Word Hopping

A few months ago, Elizabeth seemed to be taking an interest in sight words. She wanted to participate when Matthew and I looked through his sight word flashcards. She was recognizing "Matthew" and "Elizabeth".

So I jumped at the chance to make her a set of sight word cards. Unlike the picture/ word cards that Matthew started with, Elizabeth's word cards do not have pictures. Each is made of 5-1/2-inch x 14-inch white posterboard with huge red letters, patterned after the word cards described in Glen Doman and Janet Doman's book "How to Teach Your Baby to Read." But like the initial word cards I had made for Matthew, I used words that were of high interest to her.

It took me several evenings to make around 60 words and plan which ones to start with. Then I started with our sight words. After a few days, it didn't seem like she was really paying attention to the words. Maybe I took too long making the cards and she lost interest. Maybe she just wasn't ready to learn it. Maybe she was just interested in the idea of it - the "if big brother is doing it, I want to be part of it" thought process.

So I stopped and decided we would try again in a few months. We put the giant word cards away.

Recently, we rediscovered her word cards. But instead of using them as flashcards, we scattered a few on the floor and hopped on them. It became an addictive and fun sequencing game for both of them.

Taking turns, I'd give Matthew a sequence of 3 or 4 words to hop on. Elizabeth received 1 or 2 word sequences. She wasn't really recognizing all the words yet but with some guidance, she was happily hopping on the words like Matthew was. "What big brother can do, I can do too."

Matthew and Elizabeth's To-Do List Today

A few things to do today.

1. Clean up Mommy's chalk graffiti on the back deck using water on brushes and spray bottles.

2. Water the seedlings.

3. Have fun painting.

Little Gardeners

It has become tradition in our family to start a container garden every spring. We usually start planting later in April but it has been unseasonally warm this spring that we started early. The kids enjoyed helping plant some green bean seeds, tomato seeds, and Thai basil.

Matthew didn't stay out the whole time. He doesn't tolerate the heat very well. It was about 85 degrees on our back deck. He'd escape to the cooler 72 degree indoors when it was Elizabeth's turn to plant a seed and then rejoin the planting party when it was his turn again.

It was a nice relaxing day today after all the excitement (good and bad) at the circus yesterday.

He Really Loves to Dance

He walks on over to the iPod stereo and pushes the "on" button. The radio station is preset to one of the local ones with few commercials and generally (relatively) better music (no explicit versions). Whatever is on, it's usually music with a good dancing beat and Matthew is rockin' it! Matthew LOVES dancing and it seems like he'll dance for as long as I let him.

Almost all literature I've read about individuals with Down syndrome include "love for music". Maybe it's true for all, maybe just the majority - I don't know. But I definitely think it's in his genes because I love dancing too (and so does Elizabeth).



Related post:
Matthew Likes Jazz

Waitress Mommy

Grover is one of my favorite characters on Sesame Street. (I actually like him more than Elmo.)

If you grew up watching Sesame Street, you may remember Grover, the cute and loveable furry waiter, which was one of his many roles. The app called "Grover's Number Special", now on the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, brings him to life in this interactive game. Matthew is still learning to play this game. Tilt the device one way or the other to move the tray and catch and count the ingredients for the special of the day.

One evening, Elizabeth and Matthew were seated at their little table pretending to eat play food. I decided to bring "Grover's Number Special" to life and surprise my unsuspecting customers. I offered to bring food to their table and clumsily set the food down so it would land on the floor. Elizabeth was shocked at the mess I was making and Matthew thought it was funny.

Here's a short video of the app and my attempt at waitressing.

Toy Review Tuesday: Beans, Beans, Beans

Dried beans are proving to be quite a versatile toy at our house, especially since Elizabeth doesn't mouth toys anymore. In addition to putting them in a plastic container for a Homemade Tactile Sensory box (from an earlier toy review) to practice scooping and pouring and to provide sensory input, we are re-discovering the many fun and educational ways to play with beans.

Beans can be used for counting. One-to-one correspondence counting and other early number concepts like "more" or "less" or "few" or "many".

Beans can be used to make sock bean bags, which is something I learned recently from Elizabeth's visit with our local Parents as Teachers group. Elizabeth enjoys fine motor activities. Usually, whatever Elizabeth is doing, Matthew wants to try too (and vice versa). This activity hits many areas: fine motor control and coordination, pincer grasp, sharing and cooperation between siblings, and attention span.

The only materials needed are dried beans and socks. We used Daddy's socks. (He won't realize they're missing anyway - not until he reads this).

After filling the socks, make a knot so the beans don't fall out.

Then fold over to form a bean back sock ball.

Bean bag socks are great for:
- tossing overhand or underhand into laundry baskets (for a wider target) or small containers (for a smaller, more challenging target).
- a quick game of catch.
- balancing on various parts of the body like the head, arm, knee, and so on.

