Merry Christmas!

There are too many blessing of 2013 to say them all - but here is a recap of a few of our blessings:

*** Chloe Jean has gone from saying about two dozen different words (Feb 2013) to using 3 or 4 or 5 words in a sentence (October 2013).  She easily expresses what she is thinking or what she would like by putting words together.  She loves her big sister - and plays so much like her big sister.

*** Chloe gets so excited to tell us about all the fun activities she gets to do with her service providers, Holly and Casey.  Pictured is Chloe as a Santa Claus.  Thought I would also include a video of Chloe telling me about an activity she did with Holly.

*** We celebrated Chloe's First Hearing Birthday with awesome results from Boys Town.  Everyone is pleased and excited with how far she has come in her first year.

*** Within this short time, Chloe has learned how to also advocate for herself when a CI isn't turned on or needs a new battery.  Right now we are trying to troubleshoot with her equipment - it seems as if she has something going on with the devices and/or programming.  She is saying "what" all the time and looking at your lips to get a better understanding of what she is hearing.  So off to Boys Town we go - but very thankful that they were able to squeeze us in during this busy holiday/end of year time.

*** Can't leave out big sister Sydney.  She is loving the life of Kindergarten.  Surprisingly she enjoys most of the school lunches as well! She is excited to report what they are learning in reading, language, math and science.  Her best friend Kennadee is still at the top of her list of things to talk about - those two are just fun to be around, doesn't matter what they are doing - there is a smile on their face.

May your days be Merry & Bright - Looking forward to what 2014 may bring our family.

Little Miss Independent Chloe

Things have been running pretty smooth in our house lately - which is good to report.  Chloe is putting three to four words together to express her thoughts.  They are working with her on completing the endings on words... like ing or ed or even an s.  Also working with Chloe to understand two step directions - whether it be following two actions or getting two objects.

At the end of August - she had her 1 YEAR speech evaluation - went from barely babbling at all to hitting age appropriate milestones.  We feel blessed that Chloe is a smart little girl who wants to wear her cochlear implants and grow in her hearing journey.

Right now we are working hard on potty training - such a different child from her older sister - we are getting  closer, but really it is a matter if Chloe wants to participate or not! :D

Here are two videos from the other night.  She loves to read her books (which is exactly like her older sister) and wants to "I read to you" to show you she knows the book.

Happy "Hearing" Birthday Chloe Jean

One year ago today, again we nervously traveled to Boys Town NRH - but this time for activation of her right cochlear implant.  Not knowing what to expect - whether it be her cries from being scared of the new sounds or no response at all...

One year ago today Chloe Jean turned her head to the sound of a ringing bell and looked at it in wonder, no tears at all.  Mom had plenty of tears, joyful happy tears once the day was complete.  A day that I will always remember, a day that started Chloe's hearing journey... A day that we don't regret.

We celebrate this day - just as if it is a birthday, her hearing birthday.  As one year ago today, Chloe barely babbled at all.  And now, she talks and talks and talks...

It is hard to get her on video of her spontaneous speech - but boy is there lots of it these days.  Three or four words combinations to get her wants, needs or excitement expressed verbally.  Chloe is doing great - far above any expectations we were hoping for - the hard work is paying off!

This journey is still amazing in all aspects - amazing people are working with Chloe to make sure she is hearing sounds and speech properly  - amazing people are "playing" with her weekly to help her speech development - amazing people care and pray for Chloe and her journey - God has blessed us on this journey and continues to guide us with each new hurdle we face.  

The first of several... "It's been a year"

Chloe Jean - 8 1/2 months

It has been one year... May 22... a day that I won't forget... the day we nervously sat and waited for the results of Chloe's MRI scan.  The moment when Dr Lusk walked into the room and gave us a positive report and the news that gave us hope and started what I now call "Chloe's hearing journey."

Chloe's MRI results showed that her hearing nerve was present, her cochlea (middle ear) and vestibular system were normal - which allowed Chloe to be a candidate for the cochlear implants.  Flipping through (more actually like clicking through) pictures from that time still brings tears to my eyes, it is a reminder of - a day that both of us had had lots of joyful tears, a day that gave us hope for her future, a day that lifted weight off our shoulders...

It also brings back that painful phone call where they found the cyst - but several visits later, there is still no concern of that cyst and hopefully after one more positive check this fall, Chloe can cross that specialist off her list of routine visits.

 Recently had one of those moments where I probably should of stopped and thought before I spoke (yea, I know, it happens... ) But thinking back I don't know that I would have stopped myself... Chloe and I were out shopping and running errands, Sydney and her Dad were out and about - tball, dance, cattle, who knows... here's the story:

Chloe Jean - 20 months

So like any other outing or activity, I use shopping as a great learning and language activity with Chloe and talk to her as we go up and down the aisles - just think off all the different words you might use there that you don't at home playing on the floor and besides this keeps Chloe's attention and I don't have a fussy child - so anyways as we were in line, taking items out of the cart, we were still talking back and forth - lots of items Chloe was naming and lots of "what's that"... the cashier informed me "You know mom, you are teaching her all those words and pretty soon you are going to be telling her to shut up." And I without a pause simple and nicely said "No, I don't think so.  Chloe was born deaf and any spoken language we hear from her is a blessing to have."

May 2013 - Just checking In

Wow - it has been awhile since my last post - guess that means things are going pretty good then - and yes they are!!  Chloe has really exploded with all of her language - in fact - she is pretty good at telling you "NO" when she doesn't want to do something.  And she is quite the Little Miss Independent Chloe -- it is a hard decision to make - do you get frustrated or upset with the situation or praise her for using her words to tell you what she wants.  I found this the other day and thought - yes, that is our Chloe!!

Chloe is doing great in her hearing journey - I have discovered within the last few weeks that she can actually tell you which one (left or right side) is turned off or not on.  The CIs beep when they are not connected to the internal processor - basically they are off her head - and she does great and coming to one of us (including Sydney) to ask for help to put the CI back on.  Well, for some reason (I was rushed and out of sync with our normal routine) her right side the other Saturday morning did not get turned on, but it was physically on and as normal... but after only a few minutes, Chloe came running to me and said "Ut Oh Mommy, help Chloe" and pointed to her right side.  Well, since it was still on her head and just turned off, it wasn't beeping - she could just tell that it wasn't turned on!  How amazing is that?!?  I think for a 20 month old - that is great and shows she knows exactly what her CIs do for her!!!  Our next step will be to work with her on putting them back on all by herself.

As far as language goes - she is really starting to put two or three words together to tell you things and she is great a labeling items... for example, Mommy coat, Sydney hat, Daddy pants, kitty bowl..etc etc etc.  One really never realized how much language children grasp from their environment until you are teaching a child to hear everything that surrounds them.  Every new sound to Chloe is a learning activity - and when she stops, points to her ear - you know she is hearing something new or different and would like an explanation of what she is hearing.  Like a lawn mower - she could hear that Dale was mowing (daycare) but couldn't see it so I walked her over to the lawn mower so she could get a visual... all the little sounds outdoors especially ones we tune out that she discovers... makes you think!!!

We are thankful for all the service providers that Chloe sees - and they are truly more like family members than therapists.  And for now, Chloe just thinks that it is extra play time and not work time - but she is working hard!!!

6 months and counting!!

So it has been six months since Chloe began her hearing journey - six months ago she pretty much had stopped vocalizing all together and now she has lots of words in both her expressive (what she says) and receptive (what she understands) language.  Just tonight I decide to track all the different words she used...and I stopped tracking when I hit 2 dozen words.  That 2 dozen words in six months time - blessing!! 

Just the other day wwe were enjoying a snow day at home and when looking outside I told her it had snowed and she said "Brrr" and pretended to shiver.  I agreed with her and said, yes it is very cold outside.  That same day we were playing downstairs (with the wood stove roaring) and I was going to go upstairs to check on supper.  She was all upset with me that I was leaving and was telling me "up, up, up" - I told her "if you want to go up you need to find your socks and shoes!"  Chloe stopped, looked at me and turned around to walk straight to her socks and shoes which were across the room right where we took them off.

I have tried to catch her on video talking back and forth or during moments when I "quiz" her about all that is around her - animal sounds, what's this questions, etc...but it is very hard to get her on video!

Here is just a small highlight of Chloe: She is also starting to master using silverware which is what I initally tried to capture but of course fingers are better on camera too!



Working with Chloe at home doesn't feel any differently as it did when Sydney was around her age.  Granted we work with her every day on certain tasks and checks with her cochlear implants and she is receiving speech therapy or like activities three times a week - but her progress so far in her hearing journey is remarkable to think where she was just six months ago.  Oh don't get me wrong, it is no easy task getting her here or what lies ahead in her future but with lots of hard work and faith - we are all on this journey together!