On February 7th we hit the half year mark of meeting our Maggie. And that six month mark slipped into 7 months and here we are today. Over half way through our first year with our girl.
Month 6 was a busy one for her and for us! Maggie started walking! She decided to show off at our 6 month post-placement home visit (that went very well) and start walking around like no big deal.
Since that day, she has slowly added more and more steps and now she walks 100% of time and is getting very quick! So quick, that we now have to watch her at basketball and soccer games so that she does not dart onto the playing field!
Our sweet girls in their qipoa, traditional Chinese silks, for Chinese New Year.
Life has been very full lately, with every night booked with an activity and every weekend filled with multiple games. Added on top of a school commitment, and one of the largest work projects that I have done in recent years, and you have a momma that is barely keeping her head above water.
BUT! The end is in site and an easier schedule is upon us. Maggie has just rolled with everything. She attends 75% of those practises and 100% of the games and she makes friends wherever she goes. We are so blessed that our soccer "family" loves her and everyone is willing to help out...even if that means chasing her down the sideline while Ryan and I were busy watching a corner kick at the other end of the field! Everyone likes to engage with Maggie, and we are so grateful for that.
Attachment:
Things seem to be going well. We definitely hit some regression sleep-wise. She wakes up crying some nights, which she has not done before. We can usually comfort her and put her back to sleep, but it is probably trauma related.
She is now going to nursery at church and doing well. She fusses briefly when I leave (which is good! It is good that she doesn't want me to leave) and she is happy when I come to get her. It helps us establish that even if we leave for a little while, we always come back.
Food and growth:
We are working on getting her to use utensils. She will sometime, but prefers her hands. I am trying to give her things that she HAS to use a spoon with, like yogurt or cereal, but it is messy, slow business! Cups or sippy cups are still hard. She CAN drink from them, she just refuses to.
Health: We've had a healthy two months with no doctor's appointments and no issues! In this cold and flu season, we are especially grateful for that!
Physical and verbal development:
She is walking! She is definitely on the move now and is trying to climb onto furniture, which is a next developmental stage. She is getting better with her gross and fine motor skills, but it is still something that we will work on for awhile.
Verbally, not much has changed. She is saying "See ya" when people leave and sometimes "bye". She spent most of the last two months working on physical skills, so we are hoping that her verbal will start to catch up.
Goals: We are still wanting to hear more words. We will most likely sign her up for speech therapy around her 2nd birthday, just to help her along.
Eating more independently, as well as getting more fluids from a cup and not the bottle is next step.
She is definitely doing well and thriving here at home. She is very much a toddler and has a very strong will and opinion, so we are both learning how to handle this stage. She wants to do everything that she sees others doing. Are you eating? She must eat the exact same thing. Are you putting shoes on? She must put shoes on. Are you sitting? She must sit. Did you take your jacket off? Her jacket must come off.
While the behavior is usually cute and she is a little sponge that picks everything up, it is also trying at times. Not everyone wants to share bites of food every. single. time. So we are working on communicating needs and wants. Her siblings really do well with sharing with her...but her high pitched scream to get her way also motivates that sharing. So we are trying to find a balance, while also teaching her to how to communicate her desires in a way that does not include screaming. Wish us luck!
Maggie is lively and funny and silly and we can't wait to see the changes in the next few months and years, as we settle into becoming a family of 6.
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