Hi,
Did you know that today Tahlia is 18 months old? And what a big day it was.
To start off, she allowed Mommy and Daddy to sleep in until almost 7:15 this morning. Daddy gave her a quick change and then, she did a little snuggling in bed with Mommy and Daddy before starting the day.
After breakfast, Tahlia started telling us that she needed to go pee pee, so we took off her diaper and let her know if she needed to go, she should sit on the potty. After a little while, she sat on the potty, and, while reading a One Step Ahead catalog for a little while, she peed in the potty! We were soooooo excited! Then, after dinner, she was sitting on the potty again, after telling us that she needed to go "poo poo," and we heard a little grunt and wouldn't you know it, she poo pooed in the potty! She was so happy. Mommy danced around with her singing the "Tahlia pooped in the potty song," and Tahlia laughed and bounced.
Although it isn't about her being 18 months old, yesterday she did something that was pretty cute. Daddy found a ladybug in the house and showed it to Tahlia prior to letting it go outside. While Daddy was doing the dishes, Mommy was playing with Tahlia. Tahlia went to a little stuffed toy ladybug and pointed to it, then pointed to the door and said Daddy. Mommy told her that Daddy had let the ladybug go outside. Tahlia then picked up the ladybug, walked over to the door, and threw the ladybug at the door. She is a cute little girl.
Another thing Tahlia did happened on Thursday and was super cute, but doesn't really involve anything that Tahlia actually did. As mentioned before, we are working really hard on potty training Tahlia. On Thursday, when Tahlia was wearing a cute little floral dress, Mommy and Daddy needed to run an errand. We prepared everything in her diaper bag, Daddy picked Tahlia up and put her in the car, and off we went. When we were taking Tahlia out of her seat, Daddy noticed that Tahlia's little bum was too soft to have a diaper on. When he checked, not only did he notice that she was not wearing a diaper, but that she had a whole bunch of pea sized red marks on it. We discovered, when checking to see if she had wet her car seat, that she had spilled a whole bunch of freeze dried peas and was sitting on them! Guess Mommy and Daddy need to double check the diaper next time :)
Thanks for everything! Keep the prayers coming.
Love
Muggsie, Lauren and Tahlia
Friday, August 10, 2007
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Summer draws to an end
Hi everyone,
Some more info about the little one. In two days, Tahlia will be 18 months old.
First, just today, Tahlia was released from the services of the neurologist. Dr. Taft has followed Tahlia ever since he first met her in the hospital. Today was, hopefully, the last time we will see him in his office. Because Tahlia has been episode free since May 17th when we discontinued the phenobarbital, he decided that his services were no longer needed. Dr. Taft wanted to make sure that she is seeing various therapists, which we told him she is. He also told us that she has a higher risk of developing seizures, but as we get further away from the accident, the risk decreases. However, in the same breath, he did state that later in life she could all of a sudden develop seizures. Because of the increased risk, he gave us a laundry list of things that we shouldn't let her do and things that we should always watch her doing. Some of them are just good practice parenting -- no swimming alone, no bathing alone. But other things, like not letting her climb trees, surprised us. He did stress letting her be a little girl -- which Lauren and I always do! Needless to say, we are ecstatic. As well as thankful to everyone who has prayed and continues to pray for her.
Second, Tahlia took another trip to the Outer Banks. Unlike last time, when she was scared of the waves, this time she LOVED the ocean. She dug in the sand, chased birds, played in the surf, and even ran towards the waves with or without us. Needless to say, she was so much fun. Also, Lauren's Dad's and Stepmom's house has a really big open floorplan that Tahlia just love running around in. Mommy and Daddy enjoyed themselves, even though Mommy was still feeling under the weather, and Daddy managed to pull his neck on the first day there. Devra and Jessie were able to come down for a few days -- which only added to the fun and enjoyment!
Third, Tahlia has a new friend. There is a little boy named Sam -- Tahlia calls him "Am" -- who recently moved into the area with his Mommy, Lucy, and Daddy, Sergey. Because Daddy has been taking care of Tahlia more recently while her Mommy works outside of the home, Daddy has been going out each morning to swing with Tahlia. Usually, Lucy and Sam come out after a while. Tahlia loves to play with Sam. Sam is about 26 months old. Tahlia likes to say the things that Sam says and play with tractors. They both have picked up things from one another, although, Sam has learned the cleaner habits ;) For instance, Sam has started saying "snack," since that is what we call snacks. Tahlia has started playing in the dirt -- since that is what Sam loves to do. Something pretty amazing happened the other day - Tahlia actually played with Sam. At Tahlia's age, she is supposed to be doing the "parallel" play thing -- you know, not actually playing with the child beside her, but doing the same thing. But the other day, Tahlia was throwing the ball to Sam, then Sam, since he can't catch, would go and get the ball and throw it back to Tahlia, who would go and get the ball, since she can't catch, then throw it back to Sam. It was pretty cute. It is pretty neat that Tahlia can even throw overhand at her age, and she does it pretty well.
Fourth, her verbal skills are continuing to develop. She repeats pretty much anything back to you that you say to her. We have two friends, Jason and Moe, who are helping Daddy right now. Tahlia loves to say their names, and she says them together, which is also pretty cool. For about a week she has been making noun verb sentences -- like "Mommy eats, "Daddy home," "'Am runs." But she has also strung more words together. Also, for about two weeks, she has been doing the "Tahlia runs." Or "Tahlia draws."
Fifth, her physical stuff continues to develop. Her left hand is doing better, but still needs work -- the same goes for her leg, although she is running more and more. It is so cute. There are times when she just runs everywhere for everything. Daddy and she play on the hills a lot to strengthen her quads, and Daddy is constantly reminding her to bend her knees.
Also, she continues to tell us when she is pooping and peeing and we continue to try to introduce the potty. She has been successful a couple of times, so we're happy.
Again, thank you for all of your prayers and thoughts -- please keep them up. She is a little miracle and we're so lucky!
Love all
Muggsie, Lauren and Tahlia
Some more info about the little one. In two days, Tahlia will be 18 months old.
