My big girl!

Can I just say, Evie is like a grown up girl these days! Everything about that girl just blows my mind! Her hair is SO long, when I pull on the curls her hair is to the middle of her back! WHAT!? She cooks food for us with her kitchen, we get pizza, drink refills, you name it! Just today I hung up a bird on the fridge that she made at story time . . . She's making crafts already!? We've gone to Jump N Jive about 4 times now, each time she gets a little more brave. Now, rather than sliding down the slides, she jumps from the top to the bottom. It scares me. She laughs her butt off. She sings "The wheels on the bus" like it's nobody's business! She memorized all the actions to "Catch a falling star". And last but not least, she had another evaluation recently, to make sure she's up to speed, and GUESS WHAT!? They told us that had Evie not been given a diagnoses of 'hearing loss' they would not be able to help us anymore, because she's doing so well! That tickles me to death! I'm so proud of my little miss! :)

And might I add . . .

Evie had another little evaluation last Friday and is about where the average 20 month old should be (She is 16 months)! WahO0o! This is extra exciting for us, because it would be normal for Evie to be behind (with her hearing loss) - yet she is AHEAD :)

Go Evie! You rock!

Communication!

Evie has been watching this DVD {Baby Einsteins's "My First Signs"} on a daily basis. Possibly an unhealthy amount of times a day, but she LOVES it!!! I would HIGHLY recommend this DVD to anyone and everyone w/ babies and/or toddlers who are learning to speak. It keeps her attention better than any show she watches! The BEST part of all is that she's learned almost every sign on the video and will tell me and sign what she wants! It's SO COOL! Evie is telling and signing:

• Milk
• Drink
• Cereal
• Eat
• Mommy
• Daddy
• Sleep (which is SO awesome that she can communicate this to us)
• Ball (she is constantly screaming the word ball everytime she see's one!)
• Bath (after breakfast she signs/says 'bath' - COOL!!)
• Play

My favorite are eat and sleep! It's so awesome to me (and her) that she can tell me these things and I understand! It's actually pretty cool that she can tell me all those things period! Even if I can't understand what she is trying to say, I understand what she is signing! YAY! I have to admit, when I first had Evie that was THE hardest thing for me, having a lack of communication! I'm loving that we can communicate so well!

ZERO + 2 PiGgiE tails = Our week{end}

This past week, Braden and I took Evie to another appointment with her audiologist in Salt Lake City. Each time we go, I'm afraid! I am afraid to hear bad news, I'm afraid Evie won't cooperate, I'm afraid I have the appointment time wrong . . . etc! We decided to go out the night before and stay w/ Braden's brother Jed & Abby {thanks guys}, because it's so hard on Evie when we try to turn it into a one day event! Evie got to nap before her appointment and thankfully did AMAZING @ the appointment! {Sigh of relief} Evie mainly spent the appointment in the hearing booth with her daddy, because she was responding and cooperating so well! YAY! She was hearing {w/ hearing aids} things @ ZERO decibels!! So pretty much EVERYTHING :) :) :) It was so encouraging! And we could tell how confident she is w/ her hearing aids on! She's understanding that she hears better with them on and we're so proud of her!!!! The audiologist was tearing up {and possibly Braden?} because Eve was doing so well! It's been a great experience working with our audiologist! She's wonderful! Below is a chart that kind of puts things into perspective . . . (without hearing aids Eve hears @ 45 dB and higher - the Banana shape is where most of the speech sounds are)

On another note . . . Evie is now sporting some adorable piggie tails!!! HER 1st ONES! Her hair has been long enough to do them for a while, but I just never did it. It's a bittersweet thing - she looks totally grown up! But they are So SO sO adorable!

(Intently watching a show from nickjr.com {it's my saving grace})

New Hearing Aids

{The first place we went after we got her hearing aids was Chili's for some lunch! She sat in her chair and listened to all the noises! She kept dancing to the music and bobbing her head to the beat! It was awesome :) }

