440 - My New Favorite Number

As many might have read from previous blog posts, Sadie has gone through several pairs of hearing aids in her 4.3 years.  If you haven't seen the previous blog posts, let me refresh your memory:

1st Pair: Starkey Pedatric Aid (3 months of use)
2nd Pair: Oticon Safari (1 month of use)
3rd Pair: Widex Baby 440 (2.5 years of use)
4th Pair: Clear Fusion 440 (1 year of use)

We currently have the Clear Fusion 440's and love them, but Widex has a newer aid out called the Dream 440. In order to stay up to date with technology, we are getting the opportunity to try out these new aids.

We started out with getting new ear molds. In case anyone is interested in how this works, here is a short video (ignore my talking in the background!)

Putting the goo (not sure the technical term!) into her ear.

The final result!

The Widex Dream 440 comes in a several colors, so before we ordered the new aids, I showed Sadie all the various color choices online. She made me click through every single one (even the ones I knew she wouldn't like). After much deliberation (not really) she ended up choosing "shocking pink." SHOCKING....I know. HA!

2 weeks after getting her ear molds made Sadie got fitted for her new hearing aids. She was so excited.  At school Sadie's teacher asked if she was getting her new pink hearing aids soon, and Sadie said "No, I am getting my 'Shocking Pink' hearing aids!".

Getting new hearing aids isn't a quick and easy process.  It takes some time to actually set up and "tune" the aids to make sure they are at exactly the right volume levels for her hearing loss. Sadie's audiologist had to hook some cords up to her aids, and then a computer program did....something. I actually have no idea what it did, but it worked!

 All Hooked Up!

Above is a video of what it looks/sounds like.  Sadie is funny because she will walk around the house randomly making the beeping, trill sounds that happens during this process.  

Many people who read this blog have never really heard Sadie talk, so we decided to "interview" her about her new aids.  Her last sentence she is rushing so she slurred a bit, but it is 100% true. She says "I never stop talking!"

Overall, we couldn't be more pleased with her Widex Dream 440's.  We are in week 2 of using them, and Sadie loves them. They sound great, she hears great, and they are pretty darn cute.  I'm already excited to see what the next Widex 440 generation will be!

Halloween 2014

2014 was a fun year for Halloween for Sadie. She really enjoyed going out and trick-or-treating.  As were most 3-8 year old children, Sadie was Elsa for Halloween.

Poor girl. The first wig we bought was too small and the next one was a little big and had a crazy hair style. Oh well, she didn't seem to notice.  We went around our neighborhood (about 15 houses) and that was about all Sadie could handle. Too bad the weather was so crummy!

4 Year's Old!!!

I'm a little late in posting this, so let's pretend it is August 26th, 2014.

I honestly cannot believe that my baby girl is 4 years old.  It feels like just yesterday she was born.  She has had such an incredible journey over these 4 short years, and I am beyond blessed to be her mom.  Here are a few pictures from her school birthday party and her family birthday party.  As with any other toddler girl, Frozen was the theme :)

Birthday Girl!!!

 Celebration of Life at school

 Picking a friend to sit by her at snack time.

 CUPCAKES!

Family Birthday at Waldo Pizza. Someone wasn't happy we were 

going to eat first instead of opening presents.

There's a smile after she got to open a present!

Elsa Cake

Blowing out the candles!

 At home in her new Elsa Costume

She also got a Doc McStuffins Costume!

And Aunt Veronica surprised her with a life size wall cling on of Elsa. 

Go big or go home!

And finally, Sadie singing "Let it Go" (a little shy being on camera so she slurs some of her words).

Sadie Featured on the Widex Blog

A few months ago a PR/Social Media Marketing employee from Widex (the manufacturer of Sadie's hearing aids) discovered Sadie's blog and was inspired by her story.  She asked if I would be interested in sharing Sadie's story on the actual Widex website's blog.  Needless to say, I was thrilled. Part of the purpose of this blog is to get Sadie's story out there and to give encouragement and hope to other families who have kids with hearing loss.

Her story was published last month, here is the link. I hope you enjoy!

http://blog.widex.com/post/94424099968/sara-first-time-with-hearing-aids

Making good on a promise..

From a previous post, you may have read that I bet Sadie an Elsa doll that she wouldn't jump in the pool five times.  Well, she did, and we have been looking for an Elsa doll for the past 2 months. Every time we would go to Target or Walmart we would look for one. And I was on amazon daily looking. I couldn't justify spending 80 bucks to buy one someone was selling on e-bay when I KNEW they would get more in stock if we waited.  Well, the waiting paid off, and I got the best mom of the year award. I FINALLY found an Elsa doll and gave it to Sadie. (Troy tried to video me giving to her, but epically failed and anciently just took 2 pictures..glad it wasn't me who did that!)

So excited!

She finally fell asleep at 10:45, with Elsa still clutched in her hand!

Destin 2014

A couple of weeks ago we made the voyage to Destin, Florida with 3 families. We spent a week in a big house (8 kids and 8 adults...well, I suppose you could call the dads adults...) and had a great time.  We had a private pool and were a hop, skip and a jump away from the beach.  This was Sadie's first time at the beach or seeing the ocean, so it was super exciting.  We ate fresh seafood every night and made great memories with our friends. We did, however, get attacked by mosquitoes (or sand fleas, not sure), and made friends with about a 1000 caterpillars.  That was a little interesting!  The only other rough spots during the trip was when my credit card number got stolen (unless Troy knows someone in the AL State Penitentiary!), and my dear friend's mom unexpectedly passed away :(.  Oh, and BIG lesson learned....do NOT drive 16 hours with an almost 4 year old. That was ROUGH!

