Snow Pictures

This is looking left to our neighbor's yard. It's hard to tell, but there is 1/2 a tree laying in their walkway, on the back of their car.

Looking out our front door (no, I didn't leave the front step!)

To the right of our house. Those bushes are usually about 8-10 feet tall.

That's my car in there somewhere.

I took this last night. I couldn't get the lighting right, but it's still pretty cool.

Apparently we have about 8 more hours of snow to fall, possible 4-8" more snow. Fortunately we still have power, but just two blocks down they are out of power, so I'm really anxious about that! The snow is very heavy, and we're scheduled for a breezy, breezy day.

Snowtorious B.I.G.

No, fellow 90's rap fans, I did not come up with that clever title for the snow storm. Our local NBC station has given the storm we're getting that ridiculously silly nickname. So far we've gotten a good amount of snow, maybe 4-5". The weather service and everyone in the area is saying it has a potential to be the biggest snow in the DC area in history - at upwards of 30". That's more snow than Imogene is long. As I look outside right now I thought, it's really not that bad yet. The graphics on the news just said "Just the Beginning." So yeah, "it's not that bad, YET!"

Snowarama

So we're about to get wallopped again by a huge snowstorm, which is normal because we live in Maine and all. Oh, we don't live in New England? It only feels like that because it has snowed three times in the last week? Oh right. Of course. Silly me. Alexandria closed schools yesterday, so that meant that Lily's school was cancelled yesterday (I am sure they wish they hadn't closed school for a snow that had melted by mid-morning, since they've already cancelled school for tomorrow. And looks like it will be at least Tuesday before they go back.)
This weekend should provide me with plenty of time to do a thorough update on the goings-on of the last week at the Siglers. But I couldn't let today go by without telling you my favorite part of today. Maggie folded my laundry without me even asking her to do so. I.LOVE.MAGGIE.

Pictures

We are ALL recovering from a great five days of the Just Ducky sale. But it is good to get our house back - we had clothes all over the place for almost a week! Thanks to our loyal readers who are also loyal customers!
I wanted to share these two cute pictures of Lily from the fall. A teacher at school took them on a garden club day when it was rainy!

Another Day, Another Doctor, Again

Yesterday we had OT. It went okay, considering Imogene hardly napped in the morning and was perilously close to her afternoon naptime. Her best 'move' was that when Amy held her left arm to keep her from using it, she used the right arm to try and get the left free. Amy said that shows that the right is trying - some kids would have just pulled and tugged with the left and not tried to use the right to help the left. We're going to be doing more and more of this type of 'constraint' therapy, where we keep the left from being able to do anything to force her to use the right. She's going to hate it, but it's for her own good!

Today Imogene, Mommy and Daddy all went to see Dr. Morozova, the physiatrist. She is just a lovely woman, and Imogene took to her very well. Dr. Morozova (what is it with us and the M doctors, Madigan, McClintock & Morozova!?!) was so thorough and took a lot of time to explain everything to us. She even gave us a thoughtful explanation of cerebral palsy. She didn't tell us too much we didn't already know, but did tell us that in her opinion Imogene is going to walk. Didn't say when, and she did say it might require some sort of brace, but she said she'll walk. This is the first person that has said that out loud. A huge deal for Mommy & Daddy to hear someone say that to us. We believe she can do it, but it's nice to have some medical opinion on our side! She did explain that the muscles in her leg and arm will get tighter as she gets older (think about how much less flexible you are today, than when you were a baby and could eat your own foot!) and so part of her role is to watch the tightness and prescribe medicines or orthotics to help her with that when needed. She also will watch the growth of her leg and arm on the right in comparison to the left. Bones grow in response to the muscles, and when muscles get tight, bones don't have as much room to grow. Like I said, she was really very helpful in her explanations. We really fell in love. We'll go back in 3 months (another sign that Imogene is doing pretty well!)

The pediatrician's office called and said that if Imogene wasn't doing a good bit better by now with her cough and runny nose - which she's not - that she needed some medical assistance, so we'll start an antibiotic in the morning. Oh Imogene.

Today Lily told Imogene very nicely "Imogene, I do not like it when you play with my baby dolls' shoes. Please find something else to do." This is very Becky Bailey-esque (see the posting about Mommy going to school from last week). She's learning so much at school.
She later told Mommy, "You are a bad guy. I'm going to push you." Pushes Mommy. Mommy then says, "I don't like it when you push. We do not push." Lily returns with "Yes we do push. In this village people push. And throw things." This is NOT Becky Bailey-esque. And don't ask me where she got 'village' from - I think it's in Angelina Ballerina books.

