The Amazing Maya in 2014

Here's my first post of the year 2015.  I've been wanting to write for months now, my usual excuses hang over my head, not enough time to sit down and write.  There has been so much going on in the later half of 2014 that I've been wanting to share.  Maya has been making amazing strides and accomplishments.  Most of the time I post these things on facebook but I know some of our family isn't connected to facebook. 

Number one and foremost on my list of milestones is that Maya is potty trained.  This is major!  I am so very proud of Maya and so relieved that this day is finally here. Without going into too much detail I'll say that it's been a long and winding road and that it wasn't for lack of trying that Maya didn't get potty trained sooner.  She was just not ready.  No matter what my girl teaches me patience. Even when I'm clawing and screaming I have nowhere I can go except to wait patiently.  The day is finally here and I am one proud mama!

In Maya's words, "We did it!"

It's sounds so weird but this is one of Maya's greatest accomplishments in 2014!  Everyday I thank the stars that Maya got it!

Other amazing accomplishments: 

Maya goes to bed on her own.  This means, following our usual routine of bath, pjs, reading, brushing and storytime, Maya will walk to her little bed on her own.  I tuck her in and she says "good night mom, I love you, sweet dreams."  It's a glorious thing and it came as a surprise to me.   This might not seem like a great big accomplishment but it's a wonderful thing not having to rock her to sleep and then carry her to bed.  I do miss my cuddles with her but I'm so glad my little girl is growing up.

Maya is talking more and more.   Some of Maya's favorite things to say are: "home sweet home!" "happy holidays!" "You ok?" "We did it!" "I'm Maya." "no school!".  I should disclose that unless you absolutely know what she is trying to say you might not get it.  Articulation is still an issue, but I'm glad that she is starting to express the person that she is. It's nice to see her personality developing.  Language is by far one of the best ways to know someone.  And it's been one of my main concerns and quite honestly a big struggle.  She's not able to carry on a conversation, but Maya is slowly starting to be more vocal and has an amazing memory for names.  She knows all her classmate's  and teacher's names.  She says "Thank you" and "your welcome" most of the time and her teacher reported that she also says thank you for the kids at school. 

When it came to the holidays this year, Maya was really into Christmas songs.  This was a big development over last year.  She also loved opening up all the presents this year and didn't stop at just hers.  It was fun to see her face, when she opened the gifts.  She even kissed a few gifts, which was really cute.  After opening each gift she said thank you to everyone who gave them.

She's never said this but I do think that Halloween is Maya's favorite holiday.  She really enjoys going up to everyone's door and saying trick or treat.  Maya doesn't like sweets, candy or chocolate, but she very much enjoys the spirit of Halloween by dressing up as a firefighter and getting her share of treats.  I'm very grateful for the friendship of one of Maya's past respite provider.  Every year she comes out to trick or treat with Maya.  It truly makes Halloween a special time.

Other things that deserve mention are, Maya's willingness to try and climb up the playground equipment with guidance (before she was terrified),  standing on the scale when being weighed at the doctor's office, turning book pages on her own,  drinking out of a cup, eating tortilla chips (a new food),  helps with chores.  These are the little things that might go unnoticed to some but they make a big difference to me.

That's all for now.  I know it's a long post but very much overdue.

The adventure continues...

Update...

Here's a quick update on all the goings on of Maya. In Nov we went to India. Our first trip to India as a family. Maya had the chance to meet her relatives in New Delhi. It was a great trip over all, even with Maya's food limitations and so on. It was wonderful to see how people loved meeting Maya. They all welcomed her with open arms. Maya didn't seem phased about the environment and I really do believe that being around Hindi speakers somehow kicked in her speech. She had been starting to talk minimally after some intense speech therapy last year. But after coming back from India I think she felt more comfortable with her voice.

That being said her speech has really taken off this last month or two. She is really trying. It's not always clear, she has much work to do with articulation, but she is trying. That's the difference with her now. Everyday she is saying words she didn't say before. My way of thinking is changing now. Instead of having her sign, I ask her to say the word and then if I can't understand it I ask her to sign it. We also have a new speech device that I am using to clarify her wants and needs. Something I do see is more frustration from Maya. Waking up her voice has also woken up her needs and wants, I think. There are emotions flowing and it's still hard for her to decipher them.