First, just today, Tahlia was released from the services of the neurologist. Dr. Taft has followed Tahlia ever since he first met her in the hospital. Today was, hopefully, the last time we will see him in his office. Because Tahlia has been episode free since May 17th when we discontinued the phenobarbital, he decided that his services were no longer needed. Dr. Taft wanted to make sure that she is seeing various therapists, which we told him she is. He also told us that she has a higher risk of developing seizures, but as we get further away from the accident, the risk decreases. However, in the same breath, he did state that later in life she could all of a sudden develop seizures. Because of the increased risk, he gave us a laundry list of things that we shouldn't let her do and things that we should always watch her doing. Some of them are just good practice parenting -- no swimming alone, no bathing alone. But other things, like not letting her climb trees, surprised us. He did stress letting her be a little girl -- which Lauren and I always do! Needless to say, we are ecstatic. As well as thankful to everyone who has prayed and continues to pray for her.
Second, Tahlia took another trip to the Outer Banks. Unlike last time, when she was scared of the waves, this time she LOVED the ocean. She dug in the sand, chased birds, played in the surf, and even ran towards the waves with or without us. Needless to say, she was so much fun. Also, Lauren's Dad's and Stepmom's house has a really big open floorplan that Tahlia just love running around in. Mommy and Daddy enjoyed themselves, even though Mommy was still feeling under the weather, and Daddy managed to pull his neck on the first day there. Devra and Jessie were able to come down for a few days -- which only added to the fun and enjoyment!
Third, Tahlia has a new friend. There is a little boy named Sam -- Tahlia calls him "Am" -- who recently moved into the area with his Mommy, Lucy, and Daddy, Sergey. Because Daddy has been taking care of Tahlia more recently while her Mommy works outside of the home, Daddy has been going out each morning to swing with Tahlia. Usually, Lucy and Sam come out after a while. Tahlia loves to play with Sam. Sam is about 26 months old. Tahlia likes to say the things that Sam says and play with tractors. They both have picked up things from one another, although, Sam has learned the cleaner habits ;) For instance, Sam has started saying "snack," since that is what we call snacks. Tahlia has started playing in the dirt -- since that is what Sam loves to do. Something pretty amazing happened the other day - Tahlia actually played with Sam. At Tahlia's age, she is supposed to be doing the "parallel" play thing -- you know, not actually playing with the child beside her, but doing the same thing. But the other day, Tahlia was throwing the ball to Sam, then Sam, since he can't catch, would go and get the ball and throw it back to Tahlia, who would go and get the ball, since she can't catch, then throw it back to Sam. It was pretty cute. It is pretty neat that Tahlia can even throw overhand at her age, and she does it pretty well.
Fourth, her verbal skills are continuing to develop. She repeats pretty much anything back to you that you say to her. We have two friends, Jason and Moe, who are helping Daddy right now. Tahlia loves to say their names, and she says them together, which is also pretty cool. For about a week she has been making noun verb sentences -- like "Mommy eats, "Daddy home," "'Am runs." But she has also strung more words together. Also, for about two weeks, she has been doing the "Tahlia runs." Or "Tahlia draws."
Fifth, her physical stuff continues to develop. Her left hand is doing better, but still needs work -- the same goes for her leg, although she is running more and more. It is so cute. There are times when she just runs everywhere for everything. Daddy and she play on the hills a lot to strengthen her quads, and Daddy is constantly reminding her to bend her knees.
Also, she continues to tell us when she is pooping and peeing and we continue to try to introduce the potty. She has been successful a couple of times, so we're happy.
Again, thank you for all of your prayers and thoughts -- please keep them up. She is a little miracle and we're so lucky!
Love all
Muggsie, Lauren and Tahlia
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
A lot happens in the summer . . .
Hi,
Sorry it has been such a long time since a posting. As you all know, summer time is a busy time. Tahlia has been up to a lot of things recently. She took her first airplane flight -- just a little one up to Boston for a trip to the Cape. She did well on this hour and a half flight. It seemed like the perfect amount of time for her. The trip to the Cape was a lot of fun. She ran around a whole bunch and enjoyed seeing Grampa -- who she calls Bapa. He is ok with it, so we'll keep it. She really likes the sound of it so often times when she says bye to anybody now, she says "Bye Bapa." Pretty funny.
The next trip was a little longer. We went to Portland, OR. We haven't been there in over two years, and many people were excited to finally meet Tahlia. She did fairly well on the flights -- we had a lay over in Denver to take a break. The time in Portland was a lot of fun. While there, she was able to play with her friends Ainsley and Ellison. Tahlia never met either of them, but Ainsley was a little girl when Tahlia "left" Portland. While playing with these two cuties, she learned the fun of a play stroller. She also was able to play with her friend Sophia. Sophia's mom taught Tahlia that cuidado means "be careful." Tahlia also played with Andrew -- where she had a bunch of fun swinging on his swing. She also met a whole bunch of friends at a park where she went down a ten foot tube slide all by herself. She met many other people, and by the end of the trip was freely giving out hugs to people who she had only met fifteen minutes before. In the past, even after several days, she still was too shy to give out hugs or kisses. We had a minor bout with what we think was a fit of allergies.
On returning, she promptly came down with a cold that gave her a fever and runny nose. She still has a runny nose, but has started eating like she is trying to make up for missed food. She also has started enjoying drinking from a cup, that we discovered she could do while in Portland. Now she carefully picks up her "big girl cup" and drinks from it an carefully sets it down. Sometimes though, because she is an imp :) she pours it on her tray. She is a very messy eater, and although we know that we need to start to curtail this type of behavior, we also know that her therapists suggest she play with her food so that she can gain different types of sensory input. We are just lucky that we think she is so cute.
