December News

Sydney is loving the change in weather. Miss Sandy tells us that she usually has to be coaxed inside after playing in the snow. One day she was out there for an hour and a half!!!! She does not take after her mother there. Miss Amber tells me that when they walk kids to the bus stop she is the slowest one b/c she is trekking through the snow rather than walking on the shoveled sidewalk. We have yet to build a snowman of our own at home (daddy gets home after dark) but that is definitely on our to-do list. She is also in awe of all of the Christmas decorations. Daddy put a ton of lights on the house as well as some deer and trees on the front lawn. She loves to turn the lights on and off herself and she always makes sure to say goodbye to the deer when we leave for daycare or go to bed. We just put the tree up last night and she "helped" put the lights on. We still have to get to the ornaments tonight. She must have wanted to help mommy get lights on the top of the tree b/c while I was on a chair trying to reach the top Sydney decided to climb on top of the kitchen table. I turned around when she said, "Reach mommy, reach." What a stinker. Speaking of stinker . . . . we have been having a lot of issues with her actions towards Easton lately. She is becoming very territorial now that Easton can get wherever he wants. She constantly tells him "no" which I can deal with, but she has been pushing and hitting him when he does something she doesn't like (like breathe). She has been in timeout a lot lately b/c of this but it doesn't seem to change her behavior. I'm sure this is going to be a struggle for quite a while.

As for Easton - he had his 9 month check-up yesterday and he is developmentally on track - chunky but healthy. He is crawling faster everyday, can pull himself onto his knees, and can stand while holding onto the couch. He's got 6 teeth now - he decided it would be fun to get 3 all at the same time. He woke up in the middle of the night for a few weeks with them - sometimes he'd be okay crying it out but sometimes it was just easier to give him another bottle, more Tylenol, and put him back to bed. He can be a little naughty during feedings. It seems that he has learned a new game. It's called - I will spit my baby food all over the place whenever I feel like it. The food once reached a distance of 3 feet. He's getting the hang of eating puffs and cheerios. It took a little while for him to not choke on them - must have a small throat :). He is still a very happy boy. So content. I can't wait to see how he reacts to the ornaments on the tree and visiting Santa. I love getting to do all of these "firsts" all over again. As for his torticollis, the doctor has referred us to another specialist at Mary Free Bed. He's concerned that he has not made more progress in 6 months. Dr. Maples (at MFB) will examine him on the 29th to make sure there is nothing structurally wrong with his neck that his keeping him from getting better. I hate to have to wait so long to get some more answers but our doctor said she is worth the wait. She's an expert in torticollis and great to work with. I asked what the maximum time is for a child to have to undergo physical therapy for torticollis and he said he once had a patient who had to do it for 3 years! Not what I wanted to hear but we'd obviously do whatever it took to help Easton. I'll keep you posted on that front as well as his upcoming surgery to remove his cyst.