Mixed feelings

I had a big meeting with the public school district yesterday to decide if she would qualify for their Individualized Education Program or IEP. It's a specialized plan for a child with disabilities in a learning environment. I had mixed feelings about the process since I don't consider Jordan disabled... But I kind of wanted an IEP so I could continue to get assistance in the expenses needed to keep Jordan in occupational and physical therapy.

The school district spent HOURS working on her case. And their conclusion: She's not disabled. To hear them say that is wonderful. I'm proud of all the hard work we've done to make sure Jordan is self-able and confident. She's a take charge kind of girl and we've worked very hard to keep her from falling behind in any type of physical skills. At the same time I'm bummed because her therapy becomes an out-of-pocket expense. Interestingly, the school district said they plan to monitor Jordan to see if she ever needs more analysis and assistance. My guess is that I'll never let her fall behind enough to have that happen.

So I'm in a mixed place... I'm honored to know they consider Jordan so well adjusted and able. They complimented us on our parenting and advocacy. It's just kind of hard knowing all of the resources out there that can help her -- but we can't tap into them because we've worked so hard to get where we are. It's kind of funny. They will only help kids that are behind in skills... And I want to work hard to make sure Jordan never falls behind. Shouldn't our system have that same attitude? Prevention first?

Today I had another really cool moment with Jordan. I was working on dinner when Jordan pulled out her tricycle. I keep it in the house... I figured why not. Anyway... She pulled it out and ASKED for her bike arm. Wow. She's never done that before. But that's the whole point to her prosthetic -- wear it when she needs it. Not only did she want to put on her arm... She wanted to do it. She didn't put it on perfectly... but she did both steps of rolling on the arm gel sleep and clicking her arm on. She's so amazingly independent. She didn't ride her tricycle very long -- She needs her seat moved further back so the bike arm is easier to use. That lack of an elbow really makes this a challenge. But as Jordan proves every second, she'll find a way.

While I was in China...

The first night I slept in Shanghai I left my phone on... Silly me since there's a 14 hour difference. I happened to notice my phone buzzing and decided to answer it. The person on the phone was from a preschool where Jordan was on the waiting list. Apparently there's a chance for her to attend, but we needed to decide within 24 hours.

But I was in China!! So I needed to contact Randy, chat with him and see if he could set up a school visit. He ended up going to visit the school yesterday with Jordan. He liked it a lot and Jordan warmed up to it near the end of their visit. Randy paid the deposit and we have her moving to the new school in two and a half weeks! Wow. That was fast. So I'm mentally grappling with the idea of Jordan attending a new school. I'm excited but also a little sad to leave a school where we've spent so much time. Cameron started there when he was 17 months old! It's been 5 years! Wow. I'm certain Jordan will be fine. I will miss the teachers and some of the kids... even a few parents!

It's big news for us. The move also means Jordan won't perform in her current school's performance of The Nutcracker. I'm a little bummed about that... But it isn't the end of the world. She does have a Winter recital at her other dance school. I'll get cute photos/video of that instead!

I am wrapping up my second full day in China. I've had a chance to video chat with the kids three times - I'm hoping to stay awake long enough for a fourth. I do get tired earlier in this time zone. I'm documenting the trip in photos... Feel free to follow this slideshow if you'd like to see it all. I've done some touristy stuff and today I experienced shopping and debating over the price of some cool things (I even got a "Prada").

School picture 2008

I think they shot the picture a little wide -- notice all the space around her. But Jordan flashed a sweet smile for this year's school picture. I bought the picture CD, but they only gave me this tiny size. Oh well.

Since we got back into town early enough - Jordan and I are going to pick up her new shoe inserts. I bought new shoes for her while we were away that should make it really easy to wear the inserts and have stylish shoes. She has a thing about shoes - so I had to find shoes she'd wear AND fit her inserts. That's not an easy feat for her feet! (I'm slap happy today. Exhaustion is catching up with me)

I took Jordan to school today wearing her hook - I showed her teachers how to take the hook off and change it into the flexible hand. So Jordan's at school with her bouncy hand - we'll see how she does today! She's very proud of her arm and was showing it to all kinds of people at school this morning.