She enjoys building with blocks and drawing different things. She likes to sit with her back up against walls and tell Mommy or Daddy to sit near her. She will try to repeat any word that you say to her. She has a couple of words that she uses freely that we don't have any idea what they mean. "Did-ji-ba" is one of her favorites. We just tell her yes when she says it. Hopefully she isn't telling us that we are going to buy her a new dog or something :). She recently has learned to put puzzles together. She can also sit on the big girl swing and swing all by herself -- although Mommy isn't a huge fan of this. The weather has been cooperating with Daddy and we have had several days where Daddy can play with Tahlia outside for most of the day. This is good for two reasons. One being that Mommy can get work done. The other is that Mommy caught Tahlia's cold and has spent a lot of time resting. Mommy just has a cold now, but should be better soon. She has been doing pretty well on various therapy things. She is bending her left leg more and not hyper-extending it as much. One day, while in therapy, she walked across a wobbly bridge on a playground all by herself. She has made it through several tubes at playgrounds too. She is able to traverse uneven ground ok -- falling much less now, and she is gaining speed. She often falls -- which Mommy and Daddy are very used to. But, because of this, Tahlia has learned to say "up - daisy" -- we always say "Upseedaisy." Her latest therapy is to put dime sized "coins" into a little slot with her left hand. It is difficult, but she can do four or five before becoming frustrated. Yesterday she walked from the car into the house all by herself -- this means that she needed to get up three stairs and over the main threshold. There was a little crying, but she did it without any help!
I'll try to post again and start in on a weekly post. Hope this fills some gaps. Mommy has been working a lot on the family computer and because of this, we haven't been able to post any pictures for the last month, but we will try to do that soon.
Lots of love. Keep sending those thoughts and prayers to Tahlia -- she is doing wonderfully because of them.
Muggsie, Lauren, and Tahlia.
Sorry it has been such a long time since a posting. As you all know, summer time is a busy time. Tahlia has been up to a lot of things recently. She took her first airplane flight -- just a little one up to Boston for a trip to the Cape. She did well on this hour and a half flight. It seemed like the perfect amount of time for her. The trip to the Cape was a lot of fun. She ran around a whole bunch and enjoyed seeing Grampa -- who she calls Bapa. He is ok with it, so we'll keep it. She really likes the sound of it so often times when she says bye to anybody now, she says "Bye Bapa." Pretty funny.
The next trip was a little longer. We went to Portland, OR. We haven't been there in over two years, and many people were excited to finally meet Tahlia. She did fairly well on the flights -- we had a lay over in Denver to take a break. The time in Portland was a lot of fun. While there, she was able to play with her friends Ainsley and Ellison. Tahlia never met either of them, but Ainsley was a little girl when Tahlia "left" Portland. While playing with these two cuties, she learned the fun of a play stroller. She also was able to play with her friend Sophia. Sophia's mom taught Tahlia that cuidado means "be careful." Tahlia also played with Andrew -- where she had a bunch of fun swinging on his swing. She also met a whole bunch of friends at a park where she went down a ten foot tube slide all by herself. She met many other people, and by the end of the trip was freely giving out hugs to people who she had only met fifteen minutes before. In the past, even after several days, she still was too shy to give out hugs or kisses. We had a minor bout with what we think was a fit of allergies.
On returning, she promptly came down with a cold that gave her a fever and runny nose. She still has a runny nose, but has started eating like she is trying to make up for missed food. She also has started enjoying drinking from a cup, that we discovered she could do while in Portland. Now she carefully picks up her "big girl cup" and drinks from it an carefully sets it down. Sometimes though, because she is an imp :) she pours it on her tray. She is a very messy eater, and although we know that we need to start to curtail this type of behavior, we also know that her therapists suggest she play with her food so that she can gain different types of sensory input. We are just lucky that we think she is so cute.
She enjoys building with blocks and drawing different things. She likes to sit with her back up against walls and tell Mommy or Daddy to sit near her. She will try to repeat any word that you say to her. She has a couple of words that she uses freely that we don't have any idea what they mean. "Did-ji-ba" is one of her favorites. We just tell her yes when she says it. Hopefully she isn't telling us that we are going to buy her a new dog or something :). She recently has learned to put puzzles together. She can also sit on the big girl swing and swing all by herself -- although Mommy isn't a huge fan of this. The weather has been cooperating with Daddy and we have had several days where Daddy can play with Tahlia outside for most of the day. This is good for two reasons. One being that Mommy can get work done. The other is that Mommy caught Tahlia's cold and has spent a lot of time resting. Mommy just has a cold now, but should be better soon. She has been doing pretty well on various therapy things. She is bending her left leg more and not hyper-extending it as much. One day, while in therapy, she walked across a wobbly bridge on a playground all by herself. She has made it through several tubes at playgrounds too. She is able to traverse uneven ground ok -- falling much less now, and she is gaining speed. She often falls -- which Mommy and Daddy are very used to. But, because of this, Tahlia has learned to say "up - daisy" -- we always say "Upseedaisy." Her latest therapy is to put dime sized "coins" into a little slot with her left hand. It is difficult, but she can do four or five before becoming frustrated. Yesterday she walked from the car into the house all by herself -- this means that she needed to get up three stairs and over the main threshold. There was a little crying, but she did it without any help!
I'll try to post again and start in on a weekly post. Hope this fills some gaps. Mommy has been working a lot on the family computer and because of this, we haven't been able to post any pictures for the last month, but we will try to do that soon.
Lots of love. Keep sending those thoughts and prayers to Tahlia -- she is doing wonderfully because of them.
Muggsie, Lauren, and Tahlia.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Did you know?
Hey all,
Did you know that in 10 short days, Daddy will be taking care of me?
Did you know that yesterday, I was walking around the house and I picked up a can of tomatoes. As I carried it around, I started saying "Omatoes" without any prompting from Mommy or Daddy?
Did you know that last Thursday, after three days of Daddy leaving the house to bike to work, while playing with Mommy during the day, I would turn to the door and say "Dadda," and wave, then say "Bie" which everyone knows means bike?
Did you know that last week, I started asking people to draw certain things for me like "Dogh" or "Ca" or "Duh" (duck)? Also, sometimes I see pictures of things that I know are in the house, and I go and find them and point to them. One example would be when I saw an "ahple" (apple) drawn in the place where I make lines and squiggles, and I said "ahple" then went into the kitchen and pointed at the apples that are in a basket and told Mommy "ahple."
Did you know that I can put a hat on by myself, and afterward, I feel pretty proud?
Did you know that I am the one who feeds me?
Did you know that when Mommy or Daddy reads "Moo Baa La La La" to me, they just say, "A cow says," and I say "MOHHH"? Then they say, "A sheep says," and I say, "BOUHHH."