When I'm with Maya I focus on her and it's easy to stay in that bubble. I don't compare her, I don't wish for other things. I am focused on keeping her on track. And although I know she is delayed, somehow it doesn't effect me emotionally because it's kind of like looking at numbers and stats. But when I see her with her peers it always hits me right in the gut.

 Last weekend we went to a birthday party with kids aging from 3-4. All the kids are talking to each other in full sentences, they are running, jumping and playing pretend. They have awareness of their body, they are focused on all the activities, the food and cake. Maya on the other hand can't quite play with them or keep up. And in one instance when she tried to interact with a little girl, she was shut down. I have seen this with many kids. They don't understand what she wants and because of her lack of speech, most of the time they just stare at her and watch her like she's an alien. I find myself trying to explain to them what she is wanting to do. But most kids at that age just don't care. If you can't keep up with them, you are of no interest to them. This is when my heart breaks. I don't know what Maya is thinking. I don't know if it bothers her as much as it does me. Maybe it rolls right off her little feathers, like water on a duck. Maybe she forgets as soon as she turns the corner. But for me it makes my heart ache. I can't help but feel crushed. Because with all the the strides she makes, it feels like it's just not enough sometimes. I want them to accept her. I want her to have friends. Like the little boys that walk to preschool together every morning, they call to each other and smile and feel happy to see each other. I want that for Maya too.

Like many things with Maya, milestones don't come easily and neither will this. There's only so much I can do, then I have to accept that it is the way it is. I am wishing and hoping that it won't bother her as it does me. That she will be happy with all that she has...and perhaps teach me the same.

Even while I'm sad, I am also happy that she is still making progress. Each party seems to go smoother, each time she seems to participate more and more. At this party, Maya seemed mildly interested in the princess that was painting faces, but when I asked her if she wanted something painted on her face, she said ok. With two children ahead of Maya, she was able to stand and wait without a fuss. She watched and seemed interested the whole time. During her turn she wasn't quite ready for her face to be painted but she was okay with a painted heart on her hand. She seemed happy with it afterwards, showing it to me and swinging it around towards the sky. This is a giant leap for Maya kind.

When Maya was done at the party she let me know. It was right after everyone sang Happy birthday. No surprise there. She usually not into the pizza and cake. That day I decided I wouldn't force the issue. I didn't want to make her sit with the other kids and get agitated with all the noise. She was done. She had an extremely good experience and I wanted to leave it at that.

There was a funny feeling I had as we walked back to the car. It was that time of the day when the sun just starts to set, that's one of my favorite times. I felt content holding Maya's hand, walking away from the party. Feeling her hand in mine, just walking on the sidewalk together, something felt really "normal" about that. I am a mom holding my daughters hand, and she was happy walking with me. This felt just right.

31 for 21, Day 25 - 2012

Snippet of my day.

Today I stuck to my guns and didn't pick up Maya and carry her in my arms after school.  This may seem like a small task, or you may ask, why can't you carry her?  99% of the kids walk to and from school (to the parking lot or the bus).  But Maya for what reason I have no idea, doesn't do that.  She stands in front of me and now she says "up".  If I don't pick her up she grabs my dress, she tugs, she sits on her bum and won't move.  And during the hot months, it's torture to stand there in 100 degree weather, trying to get her to walk with me.

The weather was manageable today.  I figure might as well start now.  She is on the verge of being 4 1/2 soon...33 pounds of dead weight and the most wiggly little monster in the world.  It's becoming more and more work to carry her around these days.  

How long does it take Maya to walk from school to the car? Well let's review: first stop, even before we get out of the school gate, she has to stop at the wagon, and try and play with it.  I play, "ready, get set, go!" with her, that usually works a couple of times.  Once we are out the gate the sidewalk fun begins.  I try and entice her, telling her, let's follow your classmates.  She sits on the ground.  Usually a very good tactic since at 90 degrees I'm ready to run for shade.  Today it was pleasant and I was determined....so I just stood there.  Encouraging her as much as I could, telling her she could do it.  "You wanna hold my hand?"  Um, no way!  She's too independent.  Ha ha!  We get to the entrance sign at the parking lot.  We are almost there I say.  Of course she has to read the letters on the sign, a game we played last year.  Then she takes another rest.  I wait patiently.  She gets up and turns to look at the parked bikes.  Ok down the curb to the parking lot that was a big step.  She sees more letters, opps, I forgot about that.  Ironically it says no parking on the ground, and soon she's sitting and proceeds to lay down trying to take her backpack off.  Finally I take the backpack and pretend to start running.  She runs after me.   Yes! We are at the car.  I feel like I've just completed the most difficult task of my day.  That is getting a four year old to do what you want them to do. 

