Heidi is 18 months old and wants to share news with you.

Our beautiful Heidi.

How is this even possible? Heidi is 18 months old, or 1.5 years old. I no longer have a baby, but a toddler who is fast developing and growing as she learns new skills and independence.


She started walked right after 17 months. The therapist in me was starting to wonder if we would make the 18 month deadline for walking, and she did! Heidi waited until she was proficient in walking, turning around while standing, changing directions, starting and stopping, and getting into a stand in the middle of the room, and walk for distances before she was willing to walk independently. Now that she is, she cannot be stopped. And I like it!

Heidi practicing her walking skills.
She is also trying share news with you.

At her 18 month check-up, the pediatrician asked for me to complete the M-CHAT. I have given this screening before, but never been on the receiving side of it. No concerns, but it was interesting to see how a few of the questions could be hard to understand or interpret from a parent's point of view.

Heidi amazes us at her understanding of language, and her spoken language. She easily puts three words together, such as "byebye big truck" or "mommy read book." Heidi still uses single words and two-word phrases to get her point across, and often she still pairs a single word with the sign for that word. She is not as interested in learning new signs, but will imitate a new verbal word the first time she hears it. There is no way I could even begin to count the words that she uses on a daily basis, as her vocabulary grows each day.

Heidi and Daddy reading a book.
What is the name of the book?

She is a joy to be around. Lots of other updates to come, sorry for the lack of staying in touch. I've had a reason. Do you know what it is? Were you able to notice a theme in the pictures? Heidi is trying to tell you some big news. Have you figured it out?

Heidi practicing with a new infant car seat.

What about now?

And if you still didn't notice the theme of all the pictures, Heidi is going to be a big sister!!! Another reason I was so desperate for her to walk. Not interested in carrying two kids around all day :)

This pregnancy has gone much smoother than my first, thank goodness. Besides typical aches and pains, nothing out of the ordinary, and for that we are extremely thankful. Baby Girl Reed #2 due around November 9th. Would appreciate prayers for a safe and easy delivery next month.

With lots of love, The Reeds

Heidi's language

I wanted to remember Heidi's vocabulary at 14 months of age (yes, I'm late posting this. better late than never)

words/sounds
- baby
- banana
- roar (bear)
- dada
- grandma
- mama
- ahhahh (monkey)
- more

sign language
- airplace
-apple
- alligator
- all done
- baby
- bird
- ball
- byebye
- book
- cat
- cereal
- dog
- duck
- elephant
- eat
- fish
- grapes
- hi
- hat
- more
- music
- milk
- no
- open
- please
- phone
- rabbit
- shoes
- spider
- train
- water
- watch (clock)
- yes
- zebra

and if you made it this far... having fun with friends

Happy Birthday Heidi

Heidi's 1 year developmental "report"

motor
- pulls to stand on furniture, and sits back down controlled.
- can get into a sitting position independently from her stomach
- crawls up and down stairs
- is now crawling on hands and knees
- cruises along furniture, and bridges from one piece to another
- uses pincer grasp to pick up small pieces of food or things from the floor
- just learned to make marks on paper with a brush
- bangs toys together
- puts small toys in and out of containers
- isolates pointer finger
- releases objects
- not interested in taking steps forward

self-help
- uses fingers to feed herself
- hands a fork or spoon to adult for them to put food on it, then puts it into her mouth by herself
- drinks from an open cup while an adult holds it for her
- drinks from a sippy cup independently - a great help in the car
- has preferences for different foods
- eats a variety of textures, all adult food, some just cut up smaller
- nurses 2-4 times a day
- helps to pull a shirt over her head
- enjoys taking her socks off, and attempts to put them back on
- can take loose pants off
- has not learned to use a straw cup
- loves bath
- takes 2 naps a day, and sleeps 12 hours at night

social
- loves to watch other children
- will share a toy with children and adults
- shy around strangers, prefers to hang on to mom
- hasn't figured out how to stay at church nursery
- imitates actions with hands and body - such as motions to "If You Are Happy and You Know It"
- has toy and activity preferences
- testing boundaries and limits
- plays peek-a-boo, pat-a-cake
- calls attention to herself by "talking" or saying "mama" or using a sign
- beginning temper-tantrums when told "no"
- gives lots of affection to people, and gives kisses to baby dolls
- has a happy personality
- reserved in new situations
- dances to music

