Riley's 1st Day of Preschool - September 7

Wow - can we say God is good? His timing is always so perfect!

Well, He showed up in this situation...

Breakfast before school

Riley had been on the waiting list at Covenant Preschool since March and she was 5th in line with 4 students in front of her. I called 2 weeks before school started to check and see if there had been any progress and the secretary said she was at the same spot. I was a little disappointed. Once she started speech therapy our therapist had told us she would probably do really well if she was in a school type setting, around her peers. Well, what could I do but wait. I even called several other schools - that I wasn't thrilled about sending her to - to check and see what their waiting list was like. No luck.

The girls with Nana

The bookbag

Let me just say, to be honest, this was one of those situations that I probably tried to handle on my own. I don't know if I ever really prayed "Lord open the door for Riley to get into preschool. I know it would be good for her." I think I probably just took care of it myself - thinking that even if she didn't get in until January, that would be better than nothing. Looking back, I realize that God knew the cry of my heart, even if I never uttered the words to Him. He was still watching out for me and for Riley in particular.

Riley with her bestie - Rainey Grace

So, I got a call about 1 1/2 weeks before school started. "We have an opening for Riley if you would still like it?" "The fill-in assistant teacher (who will be with the class for the first 6 weeks) is a retired Speech Pathologist in Pitt County."

Me and my girl

Really?? YES, WE WILL TAKE THE SPOT!!! I cried on the phone telling the secretary exactly what we had been through this summer - with Riley's speech. I told her how our speech therapist and our Pediatrician had both recommended her being in a preschool type setting, amongst her peers, in hopes that she would be influenced to talk more. How both professionals said if she is with someone who can't understand her (like I do) all the time, she would probably be forced to verbalize more.

Big sis helping her out

This small thing, getting into preschool, was more than just that for me. It was a reafirmming time to me, that my God, even though He deals with a lot of stuff that seems more important than preschool or delayed speech, STILL CARES FOR ME! He loves me enough to not make Riley wait until January (when I thought she might have a better chance of getting in). He loves her enough, to start her out at the beginning of the year, with her class. He loves her enough to put her in a classroom with a professional in the field of speech! Wow, really???? My God is able!!

Coloring at the table

So, Riley has been in class for 3 weeks now. I am absolutely thrilled about both of her teachers. After talking to Mrs. Nancy (the main teacher) I found out that she had a child with delayed speech as well. She understands the frustrations and the energy it takes to read between the unspoken words of a 2 year old. She even went out and bought some flash cards with different pictures on them so Riley could point to something if she was having a particularly difficult time trying to communicate. AMAZING!

I haven't seen a ton of progress with Riley yet, but I am being patient. It was also her first time in preschool and I feel in the past 2-3 days she really seems comfortable in her classroom. I'm thrilled! I'm so excited to see what this year will bring and the progress Riley will make. To God be the Glory for this season in Riley's life! He will remain faithful to her and I know we will see only good come out of this!

Proud Mommy! 

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I KNOW the plans I HAVE FOR YOU," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Riley's Birthday & Party

The Family @ Dunkin Donuts

What a fun birthday we had with Riley. We woke up in the morning and took her to Dunkin Donuts along with my mom - who was in town for her birthday and party. It was so yummy and Riley LOVED her donuts. I even got a picture of her sneaking her hand in the box for the last bite of donut. Hehe - that's my girl.

Lunch with Nana @ ChickfilA

We ran around town and got a few last minute things for Riley's party and then we ate lunch at ChickfilA. The girls enjoyed playing in the playground too. We thought of GG as we ate - she would have loved being there eating a chicken sandwich with us. :)

Her own creation of an outfit. It was her birthday, so I actually let her wear it! :)

Dinner with the family @ Zaxby's

So, it was not planned to eat out 3 times in one day but it happened. And of course we couldn't have a birthday without a Zaxby's birthday cake milkshake and at least our dinner was free! :) But we weren't done eating...not yet...

Singing "HAPPY BIRTHDAY"

The cake! Of course we had to have an official birthday cake. And we did it up big - yummy cookies and cream icing with chocolate and vanilla cake. Riley was so cute putting her hands over her mouth when we were singing. She was acting so surprised and excited.

Birthday party friends

On to her birthday party - we had it at our gym - Gold's Gym. They have a great pool and a fun slide. The kids really had a blast and it was probably the least stressful party I've ever thrown. I tried to do a few little things but I was so excited to not have to decorate or CLEAN my house!

The weather was PERFECT!

Daddy wanted to grill hamburgers and hot dogs and with a little negotiation - he was aloud to bring his grill into the pool area. (He is really good at being persuasive!)

It was a great idea. The food hit the right spot!

Happy Birthday!

Riley, you were so cute at your party. You loved having everyone sing to you and these looks you kept giving me were adorable. It was a little windy and I think it helped you blow out your candles but you didn't mind....you knew the best part was once those candles came out anyway. You enjoyed your pink cupcake and I loved watching you!

Loving her cupcake

It was a great day of celebration, memories, laughter and love. We are so greatful as a family to have wonderful friends and family that were here to help us celebrate our sweet little girl's birthday. Knowing that she is loved by so many - makes special days like those even sweeter.

Family photo op

Speech Therapy

I've been wanting to do a post about our speech journey this summer with Riley but I kept putting it off.

Here it is...(warning: it's long)

At Riley's 18 month check up in February she scored right on the border for not having developed enough with her speech. At that time she had about 3 words other than Mama or Dada. Her pediatrician gave us the option of waiting to see if she would progress or going ahead and starting therapy. At that time I decided to wait. Since her big sister, Avery has always been a very articulate talker, we thought maybe that had something to do with her underdevelopment - so we decided to wait.

