The Latest

Hello there!

It's now October, and I have a lot on queue...I have to make Ethan's costume for their Halloween disco on the 31st. He wants to go as an octopus! I already have the materials, I just need to cut out the fabric for the tentacles (only 6, his arms will have to be the 7th and 8th hehe) then start sewing. I really need to get a start on it SOON.

Another thing that's keeping us busy is looking for providers for Ethan's therapy sessions. His funding has been approved so we have access to $12k until his 7th birthday, but we can only spend up to $6k per fiscal year (which ends on June). So now, we're scrambling to find providers for occupational therapy, social skilling, formal development assessment, and speech pathologists.

So far, we've booked sessions with a development psychologist (on Nov 4) and speech pathologist (next week). The OT providers that are accredited by FAHCSIA (who provided the funding), at least those who are supposed to be located in Penrith, have mostly moved to different locations so we have to call them up and try to find the closest possible.

Ethan's started his last term for Kindergarten last Tuesday and he's getting excited to go on summer break haha. But before that, he's aiming to move on to his Blue license...he still needs 4 (or 5) stars on his purple license before he can move. So that means, he needs to complete 4 (or 5) weeks without timeouts to earn his stars. We're working towards that :)

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Ianna, meanwhile, is starting to develop her vocabulary. She has her own words which we recognize. Here's a list:

Tatatatayaaa = Dora (yeah, she made it longer. My guess is she got it from the song...Dora, Dora, Dora...)
with her friends Boots (she wiggles her toes to mean Boots), and Swiper (she moves her index finger left to right, like saying Swiper, no swiping!)

Momo = Elmo
Nanana = banana (her favorite and the Minions favorite along with...)
Papol = Apple

O-u = oo (yes)
Di = hindi
No (with her finger spread out, palm facing up, hand moving side to side) = wala
There's a difference between her "no" and "di". She uses "no" for wala...
e.g. Me: Ianna, do you like ants?
Ianna: Di...

Me: Ianna, are there birds in the sky?
Ianna: No (with the hand gesture)

She also knows Pocoyo and his friends...
making a toot sound with her lips pointed = Eli (elephant sound, her lips miming a trunk)
"hah hah hah" = Lula (like a panting dog)
Pa-pow = Pato
Po-po = Pocoyo
and she doesn't really make any gestures or sounds for Sleepy Bird hehe

Ish (then makes a gesture as if something is moving around, her hand at a low level) = fish
slithering sound with kneeling or creeping = snake
bzz sound with her hands moving towards each other in a fast manner = bee
her hands spread out and arms moving side to side = swim
hopping = rabbit

With Ianna, it's mostly actions or sign language so when we learn a new word from her, we rejoice hehe. She's able to communicate in her own way and she understands us perfectly when we talk to her. We may have to bring her for speech assessment but I would like to wait until she turns around 2 1/2 and still do not have words.

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It's turning warm, even sweltering hot, here. It's still supposed to be spring but we get really hot days like the past two days. It's painful to be outside because the sun is just so hot. It's better to stay in the house or in the shade because you can almost feel your skin shrinking and your body losing water when you're under the sun. It's that HOT.

I can understand why people prefer winter here. As for me, I like winters here because there's no snow. Yes, it's that simple. I do not like staying for a whole season with snow...I find it hard to walk around, I feel so burdened with the thick jackets and all the other stuff you'd have to wear. Hehe.

I guess that's it for now...until then...