Catching up

My first cold of the season has knocked me down a bit this week. It's finally lifting, or, rather, progressing downward, so while I feel a bit better, I am losing my voice. You'll have to behave because I can't yell at you!

Hannah and I took a little trip last weekend to visit Wendy and attend the DSAVP's monthly meeting. We had fun visiting with the little girls at Wendy's house, and seeing all our old friends at the meeting.

Hannah loves to read to the little ones.
(As long as they sit still and listen! See previous post about noisy preschoolers!)

There was a visitor at the meeting who came to talk about her experience with Special Olympics. Amy is 30 years old and participated in the National Special Olympics. She was terrific! I love meeting adults with Down syndrome. (and pretty much anyone else with Down syndrome...)

I was healthy on Tuesday, so Hannah and I went to our friend Grace's house for an inauguration party. It was a fabulous time sharing the joy and excitement of the day with several families!

Hannah was finally fitted for her new glasses--they should be arriving within a week or two. We chose the specs4us frames even though the options were limited (only two of the frame styles come in her size, and only one of those can carry bifocal lenses). It's hard to find frames that complement Hannah's coloring--most the girls' styles are pink, red or purple. These new frames are burgundy. Since we're under strict instructions to have frames that absolutely fit, we have to make some fashion compromises!

This week, while I've been sick, Hannah has been studying several cookbooks we borrowed from the library. I guess she'd like to have some real food rather than hunting and gathering in the pantry. She has made a list of menu options. Friday morning she wanted to make this:

She only needed a little help (separating the egg--she doesn't like yolks).

(I tried to hide the bedhead...)

Yum!

Tonight she has plans to make "Perfect Pasta" (ziti and Italian sausage). I think that will require a little more intervention on my part! If I play my cards right, maybe over time I can abdicate my position as Queen of the Quitchen.

Hannah was scheduled for her CPAP sleep study this Sunday night. I decided to postpone it because I fear she'll be coming down with my cold. She has a cracked lip, which is usually a sign that a cold is coming soon. And even if she doesn't, my cough will wake her up during the night! She is re-scheduled for February 8th.

Now I'm being paged to help her retrieve her saved Princess Wii game so she can play again...lazy Saturday for us.

Ophthalmology today

We had a 4+ hour visit with Hannah's new ophthalmologist today. I like Dr. Carothers, and so did Hannah. He was very thorough, as was his assistant. The good news is that her cataracts are stable and have not grown! There were some concerns as to whether Hannah was showing some latent amblyopia, but he was able to rule it out, so that was good as well. She just has plain old low muscle tone in her eyes.

(click on the picture get get a better view of the questionable eye)

Hannah has latent nystagmus (shifty eyes! I bet you can't trust a kid with shifty eyes-they probably sneak Halloween candy into their rooms!), which is not a big problem. She does have some significant hyperopia; she's quite farsighted. Her new prescription will have bifocals. I am quite pleased because I have been thinking about bifocals for her for quite a while, and Dr. Carothers brought it up without my input. (See, sometimes I do keep my mouth shut in a doctor's office. Who'd believe that??)

We'll probably make the journey down to Newport News where I know they carry the new Specs4Us frames. It is very important for Hannah's frames to fit correctly, without any sliding down the nose, so she can have optimal use of the bifocals. Wendy just had Carley fitted with Specs4Us and loved the fit. Kids with Down syndrome tend to have flatter profiles than typical children, and the bridge of the nose is usually close to non-existent. Add in low-set, small ears, and it's difficult to make mainstream frames fit. It takes someone who really understands the nuances of the Ds bone structure to adjust frames to fit well.

I am hoping that the bifocals will help her be more comfortable with smaller fonts in chapter books. Right now she limits her pleasure reading to picture books (Level 3 or 4) because the fonts are larger. She does read easy chapter books (Flat Stanley, Magic Tree House, etc), but it is considerably more work for both her eyes and her reading skills, so we do that during school time when I can encourage her.

We had to scurry after the appointment because the dentist was awaiting at 2:00 today as well! This was a new-to-Hannah dentist. Our first try with the "recommended" dentist for Hannah left a sour taste in my mouth. So now, for the first time, she is going to our regular family dentist. She LOVES going to the dentist. I think they are going to offer her a paid position when she's old enough--she was such an ambassador in the waiting room! You'd think that her complimentary toothbrush was gold-plated--she treasures it so! "Oh! Thank you so much! I like this new toothbrush. Mom? Can I use it tonight? It's so nice!" (Or, maybe she thought a "complimentary" toothbrush meant she was supposed to use compliments???)

Her teeth are terrific. She has just four deciduous teeth left to lose, then she can get braces. "Just like my friend Amelia."

Tomorrow we are off on a field trip to hear the Richmond Symphony with the Girls' Group+brothers. Maybe I can pay Amelia to convince Hannah braces are fun?