Sunday, January 27, 2013

WAY overdue!!

 Happy New Year everyone!  I know it has been WAY too long since my last post, but things got busier than ever with the Holiday's and the sicknesses that the cold weather seems to bring us!  The good news, Callie continues to thrive and she amazes us everyday!!
We were fortunate enough to have Callie's Holiday pictures captured again by our friend Amy.  She is the Mommy of one of Callie's good friends from the NICU.  It is so amazing to see them growing up together and how beautiful they are becoming.  We spent the afternoon together, had dinner, and watched our miracles play dolls...a true blessing!!
Callie continues to do well in school.  Right before the Holiday's, we had our parent/teacher conferences at Goddard.  For the most part, Callie is right where she should be.  The teachers were very impressed with her memorization skills-like know her numbers, letters, shapes ect.  They also were pleased with her social skills.  They told us that she is always smiling and that they can always count on her to play with anyone.  We just love that she is become a good friend!  The big area of concern for them was her attention span.  We have also witnessed this at home, but weren't sure what was appropriate for her age and also how much was capability versus attitude.  Her teachers said that she struggles paying attention in circle and is often distracted.  They asked if we would be willing to have Child Find (essentially Infants & Toddlers for ages 3-5) evaluate her.  Of course we 100% support this.  We have always believed that the more eyes and support that we can get on and for Callie, the better.  So, Mommy has completed the paperwork and she should be evaluated in the classroom soon.  We also discussed this with Callie's pediatrician and apparently there is a big correlation between prematurity and attentian deficet.  We are just hoping that we can put some plans in place to help her behavior prior to getting into Kindergarten. 
What was also reassuring out of this scenerio, was how truly amazing Callie's teachers at Goddard are.  Mommy really struggled when Callie was released from Infants and Toddlers.  While I was incredibly thrilled they felt she didn't need the support, I worried something might get missed and she would lag behind.  Her teachers involvement and concern comforts me in knowing she is absolutely in the right place!
Callie continues to LOVE gymnastics!  She is really working on improving her balance and flexibility.  But we see her real strength in her upper body.  The video above is at the end of the fall session.  We love her determination and the fact that she doesn't want help.  And honestly, we are just impressed with how well she does with the bars!
The Holidays were great! We went up to NY for a whole week and got to go sledding and we were able to have a lot of quality time with our family.  Of course, our girl was spoiled!  It was great, because this year she was really into Santa Clause.  Cal and her cousin Jack put out cookies and milk and carrots for the reindeer and she wanted to make sure she wrote her own letter to him.  In the morning, she was very inquisitive...even examining the wrapping paper that he used!!  Christmas is so exciting through her eyes!
This season has definitely been rough on Callie's health.  She is currently taking her nebulizer twice a day with her steroid inhaler and that seems to be helping her.  Her ears continue to bother her, even with the PE tubes.  Her pediatrician said that if she gets another ear infection this winter, Callie will have to go back to her ENT surgeon.  We are hoping to avoid that with some ear drops her Pediatrican prescribed.