cognition
- can find hidden objects, imitates hiding objects
- turns pages in a book, looks at pictures
- plays appropriately with music toys, cars
- emerging ability to stack 2 blocks
- imitates gestures and sign language signs
- uses objects correctly - pretends to drink from a cup, puts a phone to her ear, puts a bow on her hair, shoe on her foot, hairbrush to her hair
- points to a few pictures and uses the sign to label (dog, bird)

language
- verbal words: hi, mama, dada, grandma, laura, I got it
- sign language words: hi, bye, more, eat, milk, please, dog, all done, open, book, bird, where is it
- imitates words and sign words
- babbles expressively with inflection
- pays attention to others talking
- looks for people or dogs when asked
- responds to directions such as "give it to mom to open, put it on the table, no mouth, go get a book, wave hi, blow kiss, hi-five, clap hands, pat the dog, be gentle" and mostly without gestures
- is not shaking her head "yes" or "no"

If you made it this far, that's great! Now, for what you are waiting for....

Happy First Birthday Heidi

We love you greatly. You are a blessing from God, and it is miraculous watching you develop each and every day. I am so thankful to spend my days playing, teaching, and learning from you.


And a few more pictures, because Heidi is cute.

Heidi loves balloons

signing "open"

signing "where is it?"

Heidi

a few stories, and snow in the house...

I wanted to write out a few events that happened yesterday and today. They are too cute to forget, and too cute to not share with others.

Heidi loves to play with a container of old-fashioned clothes pins. She decided to turn them into a new game. She picked up a couple, pulled to stand at the bathtub, and threw them into the tub. She knelt down, picked up a few more pins, pulled to stand, and threw them in. Heidi repeated this over and over, until they were all in the bathtub. She giggled and was so excited and proud of herself the entire time. (and great self-directed therapy activity to help strengthen her leg muscles, and to practice getting down from standing)

Heidi crawled through her tunnel, and both dogs watched. A few minutes later, Sophie went through the tunnel to get at a toy. And then later, Skipper walked through the tunnel on his own accord. I never dreamed he would do something like that! (and the tunnel is a great crawling activity for Heidi. Now if only she would get up on all fours to crawl - she prefers her fast army crawl)

Heidi received a present in the mail. Some animals to go with a Noah's ark toy. She noticed the box on the counter, and was very excited to see the animals inside. I took them out one at a time, and handed them to her. Her anticipation was contagious. She was so happy to hold each animal, and then looked forward to the next one.

Today, Heidi and I came downstairs in the morning. Our customary first task is to open the curtains in the family room, so the sunlight can come in. When we pulled the curtains back this morning, I noticed there was snow. Not just snow outside, which I expected, but snow inside as well! There was snow next to our sliding glass door. All the wind last night blew snow into the house!!!! And this wasn't the first location where we have had unwanted snow. It has also come under the front door, but that has since been fixed. Now we have another thing to add to the ever growing "to do list."

Word count for Heidi

At close to 11 months old, Heidi has the following words that she uses consistently, on her own, with no prompting.

2 verbal words: hi, mama

8 sign language words: hi, bye, more, milk, all done, hooray, up, where/uhoh

She will verbally imitate other words such as "dada" and imitate other signs such as "eat." I can't even count how many words and phrases that she understands. Heidi will follow a simple direction, such as "go get a book" or "give it to Sophie." She will look for the dogs, Kelby, Grandma, or Grandpa when asked to. If I ask "are you hungry?" she will sign "milk" if she wants it. When given a choice between two foods, or two books, she will reach for the one she wants. And sometimes points.

Here is a great, but fuzzy, picture of Heidi telling us "where did it go" or "uhoh, it fell."  Take your pick. I think either description is close.

Heidi

We finally got to see Laura and John.

Heidi and Laura, cheering for Syracuse basketball.

All adults are looking at the camera. We gave up trying to get the dog and baby to look at the camera at the same time along with everyone else.

All about Heidi

Heidi with a new friend. Collective "awwww" would be fitting. They are a under 2 weeks apart in age, and have lots of the same mannerisms. They are both trying to clap in the first picture. In the second picture no, they are not holding hands but trying to hold onto the same toy.

Heidi having story time with Grandpa.

Heidi's newest skill. Pulling to stand. Here I'm using a trick from work. I took the couch cushion off so that the couch was lower for Heidi to pull to her knees and then her feet. And since she was so proud of herself and wanted to continue practicing, I helped her get back down to the floor and she pulled up again. (and again, and again.) She wasn't interested in the toys, but the final destination of getting on her feet all by herself. She then tried to stand on her toes, as if she wanted to climb onto the couch. But this mama is not ready for a climbing baby.

Me and Heidi standing.

