Rachel and Haley update

Haley and Rachel waiting for the school bus

 It has been a while now since I've done an update with what's going on with Rachel and Haley.  School is going well for them both.  They both are continuing with physical, occupational and speech therapy.  We changed up their therapy a bit.  We now take them to a therapy center about 15-20 minutes from our house to see the speech and occupational therapist.  I really enjoyed having the therapy at our house, but wanted to see if taking the girls to a therapy center would help turn their progress up a notch.  We only go to the new therapy center twice a week so not sure if it will do what I'm hoping.  Rachel and Haley do like the fun equipment/toys the therapy center has to offer.  The girls are slow to progress, but again its on their own time table.  They started out so early so they are going to take a while to catch up.  Its just a miracle they are here with us.  We are blessed to have our sweet girls!  We love them so very much!

Not sure why Haley kept giving me a surprised look when I took her picture.  Best I could get.

Haley:  Haley is scheduled to see the eye doctor again the end of this month to get a contact lens made for her right eye.  I'm so looking forward to this appointment so that we can move forward with improving her vision.  I hope she will not mind wearing a contact in her right eye though she has done very well with the prosthetic eye in her left eye.  Haley is doing well at school and we are seeing some progress.  Haley is doing better at letting the teacher and I know what it is she is wanting.  Communication is a challenge since Haley is not saying any words yet.  We really are not sure when she will speak.  Hoping one day she will.  Haley is also making progress with her accepting more textured foods.  She is starting to eat a little more variety of foods.  Its still a challenge though.  She prefers smooth and creamy foods.  We are working on potty training with Haley, but it will take a while.

Rachel

Rachel:  Rachel has a lot of energy!!!  From the beginning we said she was the feisty one.  She is indeed!  Rachel changed schools.  She is now in the same school and classroom as Haley.  Rachel and Haley's teacher is AWESOME!  So glad she joined her class.  Rachel got a new pair of ankle braces to help aid in her walking.  It will help stop her from toe walking and keep her from going flat footed.  Rachel is still not swallowing any food.  She continues to put foods in her mouth and chew it, but doesn't swallow it.  Another reason we wanted to try the new therapy center was in hopes they can get her eating.  Rachel really needs an intensive feeding program, but no program for kids like that exists here in Houston.  You would think the fourth largest city would have such a program. They have one for adults, but not pediatrics kind of crazy to me.  From what we have been told, it will take many years to get her eating normally.  Rachel is also not saying any words.  Its still a challenge to get her to wear her hearing aids regularly.  She pulls them out so often.  Rachel does let us know what she is wanting by grabbing our hand and leading us to what she wants.  Rachel is still being taught sign language, but we have not seen any progress with that.  We are also working on potty training with Rachel.