Anna Grace has been obsessed with bouncing… in her crib… on the couch, etc. I have noticed that Anna Grace really seeks out textures, bouncing, etc and if our day has been a bit dull she starts really wiggin’ out for some sensory input (stroking the walls, licking stuff, etc). I’ve often wondered if she really did need OT. Then the other day her speech therapist said they thought they should appeal the Part C program’s decision not to provide OT because she feels AG really needs it. So… I guess that answers that question. I really want to make sure this sensory stuff isn’t interfering with her progressing in her speech. Anyhoo…While talking to my friend Lisa about sensory integration stuff, she thought that the bouncing might be a sensory need and told me that her son used to use a toddler trampoline at OT. Found one at Target, tried to assemble myself (HAH!), called in reinforcements and the result is a very happy (and bouncing) toddler! And I mean VEEEEERRRRRYYYY happy…..

Here’s how far I got (after 1.5 hours) when I called for back-up

And here’s “backup”

Tim was the Master Engineer. Michelle (blue shirt), Haley (blonde), Lisa (leg), me (photographer) were the assistants and Anna Grace decided she could be of some help, or so she thought. Spencer (not pictured) spent much of the time chasing Anna Grace… much to her delight!

And here is the result… a very happy… and bouncing… toddler!

In other words, there was no knitting today… only trampoline assembly.

In other toddler news, I taught AG how to say “achoo (or ahchoo… or achooooooo…take your pick)” and fake a sneeze, very cute. I’ve also figured out that she is saying “done”. As in I say “you done eating?” and she says “Daah”. Sometimes I get “daah” when she’s winding down at a meal, etc without me asking her first. Its been fairly consistent so it may be an official word. Also… today we were at the mall eating a nutritious meal in the food court (bleh) and I noticed her watching the carousel. It had never occurred to me to ride the carousel with her. I bought a token, figured this will be a great idea or will bomb horribly, and off we went. When I put her on the horse and put the safety strap on, she thought that was ok for about 5 seconds. But, it took a bit for the ride to start so she wanted to go running around. She was getting ready to melt down when…. all of a sudden, the bell rang and it started to turn. Again…. happy toddler! I supported her trunk and she held on to the pole and just had this peaceful little smile on her face. It was great.