The school year so far

Jordan is starting to warm up to her class... It's funny how she reacted so negatively to her new class when she had one teacher that she's had since April and she's in the same room. The trick: one new teacher and only two of the same classmates. We regressed a ton in the potty training department and she was ANGRY at school.

Luckily she warmed up to the class this week. She was happy at drop off and she was kind to her new teachers.

Today she got to go to her brother's first soccer game. She met new friends who are identical twins (her second set of identical twin friends). She had a great time and even tried to kick around the ball a bit. It was great.

We're gearing up to take the family to the first football game of the season. We're very excited. Our team could be really successful this year!! Go Tigers!

My dancer performs again

Jordan's school holds a summer luau picnic every summer. It's kind of a way to celebrate the end of the year - a lot of kids are about to move on to elementary school and others are about to move into new classrooms. What I like about it is the chance to win a tuition discount in a raffle (didn't win this year) and the kids get to perform for the parents.

Jordan had a blast!

I even set up a play date for Jordan and one of her school friends for next weekend. I haven't really done much of that yet for Jordan so that should be cool. I got to get to know a few parents through Cameron's friendships who I treasure. I look forward to hanging out with new grown ups!!

I have to get more serious about finding the girl her next prosthetic. My physical therapist has tipped me off on a new option. Her contact is out of the office until Monday so we'll see what I can find out. My life is going to get more complicated at work very soon... So I'd love to have this process underway as soon as possible.

Special Mother's Day Gift

Check this out. It may be one of the sweetest things I've gotten from a school project at Jordan's school. I may have to explain what's going on here. This is a piece of fabric to celebrate Mother's Day... On the right side you can see her hand print. On the left side you can see her little arm print! This is super special because none of her other teachers has ever taken part in a class project where they got Jordan's little arm involved. They usually just repeat the right hand... But her new teachers just painted up that little arm and let her go with it.

I love this gift. I have no idea what I'm going to do with it... But I'm certainly never going to get rid of it.

Cold turkey

Yup. The girl had to drop her lamby cold turkey today. It's been one of many reasons for her to be stubborn at school, so obviously we had to stop bringing it to school. But I'm still a little sad. I can handle her crying about it on her way to school. I'm more sad about how this is just another little sign about how my little girl is growing up. She isn't a baby anymore. Just as Jordan says: "I a big girl."

28 Months Old!

Another amazing month of growth, words and INDEPENDENCE.

My goodness, I grow 'em independent. So independent, it's why Jordan got moved into the 2 1/2 and 3 year old classroom. They knew she could hold her own... But unfortunately, her teachers will have a lot of "breaking" to do. Jordan has ruled the roost with her previous teachers. Now she has to listen and follow instructions more. Her class is bigger. The kids are a lot older (a number of the kids are already three years old). Many of the kids are potty trained. It's kind of overwhelming to see her around these kids who seem SO much older. So things are going to change for Miss Boo.

This past month Jordan has turned the "two year old thing" up a very large notch. I build my kids loud and strong. I can't complain about that. She also started to hold her own a little better with her brother. Those things I've never seen before -- little shoves, little taps and annoying brotherly things -- are now being verbalized (or tattled) by Jordan. "Mom! Cameron hurt me!" Her brother isn't getting away with anything anymore.

Her swimming teacher today said Jordan would probably do better in the non-parent involved swimming class where older kids are taught... Since the Mommy or Daddy vs. Jordan experience isn't going very well these days. She is just THAT independent. But we love her. And darn are we proud of her. She's talking, she is trying to do EVERYTHING on her own. She's turning into a strong-willed, confident little person and I couldn't be prouder. (Or more exhausted)

A number of big changes

You can tell that I'm swamped at work when I don't blog as regularly. It's so glaringly obvious.

Well, while I've been swamped at work, Jordan's had some big changes in her world.

