Playing !

We are enjoying our last few weeks of Summer Break. It won't be long before we have to go back to work. Here are a few pics of Abbi playing. She just loves to be outside. There are days that I wonder will I ever be able to let her just go out and play without worrying if she'll understand what is dangerous and what is not. We are still working on going up and down steps. Her little legs are so short that she has to use someone or something for support. SHe tries very hard though and doesn't give up. She is really into saying "bye" and "ball" right now. These are the only two words she can say that anyone can understand. Now when she watches Sesame Street and they say "bye", she looks at the TV and waves and says "bye" too. It is very cute. However, she also says "bye" when she doesn't want to be somewhere or do something. This can get very interesting at times.

We are off to Key West tomorrow for a final summer fling just my husband and I. I will post pics when I get back.

I Passed!!

I got my results today from my 6 Hour Essay test to get my Administrative Endorsement. I passed!!!! I was so excited that I jumped all around the house. Abbi got excited too and started clapping for me. I am so glad that the test and my ED.S. are over and done. Hopefully this next school year, I will be able to focus on more fun things.

Right now I am trying to begin using some of the techniques that I learned in Boston with Abbi. It seems that she may be ready to begin learning to match pictures with words. According to the research presented once she has a vocabulary of 50 - 100 words (identifying pictures with sign or speech) then we can move onto words. Hopefully I will get it all together and begin soon. She has really tried to start saying more sounds. Yesterday I told her to say please when she wanted a cookie and she signed "cookie" and said "eese" while signing "please".

She is still pottying, but she doesn't understand how to tell us she needs to go yet. Hopefully we will figure that out soon. I am just glad that she wants to pee in the potty. Apparently while I was gone to Boston she "pooped" in the potty, but hasn't done that since I came back. Maybe soon.

Back from Boston!

Just got back from Boston today. Amy and I had a great time. The conference was amazing and we still had some time to do a little sight seeing. Boston is a great city but I think our DS crowd made it even better!!

I learned so much at the conference to help me fine tune Abbi's therapy. Especially speech! It was also very helpful to know that I am on the right track with what we are doing so far.

Will try and post some pic later. I am exhausted right now and Abbi needs some extra attention since I have been gone for 4 days.

Potty Time!!

Well I didn't want to post this until I was sure it was going to last but, Abbi started peeing in the potty on Sat. July 5th. It was amazing. I had been sitting her on the potty for a couple of weeks before bath time and she had never gone, but on Sat. night I sat her on and she peed. She was so proud of herself. You could see it on her face. So I thought well, maybe this is the beginning of a beautiful thing or I am just really lucky.

Well I believe it is the beginning of somethings amazing. We have her on a potty schedule and if she has to go when you take her she will sit on the potty and pee. If not she will refuse to sit on the potty and say no. She does the "potty" sign so she knows what it is. I am not sure when she will actually start asking to go or be ready to poo poo in the potty, but I am ready to wait for her to be ready. I have let her do this in her own time and I can wait for the other.

We are so proud of her considering she isn't even 2 1/2 yet and has Downs. We figure that is very good. My goal is to be completely trained by her third birthday. Maybe we will reach it maybe not, but I always like to set goals.

Needless to say we have been watching the Elmo Potty Time Video about once a day. She just loves Elmo and I believe she would do anything he said, so hopefully it will translate into potty training.

I leave for Boston tomorrow for the NDSC Down Syndrome Conference. I can hardly wait to get there and learn as much as I can to help Abbi and others DS kids and adults.

It may be Monday before I can post again.

Sabrina

I am done!!

Today I finished my Education Specialist Degree. We had our last class. This past year has been hard but today made it all worthwhile. Now I can get a raise and focus more on Abbi & Junior in the upcoming year. I cannot explain how excited I am to finally be done. There were times in the past year that I felt like quitting. I am so glad that I had the good Lord above to give me grace and my family and friends to support me.

Now if I can just get my doctorate degree then I will finally be done!! :-) Of course I will take small break, but that is definately a goal that I have.

Junior is very ready for me to be completely done with school, but I know that he will support me if and when I decide to go back. I really want to be Dr. Baker. Time will tell. Right now I am just glad to be done with this one.........

Happy 4th of July!

Today is our nation's birthday and I have spent it cleaning windows!! Well I did take some time out to have a picnic with my wonderful family. Abbi ofcourse loved all the attention she gets from all her aunts. It is wonderful to have such a big family. It gives me a break. She got to eat strawberry and her favorite,hamburgers, but honestly the kid loves just about anything. She never knows when she is full and wants "cookie" or "fish" all the time. She is just cute when she "signs" it that we almost can't resist. We usually end up giving in.

She has also recently learned what a potato chip is thanks to Nana. It's okay really, I knew she would eventually. She is growing up so fast. Last 4th of July she couldn't walk and this year she is walking and talking. We are so very proud of her.

Her "sign" vocabulary is up to about 40 words now. She seems to drop the sign or use the sign with the word when she learns to say the word. I have to confess that I haven't worked on her "lessons" as Mom calls them very much this summer. I just want to have fun with her.

Next week, I am going to the National Down Syndrome Congress National Convention in Boston, MA. I can hardly wait. I hope to learn a great deal while there to bring back to our FRIENDS group here in TN.

Junior is working very hard on our cabin and 100 acres to try and get it ready so we can begin staying in it some this summer. He bought a new "toy" yesterday. An air compressor and nail gun. He has nailed almost everything down.......... :-) Boys and their toys. It really did make the job of putting the wood on the ceiling easier though.

Well that's all for now. I will post more when I get back from Boston.

Posing for Daddy!

First steps in the Atlantic Ocean

At the beach with Daddy

We're Back!

We just got back from Myrtle Beach today. It was great to get away as a family. It was Abbi's first trip to the beach. She just loved the ocean or just water in general. She was not afraid of the waves at all and practically ran everyday into the ocean when we got there.
The funny thing is that we had bad luck with electronics from day one of our trip. I dumped my digital camera in the ocean when Abbi fell after a small wave knocked her face first into the ocean and then later that same day my laptop got a bug and completely died. So I had to go purchase a CVS one time use digital camera.

Once we get some pics developed I will post.

Abbi is asleep downstairs as I write this. I know she is glad to be home. She kept saying "bye bye" on the way home and signing "all done".

On Monday we go to visit the Child Study Center for possibly putting Abbi there a few days a week this fall. I feel she could really benefit by being around other kids. So wish us luck.