This is Just Ducky week at our house. Mommy is an Area Consultant for the Just Ducky Originals Home Clothing line. We now have about 60 items of clothing hanging around our house for the rest of the week. This is a huge outlet for me - I love the clothes, I love the company, and I love having friends and neighbors and new friends over to spend time with them and help them design their children's custom wardrobe. So, the blog might be a little quiet for a little while - or maybe work will let up for Daddy and he can finally get a chance to blog too!
We're excited to see Grunny & Charlie (coming to help this week - thank you!) and hope Nane is feeling better so she can come for the weekend too!

Lights, Camera, Skype!

For Christmas we got a webcam. If you're also on Skype, give us a call! We're thesiglerfamily.

Poor Imogene has been a mess this past week. She has a runny nose and a terrible cough, and has had some rough nights of sleep. And by rough, I mean she was up Friday night from 1030 pm until around 230 am, and then got up again at 5, and 645. She saw one of the pediatricians in our practice on Friday (Dr. Baldrate is out on Fridays). They tested for any bacteria with a nasal swab test (IBS loved that! HA!). The doctor said she probably just caught something new and different from what she had right after Christmas. Oh joy. Her appetite has been down and she's wanted to do nothing with Mommy but nurse. When she doesn't want something to eat she shakes her head and her left arm and will not take it. It's sort of funny. What's not funny is when she picks the food she doesn't want off her tray and drops it on the floor. We need to put a "splat-mat" under her high chair, but the dining room just isn't big enough - it becomes a major tripping hazard for the rest of us! She does the shaking her head 'no' bit when you pick a book she doesn't want to read. Quite opinionated she is!

Lily said today while in the bathroom, "Can I say a bathroom word since I'm in the bathroom?" And then said "poopy-booty." And giggled. Not sure if she picked that up at school, or where, but it was funny - the first time. The next 10 times will not be as funny.

More Silly Lily

Mommy: "Let's go set up the computer for the new camera."

Lily: "Did the computer fall down?"

"Can you get the next Mary Poppins movie for me? I want to see the children at the house she went to next after Jane & Michael."

"I wish I was magic so I could go inside and see Mary Poppins in the movie."

Instead of "I didn't know that" it's "I didn't notice that."

Just had to share these pictures my friend Tracie took in the last month.

Lily with her two buddies Susan and Lucy.

Mommy & Imogene watching Daddy & Lily go sledding back in December.

Off to School

Mommy spent most of yesterday at preschool. The bulk of the morning I spent working at our open house for families interested in attending Westminster next year. For some reason (maybe the level of education in our area due to D.C.??? who knows) getting into preschool here is like applying to an ivy league college (or so I imagine it is what applying to an ivy league college is like, seeing as I have no experience in that.) There are so many good schools in this area - for crying out loud it's just preschool! - but there really are plenty of places for children to have a fun experience and grow and learn along the way. WWP has a reputation as one of the better preschools in this area- who can argue with that!?! - so attendance is high at the open house. Yesterday, talking to all those parents looking for the right place for the children I felt so lucky. We did find the right place for Lily (and Imogene one day) and it was all because we found the right church first! I did not envy all those parents going through the preschool process! I was also reminded how much Lily cried at the beginning of the year when she was in the 2 1/2 class, and how now she walks in the school like she owns the place, and greets all the teachers and most of the students by name - just as if she was standing next to her locker in high school! And then barely says good-bye to Mommy or Daddy. Next year she'll go to the 4 year old program Monday-Friday. I hesitated about sending her 4 or 5 days. Both sets of teachers are wonderful. But I think Lily will do beautifully with the two teachers in the 5 day class, and to be honest, it will be nice to have that extra day for Imogene's therapy sessions or doctor appointments or even - dare I say? - a baby music class or swimming or something else fun for Imogene to do all her own!

For the last 20 minutes of the school day I went into Lily's room and helped her make an igloo out of a Styrofoam cup, sugar cubes and icing. Very cute and all the kids were hysterical - covered in icing and spending half their time making the igloos, the other half eating the icing!

