Erin's 18.5 Month Update

Erin has become such a big girl!  To start, I want to share that she is eating more food which means we have reduced the amount of tube feedings! This is VERY good news and great process!! Erin LOVES blueberries (she says 'blue, blue'), strawberries, any crackers, chocolate pudding, dry cereal and ice cream.  She will eat grilled cheese, cheese, chicken nuggets, yogurt, waffles, pancakes, scrambled eggs, avocados and canned peaches.  These foods are all hit-or-miss as far as the amount she will eat at a given time.  Sometimes it's a few bites and other times she will eat a substantial amount.  She is willing to try food (more than her brother is willing).

Her amazing feeding therapist, Linda, has taught me how to help get more calories in Erin's food.  She has also taught me how to thicken her Pedi-Sure or chocolate milk with yogurt to make it honey thick so she can drink it safely.  If  Erin doesn't want to drink from a sippy cup or with a straw, then I will spoon feed her the liquid.  She can take anywhere from 1-4 ounces in a sitting. This is amazing progress for a tube fed kiddo! Since she is doing so well, the nutritionist decided to reduce Erin's tube feedings from 24 oz of Pedi-Sure per day to 12 oz of Pedi-Sure per day.  We give her 8-12 oz of water in addition to the Pedi-Sure.  Some meals are better than others so I adjust how much to give her via the tube based on how she has eaten.  Right now, it's a balancing act to make sure she gets necessary calories and water but allowing her to feed herself. We have made so much progress this summer! I am proud of Erin and of myself for coming so far.  Last week I got teary eyed when I looked at Will and Erin sitting on the floor and drinking from sippy cups.  I always dreamed of the day that I could hand my kids a sippy cup and they would drink it.  It was another milestone checked off of our list. :-)
Erin is a very busy girl.  She is always on the go and loves to move! She has figured out how to open her dresser drawers and pull the clothes out. She has started to play with pull toys.  This morning she was pulling a bug toy behind her as she walked around the house.  She got frustrated when it got stuck on the play door.  She stood there and 'yelled or squaked' for help until I stopped what I was doing to free the bug.  When I did, she was happily on her way.  We have an Elmo doll that laughs and moves all around.  Whenever Erin sees Elmo she starts laughing.  We were at the shoe store today and she saw a picture of Elmo and started to laugh.  We also have an Elmo book that she laughs at.  It's not her normal laugh, but rather a high-pitch laugh that is saved just for Elmo. 
Erin LOVES to read books.  She grabs a book, turns around and backs up into your lap.  If I am doing something, she will bring me the book at say 'buh.'  I always stop what I'm doing (wouldn't you?) and read her a book (which is usually just the first two pages).
Erin is starting to say words.  She understands the 'b' sound and has different b sounds for various items (bubbles, blankie, bog (dog), blueberries (blu), ball (ball)).  Erin understands SO much and it's so much fun for us! When I ask who wants to take a bath, she runs to the bathroom door.  I ask who wants to go outside she runs to the backdoor and stands there yelling for me until I open the door.  She too can follow simple directions.  The other day I said that I was going to turn off the TV and she went over and tried to reach the button on the side of the TV. I have to add that I didn't even know that she knew that this button was here because we rarely use it.
Erin gives big, open mouth kisses, waves bye-bye, blows kisses and will kiss anything you tell her to kiss.  She loves our dog Clark and she's getting better at petting him gently.  When Erin see Clark's leash, she will take to it him and try to put it on him (just like we do).
She LOVES to dance.  Whenever Erin hears music she starts to move her chubby, little arms around.  When we were at the mall there was some music playing in one of the stores and Erin started to dance. I can't help but laugh because sometimes I don't even hear the music, but I know it's there because she is dancing.

As much as Erin is on the move, she is also our snuggler.  She loves to rock and snuggle together.  She lays her her bed for about 20-30 minutes after she wakes up and before she's ready for me to come get her out of bed.
Erin is so much fun.  She is a girl who knows what she wants and goes after it.  If she wants a toy, she has no problem pushing Will down to get what he has.  She is strong-willed and super sweet. Erin keeps us on our toes and we love every minute of it!