We spent a few mornings at the beach, followed by afternoons at our pool.  With Sadie being in the water so much and without her aids, I definitely started to think about waterproof hearing aids.  For those of you that might wonder, Sadie CAN hear some without her aids, but you have to talk LOUD and close to her ear. Trust me when I say I was very tired of shouting during that trip (as I am sure were the other adults and kids who had to listen to me!).  So when I got home I started researching and talking to our audiologist about water proof hearing aids.  I figured that since we are at the lake so much in the summers, these surely wouldn't be a waste.  Unfortunately, there is really only one truly waterproof hearing aid out on the market, the Siemens Aquarius.  It is quite pricey...and it is only for moderate-severe hearing loss.  Sadie would be on the very end of the range of eligibility.  If her hearing loss got worse, they wouldn't work for her.  But on the flip side, these would not be her primary aid, only for when she was swimming.  So..even if her hearing got worse, she would still get SOME gain out of them, it just wouldn't be perfect sound.  So I am torn.  I will probably be deciding later this year (since summer is almost over) whether or not we will decide to purchase a pair.  If anyone reading this blog has any information or experience with the Siemens Aquarius, I would LOVE to hear about it!

Now, on to the pictures!

After dinner on the way down to Destin

Our home for a week

Our private pool

Sadie loving the beach

She couldn't get enough of the sand

Neither could troy. He was proud of the hole he dug

Night stroll on the beach

 Adult picture

The whole crew!

 At Fudpuckers restaurant on the 1 rainy day we had

 Feed the baby alligators

 Beach Buddies!

 Catching a jellyfish and harassing it

 This is what a day at the beach and no nap looks like (this was 5:00 pm)

 The kids, er men

 The ladies

The kids!

Sadie jumping in!

The Jokes on Me

During the summer months our family tries to spend as much time at the lake as possible. This summer's goal is for Sadie to become more comfortable jumping in the water and actually attempting to swim. Right now she is just very content playing on the steps of the pool. I really want her to be completely comfortable in the water.  So, over Memorial Day weekend, while playing at the pool, I told Sadie that I would buy her a Frozen Elsa doll if she jumped in the water 5 times by herself.  I knew this was a safe bet. She was very excited at first, but then when she stood at the side of the pool, she got scared and would not do it.

A couple of weekends later, Troy spent some time with Sadie actually practicing swimming.  All of a sudden, he talked her into jumping into the pool!  When she came up for air, she had this stunned look on her face, and I was just sure she was going to start bawling.  But no, she looked at me, and said, "If I jump in 4 more times, I get an Elsa doll!!!"  So that is exactly what she did!  Apparently my bet was not so safe.  And to top it off, Elsa dolls are hard to come by and are selling for 50+ bucks on Ebay. Doh!

So, I had to have a little conversation with Sadie about the concept of supply and demand.  So while she was a little upset, she is happy knowing we will check the stores each week and once an Elsa doll is in the store (for $15, not $50), we will buy her one.  I am thrilled that she jumped in, more than once, and now we just need to remind her that she has done it before and that she liked it.  She is still a little hesitant when I ask her to jump in, but hopefully by the end of the summer, she is jumping in comfortably and starting to swim more!

Here is a little video I got of her jumping in (it was her 2nd or 3rd time).  Ignore my face at the end, I was using the ipad.

During this trip to the lake, we also celebrated Father's Day.  We enjoyed a great, sunny day at the lake, and then a nice dinner afterwards.  Happy Father's Day to Troy, Troy's dad Ron, and my dad!

 Sadie driving the boat with dad

 3 generations of Lovins!

 My 2 loves!

 Pretty backdrop at dinner.

Grandma Karen and Sadie

Fancy Nancy

I have been reading the Fancy Nancy books (by Jane O'Connor) to Sadie since she was probably 2 years old. She absolutely loves them, and I love that she is learning big words! If you have never read a Fancy Nancy book, you should definitely check them out.

Fancy Nancy came to our local library one night and read a story, and then afterwards everyone got to dress up in Fancy costumes.  This was a dream event for Sadie!

 Fancy Nancy and all her costumes!

 Costume # 1

 Posing with Nancy!

 Costume #2

 Posing alone.

 Posing with Nancy...again!

 Costume #3 (mom's fav!)

Posing with Fancy Nancy....yet again!

1st Roller Skating Party & Easter Sunday

Sadie got invited to her first Roller Skating Birthday party the Saturday prior to Easter. She tried on the "rental" skates and HATED them. I thought we might end up sitting at the birthday party watching everyone else skate the entire time.  Luckily, Lil D (the mom of Lucas whose birthday it was) brought some princess, adjustable roller skates that fit on over your shoes.  Sadie immediately loved them and wanted to try them out.  She actually did really good once we got her up and going!

 Not a fan of these skates!

I LOVE these skates though!

The next day we celebrated Easter by going to church and helping out in the 4 year old room (we attended service Friday night).  Afterwards we went over to my aunt's house for lunch and an Easter egg hunt!  Sadie even got a surprise visit from the Easter Bunny!

 Being silly opening my Easter basket.

Opening my Easter basket. Ignore my gibberish. I get nervous on camera!

 Dressed in my Easter Best!

The actual EASTER BUNNY?!?

Seeing the Easter bunny. Pardon mom's horrible filming in the beginning. It does get better!