One cool thing that happened was I won 2 season passes to the local water park. So Luke and I got in for free anytime we wanted to go. Kids 2 and under are free, so Ally got in for free too, so anytime we wanted to go we just had to pay for Ben. This was the first summer Ally got to go swimming, and let me tell you- that girl is a fish! She had a great time in the water, and was very brave. Check out this video at the water park that I shot:
My cute tutu bathing suit!
Wearing Bubba's goggles!
So much fun at the water park!
Our other summer adventures included Melody Makers & story time for 0 - 16 month children at the library known as book bugs. She loved the books and songs and getting to interact with the other kids. In fact, Ally has really grown to love books and being read to. She will often bring books to us from her room and stand there yelling until we pick her up, put her on our lap, and read. Some of her favorites include "We're Going on a Bear Hunt", "The Tale of Peter Rabbit", "Night Night Blessings", and "Chicka Chicka ABC".
The most 'exciting' update is that Ally finally got her orthotics! She has bilateral Ankle Foot Orthoses (AFOs). Last week I took a half day off for 2 appointments for Ally. One was an intake appointment for a new music program being run by Easter Seals (that she does Early Intervention through). This program is run by a certified music therapist who will write goals specifically for Ally for each week (though it is a group session). She loves music so I think this is going to be great for her.
Her second appointment was to get her orthotics. I made a mistake and actually came to her appointment a week early (oops!) but they thankfully they fit us in anyway, just with a different guy. He brought in her orthotics and measured the place to cut them off at the toes. He left to cut them and returned and showed me how to put them on her. I didn't know to bring socks, so we skipped that step. I had brought the shoes Russell's parents had bought for Ally when we went shoe shopping for the boys for school. The guy tried to put them on her but felt they would probably be too tight and get torn up pretty quickly. He told me I would probably need something bigger. When we went shopping with the orthotics, I should look for something that fit snuggly in the store, and we could always rip out the insole padding once we took the shoes home.
So that Friday we went back to the shoe store. We returned the shoes and went looking for something else.
First I had to get the orthotics on her feet. Man that proved to be difficult! They fit very snuggly and don't give very much, so you have to do it just right. We also found that the socks I had brought were not quite high enough to cover the height of the orthotic. So we bought socks at the store too.
The bilateral AFOs! I picked out all the colors and materials for her. Love the butterflies and purple!
Stage 2- with socks!
Shoe shopping! She was running all over the store in her shoes.
She had to have a carousel ride at the shoe store.
Since then she has worn them everyday. The guy who fitted her said she needed to wear them with shoes anytime she is walking. So basically she wears them from the time she wakes up until bath time in the evening. I had asked if she would have trouble with wearing them or be uncomfortable, and he said it could be a possibility (though she not have a redness or blisters as a result, and if she did to call them right away). I was expecting to see her not walking as much, asking to be carried or sitting a lot more. But true to form, our Ally girl is tough as nails and this doesn't seem to have fazed her one bit.
The winners! They are a size SEVEN! She went from a THREE to a SEVEN!
She doesn't mind having them put on at all. She has always loved shoes and often we wouldn't even put any on her because she didn't walk around much in public places anyway. However she got to the point that when we would announce "Get your shoes on!" she would run over and find her shoes and sit to have us put them on her. So she actually sits still and lets us put on her orthotics every morning.
I had asked the guy when would we know when she wouldn't need orthotics anymore. He said that whenever her feet and ankles were the way they were supposed to be she would no longer need them- but when that would be of course he couldn't say. So he had us make an appointment for 6 months just to check in and now we are on our own.
The next few weeks and months should be busy ones. We have all started back to school and work, so Ally is back to staying with my in-laws during the day. They will be taking her to story time for 18 - 24 month olds as well as the music program through Easter Seals. She has her 18 month check-up in a few weeks and a neurosurgeon appointment next month. So along with the fun of fall we will have plenty to update you with.
Our beautiful 18 month old girl...
...but she can get pretty upset when she doesn't get her way!
Oh, one more thing. So Ally turned 18 months old earlier this week. I realized I hadn't gotten any pictures until that evening. Ally had already taken her bath and was in her pajamas and the boys had just finished up their shower. Our tub is extremely slow draining, so it looked like they had taken a bath. While they were getting their towels- she climbed right into the tub, jammies and all! So we definitely got some pictures then. Our girl is so spunky and resilient, and we are so blessed everyday that she is part of our family!
