A Happy Note

Amidst all of the craziness with Lydia, I haven't given an update on Elise in a while. Her 4 hours of speech therapy per week are really paying off. She is making so much progress, and all therapists who are involved with her (as well as mom and dad) are very proud of how far she has come. She still has a long road ahead, but you can tell from her that she feels more empowered now that she has some abilities to communicate. Suzanne (her Early Steps therapist) has begun analyzing the sounds and words that Elise produces to try to figure out some patterns so that we can understand her better. It is fascinating how much she knows about language and how she can draw conclusions based on Elise's enunciations. I can usually (though not always) understand what Elise is saying in context. It is fun to see her eyes light up when she knows that we know what she is saying. We have lots of fun exercises to work on with her at home and her teachers at Parent's Day Out are also working on some things with her. It is a team effort, and Elise is lucky to have such great people involved in her care!

Audrey is doing very well also...loving life at the "big school." She had a fairy tale day at school today, and was precious dressed in her Cinderella costume. She has been a tremendous help to mommy through all of this. I sometimes feel guilty because I treat her like a "go-getter," but I think she enjoys it most of the time.