Cheese More Cheese

The Bill

2011-05-12T11:01:00.000-04:00

The price has certainly gone up substantially since the last time. Let the Second Great Humana War begin!

CI Surgery, Pt. II

2011-05-04T09:10:00.001-04:00

Lola's "revision" surgery (nice term for it, huh?) went well and we are just waiting for the incision to heal so we can get her back online. Similar to the first surgery, we took some pictures and you can view them here.

Not so fast!

2011-04-14T18:23:00.001-04:00

Lola's cochlear implant has had a catastrophic failure. The internal piece needs to be taken out and replaced. We are working on getting the surgery set up as soon as possible. That means more posts!!

Final Post (Maybe?)

2011-03-30T14:59:00.008-04:00

Since we post most things on Facebook now, it looks like this will be the last CheeseMoreCheese post. The end of an era! This coincides nicely with Lola's last week at Heuser Hearing, which we will all miss very much. She'll be mainstreaming full time into the public school after Spring Break! We'll leave you with a great example of how well Lola is doing on her journey. Click below to watch a video from Christmas:

From Rudolph

"Doctor Make Teeth Shiny"

2009-03-17T13:39:00.002-04:00

Lola went to her first dentist appointment today (I know, we're negligent). She was hilarious and she loved it. After they were all done, she said "doctor make teeth shiny!" She got a great checkup -- they said she had beautiful perfect teeth.

4th Annual Number Pictures

2009-02-16T09:00:00.000-05:00

Baby Z, Part Drei

2009-02-03T17:09:00.001-05:00

Awww, s/he's so shy!

Happy 4th Birthday Lola!

2009-01-30T00:00:00.000-05:00

Post-party sugar crash.

Great Ice Storm of 2009

2009-01-28T20:00:00.000-05:00

Kentucky was hit hard by an ice storm the last couple of days. 400,000 people were without electricity in the freezing weather and the National Guard has been called in. Yikes! We were lucky -- only lost power for about 12 hours. We also lost the gutters along one side of the house. You can see how thick the ice was on the tree branches in the first picture . . .

Our back yard . . .

The house across the street looks very bad . . .

Baby Z, Part Deux

2008-12-24T09:51:00.000-05:00

We had another ultrasound of Baby Z yesterday. All the parts are there, but the doctor said we were two weeks behind where we thought we were. Dunno about that . . .

With this newfangled technology they've got these days, they were able to give us 3D images of the little guy/girl cookin' up. Here's a nice foot and crotch shot, for those of you inclined to analyze such things:

And finally, here's a semi-creepy shot of Baby Z looking rather Homer Simpsonish. The blob on the right is Susan's adorable placenta:

Lola's First Haircut!

2008-12-12T17:00:00.000-05:00

Lola went to the salon today for her very first real haircut. She obviously enjoyed the pampering and the attention. Thanks Rebecca!

Baby Z Beasley!

2008-10-16T12:45:00.000-04:00

Lola found out some exciting news -- she's going to be a big sister! Baby Z is due in May.

Savannah May Beasley

2008-08-26T18:29:00.000-04:00

We went up to the Chicago area this past weekend to visit Derrick's brother and family including the newest addition, Savannah May! Lola was much more interested in playing with her cousin Jessie and all her toys than pay the new baby any attention. Every once in awhile she would point and say "baby" and keep on playing.

Where Are You Bus?

2008-08-12T09:46:00.000-04:00

Well, Lola got on the bus to school for the first time. Of course, she loved it! It was a little harder on us, I think . . .

Ooh la la!

2008-08-11T10:49:00.000-04:00

Lola has become quite interested in mommy's makeup lately. We woke up one morning to find that she had found a lovely shade of red!

The summer has been really busy, and we apologize for not putting up more blog entries. Derrick's first official movie theater event is this Friday - if you're in Louisville, be sure and join us! Check the website for more info: www.louisvillevanguard.com

Just Something Cool

2008-07-19T15:16:00.000-04:00

This has nothing to do with Lola, cochlear implants, our family, or anything else. This is just something cool I went and saw this morning. Watch the shorter building in the middle after the puff of smoke on its left edge:

More Songs

2008-07-03T19:41:00.000-04:00

Derby Mayhem on Wheels

2008-05-08T19:30:00.001-04:00

Lola chose Derby Day, of all days, to try her hand at driving an actual powered vehicle. It was pure terror for the parental units.