Heidi has loved the fridge for a long time now. Whenever we open the door, she makes a beeline toward the fridge. Today, for the first time she decided to pull to stand. At least for now she was more interested in standing than pulling everything off the shelves.

Heidi

Heidi has started this new game, where she smiles really big, and closes her eyes at the same time. It is almost as if her face is saying "I'm the cutest baby in the world, look at me." She played this game at dinner last night, so excuse the food face.

Heidi knowing she is cute.

Funny Story

Heidi has become very intrigued in her surroundings, and is exploring boundaries. A current interest is the dogs food and water bowl. I've told her "no" before, using a stern voice, while showing her the sign for "no" but she continues to gravitate toward the bowl when she is on the floor. She has even moved obstacles aside in order to reach the bowl.

The other day, I decided enough was enough. It was time to put all my work skills to work. I let her crawl over to the bowl, and as she went to touch it, I told her "no" and pulled her a few feet away. She crawled forward to try and touch it again, and I repeated "no" and pulled her away. We repeated this over, and over, and over.... 21 times to be exact. On the 22nd time, instead of crawling over to the bowl, she crawled over to me and started to cry. She formed some new neuron connections, and started to learn!

I didn't think she would fully understand and remember after just this experience, so the following day we repeated the activity. This time, it only took her 15 tries before becoming distracted with another toy.

Fast forward to today, and as she started to crawl over to the bowl, I told her "no" and she turned, looked at me, and stopped moving. She thought for a minute, and then crawled past in order to reach a dog toy. Not that I want her putting the dog toys in her mouth, but that is better than the dog food!

Success!

and now for many more teachable moments.

And a totally unrelated picture... a walk in a park the other day resulted in this picture. It's a Texas sized leaf, transplanted to NY!!! Picture taken by Grandma, with her new camera

Heidi

Heidi 7 months

Heidi "report" at 7 months of age.

communication
Heidi, at 7 months, has 6 teeth (2 on top, 4 on bottom). She will wave "hi" when prompted, and is imitating grunting sounds. She will make consonant-vowel combinations such as "bu, ma" and is starting to make raspberry sounds. Heidi is using different intonation in her babbling. She does lots of laughing and giggling. When I ask for a kiss, she opens her mouth and leans forward. If I ask her "you want up?"she lifts her arms into the air. She looks around when I ask her "where are the doggies?" We have started to show her sign language, and she is intrigued and watches our hands. Heidi recognizes the sounds associated with Skype. She turns and is able to locate the direction of sounds.

cognitive
Heidi imitates banging her hands on a toy, or on her highchair tray. Heidi takes toys out of containers. She learned how to purposely drop an object, and will look to the floor afterwards. When given a choice, such as two books, she will reach for the one she wants. Heidi has preferences for some toys over others, and smiles in recognition of certain toys like her wooden spoon. She turns pages in books, and imitates touching pictures. Heidi can push a ball back and forth. We have started telling her "no" to touching the dog food bowl, and she will pause for a second before trying again. She pats Skipper if he is close by. Heidi finds a toy hidden under a cloth. She pulls an object in order to reach a different part of the toy. Heidi takes puzzle pieces out in order to chew on them. She bangs keys on a piano, and pushes buttons on toys.

motor
Heidi uses a pincer grasp to pick up small pieces of food. She can hold a toy in each hand, and transfers an object from one hand to the other. Heidi knocks down a tower of blocks. She holds out a toy, and laughs when she pulls it back toward herself. Heidi is army crawling everywhere, and can easily navigate around obstacles and corners. She sits for extended periods of time, and can balance herself while reaching for toys. Heidi rolls from back to stomach and stomach to back. She weight bears on her legs when held in standing.

adaptive
Heidi is still nursing 4-6 times a day. She feeds herself small pieces of foods such as chicken, pork, beef, vegetables, fruits, and cereals. She spits out food she does not like. Heidi takes bites of cereal, and can move food from one side to the other side of her mouth. She eats different textures of foods such as soft, crunchy, mushy, and even ground beef. If I put food on the fork, she can get it to her mouth. She eats soup and cereal from a spoon. Heidi recognizes an open cup, and will take sips out of it with help. Heidi is now helping to get dressed by pushing her arms through the sleeves. She pulls her socks off in order to chew on her toes. When given a sippy cup, she can hold it herself if she is lying down. Heidi sleeps for 9-11 hours at night, with a few short naps during the day.

social
Heidi is very social, and is aware of her surroundings. She becomes quiet and looks around in new situations. Heidi is now aware when I step away from her, and she prefers to be comforted by me. She gives big smiles to people she knows, and smiles or makes sounds in order to draw attention to herself. Heidi takes a few minutes to warm up to someone new. She is interested in watching other kids play. Heidi loves to play peek-a-boo, and pulls the blanket off her face. She is intrigued by songs with hand motions, and music in general helps to calm her down. Heidi imitates facial gestures, such as a scrunched up nose.

