Deer Season, Santa, and physical therapy

Ainsley experienced her first deer season last weekend.  Joel went down to Dad's Thursday night to hunt all weekend and Ainsley and I went down Friday night.  Ainsley got her first, and I'm sure not last, picture taken with some of the dead deer Friday night. 

Our little family was very close Friday and Saturday night sleeping on Dad's living room floor on an air mattress!  It didn't bother Ainsley at all.  She loves sleeping with Mommy and Daddy!

Mom, Ainsley, and I went to Alton Saturday while the guys were hunting.  Josephine's was booked, so we ended up eating at "Just My Desserts" across from the Grapevine and it wasn't near as good as Josephine's, but now we know!  I found Ainsley a Christmas outfit and two pairs of shoes at The Grapevine and then we headed to Target and the mall.  We walked into the mall, and who was there???  Santa!  Not only was Santa there, but there was no line.  I wasn't prepared (outfit wise) for Ainsley to visit Santa, but we jumped at the opportunity to get her visit with Santa done quickly while there was no line and before the busy holiday season really starts up.  She didn't mind him at all, and of course, we couldn't get a smile out of her.

I took Ainsley over to Lauren's house (our photographer) on Sunday to get some pictures done for Christmas cards.  Lou, Alaina, and Hadlee joined us also, and I caught a few smiles from Hadlee!

She's getting so big!

Grayson (Lauren's son) and Charlee (Stephanie's daughter) are about 6 weeks younger than Ainsley and it was fun to watch them all interact.  Charlee is a little firecracker.  She's a very happy baby and was constantly moving.  Grayson is very laid back and didn't really bother the girls.  The girls would yank on Grayson's hair, but I think that was just because they're jealous of his hair!   I worked with Lauren and Steph at Prairie Farms (and went to school with Steph), so it was nice to see them and their adorable babies.

Charlee and Ainsley

Grayson's already putting the moves on Charlee!

Ainsley and Grayson...you can really tell  just how big Ainsley is with only a few weeks difference in age!

The developmental specialist and physical therapist came over on Monday afternoon to evaluate Ainsley.   The hour they were here was the craziest hour I've had in a very long time.  They were both in the floor playing and evaluating Ainsley, who was very tired, and they would talk over each other and asked a ton of questions.  Good news is:  Ainsley doesn't qualify for the Early Childhood Intervention program.  The child has to have at least a 30% delay in order to qualify.  The bad news:  they both thought there were lots of red flags and would like to watch her and possibly do evaluations with her every month or every few months.  Their biggest concerns were that she will learn a new skill (saying mama for example) and then lose it.  She then has to re-learn it.  She shouldn't be losing these skills, but instead growing upon the skills.  They physical therapist thinks there may be something wrong with Ainsley's left side.  She keeps her left hand in a fist when she crawls, doesn't put weight on her legs, and her reflexes aren't the greatest.  He recommended calling the pediatrician to get a referral for physical therapy. 

We had our first physical therapy appointment this morning in Springfield.  Ainsley did much better today than yesterday.  Her left hand was open the entire time this morning and she was more active than she was yesterday.  The physical therapist this morning thinks that Ainsley's hips need to be stronger and we need to work on standing and putting weight on her legs.  She also wonders if there is a slight issue with her left side because near the end of the appointment, Ainsley started getting tired and would close her left hand when crawling and was leaning toward her right side when standing.  The therapist this morning recommended starting her out with physical therapy once a week and possibly moving to every few weeks depending on how quickly she progresses on her own. 

I felt better this morning leaving our appointment than I did yesterday.  The physical therapist yesterday thought that there may be something wrong with Ainsley's ankles, that one leg was possibly shorter than the other, there was something wrong with the left side of her body, something with the arches of her feet, and on and on and on.  I know I've said it before, but I really think Ainsley's just fine.  She's just "pleasantly plump" and it's hard for the poor girl to get around and stand when she has a lot of weight on her joints! 

Today, she started picking up puffs and putting them in her own mouth.  She would rarely do this on her own prior to today.  She's a pro at it now and fed herself 20 or so puffs.  Of course, Mommy cheered and clapped for her every time she would put another one in her mouth.  It's the little things in life that makes me happy these days.  Joel said that earlier tonight she was pushing all the buttons on her barn door toy and playing with all the pieces to it.  The developmental specialist yesterday was concerned because she didn't "play" with toys.  She only puts them in her mouth and doesn't play with them by pushing the buttons, or whatever the toy is meant for.  I'm not worrying too much about the evaluations that were done yesterday, or the results.  I think Ainsley's going to do things at her own speed and she's just hard headed like her Mom and will do them when she's damn good and ready!