Lola and her dad also went to the Pegasus Parade together. Lola was very interested, but was mainly into the horses. She kept saying "ready for horses" when they were coming and "more horses" after they passed. When told she would have to wait for more horses, she got a little upset. So we walked down the side street where the horses were feeding into the parade and there were horses for blocks and blocks! More horses than she could ever hope for! At the end, she said "wow" and I said "yeah." Then she said "Ready for cows."

Bad Bloggers

2008-03-18T22:35:00.000-04:00

We have been very bad bloggers, and we apologize. We just recently downloaded our digital cameras and had pictures from way back in December, so I've added several posts going back that far.

Lola's speech is definitely exploding. I had the very good fortune to have just returned from a wild women's weekend in Cape Cod with 5 amazing ladies, and when Derrick and Lola picked me up from the airport, she did not stop talking all the way home. I handed her a shell I had brought her back from my trip, and she took it and said perfectly, "a shell." She didn't repeat it - we didn't even know she knew that word! Derrick also informed me that while I was gone, he called her a baby, and she corrected him, "not baby, girl." It's so exciting because now she's really sharing her own thoughts with us. And we know she's got lots of them, so keep it coming! We thought her energy had reached a whole new level when she turned 2, but it's reached yet another level now that she is 3. Wow! She's definitely keeping us busy!

Snow

2008-03-08T22:32:00.000-05:00

What a crazy amount of snow! So much snow, they even closed the library, which never happens! SNOW DAY! We went sledding, we played with the snow inside, we ate snow ice cream, we played hide & seek inside, we built a snowman, and we went for walks. Lola loved the snow, but not so much the cold, wet part of the snow - she didn't last too long outside, but was very happy to play with the snow inside (and eat the snow ice cream!)

Maple Syrup Festival

2008-03-01T22:31:00.000-05:00

Our fourth year in a row to visit the Maple Syrup Festival! Great fun as always!

Our First Parent/Teacher Conference

2008-02-24T22:22:00.000-05:00

We feel so grown-up! We met with Lola's teacher, Sydney today for Lola's first parent-teacher conference. They give Lola the unofficial most improved award for their class, as she is doing really well. When she went to the 2 year old class, it was only one day a week for two hours, and she liked it, but she didn't talk to us about it afterwards, like some of the other kids did. We definitely can see a big difference now that she goes to school 5 days a week, 3 hours a day. The consistency is really helping, and she seems to understand what she's supposed to do. Routine is working for her. Sydney told us she was grateful that we do continue to sign with Lola as it helps her a lot. Lola will demonstrate that she did understand plus it helps to make clear what she is saying.

Lola has been doing some chores around the house now. She feeds the dogs and cats (with help of course) and also helps when we walk the dogs by holding Jackson's leash. Our animals are very good to put up with her aggressive love.

Puttin' Her to Work

2008-02-24T11:01:00.000-05:00

Girl's gotta earn her keep around here . . .

Turtle Glasses!

2008-02-17T22:16:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately I'm not as good of a photographer as Derrick because I didn't get in the frame that she was also signing "turtle" and looking at herself with her fun turtle glasses!

Three Word Sentence

2008-02-13T22:09:00.000-05:00

Lola's language is really taking off. She told her dad in both sign and vocally - "cat hurt Lola." Lola loves her animals very much, but sometimes her love hurts. Spike, our black and white kitty, is very patient, but even he has his breaking point. But they never stay mad at each other for long.

Happy Birthday Lola!

2008-01-29T22:07:00.000-05:00

We were lucky to have surprise visitors to help us celebrate Lola's birthday - my niece Jill and her friend Angie came to visit just for the day. Lola seemed very pleased with her birthday present - her very own camera! She filled up the card (60 pictures) within minutes.

Thank you Elizabeth!

2008-01-25T22:03:00.000-05:00

Now that Lola is turning three, she won't be receiving services through First Steps. We have had a wonderful experience and have been lucky to have a great team working with Lola. Elizabeth has been visiting Lola as her speech therapist for a year. We will miss her visits, but are grateful for all her help. Lola's speech is definitely growing by leaps and bounds!

Rock On!

2008-01-20T22:02:00.000-05:00

Our neighbors stopped by for a little visit, and Wilson and Lola rocked out!

Photographer Lola's First Day of School!

2008-01-08T14:50:00.000-05:00

Lola started five-day-a-week school at LDOS today and immediately decided she wanted to major in photography. Right on!

Happy Holidays!

