Keeping you updated...

Well it looks like my SLP is ready to work with me on making my own choices! I am so excited I could just burst. Nana sent in 4 of my favorite snacks for her to use. Here they are....woo hoo! I am going to get to pick rather than be given what others think I want. At nana's house she picks out several of these items and which ever one I see most excited about is the one she gives me. I like making my own decisions, don't you?

Wish Mrs. Gellick (my SLP) luck with this new endeavor. She rocks~lol

Just started Kindergarten...

Hi everyone! Been quite some time since I have been able to sit down with Nana Donna and bring everyone up to date on what I have been doing.

I had a great summer. Waterparks, Cedar Pointe, jumping on my trampoline, swinging and visiting Camp Paradise where nana worked as camp nurse this summer. I had a blast but am now ready to get back to school.

I just started kindergarten on Aug. 31st at Lodi Elementary School. I am at the same school as my big sister Tori. Isn't that cool? I go to school all day now so that I can get my resource time, PT, OT & Speech time as well as kindergarten in the afternoons. I have a new Para-pro. Her name is Amy Cooper and she is really neat. We took to each other instantly. She is going to work with me on learning the alphabet, numbers, shapes & colors. They are also looking at getting me a new ACC device. So lots to come this year for me....

I thought you should know that daddy and momma Niki are planning on getting married Oct. 16th. Yep! Finally taking the plunge so they say. She is a great mommy to Tori and I and clearly loves our daddy dearly. We are blessed to have her as our mommy. Did I mention that we now have a step sister too? Her name is Savannah and she will be 3 yrs old. That will put my daddy living with 4 females under the same roof! Is he brave or what? Hee hee!

I am including pictures of myself and Tori on my first day back to school. Just so you can see how much I have grown.

Hope this finds you having a great day! Lots of angels kisses to all.

Catching up time...

Well as many know I had a bout with not being able to go poo poo but all is fine now and I am back to going regularly. This was the first time in a long time that this has happened to me but boy was I having trouble! I had to go over to Akron Children's Hospital for a wee bit of assistance this time. They were all too kind to me. :-) Daddy of course never left my side for a minute. He IS such a good daddy!!!!

School is going well. Lots of new friends and things to learn there. I am drinking more from a regular cup these days. They modified it like a "posey cup" and it works really well for me. My new aides name is Heather and she and I are getting along quite well. I did not have any problem adjusting to my new school, classroom and teacher/therapists. We all seem to click. And....you should see me take the steps at school. I am GOOD.....really good at going up and down them all by myself. Some at the old school did not think I could handle this but they were wrong. I mastered them on the first try on my first day there!! Daddy, Sharon and Grandma knew I would. LOL

I have been the healthiest ever this past winter. Quite unusual for me but fewer colds and such which thrills the family. I guess daddy is taking awfully good care of me as my health seems to get better all the time. Not that I was ever really unhealthy....but the colds seem to be less and less this winter. Even with my going to school and being around all the germs. We are working on toileting at school too. Heather and I practice this. I just know I am going to figure this out soon. I stay dry most nights so what the heck? This shouldn't be too tough of a milestone to reach, right?

Well gonna go for now. Just wanted to pop in and say hello to everyone. Angel hugs and kisses. xo

School rocks!

Well as you know I am now going to public school just like my big sister Tori. And it rocks! Daddy is so proud of me as today Mrs. Maloney sent home a note telling him that during story time while she was reading to our class about a penguin family, when she mentioned the daddy penguin I began saying "Da-Da" too! Hey, what can I say. When you mention my main man daddy, I simply cannot keep to myself. I soooooo love my daddy!

It appears my teacher and aide are quite taken by my ability to comprehend what they are saying and asking of me. I get it, I just do not quite know how to tell them so. But that is why I am there....so they can help me find my voice. Whether it be sign language, PECs or a communication device I so need to be able to express myself to others. Its hard having thoughts inside that I cannot get across to daddy, momma Niki, my sisters and of course grandma and papa. Not to mention everyone else.

