Author: katherineambos

Today Madison celebrated her 2nd Birthday!

So much has happened in the past year that has been life changing for our little peanut. She has grown so much and has had so many successes and gains. It’s all going too quickly but we have cherished every second of her amazing little life. We can’t wait to see how much she continues to change in the next year.

             1st Birthday!                                                                 2nd Birthday!

She started her special day celebrating at school with her teachers and friends. They had cupcakes, sang songs and played with noise makers. Her teachers decorated her class and she had a great morning!

Madison spent her afternoon with her Aunt Janine and Suzanne. She had a super long nap from all the morning excitement and then ate a big birthday lunch. She opened presents and played with them for the rest of the afternoon.

Madison spent the rest of her birthday with Mommy and Daddy. She went out for a special dinner, had ice cream and then home for presents. It was a great day!

Happy 2nd Birthday Madison! We all love you so much!

After a fun filled morning with Nana, Madison went shopping for cupcakes to bring to school tomorrow. She had to find cupcakes that were nut free and gluten free and sure enough our grocery store carried mini cupcakes for mini hands and that met all the school requirements.

When she woke up from her nap she did some good stretches as her legs, feet and toes have been very tight the last few days. She then went over to Pam and Medford’s house to open her Elmo card and gift and to visit with their kitty and all her favorite things around the house.

Madison then went for dinner at Grandma and Grandpa Ambos’ house to celebrate her and Grandpa’s birthdays. She had a nice visit with her Great Grandma and Great Aunt, played ball with Stanley, was silly with Aunt Emily, had yummy cake and opened some nice presents. She surprisingly stayed awake on the way home and then went straight to bed to get rested for her big day tomorrow.

This morning Madison celebrated her 2nd Birthday with her buddies at March of Dimes!

Her teachers did an excellent job decorating the building and they led activities, exercises and stretches that were lots of fun but perfect for each friends goals in mind. It was so nice to see Madison having fun with other kids her age that are working on the same things as her. After some fun they had cake and fruit and opened presents. Madison loved the Bubble Guppies theme. It was a wonderful morning. We can’t believe on Monday our little peanut is turning 2!

Madison had an excellent first week at Preschool! We are so proud of her for trying new things, playing with new friends and there were no tears!

Her entry in today’s communication book was so cute! “Madison was very fond of Alma as they sat on the potty together”. She is also trying an open cup for drinking by herself. She is able to hold and lift the cup with her right hand but when using both hands has a hard time lifting the cup.

After her afternoon nap and lunch Madison went to Variety Village with Dada and Grandma Ambos. Madison is working for the next few weeks with her physiotherapist Stephanie who has a clinic at Variety Village. She will be working with Stephanie while she is on her break from Grandview.  Her next block of treatment at Grandview starts at the beginning of November. Madison practiced transitioning from crawling to sitting, crawling in 4 point, standing squats and walking in her walker. We are happy she has Stephanie to work with over the next few weeks to continue with the progress she built over the summer.

Madison had a great morning at school. They started trying her on the potty today which was exciting to hear. She was able to sit on it ok but was a little scared according to her volunteer. She also tried drinking out of a cup today at snack time which still needs practice but is going well.

After a long nap and big lunch there was no therapy scheduled and her AFO doctor was unable to see her today for an adjustment so Madison visited her neighbourhood library. She loves crawling and side stepping from shelf to shelf pulling books off. She rolls around on the floor looking through them all and then moves on to the next shelf. She was especially happy to find a shelf of Elmo ‘ s World DVD’S.

A few months ago we were asked by March of Dimes to share Madison’s Story through their mail out campaign. We had a phone interview with a writer based out of the States who asked us questions to create a story about Madison’s journey through the Conductive Education program to send out to their major donors to express the importance of continuing to support the program for kids like Madison. We are hoping by sharing Madi’s story that it will make a difference for other kids wanting to continue to access the program as well.

Here is what the mail out looks like:

Today was Madison’s first official day of preschool! She was dropped off bright and early and easily went to play with the others in her class. She is in a class of 6 girls in total, including herself and they are all ages 2 to 3 years old.

We received multiple messages from her teachers today which we were very appreciative of. Here is an email from her teacher and some pictures that were sent of her first day.

“Sending you some pictures of Madison fitted in her walker (and using it!) for school and enjoying time on the trampoline. I was telling James how she was so motivated to move all morning and how happy she was to do so. This was particularly evident at the end of music circle where she got a turn to cruise around with the teacher to shake hands and say “bye bye”. She had a fantastic first day!”

Madison also has a communication book that is sent home each day and this is what it said today:

 

Madison then spent her afternoon hanging out with Dada and then went over to Pam and Medfords for dinner while baby #2 was checked up on at the doctors.  Madison ate very well which we were happy to hear after her long day.

Madison had a fantastic first day! We were particularly happy to hear how mobile she was and how much they challenged her even on the first day. After reading her book tonight I asked her if she wanted to go back to school tomorrow and she said “ya please”

Madi spent her last day of summer trying to beat the heat. On a regular day she is very overheated from the amount of effort it takes her to do most things.  Today was exceptional. She was hot and sweaty all day so she spent most of her day playing in the basement where it was much cooler then the top floors. She loves how open her playroom is. She has lots of space to move around and play with different things and the layout worked out well in that there are lots of things for her to pull herself up on to stand and play or balance on her knees. She can’t wait to have lots of play dates in her special space.

The only time spent upstairs was making mini pizzas for dinner. She loves helping in the kitchen! We had the best summer but hopefully the heat will be gone soon.

Madison had a blast this morning working with The Happy Soul project at a photo shoot for their different is beautiful upcoming calendar. We all were honoured to be a part of such a positive and inspirational group helping to spread a very important message…that our differences are what make us beautiful. Madi showed off her walker and new sneakers and contagious smile and did a great job. The calendar will be ready and on sale in October. Proceeds go to The Happy Soul Project and their Kick It Capes campaign. Calendars are $25 and can be ordered through us to avoid shipping costs. Thanks Happy Soul Project for allowing us to be a part of such an amazing project.

After her photos were done we were on our way home and noticed an IKEA in the same parking lot! Perfect as we have been trying to find time to go and get Madi her new bed and the bed sale ends tomorrow. We chose a bed that is low to the ground, is adjustable in length as she grows, has a low but firm mattress and has bars for her to hold onto to help herself get in and out of bed.

When we got home Madison had a nice visit with out neighbour Pam who gave Madison an early birthday present. She wanted Madison to have her gift before Pre-School starts. She made Madison a beautiful blanket that Madison can take with her for all her early morning car rides downtown to snuggle with and keep warm in the car once the weather starts to change. Madison loves the blanket!! Thank you so much Pam!

After some playtime at home, Madison headed over to Nana & Papa’s for a family BBQ. She loves her cousin Nate so much and was so excited to see him. They had a good time playing. Papa & Nana have been hard at work making a bedroom for Nate, Madi and future grandkids for sleepovers and afternoons after pre-school. The room was revealed to the kids tonight and they loved it! Thank you Papa & Nana for such a beautiful space for your grandkids to grow into.

Madison spent one of her last days of summer at the Jays game today. She invited Nana and Papa too and it was a blast! She clapped, watched, danced and pretended to throw many many balls.