At the end of January, Adaline had an appointment with an eye doctor about her wandering eyes. Sometimes, both of her eyes do not focus in the same direction at the same time. It is not consistent and it happens in both eyes at different times, so the doctor recommended we try an eye patch. She will wear a patch for a few hours each evening for a month or so, with the goal of strengthening her weaker eye. Then we will call with our observations after that time for further instruction. :) So far, Adaline has done surprisingly well with wearing a patch. She hasn't tried to pull it off once (it is like a band-aid), and rarely complains when I put it on or pull it off. She did run into the dresser and fall down because her vision was blocked, but only once.
Adaline also enjoys wearing big sunglasses in the car. She calls them "eyes" and wants them in any weather. Sometimes I look back at her in her glasses and catch her holding hands with Benton between their car seats. I have tried to catch a photo of this because it is so cute, but have yet to get it. One day.
Because Adaline turns three in February, the speech therapy that she receives through the Child Developmental Services ends, and she will transfer to the Guilford County School System. We spent several hours one day in Greensboro doing all kinds of evaluations of her speech and skills with many different new people. She did a super job hanging with it all, and although she got grumpy a few times, made it through, and now has an IEP (for all you teachers out there). She will be classified as delayed in speech and language for now, but my hope is that with this added support, she can be caught up by the time she enters Kindergarten.
We treated ourselves to some frozen yogurt after getting through the long morning of evals.
We still have some trouble getting Adaline to stay in her bed at nap time and bed time. She enjoys dumping out toys, pulling all the clothes out of her dresser (which makes me cRaZy!), trying on her shoes, calling out for "Shane" (We have been working on just "daddy," but think it may be my fault she chooses to use his name.), and getting naked (Hopefully we can catch this one before it leads to extra clean up, but not always.). She takes after us and fights sleep so much, but luckily, also like us, will sleep in.
Potty training is also not catching on. When we can get her to sit on the potty, we must sing a song to keep her sitting for more than a few seconds. Mostly this is "Jesus loves me," as this is the only song she ever wants to sing, and the only one she tries to sing on her own (She sings "Jesus...me"). We have had a few successes, but I think it is mostly luck. She will get there in her own time, I suppose.
Here is Adaline working with daddy on a Saturday morning. She pulled her chair right up with him at the table along with her own computer.
Later that morning, after a strenuous work load, it was time for a rest on the couch to watch some Sesame Street (or as Adaline calls it, "Ig Bird" or "Melmo" :) ).
Adaline still loves her trampoline and loves to "bounce." She likes to look at herself in the mirror while jumping, kick balls while jumping, twirl in circles while jumping, and is trying out new tricks all the time.
Benton is also learning new tricks all the time. He has pretty much stopped the army crawl, and has gotten his tummy off the ground. He can take a few steps while holding my hands or even a push toy. He can clap and wave, too! Benton has 6 teeth now, and is still gaining on Adaline in weight, at 22 pounds.
