Q&A #223

School on veterans day?! Here in California all schools, banks, etc are closed! 
I know, I was a little surprised too, but the kids get a whole week off for Thanksgiving break, so I'm guessing that's why? I am glad they took time out of their day to remember the troops though, especially since a large portion of our town is military. 


ps. I would totally follow you but I know if I do it on networked blogs, I won't actually ever read. I'd love to follow on the regular google reader - do you have that widget and option as well? 
I do... sometimes that widget is kind of glitchy, so if it doesn't show up, try reloading and it should be there right above the networked blogs widget. :) 


Do you have those completely plastic scissors in the US? They normally make a zig-zag line, and I have never been able to cut with them! I am 20 now, and I still can't, they are in my cousins play box and I dread him asking me to cut something with them because I know I won't be able to. 
Yes! Keeghan's teacher and I were just talking about those in fact and saying how they won't cut hair or anything but if you don't hold them EXACTLY the right way, they won't cut paper either! LOL I am left handed so I have a hard time with some scissors if they're angled weird. Thankfully I'm not crafty and don't feel the need to cut things very often! haha


I gotta know, did Kellsey love the kitchen as much as you did? LOL
She DID!! LOL She is a hard kid to buy for because in the past we would buy her cool stuff and she'd just go back to her magna doodle. She has a room full of toys and that's ALL she plays with. SO we watched her REALLY closely these last few months in other environments... the church nursery, school, friend's houses etc and decided that the kitchen was IT. BUT it had to light up and make noise and DO something. SO we found this one and our excitement was over the prospect of possibly finally finding a gift she would really like and play with (you know, more than her magna doodle! LOL), and so far, she has played with it EVERY day! She microwaves, she grills, she cooks on the stove, she bakes, but she mostly microwaves because well... you do what you see! hahaha We're hoping she'll love it for a long, long time!


I don't know what they use now....but when I was 5, I had my two front teeth pulled for the same reason and they didn't use ANY sort of anesthesia!!! It really did traumatize me! LOL! I am still scared to death of the dentist, almost 25 yrs later! My mom says they told her that it'd be MORE traumatic to put me under or give me novacaine and convinced her to let them do it without anesthesia! Don't be like my mom, please. haha! 
OH my word, that traumatizes me as well! I had a horrible experience at the dentist as a child as well, so anything dental with the kids or me, freaks me out!! I would never let them just yank her teeth... they are BARELY loose. I don't want her to dread the dentist like I do. Right now all the kids look forward to going... bunch of silly kids! haha


No clue if what they will use for teeth pulling, but I do know if general anesthesia is needed that United Concordia TDP does NOT cover that (not even partially), so greatly hoping that isn't needed. 
Thank you for the info! I did not know that!! We haven't done anything beyond cleanings, the normal once a year x-rays and sealants so far with United Concordia, so that's very helpful!! 


When Hunter had to have 2 baby teeth pulled they gased him then gave him the novacaine shots and then pulled them! No problem and he didn't feel a thing : ) 
"Didn't feel a thing" is exactly what I want to hear! :o)


Wow, that's really sad that your dad has never come to meet your son and Keeghan is now 4 yrs old?! I'm stunned. I hope the visit goes well.
He lives in CA and we lived in TN... he didn't have the time off work to make it back since Keeghan was born and the only time I've been to CA since then was for my grandfather's funeral and Keeghan wasn't with me (and my dad wasn't there)... life happens. The kids are all very excited to see him (and everyone else) now. 



It is so wonderful to see kellsey in this photo having an obvious connection to Frank. The fact that she fell asleep in his lap, I think, speaks volumes. For I I remember how at the beginning, you saying how "standoffish" she was.
Have things improved in regards to attachment? She just, in the last batch of photos..seems more relaxed. 
It depends on the day, really. I would say that overall, since moving to CO, things have improved vastly with Kellsey and her attachment to me and to Frank. Where before I felt like we were living hour by hour, we now have lots of smiles, lots of hugs, lots of giggles and good moments. We still have our days, for sure. Some days are really hard and I feel like we can't reach her at all. Other days she seeks us out for some of her needs, give us hugs without us asking for one, and she will show us things she's made in school with pride, which is awesome! There are still struggles, but I think she knows she is ours, we are hers and for better or for worse, we're not going anywhere. 
She has some behaviors that we still haven't figured out yet, we don't know if we want to try to label them or not, we're not sure if it's institutional stuff, RAD, Autism spectrum stuff, just Down syndrome, or more... There are times that she is completely zoned out, off in her own little world, where no one can reach her... and it worries us. And makes us sad. 
PLEASE do not misunderstand this as complaining or picking on her, because you only asked about her and really, I could write a BOOK about Keeghan right now! HA! I'm just sharing some of the struggles we ARE still going through. We have all come a long, long way in the last 6 months or so. I feel like we're beginning to find out a lot more about her, and the good days are definitely outweighing the hard days. It's helped to connect with other mothers who are going through the same things with their children medically and behaviorally to let me know that we are NOT alone. They have given me invaluable tips and advice that have helped so much. It's not perfect, and our relationship as mother and daughter is still not where I pray it will be eventually, but with every smile, every time she pats my leg and says, "Ma", I'm hopeful. I think we'll get there. It's been quite the journey. 
There was a post I wanted to share with you on one of my favorite RAD blogs, but they went private... I did find this other blog though in my searching for that post and thought this mother conveyed her feelings very well... much better than I probably have in the last couple years. Take a read, if you have the interest or time. This family is lovely and I look forward to reading more of their journey.