Delays

Aubrey has them.  She has since she was born.  She didn't crawl til after she was 1 and she didn't walk til after she was 2.  She has some audible words, but not as many as her friends.  She isn't potty trained.  She is just learning to ride a tricycle.

{Olympic uneven bars practice}

But delays are just that...delays.  It doesn't mean that she won't ever be potty trained (I hope:), or talk or ride a bike.  It just means that for her....they will come a little later than they do for everyone else.  

Some things that contribute to her delays are her size and her hearing.  

The girl is SMALL.  She just turned 4 in September and is the size of a typical 2 year old, 28 lbs, 32" tall.  She and Emelia (21 months) can share just about everything right down to the shoes.  Aubrey still has about 2 lbs and 2 inches on her, but that won't last too much longer.  She was 13 lbs at one....about the same weight all my girls were when they learned to crawl.  She hit 18 lbs at 2....just about the same weight all my kids were when they learned to walk.  She's learning to ride a bike now that she is hitting that 2 year old size.  Sometimes, her delays are just do to the fact that she is small and things don't come in her size.  We do a lot of modifications for her, at home.  There are stools everywhere and she makes FULL use of them.  It allows her to be independent, like most 4 year olds.  Last year, I made her a back pack for school.  The smallest ones in the store, tipped her over:)

Her speech delays are greater (than most kids with Ds) because of her hearing impairment.  She didn't get her hearing aids until she was two.  She missed some VERY important sound in those two years, but the speech is coming.  These last 5 months, she has gone from just a handful of "words" to almost 100!  She is signing some full sentences and she actually TALKS at school.  She is one of the classes best singers too we hear:)

But she tries harder than anyone I know.  She is stubborn and determined and she will reach all those milestones in her own time and the CELEBRATIONS are big for this girl, because I know how much work she has put in to accomplish things.

And the day we finally get this girl potty trained, you will see ME doing the biggest happy dance celebration EVER:)