Madalyn's Evaluation

I'm sorry it has taken me almost a week to update everyone on how Madalyn's BabyNet evaluation went. Well, we're not really sure how it went. Our intake coordinator, Ebony, came to the house last Tuesday. She spent a little bit of time informing us about the options available through BabyNet. Then she spent a little bit more time playing with Maddy and looking to Robert and myself for additional information about Madalyn's development. We won't find out if she qualifies for services for at least another week. She continues to make little baby steps with her speech. Her sign language is improving.

We had a very exciting weekend! Friday, I took Anna Grace to the movies for the first time. We went to see "Horton Hears a Who". We really enjoyed it even though she sat in my lap the whole movie. I knew it was going to be long when she asked when it was going to be over after the previews.

After the movie we went to the lakehouse at Santee for the night. The girls didn't sleep well. That means that we didn't sleep well either. Anna Grace had nightmares about bumble bees trying to sting her. Madalyn just likes to sleep right on top of you!

Saturday morning we went to Anna Grace's friend Capers' birthday party. Madalyn enjoyed eating cupcakes (paper and all). Anna Grace loved showing Robert how she can do the monkey bars.

That afternoon Robert took the girls to Carter and Brandon's house for a "Daddy and kids night". I had the night off!! They had a great time and so did I.

Sunday morning Anna Grace woke up with pink eye. We spent the rest of the day tending to her and doing odd jobs around the house.

Robert learned how to replace a disposal! Madalyn moved out of her highchair and her crib! We now have her sit at the table in booster seat. As for the crib... it has been transformed into a toddler bed! We'll see if she stays in her bed all night!!

Welcome Spring!!

I decided to post today since Maddy's evaluation is tomorrow morning. She will be evaluated for her speech or lack there of. It begins at 9:30 and I believe that it will mostly consist of checklists that will be filled out by Robert and myself and then the coordinator will probably watch Madalyn in her natural environment and fill out more checklists. After tomorrow, our coordinator, Ebony, will take the information and work with specialists to see if anything should be done. We may need to have Madalyn's hearing tested or take her to a speech therapist. My prayer is that she says her first word tonight!!


I know that so many of you have been praying for her. We have definitely seen some progress lately. Robert and I have heard sounds that definitely resemble words. During dinner a few nights ago we think she may have attempted "DADDY" and then last night we thought we heard "BED TIME". I hesitate to say that she is talking because she hasn't repeated them and we're not sure if our ears are playing tricks on us.


I'll try to post tomorrow night so that you'll be able to see how the evaluation went.





Easter was great!!! The girls were adorbale in their dresses and of course the Easter Bunny stopped at our house. Sunday we woke up earlier than usual. The girls got their baskets and then we had breakfast. Anna Grace got Connect Four and too much candy! Madalyn got a new baby doll, coloring book and too much candy. After we all got ready for church Anna Grace and Madalyn hunted for Easter eggs in the yard. They both seem to be very competative.


Next we went to church and worshiped our GREAT GOD.


We all met at Pop and Tulie's house after church. Anna Grace and Madalyn received their second Easter baskets and again received TOO MUCH CANDY!! We had a wonderful lunch and a great time visiting with lots of family.

Another Week in Paradise

This was an interesting week for the McCants. The week started relatively normal and then went downhill from there. Wednesday morning I woke up really nauseous, but decided to grin and bear it. I took the girls to get hair cuts. It was actually Madalyn's very first haircut. She was great. She sat right in the firetruck and waited patiently as the barber trimmed her baby curls. That whole process went great. We went home and all took a nap. Well, when I woke up I was not only nauseous, but I had a headache too! Then came the aches all over. Turns out, I had come down with a mysterious virus that had managed to sneak past my children and find me first. Madalyn is usually the first to introduce a new illness to the family!

I was sick all night and then Thursday Robert took Anna Grace to school and Madalyn to Tulie's house. Funny thing was that Robert's car battery was dead that morning. It never fails!! What a blessing! I had a whole day to recover from a 24hr virus.

Friday started with another dead battery. (the same one) Every time Robert connected the jumper cables his car alarm would sound. I think we may have made some enemies that morning. We finally got his car started and I was feeling great. As soon as Robert pulled out of our neighborhood the skies opened up and the rain started. It poured for most of the morning so we played inside!

We continue to concentrate on Madalyn's speech. Robert says he is seeing some progress, but I am not content. Robert and I are hoping that her lack of speech is nothing other than our enabling her to point and grunt, but we also feel like we should be proactive. I would rather have evaluations done now rather than wait and wish that we had done something sooner. We will pursue something called Baby NET this week. Hopefully we can schedule some kind of evaluation. It may take several weeks to do this. Please keep all of us in your prayers.