Evie got her 1st set of hearing aids on Thursday, November 4th, 2010 (the day before her 1st birthday)! They are pink and have clear sparkly ear molds.
I'm going to be honest (don't think I'm awful) but I was not excited about this at all! I was only excited for Evie to hear better - hearing aids, not so much! I was nervous! Nervous they would make Evie look 'different', make her look 'weird', put a stamp on her that says, "I'm Deaf!" or "I have a problem". I also worried about her pulling at them, pulling them off, chewing on them, etc!
I tried to research the hearing aids that her audiologist had ordered so the appointment wouldn't be as overwhelming. I've talked to tons of other moms to get info as well. I HATE feeling overwhelmed and unprepared (which were the exact feelings I had when we found out about her hearing loss).
Braden and I took Evie on Thursday to pick up her hearing aids and try them out for the first time. IT WENT GREAT! Evie is still the same ole' Evie! To me, they don't make her look any different at all! It's obvious that they are there, but it's obvious that my Evie is still the same.
When we first turned the hearing aids on, Evie was sitting on her dad's lap. She just sat there and starred. She didn't move an inch or say a word for a good 5 minutes. THEN she started clapping! We loved it :) We went into the hearing booth where they play noises and see what Evie responds to. She responded multiple times at 10db . . . which is a whisper! Our audiologist said that she didn't think she could even get Braden to pass at that! Pretty awesome! I realized that these hearing aids aren't making her different, they are making her the same!
The even greater news is that she keeps them on ALL DAY LONG! She never even messes with them! I think she's enjoying being able to hear! It's been really cool! I sang happy birthday to her after I'd put them in and she bobbed her head as I sang. It was so cute.
I have noticed a lot of uncomfortably long starring eyes. I wish people would just ask instead of stare! It's awkward! BUT it's not like I don't get it - I was/am a starrer too! You can't blame people for wondering, it just makes for some awkward Wal-Mart shopping time. And I'm sure it will get better! Right now it's all I think about, so it's only natural that I would feel like EVERYONE is staring! And they should be, I have the most adorable daughter EVER! :)

Happy Evie = Happy Mom and Dad

(I forgot my camera for the appointment, but we have an awesome audiologist and she let me use hers - she's making me a CD - I'll post them soon)

9 more days . . . .

In 9 more days my baby is going to be a 'big girl'! That's how I feel! In 9 more days my Evie will be 1 year old! TOO. WeIrD. for. THE. mOm. I seriously don't understand! That was THE fastest year of my entire life! By far much faster than the last year, when I was pregnant, when time seemed to D.R.A.G! Time is such a weird thing.

My cousin, Shelli http://greeneinkphotos.blogspot.com/, did Evie's 1st year pictures yesterday! My auntie, Lexus, came with us, and we had so much fun! We ended up doing her picts. @ the new SpringHill Suites, Marriott (it's totally funky and fun in there)! It has been SO cold outside! And I'm so glad Shelli thought to do them there - SUCH a great idea! The style of the hotel matched Evie's funky outfit perfectly! The whole setting was very 'Evie-ish' aka ExTreMelY SpUnKy! Evie L.O.V.E.S. attention (as do most children) and was having a blast w/ the photo shoot! "All eye's on Evie" is Evie's motto . . . I KNOW it is :)

I love my baby girl! She's such a 'go-get-errr'! I'm so happy that she's here on this earth with Braden and I. Healthy. Happy. Beautiful. PERFECT. Evie is such a special girl, her Heavenly Father sent her to this earth to be with us (her parents) - to help US love, learn, and grow MORE than we ever would have without her. I KNOW, without a doubt, that Evie is here for a special purpose. We've had too many special things happen since she came to us for her not to be on an amazing journey. Since we found out about Evie's hearing loss - it was like before I had time to seek information it was hitting me in the face! A.l.w.a.y.s. and still is! THE BEST information out there is readily available at my fingertips. THE BEST people, professionals, and support are at our sides right now. It's amazing. Truly Amazing. I know that everything happens for a reason. I know this priceless information we are getting is to HELP Evie become the person she needs to be. A Wonderful Person. A Unique Person. A Beautiful Person, inside and out

It's hard to imagine that Braden and I have been sent such a precious jewel from Heaven! I thank Heavenly Father each and every day! We are SO blessed! What a beauty queen for a daughter, right!?

EVA (Update on Miss E)

