Ten on Tuesday

1. Ava is toilet trained. Yay! Still wears pull-ups at night. That's okay with me!

2. Since Ava is toilet trained, I was able to sign her up for some good ole summer camp. YES! I have her in two weeks of half-day camps at community centres only 3 minutes away. They are called "Half-Pints" and "Tiny Tots" . How cute is that. Her older sister is also attending camp at the same location. It will be a great dry run to prepare for pre-school in the fall. Not too worried about CI issues. I will use a critter clip and send some extra wigtape for the camp counsellors. And sprinklers for water days? Bring it on! We've got Nucleus 5's baby!

3. Speaking of wig tape, Phonak has invented a clever product called "Stick 'n Stay". They are individual packages consisting of two pieces of double sided wig tape in a perfect contour shape. This is great for travelling. I now stick a couple packs in my purse instead of carrying scissors and a wigtape roll around. They work pretty well. They cost more than a roll of wigtape but it's still not that expensive if you only use it when you're out on the road (our hearing dispenser charged us $12 for a pack of 30 pairs) And of course but you can't beat the convenience.




4. Ava is a complete little stinker. She now REFUSES to wear her aloksak bag and swim cap for the pool. GRRRRR! Guess we'll just have to wait it out until she passes that "I want to be in control of everything" stage. I had major waterpark plans for this summer and she is ruining them. GRRRRR!

5. Ava has decided it is quite amusing to scream at the top of her lungs within close earshot. Not funny unless you're 5 months old and discovering your voice. Needless to say she has "time-out's" quite freqently these days.

6. Getting dressed continues to be a battle. I've tried everything. She simply will not wear anything you even look at, much less choose for her out of an array of 3 outfits. Sorry, sweetie but you can't wear Dora pyjama bottoms to church.

7. Ava LOVES to "read". She spends a lot of time looking at books on her own. She reads to herself having memorized her books. She will spend an hour sometimes doing this.

8. The other day I asked Ava: What do we use to see? She said, "eyes". What do we use to touch? "fingers" What do we use to taste? "mouth" What do we use to hear? She caught me completely off guard when she replied, "CI's". She's a smarty pants that one.

9. Growing up I used to wonder why I was the only one in my family who wore hearing aids. How grateful I am that I do have a hearing loss. I notice Ava looking at my hearing aids all the time. No doubt because of this Ava feels that wearing hearing devices are natural and normal because mommy and older sister Lauren wear them too. It kinda feels like this was God's plan for me, so I can better advocate and be a role model for my daughters. We are in it together.

10. Another observation - Ava has to have both CI's on all - the - time. Sometimes, for example, I'll put just one CI back on after the bath or if I can't right at that instant refresh Ava's wigtape on a CI that has fallen off, she goes nuts. She demands both CI's every time.