Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Anna's Birthday







Sunday was Anna's 2nd birthday. We had a small party at home with the family. That afternoon, after nap time, Brad's parents came over with Karen and we enjoyed chocolate cake and strawberries. My sister Laura was here as well, since she was visiting for a few days. Anna's present from us (which is actually a present to both her and Ben) was an artist's easel. She unwrapped several little packages of art supplies that go with it, and we saved several more small packages for Ben to open for his birthday on the 18th. The easel has a chalk board on one side and a white board on the other. There is a roll of paper on a dowel in the middle that you can pull over the top so you can paint or draw with crayons. We even have paint pots with colored lids and brushes that have colored handles to match. Anna can draw while sitting in a chair, but we are having the board adjusted to a height that she can roll up to it in her wheelchair on her own.

Speaking of Anna turning two... The speech language pathologist with the CDSA came over to do Anna's evaluation. The mostly focused on language- receptive (understanding words and following directions) and also her own vocabulary. Guess what? Anna scored on target or ABOVE for all categories. She was also above average in her social skills. The lady told me, "In fifteen years of doing this (administering the test) I have NEVER seen a child with Spina Bifida score so high." She even called me later that day and let me know that she had been talking about Anna to the other people she works with. Most children with SB have some delays, and often they have trouble processing what others are saying and following directions. She told me that on some of the ones that Anna missed, she could tell that she was simply *choosing* not to follow that directions, even though she really understood what she was supposed to do. Those items were not counted toward her final score! Anyway, I was very proud of her. When the lady left, she handed me a packet and said, "I brought this packet of skills you can work on up to age 5, but it doesn't look like you need it." I took it anyway because I am dorky and like stuff like that. So. That is our awesome update on Anna. Happy Birthday sweetheart!

PS. We also painted her toenails for the first time today. A lovely mauve to match one of her cute new birthday outfits.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Receiving such great news on her testing - what a wonderful birthday gift! We know that that's God working in her life! She's a beautiful little girl and looks so grown up in her pretty wheelchair!

The Hines Family said...

Happy birthday to Anna! She's such a beautiful girl--and so smart!

Anonymous said...

Wow. So hard to believe Anna's already two--and Ben's almost three! I just cannot get over how fast these kids grow and change. She does look very grown up in her wheelchair!

Brandee said...

What a lovely lady! Happy Birthday, Anna!

With a Mommy like you, she *has* to do well. :) She and Ben and Emily are very blessed.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the lovely birthday blessings about our Anna! Love the pictures and the update! We are so proud of her EVERY day and we love all of our babies very much! Granny & Pa-Pa

erica said...

Go Anna, and go AB and Brad for raising such an impressive and smart kid. =) I'm glad she had such a fun birthday!