Heidi - 7 month picture

Heidi was having some "helmet free" time, and she was so cute that I couldn't resist taking pictures. And then I couldn't decide on just one, so here are a few for you!

Heidi

Heidi

Heidi

 We are still in the process of waiting for the bank, attorney's, and Realtor's to complete all necessary paperwork. Each day brings us closer and closer. Since we know the current owners have moved to Texas (how ironic!), the house is currently empty. Over last weekend we went to the house to explore a little, and rake the front yard. I met a few of the neighbors. The yard definitely needs some work! Anyone want to come help?

Kristin and our new house!

therapy cont.

- sensory idea: Using a dog. Skipper is not interested in getting close to Heidi, probably because he can't predict her movements. Sophie will sit close by for a few seconds, until Heidi pulls on her hair, and then Sophie moves out of reach. This picture is only 'slightly' posed, meaning I helped Sophie to lay down next to Heidi, but I didn't have to make Sophie stay. In terms of sensory exploration, Sophie's hair (and Maggie's) is a very unique feeling compared to all of Heidi's plastic, paper, cloth, and wooden toys. It's good for her to experience.

Sophie, Heidi

Maggie and Heidi. Maggie is currently in training to be a therapy dog.

- another sensory idea: I now lay Heidi down on the bathroom floor while I take a shower, so I can play peek-a-boo from behind the shower curtain (a good social activity), and make sure she is okay. I put toys around her, but she likes her hands in her mouth the best. She also likes exploring the carpet and the wall, by moving her fingers back and forth, or flicking. The texture of the wall is different, along with the sound that it makes. On a side note, I love being able to connect behaviors of kids I worked with, to the point in development where it started. Fun. No picture associated with this one. water + camera = not a smart idea.

- feeding: I learned to much from some of my co-workers (Nicole and Melissa specifically!) in how to help a baby eat, and tricks to use. I was/am very purposeful on how I introduced Heidi to food. Per her pediatrician, we started with rice cereal. I placed the spoon with a little runny cereal on it, in her mouth, and let Heidi try to take it off the spoon with her lips and tongue. I didn't scrape it against her top lip. This way, she was more in control of what was happening. I also let her get as dirty as she wanted. The cereal ended up everywhere! On her feet, elbows, hair, face and every crevice in her hands. But that is part of the food experience. I didn't clean her up until the end, so she can become accustomed to feeling the food on her face and hands. When Heidi reached for the spoon, I let her hold it, and she guided it into her mouth, where she sucked off the cereal. Self feeding is important, and I want to do what I can to keep her interested in it.

Heidi's 1st time trying rice cereal.

Heidi tryng cereal.

 - Oh, and for now, eating food is only for the practice of trying to chew/swallow/taste the foods. She still receives all her nutrition from breast milk. Therefore, the quantity of food that she is eating is pretty irrelevant. :)

therapy ideas

A few therapy techniques that I wanted to remember.

- to help Heidi roll to her non-preferred side, I laid her outside on the grass (on a blanket - Texas has crazy ants). We were on a slight incline, so I put her non-preferred side down on the incline. This way, gravity helped her to roll over that shoulder. Also, when she is on her stomach, I lay next to her preferred side, and thus my body blocks her from rolling that way. She gets frustrated, so I sometimes give her a slight push to help get her started on the roll the other way.

- I was reading a website, and took notice of a great feeding technique. When a baby is trying to feed themselves finger foods, the pieces of food can be small and frustrating for the baby to pick up. Especially since the food has to be small enough to not be a choking hazard, but big enough that the baby can use a pincer grasp or a racking motion to pick up the food. Continue to use small pieces, but on slippery/slimy pieces of soft fruit or vegetables, try sprinkling baby cereal or crushed up cereal or anything else along these lines, to give the mushy food more firmness to make it easier to hold. Awesome idea!!!!

- With the daily stretches I need to do with Heidi, it is hard listening to her cry every time. She is now old enough where she pushes my hand or arm away if she dislikes the stretch. So now I do silly faces, sing songs, have music and lights playing, to all try and distract her. If I don't push a stretch too far, we can now sometimes do a few stretches with no tears. There is one stretch where she lays across my arms, and if we do this stretch while I walk around, she tolerates it fairly well. 