Did you know that Mommy and Daddy recently counted up the words that I can say, and there are over thirty of them?
Did you know that recently I have started telling my dog, who I call "Dodgdogd" to "stah" (stay) while I eat or take my bath? Daddy also taught me how to say one minute while holding up my index finger. So I say, "Whn mi" and shake my index finger at dodgdodg to let him know I'll be right back. No, I haven't given him a name yet.
I guess there is other stuff, but I thought I'd let you know about that stuff.
Love you
And thank you for your prayers.
Love
Tahlia (helped by Mommy and Daddy)
Did you know that in 10 short days, Daddy will be taking care of me?
Did you know that yesterday, I was walking around the house and I picked up a can of tomatoes. As I carried it around, I started saying "Omatoes" without any prompting from Mommy or Daddy?
Did you know that last Thursday, after three days of Daddy leaving the house to bike to work, while playing with Mommy during the day, I would turn to the door and say "Dadda," and wave, then say "Bie" which everyone knows means bike?
Did you know that last week, I started asking people to draw certain things for me like "Dogh" or "Ca" or "Duh" (duck)? Also, sometimes I see pictures of things that I know are in the house, and I go and find them and point to them. One example would be when I saw an "ahple" (apple) drawn in the place where I make lines and squiggles, and I said "ahple" then went into the kitchen and pointed at the apples that are in a basket and told Mommy "ahple."
Did you know that I can put a hat on by myself, and afterward, I feel pretty proud?
Did you know that I am the one who feeds me?
Did you know that when Mommy or Daddy reads "Moo Baa La La La" to me, they just say, "A cow says," and I say "MOHHH"? Then they say, "A sheep says," and I say, "BOUHHH."
Did you know that Mommy and Daddy recently counted up the words that I can say, and there are over thirty of them?
Did you know that recently I have started telling my dog, who I call "Dodgdogd" to "stah" (stay) while I eat or take my bath? Daddy also taught me how to say one minute while holding up my index finger. So I say, "Whn mi" and shake my index finger at dodgdodg to let him know I'll be right back. No, I haven't given him a name yet.
I guess there is other stuff, but I thought I'd let you know about that stuff.
Love you
And thank you for your prayers.
Love
Tahlia (helped by Mommy and Daddy)
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Today
Hi all,
We really need all of your positive thoughts and prayers. Today, we took Tahlia off of her phenobarbital all together. It was very strange for us not to have to go through the morning time routine and bedtime routine of giving Tahlia her "meh" as she says.
Keep your fingers crossed and send those positive thoughts and ideas.
love
Muggsie, Lauren & Tahlia
We really need all of your positive thoughts and prayers. Today, we took Tahlia off of her phenobarbital all together. It was very strange for us not to have to go through the morning time routine and bedtime routine of giving Tahlia her "meh" as she says.
Keep your fingers crossed and send those positive thoughts and ideas.
love
Muggsie, Lauren & Tahlia
Monday, May 14, 2007
Quick update
Hi there,
Just thought we'd send out a quick update since we have some news. We had an appointment with an orthotist and Tahlia's physical therapist last Tuesday and learned that Tahlia is hyper-extending her knee and rolling in so badly that if we don't stop her from doing both of those things, her leg will become deformed and her knee joint will be ruined. They are going to give her a shoe insert at first (which we'll pick up tomorrow or Wed.) and we'll try that for a month to see if that makes a difference, but the orthotist said that he doesn't think it will and feels strongly that we will need to brace her leg. The purpose of the brace will be to stop her from rolling, stop her from hyper-extending her knee and, at the same time, stop her leg from buckling forward. They feel that if we don't stop her from buckling forward, she will get frustrated and eventually stop using her leg. Unfortunately, this means that she won't be able to bend her ankle. We're not clear on what the ramifications to her calf muscle will be, so we will ask that when we pick up the insert. We worry that it could cause her calf to become under-developed. He said that she could have to wear the brace for any number of years, including her lifetime.
We are scheduled to see her pediatrician for a check-up on Friday and at that appointment we are going to ask to see a pediatric orthopedist, just to get a second opinion on the brace. Not that we don't trust the orthotist, but we figure that since he's in the business of making orthotics, we should seek another opinion before proceeding with the brace. We'll go ahead and do the insert without a second opinion, since it's not really a big deal.
We will be stopping Tahlia's dose of Phenobarbital at the end of this week, so hopefully that will go smoothly!
She's talking more and more and is 'singing' to herself, which is adorable. This morning at breakfast she heard an airplane outside and, without any prompting from us, did the sign and said 'airplane'. This afternoon in the car we saw her singing (just making one syllable sounds to a beat) and doing the hand motions to her favorite song. :-) Oh, and she was dancing this weekend too, which entails twisting at the waist and moving her arms. Cute.
Hope everyone had a good weekend. Thanks for checking in!
Love,
Lauren, Muggsie & Tahila
Just thought we'd send out a quick update since we have some news. We had an appointment with an orthotist and Tahlia's physical therapist last Tuesday and learned that Tahlia is hyper-extending her knee and rolling in so badly that if we don't stop her from doing both of those things, her leg will become deformed and her knee joint will be ruined. They are going to give her a shoe insert at first (which we'll pick up tomorrow or Wed.) and we'll try that for a month to see if that makes a difference, but the orthotist said that he doesn't think it will and feels strongly that we will need to brace her leg. The purpose of the brace will be to stop her from rolling, stop her from hyper-extending her knee and, at the same time, stop her leg from buckling forward. They feel that if we don't stop her from buckling forward, she will get frustrated and eventually stop using her leg. Unfortunately, this means that she won't be able to bend her ankle. We're not clear on what the ramifications to her calf muscle will be, so we will ask that when we pick up the insert. We worry that it could cause her calf to become under-developed. He said that she could have to wear the brace for any number of years, including her lifetime.
We are scheduled to see her pediatrician for a check-up on Friday and at that appointment we are going to ask to see a pediatric orthopedist, just to get a second opinion on the brace. Not that we don't trust the orthotist, but we figure that since he's in the business of making orthotics, we should seek another opinion before proceeding with the brace. We'll go ahead and do the insert without a second opinion, since it's not really a big deal.