First, she transitioned into a new classroom this week. She is now in a room with a majority of kids who turn three in the next month or two. It's kind of strange to see Jordan as the littlest kid after she's been very much in charge in her classrooms for the last 6 months or more. But the change is perfect for her. She's so dang verbal that in the last week, her speaking has improved dramatically because she can really talk to the kids in her new room. PLUS, a lot of these kids know how to use the bathroom. And that means Jordan was immediately motivated. We made some progress in that department - even though I haven't moved forward to an all-out training method just yet. (P*tty training bloggers, please do not leave comments, I have my own system thank you very much)

Jordan also officially grew out of her shoe inserts - it was a painful realization. I had noticed a red spot on the side of Jordan's foot, but it rapidly turned into a blister that bled. Randy noticed it when he dropped her off to school yesterday, so I immediately went on emergency shoe patrol. Before yesterday, Jordan had three pairs of shoes: sneakers, a pair of dressy/casual brown shoes and a pair of black dressy shoes. All three pairs had the insoles pulled out to fit the inserts. Well, without the insoles or shoe inserts, Jordan would NOT wear them. So I ran to Target and bought some new Dora sneakers. I also splurged and bought a pair of princess sandals. I realize Jordan will get new inserts and won't be allowed to wear sandals again. But in the meantime, I wanted to give Jordan the chance to play with a pair of sandals. She LOVES both pairs of shoes. She spent a lot of time at school yesterday and today telling the grown ups about her Dora shoes and how she had princess shoes. (By the way, Jordan's pronunciation of princess sounds like "penciss" and confuses people who think she's saying "pencil")

I'm thinking about really working on living a pants-free lifestyle in the house this weekend to get the real training underway. I'm feeling inspired... Even though I need to read three graduate projects and two graduate project proposals.

Yeah. I'm crazy.

Speaking of crazy, Randy and I were both told we are getting promoted from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor. That's a big honor and it's nice to be recognized for all the hard work we give to our jobs.

Cool!

Look!! Look!! I dropped Jordan off at school during music time. The kids were banging on drumsticks to the beat of the music. The teacher handed Jordan two sticks, so my little girl dropped one of the sticks into her prosthetic hand and started banging onto the stick. I took pictures because it was so cool.

Family time

Jordan got to enjoy a surprise visit from Uncle Barry and Beth yesterday. She was so excited when she saw her Uncle. The coolest thing: She knew who he was before we had to tell her. That's pretty special. By the end of their visit, Jordan was calling him "Beardy" with periodic proper pronunciations. Very cute stuff.

Today Jordan got to hang out with the big kids at a Science Night event put on by Cameron's after school program. It was super cool and Jordan even got to help create slime! Gross, but she really liked stirring. Maybe I'll get her to help me make pancakes or cookies that involve stirring. I think it's that play kitchen of hers that has got her into mixing and creating.

By the way, for those of you who were wondering, Jordan's prosthetic has been back for a week. It seems to be working a bit better... It still has a strange click when the hand opens very wide. But the sensor just seems placed a bit wrong -- it either goes crazy and constantly opens and closes from Jordan's muscles or it barely opens and closes. There doesn't seem to be a happy medium. So I'll just keep considering the arm as a tool to help her grow muscle -- And I've seen her use it for all kinds of gross motor things. Today I watched her push a chair into a table and pull up into a big chair. I even showed her how she could use it to drink from a water fountain.

Ten Percent Rule

Randy threw this one at me and I think he may be right... I just don't spend time dwelling on it:

Ten percent of parents are totally cool with being around Jordan. They don't care she's missing some of her arm and they just know she's a kid and it's obvious her family loves her. 90 percent of parents don't know what to do so they just kind of ignore the family's existence.

That sucks. But it's true. Randy noticed the 10 percent rule while at swimming lessons yesterday. I think he's right. I wish I could move that to the 90 percent rule but I don't think our culture can handle that.

Speaking of noticing differences... Some of Jordan's friends from school who are six months older started asking me about Jordan's arm. She was wearing a prosthetic that day and we all talked about how Jordan has a smaller arm and the prosthetic helps Jordan get strong. Both kids showed me how they have a big arm. It was sweet and non-judgmental. That made me realize that we're probably only six months away from letting Jordan speak for herself. Six months. That's mind boggling.