Triumph!

31 for 21, Day 23 - 2012

Mat man appears.


Maya's been using her magnadoddle a lot lately. She been scribbling on it, making marks here and there, dots, etc. Today I caught a glimpse of something beautiful. It was a drawing. A real drawing. Maya made it all by herself. It is the first time that I've seen her work really look like something. It was Mat man.

Who is Mat man you ask? He's a figure that is created with wood pieces and other parts. It's part of the Hand writing without tears program. You sing a song and you put the pieces together.

"Mat man has one head, one head, One head so that he can think...
Mat man has two eyes, two eyes, two eyes so that he can see...
Mat man has one nose, one nose, one nose so that he can smell..."

And on and on goes the song. By creating the parts one at a time and singing the song Maya is starting to understand parts of the body. After you create Mat man with the wood pieces, you can draw Mat Man, singing the same song.

Maya's OT has been using this technique in the last few sessions. Last week she showed me the first time that Maya tried to draw Mat man on her own.

Today Maya drew Mat man without any prompts. She was just standing there drawing. I was so lucky to see it. Because she usually erases everything right after she draws it. So who knows how many mat man's she has sketched before I saw that one. This is a huge milestone! What is most wonderful about it is that even though we have been working on her pre-writing skills, I was not expecting her to draw Mat Man so soon. This is so encouraging. I'm looking forward to doing more work with the Handwriting without Tears program for certain.

Meet Mat Man, on Handwriting without Tears website.
http://www.hwtears.com/gss/learning-lounge/matman/meet-mat-man

31 for 21, Day 21 - 2012

  More about playdates.

It was good to see Maya playing with her friends. It's still parallel play, but it's getting closer to actively playing with each other. This time when T and G started playing with the doctor set. Maya sat down and also wanted to play. With a little coaching she started to check Jessie's heart with the stethoscope.

Then T brought out the Break the Ice game. One of Maya's favorites. They all helped me set it up by handing me the ice cubes. Ironically this process usually takes longer to put together than actually playing the game. When it came time to play, they did it so well. They took turns and even shared one of the mallets.

When we went outside, the kids played on the little slide and ran around the yard. We changed the level of the slide so Maya was hesitate to go up it, but she did with some help. She also enjoyed watching her friends go up and down the slide. Maya, T and Christina pretended to be airplanes, soaring through the grass. That was a precious moment.

These are the little things in life that I appreciate more than anything. From the time she started to crawl, I've tried to have Maya interact with her peer, Whether in playgroups, classes, or story time. Sometimes it feels like a struggle because the level she is at is not the same as others her age or even younger. It takes time to get her there. It's a daily challenge, something that others might not realize. Whether it's walking, jumping, how to hold a crayon, or learning how to appropriately play with her friends...it take effort. But always the reward is worth it. When I think about the way I am raising Maya, I think it's exactly the way it is supposed to be. It is hard work to bring up any child, and yes, it take a wee bit more effort to do it for someone with special needs. I don't think that it would be much different than if she didn't have Down syndrome though. We all want the same things for our children. Among love and happiness we want them to be the best person they can be. This is all of our goals in the end.

Three doctors working hard.

Break the ice.

Down the slide.

Watching her friend.

Soaring.

31 for 21, Day 12 - 2012

She can say ice cream! 

That's right she says ice cream in her cute little voice.  When I ask her if she wants it, she says, "kay".  She signs it and I say, use your voice.  Then she says it.  Wow.  So I sing to her, I make up a song, I say, now it's your turn.  She sings it right back.  Not the words so much but the right rhythm, I still hear the end of it when she says, "ice cream".

It's getting clearer every day.

31 for 21, Day 11 - 2012

Remember I told you that Maya did so well at her friend's birthday party this last weekend.  Well I can't help but post a few photos from that party.  They aren't great because they are from my phone.  They do however capture how engaged Maya was in the party.  She followed directions and tried to do the obstacle course as well as other activities.   She didn't just dance around on her own like she likes to do (they did have good music playing).  As she gets older I am enjoying the things that other parents might already take for granted.  She doesn't need me right by her side every second to direct her.  She watches others and sees what they are doing.  She tries to follow them the best way she can. 

