ECI and Harper

So as many of you know, Harper is still not walking and has not been pulling/cruising on her own.  She just turned 17 months, and my mommy instincts told me to seek help.  I called ECI (Early Childhood Intervention) a few weeks ago and they came out to do a full evaluation of Harper.  What they found is that Harper's gross motor is that of a 9-month old.  All other areas she's doing great, even fine motor.  Because of this delay, she qualifies for OT/PT through ECI. 

Last week was her first therapy session and it went very well.  The therapist comes to our home every other week and shows us different strategies to help Harper.  What we are focusing on is her tight heel cords and her inability to stand flat footed.  Whenever we place her to standing (she's unable to pull up) she is on her tip-toes. Therefore, she can't balance enough to stand on her own, let alone walk.

I guess what we are doing is already working because she began pulling up to stand this weekend!  She even cruised around the crib when she woke up on Sunday! This is a big deal since Harper had only pulled up to standing three times before this weekend.  She is still on tiptoes, but we'll get her to place her feet flat.  It'll take time and therapy, but she'll get there. My mommy instincts tell me so.

Sitting and reaching for stickers. 
This is one way to get her to stretch out her heel cords and place her feet flat.

Reaching for her Backyardigans stickers.

Woke up from her nap and pulled herself up.  She was walking around the crib. YAY!!

Harper loves to Read

Harper's First Haircut

We finally did it.  We went to get Harper's hair cut.  Her hair was so long in the front, she would wake up and her hair would be in her eyes. Poor thing!  So we went to Pigtails and Crewcuts in Cedar Park to cut her some bangs and trim the back.  OMG! She is not a baby anymore, she looks like a little girl. Wah!! Where did my little baby girl go ?!?!?

2 New Cousins!!!

Kelli and Cesar, my brother and sister-in-law through Brigid, Matt's sister (complicated, I know) and my brother Ben and his wife, Maria, had their babies!!! On the same day!!! Harper has 2 NEW COUSINS!!!  We are so excited to welcome the newest members of the family!

Introducing Baby Audrina Garcia:

Audrina

Audrina and big brother Aaron

Big sisters Bella and Alina are already in love!

My mom is so lucky to be spending a couple of weeks in NJ with the family

Introducing Jack Vetter Mejia:

Mama Kelli and her beautiful boy



Harper already loves her cousin Jack!  (we kept reminding her, "be nice".
  See Daddy's protective hand on her.



Our own Zoo

So, a couple of weeks ago we went to the Austin Zoo.  We loved it!  With our admission, we also got a couple of bags of food to feed various animals. We took most of the food back home to feed to the animals across the street, our own zoo!

The goats and sheep at our neighbors house!

BABIES!!!

Harper loved giving them food!

We really miss our donkeys, but at least we have the goats and sheep across the street to go and feed.  And Harper loves to take our chicken some "leftovers" and gather eggs.  I guess country living isn't so bad!

Helping Dad

Last weekend, Matt put in our new dishwasher.  He had a little help ;)



Showing Dad how to use the wrench




And then you have to use this tool Daddy!

 

She gets very emphatic when doing handi-work!

As Harper would say, "All Done!". 
(Don't worry about the countertop, getting a new one soon :)

The Austin Zoo

I have heard many things about the Austin zoo and really wasn't sure what to expect.  It's not your typical zoo- it's more of a sanctuary then anything else.  Anyway, my expectations were not very high and I was not too keen on going, but we did have Groupon tickets for the zoo.  So we decided to go last Sunday and check it out.  Guess what?? We LOVED it!! Once I saw the cat with one eye and the wolf with three legs, I knew it was our kind of zoo!  We had a great time! Harper kept calling all the animals "Gubba" (Gumbo).  We'll work on the animal names for next time!

THE 3-LEGGED WOLF!!

A Bear!!

We had leftover food for the animals, so we brought it home and fed it to our neighbors.
Pictures of that coming soon!