© 2002, The Purdys

September 15, 2003

Well, we're all just trudging along. Haley continues to grow too fast, we still wait to finalize the adoption, Kelsee still loves being a full-time mom, and Jason has moved into "can't wait for school to end" mode. We've also been adjusting to life with new church callings.

What's New With Haley? Lots!
A couple of weekends ago, Haley hit another milestone: her first steps! She's loved to stand on her feet for about four months, and has been cruising from around the furniture for about two. Two weekends ago, we decided to see if she could take some steps on her own. No prob. She took four or five steps going from Jason to Kelsee. By last weekend, she could start taking steps, stop, and then start again without losing her balance. She even took some steps on her own without being coaxed. We are very excited.

Not only taking steps, but Haley can also blow kisses, but as with most things, she only does it if she feels like it. She also does some of the hand motions when we sing "Popcorn Popping", which seems to be her favorite song still. She can drink from a sippy cup without help, eats pretty much any finger food we put in front of her, "argues" with us when she doesn't get her way, and has found her first security blanket, which she loves to snuggle with.

Haley has been doing so well, that the occupational therapist has decided that she only needs to see her for 30 minutes a month, instead of the two hours we had been doing. Our only real concern at this point is Haley's speech. She still only uses about half-dozen babble sounds consistently, and that hasn't changed much in the last few months. If she is delayed in speech, this wouldn't be a surprise considering her disability. However, it also wouldn't surprise us if she developed pretty much on track, as she has with most other things. We'll just take it day by day.

Another Overtime in the Adoption Game
We're still waiting to finalize our adoption. Without going into the messy details, we're trying to get the disability determination department of the government to declare Haley a special needs child. By so doing, Haley could potentially be eligible for medical assistance above and beyond my insurance. We'd also be eligible for the full adoption tax credit. We need to do this before we finalize. The problem is that the disability group is looking at her current developmental status and an incorrect description of her disability in making their decision. They are saying that because they think her problem is just a blockage in the brain and not a malformation, it's unlikely that her development will be delayed since it hasn't yet. We've sicked Haley's neurodevelopmentalist on them. Hopefully, a decision (preferably a positive one) comes soon.

Called to Serve
As mentioned previously, Kelsee is now serving in our ward's Primary presidency and is really enjoying working with the children. It's been a change of pace for her, since she's worked with the young women for so long. She was put in charge of the annual Sacrament Meeting Primary Program, which will be at the end of October. Panic hasn't set in. Yet. She also gets to oversee the nursery (age 18 months-3), the Sunbeams (age 3-4), and the music. Anyone who knows Kelsee well needs no more explanation as to why she's enjoying her responsibilities.

Jason was somewhat surprised to be called into the Bishopric of our ward last month. He's serving as 1st Counselor, and is over things like facilities, music, activities, family history, Sunday School, and the budget. That last one ought to strike fear in the hearts of the Ward. He's had the opportunity to conduct the Sacrament services during September.

More to come later. Keep you posted!