A Sesame Street Party!

Today, I had a Sesame Street Birthday Party.  It was so much fun!

Here is my birthday cake with all of my favorite characters! 

 

I was so excited that today was the day. . .my party!

A party isn’t complete without birthday hats.

Elmo and my Great Great Aunt Mary

Elmo also posed with my Grandma Sailing

and my Grandpa Sailing. 

My mom, the mastermind, with her Big Bird hat.

Silly Julia

Finally, it was time to open presents!

Look at all of those presents!

Katie and Elmo

 

I had so many presents to open, some people fell asleep!  :)

Better hurry up!

My cousin, Izzy, wore an I Love Olivia outfit.  I felt like a superstar with everyone making such a big fuss over me.

Finally, it was time for cake. . .my other favorite part about birthdays! 

I blew out the candle before everyone was finished singing. . .oops.

  

I sang along with everyone else.  It’s one of my favorite songs!

The cake was delicious!

Later, we played “Stick The Nose On Elmo.”  Here is my cousin, Katie, who was the winner!  Mom and dad couldn’t find a blindfold that worked, so they stuck a bag over everyone’s heads.  Silly.

I was so excited to try out my new tricycle.  I’ll get the hang of it.

After a nap, I am enjoying my new dollhouse and daddy is putting together my train set.  Thank you, everyone, for making my third birthday so special.  I love you all!

A Year In Review

Some people had trouble viewing the video on YouTube, so I reposted it here. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday, Olivia!

Tomorrow, August 27th, my baby girl is turning 3!  I put together a short slideshow of this past year.  Click the link below to view it. Enjoy! 

Olivia is Three!

Last year, I put together a short slideshow of Olivia as well.  I cried the entire time because I felt so guilty not making one for Logan. . .it’s his birthday too.  So, THIS year, I made his slideshow first (but, you don’t get to view that until next month.)  Then, I didn’t feel as awful knowing I’d devoted my time to him as well.  I struggle on this day. . .I think I always will.  I am torn between making the day happy and joyful for Olivia, but also remembering Logan.  Each year, I say, “I’m not going to cry,” but I still do.  I cry for Logan.  I cry because I’m crying and I shouldn’t cry for my daughter’s sake.  It’s her special day!  I thought maybe this year it would be easier, but it isn’t.  It’s really tough.

No Words. . .

Wednesday, August 25, 2010 - Update

Guess what Grandma and Grandpa Glunt brought over for me on Sunday!  Do you know what it is?

My new slide!

Weeee

eeeeee

eeeeeee

eeeeeee!

That was fun!  Now, let’s do it again!

Olivia’s IEP Meeting

This morning we had Olivia’s IEP meeting and it went very well.  Everything they observed was spot on to what we see in Olivia on a day to day basis.  She does not qualify for speech as she is age appropriate in all areas.  We’ve always known her to be a very good communicator. . .even when setting off the alarms in the NICU when she was unhappy.  She also scored very well as far as her intelligence and what she knows.  She will go to preschool one half day a week (I can handle that) and receive OT and PT services.  She was actually farthest behind in self help skills (dressing, undressing, etc.) and ball handling. . .putting her at about 24 months.  Her gross motor skills are actually farther behind than I thought, although that explains our experiences in gymnastics.  She enjoys it, but it’s really tough for her.  They also observed something that we see a lot. . .she can sit at a table and pay attention very well, but when she is in a large area with different stimuli, she gets very distracted.  That also explains the problems that we have in gymnastics.  Can you tell gymnastics is tough on me too?  Most children take gymnastics because they have a natural propensity towards it.  Olivia is in gymnastics to learn those skills because they are difficult for her and I feel that kind of sets us apart.  We’re trying really hard to stick with it.  I do think they teach a lot of skills that would help Olivia.

Anyway, in most areas she is around 30 months, so about 6 months behind.  For a 23 weeker, the fact that she didn’t qualify in some areas is astounding.  She has come farther than we could have ever dreamed and we are so proud of her.  She starts school next Tuesday!

Monday, August 23, 2010 - Update

Last week, Olivia was evaluated by the school district.  She loses her services through Rainbows at 3 years old at which time they are picked up by the school.  She has to go through a qualification process, however, to determine whether she is eligible based on if/how far she is behind developmentally.   She did amazing and we joked that she was going to disqualify herself.   I was so proud of the things that she has worked so hard to do.  Tomorrow morning, we have her IEP meeting to discuss the results and the areas that she needs more assistance in.  I believe she will qualify for OT and PT, but I don’t think she’s too far behind in speech.   I’m really nervous.  If she qualifies, she will go to preschool and I’m just not ready to send her to preschool.  It’s very important to us, however, to give Olivia the assistance necessary to allow her to accomplish anything in life.  I want to grant her every opportunity to catch up in areas that are difficult for her.  Hopefully, preschool will allow her to do that.  I’m praying that we see eye to eye with what the school recommends for her.  But, it will be really really hard to send my baby to school.

More Pics

Olivia’s Pictures

As you know, last week Uncle Joel took some pictures of Olivia and we got them back today.  They are precious!  I thought I would share a few of them throughout the week, leading up to her birthday.  Enjoy!