Rapunzel's hair cut

Rhianna has always had long hair.After she watched the movie Tangled,she insisted that she be called Rapunzel.Recently however,her language developed more.With more language,come more ideas.With more ideas come reasoning ability.All these combined with a stubborn child resulted in a hair cut.

I love her long silky hair.She needs the long hair.Really.She's very active and a bit tomboyish so she needs the long hair to keep some girlish element.Also,I used to braid her hair tightly over the magnet piece to keep them from falling off everytime she went for her OT sessions or to the playground.

For the last few weeks however she started asking me for a hair cut.Reasons being:

1.All her classmates have short hair (except one girl but she didn't mention that,little stinker).
2.Short hair is cute (?)
3.Her name is actually Rhianna not Rapunzel (really?)
4.Everybody she knows has short hair (I'm not so sure about that)

Anybody who knows this child knows that there is no point in arguing with her.
So here are the pictures.

Setting up the length.She wanted short short!Mommy said not too short please!So we compromised on shoulder length

She wanted short bangs too

Posing with her 'cute' short hair

Again at home with her 'cute' short hair.Notice the fake butterfly tattoo on her arms? She's a future diva I told ya!

We're still around

We're still around,just a little bit busy.

Rhianna is doing very well in preschool.I had a nice chat with her teacher who said that Rhianna is catching up very fast in her language skills.We just need to brush up on her pronunciation (she's due for another map next week).We're also going to do another language assessment on her to see how much has she gained.We wont be able to tell exactly where she's at in comparison to her peers as these tests are not normed (yet) in our country.But we would at least have some ideas of her language development.

We are also working on getting her a new ear which we hope would happen soon.We are now waiting for a surgery date from our Supersurgeon.We so love this surgeon for his superb skill and he is also currently one of the best in the region...So we'll wait until he's available.

So that's pretty much our update..and also, Rhianna decided that she no longer wants to be Rapunzel and had been nagging me for a haircut for over a week.So, today she got one at a salon and has been showing everyone who would look and telling everyone who would listen (on the phone) about her new hairdo.I'll try and post some pictures tomorrow.

Singing

My child talks and sings all the time..seriously.Recently,she started sleeping with her processor on so that she can sing herself to sleep.Every night as soon as I switched off the light,she will start her medley of songs.She will sing all the nursery rhymes over and over again and she sometimes change the words to make the songs sound silly and funny...then she'd giggle over her clever words.I often have to tell her to close her eyes AND her mouth and go to sleep.I tried taking off her processor and yet she still sings with or without her 'ear'.Very funny.

I've noticed that she learns songs faster now and her tunes are much more accurate.This may be the result of her weekly music class or maybe she just listens better now.

Last weekend when I was cooking in the kitchen and she was also 'cooking' and feeding her mickey mouse, I heard her telling mickey to eat the vegetables.It was very funny listening to her telling mickey that vege taste good and it's not hot or spicy so mickey should at least try it.Later on when she refused her vege,I told her the same thing using her own words and she smiled sheepishly.

Just now when she was playing with my friend's daughter after dinner,the adults were laughing at the fact that the deaf child is talking more than the hearing child.

It has been an amazing journey to get here to this place we're at and I'm looking forward to share more amazing moments with my amazing girl.

School's over!

School holiday program is over.I'm sure Rhianna will miss her teachers and friends.I know I will miss sending her in the morning,singing in the car and seeing her grinning face in the afternoon.
She always came back with many new words and songs and of course with many interesting art and craft to show off.

Fruit platter from "the wonder of fruits" week.We made a real fruit platter and she is more willing now to try out new fruits no matter how weird they look like.

Her banana tree - notice the monkey? She was saying a rhyme about monkey and banana tree that she learned in a different class.I'm glad to see that she is generalizing more things that she has learned into daily activities

Silly looking penguin from "the antartica" week.She doesn't even know where Malaysia is but she can point to the antartica on the map.

 

The children made all the ornaments on the tree.It looks beautiful and they enjoyed the activity.

She told me that Teacher 'Posh' painted her face.The teacher's name is NOT Posh so I have no idea why she nicknamed her Posh.Maybe the teacher looks posh in Rhianna's eyes?




So we're now officially on school holidays until next year when the new semester starts.I can't wait to see what the new year will bring for her...until then,I have to find ways to keep her busy and entertained for two loooong weeks.

The new boy in class

Rhianna's CI often attracts many attention.It's not uncommon for us to be stopped on the street by curious people asking about the device (type 1).I like this type of curious people as it gives us an opportunity to spread some awareness about the CI.What I don't like is the staring, gawking and whispering kind of people (type 2).We have encountered many of this kind too.

When Rhianna attended the school holiday program I was quite worried of how the children would respond to her blinking ear.It turned out that the 3-4 year olds are quite oblivious to it.They just play with each other and pay no attention to her ear... until the new boy came.

He joined the program a week late and he's a year older than the rest of the group.He has to join the younger group as he speaks English as the second language.Being a 5 year old boy,he is VERY curious about Rhianna's ear.He likes her a lot and I often find them playing together.

One day when I was picking my daughter up,he cornered me and started asking question about the CI..so I thought, aah..he's type 1.

Boy: What is that? (pointing to Rhianna's ear)
Me : That's her CI.It helps her to hear.It's like her ear.
Boy: It has red light.
Me: Yes it does.

When I tried to explain further he interrupted.

Boy: What's the circle on her head?
Me: That's the headpiece.It's part of the CI
Boy: Can a boy wear it too?Does it come in different colours?
        Maybe my mom will get me one?
        Maybe I can get a white colour one?

At this point I was already laughing.Maybe he belongs in a different category altogether.
type 3 - thinks CI is cool and want one for themselves.