Favor from Our Readers

It's been almost two weeks since I've posted, and I know I owe you all an update and some pictures, but first I have a favor to ask of our blog readers. For Casey's upcoming 1st birthday, I am planning to put something together as a keepsake for her that includes notes and comments from those that have followed Casey's story, prayed for her along the way, or kept up with her journey.  It doesn't have to be much, but just a little note to Casey which could include prayers you have prayed for her, how her story has impacted you, etc. and we would also love to know your name, where you are from, and how you know us (or don't know us!) or how you found our blog.  The idea is that when our Doodlebug is old enough to understand, she will see just how big of an impact her miracle beginning has made and how people from all over have been touched by her journey.  You can do this two different ways: 1. Send an e-mail to casey.sattler@hotmail.com (how many almost 11 month olds do you know with their own e-mail?) OR 2. Leave a comment on the bottom of this blog entry.  Thanks so much and we can't wait to hear from you and share your messages with our sweet girl!

Now for the update:  We have been keeping busy between playdates, catching up with friends over lunch, our regular appointments, lots of errands in ridiculous 100+ temps, and prepping for the Doodle's birthday party (this DIY crafty mommy is learning that my projects that I used to be able to knock out in a day take a LOT longer when you are working around nap times).  Our biggest development lately is that we had Casey's 6 month of service review with ECI (Early Childhood Intervention) and we have decided on some major changes to her plan.  We have said goodbye entirely to our Dietician (so no more biweekly weigh-ins), as we were all in agreement that Nutrition services were no longer necessary. Since Casey's eating has improved so much, we have also cut our Speech services down from once a week to once a month, with the agreement that we will re-evaluate as we start introducing more solids and as we continue working on communication (Casey love, love, loves her Speech Therapist, so we are a little sad about this one, but happy about the feeding progress!).  Casey was also re-evaluated for Physical Therapy services, and although she previously did not qualify, we have now opted to add services twice a month to help her catch up on her motor skills and work on skills such as sitting with more stability, crawling, pulling up and walking.  Combined with our continued SST appointments twice a month that also focus on fine motor skills, we have already noticed a difference (we have consecutive roller who went half way across the living room as of today), and our Physical Therapist seems to think we will only need her services for a short time and that Casey should progress quickly with therapy.  Overall, we have changed from eight ECI appointments a month down to just five, even with adding PT to her routine.  While there is no doubt that there still continue to be some issues to overcome from her extreme prematurity, we continue to be so amazed by her progress, and slowly but surely she is catching up.  Whew! Can you see why it already feels like summer is flying by?  Never a dull moment around here!

All Dolled Up!

Rockin' one of her new big bows

Casey was a bit annoyed that Porter kept swishing his tail on her head during picture time

This baby is so stinkin' adorable!

Big cheesy grin!

 "Mooooom!  I am much too busy playing my piano to stop and pose for your picture!"

Just letting my belly hang out!

Such a stinker with her tongue out!

Excited to play with Daddy's old pound puppy

Looking good in her giraffe print

If there is any doubt that this girl has one stubborn personality, here is a picture I snapped of her on the video monitor, determined to rip the breathable bumper off the crib.  She was at it for a good 10 minutes before she finally gave in to sleep.

Since it has been a while since I have posted Casey in action, here is a video from a few weeks ago of her making just a few of her favorite noises from her repertoire.