My little valentine

Jordan had a ton of fun with this Valentine's Day. She started the day with a yummy breakfast snack at home and at school. I had been pretty bummed that I was going to miss her school party since I was helping out at Cam's event at his school. UNTIL... The poor kid got sick. Suddenly I had a chance to see Jordan eat ALL of the chocolate that her friends gave her for the holiday. And since I'm the dorky mom, Jordan handed out little containers of Play-doh instead of candy. To be honest, I watched two of the 9 kids in the class try to eat the dough. (woops)

Jordan ate ALL kinds of sugar. I mean a lot. That picture proves it. She was covered in chocolate. So what did I do? I took her to work so she could eat more sugar while I worked. You know, newsrooms are famous for their collection of food. What was even more incredible, my sugar-high daughter even ate dinner when we got home. I don't know how she did that, but I can only predict ugly things to come in future diapers.

How's that for a post-Valentine's Day post. Pretty darn loving, he?

She is a different kid

Lately everyone at Jordan's school has commented how similar she is to her brother. She is stubborn, she thinks she knows what is right and DANG IT she will do it her own way. Apparently she is willing to throw tantrums like he did (and honestly, still does). But tonight proved she's a different kid.

She enjoyed swimming lessons.

She REALLY enjoyed it. She giggled and splashed and learned how to jump into the pool from a sitting position. She tried to kick and she really worked on reaching out and paddling towards the edge of the pool. I'm thrilled. While we were working, Cam was learning to swim with a class full of kids who were smaller than he was. Good news: he didn't seem to mind. He also didn't cry at all. (sigh of relief)

Anyway. I'm pooped. Changing our schedule to include evening classes is really hard. I rushed home to grab the kids to get to swimming on time. Randy picked them up, dressed them and fed them. He kindly heated food I ate on my way to the pool. We got there JUST as class started. I'm sure it will get easier. The trick is it's so cold, you have to get dressed before and after class. Add in the need to clean the chlorine off the kids before bed and you've just eaten up two hours of hard core work.

It's all worth it when you watch Jordan giggle and splash.

What's even more enjoyable, I didn't feel like everyone was staring at us in the baby class. Everyone said hi and giggled right along with Jordan. It was really nice. I didn't feel ostracized... and I've felt that way before at pools. So I think this change of scenery might actually get us swimming more by the summer.

I'm fried

The combination of election coverage and Randy not feeling well this week has left me running out of steam.

But a couple of neat things have happened this week:

Last night Jordan, Cam and I went to Cam's school for Music Night. First graders and Kindergarteners got to show off the cool stuff they do in music class. Since Randy was feeling sick, we danced and played music and just enjoyed being around the other families from school. Seriously, we have really great parents and kids that go to our school. I'm glad I took time off from the newsroom during Super Tuesday to enjoy music night.

Tonight I took both kids to a local swimming school. Cam has never been a great swimmer and I've had not-so-fun experiences at the local pool that does Red Cross classes. I'd heard good things about the local swim school and Jordan's therapists have recommended that we get her in swimming so she builds more strength in her left arm and shoulder. We started with a one-on-one class with the school owner to guage Jordan's needs while Cam took a group class. In the end, we're going to put Cam and Jordan in the same swimming class twice a week. The goal is to help Jordan gain balance and strength and get Cameron up to his age level in the pool. A two year old and a five year old in the same class? Well, we'll see how it goes.

The bad news:
The prosthetic is broken again. The motor is acting strange again. It clicks and opens and closes without any reason. It SUCKS. I'm really bummed that we're going to have to go without the arm again... Just when Jordan was starting to use it more.

I'm tired. I might actually go to bed early tonight. It was nice to have an excuse to take a shower after the swim class. It was nice to be in a pool even though Jordan cried almost the whole time.