My classmates seem to be receptive to my joining them. It feels good to be welcomed and to have others around me talking so much. I hope to pick up a few words along the way now. I know that is somewhat of a big dream, but as well all know nothing is out of reach if we work towards it and believe hard enough. And Lord knows I have plenty of believers around me. :-)

Well its is past my bedtime and I do have school tomorrow so I am going to say "goodnight." Angel hugs and sloppy kisses to all. xoxo

First week at public school....thought I would share a brief update.

Well I am officially in inclusion classes at Lodi Elementary. Yep! You are reading this correctly.

What a wonderful group of people at this school. Mrs. Maloney is my teacher in pre-K, Heather is my personal aide (to keep me out of mischief) and Mrs. Licursi my resource room teacher. And here is the best part of it all. Besides the fact that they are all amazed at my receptive skills and that I can and will follow directives, Mrs. Licursi knows about ABA. Is that not the coolest thing? Finally someone besides the listserv parents of Angels who has heard of ABA and been to several seminars on it. Who knows....I may just get to experience this program after all as Ohio never seems to have studies for me available to participate in a ABA trial nearby.

Anyway, back to how my week went thus far.... If you have watched the weather Ohio like many other states has had a cold weather week. Freezing temps that none of us wanted or like to go out in so school was closed a couple of days already. I did however go M-T & W. So short week there and not a great deal to report. I can share with you that I have many steps to go up and down at school and the teachers were totally taken by my ability to do them by myself. Grandma chuckled and said; "I told you we have been practicing at my home by Emma going up and down the basement steps with me in front or behind her to stop a fall if necessary. But she never faltered once." (Thank goodness we did practice at grandma's, as it made me look good at the new school). LOL

Daddy is hoping for a bit more daily correspondence from school as we begin my second week. It is all so new that we have to come up with a form of "what I did today" sheet so daddy is more privy to my accomplishments or studies each day. I am sure that can be arranged soon. Well, gonna close for now as I am going to be going to grandma and papa's today so daddy can have a wee break from Tori and I. I think he is going out to dinner and a movie. Ahhh..he deserves it doesn't he? Besides, personally I am NOT a movie watcher. Too busy for that dull sitting and watching one of those!!!

Angel kisses and hugs to all.......xo

Sharing a few of my favorite pictures from New Year's at Grandma's.

Here are just a few pictures of me New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. You will love Mikayla and my venture of doing cut-out cookies. I liked eating the icing far more than putting it on the cookies we made. Grandma laughed at Mikayla for not watching where my hands were going...if you snooze you lose when it comes to my speedy movements. I am good..... LOL

Lots to catch up on...it has been awhile since I blogged. :-)

Well for starters let me wish everyone a Happy New Year! Can you believe its 2009? My how 2008 has flown by the past few months. It seems like since grandma & papa moved into their new house and moved daddy, Tori & I into their other house no one has had time for anything! Geesh! I had no idea how busy our lives would become but that is precisely what has happened. So....my hope is for grandma and I to get back to blogging at least once a week like we use to so everyone knows what is going on in the life of me; Miss Emma. :-)

I have so much to share with you so I will first tell you that we had a wonderful holiday season. Santa was very good to both Tori and me this year. And God has been looking out for me health-wise as I have been healthier than in the past winters for some reason. Grandma and daddy think it is the change in homes. Our other house was drafty and this one is not, and we no longer have hardwood floors but carpeting throughout so no cool floors for me to tend with. Maybe this is why or maybe it is simply because I am getting a wee bit older? Who knows? All I can say is that I AM the healthiest (knock on wood) I have ever been for the winter to be upon us. And my family is so thankful for this little miracle.

I have grown a bit these past 6 months and my looks are changing rapidly. Here is what I looked like last year. Many will remember this as my blog page picture if you followed my blog at all.

