All Work, All Play, Means Noa Has A Busy Day!

I can't believe September is nearly over! And look at Noa, she already looks like a big kid with her pig-tails. She doesn't usually keep them in for long - as with most of Noa's games it's more about asking you to put them in and then asking you to take them out. She continues to enjoy finger toys, and now we have some rubberbands that have also become finger toys.

In this photo Noa is doing the sign for work, which she learned at school. Noa's transition to Blythedale has been just great - she really loves it there and is already thriving. They always warn you, especially with special needs kids, that they will probably lose some ground in a big transition like this, but that certainly hasn't happened in this case - and it's a big change and a long day. Noa leaves for school at 8am and she doesn't get home until 5pm! But she comes home totally happy. She even seems to like her bus driver and matron, and Noa's teacher Meredith said that some older kids on her bus were asking about Noa's zuzees - the electric toothbrushes she likes to play with - and she introduced Noa to the other kids and showed them how to understand her and they were really into it.

I have to really commend the folks at Blythedale for really taking the time and making the effort to work with Noa on her terms. They are a rehabilation school, but not a school for the blind (though they have other VI students and a wonderful VI teacher, and as it turns out there are other VI kids in her class) - and we were a bit concerned about Noa being in a class with kids who could see, that she would be left out or just sitting bored (or screaming and hitting), but they've done a great job of including Noa and she's made quick and wonderful connections with her teachers and therapists.

In fact, when Ben and I were there for Parents Day Meredith was reading a book to the kids and even though Noa couldn't see the pictures, the teacher and the aids helped her figure out how to do the activities that went with the story, and as a result Noa really seemed to be trying to listen and understand - she got that this story meant something, and seemed to really be trying to figure it out.

I also wanted to share a bit from a wonderful note that Meredith sent home with Noa the other day, it truly brought a tear to my eye because it's such a wonderful testament to how well Noa is doing:

"There are some new students joining us and Noa has taken on a leadership role to demonstrate our activities to them. She was very happy all day!"

Family Fun

We had a great time this weekend down at Grammy and Grampy's house in Maryland! As you can see, Noa is having a great time playing blocks with Aunt Leusia, sharing her toys with her cousin Elecktra & doing sign language with Aunt Pate.

It was actually the first time that we felt like Noa really was able to be a part of the playroom action. She really seemed to love the energy of being in the room with the other kids and all the ruckus of cousins running and laughing and throwing things (Noa being the queen of throwing things).

Noa's cousing Abby invented a new toy for Noa - little rings made out of string - that Noa absolutely loved. We decided to call them "finger toys" (I've been trying to think of names for toys that will help Noa learn the alphabet and F is a letter she doesn't know yet and one that is very specific). Noa learned the sign in one shot and asked for them consistently all weekend - and all the way home. When she is motivated she is fast!

Also, because Noa's signs are becoming clearer and her ability to communicate (i.e. her patience) is deepening, she was really able to communicate more clearly with her Aunt Pate who actually knows sign language, and that makes a HUGE difference - not only for the two of them but for me and Ben as well because we felt very comfortable leaving Noa with the family while we went out to our friend Matt's surprise party.

All the way home, Noa signed for Grammy - which was very cute. She really enjoyed spending time with family and she's really starting to have wonderful, special and individual relationships with everyone which is just lovely.

Rock On!

So yesterday we decided to check out this new playground down at South Street Seaport that was supposed to have all sorts of creative interactive stuff for kids. It's always hard to know if these places are going to have stuff for Noa, but we figured the bus ride would be fun and if nothing else we could go down by the water and feel the breeze.

As you can see from the video, it turns out it the place was a real success and Noa had a great time in spite of the fact that she really couldn't play with most of the stuff there. Nearly the entire playground is in sand, which is great for most kids, but not for kids in wheelchairs and not kids who can't really walk (sand is hard to walk in), so we carried her into the sand but as you'll see if you go to the "Toss On!" video below she had a great time once she was in the sand.

In this video we're making good use of the foam blocks which are actually kind of neat.

Most of the stuff required being able to see and appreciate that you could put sand in this or that and then pully it over here or there; or stack these big foam blocks into a maze you could roll a ball in... stuff like that. But the great thing about where Noa - and her current sense of adventure - is that she really seemed to get that we were someplace special where you try new things and she was very open to that and she likes the sound of other kids playing and all the ruckus that goes with the playground.

And of course, we took her out on the Pier when we were done at the playground and she loved the wind there - wind is one of her favorite things. I was concerned that she might get cranky leaving the Pier (it was getting on 7pm by this time), but luckily the streets of South Street Seaport are cobblestone, so the fun bouncing helped to make up for the lack of wind in her hair. All in all, a great family outing!

Stomp On!

One of the cool things about this nifty boardwalk that created kind of a half-circle around the playground was that it had a little give to it. Not much, but enough that I think it gave Noa some fun feedback when she stomped on it. She's pretty sensitive to that kind of thing. She walked the entire boardwalk holding onto the rail with one hand, and Daddy with the other.

Toss On!

Toward the end of the summer session, Noa's teacher told me how much Noa liked playing in the sandbox when they went to a local playground and I was surprised. We had tried sandboxes in the past, and had been to a few beaches, and Noa never really went for it so this playground - which was covered in sand - was a great opportunity to see for myself if she really like it. I think the video speaks for itself.

We will be working of getting the sand out of our hair, off her wheelchair and out of the house for a while I think. She was really generous it.

Thank You Tooth Fairy!

So Noa's officially a big kid - she lost her first tooth the other day. Just spit it right out.

Here she is with her new best friend Rover celebrating the fancy red hoodie the Tooth Fairy brought for her. Although Noa has in the past been somewhat suspicous of new things, she was very eager to try on her new hoodie, and once she had it on she insisted on wearing it for the rest of the day and even slept in it! Boy, the tooth fairy sure knows Noa!!

Rover is My Co-Pilot

After our great success with Rover yesterday, I just thought I'd give him a spin this morning and see if she was still attached. She did sleep with him, but when she woke up she asked for "Doggie" (a different smaller toy that she usually sleeps with).

So after breakfast I asked her if she wanted Rover and she signed some approximation of his name (it's a difficult new sign for her but she was close) and when I gave her Rover so was so excited - it was even better than block!

I swear to you, I did not put Rover on her back like that. SHE did it! She asked for piano and brought him with her and after some work flipping him about she finally discovered this solution on her her. Smarty!