And then finally, last night was the "Conscious Discipline" parenting class that the preschool director and Lily's teacher for next year are holding. The program is run by a woman named Becky Bailey. We have one of her books, Easy to Love, Difficult to Discipline, already. Attending the workshop has furthered what is in the book with ideas and techniques for helping Lily through the trials and tribulations of childhood (and one day Imogene). Dr. Bailey's program helps parents (and teachers) learn to discipline themselves before their children - by doing things as simple as taking a deep breath and relaxing before tackling a tantrum! Who knew you needed to be reminded of breathing and relaxing! Well, I do! The program has 7 skills and 7 'powers' - the first are the Skill of Composure (i.e. breathing!) and the Power of Perception - regarding how we let the outside world control how we feel on the inside. Probably not explaining it very well - but I highly recommend Becky Bailey to any parents or teachers out there! Lily really isn't a 'behavior problem,' but it's been so good to put into practice things that will help all of us now, and give both girls tools to deal with themselves and others as they grow!

Yet another example of what an amazing place Westminster is, and how lucky we are to be in that family.

A New Set of Terms to Learn!

Imogene saw Dr. Madigan, her ophthalmologist this morning. Her right eye turns inward, and since we saw him in October, we'd notice that it had gotten more noticeable. At that time, she had a 5 % inward turn. Today he said that it is at 10%, and he would like her to have surgery to correct it. The surgery is simply called strabismus surgery. Strabismus refers to "eyes that are out of alignment." In her case, it is considered esotropia, because one eye turns inward toward the nose. So her surgery will weaken the muscles close to the bridge of her nose, and strengthen the muscles closer to her temple. Here is link for a good explanation of all this. While only about 25% of strabismus cases require surgery, the condition, and the surgery are relatively common, especially among kids with cerebral palsy. It's outpatient, and doesn't require any incisions, so there is no risk of scarring. We'll go back to see Dr. Madigan in 2 months, and then have the surgery about a month later. Bill and I both really like Dr. Madigan - he really takes time to explain everything, and is really approachable, so we feel comfortable with his recommendation, and that he'll be performing the surgery.

Phew, what a week.

We got a permanent time for occupational therapy - Wednesdays at 11 am, and then we'll stick with our Thursdays at 11 am time for physical therapy. I have always been a good 'date' person - I always remember dates and practically memorize the calendar each year. For instance I know off the top of my head that April 12 is a Monday, March 4 is a Thursday, etc. I think this was a gift from God, because I am certainly putting it to use with all these appointments!

Year in Review

We spent three hours this morning at Imogene's one year check-up. Poor Imogene received four shots (two vaccines, regular flu and H1N1), plus had her heel pricked for lead/anemia testing. Overall, the appointment went well. It's just such a different experience than when we took Lily for the same thing. Except for some reflux and eczema, Lily was a pretty textbook baby. Then there's sweet Imogene. We spent a good deal of time updating Dr. Baldrate on Imogene's progress through therapy, and her progress on the sleeping. The rest of the time we talked about her eating! Our readers know how much Imogene loves to eat, so you're probably as surprised as we were to find out she only weighs 17 lbs 14 oz, putting her in only the 7th percentile for her age. Height and head circumference she is in the 50th percentile.
(Children are tracked throughout their early years on a growth chart.)
Imogene has consistently fallen down the growth chart, and gained just over one pound since her 9 month appointment. Dr. Baldrate didn't seem extremely alarmed, but would like to see Imogene again in 6 weeks to check her weight. The fact that she definitely likes eating is a plus! We also talked a good bit about how we will introduce dairy and soy into Imogene's diet. She saw a pediatric GI back in March, and he determined that she was sensitive enough to dairy and soy that she'd benefit from it being completely cut out of her diet. As her nursing mother, that meant cutting it out of my diet as well. To see how she'll handle dairy and soy, I've been given the green light to eat dairy and soy. Oh the possibilities that have opened up to mommy's diet! After a week or so of this, we'll see how Imogene's doing, and if she seems to be okay, we'll introduce her to foods with soy in them. Then if THAT seems to work, we'll give her a little soy milk, and maybe then a little soy cheese and soy yogurt. Dr. Baldrate said we'll discuss dairy at her 15 month appointment. So keep your fingers crossed that this goes well.
Now tomorrow morning we're off to see Dr. Madigan, Imogene's ophthalmologist. We feel like her eye is starting to turning in more than before, so mommy, being the worrier that she is, is pretty anxious to get this one over with.
And then NEXT Tuesday we finally see Dr. Morozova, the physiatrist.