Sitting in circle, waiting for directions.

Twirling.

Standing in line getting her medal.

31 for 21, Day 8 - 2012

Highlight of my day:  Maya walked from the car to music therapy.

This is literally a miracle.  Let me tell you why, Maya does not like to walk.  OK maybe that is an exaggeration.  Mostly she doesn't like to walk where you want her to walk.  She only goes where she wants. Kinda sounds like a diva, doesn't it?!  Ha! 

On a more serious note,  I'm not sure if it's that she is unsure of the uneven surface she is walking on or if she is distracted by all the things around her.  Sometimes she dilly dallys by exploring everything on the ground and other times she just looks at me straight away and says, "up".  If I try and ignore her or encourage her to walk, she stands in front of me every step I take and won't let me pass.  Whether it's to go to school, her therapies, or the gym.  She wants to be carried.  Of course this is something we are working on.  But it's been very slow going. 

So you can imagine my surprise when she wiggled out of the my arms and started walking to the therapy building, today.  There were a few stops here and there, mostly to do a little dance and look at her shadow on the ground. But she did it, she walked from the car, the parking lot, hallways, into the elevator and to her therapy room.

I took a bunch of photos because I was so excited.  Excuse the blurriness.  Oh and yes today she wanted to wear her Halloween costume again.  She found it in her closet, even though I was trying to hide it.  Guess she found a new favorite dress.

31 for 21, Day 7 - 2012

Opps, my bad.  I missed one day of blogging already.  Rats!  Oh well not much I can do about it now.

Day 7 of 31.

It was a busy and fun weekend.  The usual craziness happened.  Get togethers, shopping, working out, eating great food and a birthday party.

Birthday parties seem to put me on edge a little.  Mostly because I never know how Maya will do at the party.  Today was awesome. It really gave me happiness to see that she was really enjoying the activities at the party. She was engaged and followed directions so well.  It really put things in perspective for me.  I had a chance to sit back and watch her this time, since Dada was there to help.  Usually I'm so close to her, almost to the point that I don't see her growing in front of me.  I get a different view because I sit next to her all the time.  It's good for me to step back, literally, to be able to see Maya as a whole person.  She is looking older, she is growing and although I know she is making strides towards her goals, I don't always see how much she has changed.

It was a good birthday party.  Aside from her being upset when they yelled "Happy Birthday", and the scrap she got from a fall.  She even ate her pizza slice while sitting with all the other kids.  Of course Maya doesn't like the birthday song or cake.  So Dada took her out before that happened.  I think it was a good plan.  The party ended with a positive thought in her head.  

After the party we went to Costco for a few things.  While we were there I stumbled upon the Halloween costumes.  I was so excited when I saw the cheerleader outfit.  Everyone lately has been asking me what Maya is going to be this year.  Unlike a lot of children her age, she's not really into any character in particular.  So I wasn't sure what she'd like to wear.  Usually she just wears whatever I put on her for Halloween.  Not ever has she complained about the outfit.  This year I was wondering if she would care or not.  So when I held out the two cheerleading outfits, one blue and one red, I was so happy when she immediately smiled and pointed to the red one.  I asked,  "You want the red one?"  and she said, "Kay!"  She was as excited as I was about the find.

When we got home I put the outfit on the couch and she immediately saw it and brought it to me.  She was signalling that she wanted it on.  From then on she was wearing the little outfit and playing with the matching pom poms.  I  taught her how to do a cheer.  Although I'm sure she has seen it on The fresh beat band show.  The whole afternoon she kept going to her favorite mirror spot and doing her cheers. 

Others have told me this is a fun age for our kids, they are little sponges.   I really see this is true.  Maya takes a lot of info in. Even if she doesn't look like it at the beginning. She gets it.  Then she shows you her interpretation.  I wasn't sure if she was getting the idea of cheering, but then I saw her doing it in her own style.  She knew exactly what she was supposed to do.

Now I can't wait for Halloween. It will be interesting to see how she does with the trick or treating.  Like I said, every year gets better and better.  What a great adventure to be on.