Trying to reach the piano is hard work. Practicing tummy time, in order to build muscles.

pictures from our day

Here are a few pictures from the last couple days.


Before moving, I wanted to document Heidi's first bedroom. Not too shabby, for an apartment. Numerous sentimental items spread throughout, from the rocking chair, to the quilt on the back of the futon, to the animals and books on the wall above the crib, to the crib skirt, to Heidi's letter name.

Heidi's Texas room

Notice how close both dogs are to me! They both follow me from room to room. This is a great activity for face-to-face time. Depending on where I place Heidi on my legs, will depend on how much head control she is required to do. If I take away my pillow, it turns into a stomach crunch workout for me. We sing a made-up Bouncing song, and Heidi smiles the entire time. As a side benefit, it helps relieve pressure on Heidi's stomach.

Kristin "flying" Heidi.

With work, I was always reluctant to have families use flashcards during therapy/play sessions. Most people hear flashcards, and picture a child sitting at a desk, running math facts. This is far from that! With the kids under age three, flashcards can be useful, as there is only one picture in front of the child at a time. This way, you can ensure the picture that the child is looking at, is the same picture that you are talking about. Heidi will do this activity for about 10 minutes, at a picture a minute. We are using these flashcards. As she grows, I like the fact that there are textured parts on the picture for her to touch (using another sense besides vision). Also, they are pictures of actual objects, not cartoon drawings.

Kristin and Heidi looking at pictures

Heidi is enthralled and focused. Great fine motor activity by holding the card, as she tries to put it into her mouth. Receptive language activity as I am describing the picture as she looks at it. Expressive language activity as when she "talks" to the card, I respond back to her, thus reinforcing her attempts at sounds.

Heidi holding a picture

I just liked the storm clouds in this picture.

Fast moving storm.

Some naps, I just let Heidi fall asleep on the floor where she was playing. She has started this habit of rolling to her side to fall asleep. She happened to be holding a blanket before she fell asleep (I took it away after taking the picture, not comfortable with the suffocation risk yet). And yes, she is sucking her thumb. Most times, she refuses a pacifier! And yes, she is without clothes on. Most days, it is too hot, as in 80+ inside temperature, and that is with the AC running.

Heidi trying to sleep.

I feel like a productive wife this evening. Any bets on whether Kelby even notices this in the fridge? I made Red Beans and Rice, and it was delicious. I cut back slightly on the spicy flavor, hopefully Heidi doesn't revolt tomorrow. Lots of leftovers.

Kelby's lunch

These are a few of my favorite things...

Or technically, Heidi's favorite things right now, as a 3 month old baby.

Oball 
Heidi loves this toy! It is lightweight and easy for her to grab onto. All the holes in the ball make it easy for her to wrap her fingers around. She is able to hold onto it with one hand or with two, and brings it to her mouth. I love that it doesn't make any noise, so it is good for those places where others want Heidi quiet. She even transferred this toy from one hand to another. (yes, that is a developmental skill). Here she is pointing to the ball, trying to tell us "yes, this is a favorite toy. It's right here. See?!?!" And I gave you a preview of her 3 month pictures, yes I know the shadows are funny but I loved her expressions.

Heidi

Skwish 
Not sure I would have spent the money on this toy, but right now Heidi is enjoying it. It has a similar entertainment value as the Oball, but it makes noise as the beads slide back and forth. I like how it is made out of wood and a type of nylon rope, so it gives her different textures to feel and to try and put into her mouth. And try she does!  If this toy is lying next to Heidi, she feels it and then grabs it independently. I have no concerns about this toy coming apart. It seems well constructed.

Heidi

Art Cards for Baby
People are amazed at how these capture Heidi's attention. She will look at one picture for a few minutes, and it is neat watching her eyes travel around the picture, looking at all the different parts. I like all the pictures in this set, the Original Collection, except for the cat. That one is freaky looking. I also like the fact that on the back of each picture is the name of the animal. I'm hoping Heidi will use them in the future too. But for now, it is great for her vision development, and I will talk about the picture and make silly animal sounds.

Eric Carle Butterfly Toy
The first time Heidi saw this toy, she was memorized and continued to examine the toy for an extended period of time. She will also give huge smiles when she sees this toy. Fascinating to watch as she looks at all the different parts of the butterfly. As of now, she likes the crinkly part the best. It will continue to grow with her as she learns new skills.

More favorite things to follow....


*I used Amazon as links because Amazon is easy, and everything is in one place. That's all. We received or bought these toys from numerous stores.*