Milestones

It is pathetic at how delayed I have been in updating this blog.  I need to step it up as I would love to keep this blog up to date so I can look back at all of Sadie's milestones.  So, here is a little bit of what has been going on with Miss Rose.

Sadie's therapist recently did her quarterly "test" on Sadie (which is really just a checklist of all the things she is doing receptively and orally).  She ranked in the 36 month range :)  We are estimating that she has around 400-500 words, as she repeats EVERYTHING you say.  Now, all of these words do not sound exactly perfect, but most 20 month olds don't speak perfectly clearly either.  No matter what, we are thrilled by her progress.

Sadie knows all of her colors, can count to 10, and can say most of the alphabet.  Sometimes she gets really excited when she says it (more like shouts it) and forgets a few letters.  She totally surprised me last night as we were driving home, though.  We passed the Honda Dealership and points and says "H" (as that is Honda's logo).  I have never pointed that out to her before, so I thought that was pretty cool! 

Sadie also loves to go around shouting "Happy Birthday To You."  It is pretty funny when she just randomly pulls that out.  Sadie is typically saying 3 word phrases, but has gotten up to 5 (Go home see Daddy/Louie).   

Sadie recently had the opportunity to be on video for Widex (the manufacturer of her hearing aids).  They wanted me to share my story of Sadie's hearing loss, as well as film Sadie and listen to her speak/play.  In addition, they had our fabulous audiologist on video talking about the Widex hearing aids from her perspective.  I had to laugh, because in true Sadie fashion, she made quite the statement.  I was telling my story of Sadie's hearing loss and got to the point where I was discussing how her language is developing so well and Sadie decides to shout out "Stinky Poo Poo's!"  I was like, really child...of all the words/phrases you know, that is what you choose to shout out on video?  Of course I was like, "uh, you can edit that out, right?" :)  I love that kid!  We are excited because Widex is hoping to follow Sadie's progress and make a case study out of her. I would love for her to be a success story for Widex. 

Below are a few random pictures of Sadie over the past month.

Helping Dad mow the lawn!

Princess Sadie (really just another version of a hat)

I have a thing for crowns :)

Princess Sadie siting on her throne.

Rare smile caught on camera!

Easter

Sadie had a great Easter this year.  It started off by us going to church.  Church was supposed  to have childcare available for the 8:00 service, but when they got there, they did not.  Since we were already there, we decided we would try and have Sadie hang out with us during the sermon.  She did great....at first.  About 1/4 of the way into the sermon the pastor says "and there was a pregnant pausse..." (the whole church is silent) and then Sadie decideds to shout "Yeeeeoooohhhhh" at the top of her lungs.  Go figure...we were  that family :)  So from that point on, Troy and took turns taking Sadie out and walking around with her until church was over.  Afterwards, Troy hid some eggs that Sadie had decorated during therapy earlier in the week.  Below is the video of her finding eggs.  I have to laugh at the end because she finds a hard boiled egg whose shell had partially come off. She picks it up and says "squishy!."  You will see below, it is pretty funny. (PS-sorry for the bounciness of the video...Troy isn't the best videographer).

Sadie & Rylan at the Park

I have been a complete slacker lately and apologize for not posting.  My mom and her friend took Sadie and her friend's grandson Rylan to the park on Monday for a picnic.  They had a great time.

 Race ya Rylan!

 Wood chips are the best!

 Off I go!

 Look mom, no feet!

My first kiss.  Look out daddy!

Sadie is talking up a storm these days.  She repeats EVERYTHING you say.  I was clearing my throat in the car (allergies) and all of a sudden I hear her clearing her throat in the back seat.  I said, well you are just a little repeater.  And she says "repeat."  I LOVE every minute of it.  She even surprised me the other day by counting to ten all by herself!  She also knows all of her colors.  Smart little girl! 

I have a video of her hunting Easter eggs, I just need to remember to download it.  Hopefully by this weekend!

"Outshide"

Sadie has been LOVING this warm weather.  From the time she wakes up until the time she goes to bed, she is saying "outshide."  She loves to run around in the yard and also to "sing" (swing).  I don't mind being outside, but 7:30 am is a bit early for me to start my day outdoors.  If I tell her "no", she gets this sad face and starts crying "outshide."  It is pretty pathetic.  Usually I can convince her to eat breakfast before we head outdoors.  Oh, and she always wants Louie out there with her.  She loves running around chasing him and shouting "Louie" and "No potty!"  I told her it was okay for Louie to potty outside, but she didn't seem to care.  She just likes being the "older sister" and yelling at him.  Here are a few pictures of the past couple of weekends that Sadie has been out and about.