OK, I'm feeling like I need to update everyone on the latest with our Evie girl! Last week we spent 3 out of 5 days in Salt Lake City @ Primary Children's! UGH! Longest 3 days ever . . . for all of us! We found out some 'news', good news, not great news, hard news, confusing news, etc etc etc. Here is how it all went down! Day 1 of 3: Evie had an MRI of her brain/ears to see if there is anything structurally wrong with her inner ears. After the MRI, while in recovery, they did another Auditory Brain stem Response test. Both of these tests are done while your child is sedated :( Probably spent a good 7 hours there that day!
Day 2 of 3: We met with a Geneticist and her ENT, where they explained to us that Evie has a moderate hearing loss in both ears AND has LVA (Enlarged Vestibular Aqueduct). It's this tiny little tube in our ears, and hers is enlarged, aiding in the cause of her hearing loss (picture @ bottom). The good news, is that this only effects the ears. We don't have to worry about her eyes or any other kind of syndromes associated with hearing loss. The bad news is that this can be progressive. The overwhelming part is that it can progress SUPER fast, super slow or not at all - we just have to play the 'waiting game'! I'm praying that for her it doesn't progress at all!!! Just as we were leaving the hospital the doctor called Braden's cell phone and says, "I just got a call from radiology, please come back!" Then we find out that her MRI showed some 'spots' on her brain, they didn't know what they were so they ordered a CT scan immediately! Talk about roller coaster! Since we knew Evie wasn't going to 'hold completely still' for 5 minutes while getting the x-ray they had to sedate her AGAIN! This time it was the worst for us because she was awake but totally out of it! She started giggling and trying to wave at us and I just wanted to pick her up and cry! The test results showed that it was 'nothing' . . .
Day 3 of 3: Hearing aid evaluation. This was SO hard for me. Harder than I thought it would or could ever be. The audiologist kept saying, "This is the 'fun' part, picking out colors and ear molds!!" It really wasn't fun at all. I had a hard time picking colors and getting into it. Which is really hard for me to even admit, but it's the truth. That's when all of this became a reality for me. My sweet little baby has to wear these hearing aids for the rest of her life. I felt sorry for Evie a good portion of the way home that day. Then I started thinking about the past few days - while we were waiting for Evie's MRI there was this lady in the waiting room who was feeding her baby through a feeding tube with syringes. Now that is a lifetime commitment if I ever saw one! Evie's hearing loss is seriously nothing she or I can't handle! Worst case, she losses her hearing completely, we have options! 100% deaf people with cochlear implants actually HEAR! Pretty freaking amazing.

Evie will have her pink/glitter hearing aids Nov. 4th, the day before she turns the big 1 year old!

"Hear" we go!

These past few weeks have been OVERWHELMING . . . to say the least! I feel like I've had an 'information overload' learning about children with hearing loss. BUT it's been great! Evie meets with an Ear Nose and Throat Specialist @ Primary Childrens on Oct. 1st! THEN we'll get the clearance for a hearing aid evaluation! THEN we'll get molds made of her tiny winy ears for hearing aids to be made! THEN we'll wait for the hearing aids to get here! THEN she'll have more tests done to make sure she's hearing WoNdErFuLLy as she possibly can! :)
So, in the meantime Braden and I were thinking . . . ok, what now!? Yell at her so she can hear us until the hearing aids are here? What can she even hear? What do we do? Should we change how we communicate with her!? Do we WAIT for the hearing aids to be here?
And then . . . a MiRaCle happened . . . .
My mom, just recently, started keeping in touch with a friend from 5th GRADE! (5th grade people). Who, ironicly, has 2 children with coclear implants (used when hearing loss is severe to profound), AND is the president (I think) of the Nevada chapter of some program for parents of deaf or hard of hearing children. ANYWAYS, Like a day after we found out about Evie's hearing loss (at the time pretty much no one knew but us), this lady (from 5th grade) sent my mom a package with a magazine that had some pages flagged w/ sticky notes. So my mom is going through this magazine and the first note says, "Just thought you might find this article interesting, this is so much a part of me." It was an article w/ questions and answers for parents just finding out about their childs hearing loss. SO GREAT! But the greatest part of it all, is we called my moms friend to get some more info and she hooked me up with a lady she knows from http://www.jtc.org/ and gave me her number, and here is the most EnCouRaGiNg information she told me:

3 most important things to do with your child while waiting for hearing aids (BUT I think this really applies to any infant - it's very basic, but very effective)

• Talk close to them. Don't be further than 1ft away when trying to communicate. Speak with clarity, don't yell, and don't exagerate your lip movements.
• TALK and TALK and TALK to them. Tons of conversation! Explain and narrorate everything going on around you. Talk until people around you are thinking, "Geez lady, are you ever going to shut up?!"
• SING to them! Singing imitates speech. It will help them learn high and low, loud and soft, and rythem. You can also turn on music - any music (dance too)!

I love Evie so much! This journey is just begining for all of us. I have a much better attitude towards it NOW than I did before! Educating myself is the KEY! There is so much the I can do as her parent to help her. It excites me, and also makes me nervous! Yay for technology :)