We will be stopping Tahlia's dose of Phenobarbital at the end of this week, so hopefully that will go smoothly!
She's talking more and more and is 'singing' to herself, which is adorable. This morning at breakfast she heard an airplane outside and, without any prompting from us, did the sign and said 'airplane'. This afternoon in the car we saw her singing (just making one syllable sounds to a beat) and doing the hand motions to her favorite song. :-) Oh, and she was dancing this weekend too, which entails twisting at the waist and moving her arms. Cute.
Hope everyone had a good weekend. Thanks for checking in!
Love,
Lauren, Muggsie & Tahila
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
We skipped Spring and are now in Summer
Hello all,
Tahlia continues to amaze us as we enjoy this little bundle that we get to enjoy.
Today Tahlia saw her neurologist, Dr. Taft. The appointment began in a very unpleasant way. When Tahlia was weighed and measured, she began screaming her head off. She finally calmed down after about five minutes. Dr. Taft asked us a series of questions and then told us that he wants to take Tahlia, in the middle of May, off of phenobarbital completely. As you can probably guess, we were/are really excited about this. In addition, he stated that he believes there are no seizures coming from the affected area and that she is (and I knock on wood as I write this) is seizure free (you knock on wood too). Daddy stated that he didn't understand what Dr. Taft stated, and Dr. Taft said the same thing again. The doctor also told us that Tahlia has a heightened chance of having epilepsy in the future, but there is nothing that shows she will. We're pretty excited.
Tahlia is doing lots of new things, but we'll let you digest this information for now.
Thank you for all your prayers -- we know they are why she is doing so well. Keep her in your thoughts.
Love
Muggsie, Lauren & Tahlia
Tahlia continues to amaze us as we enjoy this little bundle that we get to enjoy.
Today Tahlia saw her neurologist, Dr. Taft. The appointment began in a very unpleasant way. When Tahlia was weighed and measured, she began screaming her head off. She finally calmed down after about five minutes. Dr. Taft asked us a series of questions and then told us that he wants to take Tahlia, in the middle of May, off of phenobarbital completely. As you can probably guess, we were/are really excited about this. In addition, he stated that he believes there are no seizures coming from the affected area and that she is (and I knock on wood as I write this) is seizure free (you knock on wood too). Daddy stated that he didn't understand what Dr. Taft stated, and Dr. Taft said the same thing again. The doctor also told us that Tahlia has a heightened chance of having epilepsy in the future, but there is nothing that shows she will. We're pretty excited.
Tahlia is doing lots of new things, but we'll let you digest this information for now.
Thank you for all your prayers -- we know they are why she is doing so well. Keep her in your thoughts.
Love
Muggsie, Lauren & Tahlia
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
We don't have pictures, but . . .
Hey all,
We don't have pictures, but you should have seen her tonight. We haven't told anybody, but she loves Boca Burgers -- mostly because she loves mustard. She won't eat ketchup, but she gobbles down the mustard -- literally -- handfuls. It is pretty fun! Her cheeks get all pink then she asks for her drink with a really worried look on her face, like she is saying, "if I don't drink something now, my tongue is going to burn off!"
Tonight, after her mustard - ah - Boca Burger, she chowed-down on some sweet potato. We video recorded this. Daddy asked her if she wanted some "POE - TAY - TOE" to which she replied, softly, "bow-boo-boe" hee hee hee :) She repeated it later when Mommy asked her.
As you all know, she is a joy, but we have to be honest that we are also really worried right now. We reduced the phenobarbital a while ago, and things seemed to be going well. Last week, on four different occasions, we saw Tahlia have some type of weird activity. We're not sure if it wasn't just her being a little baby, but our friend, who is a dr. told us to call the neurologist. They all happened around the same time of day, and they all affected her left side. We put the call in and the neurologist isn't concerned, and we trust him . . . but we also feel a need to be vigilant on this. Any positive thoughts or prayers that you can send her way would be really welcome now.
She is also walking a bunch, but is having difficulty with her left leg. She hyper-extends it with every step. This makes her very unstable. Her PT said that that is typical in kids who have had a stroke because they can "feel" it when it is hyper-extended. We have noticed that once most kids start walking, it is all they want to do, and they progress rapidly. Tahlia has been "walking" now for three months, but still chooses to crawl often. We think she feels it is safer. Mommy and Daddy are working daily on helping her to build up the muscle in her quadriceps of her left leg as instructed by Tahlia's PT. So, send good thoughts and prayers for that too.
Love to you all, and thank you for your continued help.
Muggsie, Lauren and Tahlia
We don't have pictures, but you should have seen her tonight. We haven't told anybody, but she loves Boca Burgers -- mostly because she loves mustard. She won't eat ketchup, but she gobbles down the mustard -- literally -- handfuls. It is pretty fun! Her cheeks get all pink then she asks for her drink with a really worried look on her face, like she is saying, "if I don't drink something now, my tongue is going to burn off!"
Tonight, after her mustard - ah - Boca Burger, she chowed-down on some sweet potato. We video recorded this. Daddy asked her if she wanted some "POE - TAY - TOE" to which she replied, softly, "bow-boo-boe" hee hee hee :) She repeated it later when Mommy asked her.
As you all know, she is a joy, but we have to be honest that we are also really worried right now. We reduced the phenobarbital a while ago, and things seemed to be going well. Last week, on four different occasions, we saw Tahlia have some type of weird activity. We're not sure if it wasn't just her being a little baby, but our friend, who is a dr. told us to call the neurologist. They all happened around the same time of day, and they all affected her left side. We put the call in and the neurologist isn't concerned, and we trust him . . . but we also feel a need to be vigilant on this. Any positive thoughts or prayers that you can send her way would be really welcome now.
She is also walking a bunch, but is having difficulty with her left leg. She hyper-extends it with every step. This makes her very unstable. Her PT said that that is typical in kids who have had a stroke because they can "feel" it when it is hyper-extended. We have noticed that once most kids start walking, it is all they want to do, and they progress rapidly. Tahlia has been "walking" now for three months, but still chooses to crawl often. We think she feels it is safer. Mommy and Daddy are working daily on helping her to build up the muscle in her quadriceps of her left leg as instructed by Tahlia's PT. So, send good thoughts and prayers for that too.