 Ah, this is the life.  Got my drink, got my shades, and got my swing.

 I like swinging so much I fell asleep.

 Taking a break from the swings and getting ready to head down the slide. 

 Back to the swings.  Being off them for 3 minutes to go down the slide was just too long.

And of course, we can't forget Louie!

Oh, and this picture is just cute :)

Mom finally caught me smiling on camera.  Only took 30 tries!



Craziness!!

The past two days have been extremely crazy around the Lovins house.  Troy left for Qatar for 6 days, so my fantastic mom is staying with me to help with Sadie and the puppy.  There is no way I could watch both by myself.  Friday my dad was admitted to the ER because he was sick and dizzy.  His blood pressure was extremely low.  They kept him overnight and discovered that he has an ulcer.  Luckily they can think they can treat it with medicine.  Hopefully he can come home soon too!
Saturday we got Sadie's 18 month pictures taken.  She did "okay."  She didn't really want to stand still and pose or smile.  Finally, the fabulous Wendy got out the bubbles and we got lots of smiles.  I can't wait to see the pictures. 

Later Louie, Sadie, Mom and I spent some time outside playing since the weather wasn't too shabby.  Here are a few pictures!

 Later that night I tried to manage both Sadie and Louie on my lap at once. Talk about two squirmy animals!

After realizing two on my lap wasn't going to happen, I finally decided to give Louie a tiny bit of a dog bone to entertain him. Sadie kept saying "bone"...it was cute. Then she got up, pointed to her high chair and said "eat." She hadn't eaten much for dinner, so I figured she was hungry. I got her up in her chair and said "what do you want to eat" and she said "bone!"  I was like, uh, honey, those are only for Louie.... how about strawberries, those are good too :) Love that kid! 

Sunday Sadie turns 18 months old! I can't believe how big she is getting.  And her vocabulary is exploding. I can't even keep track of how many words she has. She pretty much just repeats everything you say.  A few of my favorites are "Hey Ya'll," "Cheerio," and "Louie" (which sounds like ooo-ee).  I was telling Louie the other night to "get down" (he was trying to jump into the dishwasher). He kept persisting and so I said "Louie, what did I say?" and Sadie says "Down!"  Hey, at least someone was listening to me!

Outcomes of Children with Hearing Loss Part 2

Last month we traveled back to KU Med to meet with the fantastic folks who work for the Boystown Study.  Sadie participated in some activities and was evaluated by the staff.  We received her results in the mail a few weeks later and were excited to learn that she is still speaking at the same level as children with normal hearing :)  The Outcomes of Children With Hearing Loss has also started sending out a newsletter to keep the parents up to date on the project.  The first newsletter got sent out today and guess whose picture was on display?  I must admit it took me a minute to determine FOR SURE if that was Sadie.  Such a bad mom, but to be honest, I haven't looked at pictures of her that young in so long....so cut me some slack! :) 

This past week Sadie's language has really started erupting.  She is saying more and more words and is getting better at putting the ending consonants onto her words.  She surprised me the other day in therapy by saying yellow and purple when asked the color of something.  She has also become the QUEEN DIVA of temper tantrums.  I thought they were bad before, whoa!  And I am sure they will only get worse.  Ah, good times :)

I will try and update the blog next week with more pictures. I have been slacking!

No Pictures, Just Progress

I apologize that I do not have any pictures to post, but I do have a progress update for everyone. 

Today her speech therapist, Stefanie, came over and did a Pre-school Language Scale Test.  This is a test that they do for normal hearing kids.  Here is how Sadie scored:

Receptive Language (what she understands):

Sadie’s Score: 150

Age Equivalent: 2 years, 11 months

Expressive Language (what she says):

Sadie’s Score: 133

Age Equivalent: 2 years 1 month

Total Language

Sadie’s Score: 145

Age Equivalent: 2 years 6 months

Standard Score of 85-115 is normal range

Sadie is 99^th percentile!!!!!!!! 

I could not be more thrilled and am so thankful to have grandparents, family, friends, and therapists who are all involved with Sadie's life and have helped her to get where she is at.  She couldn't do it without them. 

Next up - Calculus! :)