August already

Summer has been so busy that I don't know where to begin. When Alexa had her 6 year old well child visit to the doctor, he said that she had dropped below her growth curve on height, so he referred us up to the CDRC feeding clinics again to make sure she didn't have some vitamin deficiency that was keeping her from growing, though she did grow about 4 inches this year, which seemed like a lot to me! We also were referred to some specialists in neurology and psychology to help give us a diagnosis for her. Developmental delay is not a diagnosis beyond early childhood and insurance companies for one, begin wanting something more at her age. It also could help us get other services for her if she had some sort of syndrome that had foundations raising money for it. To be honest, I was kind of hoping for a diagnosis on the autism spectrum because it seems like there is a lot of help out there for those with autism. Fortunately or unfortunately, the doctors don't seem to think this fits her. She is far too social and interactive, and doesn't display the repetitive self-soothing behaviors that autistic kids tend to.
The feeding clinic weighed and measurde her and they think she is tall enough, but still isn't gaining enough weight to keep her BMI up in a good range. So we are back to trying to fatten her up by slipping fat into her vegetables, and trying to expand her diet. The dietician warned me that we can't just offer her the things we know she likes, or she will always be this picky. The difficulty is that she is very stubborn, and can't be forced into it. When we were kids my parents made us try some of everything on the table, but I think we were a little older than Alexa is now. Right now we just have to sneak a little of something new into the things she already likes, so we put a little peanut butter on some of her crackers, or add some raisins into her oatmeal. One of the most frustrating things for me is the food waste. I also get frustrated when she stops eating something that she used to eat. About 6 months ago she loved Craisins, but now she won't touch Trader Joe's dried cranberries. Probably because the package is different. She will eat grated cheese, but not cubed or sliced. She won't eat crackers that are any other shape than Annie's Bunny crackers. She won't eat Bunny Grahams. Her favorite food this summer is bell peppers. A very low calorie food!
In addition to all the food fun, we had a rotten day back in July when we were first scheduled at the CBA (clinical brain anomaly) clinic in Portland. We got a call cancelling our appointment 45 minutes before the scheduled time. I was already in Portland. I was so mad. Then when we got home that afternoon, Alexa fell and cut her face right at the edge of her eyebrow, and it had to be glued at urgent-care. (Where it always takes three hours, even when there are only two other people there.) Alexa lost her first tooth (I think this was on August 5th.) We didn't know it was loose of course, since she couldn't tell us. She just walked over to David with blood coming out of her mouth, and he asked me if I knew how she hurt herself, and then she spit something out, and I realized she must have lost a tooth. About two weeks later she lost the one right next to it. (I kind of pulled that one, she wanted me to help her, but it was very challenging, those baby teeth are so tiny!)

We went to the fair with Penny, Chris and Christopher. Alexa loved this vehicle the best, but I can't remember what is is called, a loader? I should know this, since we have about 5 truck books, but half of them are from the UK where they call dump trucks tippers, so I forget what they are called in the U.S.

The had a smaller backhoe one that she got to play in. She was in heaven!

I figured out how she gets so much food in her hair when she eats. She drops food in her bib, and then looks down to scoop it out, and her hair gets in her bowl. I started putting a bandana on her head as a sort of second bib, but it looks kind of cute this way. She has started to love wearing hats so she leaved it on without complaint.

The picture is unclear because my camera lens had a fingerprint on it. (A small finger...) Summer's almost over, school starts in two weeks, and Alexa will be in first grade. I am very excited!