What are you doing child?

Kendal's daycare called me Thursday afternoon to let me know that Kendal had begun scratching her belly and they were having a hard time getting her to stop. They had asked if she was having any problems, if she had been scratching before, if I had changed laundry detergents, etc. I really didn't think it was a big deal until they sent me a picture. I about died! I went and picked her up and decided to go to the doctor just in case there was a rash or something. She was so inflamed at the time that the doctor could not tell if there was a rash underneath all the scratching inflammation. We went ahead and coated her with Neosporin and Cortizone and a couple hours later it looked much better (see the above picture). It was one of those times I was asking her, "What are you doing child?" And as usual, Kendal just laughed.

More Sickness, Hitting, and Silly Sounds

After Kendal finished up with the crud, guess who got it next? This past weekend I had gotten very sick and was so disappointed me and James didn't get to go out on the town to celebrate our 10-year anniversary (2-26). Today I think I have finally overcome the bug and now I just pray that James stays healthy.

I have finally got an appointment set up with a behaviorist to come out and observe Kendal at daycare. She will sit in the classroom for 1.5 to 2 hours to observe and then we will have a meeting to help us understand Kendal's hitting issues and give us different tools to use to try to overcome our obstacles. I actually felt really good after speaking with the therapist. Her boss is a specialist that Kendal saw early last year at Vanderbilt. This particular doctor had referred us to the geneticist because she had suspected Angelman Syndrome. I will definitely update once she sits in to observe next Wednesday.

Other than that, things have been pretty normal. I hope to get some video posted in the next week of Kendal's progress in speech therapy. Kendal is making a bunch of sounds now and it is so funny listening to her "talk". She has gotten into the squealing stage now too - she will start crying and then all of the sudden squeal as loud as possible. I know we shouldn't, but me and James crack up. She is so dramatic and absolutely hilarious.

A Sick Day

Today I stayed at home with Kendal because she has been under the weather. Tuesday night was a rough one. Kendal had vomited several times throughout the night which required 4 changes of the sheets and mattress pads, and a trip to the bath tub at midnight. I know I got very little sleep and I know she was completely exhausted too. Wednesday she stayed with Nana Dayton and then spent about 2 hours at the office with me.

She has been running a fever and it got to 103.6 last night. This morning her fever was down to 100.2 and she has been acting fine. She threw up some vanilla pudding I gave her (on the couch that was cleaned 2 weeks ago, Of Course!!), so I will try to let her tummy rest a little and just stick with fluids. I think she will be well enough to go back to school tomorrow as long as the fever stays away.

Kerrie's Sad Attempt to be Martha Stewart

As if I have nothing else to do, I decided to embark on a more extravagant version of a "Valentine's Day Card" this year for Kendal's class. When I decided to do this, I admit I was somewhat disillusioned and possible mentally disturbed.

I got clear little cups and made "to" and "from" labels on each cup along with stickers to decorate. I then filled the cups with candies, stickers, balloons and a lollipop. As I stayed up past my bedtime to finish this the night before Kendal's party, I soon began to realize how deranged I really was. Did I actually believe that 2-3 year olds would appreciate my hard work? Hardly. And then I realized what it really was. I was trying to impress the parents, teachers, etc. I guess I just wanted to show them - Ha ha! I can have obstacles at home, deal with therapies 4 days a week with Kendal, work a full-time job, commute 70 miles a day and still do these extra things for Kendal. But it really wasn't for Kendal, was it?

I wonder if I will ever learn?

Kendal's Upcoming Transition

As many of you know, Kendal is currently receiving all her therapies through TEIS (Tennessee Early Intervention System). Every state has a program for early intervention services for children that are developmentally delayed to help give them a step up in the vital years of birth to 3 years of age. For the most part, the program has worked good and I am thankful to have had Kendal in this program. With her third birthday coming up next month, she will no longer get therapies through TEIS. At 3, children are then transferred into the school system for needed therapies and assistance.

This past Thursday, me and James attended a program to teach us more about the special education department within the school system. It was a 3 hour class and a ton of information was thrown at us in that short amount of time. The program was given by STEP (www.tnstep.org), which is an organization that provides support services to parents of special needs children. We received an inch thick manual of just the federal and state laws that explain our rights of services Kendal is eligible for. They also explained in detail an IEP. I have heard people talk about these, but never really understood what it was all about. I was thankful that we went to the class because it really made us open our eyes at the changes that Kendal will be going through as she navigates through the school system for the next 15 years.

It will be hard to say goodbye to Sue (Occupational Therapist) and Amber (Physical Therapist), both of which have seen Kendal on a weekly basis for the last 2 years. Kendal will continue to see Suzanne (Speech Therapist) but we are still waiting to hear back from the insurance company as to how many visits they will cover. We submitted a note for the Pediatrician and from the Neurologist saying they both highly recommend a minimum of 2 sessions per week. Please pray that our insurance decides to continue to cover Kendal at 100% with no max # of visits. We so desperately need to keep up the momentum.

I want to say thanks again to Dad and Doris for watching Kendal while me and James went to the above mentioned program. Doris picked up Kendal from school and Kendal was so excited she had to show Doris around the room and point out some of her favorite toys. When Doris was telling me this, I could just picture Kendal seeing Nana and squealing and turning around in circles. Doris and Dad brought Kendal home, fed her, played with her, and put her to sleep. I was so happy about it because I know Kendal was excited to spend the evening with them. Thanks again!!