Our bean bag making activity then turned into a pretend cooking game. Matthew was handing Elizabeth pots and pans and plates as she filled them with beans and stirred with the spoon.

We also made egg shakers filling plastic eggs from last Easter with beans and sealing with glue.

Other good fillers for the egg shaker are uncooked rice and small uncooked pasta.

Related post:
Toy Review Tuesday: Homemade Tactile Sensory Box

Post-Orchiopexy and Inguinal Hernia Repair

Bill and I cringe everytime we look at the incisions and stitches but so far, it hasn't been enough to bring on a fainting spell. It just looks like it would hurt to be even moving around. But just a day after his most recent surgical procedure, our little trooper seemed like his usual self. The pediatric urologist was right about how it would be hard to keep Matthew from unallowed activities post-surgery such as climbing, running, and other vigorous activities. From his experience, he observed kids with Down syndrome to bounce back almost instantly. Matthew does have a relatively high tolerance for pain.

It was in October 2010 (last year) at his pediatrician's office when we first learned he might need to have surgery. A visit to a highly recommended pediatric urologist in December confirmed it. We were able to push it off until this summer. We were told that it was important to get it done but not urgent.

July 27, 2011 was the day of surgery - an orchiopexy and inguinal hernia repair (also closing the inguinal canal to prevent a potentially bigger problem down the road). On the same day last year, Matthew had a sedated ABR (hearing test). In October 2010, he had a tonsillectomy, adenoidectomy, and his second set of ear tubes. We hope he won't need more surgical procedures or other procedures that require anesthesia for a l-o-n-g time.

We hid all the riding toys in the unfinished side of our basement. We encouraged him to sit and listen to music, play on his vReader, mobigo, and on my iPhone. We encouraged drawing, play-doh, and other fine motor activities. But as hard as we tried, it seemed that he couldn't bear to miss a day of rough-housing with his little sister and annoying the cat - climbing up and down the living room chairs, in and out of the ball pool, running after the cat, and tickling Elizabeth.

The Day of Surgery
Matthew and I were at the hospital by 6:30am. Bill and Elizabeth stayed home. Surgery was at 8:30am. He was out of surgery by 9:45am. While recovering in the hospital, a few hours after surgery, he was in good spirits as long as I offered him a bottomless supply of apple juice and graham crackers. We were discharged at 1:45pm on the same day.

The caudal block, which is a regional anesthesia injected into the end of the spinal canal and administered in addition to general anesthesia, proved to be a very effective pain reliever for Matthew. He didn't need the tylenol with codeine until 8pm that evening.

Step Back in Potty Training
Potty training has taken a back seat and we have him in pull-ups all day instead of big boy underwear. We also figured that the pull-up would help keep the lower incision site dry. The discomfort in *that* area is making him go in the toilet more challenging than it was as he fusses more about using the toilet than he used to. Despite the resistance, he still has many successes at holding and keeping his pull-up dry. However, he finds it more comfortable to poop in the pull-up. We'll get back into it when the incisions have healed and the bruising is gone.

Enjoying the Ride

Some days we just have to sit back and try to relax. Let someone else take control and steer us in a direction, within reason, that we might not have taken otherwise. Some days, it's worth learning to appreciate the slower pace or little bumps along the way and enjoy the ride.

Parenthood is about raising and celebrating the child you have, not the child you thought you would have. It's about understanding that they are exactly the person they are supposed to be. And that, if you're lucky, they just might be the teacher who turns you into the person you are supposed to be." ~The Water Giver

Monkeys Wrestling on the Bed

After a few minutes of wrestling and rough-housing on our bed with Daddy, Matthew is suddenly more verbal than usual. I think it's an effect of the high dose of FUN. Elizabeth purposely falls back first on the bed, enjoying its plushness, and giggles hysterically. They have a blast hiding under the covers and getting tickled. Besides, it's just the best time ever on the weekends!

Three monkeys wrestling on the bed.
Thankfully, no one has fallen off or bumped their head.
Mama took these photos as she said,
"Oh, be careful wrestling on the bed!"

Bubble Therapy

Bubbles have fascinated Matthew since he was about 9 months old. It wasn't until he was 2-1/2 years old when he could blow bubbles on his own.

It's an enjoyable lip rounding activity. He loves bubbles so much that it is a powerful motivator to get him through non-preferred gross motor activities.



Bubbles also helped him with articulating certain speech sounds. "P" in pop, "B" in bubbles, "M" in more. Teaching him a few 2-word phrases was fun too. He'd say "bye bubbles" as we watched them float up and away and "gig (big) bubble" whenever he blew a big one.



Now he shares his bubble interest with his sister. He never lets her touch the bottle of bubbles. But he's more than happy to let her pop them.






Related post:
Toy Review Tuesday: Bubbles