what we've been up to...

...starting with the stuff i didn't post from sunday. we went to king's table in waupaca with mom and dad, then went to their house afterwards. cole had a nap and after he got up, he had fun playing with his grandma and grandpa. the game of the hour? catch, of course!

making grandma do all the work

"it's fun, grandpa!!"

cabbage patch, anyone?

yesterday i had an appointment at n.e.w. rehab to start sensory therapy. lynne went over the eval from last time and had already devised a plan. instead of starting with auditory therapy, she decided to start with touch. so- several times a day (like, every two hours, ideally) i'm supposed to do brushing and joint compression. brushing is just using a surgical brush to "scrub" the skin on my back, tops and undersides of my arms, the palms of my hands, the fronts and backs of my legs and the balls of my feet. it only takes a minute or two. joint compressions only take a few minutes as well. i can't explain it as well as lynne can, but we all have a threshold for stimulus, like a pain threshold, except with senses. there are certain stimuli that register very low on my threshold, that may register high on other peoples'. for example, when someone rubs my back, it registers as about a 2 on my threshold, where as for many other people, it registers at, say, an 8. hard to explain... but the purpose of brushing and joint compression is to create the neurological pathways that will allow my brain to register touch as "good". lynne did the routine on me in the office, and when she was done, she took my pulse. it was 80 bpm and erratic. ten minutes later she took it again and it was 68 bpm and steady. so it's not a figment of my imagination; i really do escalate when people get too close!! let me tell you, that session was NOT that comfortable. hopefully in a few weeks i'll be able to tell a real difference... :)

cole's trying to figure out mommy's brush...

... i'd say he's got it!

on a little side note, lynne told me that if cole's irritable and won't calm down (same with madison) that a little brushing can hepl, whether or not there are sensory issues. cool- i'll so have to try that!

we had mashed potatoes, green beans and fish last night. cole picked up a piece of fish, popped it in his mouth and immediately spit it out. so much for that. he didn't want the potatoes (can we say "picky eater"?!) until i tricked him into opening his mouth. he found out they weren't so bad after all, and ate them and most of his beans. it's interesting to watch a toddler self-feed with mashed potatoes...

he resorted to using his fingers. messy!! at least he ate them. i think we've entered the picky eating phase of toddlerhood. it was bound to hit sooner or later...