2007-12-27T18:28:00.000-05:00

Sorry we've been such bad bloggers! Quick update: Lola is constantly surprising us with her language development. She loves the alphabet and can say all the letters and sign them. She likes to point to them and say them aloud. Her speech is getting clearer all the time. And she's finally using her language to tell us what she wants - during one of our many car trips this past week, she asked "where's cookie?" with both sign and vocalizing. We'll post more soon. Hope you all had lovely holidays!

Holiday Family Time

2007-12-26T21:35:00.000-05:00

We were lucky to squeeze in family time with both sides for the holidays. Susan's entire family got together for the weekend, and we were with Derrick's family for the actual holidays. Lola and her cousin Jessica had a wonderful time together and were so cute on Christmas morning with the presents and boxes and wrappings. Good times!

1st Annual Louisville Cookie Party

2007-12-14T21:29:00.000-05:00

We had our first cookie party inviting nieces and neighbors. I've been making holiday cookies with my sister supposedly since I was born, so I wanted to start the tradition with Lola in our house. We had a great time - they all made very beautiful cookies! A quick check for Lola's hearing: just say the word "cookie" - I swear she can hear that from across the room over other conversations.

The Gash: one year later

2007-09-27T14:32:00.000-04:00

We couldn't possibly imagine last year at this time that this scar would ever heal flat, but it has! I've kept her hair trimmed to even out her side mullet, and it's almost even now, so we might just have to let it grow and see what that looks like. Although she does look awful cute with short hair!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

One Year Hearing Anniversary

2007-09-26T19:42:00.000-04:00

It's hard to believe, but we started this blog over a year ago on the day that Lola had her implant surgery. She was "turned on" September 20th 2006, so we celebrated her "hearing birthday" by going to a party Thursday night (see picture) and a concert Friday night with Uncle John and cousins Zoe and Vivian in Jeffersonville. Sometimes it's hard not to compare her to other children her age or younger and see how much they are talking, but then we are reminded that it's only been a year that her implant has been activated and she is making incredible progress. If you compare her to a one year old, she is right on track. I think this great video will give you an idea of how well she's doing.

Lola has really been vocalizing lately. This video may seem like regular baby babble to most people, but it's a big step for us! Remember, she's completely deaf.

Notice the stylish Four Roses Bourbon tattoo on her arm!

Lola on Horseback

2007-08-21T21:00:00.000-04:00

The Beasley/Dognaux clan took a short trip to Barren River State Park in southern Kentucky this weekend. Susan attended a conference on Monday and Tuesday while Derrick and Lola went swimming and rode horses. Lola's definitely a Kentucky girl (although Susan constantly has to remind me that Lola was actually born in Indiana); she couldn't get enough of that horse! We had to take her kicking and screaming all THREE times she rode Sam. Oh, and the woman that runs the stables has a cochlear implant!

Born cowgirl.I'm not quite sure where she got this, but Lola kept waving one hand in the air like she was in a rodeo!

Lola REALLY Likes Her New Crayon Markers!

2007-07-25T09:38:00.000-04:00

Lola Meets John Coltrane

2007-07-23T19:59:00.000-04:00

The Beasleys Get to Stay Home!

2007-07-23T14:58:00.000-04:00

We apologize for not keeping up the blog better, but it's definitely been a very busy summer. We have gotten to be at home for a weekend or two here and there, but we've also made trips to Vincennes, Wooster and Columbia, and we have several more trips to go! Always busy... Lola did get her knew Harmony processor on Wednesday July 18th. She wasn't scheduled to get it until December, but somehow our fabulous doctor got us moved up the list. The new processor has a much higher fidelity, so she should be able to differentiate sounds much better. It should also help a lot with music. Derrick played her some John Coltrane when they got home (see next post), and she was definitely intrigued. She is talking a lot more now and her words are becoming clearer. It's all very exciting!

The Beasleys Go to Austin!

2007-05-30T14:55:00.000-04:00

Our friends Lana and Ben got married in Austin, so we got to visit our old stomping grounds and see all our great friends. It was Lola's first trip to one of our favorite towns. She once again was an excellent flower girl and made a new best friend, Una (below). It had been 4 years since my last visit, and we cannot let it go that long. It was great fun and we know the nicest people there.

We hung out with a bunch of old friends -- Claudia and Nate's boy William got along famously with Lola.

The Beasleys Go to Tuscaloosa!

2007-05-21T21:44:00.000-04:00

The Beasley Clan recently completed a jaunt to beautiful Tuscaloosa, Alabama for the wedding of Susan's dearest friend Cathy. While Susan and Cathy did girlie things, Lola and her daddy did other, even more girlie things at the Children's Museum:

Cue heavenly music . . .

