A Happy Hearing Halloween

As you can see, the girls were ladybugs for Halloween. I LOVE Halloween. I am so excited to have kids now because I can live vicariously through them. I love getting them dressed up, and I think that trick-or-treating is the most fun ever. This year we took them door-to-door to a few of our close neighbors. Just to show them off really. And so we could eat all the candy! I can't wait till next year. We're already coming up with ideas for costumes. There are so many cute things you can do with twins!

Eden had her big day yesterday. She was hooked up and turned on! Activation days one (yesterday) and two (this morning) went very well. It was cool, and exciting, but also somewhat anticlimactic. Before turning her on to the outside world, she was hooked up to the computer and the audiologist presented beeping sounds and we all watched and looked for any kind of response. Eden was really good and sweet, and she played intently with her toys. Occasionally she did look up at us when she heard a sound, and that was really cute and exciting and we all made a big deal out of it. Once she was turned on and could hear us talking she really didn't seem to care or notice one way or another. We knew this would be the case because in hearing years she is a newborn. I haven't met a newborn yet who responded to my voice! So now Eden has three ages...her actual age (15 months), her adjusted age (11.5 months), and her hearing age (newborn). I am anxiously awaiting any overt sign that Eden is hearing us, and will report back to all of you with the news! For now, we will be going to the Cochlear Implant Center for weekly Speech Therapy with Ellen, and bi-weekly Programming and mapping with Eden's Audiologist Brandi. After a while, as we see how Eden progresses, the follow up appointments will become more spread out. We plan to continue with Auditory-Verbal Therapy over the next few years.

Holland has big news to report too...she can get herself to sitting from her belly! She has a really funny way of doing it. She pushes herself back with her hands until she is doing the splits, then brings her legs around. It looks like a really impressive gymnastic move. Unfortunately her PT says it isn't such a good idea, and let us borrow some HipHelpers to help her learn a more developmentally appropriate pattern. My mom is going to make her some in a variety of colors. Holland has generally low tone and her legs tend to froggy out into a W when she tries to get on her hands and knees. This will hold up her crawling and walking for a while, but she'll get there with a little work. Knowing that she will have no problem doing all of these things eventually, I am in no hurry for her to crawl. Holland is a pistol, with a very strong will, and we are in trouble once that girl can get around!