The View from Here

The view from here, June of this year.

The view from here, September of this year.

There are many differences!

In June:
Gedalya didn't go to cheider. He was still home with me, and Zusha was our only school kid. The boys still had their S2H exercise watches. They have since become broken, lost or stolen. Who knows. Adi's Crocs still fit her. She outgrew them mid-summer. And we still had our Graco carriage.


In September:
Gedalya had started cheider, so Adi is now the only kid at home. Our Graco carriage had started breaking down in the middle of the summer*, so now we have the Jeep Cherokee Stroller. And Adi's hair was finally long enough for a braid. (It wasn't in June.)

See the cute braid?

And! Tomorrow is the last day that I will have this view during most of the day. Because on Tuesday, Little Miss goes off to school! Unbelievable!

*One of the wheels of the Graco carirage would fall off every once in a while. Then it started happening more often, until one day we were walking home from a mile and a half away and we had to stick the wheel back on once or twice on every block. I contacted Graco, and they sent me replacement wheels and axles, but it was impossible to replace, since the axle assembly was sealed shut. So we started looking for another stroller. We only had the Graco for half a year!
We used an old umbrella stroller with nowhere to keep shopping bags until I researched what I wanted to buy.

My criteria for strollers used to be a reversible seat, but Adi is already big and doesn't need to face me. My new criteria was that the stroller should be lightweight, but not at the expense of features. And it should be able to be folded easily for trips.

I went with the Joovy Scooter stroller in orange. It was very roomy, which is what I need for Adi, who will need a stroller for a good, long time. But the fold was impossible! There's no way I'd be able to take the thing on buses. And I noticed right away that the handles were too short. Not as much short as too close to the hood. It was impossible to walk quickly! It was too bad because I really loved every other feature of it.

That's when the Jeep Cherokee Stroller appeared on the scene. It was only $50! It's pretty much stripped of features, but I love it. It has one-hand fold, and stands freely when folded. It's lightweight. It fits through those bars that prevent shopping carts from being taken out of stores so I don't have to wait for the workers to buzz me into the gate. It has pockets on the sides of the basket for little stuff (I keep wipes there) and the basket itself is a decent size. And I love the kid and parent trays!
But the canopy is small, the seat is lacking padding, and the wheels won't survive the NY winter.
So I am searching again. I think the Baby Jogger City Mini Stroller in purple or sage would fit the bill. Light enough, sturdy, easy fold, good recline, roomy, wheels fit for NY winters. I just don't like the dinky basket and lack of trays. They sell a kid tray, but I saw one in use, and it's positioned right by the kid's face. :/ The parent tray, I can get a flimsy fabric one.

Decisions, decisions!

Geneticist Visit

 The genetics visit went very well! Adi enjoyed the attention and even coaxed an iPhone from one of the residents. :)

In short, we have noticed that Adi blanks out every so often, and I will need to take her to get an EEG to rule out absence seizures. I will also need to take Adi for an MRI (not excited!) to scout out her brain in general and check for a tumor in specific (definitely not excited!) It might be a tumor causing the seizures, if that's what they are.

I decided to look through videos of Adi over the past year and a half or so and see if I could notice the spacing out episodes. Here's what I got. In most of them I turned the camera off as soon as she started spacing, because I didn't want to get a video of her doing nothing. But in some, I captured it in full.

I posted this video before, but now it's bigger and easier to see. I think I'll be using YouTube for videos till Google starts making big videos for Blogger as well.
Adi, 2.5, is showing off her words and then spaces out at the end.


Adi at 2 years old, trying to put on her brother's slipper over her shoe. :D Same zoning out at the end.


Adi swinging, almost 3 years old.
Zoning out episode, possible absence seizure. It begins at 16 seconds and ends when Adi snaps back at 20 seconds and says Mama.


Zoning out episode from 34-39 seconds in the video. What characterizes these episodes is that when she gets back, she does something active, like calling out for me, or in this case, jump-walking. Almost 3 years old.


Boys ask Adi (almost 2) questions and she repeatedly spaces out and comes back with a jerk.
The first 20 seconds she goes in and out a few times, then joins her brothers' game with gusto.
1:11 - 1:24 is the second episode. 2:09 - 2:11 again.

Too Much

There is just too much going on!
On Sunday I took the kids to an indoor playground for Adi's birthday. On Monday we had her party at home. On Tuesday we went to the geneticist. On Wednesdays I took Adi to pick up her new orthotics. Thursday was the last day one of Adi's special ed teachers came to work with her.  And my iPad sold. Today I have to go ship it!

Sounds like fun, doesn't it?

Now reeeewind. Indoor park photos coming soon. It was hot, stuffy, packed, and everyone wanted to leave after less than half an hour. Adi's party? A typical toddler event! Adi fell asleep on the couch right before the party and woke up confused and screaming. We had half the party without her. Then she came around and joined us for cake and presents! Who wants onion rolls with spread, anyway?

Geneticist went well. We will test for Pitt Hopkins syndrome. Eh, I don't know. It might be the right one, but I'm not putting stock in it. Other syndromes were much closer to what Adi has by description, and she tested negative.
The geneticist is a gem. I created a label for the posts I wanted him to see and he read through them before the appointment. I mean, who does that? A real gem of a doctor, that's who. He also spent over an hour in the office with us.