Does anyone need a Lola? We've got a few to spare:

The Signing Fool: Horse

The Signing Fool: Carrot

Of course, Lola charmed everyone with her mad karaoke skilz at the rehearsal dinner . . .

and looked stunning at the wedding in her handmade dress by Sandy Schiavi!

CUT HER OFF!

The Beasleys Go to Los Angeles!

2007-04-25T15:22:00.001-04:00

The Beasley Clan recently completed a quick three-day trip to sunny L.A.! Advanced Bionics hosted us and we were able to tour the facility where Lola's robot ear was created. Unfortunately, we can't show you because photographs were not allowed. We did take photos of the kind people there who showed us around. This is Martha and Frank from Advanced Bionics (photos by Lola).

We also visited friends Anne and Paul (not pictured) who showed us around town and took us out for delicious Mexican food and margaritas on Sunday.

We spent the rest of the time going to see various entertainment-related stuff like the diner from Mulholland Drive (Derrick's highlight!) and the house from Six Feet Under:

On Monday we also went to Venice Beach where Lola was able to see the ocean for the first time! We played the classic run-up-to-the-water-and-run-away-from-the-waves game (Susan & Lola's highlight). It was great fun! Lola was somewhat obsessed with chasing pigeons, as you can see in the following video.

Warning: for hardcore Lola fans only!

Lola's Signs part 2

2007-03-27T12:17:00.000-04:00

We can't keep up. Not only can we not keep up with her list of all the signs she knows, but we can barely keep up with learning the signs to keep up with her! She does have a show now - she LOVES Signing Time! It's a PBS show, and the library also has it on DVD. She's kind of a Signing Time addict. But we do all learn so many signs from watching. We know all kinds of animals, and she even put together her first signed sentence. Derrick and Lola went to the zoo on Saturday, and she signed to him "Giraffe Drink" when they watched the giraffe bend over and get a drink from the lake. She continues to make lots of sounds too and gets closer and closer to many words. This morning it sounded like she said "dog. She does a great "ball" and "bye-bye."

We were scheduled to be in LA right now to test out new equipment for Advanced Bionics, but the prototype wasn't ready for Lola to test, so we will have to reschedule in April, hopefully. We are really looking forward to getting a tour of the place where the magic happens! Lola is currently trying out a new set of equipment. We are definitely getting used to it, and everyone likes the purple flowery design!

Let's Get Groovin'!

2007-03-24T15:09:00.000-04:00

On a trip to Chicago last weekend, Lola visited a Children's Museum in Naperville with Susan, Grandma Sue, Cousin Jessica and Aunt Dole. She banged on drums, played with bubbles and many other incredibly cute things:

Lola has a new dance she loves to perform with her Fridge DJ. At least we know she can hear -- she changes the dance every time the song switches! She also attempts to sign the letters when the Alphabet Song comes on. Again, cute.

Drawing and Chocolate

2007-03-20T22:08:00.000-04:00

Lola has recently discovered markers and large, blank surfaces! She loves her bathtub crayons so much that she will stay in there long after the water is gone. The other night she even laid down and closed her eyes while continuing to draw.

Derrick made his first batch of chocolate chip cookies - with double chocolate chips! He can officially do it all now. Everyone was a big fan, including Lola. Enjoy this video of Lola hepped up on goofballs and making her new silly face!

LOLA WALKS!!

2007-02-13T12:26:00.000-05:00

This weekend Lola started walking independently, rather than between two people! Watch the excitement in full living color below!

and the chase begins...

2007-02-11T15:52:00.000-05:00

Lola has been walking holding a person's hand for ages. In our very first blog post, she is seen holding her dad's hand and walking the hospital hallway. People thought that once she got hooked up, that would be the final piece for her balance, but that came and went, and she was still not walking on her own. So in our new First Steps plan, we started working with a physical therapist, Michelle who is great. She gave us some tips and has been working with Lola, but she let us know that really we were doing all we could. Lola just had to decide to do it because she could do it, she just wasn't. We all felt that being around kids that were walking was going to be what finally got her going on her own. So she started school, our neighbor kids started to walk, she got together with her cousin Jessica.... Finally at our big family get-together to celebrate my dad's 80th birthday, Lola took off! There were 27 of us there that night (Dad said it felt like 40), and 7 of those were walking kids, and I guess it was the last straw. She just started going and she would not stop. She walked between everyone's legs and in the middle of her cousin's game and still kept going. I gave her a bath and as soon as she got out, she was off again. Walking naked through the house, we finally had to catch her to put her diaper and pj's on. And she didn't stop with just walking either - she started going in circles! She even had a ballerina tutu on, so it was even cuter than you can imagine. Going, going, going...we were so happy and so proud! Sunday - wouldn't take one step. I guess she was exhausted. Monday night she started back up again, as you can see in the video in the next post.