31 for 21: day 2, 2012

I have a lot of catching up to do.  I have a ton to fill you in on Ms. Maya.  My intentions were good this summer, I was going to post about all the fun stuff we did.   In the end even Maya's birthday did not get posted.   No excuses now that it's October.    So here goes...

In July, one day we went to the children's museum with some friends.  I asked Maya's respite to come along to help.  Maya adores her and they are almost like big and little sisters.  We haven't been to the museum in a long time.  That one especially is huge and most of the activites are better when the child can play on their own.  I can't remember how old Maya was when we went last, I just remember all the other kids were having a ball and Maya was mildly interested.  I don't think she was even walking then, which makes a huge difference.

Anyway, Maya was so excited to be there this time.  As soon as we entered she took off towards the huge structure that is all about climbing.  It's like a huge maze up in the air.  I should preface this by saying that Maya has struggled for a long time with climbing jungle gyms.  In past posts I've written about this.  I've chalked it up to sensory issues, but basically she doesn't like walking up ramps that have holes in them.  She sees through the ground and I think it confuses her.  Well this structure is all about holes and seeing to the ground.

Every time this girl does something, it surprises me, but not in a shocking way.  It's almost like I expect her to surprise me.  So when she does something like forget that she was afraid of walking up ramps, I think it's just the way it's supposed to be.  She walked up, crawled and climbed (with the help of her respite), not once, but twice up that structure.

We spent over 4 hours at the museum and at the end Maya was crying because she didn't want to leave.  It was crazy, because she NEVER cries for a thing like that.  In fact usually if there is too much going on, she turns to me and says "bye" which is her signal that she wants to leave.  This time she was having so much fun playing with all the different activities she didn't want to go home.

Last time we didn't venture into the art room, and this time we spend at least 30 mins there.  She was just so content painting the rocket ship (see photos below).  Give that girl a brush and a big rocket ship and I guess it's all good!

It was so wonderful to see her engaged in all that was around.  She even played with the her friends that came to the muesum with us.  They arranged flowers in this one section for a little while.  Once they moved on, she continued playing on her own for a long while. At least a long while in "Maya" terms.

I kept thinking to myself that I felt bad that she had missed a therapy that morning.  Then I realized that this whole experience was way more therapeutic than any 50 min therapy.  Sometimes you just have to play hooky and enjoy life!  It was good to be reminded of that.

Maya crawling through a tunnel on the high structure.

Walking on the structure with her respite.

Painting the rocket purple.

Rocket ship painter.

Aarranging flowers on the table.

Moving flowers from the garden to the table.

Planting the garden again.

Hand and eye coordination needed to garden here. 

 

31 for 21: Day 1, 2012

Yes, it's that time of year.  October is Down syndrome awareness month.  In honor of which, I try and post on this blog everyday this month.  I have to be honest, every year it gets harder and harder to do this activity.  It's been especially hard to find the time to post in general.  I think I'm either exhausted from the day or I have other things that are just more pertinent.   I love to read other people blogs that have such eloquent words and ideas to convey.  Me, well I'm a little rough around the edges.

Nevertheless I will try my best to post something during this month.   Although it might seem we only celebrate Maya's life here during October (because I write the most during this month).  I live with this extraordinary being and experience everyday the amazing strides she makes.  Sometimes she takes a step back here and there and this is also part of the journey.  Down syndrome awareness doesn't just happen in October for us.  It happens 365 days of the year.

On that note the most amazing things have been happening these last couple of months.  Maya is finding her voice.  She has started to say words, not just sign them.  She says,  go, eello for hello, up, uh oh, bye, hi,  eedy, for ready, o or no, es for yes, on a daily basis now.  The words are starting to add up.  I'm having so much fun listening to her.

Just a couple of days ago, she tried to say I love you.  In her sweet little voice, she said, "i oove ou".  It was so precious. I have been waiting to hear that for so long.  It's true I had to prompt her, but the fact that she is trying to repeat words that I'm asking her to say...well let's just say it is amazing!

Since Maya is starting to repeat words, now you can almost do what you would do to a one year old, act like you are talking to them.   When they babble, you say, "yes, oh really?  uh huh."   Today I heard our respite do that with Maya.  It was the first time I've heard someone talking to her like that.

Some might ask, did you talk to her all this time?  Did you encourage her to say words?  Has the sign language gotten in the way of her progression?  The answers are yes I spoke to her, I encouraged her countless times, I sang to her, I asked her to sing to me, I told her use your words, say this, say that.  As for the sign language, well, I don't think it's gotten in the way.  I think it's helped us all get along better, she can communicate to me, to her respite without throwing a tantrum.  

