How do I look?

Myka came up and joined me as I was finishing getting ready one morning during Eli's nap. She decided she would take some time to fix her hair as well, so she rounded up every clip she could find in our bathroom and put them in her hair. She kept mumbling how she would be beautiful after she was finished. I of course told her she was, but I'll let you decide for yourself.

Let him eat cake

We celebrated my birthday a few different times last week (it's amazing how I keep turning 29...) with dinners and desserts all around. So for the first time we let Eli try some cupcake since on his birthday he was only eating Cheerios and wanted nothing to do with the stuff or the ice cream that went with it. I only gave him part of one and he picked it right up and took a bite. The reaction seemed a bit mixed, but not too bad. He ate what was given to him so I gave him a little more but he gave it back. I guess I know now these strange eating habits didn't come from ME!

Sensitive

I mentioned that we now know more about Eli's eating habits. It has only taken 13 months or so, but we are starting to figure the little guy out. We have seen an early intervention specialist three times so far and have learned that Eli is dealing with some sensory issues, mostly in his mouth. As I described and demonstrated feeding times with Eli to our specialist, she seemed confident that was what was really going on. Basically, his mouth causes his body to react to food the way our ears cause our body to react to fingernails down a black board... it wigs him out. In the 8 months we have been trying to feed him he has come to find that a few foods are "safe" and will always prefer those over anything else. This would be why for the last two months his diet consisted entirely of Cheerios, bread, rice cereal, and oatmeal. We had been doing better for awhile, but apparently overwhelmed him and he regressed back to his safety zone. Our job now is to desensitize him so that he can handle the food in his mouth long enough to swallow it. As I mentioned, this involves a lot of playing with his food.

Unfortunately, this is working...

I am happy to report that he is now eating almost any flavor of baby food and usually any type of dry cracker-esque item that is given to him. What we are working on now is what I call the "slimy" category. Any type of solid food with moisture in it stands little chance of entering his mouth. And if he is a little distracted and I can sneak it in there, it stands absolutely No chance of staying. Sadly, this is a large category. We are talking about melons, berries, beans, peas, cooked carrots, pasta, pizza, and everything else you can think of that has a moist look or feel. He won't even touch it with his hands. So we are working on that.

However, some of this also helps to explain why he would scream the second anyone tried to hold him until he was back in either mom or dad's arms. (Sidenote: this has gotten a LOT better in the last couple months as well.) But I knew this was unusual considering it started around 1 month old, and I wasn't buying the idea that I wasn't "passing him around enough." In his sensitive little world, he had figured out that we were safe, and everyone else just wigged him out.

Basically, Kurt and I were the cheerios. You all were the watermelon.

(Hey, at least I didn't call you slimy...)

All Wet

This is Myka two weeks ago. This is also as wet as she liked to get at the time. (Side note: it was 63 degrees outside, BUT the water was 90, so no excuses...) Just in case the turtle decided to abandon her mid-pool she is wearing a life jacket, because heaven forbid she would go under water.

This is Myka later that day. We have left the safety of the turtle but the jacket is still on. She is showing me how she bravely puts her face in the water. Careful, sweetie, you wouldn't want to get your eyes in there.


Jump ahead to the next day. The turtle has deflated (really) and the jacket is off and drying on the deck. We have been underwater several times to have a tea party, touch the bottom (almost) and after jumping in (holding on to someone of course).


After returning home we had a nice day where we were able to play at a pool with friends, and then swim lessons started the following week. The timing of everything has been perfect, as Myka is now a different kid in the water. I have no pictures of swim lessons yet because they do not allow cameras until the last day, but she has enjoyed jumping in by herself, back floating alone (until she freaks out and sinks) and opening her eyes under water to see what color ball the teacher has in her hand. She loves it and everyone that knows me that has seen her in the water lately says they can tell she is my kid. I laugh and tell them they wouldn't say that if they had seen her two weeks ago.

Her latest water adventures have involved the sprinkler, as we finally are needing to use it once in awhile to keep our lawn and plants healthy. Myka thinks this is the best thing ever and tells everyone who walks by while we are out there to go home and get their swim suit on and come back to play with her. Most of these people are in their 60's.

I'm pretty sure every kid who has ever played in a sprinkler has tried this out...

Welcome to the wonderful world of playing in the water, Myka. May you enjoy it as much as I have!

In the News

Highlights from the last week in the Hoover house:
* Myka slept in a tent for the first time in the backyard with Daddy. The s'mores beforehand, although appropriate for the occasion, may have enhanced the excitement a bit beyond where Kurt would have wanted it to be for bedtime.
* We found out Eli has a sensory processing disorder in his mouth. (This sounds worse than it is...) Basically, his mouth is hyper sensitive and anything other than plastic and very bland foods freak him out.
Solution: let him play with his food. Really, that is what we are working on this week. This is very, very hard for me...
* I heard the words, "I don't really want ice cream, I think I'll just have a glass of water."
* Myka jumped off the side of the pool all by herself at swimming lessons. She is very proud.
* She also rode her big girl bike (i.e. 12 incher with training wheels) all the way around the neighborhood. Again, she is very proud.
* Eli, according to Myka, needs to learn to "be brave" when we go on a walk and there is a sprinkler to cross through, so she is helping him overcome his fear of being randomly splashed by making sure we walk through each and every sprinkler on our route, no matter which side of the road it is on.
* We had a conversation at dinner last night about what happens when you die, and after we told her the basics Myka said, "When I die, can I go in your box? I don't want to be lonely."

Looking forward to another exciting week!