Love to you all, and thank you for your continued help.
Muggsie, Lauren and Tahlia
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Sunday, April 8, 2007
A new year
Hello all,
So here we are, a year has past. We took this Easter Sunday slowly, remembering where we were a year ago, trying to look forward.
Exciting things are happening. Today, Daddy was feeding Tahlia breakfast when she pointed at a mirror and asked for it. Of course, her asking is some baby babble with the sign for "please." In an attempt to teach her good manners, a couple of weeks ago, Mommy taught Tahlia how to say please with sign language. Whenever Tahlia wants something now, she says please -- which is so sweet. It breaks our hearts, of course, whenever she is playing with another little child and the child has something that she wants, and Tahlia starts signing please. Well, it used to break our hearts until the speach path the other day told us that what the sign of "please" actually means to Tahlia is "Mommy or Daddy, get me that thing that I want." So now, we are supposed to get Tahlia to actually vocalize what she wants. We were a little skeptical of this, except, while the speach path was here, she heard Tahlia distinctly say shoe and outside. Of course, this leads to what happened today. After Tahlia pointed to the mirror, Daddy asked if she wanted the mirror -- Tahlia leaned forward and very distinctly said "meerwoh." She also said baby and teeth today.
This week she has also really started walking. Yesterday, she stood up by herself in the middle of the room. She is at the place where when she falls over, she will stand back up and keep walking instead of the old way of falling down and then crawling.
She does another thing that we think is really cute. Sometimes, like today, she will lie on the floor and just look around at what is going on. It is really cute!
Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers -- we believe that they are helping Tahlia so much.
Love
Muggsie, Lauren, Tahlia
So here we are, a year has past. We took this Easter Sunday slowly, remembering where we were a year ago, trying to look forward.
Exciting things are happening. Today, Daddy was feeding Tahlia breakfast when she pointed at a mirror and asked for it. Of course, her asking is some baby babble with the sign for "please." In an attempt to teach her good manners, a couple of weeks ago, Mommy taught Tahlia how to say please with sign language. Whenever Tahlia wants something now, she says please -- which is so sweet. It breaks our hearts, of course, whenever she is playing with another little child and the child has something that she wants, and Tahlia starts signing please. Well, it used to break our hearts until the speach path the other day told us that what the sign of "please" actually means to Tahlia is "Mommy or Daddy, get me that thing that I want." So now, we are supposed to get Tahlia to actually vocalize what she wants. We were a little skeptical of this, except, while the speach path was here, she heard Tahlia distinctly say shoe and outside. Of course, this leads to what happened today. After Tahlia pointed to the mirror, Daddy asked if she wanted the mirror -- Tahlia leaned forward and very distinctly said "meerwoh." She also said baby and teeth today.
This week she has also really started walking. Yesterday, she stood up by herself in the middle of the room. She is at the place where when she falls over, she will stand back up and keep walking instead of the old way of falling down and then crawling.
She does another thing that we think is really cute. Sometimes, like today, she will lie on the floor and just look around at what is going on. It is really cute!
Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers -- we believe that they are helping Tahlia so much.
Love
Muggsie, Lauren, Tahlia
Saturday, March 31, 2007
The answer my friend
Hello all,
Tahlia did a couple of awesome things today. As you know, Tahlia recently learned to play the Kazoo. Today, Daddy showed her how to use a whistle, and on the first try she was able to make a sound. It is really cute when you bring the whistle up to her lips because she wants to play play it the same way she does the Kazoo, so she opens her mouth really wide as if you are going to put the whole whistle in her mouth. :)
Later, Daddy and Tahlia were playing up on the "playground." Daddy was blowing bubbles and Tahlia was watching and swatting at them. Then Daddy put the bubble blower up to her mouth, completely expecting her to put it in her mouth, as she had done many times before. Today, though, she blew out and bubbles flew! She started to laugh and so did Daddy.
Hope you all are well.
Love
Muggsie , Lauren & Tahlia
Tahlia did a couple of awesome things today. As you know, Tahlia recently learned to play the Kazoo. Today, Daddy showed her how to use a whistle, and on the first try she was able to make a sound. It is really cute when you bring the whistle up to her lips because she wants to play play it the same way she does the Kazoo, so she opens her mouth really wide as if you are going to put the whole whistle in her mouth. :)
Later, Daddy and Tahlia were playing up on the "playground." Daddy was blowing bubbles and Tahlia was watching and swatting at them. Then Daddy put the bubble blower up to her mouth, completely expecting her to put it in her mouth, as she had done many times before. Today, though, she blew out and bubbles flew! She started to laugh and so did Daddy.
Hope you all are well.
Love
Muggsie , Lauren & Tahlia
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Do you Kazoo?
Hello,
Not too much new going on with the little one. She is still crazy about birds -- and now airplanes. We showed her how to do the sign for airplane a couple of days ago, and now, when ever she hears an airplane go over the house, she makes the sign. Oh, did we mention that our house is in a flight path?
Tahlia and Mommy have been spending a lot of time out on the play ground in front of the house. With the nicer weather, they are having fun getting out of the house.
Today, we have big news. Mommy has been trying to get Tahlia to use the kazoo for a while -- Mommy puts the kazoo up to her lips and makes the kazoo sound, then puts it up to Tahlia's list and makes the sound. Well, today, she played it.
Thanks for sending all of those healing vibes!
Love
Muggsie, Lauren & Tahlia
Not too much new going on with the little one. She is still crazy about birds -- and now airplanes. We showed her how to do the sign for airplane a couple of days ago, and now, when ever she hears an airplane go over the house, she makes the sign. Oh, did we mention that our house is in a flight path?
Tahlia and Mommy have been spending a lot of time out on the play ground in front of the house. With the nicer weather, they are having fun getting out of the house.
Today, we have big news. Mommy has been trying to get Tahlia to use the kazoo for a while -- Mommy puts the kazoo up to her lips and makes the kazoo sound, then puts it up to Tahlia's list and makes the sound. Well, today, she played it.
Thanks for sending all of those healing vibes!
Love
Muggsie, Lauren & Tahlia
Thursday, March 22, 2007
"Suki, take it!"
