JoElle is in the No Cavity Club!

It's official, JoElle went to her first dentist appt and she is officially in the No Cavity Club, sticker and all!!

I was thinking I would get fussed out for not bringing her in earlier since hse is now 5, so I was excited about the no cavities, but even more so I was SO happy that she went back with the dentist and the assistants ALL BY HERSLF! This would not have happened a few months ago, she would have cried and wouldn't let me go, she would not have answered the dentist's questions.

The dentist talked to me briefly about JoElle's depression and anxiety and I was able to educate her a bit on how it can start as early as 3 or 4, she thanked me for all of this so she can be looking for it in her patients, she hasn't seen anyone younger than 6 in her office suffering from depression.

So again, our situation might have lasting positive influences on others, I love this dentist, she is great, and a woman obviously and she is also black, I think it is important for JoElle to see that it doesn't matter what gender or race a person is, they can do what they want if it is God's will.

I got to see JoElle's X-rays, you can see her 6 year old molars starting to come in, they have been coming in since she was 4.5, the dentist estimates another two months till they actually cut through. These will be her first permanent teeth!

Then she will start losing her baby teeth, bottom first, then top, etc. pretty much the way they came in is the way they come out and get replaced by permanent teeth!

It's cold

Alexa was walking in the snow yesterday, then looked up at me, with a red nose, and told me,

"I don't like it!"

hehe

Heights from the Stock Show

Alexa got to attend her first Stock Show!!
JoElle went when she was around Alexa's age, with her cousin Peyton, but was too short to ride much.

This year, JoElle is 42 inches (with her tennis shoes), so she can ride lots of rides.

Alexa is 32 inches, so she could ride everything in the kid's area, too. Key word is "COULD", she cried on two different rides, had to be taken off, so every time we got near a new ride she would tell me...."I don't want to!"

Alexa told me "I want to swing!" and pulled me over there, but once it started moving, all she could say was "Mommy! MOMMY!!!!

Good sentence from Alexa today...

Alexa handed me the oatmeal container so I could make her some oatmeal.
She dutifully went to her little table and sat down to eat, without my even having to tell her!

But, the oatmeal was too hot.

So, she tell mes, "I don't like it hot."

Plain as day, each word enunciated! I am so proud of her sentences lately, she is almost 2.

Some history behind JoElle's medical condition

JoElle was 4 when she was diagnosed with severe anxiety and depression, but we already knew things were not "normal" when she was only 1; she quit napping before she was even 1, she never could go to sleep at night, even when she was a toddler, then she started crying when she was 2 when I would drop her off, but it wasn't the normal separation anxiety either, then it got even worse after 3- she would stand in her room, naked, not sure why she was in her room (to get dressed), she would ask me, "Mommy, why do I just stare all the time?"
From 3-4 I was at home with her and Alexa so she did ok, we found ways around the difficulties, she went to sleep every night with 2 benadryl still late,at 10-11:30 p.m.

Then it just nose dived when she was 4 and she started mother's day out, I was teaching there, I started seeing her zone out, cry, become despondent, become defiant to me, I thought she was just choosing not to listen, finally realized she just couldn't concentrate on what I was saying so then I started thinking ADHD.

But as I talked to her, I found out her mind was racing with lots of thoughts, she described it like someone spinning a wheel in her head, the wheel would stop on different random things. One such thing was on hurting herself, taking a bad pill, her "wheel" was telling her to cut out her eyes, to cut off her nose, and to cut her wheel out of her head, but she knew not to and didn't want to.

Obviously, we were really concerned. The dr's and hospital all confirmed severe depression and anxiety. Once it was under control, we were still seeing some focus issues and too much energy. She is on sleeping pills to sleep. So we tried ADHD med, for a 5 yr old, the FDA has only approved Adderrall, it did not work, she lost 3.5 lbs in 5 weeks.

So we all agreed to take her off the med, I offered up the question of being bi-polar, so now we are treating her with mood stabilizers, which is actually for seizures, again the only one approved for under 6, but some of my friends have taken it and it has worked as a mood stabilizer. She was having seizure, we just didn't know, she would stare and we couldn't get her attention, then she would tell me she it was like she couldn't breathe and she was upside down, then right side up. Everyone says what she is describing is a seizure.

She is doing better though, we have found a great charter school in our city, called the Classics Academy, please pray she is picked FIRST in the lottery at the end of March. I feel strongly that this is where she is supposed to be, so does Tim. But it is in God's hands. It's free since it's a charter school, but they teach Spanish from K on, and they teach the Trivium way, grammar of every subject is important. Plus, they learn some Latin in the morning and an English world derived from it. The principal actually hired Tim at Fidelity Investments back in 2000! Isn't that crazy!?

JoElle's weight

JoElle is still losing weight... she is not even on Adderall anymore, and hasn't been for several weeks now. She is eating like crazy, more than she ever used to, is drinking a ton of chocolate milk....

She was 40 lbs just over 6 weeks ago, the after 4 weeks on Adderall she had lost 3.5 lbs. She had no appetite (one of the side effects) plus her stomachache and headache never went away (also side effects).

She is now at 35.5 lbs. We are charting it on the Wii Fit, it just keeps going down it seems.

Alexa is almost 2, and she weighs 30 lbs. She also is wearing the same size clothes as JoElle.

I am a bit worried about her, but I know she has to start gaining, right?

Update: as of April 1, 2010- JoElle is now up to 42.5 lbs! All of it muscle :) She started to eat normally 6 weeks ago when she stopped taking the antidepressant and the mood stabilizer, it is so great to see her growing again and eating without us having to remind her all the time. Oh yes, she also grew taller, by about an inch or so, not sure exactly as we haven't measured, but judging by her pants getting extremely short and needing 5T, I would say 2 inches at least!

Tough Day with JoElle and our outcome

thanks for the prayers, and @Elizabeth, thank you for being so willing to help, you have a very giving spirit. We are treating JoElle with mood stabilizers, so it is very up and down. Even throughout each day, very much of the up, then the down. Not depression, just not able to control herself. She cycles fast like me.

Tim and I just sat down and drew out a rewards chart and ideas of rewards, like spending 15 minutes alone with one of us doing an activity of her choice, piece of candy, staying up an extra 15 minutes, watching a fave show before bedtime, etc. We are going to get a large presentation board to put it on, then use velcro, so JoElle can move it herself when she does the things we want her to do. This is her positive motivation, so she will NEVER go backwards.

What we are targeting is: 1) Listening and obeying the first time 2) Eating twice per each time slot (oh yeah, we are breaking it into three times periods each day- time she wakes up to nap/ rest time; from time rest time is over till Daddy gets home; and from the time Daddy gets home till bedtime)
3) Keeping room clean- which we will define for her
4) Brushing teeth twice a day and taking a bath
5) Being Calm and having self control (again explanations will be illustrated as we do CONSTANTLY!)

Then, I am going to pull out of my garage my color chart from when I taught first grade, and when she doesn't do the things she should, I will have her change her color. There will also be a few rules- be nice to Alexa, be nice to Mommy, and be nice to Daddy. I don't think at this point there will be a negative consequence, I think she will just not be happy to have to change colors.

Then, if she DOESN'T have to change colors, she will get to add a paper gumball to a paper gumball machine, when it is full she will earn a BIG prize, not sure what yet :) but it will different each time.