Hazel's Eye Update

Over the winter months, Hazel came down with three consecutive eye infections caused by normal winter sickies and a blocked tear duct. After the third infection, we decided it was time to head to Delaware and have her eyes looked at by an ophthalmologist. Her tear duct just wasn't opening enough for her tears (as well as bacteria) to run out as they should. We noticed that her eye was a puffy after waking up, and crusty almost every morning.
Heading down to the hospital for her appointment on Friday was a little nerve-wracking. I was fully expecting to schedule surgery to open up the tear duct. But, as always, the friendly staff at the hospital calmed all my fears and anxieties. We are so blessed and lucky to have access to such a wonderful facility, less than 2 hours away.
Because Hazel's appointment was scheduled for 1pm (right after lunch), we arrived early so we could grab a bite to eat in the cafeteria before being seen by the doctor. It also gave us a chance to meet up with a Brave Little Warrior, Jude and his family. I always love meeting with other families in the LP community FAMILY.
After our delicious (yes, I referred to hospital food as delicious.) meal, we made our way up to ophthalmology. I admit, I was expecting the worst. You see, Hazel does not like doctor's offices. Even when she's not the patient, I have to reassure her that it's not her turn this time to prevent the waterworks. Also, she typically falls asleep for her nap by 1:30. However, she did surprisingly well. With the exception of the dye they used to check how well her tear duct was draining, and the drops used to dialate her pupils, she was very compliant.
Even though she almost got away with swiping a toy from the office. Oops!
While her tear duct is indeed blocked, Dr. Hendricks decided to take a wait-and-see approach, unless she requires anesthesia for anything else in the near future. As long as her tear duct stays healthy, she does not want to put under general anesthesia unless absolutely necessary.
We did find out something else, though. Hazel's vision is not what it should be at this point. Her left eye is far weaker than the right, and left untreated, could lead to lazy eye. She also has a slight astigmatism in her right eye that needs correction.
We are so thankful that Dr. Hendricks was so thorough with her eye exam, and was able to catch her vision problems before needing further intervention. Hazel will be getting her first pair of glasses very soon. I'm pretty excited to see what a difference it makes.
Oh, and not to mention how adorable she is going to look.

I'll just leave you with a few pictures I took while we were waiting to see the doctor...

Goodbye Winter

As Winter waves farewell with one last (hopefully) snow storm, we are stuck inside once again. Usually, we would do winter-themed crafts and embrace the falling snow. But not any more. We have had enough snow and Winter-y crafts this year. And it's March!
So we said our goodbyes to Winter by greeting Spring with some fun crafts.

First, we made some fun fork-printed tulip flowers. For Annabelle's tulip garden, I drew the flower stems, so she knew where to print the flowers. For Hazel's, I let her stamp freely, and added the stems later.

Annabelle had to take a quick break from doing her project to talk on the phone though. Grandmom called.

Our next project was popcorn cherry blossoms. I traced each of their hands onto a piece of brown paper and cut it out to use as the tree. Annabelle did a great job gluing the popcorn onto her tree. Hazel, on the other hand, was upset that I wouldn't let her eat the popcorn that had glue on it. I couldn't resist that little pout, so I just let her have a little snack.

And just like that, all was well in Hazel's world.

For our third project, Annabelle did a number matching activity, gluing leaves to carrots.  The carrots were numbered 1-5 and glued randomly to a piece of paper. Annabelle was then instructed to identify the numbers, and glue the correct number of leaves to each one.

While she did that, Hazel played with a container of magnetic  letters and a cookie sheet. I love using these Pamper's wipe containers, as they also allowed her to practice fine-motor skills, sliding each letter into the small hole at the top.

We hope you all enjoyed one last snow day this year. Spring will be here soon, and so will more fun activities. We cannot wait to get outside and enjoy the park, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, and more.

Groundhog's Day

This week, we learned all about Punxatawney Phil, and his special day, Groundhog's Day. Annabelle learned through gross motor games, work sheets, and projects. It was a very successful week. Here are the activities we did.

Wake Up Groundhog Game

What you need:

• Large Blanket
• Light Switch

How To Play:

Wrap child up in a blanket, and instruct her to hibernate. "Good night, groundhog Annabelle. Enjoy your hibernation!"

• Leave the light on, or turn it off.
• Shout: "Wake up, wake up groundhog [insert child's name]. Today's your special day!"
• Child pops up from blanket, and looks for her shadow.
• If the light is on, she sees her shadow, and hides away for six more weeks.
• If the light is off, she does not see her shadow, and she jumps up, proclaiming that Spring is here.

This game can be adapted for a group of preschoolers, by allowing all the children to hide under their blankets, and choosing one groundhog. The other children wait to hear the groundhog's proclamation. Children can take turns being the groundhog, or even the Mayor who wakes the groundhog from her sleep.

Lego Shadows

What you will need:

• Legos
• Flashlight
• Large paper
• Pencil
• Markers or crayons
• Grey or black paint

Hazel enjoyed playing with Annabelle's tower

What do to:

• Instruct child to by build a tower with her Legos
• Turn the lights out and demonstrate how you can move the flashlight around the tower to change the size of the shadow.
• Allow child to do the same, and choose where she wants the shadow to lay on the paper.
• While the child holds the flashlight in place, trace the shadow on paper.
• Then, lay the tower down and trace.
• Allow child to color in the tower, and paint the shadow.

Silhouettes

What you need:

• Large paper and easel
• Adjustable light source
• Pencil, crayons

What to do:

• Instruct child to sit still by the easel and trace her shadow silhouette
• Allow her to color it in

Groundhog tunnels

What you need:

• Tunnels, boxes, blankets, or whatever you come up with to create your tunnel

What to do:

• Play! 

The girls had so much fun chasing each other through the tunnels, playing peek-a-boo, and just being silly. Hazel even discovered that she can sit up in the tunnel.

For Annabelle's worksheets, I found these templates, and printed out about a dozen of them. I'm sure I will be making more copies, and using them as her handwriting improves, and she begins to tell more stories. For this activity, she practiced writing the letters "W" and "S", as well as writing the words "Winter" and "Spring". After practicing handwriting, she drew what she likes to do in the Winter, and what she likes to do in the Spring. She drew a picture of herself making snow angels and grass angels. She also drew herself having a picnic and eating an apple in the Spring. And yes, she did use a yellow marker for the snow.

My New Normal

Before Hazel's diagnosis, my life was relatively normal. I am married to the love of my life, raising two young girls, just under 2.5 years apart. I stay at home with the girls in our town home in the middle of Suburbia, while he works a manual labor job for 50+ hours a week. We attend church on a weekly basis (sometimes more!), where we are active in ministry, both serving and being served.
Normal.
Then my world was rocked with the word "achondroplasia".
My youngest is now considered a special needs child.
Specialists, x-rays, adaptations, therapy, and her future were being discussed in a serious matter.
I reached out to other parents through social media. I never thought I'd be so thankful for Facebook and Instagram. The other moms I talked to seemed to be so casual about their children's diagnoses. It seemed so normal for them. I went through the "this is the stuff that happens to other people" feeling over and over again. It didn't feel real. It didn't feel normal.
It felt strange. I wondered if her x-rays got mixed up with another child's. Maybe she's just really short. Like, really, really short. I knew though, that those thoughts were untrue. Hazel has achondroplasia. Just like she has red hair. It's a part of her.
In the end, Hazel is still Hazel. Nothing has changed about her. We just got to know her a little better.
And she is little and loving it.