On the train to the geneticist, Adi acted weird. She started loving trains lately, and we went on trips all summer. She loved the trains and buses and never got motion sickness like she had before. Every time she sees a train now, there is a meltdown if we don't go on it. But this time, she asked to get off halfway through the ride. I was surprised, but she kept insisting, and then began to scream. Same thing happened on the way back home. In fact, I walked 1.5 miles to the train to avoid having to transfer.

Well, now that she had a bad experience, I figured she'd be cured of trains. I was getting worried about school. Her school is right near a train!

When I took Adi to pick up her new orthotics on Wednesday, I decided to walk past the school on our way home. I wanted to remind Adi of the place before I take her there next week. She saw the train tracks, and I held my breath. Will she scream to go on it? Or will the memories of the day before prevail?

She screamed. School time should be a fun experience! :O

Yesterday our teacher Aviva came for the last time. She was the first of the last teachers. The rest will have their last official day on Monday. It was sad! I hope we can keep up with all the therapists, but I know life gets in the way of the best intentions...

Maybe I'll post about the iPad situation later. I'm so tired. It's close to Shabbos. This post is long and boring without photos. Till next time!

Adibaby Videos... Almost 3 Years Old

This might be the cutest Adi video I captured yet (although low quality from cell phone).
She starts out playing Ring Around the Rosie with her bear, then notices her pockets. She picks up the bear again by the hand and says, "Han." She then gives the bear kisses and starts nodding his head "yes" while saying "mm-hm" for him. She ends with more kisses and hugs, and then spaces out. All the therapists have commented on the sudden blanking out, and some have brought up absence seizures. I'm not sure if that's what it is, but it may be worth testing for it. This sudden spaciness is visible in several of her videos.

Adi enjoying a swing! Her favorite activity in the world.

Just playing in the park...

Down to Business

I've got a party to throw tomorrow, but here I sit, updating my poor, neglected blog.

Hello, world! Adi turned three!
Contrary to Gedalya's belief that she *can't* turn three because she knows what "ama-ah" means. "Ama-ah" is Adi's word that she uses when she doesn't know what else to say. She might call me, "Mama. Mama. Mama. Mama." And I say, "Yes, Adi?" And of course, Adi didn't have anything planned that she wanted to really say, so she says, "Ahhhma-ah."
What Gedalya really meant, of course, is that Adi still speaks baby language. But Zusha said, "Well, then you can't be five and a half, because you know what kuwana means and what kishkase means." (Triangle and cheesecake.)
Gedalya considered this and allowed Adi to turn three.

We had a mini party on her real birthday on Simchas Torah, and tomorrow (today? Whatever, Monday afternoon) we are having an official thing with party blowers, cake, and a crown.

And I don't think I have mentioned this on my blog yet... Adi will be going to school!
Next week Tuesday is her first day. Wowowow. We will say our goodbyes to the therapists. :( Two years... They have invested themselves emotionally into my baby, and now- this is it? It will be a hard goodbye. Or rather, five hard goodbyes.

I made a photobook for one therapist and photo tote bags for two others. I still have two therapists that I need to think of gift ideas for, and soon! I don't have enough photos of them with Adi to make a whole book.

On Tuesday Adi will join me on a fun trip to the geneticist. We haven't gone in over a year. We had hit a dead end. The doctor has tested her for everything he could think of that she might possibly have. But as she gets older, some traits and features come up or become more prominent. He might be able to think of something else. I mean, she wasn't even walking last time that we went!

So I will post some videos of Adi doing daily things. The geneticist is really someone special. How many specialists are there that would go to a patient's blog to get a look at some things they wouldn't be able to see in a short office visit?

Yom Tov is over, and I am diving head first into reality!

And as promised, the photos of my second day of owning my new camera... playing around with it and learning the ropes.

Silly kitten Mushu.

Looking at the weehees... er, fishies... in the pond.

See them?

Gedalya's bounty. Plant paraphernalia never ceases to make this little boy happy.

A Day with Friends...

A couple of posts ago I mentioned a trip to Manhattan to spend the day with friends...

In the beginning, the kids didn't really play together.

Eli and Yosef played with each other...

And my kids played with each other.

But towards the end, everyone was having lots of fun!

We went to get ice cream, and then to our friends' gorgeous private park. Living in a building in Manhattan sure has its perks! We walked to the East River and enjoyed watching the boats. And cranes on the boats!

It was fun! While playing, my kids noticed a train going on a bridge. How cool! Then when they found out that they could WALK over that bridge, their joy knew no bounds!
Even though we were all tired, we walked all 1.5 miles over the Williamsburg Bridge.

We looked down upon the very same benches we sat on not long ago, in the photos above.

Marveled at boats.

Giggled at the silly graffiti.

And we watched the trains running alongside us on the bridge! After we walked over, we had to take one of those same trains back over the bridge into Manhattan so we could get the right train home. My boys had fun repeating that "we went from Brooklyn to Manhattan, and then to Brooklyn, then back to Manhattan and back again to Brooklyn!"

