Happy Valentines Day!

 

 

Moving on Up

So some news on our little rockstar. She is moving to a new class at The Bell Center, called Explore Everyday. Here is the description off their website:

Explore Everyday

Toddlers in Explore Every Day participate in center-based activities that are designed to promote independence in a structured therapeutic environment. A team of therapists lead children, and their typically developing “friends” through preschool routines and activities. Activities are modified accordingly to provide opportunities for children to work on individual therapeutic goals while becoming more independent in a preschool environment.

One of the main differences between Explore Everyday and her current, All About Me, class, is she will no longer have a one-on-one volunteer helping her. As it states above, this new class is geared towards preparing the children for preschool. She will also only be attending this class 2 days a week, instead of the 4 days a week for All About Me. (Definitely gonna help the gas budget.)

I am both excited and a little sad about this change. I'm obviously excited because it shows how much progress Delilah has made since she first started The Bell Center, last February (if I remember correctly). She just isn't a baby anymore, she is a little girl. (Small tear.) This is also a great opportunity for her to build her speech skills. She will now be surrounded by peers who will have similar communication skills and who will help her build hers. We will miss her friends and fellow mom's in her current class. Luckily, we will still see a few during Kindermusik, and hopefully we will see the others in passing.

The only downside to the new class...the time. 8:15 a.m. Birmingham Drivers: Keep a watchful eye out for the Zombie Mom while commuting on Wed and Fri mornings. With John's current work schedule of swing shift, sleep deprivation may roar its ugly head.

This month also begins the process of transitioning out of Early Intervention programs and into the school system (should she qualify). We have our first Transition Planning Meeting on the 13th. Basically, we go sign a bunch of paperwork and set up appointments for her evaluations with therapists. The real fun doesn't start until the evaluations are completed and we sit down to discuss the results. Don't worry...I plan to keep you all up to date as it happens.

One last thing...I shared this video on Facebook, but though all you non-facebookers might enjoy it as well. My favorite part is when she sings "hey, hey, hey". So stinkin adorable! Enjoy!

January in Review

I cannot believe January is almost over. Where is this year going? It's been relatively busy around the Unfried household. We have been getting back into our routines. John's work schedule has thrown us off a bit. Swing shift is really messing with our sleep, but it is nice to have him home in the mornings. 

I have officially submitted my application to the University of Alabama. All my transcripts have been ordered and Financial Aid paperwork has been completed. Now to just wait, and hope, that everything goes smoothly. I am hoping to be enrolled in distance learning classes by summer term, which begins in May.

I want to point out that I am still an Auburn fan. Becoming an Alabama student will not change that. I choose Alabama because they have the degree in Food and Nutrition, which I can complete online, that will set me up for becoming a Registered Dietician. If Auburn offered the same opportunity, I would have jumped on it in a heartbeat.

Enough about me. Let's talk about the star of the show. Delilah has been hilarious lately. She copies everything we say and do. She recently (more like a few weeks ago) learned the art of the 'knuckle bump'. She was taught this fun way of saying hello by some very good friends of ours. Now she is constantly coming up to us to 'bumb' hello. So adorable!

She is also building her vocabulary. Girls got a ton of words these days. What's fun is to hear her learn to put them together in 2-3 word phrases.  The most common phrase in this house these days is "I Dora On". The moment she wakes up in the morning she is screaming this through her door. Mommy and Daddy are getting very tired of Dora.

I have finally started to work on her next scrapbook. I'm only 7 months behind:) Hopefully this new creative burst I have can get some much needed layouts done. Here are the two I have done in the last few days.

One thing I have realized while working on these pages...I have been really bad about taking photos lately. There are barely any in my January file. Time to start picking up the camera again. Hope everyone has a wonderful week.

Happy New Year

The Unfried family rang in the new year low key this year, with Nana (my Momma) and Janet. It is always nice to have family in town, especially when they spoil my beautiful girl. We spent the weekend doing a little shopping and eating some good food. I am shocked to say we did manage to stay awake (all except D) until Midnight on New Years Eve, mostly due to playing games on our iPads or computers. 