Hello,
Tahlia has started doing something that is really cute. When we are playing ball in a confined area with Suki, we usually make Suki stay while we throw the ball. When the ball has come to a standstill, we tell Suki to "Take it." Suki then dashes off to fetch the ball. Lately, Tahlia has enjoyed throwing the ball for Suki, which is cute in itself since Tahlia becomes startled every-time Suki dashes off. But the really cute part is that Tahlia tries to tell Suki to "take it." She can't say it, and she doesn't understand how to make a "T" sound, so, instead, she makes a sort of "t" clicking sound by putting her tongue up to the roof of her mouth and pulling it down. It is cute. Another funny aspect is that Suki doesn't understand that Tahlia has given a command, so one of us has to then command Suki to act.
All and all a good time.
Tahlia has started doing something that is really cute. When we are playing ball in a confined area with Suki, we usually make Suki stay while we throw the ball. When the ball has come to a standstill, we tell Suki to "Take it." Suki then dashes off to fetch the ball. Lately, Tahlia has enjoyed throwing the ball for Suki, which is cute in itself since Tahlia becomes startled every-time Suki dashes off. But the really cute part is that Tahlia tries to tell Suki to "take it." She can't say it, and she doesn't understand how to make a "T" sound, so, instead, she makes a sort of "t" clicking sound by putting her tongue up to the roof of her mouth and pulling it down. It is cute. Another funny aspect is that Suki doesn't understand that Tahlia has given a command, so one of us has to then command Suki to act.
All and all a good time.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
What did you say?
Hey everyone,
So things are going along. We are both watching Tahlia like a hawk for any seizure activity -- so far none. We may wake up around 4:45am tomorrow morning to check as she has had some wierd behaviors around five each day that wakes us, but we haven't really checked it out.
Something interesting lately is the number of words Tahlia has said -- or did she? ha ha. Yesterday, we went to this consignment store and Daddy was walking with Tahlia and told her to start calling out for Mommy. Low and behold, after Daddy would say "Ma ma," Tahlia would say it too! Also, now bread is more than "Br." It is now something like "brreaa" -- she says it really softly and carefully. Mommy reports that when ever Daddy is outside, Tahlia points and says, really quickly "da da." She "woofs" at almost every animal -- but mostly at dogs. She points at the door and says "ber" because she wants us to hold her so that she can look at the birds. And although unconfirmed due to non-repeat performances, these were possible:
"mon" in addition to the monkey sign
"bow" well -- yeah -- for her bow
"plethora" -- ok -- so she didn't say that, but how AWESOME would that have been!!!!
Thanks for all the positive thoughts -- they are helping.
Love
Muggsie, Lauren & Tahlia
So things are going along. We are both watching Tahlia like a hawk for any seizure activity -- so far none. We may wake up around 4:45am tomorrow morning to check as she has had some wierd behaviors around five each day that wakes us, but we haven't really checked it out.
Something interesting lately is the number of words Tahlia has said -- or did she? ha ha. Yesterday, we went to this consignment store and Daddy was walking with Tahlia and told her to start calling out for Mommy. Low and behold, after Daddy would say "Ma ma," Tahlia would say it too! Also, now bread is more than "Br." It is now something like "brreaa" -- she says it really softly and carefully. Mommy reports that when ever Daddy is outside, Tahlia points and says, really quickly "da da." She "woofs" at almost every animal -- but mostly at dogs. She points at the door and says "ber" because she wants us to hold her so that she can look at the birds. And although unconfirmed due to non-repeat performances, these were possible:
"mon" in addition to the monkey sign
"bow" well -- yeah -- for her bow
"plethora" -- ok -- so she didn't say that, but how AWESOME would that have been!!!!
Thanks for all the positive thoughts -- they are helping.
Love
Muggsie, Lauren & Tahlia
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
She's one!
On February 10th, as you all know, Tahlia turned one. It was a very fun and exciting party. Fortunately, some close friends and family were able to make it to the party; unfortunatlely, some friends and family were not able to make it, and we missed them greatly.
We tried to organize it so that people would have an opportunity to mingle and chat with one another, before we got down to business. The business, of course was showing your knowlege of Tahlia.
Tahlia showed off with, well, her prettiness :). Although many people know the multiple things Tahlia can do, Kathryn, our neighbor, Nick, Tahlia's uncle, and Curt, one of Tahlia's friends (well maybe more or our friend :)) took away the prizes.
The next part of the party was opening presents.
Tahlia is really thankful for all of the presents she received, and, while opening them, had a great time playing with the really important gifts -- the wrapping paper, the tissue paper, and the containers in which the presents arrived. We gave Tahlia two gifts. One of the gifts is a picture of her with signatures and well wishes from friends and family. The other gift is a poem her daddy wrote beside a picture of Tahlia at one year.
For your first birthday
When first looking upon her
most see her eyes
“there is something
inherently intelligent
about children who look so long
and deep”
they
the blue sky in fall
crisp, clear
pure
a breeze blown across
still waters
calming and tranquil.
They are deep,
holding wisdom
true to the stone,
once it was believed
upon a sapphire the world
sat
giving clarity to night
blue to day;
and now she sits,
giving clarity,
sight.
But sapphires are not hers.
Into a stone
once more precious than diamonds,
and more true,
to this is she;
for,
as she stumbles past pitfalls
tumbles and crawls,
hands clasped to head
Monkey she calls,
she is and always will be
this perfect fairy
a gift helping
overcome difficulty
And even as
her eyes are
tropical inlets clear and blue,
the Wisdom Stone
hangs better about her
Most fits
when dealing with the Amethyst
most
but one
for she
our plum goblet
from which life and joy splashes
springs, spouts, spills
drunk are we
on the ambrosia of her
five toothed smiles,
long fingers and toes,
wet curled hair,
and finger on her nose
And over indulge we do
So look upon her,
as quickly she grows,
and joy flows forth
to all
upon whom
her knowing eye glows.
(Mark Marini, 2/10/07)
Lauren also received a gift, since February tenth is Tahlia's birthday but also Lauren's "birth" day. After the poem, and the gift, there were a few dry eyes. To make them all dry, we moved on to the cake.
