A Lifetime of Love

Teagan is 7 months old today! I can’t believe how fast the time passed since her birth, especially in the last 2 months since she’s been receiving Early Intervention services. She has made such great progress with the help of her Early Interventionist (EI) and physical therapist (PT). In fact, this past Sunday, Teagan finally began rolling over independently! T.G. was sick so I kept her home from church Sunday night. I had her in the bathtub, trying to bring her fever down a bit. I had Teagan playing on the carpet right outside the bathroom door. I had placed her on her back and put some toys just out of her grasp, reachable only when she rolled onto her side. I was washing T.G. and periodically checking on Teagan. I heard Teagan begin to fuss, and when I turned around to check on her, she had rolled onto her belly! I was very excited! She rolled 2 more times before I actually witnessed her rolling, and then she did it again yesterday for her EI. I can’t wait to show her PT her new ski...

Hi there! Remember me? I'm still here, struggling to get all my "paperwork" finished by tomorrow, Wednesday at the latest. Plus, it's Spring Break, and someone has at least one appointment every day. Today it was my turn. Fun. My sis and Kaylee are coming tomorrow. They were supposed to arrive last weekend but I had too much schoolwork to do. I still do. I wrote 2 assignments and submitted them. They were all wrong. I misunderstood the assignment. I had to re-write most of it. 19 pages and countless hours wasted over 1 simple word that was omitted from the directions. What word, you ask? Lesson plans that include completed assessments. I submitted my lesson plans and left out the data. I still have 2 more assignments to finish before Thursday. I also have to teach 1 lesson next Monday for my final observation. After that, I'll be DONE! Graduation is in 26 days. PRAISE THE LORD!!!!!!!!!

The PT evaluation is complete; I am just waiting to go over the “official” results with Kathy (the PT) and Crystal (EI) on Thursday. Unofficially, Kathy said that Teagan has a 2-3 month delay, which doesn’t seem so bad until you consider she is just now 6 months old. It means she functions as a 3-4 month old baby- not good! It sort of took me by surprise and I really can’t help but blame myself, mostly for my lack of unavailability to “play” with her like I did with the others. On the bright side, at least I put my pride aside and was able to get her the help that she needs, and just since Friday’s meeting with Kathy, I have already seen some progress. Teagan has learned that she can roll from her side to her back by using her arm for momentum. It may seem like a small feat, but it’s a step closer to rolling over. Also, she has been grabbing her feet more, and she enjoys playing “Peek-a-Boo” and me singing the “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and “Pat-a-Cake” using her legs. I had her sitting for a...

Wow~ it’s been a long time since I’ve posted. I had intentions to update more frequently but, simply put, other obligations take precedence over this blog. The point of this entry- Teagan. As you may recall, I was trying to get Teagan into BabyNet. Teagan qualified to receive services through BabyNet. An intake nurse came to our house, evaluated and scored her according to her age and ability, and informed me the next day that she qualified. We were assigned an Early Interventionist (EI), and last Friday Crystal called (she will be Teagan’s EI). At this point Teagan’s development is not terribly behind those of same-age babies, but there is enough of a lag to warrant services. Two days ago Crystal came over to meet us. She and I, along with Teagan, met and discussed some goals. The goals were then written into an Individualized Family Services Plan (IFSP), which is part of the special education law that covers children ages birth to 3. With my experience in the school district, I deal...

I need to update my blog about many things, but school is taking precedence at the moment. I will be back sometime, although I am headed to a ladie's retreat with my church at the Wilds this weekend for some much needed time alone with the Lord. The update might not be until next week. Take care until then. . .

I am so mentally and physically exhausted I cannot even begin to describe it. I have so many demands placed on me this semester that it is more taxing than anticipated. I wish my family and I could take a vacation and just get away. Alone. Away from school. Away from the house. Away from the chaos that seems to be never-ending. I think part of my frustration is that I am almost half way through the semester but I do not get a break like I normally would. I observe spring break this year at the same time as the school district. Good in that I will be home when my kids are home, but bad because I am finished with the semester one week later. Ugh. 6 more weeks to go until I get a break! I feel like the groundhog who just saw his shadow! I am being observed a few times over the next 2 weeks. I hate being observed, particularly because this is my "mid-term evaluation" and I am graded, but I'll get through it. It just makes for more stress because I have to make sure my lesson ...

I entered a contest to win a free package of Pull-Ups. Now, it's sort of ironic because I've been meaning to share some potty training *news* for a while but I simply haven't had the time. But, here it is in all it's glory. Ta has been potty-trained for almost 2 years. He potty-trained himself pretty much because he refused to wear diapers. Considering he had just recently turned 2, I was shocked, especially because Th was over 3 before he was ready to potty-train. However, with Ta, he was only potty-trained to stay dry, and only recently (in the last 5 months) to stay dry during nap time. Once Teagan was born, I was determined to stop the insanity. I had 3 kids in diapers (granted Ta only wore them during sleep times, but still)! Once he was able to stay dry during nap time, I began to work on getting him to poop on the potty. He has always pooped once he woke from his nap; his schedule, not mine. So, even though he was able to wear underwear for his nap, once he awok...