Sometimes it's not just what we do to push them along, it's when they are ready to make that step, when they do it.  Of course the therapy is priceless, but I know Maya, and when Maya is ready that is when she makes her move.  At that time, like all other children, she shines.

the little things...

Today I was walking with Maya to her music therapy. She was walking right next to me.  I held out my hand and she immediately grabbed it and held onto it.  At that moment I remembered when there was a time when she would not hold my hand while walking.  In fact she would often not walk next to me at all.  That wasn't that long ago actually. Now don't get me wrong there are still many times that I have to carry her, but those times are slowly disappearing little by little.

That moment made me think of other moments that are changing with Maya.  The other day she sat to put on her shoes and when I said put them on, she tried to slip her feet in her crocks.  She was almost there.  After months and months of trying to get her to put her shoes on, she is starting to try.  That is a big step for her.

The biggest step we have taken happened last week when, on a whim, I decided to pull up the rugs in the house and put Maya in her undies.  I am uncertain if she is ready, but I lean towards thinking she is on the verge of a breakthrough.

Since she was 13 months we have been putting her on the toilet and soon after that she started to sign potty and actually poop and pee on the toilet.  Set backs of illness, mine and hers and laziness on my part stopped me from pushing her further.  Still, since 15-16 months she rarely poops in her diaper.  It is however a struggle to get her on the toilet, sometimes she arches her back or just doesn't want to go into the bathroom.  Worse, when we are out she refuses to go potty if she doesn't have her cushy toilet seat.  I have to say though, that since last Tuesday she hasn't refused to go to the bathroom.  She gets on the toilet even if she doesn't go potty.  And she's had a few accidents, but most of the time it's been very successful.  The first day she went 7 hours without an accident.

Like most things in my life I consider this an experiment.  I heard of many techniques for potty training but in the same fashion as sleep training I have decided to take it slow and ease.  I don't know how long this process will go on, I just try and keep my expectations low and so far I'm feeling pretty good about the whole thing.  Low stress for me and for Maya, this is a good thing.

These are the little things that matter in my life right now.  It might seem trivial to some but to me, it is what my world is comprised of at the moment.  I am so proud of my little rascal. 

Bring on the rain!

Breakthrough!

Over the last few months we have been working hard at Maya's speech.  At times it's been hard because there has been little to no progress.   It's hard for me not to worry now that she is 4ish years old. We have been paying out of pocket as well as having the state provide therapy.  The diagnosis of Apraxia has really helped us work with Maya in a totally different way.  She just wasn't responding to the typical way of working with speech therapy, the visual hand cues has really done wonders.

I'm writing today because I am listening to Maya try and pronounce words.  This feels like a miracle.  Before she didn't even try.  It was like pulling teeth to get her to get her to say B.  She responds so much better to music.  But now, I hear her trying to say words like Broccoli.  Without any prompting.  Wow!

The other day she was watching Elmo, the scene was winter, and Elmo was wearing a jacket.  She turned to me and said "Cooooold"   And signed it at the same time.

I couldn't believe my ears, so I asked her to say it again, and she did.

Sometimes I forget how resilient she is.  She adjusts to change so easily.  Unlike myself.  We have gone through so many changes in the last few months, different music therapists, new respite, saying goodbye to her sensory OT and having a new one work with her.  Yet through all this, she is growing.

In the last few weeks I've seen a breakthrough.  The words are there.  She is trying.  They aren't
perfect, but she is using her voice.  And her voice is amazing!

A new year, in February.

Happy New Year!

I know it's rather late to say such things, but I did start this entry back in January.  And now it's the end of February and I still haven't found the time to finish this thing.  In some ways maybe I needed a little break from reading and writing blogs but I've never stopped thinking about what I'd say. Although I have wondered if writing my thoughts down amounts to much.  It's made me question why I do this.  I know I'm not a great writer, I'm not poetic like other bloggers I read, hell sometimes I just don't even know if anyone is reading this thing.  When I really think about why I write here, I think that I just don't want to forget.  I want to always remember the things that Maya does, and to share this with her family and friends. 


