Grace's journey

Pals Play Day

Today Grace had fun! Even though there weren't any other kids that she could interact with, she was fine just being on her own. She had a chance to play at the rice table, but sadly, she couldn't keep it out of her mouth so I sent her away! But she didn't care!!



This was the first time I've really seen her pull something from the shelf and play with it for an extended period of time without me prompting her to continue. I loved watching her try to figure out how to get the toys out of there!

Another thing I thoroughly enjoyed watching Grace do is climb the stairs like a pro! I couldn't believe how quick she was! These stairs are about half the size of normal stairs, so it makes sense that she would be so fast :)

Today during snack we showed off how she knows how to use a big girl cup! That means no sippy spout, no nipple, no nothing! Just two handed, open mouthed drinking! And she did great! I didn't even have to have my hands on the cup or anything. The therapists that were there today were extremely surprised. She also worked with her spoon, but I had to help her with that. It's just tough for her to scoop, but she definitely knows how to work the spoon!(Of course I didn't get a picture OR video!!! You'll just have to trust me! She also eats off a plate now too! She's got a super cute pink plate with two love birds on it and hearts)

I got a lot of props today (compliments) about how well I'm doing with Grace. They love that even though she's so young, I'm giving her warnings when necessary, and then following through. "Grace, if you eat the rice, you will be excused from the rice table." She eats the rice. "Ok, it's time to find something else to do." And I move her away. She might not understand at this point, but she's realizing I'm not giving in, so that's good. They also liked that I'm so good at keeping her on a schedule, teaching her sign language, and am just so in tune with her. Props to my college education and childcare background!! (I was 10 classes away from a BA in Liberal Studies, 5 classes away from a Deaf Studies Minor, and have worked in childcare for the past 5 years!)

I love this little girl!! See that orange thing in her hand? It's a rattle, and she LOVES rattles!!! She found this amongst her toys and didn't let it go!
Look at my big girl!! She opened the lid on her own (it wasn't snapped), and was able to get into this position without my help! YES!!!

Doesn't she look so cute with her hat on? She didn't really like it though because the therapist accidentally snapped the neck string under her chin! OUCH! But she got over it enough to wear it for a second for me.
And I really mean she just wore it for a SECOND! There's her orange rattle in her hand! I've also noticed the right hand dominance has gone away a bit, but her left leg still lags behind a little. But I'm giving her time. I think once she starts walking better, she'll be fine.


Amanda