Thanks, Miriam Sarah, Eli and Yosef for a great, fun day!

Happy Everything!

A good Yom Tov, a good moed... a good yohr!
Happy new beginnings, happy sukkos celebrations, and a happy upcoming birthday to our almost three year old girl!

It's been one year since Adi took her first step. Two years since we started therapy. And three years since I got the most wonderful Simchas Torah present... my wonderful Adibaby!

I am surprised it took my boys this long to figure out something is different about their sister. But really, they never realized! They once asked me if they also had teachers come to teach them to walk and talk when they were babies. I told them that no; some kids learn it by themselves, and others need help. They asked me why Adi needs orthotics. I explained that they help her feet stand straight on the ground.

But still they never realized Adi was different.

Today we were preparing for Adi's birthday that's coming up on Friday. Gedalya, who was 3 not that long ago himself, said, "But she will be three, and she still won't know so many words!" Says the kid who started reading when he was half a year older than Adi is now.

Yesterday we went to a Chol Hamoed event by A Parent Speaks. It's an organization that is involved in the special needs community. It was just awesome. All my kids enjoyed. Adi got very into the craft, and danced to the live music. She wanted to get a fishie painted on her face, but backed out as soon as I sat her on the chair, after a 15 minute wait on line. Gah!

But the BEST part was... at the end they gave snack bags with a squeezy artificially colored drink, sour sticks, colored marshmallows and flavored chips. None of the things my kids are able to have! I brought them back, and instead of snickering, or rolling her eyes, or saying something like "come on, let them enjoy," she apologized to me! Apologized! In an environment like this, people know some kids can't have some things, even if they seem benign. 

Oh, and another best part: There were kids that actually shrieked louder than Adi! No one stared when Adi shrieked. Or when she threw herself on the floor and refused to let me pick her up. Everyone was able to be themselves. It was so beautiful and natural. My boys didn't even seem to notice that some of the kids had differences.

Events like these give me hope for the world. Everyone felt at ease. Happy. Gedalya stood on his head for a good percentage of the time. :) And you know what? He wouldn't do it at any other party. But this was a non-judgmental place. 

So talking about Adi's not-so-many words...

...here's just a sampling of her recent words and phrases:

hohie = horsie

toe-lue = turtle

goggie = doggie

guckie = duckie

bowie = birdie

han = hands

(Adi said, "doin han" when we were all making funny shapes with our fingers.)

hoon = phone

nowani = don't want it

awani = I want it

teen = train

weeng = swing

on/off

button

pan = pants

tawid = carriage

wolue = water

backpack

bock = book

cookie

ainga = traingle

(She finds them everywhere, like sails on boats...)

go-lee = girlie

pa-ee = potty

(The girl knows what to do and when, but has no patience to sit on the potty long enough!)

ponny = pony

(as in pony tail for the hair)

ca-yoo = color/draw

And what might be the best quip EVER:

"Oh, no! Aaah-di! Nah-nye!" (Oh, no! Adi! Not nice!) Sad that the most words she ever strung together are scolding words for her trouble-making!

But as long as she continues to make trouble, I'm happy! :D

9th Week of Summer Vacation

Last week of August, first week of September.



On Sunday there was supposed to be a hurricane. But it seems it overlooked New York, because by midday the sun was out and the day was beautiful.
So we went out to assess the damage.
There was a crack in our house before we moved in, but it was cemented. It seems that between the earthquake and the hurricane, it opened up. It's about 5 feet long and an inch or two wide. We're still fighting with the landlord to get it fixed. Meanwhile I get rainwater all over the kitchen each time it rains. :(

Gedalya had a great time collecting acorns, pretty leaves, branches and unusual seed pods that littered the ground after the storm. Here's a cute lineup of acorns.

We was many smallish branches that had fallen off of trees, but this one was big. Of course, the boys had to check it out.

The entire top of a tall tree snapped off, and one car wasn't having a very lucky day.

My mother in law and sister in law came to visit. Since no trains were running, they walked about 2 miles each way to visit us, if not more.

Silly seed pods...

Monday: Zusha made a dinosaur at the library.

We saw a cute little cricket in our yard.

And we cuddled with Mushu.

Tuesday was a super fun day! We went to Manhattan to visit friends.

It was a long, fun day... too long for this post, in fact.
We were all hungry and tired when we came home. We went to a pizza store, where Adi did this:

On Wednesday I got a new camera! I wanted a more professional one... one step closer to being a professional photographer. I had listed my old one on eBay, and it sold! The day I got my new one, we went to the post office to ship the old one out.

On the way we saw more hurricane carnage. Fun type of carnage.

Stopped off at Eichler's to listen to music...

And took a ride.

Tested the new camera on some scenery.

More fun destruction.

"In! Bock!" Adi said. So I put her in the box. :)

Thursday:
I was playing around with the new camera too much... too many photos for this post! 

Friday:
Adi's first braids! It's been just a month since my first attempt, and it's become one pf my favorite hairstyles for her. Two braids, half a braid, pigtails that are braided...
I finally discovered that I need to wet the hair first.

Look out for more braid photos in future posts!