Lauren made a delicious lemon cake that she made decorated herself -- amazingly well! We were all really happy that when the singing began, Tahlia didn't burst out in tears. She happily listened to the singing and accepted the cake. This was her first taste of sugar.
But then, after a little more,
She didn't really eat very much, maybe four or five fork fulls, before she was done. We were really happy about this, as we have heard that often, with a ton of sugar in them, babies don't go to sleep for a while. Luckily, this wasn't a problem for Tahlia.
After a little more talking and Tahlia showing off some more of her tricks, the party drew to a close.
It was a great time, and our little girl continues to grow.
We love you all.
Muggsie, Lauren and Tahlia.
We tried to organize it so that people would have an opportunity to mingle and chat with one another, before we got down to business. The business, of course was showing your knowlege of Tahlia.
Tahlia showed off with, well, her prettiness :). Although many people know the multiple things Tahlia can do, Kathryn, our neighbor, Nick, Tahlia's uncle, and Curt, one of Tahlia's friends (well maybe more or our friend :)) took away the prizes.
The next part of the party was opening presents.
Tahlia is really thankful for all of the presents she received, and, while opening them, had a great time playing with the really important gifts -- the wrapping paper, the tissue paper, and the containers in which the presents arrived. We gave Tahlia two gifts. One of the gifts is a picture of her with signatures and well wishes from friends and family. The other gift is a poem her daddy wrote beside a picture of Tahlia at one year.
For your first birthday
When first looking upon her
most see her eyes
“there is something
inherently intelligent
about children who look so long
and deep”
they
the blue sky in fall
crisp, clear
pure
a breeze blown across
still waters
calming and tranquil.
They are deep,
holding wisdom
true to the stone,
once it was believed
upon a sapphire the world
sat
giving clarity to night
blue to day;
and now she sits,
giving clarity,
sight.
But sapphires are not hers.
Into a stone
once more precious than diamonds,
and more true,
to this is she;
for,
as she stumbles past pitfalls
tumbles and crawls,
hands clasped to head
Monkey she calls,
she is and always will be
this perfect fairy
a gift helping
overcome difficulty
And even as
her eyes are
tropical inlets clear and blue,
the Wisdom Stone
hangs better about her
Most fits
when dealing with the Amethyst
most
but one
for she
our plum goblet
from which life and joy splashes
springs, spouts, spills
drunk are we
on the ambrosia of her
five toothed smiles,
long fingers and toes,
wet curled hair,
and finger on her nose
And over indulge we do
So look upon her,
as quickly she grows,
and joy flows forth
to all
upon whom
her knowing eye glows.
(Mark Marini, 2/10/07)
Lauren also received a gift, since February tenth is Tahlia's birthday but also Lauren's "birth" day. After the poem, and the gift, there were a few dry eyes. To make them all dry, we moved on to the cake.
Lauren made a delicious lemon cake that she made decorated herself -- amazingly well! We were all really happy that when the singing began, Tahlia didn't burst out in tears. She happily listened to the singing and accepted the cake. This was her first taste of sugar.
But then, after a little more,
She didn't really eat very much, maybe four or five fork fulls, before she was done. We were really happy about this, as we have heard that often, with a ton of sugar in them, babies don't go to sleep for a while. Luckily, this wasn't a problem for Tahlia.
After a little more talking and Tahlia showing off some more of her tricks, the party drew to a close.
It was a great time, and our little girl continues to grow.
We love you all.
Muggsie, Lauren and Tahlia.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
First steps
Hi Everyone,
Today was a big day for Tahlia -- she took her first steps. Even while sick, she was able to step out on her own and astound both her mom and her dad.
How it happened:
It was almost 12:00pm and Tahlia was working hard with her physical therapist, Theresa. Dad was there because he stayed home sick today -- he caught Tahlia's cold. We were working on helping Tahlia practice standing by herself, and she was doing quite a good job. One time, while Dad was taping it, she stood on her own for almost 30 seconds. As the moments ticked closer to the end of her session, Theresa was helping Tahlia stand, when all of a sudden, Tahlia took three steps all on her own. Dad started laughing and shouting, Mom shouted "shut up!" You can guess what Tahlia did -- she looked around terrified at all of the people shouting and began to cry unmercifully -- Mom swept her into her arms and gave her a giant hug! Mom made the statement to Theresa that she probably gets to see a lot of baby's first steps, but that wasn't true. This was the first time that she had ever seen one of her clients first steps. We all joked that there wasn't a video tape rolling and Theresa prepared herself to leave. Mom put Tahlia on the floor, standing up, and to everyone's disbelief, Tahlia started out, again, on her own and took another three steps. Of course the shouting and crying started all over again.
Needless to say, we still have not caught it on tape, but we soon will.
We all cried a little and are so happy. Thank you for the prayers and positive thoughts you send -- we know it is helping our little girl.
Today was a big day for Tahlia -- she took her first steps. Even while sick, she was able to step out on her own and astound both her mom and her dad.
How it happened:
It was almost 12:00pm and Tahlia was working hard with her physical therapist, Theresa. Dad was there because he stayed home sick today -- he caught Tahlia's cold. We were working on helping Tahlia practice standing by herself, and she was doing quite a good job. One time, while Dad was taping it, she stood on her own for almost 30 seconds. As the moments ticked closer to the end of her session, Theresa was helping Tahlia stand, when all of a sudden, Tahlia took three steps all on her own. Dad started laughing and shouting, Mom shouted "shut up!" You can guess what Tahlia did -- she looked around terrified at all of the people shouting and began to cry unmercifully -- Mom swept her into her arms and gave her a giant hug! Mom made the statement to Theresa that she probably gets to see a lot of baby's first steps, but that wasn't true. This was the first time that she had ever seen one of her clients first steps. We all joked that there wasn't a video tape rolling and Theresa prepared herself to leave. Mom put Tahlia on the floor, standing up, and to everyone's disbelief, Tahlia started out, again, on her own and took another three steps. Of course the shouting and crying started all over again.
Needless to say, we still have not caught it on tape, but we soon will.
We all cried a little and are so happy. Thank you for the prayers and positive thoughts you send -- we know it is helping our little girl.
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