Gross motor update (and glasses)

Olivia is doing so much better at getting to standing these days. She can pull up in her crib with ease (but no cruising yet). In fact, she can pull up to standing just about anywhere she wants to these days!  This week she mastered holding my hands and pulling to standing. She is loving this, and we do it a million times a day!  (yes, I have counted! :-)  )   She is still not taking steps, but is interested in taking climbing steps on me.  I am trying to interest her in the main staircase, but no interest so far.

The other thing of note is that Olivia has been working on creeping on all fours for about a month now and can creep on all fours for two feet before her hips give out from under her.

She seems thrilled by her new abilities and is all about practicing her gross motor skills these days. The cats look at me as if to say, "what happened to the kid who just sat there and left us alone?" Yet the cats still love her and are very interested in her. We think our youngest cat will be thrilled when Olivia is able to carry her around.  She is a sweet cat who loves kids and is very tolerant.

Glasses???? Yes.... someday.......patience is a virtue.....  Olivia loves the girls at my eye doctor's office...  they are just down the road from us, so they save us when Olivia needs her glasses fixed. Olivia communicates beautifully with them and always blows them kisses bye-bye.

Olivia is back to being a people lover, just in time for Summer!   She is also loving to have the shower nozzle spray her face gently, again, just in time for Summer splashing in the Lakes!

Oh... Olivia outgrew her PJ bottoms while she slept.  I could not believe it. She went to bed with them fitting nicely in the length and woke with them too short.  Can you say basketball player?!

Sign Language - Why we use it

I found this a good explanation of why we use sign language with Olivia in addition to speech:

Confessions of a Montessori Mom: Montessori and Sign Language Question: "If Dr. Maria Montessori were alive, would she suggest sign language? I used to ask myself that question a lot! I do not think she would be..."

The Good Samaritan Reflection

Recently, I have been rereading Pope John Paul II's encyclical on the Meaning of Human Suffering.  As I read the following passage, I thought about the many people we have met who have adopted older children with Down syndrome from Eastern European orphanages and other poor institutions. These children with Ds did not stand a chance and had already suffered greatly from a lack of care. These brave and loving families stopped by the side of the road, spared all they have, and take action with all their life to give these children  meaningful lives.  So many of these families adopt more than one child from these institutions and give up so much financial security and take on the unknown medically and otherwise with these children. This passage it a tribute to these Good Samaritan's who do not pass by or throw a rug over the suffering of others, but are like Simon of Cyrene and willingly take up the cross of Christ and walk their entire life with the Love of Jesus, no matter the price.  (I think this applies to families who raise their own children with disabilities and to foster parents etc, but for some reason the international Ds adoption situation really came to mind)  As we celebrate St Joseph Day tomorrow, let us ponder the care of our neighbor that Christians are all called to fulfill.

"The parable of the Good Samaritan belongs to the Gospel of suffering. For it indicates what the relationship of each of us must be towards our suffering neighbour. We are not allowed to "pass by on the other side" indifferently; we must "stop" beside him. Everyone who stops beside the suffering of another person, whatever form it may take, is a Good Samaritan. This stopping does not mean curiosity but availability. It is like the opening of a certain interior disposition of the heart, which also has an emotional expression of its own. The name "Good Samaritan" fits every individual who is sensitive to the sufferings of others, who "is moved" by the misfortune of another. If Christ, who knows the interior of man, emphasizes this compassion, this means that it is important for our whole attitude to others' suffering. Therefore one must cultivate this sensitivity of heart, which bears witness to compassion towards a suffering person. Some times this compassion remains the only or principal expression of our love for and solidarity with the sufferer.