Delilah was her adorable self, for the most part. Yesterday, while browsing the outlet mall, we experienced her first, true meltdown. Little girl was not happy. At all! It seemed everything was making her mad. It wasn't until after we had been home a while that we figured out the reason. Delilah had a fever and wasn't feeling well. We think it may be some teeth coming in. I should have known something was up when I saw this:

And this:

Delilah NEVER falls asleep on people, no matter how tired she is. She will always continue playing or talking. This only happens when a fever is involved. Luckily, a little medicine and she bounced back. This morning there were no signs of a fever.

Now for some New Year Resolutions:

1. Take more pictures of our growing girl. I can't believe how few I have taken in the past few months. I've been such a slacker and her 3 year scrapbook is going to be short if I don't get in it. 

2. Speaking I'd scrapbook, catch up and keep up with her scrapbook as the year progresses. I haven't done a single page for this third year, and it is half way through. Better get on it. 

3. Be more patient. I seriously lack in patience, but I am trying to work on it. 

4. Be more frugal. Not by clipping coupons but by using what I have or making things from scratch. Did you know that you can make your own laundry detergent? Not only can it work better but it is much, much cheaper. 

5. Go back to school. This is something I am eagerly working toward. I have done some serious thinking and finally decided the degree/career I want to work for. I want to be a Nutritionist/Dietician, a career choice directly related to Delilah's diagnosis of Prader-Willi Syndrome. I have also done my research and found that the University of Alabama offers this degree program via distance learning, which is essential considering Johns many TDY's with the military. At this time, there are a few obsticals in my way, which we are working on, but I have faith that I will be back in school at some point this year. 

I hope that everyone had a great New Years Eve and an even better New Year. Here's hoping 2012 brings us everything we are hoping for or need. 

Organizing and Art

This week I have been focusing on re-organizing all of Delilah's "stuff". In her two short years, she has managed to collect quite a bit of stuff. With the new year approaching, it's the perfect time to cycle out the old for the new. It has taken me two and a half days, but I have finally managed to organize little girls room. Not only is it organized, but I also managed to move all her toys to her room. I know this doesn't mean she will keep the toys in her room, but at least I can re-claim the rest of the house (mainly the living room). 

I was pleasantly surprised to find that she keeps her room much cleaner now that it is organized. I was afraid she would dump all the new bins of toys all over the place, like she does her dresser drawers. So far, she has kept it pretty neat and returns blocks to the correct bin. This is not to say she keeps a spotless room. Little girls kitchen accessories are all over the place. 

I don't have any pictures of her room yet, but I'll take some soon. However, I do have a few of her painting on her new easel today. She really enjoyed herself. I plan to make a corner of the loft into her little art studio. Still thinking through some of the elements I want to add, like a place to hang her art work. 

On a side note, you may also notice that I redesigned the blog. New year, new blog design. I've finally figured out a way to make installing these changes much easier, so you may see her blog design change a lot. It's just so much fun. 

Hope you all enjoy the rest of your week. I will be getting ready for my Momma and Janet's visit this weekend.  Woohoo!

Merry Christmas

Christmas morning is so much more fun with a toddler. Her excitement is contagious. I could go on and on about how amazing this morning was, but I will let the photos do all the talking. Enjoy!

***Pictures are in black and white due to the unbearable lighting in my house, which lead me to use the flash.***

Maybe Next Time

Potty training was a bust. Delilah wasn't ready after all. During the middle of the second day things just got ugly. Not only were there accidents there were also huge meltdowns when I would sit her on the potty. It became a battle, one I'm not going to have. Potty training needs to be a positive experience, not something that scares her off. Back in diapers she went. 

At first, I was a little conflicted on how I feel about this. Did I stop too soon? Could I have done more? After dissecting everything in my mind, I came to the conclusion that Delilah just isn't ready for this step. The accidents never phased her. Pee or poop, she was content to continue playing without letting me know. She also viewed the potty as a toy chair. Nothing more than a place to sit, when she felt like it. 

One thing I learned from this experience is my daughter has absolutely no cues to when she is peeing or pooping. Zero! Makes it hard to set her on the potty in time without those. We definitely will have to wait for those cues before we start potty training again. It will happen one day. Today is just not the day.