Conversation with Grace tonight

Physical Therapy

We had our PT eval this afternoon. Miss Grace was a trooper and was rewarded with tons of goldfish. I think we were with the therapist for an hour and a half. She evaluated all kinds of things. Range of motion, strength, muscle tone, reflexes, balance, coordination.... we played with the ball, the 'Cookie Jar' toy (shape sorter), blew bubbles.....

Basically Grace has issues transitioning. She can't get from one position to another. She can't get herself into a sitting position from laying down. She can't move into an all 4s position from sitting. We're suppose to focus less on standing/walking and more on floor skills. She needs to sit with her knees pointed in the same direction (she is doing this to some extent in the Choo Choo video) - Ladies, think how you would sit if you were on the floor wearing a dress. When getting her up (either from bed or from changing a diaper), we need to roll her to her side, and have her work on pushing herself up into a sitting position. We won't be trying this trick on the changing table! We need to move her from a sitting position onto all 4s and back into a sitting position. And we need to work on rolling.

As of now, we'll have weekly appointments for 6 weeks. Could be more, could be less. We liked the therapist, and we'll take turns taking her.

On another note, pretty sure Grace said 'bubbles' and 'up' today, and signed 'more' at dinner tonight. Her teacher noted yesterday that she said 'ball'. Chatty Cathy. Wonder where she gets that from?

Choo Choo Train, Ball and Uh oh!

Here's a video from yesterday playing with the Choo Choo Train and balls. I think I hear her trying to say 'ball' and she definitely (quietly) says 'uh oh' when she drops the yellow ball.

Parent Teacher Conference

Friday Matt and I had, what will probably be the first of many, parent teacher conferences for Miss Grace.

They evaluated Grace in the following areas:

Language Arts - using defined syllables, vocalizing pleasure/displeasure, following commands, listening to self, relating words to objects.
Sensory Stimulation - experiencing opposites (soft/hard), new smells, textures, etc.
Cognitive Development - turns object to gain perspective, hold one thing, reach for another, voluntarily releases objects, imitates actions, places objects in and out, uncovers hidden objects, points to body parts, remembers location, tuns book pages (exceeds here!).
Creative Art - enjoys tactile experiences, marks with crayon, recognizes own product, produces process-art pieces.
Motor Skills - pulling up, moving to sitting position, crawls while holding toy, picks up small objects, stands and walks with support, walks along, climbs.
Music/Movement - claps hands, bangs objects, produces rhythm, recognizes tempos, imitates singing.
Self-Help/Life Skills - helps dress self, holds cup, holds spoon, feeds self.

They confirmed that they've noticed a little bit of a delay in the motor skills area. But I found it interesting that they emphasized that they have worked with her, particularly in the pulling up department. We go for her PT eval on Tuesday, and I explained to them that we'll probably have several sessions and exercises to focus on. They seemed eager to help in any way.

I think her teachers really like her and think she's doing great. She's such a happy, sweet girl. And pretty independent and easy going. [Wish this was true on Sundays when we try to take her to the church nursery..... she has been kicked out 5 out of 6 times because she gets so upset and worked up. Random. And interesting, only a Presbyterian problem.]

Overall, she got a good report from school! We celebrated out with a veggie pizza dinner at a new local place, called Diesel. It use to be an old gas station! Ehhh, first and probably last time going there. Mellow Mushroom is better. :)

One Year Stats!

Weight: 22lb. 2 oz. - 70th percentile
Height: 30.5 inches - 90th percentile
Head: 47 3/4 cm. - 95th percentile

Right on track....or rather, tracking right along her growth curve.

A toe prick (blood levels look excellent!) and 3 vaccinations. Makes for a very unhappy young lady.

We did get one piece of news today at the doctor's office that was totally unexpected. Turns out the doctor is concerned that Grace doesn't sit herself up or pull herself up. So we've been ordered to Physical Therapy. Trying to set up an eval now, so not sure what all this will entail.... stay tuned!

Haute Couture

This little number is a custom design by MKLH Designs.


It was nearly impossible to stop her from modeling!


Hamming it up for the camera, big time!


Custom bloomers, too!
Grace was the Queen Bee of her party. Thank you, personal dress designer. We are forever indebted to your talents. [I am so lucky to have so many talented friends!!]

More Bee-Day details

It was a team effort! Thanks to all of the Busy Bees for making the Bee-Day party such a success. Do you think Grace will remember all the fine touches? :)

How cute is this bee cupcake? Malt ball head, vanilla wafer wings.... YUM! In hindsight, I could do this....


Month to Month pictures on bee picture stands, rigged to work by Grandpa!



Pipe cleaner bees! Chief crafters: Granny, Grandpa and Daddy. Daddy's bees had detachable heads and stingers. Grandpa's bees had hexagonal eyes. The "detail" was amazing. :) For a how to video: ehow on pipe cleaner bees.


Cookie favors! Baked by Mommy (cheated with store bought dough), and iced with love by Granny and Grandpa. Bee stickers lovingly placed by Daddy. Arranged by Mommy.