What a difference a cord makes

2007-02-04T15:44:00.000-05:00

Our dear friend Matthew was visiting us from Texas over the weekend, and Lola's cord from her magnet to her processor snapped on Friday night. Why do things like that always happen on a Friday night? So we started calling the doctor's office in the morning, but later found out that she was out of town. We eventually start calling all our therapists for any suggestions. We were able to get ahold of Paula who also called Elizabeth, and the two of them called all their families until they found someone with an extra cord we could borrow! Thanks again to both of them and to the very nice family for the loan! She was back on that evening! Matthew commented on how interesting it was to see her without it. She was happy all morning, smiley as usual, but as he said, she was really in her own little world. She never makes a sound when she's not hooked up, and she just played by herself. As soon as that magnet hit her head, she was blabbing up a storm and walking from person to person! It was interesting for someone else to witness what a difference it's making to her.

Look Who's 2!

2007-01-30T13:08:00.000-05:00

Cyborg Lola Jane celebrated her second birthday yesterday with her cousins Zoe and Vivian who came over for homemade cupcakes. Lola invited all her friends to ArtSparks on Sunday for a rousing afternoon of playing, drawing, building and painting!

Birthday Bash

2007-01-22T17:00:00.000-05:00

The Beasley Clan traveled to beautiful Wooster, OH this weekend to attend a dual birthday bash for Lola (2) and great-grandpa Jack (82). We all had a grand ol' time:

Lola opened presents:

Uncle Jim and Mommy tried to teach her how to blow out candles, but she was more interested in the clapping afterward:

Then we all had a delicious piece of cake while Cousin Jessica posed for the camera:

Mammie made Lola a puppet theater for her birthday and we all enjoyed a rousing show with Squallis Puppets until Lola figured out what was going on. It was a very Wizard of Oz moment:

The kiddos then took a bath together to clean off all the birthday cake:

Despite a dog pooping in the car on the way up and some extremely scary weather on the way back, we had a great time!

Lola's First Day of School!

2007-01-18T17:00:00.000-05:00

Today Lola went to her first day of "school" at the Louisville Deaf Oral School. She played for two hours with her new friends Amelia, Maggie & Max and her teacher Ms. Dean. Her favorite part was jumping on the trampoline! They sang songs, read books and made a snowman with construction paper. She looks forward to visiting her new friends every Thursday morning!

Thanks Paula!

2007-01-15T15:39:00.000-05:00

With First Steps, we make a plan for 6 months at a time, so we have a new 6 month plan that started in December. Our first 6 months, we worked with Paula. Now with the second 6 months, we have Michelle for physical therapy, Elizabeth for speech AND Lola starts school at LDOS with Mary Beth as her teacher, which means we won't be working with Paula anymore; luckily we'll still see her at school sometimes. Thanks for everything Paula! We'll miss you!

We wish YOU a Happy New Year!

2006-12-28T18:39:00.000-05:00

What a year it has been! That Lola sure has taken us on an adventure! Thanks to all our friends and family and all our blog readers for their support over the year. Thanks to the amazing scientists for creating the cochlear implant. Thanks to Dr. Severtson, the surgeon, for being a perfectionist. Thanks to Dr. Windmill, our audiologist, for always making us feel like we're her only appointment for the day - very rare in doctors these days! Thanks to Paula, our teacher from LDOS - we will miss you when Lola starts playgroup! Thanks to everyone we've worked with through First Steps; it is such an amazing program and we are so grateful that it exists. Lola continues to amaze us constantly, and I am confident that the upcoming year we will see incredible strides. Stay tuned! Bonne année et bonne santé!

Derrick, Susan & Lola

Shhh and Sounds

2006-12-17T10:40:00.000-05:00

We've been playing a game lately where we put our finger to our lips and make the shhh sound. Last week we were driving in the car, and I was sitting directly in front of Lola and our friend Lisa was sitting beside her in the back. I read a sign that said "Shhhhh" and Lisa reported that Lola immediately did the "sign" for it; that means that she heard the sound and knew what it meant without seeing me!

