat down and gave herself an saucer and cup. They she grabbed the tea pot and "poured" us all some tea. Happily slurped our tea with some "cheers" thrown in.

This was very simple, but HUGE for me. Piper initiated this on her own. She did not follow any particular "way" she had seen this done before. She included her sister, though Morgan didn't really participate, and lead the whole process. This was REAL pretend play happening on it's own. Though we'd done Tea Parties in the past, it was not recent. I didn't  have to initiate it or "teach" her how.

Amazing. I know this is not a big deal for most parents, but it is monumental to us!

Little Buddies

I just started watching our neighbor's little girl, Annalie, on Tuesday mornings. It really just covers her brothers' school day, from 8:30 am - 3:00 pm, when their afternoon babysitter picks her up.

This is a GREAT thing for both of them. Annalie (Annie), is about 9-10 months older than Piper. It's fabulous for Piper to have this regular one-on-one time with a slightly older child who is developing typically. She actually extremely verbal, so this is a great example for Piper too. This is also great for Annie as she'll get good playing time with another girl as well as a child younger than her. 

The first day Annie was just excited to play with all of our "things," the little kitchen, play-doh and the outside sandbox and swings. She went from one the other so quickly it made my head spin. Piper also tried to play with her as she does with Morgan. Annie did not like how Piper wanted to tickle her and wrestle with her. That's what Piper does with Morgan since their interaction is more physical than verbal at this point.

The second Tuesday we got into a better "groove" and I was able to keep them focused longer on tasks and they really played better together. It was so nice to see them both in the play kitchen with the dolls, food, shopping carts...nice pretend play!! These are things Morgan does not do a lot of and Piper doesn't always like to do it alone. Thus she ends up playing Morgan's "way" more than hers. Not to be so negative about Morgan, they have a nice connection of their own, but seeing an neuro-typical (NT) child play is very different. Piper was very sad when she woke up from her nap that afternoon and Annie had gone home. She woke up and pointed to Morgan's room (where Annie napped), saying "An, An!" When I told her Annie wasn't there, she plopped back down in her crib and cried a little. I was sad for her...but secretly thrilled that she felt emotionally connected to Annie. It was so sweet.

Overall I think we're going to have a lot of fun with this arrangement! It's good for all of us!

The loved sitting in this little car together. The door doesn't quite close. Can you see that they're almost the same size. Piper is not big for her age, Annie is just little, but it makes Piper look enormous!

Piper's goofy "smile"

Annie had their car's cup holders all loaded up!



Piper's School



Here's our Piper on her first day of "school." She was excitedly showing me an airplane in the sky as I was taking pictures. She is attending the "Toddler Class" at the same school Morgan went to one day a week last year. She's one of the youngest in the class as her birthday is right before the school district's cut-off...but we'll be dealing with that more seriously as she gets closer to starting Kindergarten. For now it's nice that she gets her own school day.

I'm most excited because I had a hard time participating in this program with Morgan because I was chasing Piper around the whole time. When the kids are doing their activities the Moms/Parents/Grandparents gather in the lobby area to have our own discussions. It's nice to get to know the other parents and share our experiences and advice. It's also quite different this time because I will be discussing a "typical" child instead of one with special needs, though I'm sure I'll share some of that too. It seems like a good group with many backgrounds to share.

Piper did great! She did not come out of the class once to see me!! (As I'm post-dating this entry, the second class she did come out once at the end, which I loved!). Many Moms were in and out of the class with their kids as well as some of them having a younger child to take care of. I'm enjoying this time...I've earned it! I think Piper remembered Morgan's class and how badly she wanted to be in there. It's so exciting that it's her turn now! We really like this school and the director is really professional as well as nurturing to the kids. We've got Piper signed up there until Kindergarten, so we hope she loves it too!

Piper's 2-year Well "Baby" Visit

She's not a baby anymore! We had Piper's 2 year appointment this morning. She did great! She was patient while we waiting for the Dr. She did little dances around the room and was very concerned when she heard a baby crying and kept trying to open the door saying "baby, baby" (so she could go help him/her, I guess).


When the Dr. came in she let him examine her as I stood next to her holding her on the table. He'd look in one ear and she'd say "I did it!", then the next ear, and so forth with the whole exam. She was a little nervous when she had to lie down. She only cried a little when she got her flu shot.

Her stats:

Weight: 26.5 lbs (47-48%)

Height: 33.5 in (39%) - I'm not sure how accurate this is and they have her lie down and make marks on the paper at her head and feet. She was in the 59% six months ago?

Head: 18.8 in (53%)

So really right in the middle and proportional. I was a little concerned about her gross motor skills as she does not walk up stairs on her own (still crawls). Morgan was also able to jump at this age and Piper does not. Actually she thinks she can, but both feet don't come off the floor! The Dr. was not concerned at all. She climbs all over furniture and into her own car seat. He thinks she'll get there soon with the stairs and jumping.

What a relief to have a 2-year appointment with a typically developing child! You have no idea how relieved we are to make it past the critical 18-24 month period...our child psychologist said that some kids who have autism have an "onset" during that time (though Morgan was always delayed, we cannot pinpoint an "onset"). It looks like Piper is doing everything she should be!

Here's a super cute picture Grandpa B took. Please ignore the cracker crumbs...

Happy Birthday Piper!

We can't believe Piper is TWO!!  Here is our sweet Piper getting ready to enjoy her birthday cake! We had such a fun day playing with new toys and just enjoying her. We also had a wedding to go to that day, so it was a busy one! We were able to make it back home for a wonderful strawberry birthday cake baked by Gram B. She loved it! Grampa A called and David put him on speaker. He said "Happy Birthday Piper!" and she said "Happy, I two! Happy, I two!" So cute! Now everything birthday related is called "Happy." Sounds good to us! She had her two year well check next week, so we'll let you know the stats as we have them.

And now to leave you with one of the many faces of Piper!! She makes all kinds of expressions when you pull out the camera. I was lucky to get a semi-nice one (above)!