EI evaluation and general update

Arianna had her two year evaluation with Early Intervention a few weeks ago.

Last week her nutritionist came to the house to check on her progress and her EI caseworker accompanied. She's doing well eating - she eats alot. But she didn't gain so much as an ounce in nearly a month. I was very disappointed. She's still hovering about 10% for her actual age - which I shouldn't be disappointed in, but I am. She's still 22 lbs. exactly. But she's eating, so I'm happy. She has an appointment with her pediatrician next week so we'll see if her height has jumped up considerably or not - I hope thats the reason in the lack of weight gain.

The disappointing part of the visit is that Arianna is not being released by EI - she tested very badly in gross motor, which has always been her weak area. She tested at her actual age level in every area and advanced in expressive communication (she was very social that day). She's supposadly at a 15 month level for gross motor - which was worse than I thought. They had her go upstairs and she did very badly. So they're not releasing her but I hope they do soon. They'll re-evaluate her in 3 months to see if she's progressing

So to help that we're taking Arianna to gymnastics class, starting tomorrow. I debated taking her to Gymboree or Little Gym but those classes were very expensive ($330!) and concentrated on many different parts of development where I just want to concentrate on gross motor development. The gymnasium is very close to her daycare and less than half the cost of the other services! We'll probably meet up for dinner and the two of us will take her over to the gym for her class. At her age they require parental involvement - problem being that I can't lift anything over 20 lbs. for the remainder of this pregnancy - so I'm going to the first class to see how things run and what will be required of me and if I can handle it Shawn won't need to come - but I have a feeling it'll require lifting.

The classes sound very well structured:

Little Gems emphasizes a Fun-Learning Environment. Instead of children just sitting and waiting their turn, we set up circuit ( picture an obstacle course in your mind.) The instructor works one on one with you child then the child leads themselves around the rest of the circuit. Not only does this decrease boredom and behavioral problems it also improves upon:

Gross Motor Coordination Attention Listening Skills Memory Development Strengthen Muscles Sense of Accomplishment Memory Retention Agility

Skills

We teach in progression and use many creative, fun movement ideas and themes. They are great teaching aids that the children really enjoy doing. Gross motor coordination is developed through the use of:

Beam Trampoline Bars Tumbling Shapes Slides Tripod
P - Bars Thumper Boards Tunnels Rings Mats

... And So Much More!

Song Activities

Another highlight of our program is the use of music activities. This aids in improving eye-hand coordination, better listening skill and rhythm not to mention its fun. For song activities we make use of:

Bean Bags Rackets Balls Balloons
Ribbons Hula Hoops Lummi Sticks

... The list goes on and on...

I think it'll be great for Arianna. A few weeks ago we took her to the mall (so we could finish our clothes shopping for the cruise - next weekend came so fast!) and they have a little indoor play area for toddlers. It was the weekend so the place was absolutely PACKED with kids - easily 30 kids in this little area. Shawn walked around with her helping her play with everything and even though she didn't play like the other kids (she didn't climb on anything or slide down the slide) she wasn't intimidated, which is one less obstacle to overcome. So I hope being around other kids jumping on mats and tumbling with help her.

A few weeks ago we went to the birthday party of one of our friends little boys. It was held at a kids only indoor playground (very neat!). It had lots of toys to climb on, slides and push toys. A few weeks ago her daycare teacher told me she's trying to do girly things with Arianna since she's the only girl in her care - she tried playing with ponies etc. Arianna wanted NOTHING to do with girly stuff, she wanted to play with the snakes and trains the boys were playing with. She hasn't had alot of exposure to gender specific stuff (I actually have tried to discourage it) so it doesn't surprise me - but at this birthday party I thought I would capture a moment of 'girly-ness'. She had walked up to a doll carriage that had a baby doll in it and started to pick up the doll! I was so happy - camera ready and all. Only to find she was lifting up the doll to grab the matchbox car under her dress... oh well, so much for that!

Arianna's second birthday party is this weekend. Due to our upcoming trip and my new restrictions we decided to not have it at our home. We wanted her to play with friends and our house is still in a minor state of construction (that will now wait until the baby is born) and I don't want to worry about a clean house, frankly. So we've rented the My Gym near my parents house - they have a whole program set up for birthday parties. We're bringing the party to them basically. My parents, very graciously, purchased the cake from an EXCELLENT bakery nearby. I made up some really cute goodie bags for the 10 or so kids that will be coming and then we invited family. The best part is that it's only 2 hours so I don't have to worry about entertaining for too long.

I still can't believe 2 years is already gone. Here at my desk at work I have a wall dedicated to her pictures. I have copies of photos from 3 months to 18 months and I can't believe how big she's gotten. She's still my peanut but she's come so far. She amazes me every day!