Happy Father's Day!



Hugs and kisses to Dada, Pa-pop Andrus and Pa-pop Gary!
Thank you for everything you do to make Gwenny's life better.
We are so grateful and blessed.



21.5 months

Lovin' the water!  G loves to splash in the tub so much, we finally got her a little wading pool.  She adores it!  She sat splashing happily the whole time she was in it.

Gwenny loves to ride in the shopping cart, and she doesn't get many opportunities to do it.  Here she's holding our find from the dollar section in Target.

This is Gwenny's first puzzle.  I was told this type of puzzle would be very beneficial for her eyes, coordination and brain (matching.)  She seems to like it, but isn't getting the purpose yet.

Gwenny had fun with sunglasses this week, she'll let you put them on her then has fun taking them off.  She will try to put them back on herself, but can quite get it.  She's also started lifting her foot so I can put a sock on her and will put her hand through a bracelet.

We're trying hard this week to work on the exercise ball as Gwen's core strength seems to be at a stand still.  I'm told its normal for kids to slow in one area of development while they move forward in another.  She seems to be understanding more language, and I will say that is her current strength, even though the sounds aren't quite there.  Gotta keep working on the other areas too!









We got to therapy a little early one day this week and the door was locked for a meeting, so we waited in the air conditioned car.  Gwenny had fun "driving."

This was a go-gurt G "stole" from her Auntie Aubree.  Actually, this might be the second one she stole...

Gwenny and Toby continue to be good friends, she throws him food off her tray, and he comes running to her when she's upset.

This was a sensory and tool using exercise with the vision therapist.  We were trying to get Gwen to scoop and pour the sand...but mostly she just wanted to squish it with her hands.  :)

Gwenny will scoot over to a chair or other small piece of furniture and push it around.  I find this behavior promising as I see other toddlers push chairs around.

This is another core/back strengthening exercise we're working on.  Gwen leans over to get the toys on the floor in front of her, then sits back up to play with them.  We also lift the toys above her head and try to get her to reach for them.

Notice how she was trying to be nice and share her oranges with Toby-dog.

Trying to put on a necklace.

Playing "peek-a-boo barn" with Cousin Cholie.

Gwenny LOVES books and has become very good at turning the pages (or opening and closing them if she can't get the next page.)

Watch out if you bring food in the room and don't give Gwenny some!  She'll come after you.  Here she is scooting across the room to get Pa-pop's cereal.  It's so refreshing to have her be excited about food after having to force feed her for so many months while she was on topamax.

Here G is going through a peek-a-boo book with a therapist.  The therapist brings objects that look like the pictures in the book for Gwen to see and feel. 

Gwenny continues sleeping in her crib like such a big girl.  Most nights she'll snuggle right in after our bedtime routine with no tears at all.  I'm currently taking the melatonin down that we've been using to calm her down at night and hoping to get her completely off it soon.

21.25 months

Gwenny had a blast holding her own fudgesicle this week.  She enjoyed it, but I think she got frustrated that it was so cold and she gave up half way through.

This is a speech/communication exercise we've been working on that gives G a choice between two things.  We label the two things with sounds she can make.  So here, the light up toy (right) is "ba" and the container of cookies is "mmm."  The goal is to get Gwenny to reach toward the object she wants, and vocalize the correct noise.  She is still reaching and vocalizing, but not yet making the correct sound for each object.  However, in addition to understanding "no," G understands what to do when I ask her to say "hi" or "bye-bye" (she waves) and she understands "blow kisses."

Gwenny is a typical girl- loves shopping for shoes!

We went outside to blow bubbles, but Gwen could not keep her eyes off the fountain. So instead of bubbles, she happily splashed in the fountain and wore herself out.  We went inside and she put herself to sleep with her toys in the family room.

    Girly loves her Pa-pop.

Gwenny started playing "catch" this week. (Rolling the ball back to the person who rolled it to her.)  She pats the ball a few times, and then pushes it back to me!

  Trying a nectarine.  G loves fruit!

 Here's Gwenny scooting down the hall away from my bedroom...

Into the bathroom to find her bath toys... 

 And exiting the bathroom after she has made a complete mess! 

Gwenny thought she would try to escape her bath one day this week...

Gwenny is getting better at understanding that she has to do some of the work to keep herself upright.  Here, she's holding onto my neck to keep herself standing.

G helping fold laundry.  She's had fun putting her hands through things- such as the sleeves of my tank top.  Here, she found a pair of shorts while helping me fold laundry, and put them on her arm.

Gwenny practicing her half-kneel.

Gwenny loves playing with jewelry and beads.  She's starting to get the idea that necklaces go around the neck, although she can't quite get them there yet.  She holds them up to the front of her neck instead of putting them around her head.