Oh -- And the class kind of felt like when I took the dogs to puppy training school. The teacher was spending more time teaching me how to talk and help Jordan in the pool than actually teaching Jordan. It was funny.

Lucky girl

Jordan's grandma and grandpa left yesterday after spending some great time with the kids. I swear, even though I was away from the girl for only four days... She has grown up even more. She's talking, showing more 'tude. It's just amazing how she's sprouting rapidly into a little person.

Quite possibly the sweetest moment yesterday was when Jordan got to go to her new classroom for the first time. She was SO excited to go to school. But when we got to the doorway of her new room, she did NOT want to go inside. My parents were saying goodbye to her before I took them to the airport. They both gave her hugs... And then my dad and Jordan had an amazing little heart-to-heart moment. This picture says it all. Apparently my dad talked to her about how she could play with her friend Dylan and she should go have fun. It worked. She had a great day.

I'm so happy the kids had grandparent time without us around. My parents haven't had that many opportunities. I think it's special for them and for the kids.

By the way, Jordan is finally starting to figure out that hair bows are useful. I bought her a few yesterday and it seems that she's finally figuring it out: They keep her hair out of her face. It's pretty cute. I'm hoping this little turn towards useful hair tools will help us control the crazy hair until I get her bangs grown out.

In the holiday mood

We're enjoying family time for the holidays -- I'm doing my best not to hop online as much as I normally do. Jordan is getting better at saying words like Santa, Ho ho ho and tree. She's also saying more sentences. REALLY fast sentences.

I wanna eat that sounds like "Iwannaeatthat." She'll say it rapidly five times in a row before I realize what she's saying. There are other sentences - They are all very fast and I'm floored every time I translate it and realize this little baby is NO baby.

I'm also talking her into doing a few things with actual logic. If you've noticed, her hair is constantly in her eyes because I'm growing out her bangs. Bangs suck. It's a BEAR to grow them out so I figured we'd just grow them out from the very beginning. Well, she has started complaining about her hair in her eyes from time to time - And I've jumped onto the opportunity to actually put a bow into her hair. Check out the picture of her at her school holiday party. I've been able to get her to wear a clip two times in the last week. It doesn't always work, but it's progress.

I've also found that I have to count to three every once and a while -- To get her to move away or stop doing something she shouldn't do. The down side, she screams the moment I say "One..."

She's screaming a lot these days. It's loud here. It's very loud.

It sure is chilly here

It's cold and icy here... But that hasn't kept the kids from really enjoying it outside. Yesterday, Jordan and Cam enjoyed playing and sliding all over the place in our neighborhood. Today, Jordan just pointed at a lot of stuff and declared: "COLD!!" (Or in her way: "COLE!!")

I'm getting really excited because we're getting very close to Jordan's second performance in her school's Nutcracker. Many teachers who have seen her practice say Jordan is REALLY excited about the dance and she's very focused and happy when she performs. I can't wait. If she's in a good mood, we might get to see a great show. I'm also really thrilled she loves dance so much. I see it as a great way to work on balance and honestly, dance is beautiful. I can only see it as an ego boost when you get to wear pretty pink flowing outfits and prance around.

Arm challenge

I put Jordan in a really cute outfit today... But her arm was too wide. The wrist was a bit to wide. The dress never really fit properly. She did wear her arm all day -- She did all week except Monday. She's amazing.

Today Jordan stepped up on a stool to get water from the water fountain. She used her prosthetic to help her pull herself up. It was sooooo cool to watch her do that on her own. I just stood back and watched her try and try and try. Then she even stepped back down all by herself. She's finally catching onto steps! I'm thrilled.

Picture day

It's picture day -- and (knock on wood) there wasn't any drama on Jordan's big day. If you recall, last year her teacher spilled coffee on Jordan's dress. This year I got her to school in one piece, with a cute little dress AND no cuts, bruises or spills. Of course I had to drag the girl out of the house while she cried for "nana!" But I couldn't allow banana goo on her velvet dress.

Funniest moment was when Jordan and many other kids in her class started showing off their bellies to me. There's nothing like cute dressed up kids stripping to show off bellies.