Hi All. Tiff here. Had a few very busy but unremarkable days. Rose is well. She's growing fast lately, which is great because she is pretty tiny. We see other babies her same age and the look gargantuan to us. Rose's pediatritian says it's fine though. She's just little. Her clothes fit for a long time, if nothing else. She finally fits in her 3 month size clothes even though she is 5 months old now!

Wow! 5 months old. Amazing! Time has just flown by. Each day seems to go by in a flash.

Lately Rose has been teething pretty hard. She's scooting all around the floor. She's about 10 minutes from sitting up on her own. She's really into her toys. She's drinking bigger bottles. She's wearing the next size diaper. She's just all about growing. She's even starting to grow a bit of hair. Yes... we are headed to the end of her cueball days. Bald is beautiful, but really better suited to her Grandpa and her uncles (sorry, Patrick, but it's true.).

Speaking of Uncle Patrick, Rose has had a few funny run-ins with him lately. Patrick and his lovely bride, Lindsay came by a few days ago to use our garden hose to finish a tie-dye project they had done. Patrick saw our oddball cat, Lucy, in the window, and thought he'd tease her with a brisk hose spray on the window. It seemed as if he didn't even see Rose and I standing there right in front of him, and he gave Rose an ice cold blast of water right to the face. I immediately started to run to take Rosie inside to calm her and dry her, even before she started to scream, but not so fast that I didn't get to see his face melt from a mischevious grin into absolute horror as he realized what he'd done. Once I calmed Rose and we were both dry I laughed for an hour. Rose got her first shower! I think she may prefer tub baths for the rest of her life.

They also came by while I was putting her to bed. I heard a tiny little knock at the door, so soft I thought it was Lucy, but then the door softly opened and in tiptoed Patrick and Lindsay, whispering that they didn't want to disturb her. I laughed out loud and told them that one of the advantages to having a deaf child is that they could come through her room with a marching band and not disturb her!

One of you out there has said that you were sad that you couldn't talk to Rose on the phone. Well, to put your mind at ease, you most certainly WILL be able to, once she has her implant. Infact, if she chooses to, she will be able to use the ultimate in hands-free features, and connect the phone directly into her bionic ear. So don't worry about it. Just be patient. And we want lots of kiwi conversations for her. When she is learning to speak and hear english she will need to hear BOTH American and New Zealand accents. She will need LOTS of exposure to language! It's only 7 short months away, and didnt we just discuss how fast time goes by?

Now... be sure to check this out.

Sweet potato vs Kumara


Sorry mum, missed the comment, but I'll try explain now, even though Tiff has done a pretty good job. Rose has something to say on the subject, but I doubt either of us knows what it is. =P

So, Kumara vs Sweet potato, are they the same? Yes.

Try this Kumara site, and of course Wiki. Have a look around Wiki anyways Mum, its a great resource.

Interesting as well, our yams are these, American Yams are.....not. I miss our yams.


--Ben

Hey all, Ben here.


I've spent the morning with Rose as Tiff sleeps in, and wow, has she been loud(Rose, not Tiff).

I guess I didn't really think about how loud a deaf child could be, and I guess Rose like the feeling or babbling and screaming, or maybe she can hear it just a little bit. Either way, she screams and babbles and stuff, just for the joy of it.


Honestly, it drives me nuts after a while. hehe


--Ben

Hi all. Tiff here. Today Rose went to see her audiologist (and friend), Ranae. She got new ear molds! Ear molds are the part of hearing aids that is custom fit to stick right in her ears. Rose has been growing so fast that she constantly outgrows them, and if they don't fit perfectly, well then it causes feedback, which means her hearing aids squeal like crazy. So... we keep having new ones made. Over and over again. =( But, Ranae is nice, and Rose really likes her.

It's kind of silly, really, because the hearing aids don't help her, and they are a major discomfort in the gluteus maximus, but in order to have the cochlear implant she must TRY wearing the hearing aids for several months first. I understand the reasoning behind it, but its still a hassle.