Nevertheless, the Good Samaritan of Christ's parable does not stop at sympathy and compassion alone. They become for him an incentive to actions aimed at bringing help to the injured man. In a word, then, a Good Samaritan is one who brings help in suffering, whatever its nature may be. Help which is, as far as possible, effective. He puts his whole heart into it, nor does he spare material means. We can say that he gives himself, his very "I", opening this "I" to the other person. Here we touch upon one of the key-points of all Christian anthropology. Man cannot "fully find himself except through a sincere gift of himself"(92). A Good Samaritan is the person capable of exactly such a gift of self.

29. Following the parable of the Gospel, we could say that suffering, which is present under so many different forms in our human world, is also present in order to unleash love in the human person, that unselfish gift of one's "I" on behalf of other people, especially those who suffer. The world of human suffering unceasingly calls for, so to speak, another world: the world of human love; and in a certain sense man owes to suffering that unselfish love which stirs in his heart and actions. The person who is a " neighbour" cannot indifferently pass by the suffering of another: this in the name of fundamental human solidarity, still more in the name of love of neighbour. He must "stop", "sympathize", just like the Samaritan of the Gospel parable. The parable in itself expresses a deeply Christian truth, but one that at the same time is very universally human. It is not without reason that, also in ordinary speech, any activity on behalf of the suffering and needy is called "Good Samaritan" work."

Wearing glasses

Here is our one week update on Olivia wearing glasses. A little progress, but it is a slow process getting her used to them. She likes how she can see, she just doesn't like how they feel on her face yet.

Stringing Beads

We have been taking the Sensory Processing Disorder approach to Olivia for over a month now and we are seeing wonderful results.  All of the bean throwing, rocking horse, car riding, messy play, ball pools, ball tent, throwing balls, playing on big balls, climbing, bouncing, dancing etc has paid off!  Olivia has become much more focused and calm and able to concentrate and work on her quiet fine motor activities, and she can do so without Barney music playing in the background! 

 It brings tears to my eyes to sit in the background and watch her quietly work on stacking rings or a simply puzzle, over and over again and with great concentration!  This is what Montessori teachers love to see! Repetition and concentration!  Good signs! I thought I would never see it in Olivia. But thanks to doing all the "crazy" stuff, and using crazy Fisher Price toys too! We have seen amazing progress. 

 As I was buying Fisher Price type toys this Fall and Winter because all my "Montessori" type ideas were not reaching Olivia, I cringed. But I knew I had to do what my child needed.  Now I am seeing the benefit of "sitting on my Montessori albums" and doing it another way.  I did go back and read some Montessori theory. So I went about being a Scientist, studying Olivia and following what I believed Olivia needed.  What Olivia needed looked nothing like what I had ever done in a Montessori setting, but it worked and now we are getting to the sort of activities I had hoped to see Olivia doing. So in some ways, my "Montessori meets Fisher Price" activities was very Montessori in theory, which was my belief all along.  No matter and theories aside, what matters is what is right for Olivia!

Here is Olivia stringing beads. She still needs help holding the stick, but other than that she is doing such  beautiful work it brings tears to my Montessori trained eyes.

Ball Pit Tent

We noticed that using the baby pool for a ball pool had its potential for some dangerous mishaps. So we switched to this ball tent.  It is much safer.  Yesterday was the first day with the tent.  True to form, Olivia hesitated to enter, but when Mom climbed in Olivia was ready for action.  There are 200 balls, and Olivia sat in her ball tent and proceeded to throw all 200 balls out of tent one at a time.  It is the Process not the Product at this age. Olivia threw each ball out with two hands, them proceeds to wave or flap both hands after every throw. It was exhausting just watching her.  She did this toward the end of the day, and she fell asleep very easily last night.  

We have had much less, in fact practically no, trouble with Olivia throwing toys since we have been using the ball pool. I think giving her an acceptable activity in which she can throw to her heart's content has been what has helped.

The Answer!

So what did you guess? Would Olivia eat the collards or the bananas first? …. The answer is YES.  She asked for collards, then asked for bananas, then asked for collards, etc.  I guess she loves collards and bananas equally. It wasn’t clear there was a strong preference for one over the other.