My Little Monkey

Even before he could walk, Eli liked to climb. So I started calling him Monkey. This past week, a light bulb went off in Eli's head. He can reach things with a stool, or better yet, my desk chair. Now he's started pushing my chair around the kitchen to reach everything. He uses his whole body to climb up onto the chair - he lays his stomach onto the chair, pulls his body up, then moves around until he's sitting or standing (it's usually standing).

He's used this newly acquired skill to climb onto our kitchen table,

I was only gone for a minute and came back to this. Eli started it. Tali copied.

climb onto my desk, and, most importantly, reach things on the kitchen counter like tomatoes or toys, clean dishes, or breakable things.

Sadly, there is no way that I can think of to child-proof for this. Unless I remove all of the chairs from our kitchen and we start eating on the floor like the Japanese, I just have to keep my eyes open all the time.


Update: About five minutes after I wrote this, Eli climbed up to my desk, grabbed a blue permanent marker and scribbled on my desk! Luckily, Tali saw it before it was too late (I was doing dishes) and helped me clean it. Watching him like a hawk isn't so easy. Maybe I can lock him in Jackson's crate?

Happy Purim!

Today Tali had a Purim parade at school. Each child in her class was instructed to dress up like a character from the story. Of course, all of the girls (except one) chose to dress as a princess. Depending on when you asked her, Tali was either Vashti or Esther. She couldn't make up her mind.

 

When Eli saw her putting on her crown before we left for school, he insisted on wearing one too. He picked out the ONE crown with writing - it says "Princess." He refused to take it off until the parade was over. It was very funny to see a little boy in a flannel-style shirt and bomber jacket wearing a princess crown.

The parade at school is simply a short walk from one building to another. All of the moms line up with their iPhones to take pictures or video. It's a ridiculous parade but the kids love it. Tali was so excited for it that she talked about it for a week. When she was marching, Tali was so happy to see Eli that she just had to greet him. Eli took that as his cue to join her class on their march into the other building. I'm sure some parents ended up with a picture or two of the back of my head as I chased after Eli. (Sorry!)

Hope your Purim was as eventful as ours!

Ooops...There Go the Pacifiers

So long, pacifiers. You did your job well but it's time to move on.

So by accident, we stopped giving Eli a pacifier yesterday. It was coming soon (two weeks from now, actually), but it wasn't supposed to happen yesterday.

I was at Tali's OT?PT therapy gym when I got a text from Eli's babysitter asking where the pacifiers were. I'd put them all in the steam bag to clean, not realizing there weren't any more in his room. Since she knew I was planning to get rid of it soon, she thought I'd started without telling her. Luckily, he went down for his nap pretty easily. She said he was asking for it, but was mostly okay that he didn't get it. Because of that, H and I decided to go ahead with it and get rid of them for good.

That night was not as fun. He screamed (and I mean screamed) for 45 minutes before finally falling asleep. I learned early the next morning that not only did he not fall asleep with his pacifier, but he was also without his security blanket. He'd thrown it out of the crib in anger during his 45 minute scream. But, he did it. He slept through the night without it.

So we continued. Today the babysitter said he was okay at nap time. Thinking we were through the worst of it, I put him to bed without a peep. But five minutes later it started. This time it was only for 15 minutes and I think he still has his blanket. Tonight, I'm throwing them all in the garbage. It's a bit bittersweet for me. They were a great comfort to him and he's my baby. This is the last time I'll be throwing away pacifiers. Sad.

I'm sorry, Eli. But it's time for them to go. You're growing up (too quickly).

Therapy, Lots of Therapy

Here we go again. It's been two months (and two days) since I last posted. It's always on my mind, but I never seem to have the time. Besides just daily life with two kids, I'm juggling endless amounts of therapy and therapists. It keeps me busy!

Tali and Eli in the ball pit at Tali's sensory gym.

It all started this summer with Eli but has expanded to Tali who now gets twice the amount of services as Eli. Since Eli was not crawling or even standing and his weight was a big concern, I got him evaluated for physical therapy (PT) and nutritional counseling through the county's Early Intervention (EI) program. This program offers services free of charge to children who qualify. The pediatrician was on the fence as to if he would be approved, but he was! Thanks to H's excellent persuasive skills (that law degree comes in handy), Eli was granted physical therapy three times a week for 45 minutes each time. He was also assigned a nutritional evaluation quarterly. Because of his therapist, he learned to crawl, walk and now run. She's wonderful, even if Eli has been protesting lately because it's hard work and he's lazy.

While Eli was initially getting tested for services, the PT noticed Talia's behavior and sent me down a new path with her. After some private occupational therapy (OT), we decided to get her formally tested through the school district in a program called CPSE, which, like EI, is free for children who qualify. This one, however, is funded by the school district instead of the county. At the beginning of the school year, we learned that she qualified for OT, PT and a SEIT to come to the classroom three times a week. Tali has been diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) and is labeled "sensory seeker" (click here for a good explanation of what that means - it describes her perfectly). Her various therapies help her learn to how to take control of her sensory seeking issues, how to focus in school and how to interact with others. In addition to all of her therapies, it was strongly recommended that I keep her stimulated with physical activities every day.

Tali before gymnastics class.

This week, Eli started another therapy - speech. He's 19 (almost 20!) months and still doesn't speak. He's had one visit so far and it went very well. But adding this therapy to my schedule is starting to make my head spin. This is my weekly therapy and activity schedule for the kids:

Monday - Tali's SEIT at the school, Eli physical therapy in the morning, Tali stays late at school for a gym class, Eli speech therapy in the afternoon
Tuesday - Eli play group in the morning, Tali OT at home immediately after school, Tali ballet in the afternoon
Wednesday - Tali's SEIT at the school, Eli physical therapy in the morning, Tali stays late at school for a nature class
Thursday - Tali OT and PT back to back at a therapy gym immediately after school
Friday - Tali's SEIT at the school, Eli speech therapy in the morning, Tali gymnastics immediately after school
Saturday - Tali ice skating (H takes her because this southern girl has only strapped on skates once in her life)

And somewhere in this busy schedule, I need to find time to run errands, take care of the house, grocery shop, cook, clean and pay just a little bit of attention to my kids and my husband.