Yellow, black and white Jelly belly's!



And some better shots of the banner...

Birthday Party Recap

Whew. That was exhausting! But we had a great time. Thank you everyone for coming today to celebrate Grace's 1st Birthday!


The Birthday Girl in her Haute Couture! Thank you, Melissa!!


The Beehive and Bumble Bee Cookie Favors and Bubbles.


The Beehive Cake and Bumble Bee Cupcakes. Yum. Great job, Publix.


Singing Happy Birthday. Shy girl. Well she WAS naked under that bib! Purposefully. Complimentary Smash Cake from Publix.



Video of the main event


And the banner.....hopefully I can get a couple better shots of it with some better lighting...... it was super cute, if I do say so myself!

Happy Birthday Baby Bee! We love you!

One Year Old

One year ago today, C.B. Sullenberger safely landed US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River AND Grace Marie Caspermeyer was born. Kind of neat to have a memorable national event on your birthday.

And what a year it has been..... our lives have been changed forever. It's hard to remember our lives before this sassy and sweet little girl came into our lives. What did we do with all our free time!?

The final list, twelve things about Grace this month:

1. Gives hugs! Will lay her head down on your shoulder and put both arms around you.

2. When tired, will also lay her head down on your shoulder. This has come in handy moving from the car when she's fallen asleep... that infant carrier was good for something! You didn't have to wake a sleeping baby.

3. Understands us! Might sound funny, but we can see Grace remembering and understanding things we've told her. The best example is 'No'. In the video of her walking with Matt, she gets to the table in the foyer and starts shaking her head. After I watched it a few times, it occurred to me that she's shaking her head because I had previously told her not to touch the candle holder on the bottom shelf.

4. Everything is "Da da". Matt is "dada", the bottle is "dada", the dog is "dada". But interestingly, all 3 have a different tone and inflection in her voice, so there is a difference if you listen closely.

5. Eating lots of different foods. We're on the meal plan at school now, and each day it is something different. And it appears she's at least trying everything..... although yesterday there was a big fat "NONE" next to Oranges on her food list. I can't say I've ever given her an orange, so we'll have to try that out and see what the issue is.

6. We've been giving her a sippy cup of milk with dinner for awhile now. Most days she at least drinks some. I'm worried that when we make the big switch she won't get enough based on this.... but I guess it's normal.

7. And for that matter, not sure how the transition off of bottles is going to go. We introduced the sippy cup about 6 months ago, but just this morning, Grace was not a fan of having her morning formula in the sippy cup. I had to pour it into a bottle for her to finish it.

8. Waves (Hi and Bye - another "understanding" thing), claps, and is starting to blow kisses.

9. Puts things in and takes them out. We have these cups in the bathtub that she is starting to stack and put other things into.

10. Loves books. Can sit contently for quite a long time flipping pages and looking at pictures.

11. On the mobility front, we're still scooting along. She can get quite far. She's pulling up more and more, at least to her knees.

12. Skinny! Slowly moving into 12/12-18 month clothes.... she will love being skinny later in life, but right now, I'm hoping she's at least staying on her growth curve.

Here are some shots from the last month: Grace: Month 12
I didn't have time to do much editing....

This wasn't a picture full post. But I promise, this weekend will be FULL of pictures.

Little Old Lady

There is no zip or pep in her step. It is all angst, all the time... oh, the torture!

Enjoy! :)

Cute Video

Atta Girl

That Mommy and Daddy...they worry for nothing!

Grace had an AWESOME first day in her new class. She ate well, played well, and SLEPT extremely well. And the kicker....she came home in a fantastic mood. Hopefully the rest of the week will go equally as well.


Apparently the more advanced "naughty" children in her class told Grace it would be a good idea to go home tonight and pull up on her Mama's oven while she's cooking dinner!!

Moving on up!

Grace has her first day in her new class today! This new class is called "First Steps" and is for the babies that are a little bit more mobile and older. I think Grace is probably the least mobile of the class.... but maybe a day or two (or week or two) around some of these more advanced babies and she'll be zipping around like nobodies business. You'd be amazed how far she can scoot. And her pulling up has really increased in the last few days.

In this new class, Grace will be on the meal plan - whole wheat pizza, diced carrots, peaches, and graham crackers today! I think that is JUST lunch, and she'll also have two snacks. This in addition to the two bottles she'll still need to suck down..... I see those going (quickly) by the wayside (11 days and we're bottle free!!).....

But the big thing about this class: ONE NAP! All together. On nap mats. Yeah right. Can't wait to see/hear how that went today.

Anyway, I had drop off duty this morning. And it was 17 degrees outside!! We were so bundled up. I really needed to get a picture of her and her mittens (that she actually kept on today)! When I left her at school, she was sitting at the little table, in her chair, eating her breakfast, taking it all in. She looked happy to be back at school with some of her old friends and ready to kick of the new year in her new class.

Will post an update this evening on how the day went!

Beef Bourguignon, Baby