Rosie also got to try a new food today. Poppy sent a TON of baby food from New Zealand, so today she got to try Farex pear and banana rice for lunch. She couldn't get enough!

Hello all, Ben here.

Hope you all like the blog, I think its looking alright, although there are a few problems popping up, including an annoying resolution problem, which is screwing up the formating. =
Anyways, the link is http://roseprov.blogspot.com/, feel free to pass it out, tell friends, put in newspapers... =P


We've been looking at Cochlear implants lately, they are very interesting. There are a few different kinds.


Advanced Bionics


Medel


Cochlear


And finally, The Empire



Personally, I like the last one. It may be a little bigger, but it can pick up radio signals and cable tv, can get rid of those bothersome rebels AND still has room to keep your lunch in the back.

Of course, nothing is final, but I know which way I'm leaning.

-Ben

Ok, Kiwis. To put a rest to the whole thing, go to


http://www.onlineathens.com/images/101003/yams.jpg

Left to right; Kumara, Sweet Potato, Yam.
They are all basicly the same thing, and there are a zillion varieties of each, I'm sure. But in the U.S. yams are the thing. It's part of our Thanksgiving tradition. Rose liked them even more today. They may well turn into one of her favorites.

Rose got a high chair today. Thank you to Aunt J. and Uncle S. for the loaner. She seemed to like it, but, of course she immediately put her feet up on the edge of the tray to admire her beautiful toes. She also got to try yams for the first time. She loved them! She has liked everything so far... except peas. She really, really, really hated the peas. I kept trying them for about a week, and she hated them more with each try. Her favorite is bananas, but she was really jamming on the yams.

Other big news today. I got a job. It's going to be hard to be away from her. I am very trepidatious about this, but, it must be done. I know that Ben will take great care of her, though, and that is a comforting thought. There are a few things Ben is going to have to learn to do. Just little things that I have always done, like bathe her, spoon feed her, take her temperature. He's always been there while I do it, but mostly he holds the camera. This is going to pile a big workload on Ben. I hope he can take it. I know he'll do his best. Hopefully we will be able to afford a few things to make day to day life a bit easier, too. Maybe fix the dishwasher, or a new mattress that won't stab Ben in the arse with a broken spring. So... hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to work I go.

Hi everyone! Tiff here. Ben has created this wonderful spot for us to share our delightful Rose and her goings on. Rose is just a few days shy of being 5 months old, and every single day is an adventure for her, and for Ben and I as well.
Today, being father's day, Rose and I sat down together at the computer early this morning, while Ben slept in, and hit the paint program. She used the touch pad and I clicked the mouse button, and we painted a picture for Daddy.



She seemed to really enjoy herself.
Putting her to bed just now, and she is so cute in her yellow duckie jammies. I can't imagine not having her around.
All parents are overwhelmed by the love that they feel for their children, and as Rose is my second child (I've been Alex's mom for 18 years), it hasn't surprised me how much I love and adore her. What HAS surprised me is how familiar she is to us. her personality is so HUGE, but we both feel as though we've known her all our lives. It's wonderful and amazing to me. It's surprising how well we can read each other. We communicate beautifully. That is especially amazing considering her deafness. None of our communication is through sound at all, and yet its clear as a bell.
Rose is at a fun stage right now, and she has such strong opinions about things. She fascinates us. Right now she is trying to gain control over her hands and arms. If she sees something she wants sometimes her hands automaticly pop out to reach for it, but other times it takes total concentration. You can practically see her thinking "Move, arm! Move!". She is also into the eating process. She closely watches Ben and I when we are eating, following the fork with her eyes and chewing along with us.
She has recently discovered the location of her feet (or should I say 'rediscovered', as we saw her playing with them on ultrasound). She spends a lot of time lately playing with her feet and holding them out in front of herself and admiring them. A few times she has gotten upset while wearing footie jammies because she missed them. Once we unsnap the suit and set her legs free to be admired by all Rose comes to her senses and calms right down.
That's it for now.