What Kylie is up to...

I thought I might do a quick post on what Kylie is up to.

She had started taking a step or two a few weeks ago, but she was quite unsure of herself.  And like most young children just learning to walk, she'd take a step and then squat down and then take a step more.  Or she'd just revert to crawling because it was faster.

Well, this weekend something clicked and she took off!  She will not crawl now.  She does still like to be carried, but she prefers walking.  She is still unsteady of course, and she really likes to hold your hand while she walks, but overall, she's on her way.  The good thing is she doesn't get far away from us, so she is usually within eyesight.  I'm sure that's about to change though.

Kylie qualifies for help from Tennessee Early Intervention Services because of her delay in several areas.  We have been meeting with them off and on over the past month.  They will help her with her overall development including speech.  One of the things we found out when they came to evaluate Kylie for services was that Kylie had an astigmatism in her right eye.  I don't know how accurate their machine is, but the pediatrician recommended an eye evaluation anyway since she likely didn't have one at birth.  So, we have that scheduled for July 3.  I'm praying there's nothing wrong with her eyes, but even if she does have an astigmatism, it's likely they won't do anything about it until she's a little older (maybe school aged).  I do worry about wandering eye etc. so I wanted to go ahead and get it checked out.

Kylie's palate repair surgery was scheduled for July 23.  I'll admit, I wasn't looking forward to it, but I was ready to get it over with.  Well, the surgeon decided to take vacation that week, so we were asked to reschedule.  August 27 is now her surgery.  I picked that day because the following Monday is Labor Day and I wanted to be able to have an extra day with her at home.  So, we have another month to wait.  Jenna will be back in school, which I guess will be good because it will give her something to do all day while we are at the hospital that week.

What else is Kylie up to besides walking everywhere?  She likes to go up and down the stairs.  We don't let her without being right there, but this child can move on the stairs!  She is not talking much at all...just babbling, but there are a few different sounds coming out.  She also has really started feeding herself.  As much as we can, we let her feed herself.  She seems to have taken a break from bananas, but still loves mac n cheese and mashed potatoes. 

She is starting to try and jump up and down now.  Not when she's on the floor, but when she's standing in her bed.  She needs help but she thinks it's lots of fun and laughs hilariously.

What else?  Her personality comes out a little more every week.  We did try leaving her in worship care last weekend.  And....they came and got me after 20 minutes because she was crying.  I did the sneak out thing (which in retrospect was probably the worst idea) and I think that really set her up for some recurring of abandonment feelings.  I'm sure she would have settled down eventually, but I'm grateful for a church/preschool staff who understands and respects the special situation of adoption and didn't want it to become a negative experience for her.  This week starts VBS and Steve is volunteering (it's all hands on deck, for sure!) and so he is going to attempt to drop her off every morning.  We've talked to the social worker and he'll try to do a hand off.  They'll give her 15-20 minutes and if she is inconsolable, they'll come get him.  We bought a new carrier where she can face front so he will be hands free if he needs to be.  The SW thinks trying this for 5 days in a row will be good for Kylie. Luckily, one of the moms keeping her age is an adoptive mom as well.

I guess that's about it for now!  Happy Monday!