Now take a moment and look at my blog page picture! See how I am changing? Grandma and daddy say I am getting prettier by each given day. I just laugh as my whole family is quite prejudice when it comes to me. (Hee-hee) And I know this to be true! But I will agree with them that I am changing a great deal. Getting taller, slimmer and definitely looking older than last year.

So now for the big news; I am changing schools! Yes, you are reading this correctly so don't go anywhere till you get the low down. I am going to public school. The same elementary school as my big sister Tori. Is that not the coolest thing you ever heard? Me! Miss Emma in a regular school with typical kids all around me. Kids to talk to and play with and learn beside. My family is so excited they are bursting at the seams over this. And I too am getting pretty excited. Can you just imagine me having lots of other kids to talk to me? I have been popping out with words here and there for some time now, but I don't seem to do it regular enough. Grandma says that seems to be the norm for kids with Angelman Syndrome. We speak a word one day and then forget to say it again for days, weeks and sometime months on end. Is that not strange? Not that I don't believe her, but makes me wonder why I cannot simply say these words over and over again like others do. Oh well, maybe I will figure this all out at the new school and start using more words and signs. I sure hope so.

It is not easy for others to get me when I want something as I still cannot get most to understand what I am hinting for. My family gets it and is good at meeting my needs and desires but I wish the rest of my world could. It would make life so much more enjoyable if people understood my body language or followed my moves more and could see what I want when I want things. I get frustrated like most angels and will throw things to get their attention. At home I am not permitted to do such! I get put in "time-outs" for throwing things. And let me tell you time-outs are not the greatest thing for a busy little girl to have to do. I don't know about other kids but I hate sitting in a chair for too long. I like to be busy, busy, busy. Hee-hee.

Anyway on with the new school stuff. Grandma emailed Maddie's mommy (Emilie) and she has sent a few links to Maddie's videos in which she does her homework and school participation stuff. My new teachers and therapists are going to take a look at them and see that the possibilities for me are endless. Angels are not textbook articles that one reads, but rather each of us are individuals with many capabilities to be nurtured and fed. My grandma believes in her heart that I can do much of what Maddie does given the guidance and support she has in her life. So........that is our hope with inclusion school. Please pray for me and wish me luck over the next few months.

We know many will find my personality unique, challenging yet delightful and energetic. But will they see beyond the obvious traits of an angel and realize that "I GET IT and I GET THINGS far more than most realize? Oh how my family is praying they do. I can and do do so many wonderful yet typical things at home that the school does not get to see. I pick up my own toys and put them away, I sit at the big table and eat my dinner like everyone else. I understand what you say to me and follow directions quite well. Honestly. I may not speak but I am listening and willing to learn if only others are as willing to teach and work with me as my family does at home.

I have come so far in the past year that no one in my family ever thought was possible. My daddy and grandma had the faith in me to push me to be the best that I could and here I am today willing and ready to push myself further. That is what this inclusion education hopefully will offer me. New challenges and milestones to be gained is the game plan for me. And I cannot wait to spread my angel wings and fly..........

Oh yeah...best of all. The Resource teacher at the new school knew what ABA was!!! Can you believe this? The first time my family has met or heard anyone outside of the Angelman Families that actually knew what we were talking about. Apparently she has been to seminars and such for ABA. So I may finally get a chance to participate in ABA like so many other fellow angels have been. Wouldn't that be something for Miss Emma here in Ohio to get a chance to participate in an ABA program like many are doing in the research studies right now? I may not have been able to travel to get into one of the current programs but I may just get lucky enough to get it right here at Lodi Elementary School. Woo Hoo!!!! I will definitely let you know if I do. Promise.

Well for now I am going to close as grandma and I have to get things emailed to the new school for the teachers and therapists to review. Lots to share with them before I start next week. Oh yeah, my first day at the new school is January 12, 2009. So, the New Year is ringing in with excitement all around Miss Emma's world. Wish me well and keep me in your prayers.

I will be in touch next week to let you know how my first week goes. Angel hugs and sloppy kisses to all.