In July, after 5 months of not noticing a dramatic improvement, we started the process of checking into a "reason" why. Her pediatrician said we had to start with a hearing test. We went to the ECU Speech and Hearing center at Pitt Memorial Hospital. The office was great and super nice during the 2 trips we had to make there. Each appointment lasted about an hour which included a sound proof booth exam - where Riley had to respond to different sounds. She was SO GOOD. She cooperated like a champ and sat on my lap during it all and was very patient. I was so proud because it could have been just the opposite.

Her results were within normal limits. Even though she hears a little less out of one of her ears due to some middle ear fluid. Hopefully this will be resolved as she grows but it's nothing serious enough to do anything about.

We decided to find a speech therapist that we could get an opinion from and see if they thought therapy would be a good thing for Riley. After being evaluated by a speech therapist, we decided to go ahead and start. We went with Theraputic Innovations, not far from our house and saw Virginia. She really thought Riley would benefit from therapy and encouraged us in that Riley is on target for development other than speech - she understands well and carries out commands at the appropriate level for her age.

During therapy Virginia would basically play with Riley. She would try to get her to make a "sound" for things she wanted and Riley did amazingly well. We aren't really sure what you would call the "sounds" she makes - they are more like grunts with her mouth closed. She does this weird thing where she will grunt the syllables too. So strange.

Anyway, after 6 sessions, we talked to Riley's pediatrician and the speech therapist and came to the conclusion that we would stop therapy. It's been a tough decision but there were many factors we weighed and hopefully this will be the right one. First of all, while sitting in on the therapy sessions, I learned a lot about what to do with Riley and how to make her communicate more. We were paying a copay every time we went to therapy and it was a lot of money for her to not be showing any progress. Second, she started preschool and will be going 2 days a week. This is probably the biggest factor which we all hope will help her progress. And third, Virginia said she just might not be ready. We be pushing her to do something that will come naturally in the next few months. 

So, now we will wait. According to "normal" - Riley should have a huge vocabulary right now and she should be putting words together and forming short sentences. We are getting there. Just this week she started saying "No, No, Mama". It's so cute! She also said "ye, ye" like "Bye, Bye" but without the "B". That was huge! Right now, this is her list of words:

Lelo = Yellow
Bubble
Juice
Shoe
Elo = Hello
Lela = Umbrella
Go
Ease = Please
No
Mama
Dada
Papa

I know she'll talk - eventually, because there is no physical reason that her speech is so delayed. For now, we'll try to enjoy the way she does communicate and it will make those first big words that much sweeter...I hope!

Riley Kate in the words of your speech therapist "You are a mystery!" but we are hanging in there with you! We can't wait until you say things like "love you" or even call your sister by her name or any name for that matter! :)

Happy 2nd Birthday Riley Kate

My baby girl, you are two!

You are getting so big and we are so blessed to have a healthy little toddler in the house!

Mommy took you to see Dr. Phillips - your pediatrician this week - for your 2 year old check up. You were 33.4 pounds (97%) and 35 inches (75%). Dr. Phillips said that usually at 2 years old a child is half of their adult height. So, Riley, you might be 5'10". That means you would be taller than Mommy...wouldn't that be something!

I filled out your 2 year old questionnaire. It asks questions about your fine and gross motor skills, hearing and comprehending. You are doing everything right on target for your age EXCEPT your speaking...but that's okay. We are working on it and we know it will come...eventually.

You are doing things so different than your sister - like you can already jump with both feet off the ground (a skill Avery didn't master well after she was 2). You can do a flip on the floor (sometimes you go a little sideways but you are doing it!). I'm sure Avery could do it if she tried, but she's not as fearless in that department.

You are tough as nails! No joke. You bumped your head on the footboard of my bed the other day, you stepped back, said "Ooww", rubbed it with your hand and kept going. The next day you had a bruise in that same spot!

Your favorite activity is playing with your vast collection of puzzles. Thankfully your sister has passed some down and Mommy got a few new ones for you, but it's by far your favorite thing to do. You also LOVE to blow bubbles and it happens to be one of the few words you can say clearly. Your speech therapist says blowing bubbles is very good practice for your mouth. You still love to play with blocks or sorting toys. You will sit for a long time when you've got that 1 on 1 attention of someone playing with you.

You love books. Your favorites are some look and say books by Usborne. You like the School, Jobs, Town, Farm & Beach ones. We really have sat and gone through each one at least twice all at the same time. This is something your sister would have never done! Avery didn't like to sit still for a book until she was at least 3, so funny. I would have thought you guys would have been the opposite when it came to sitting still. But you crave that one on one and your sister is much more independent in that aspect. I love the differences between you two. It reminds me of the fine details that God has poured into each person...the little things that set us all apart from each other. So cool!

Your favorite foods right now are chicken nuggets, cereal, grilled cheese, frozen peas, applesauce, peanut butter crackers, fruit gummies, and veggie sticks. You are still a pretty good eater but I have noticed your appetite is not as hefty as it used to be. You are still eating pretty well but not nearly as much! That's a good thing I guess.

You have really enjoyed being at the pool this summer. You really aren't afraid of the water and you even dunk yourself when you are standing about waist deep. We didn't do swimmies at all this summer - I'm hoping that you won't get used to them and maybe you'll be able to swim a little next summer?? We'll see - no pressure though.

One more thing I have to say about you. Your laugh is so adorable. I don't think anyone could hear it and not laugh or smile. When you really get going it's just this deep belly giggle that is absolutely contagious. I love it!

You are an absolute joy to our family. Mommy, Daddy & Avery love you to pieces sweet girl! We are so thankful to everything you bring to our lives...it's only been 2 years, but we can hardly remember our lives without you! Happy Birthday sweet one!

Here is a video of RK laughing - ENJOY!


Riley Giggling from Amber Tittle on Vimeo.