Puzzle Savant?

Eliza loves puzzles. Really loves puzzles. Lucky for us, one of my co-workers, Lee Anne has an "in" with an awesome puzzle company, Ceaco Kids. They make great two sided floor puzzles. The video below is of Eliza doing one of their 24 piece two sided puzzles. One side has an aquatic scene and the side she is working on has a safari scene. Eliza has only seen this puzzle about three times. Eliza never looks at the box to see what picture the puzzle makes. Is it me, or does she do this almost freakishly fast? Perhaps I have a puzzle savant on my hands?

March for Babies 2009

Yesterday was our March for Babies here in New York City. The turnout was amazing, over 10,000 walkers by some estimates. Eliza Grace's Team raised $3,645 which brings our three year total to $10,180. Not too shabby for a pint sized team of 7.

This is actually the first year Eliza has been able to walk. In 2006 and 2007 she was in the hospital and in 2008 she had just gotten over bronchiolitis and the weather was a rainy 50 degrees so we didn't walk. The weather yesterday was like a July day, almost 90 degrees and filled with sunshine. We also had a great turnout on behalf of March for Maddie.

Eliza was quite thrilled with the crowd and kept us on our toes, particularly my cousin Cerissa who was the designated "Eliza Chaser." After about a half mile Eliza decided that riding was far better than running in the heat.

Thanks again to everyone who donated to our team. It is sincerely appreciated and the money goes to a very worthy cause.

Bonnie, Cindy, Cerissa, Anne, Peter, Katie, Stan ... who is missing?




Why, Eliza! (this is what happens when you ask the French cyclist to take your group photo)



Eliza and her Mama



The crowd

Dancing With the Stars

Yes, Eliza and Hallie can dance!

Well, they can at least dance to the all time classic "Ring Around the Rosie." (Please note Eliza's rap star-like jeans (clearly an effort to usurp Lil' Kim's spot on the Billboard 100) and also note Bosley the cat's very poor behavior in the background ... shame on you Bosely!). Hallie and Eliza finished off each round of "ROR" with a grab at the snacks, more of a snack toss than any actual eating, but a fun sensory activity nonetheless.





We had a lovely day with Abby, Sharon, Hallie and little Miss Lea. Lea seemed less than enthralled with the company and slept most of the day, but did smile during her waking moments.



Eliza and Hallie had a few brief moments of playing the game of "MINE" but surprisingly shared quite well after the initial moments of Eliza marking her territory. Hugs and kisses were spontaneously shared, neither one asked the other what language she spoke nor seemed the least concerned when someone spit their food out and no one actually cared that Hallie and Eliza were both still drinking from bottles.

Earlier in the weekend Eliza made her first efforts at using her garden spray bottle. Mostly she sprayed herself since she could not quite manage to pull the sprayer trigger while it faced away from her. Thankfully it was 70 degrees outside. Also note the excellent multi-purposing of the spray bottle as a sippy cup.






Nana, Eliza and I are spending the first half of this week having a bit of of a three generation girlfest in the Big Apple. Nana is convincing Eliza that a Saba do-rag is a sporty option, but I am none too sure Eliza is digging it, kind of a bit of a Gypsy look.

Random Vacation Videos

Peddling



Tractor Riding



Swinging in the Laundry Basket



Puddles



Walking Through Hell's Gate Gut

In and Out Like a Lion

What is that old saying, if March comes in like a lion it goes out like a lamb? Is it possible to both come in and go out like a lion?

The first week of March I attended Eliza's IEP. It was blessedly painless and I was given everything I asked for. Eliza will attend Gramercy in the fall and receive speech therapy, PT and OT three times a week at the school as well as sensory based OT at home in the evenings. I think I was lucky to have two great service coordinators and a great agency YAI working on Eliza's behalf. I also think, that despite all of the funding cuts for EI and CPSE lately, that New York City continues to provide superior services for children like Eliza.

Week two of March we headed off to Saba. The trip had a dual purpose. One to celebrate Eliza's third birthday and the second to inter my father's urn in the family cemetery (yes on Saba we have our own cemeteries). Despite dire predictions of hassles with the TSA and St. Maarten customs, we were able to bring my Dad's urn out of the country and into the Antilles without a hitch. Dad's final resting place is a beautiful bench under a Jasmin tree with a view of the ocean.

Eliza's birthday party was great fun ... for the first 90 minutes. Eliza had a grand time with about 20 of her cousins, ages 2 to 5, and about another 40 or 50 adults. About 90 minutes into the party something set her off and she was in such a meltdown I had to leave the party with her. Based upon the beer consumption I think I can report that at least the adults had a good time.

Other than the birthday festivities, Eliza thoroughly enjoyed herself. She was particularly fond of taking walks, picking every flower in sight, peeling (but not eating) every banana she could grab and chasing after lizards. For some odd reason 90% of our vacation photos were taken on my porch. I can promise you though we didn't spend the whole time on the porch.

My nephew Peter joined us on the trip and he was an invaluable travel companion. I think there was a bit of "life coming fill circle" as Peter, who spend many an hour being carried on my Dad's shoulders, carried Daddy's urn down to Saba for us. He also was an enormous sport about painting my roof with no scaffold, just a rope tied to the railing (the Saba version of an OSHA safety measure). Eliza adores Peter and I think the feeling is mutual. We found a laundry basket that served as a great swing and Peter got a good upper body work out swinging Eliza for hours. When Peter left after the first week Eliza took the basket, put it aside and said "wait for Pete!" I was a little grateful that she didn't look to me for hours of swinging.

The month was closed out with some surgery for my mother to have two of her four parathyroid glands removed. The surgery went well and she should be on the mend soon. One bonus of the surgery was that I got to spend the day with my first sister-in-law Linda. It was a real treat to visit with her and she was a great help and comfort to me and my mom.

So here is to hoping that April is just a sleepy little lamb for us.

And no post would be complete without some photos from the past month: