Big idea day

There are always so many things that I forget to write down that are probably more interesting and more revealing about Julia than what I chose to write. Looking back at what I wrote about Saturday, I omitted how Julia asked for her bottle after we got home after her meltdown when she couldn't get the Little PetShop Town that she wanted. We keep the bottle, that I bought when Julia asked for it months ago, in the kitchen and after she went through an initial period of wanting to drink from it often, she has not asked for it at all. Sometimes she will ask if we still have it and I show it to her but she doesn't want it for drinking. But when we came home on Saturday, she wanted to cuddle on the couch with us and a quilt and to drink warm milk from her bottle. And so we did it and it seemed to help.

Today, Julia didn't go to school. Instead, we had an appointment to get a physical therapy evaluation early this morning and then later, had an OT appointment. The physical therapy eval was great. The bad and good news -- Julia's physical development has been delayed but she is catching up. Her hips are aligned the right way but she had "loose" legs, that is, her legs joints do not fit snugly into her hips because she probably did not get enough exercise before she came home. She also needs to develop muscle tone, most noticibly in her calfs and feet. This is a real simplistic explanation but sufficient for me. The really great news is that swimming and ballet would go a long way to catch Julia up. We already swim. The therapist suggested that we practice treading water, walking through water that is at least knee high, and kicking. Walking through sand in barefeet would also help her feet.

Ballet would help Julia's pigeon footedness (a word?) by practicing with turned out feet. Jumping would also be good for her calfs and feet. I am thinking of doing at home ballet this summer. I can teach what she needs for now and maybe we will get her ready for real ballet lessons as a side benefit.

Also, the balance beam and going down stairs using both feet. Again, we can do this.

At OT, Annie used a clothe bag with cut out plastic letters inside. Julia had to put her hand in, pick up a letter, feel it, and tell her what it was before she took her hand out of the bag. Oooo, Julia had trouble getting the idea. She kept wanting to to look at what was in her hand. But once she started guessing and getting the letter right, she was willing to play. Annie says that Julia is a huge visual person and this will help develop another sense. She also suggested that Julia close her eyes and write once she knows a letter.

Big idea day and what could be better??