Every time I sit down to update, it seems I get stopped by some problem or other. Hence moving the website, moving the blog, etc. Finally I think I can post a real update.
Maria has been going through a phase where she refuses to take naps so spends the day tired and cranky. She’s been doing this for weeks and it’s a bit wearing. She finally went to sleep just now because I stuck her in her crib and left her there while she fussed and yelled for a half hour. I’m glad she’s sleeping so much better at night because she sure has trouble sleeping during the day.
I can’t remember if we’ve talked about the new music therapist but we really like her. She brings things out in Maria that no one else does. Maria will strum her guitar and play a drum with a drumstick. She follows movements and is starting to track objects, though she often needs a couple seconds to process. That’s one thing I still need to remind myself – you have to give Maria extra time to process objects that she sees.
Her vision continues to improve. She reacts to things several feet away and can clearly recognize people. She seems to have a bit of a problem with depth perception, for example having trouble hitting the drum because she keeps swatting at the air in front of it.
Maria’s daddy is going back to Greece this summer. He has to get some sailing experience to keep his credentials current so he’ll head back for a few months this year and a few next year. Cathy and Maria will probably go visit him in the fall and we are trying to figure out how I can go as well, since Cathy’s a little leery about taking Maria on an international trip all by herself.
I still have some videos and a few more pictures of Maria I’ll post on the main site, possibly this weekend since I don’t have any work right now. I also would like to make some changes to the blog formatting, such as adding Maria’s picture back.
Although most of you know Maria intimately, we are getting visits from more relatives and other people who may not know the whole story. I scribbled out a few details on the big picture on the About link on the right side of the page.