I often describe myself as being a hands on mother.  I say this because I can't sit back at the playground and watch my kid play on the jungle gym with the other kids.  I have to be right there with her because she has a hard time dealing with the height of the platform and her sensory issues kick in. At that point she usually holds on to me for dear life.  She doesn't always know what to do with the sand toys I bring with us.  So I remind her how to play. And although she loves to watch the other children playing at the park, she doesn't know how best to interact with them. But these little moments remind me of the upside to being a stay at home mom.  See needs me.  More than that, I am grateful that I can be there as her support and comfort.

Otherwise, Miss Maya is pretty independent.  I say independent but really I mean she doesn't do anything she doesn't want to do until she's ready.  Including go to the potty when mama wants her to go.  Hold hands on the side walk or even walk on the side walk for that matter, (she rather be carried).  She has always done things in her own time.  This of course has been a learning tool for me.  Let's just say everyday I learn more and more about patience and acceptance.


With Maya at preschool and 9 therapies a week, I don't have to tell you it's been really busy here.  Results from a new speech evaluation shed some light on Maya's speech delay.  They said Maya leans towards having Apraxia.  So we added three more sessions of speech therapy per week.  The center we go to has specific techniques that they have developed and so far we are seeing very good progress. 

One day at therapy she was trying to mimic what the speech therapist was telling me.  It was so cool to see this happen.  To recognize that she IS trying makes all the difference in the world.  She is mimicking what barney is singing, what the fresh beat band is singing.  It's so wonderful.  On top of this, for the last few months she has started to say "kay" as her yes. She is learning to communicate not just though ASL but through her voice.  It's slow but everyone who knows her, sees the difference.

I know that Maya is smart in so many ways, I know she understand us clearly.  I know little about Apraxia, but what I have been told is that the connection between the brain and action are lost somewhere along the way.  She knows what she wants to say I'm sure, but she just can't make her vocal cords and mouth do what it needs to do.  The fact that she is not talking sometimes makes me sad.  But I have learned to read Maya's body gestures, facial expressions, ASL signs and even her babbling sounds.

To hear her say words, like kay, go, bye, and of late we are working on Barney, more, and potty.  Well you can imagine how my heart races.  I'm also learning to accept that Maya is where she is meant to be.  It is a challenge but she will learn to communicate with others, whether it is through ASL, a speech device or her own voice.  I do think that her personality is strong, she is a strong person and she will succeed in anything she wants to do.  One thing is certain, I don't take anything for granted with Maya.  Every little milestone she makes I take note and I hope to always share them here with you.

31 for 21, Day 27: Field trip.

Today Maya and I went on a field trip with the school.  I often have mixed feelings about these kind of events because Maya usually has her own agenda in mind and most of the time it has nothing to do with what is going on.   When we get to the place, party or whatever it is, she doesn't always know what we are there for.  Of course this never stops me from taking her.  With enough exposure I figure one day she will get it.

First off I have to say that the weather was fantastic!  This might not mean a thing to most people, but in Arizona we go through brutal summers.  The end of October is when it finally starts to cool down...and I mean the end as in the last day of October.  So when I woke up this morning feeling the chilly air, I was grateful.

As soon as we walked into the pumpkin patch, Maya went straight to the pumpkins and actually sat and posed for me.  We did a little pumpkin searching and I was so proud of Maya for picking out her own pumpkin.  She also was very captivated by the guy on the tractor that brought more pumpkins.  It was the first time I've seen her so interested in a tractor.

Next, we decorated the pumpkins.  This is a big deal because I can really see how much she has grown. She stood all on her own on a hay bail while trying to decorate the pumpkin with stickers. She understood what we were doing.  And as far as I could tell she was enjoying it.  A double hooray because she didn't put one of those stickers in her mouth! 

After a hayride and checking out the farm animals, we went onto a hay bail maze.  The last time we were at this pumpkin patch, Maya was close to 18 months old.  She wasn't walking yet and she had no interest in any of this.  But today, she went into the maze and she followed the others all the way out.

She lasted the whole time at the field trip, including eating a snack with everyone.  It may seem strange to some, but it made me so proud to see her do these activities.  It eases my mind.  She is able to interact with her peers and do things that every kid does.  Even if she does it a little differently she has a good time doing it. 

Maya is telling me the pumpkins are cold.

"Where you going tractor man?"

Serious decorating going on.

Entering the maze.

Running in the maze, following the others.

Us.