She's been making lots of sounds too. She does a "mama" and we've even heard a meow. She does make approximations of up, hi, hot, quack and arf. Over Thanksgiving weekend, she started doing "ba ba ba" sounds. She's also really imitating the sounds of speech. It's just amazing how fast she is picking things up, and even our teachers agree with us that she probably did hear for awhile before she somehow lost her hearing.

Daddy's Girl

2006-12-17T10:34:00.000-05:00

Lola loves a good scary book! We've been reading Dinosaur Day by Liza Donnelly for weeks, and her favorite part is when the dinosaur (we call it a monster because it is a "monstersaurus" in the book) jumps out of the snow and chases the little boy and his dog. This book is how she knows the signs for "monster" and "scared." The first 10 or so times we read it, she really jumped at this part and grabbed onto our arms. As soon as the book was over, she would grab your hand and have you read it again. Anytime someone new was around at bedtime, they also had to read it. Aunt Dole read it to her, and Uncle Jeff did an inspired version with many many new sounds. We do read it less now, but she still loves the scary part!

She also loves pickles! Derrick says that she had a mouthful of cheese the other day at lunch and she spit it all out as soon as he brought out the jar of pickles. When they bought pickles at the store, she hugged the jar and didn't want to let it go.

But what about me? Well it does seem mother and daughter both have a sensitive scalp, as we make the same face when the Christmas Tingler approaches!

Lola's Signs

2006-12-01T09:12:00.000-05:00

cheese
more
milk
Lola
duck
bird
dog
cat
where
shoe
toast
hear
fan
thank you
rabbit
eat
noodle
hi
water
bath
book
hot
train
pig
sheep
light
Daddy
Mommy
Wilson
cracker
cow
witch
tomato
want
ball
mouse
monster
fish
pear
up
smart
all done/finished
cold
Knuffle Puppy
cookie
airplane
scared
brush teeth
water
banana
apple
light
stars
bed
lion
spider
hungry
snow
airplane
pickle
monkey
ice cream
on
balloon
phone
bear

Vacation, Signs & (Almost) Walking

2006-11-16T16:14:00.000-05:00

We went on a vacation at the beginning of the month, traveling to Athens GA, Atlanta, and Asheville NC. We had a lovely trip and Lola was able to add 4 new states to her map!*

*Fun activity for all ages! Color the states that you have visited. You can print out a map here. We color the states we've lived in one color and the states we've visted another color.

We still read Knuffle Bunny every night, and she has taken a liking to a little stuffed puppy that's name is now Knuffle Puppy. She can even do his sign name - very cute! We also read Piggies every night, and she does many of the hand gestures along with the book, including the signs for hot and cold. She does do the cutest "cold" sign that you will ever see. She loves for us to sing Itsy Bitsy Spider and sometimes does the motions with us, especially "wash the spider out." She is fascinated that other people know this song, and on our vacation was very impressed with our waitress Halloween night in Asheville - not only was she dressed as a fairy and let Lola play with her wand, but she knew the Itsy Bitsy Spider! When she walked past our table, Lola looked at her and did "spider." Cute.

We had another appointment with Dr. Windmill last week to get turned up again. This visit started with a stop in the testing booth. This was our third time in the booth. They play sounds out of different speakers, and she is expected to turn her head towards the sound. This was the first hearing test we had when she was 14 months old, and of course she didn't turn her head at all. They tested her again with her hearing aids, and again she didn't turn her heard at all, not even once. So this time, even though she was a bit cranky from a cold, she did so great! It was wonderful to see her turn her head to the sound almost everytime. Her new audiogram is very impressive for being turned on for under 2 months. It's all so amazingly promising.

She is making a lot more sounds now too. We were told that it would take awhile before she would start speaking - just think of a new baby, they have to have a lot of sound come in before they ever make words. But she is making more sounds and more word-like sounds. She does a close "quack, quack, quack" and an "up, up, up" - mainly the vowel sound, but she's definitely getting there. We still sign, but we try to say the words first to emphasize her oral development. She is picking up signs so fast right now! She is up to 40 signs with new ones all the time -- here is a list of her current signs.

Her balance is also getting much better too. It won't be long now!

Thanks for keeping up on Lola! I know we'll continue to have lots more news to share!

Microphone Lollipops

2006-10-26T11:44:00.000-04:00

Lola is now on her third microphone. She thinks it's so funny to put it in her mouth to get our attention and unfortunately it doesn't take much for the moisture to make it not work. This happened on Monday, and our doctor was out of the office, so we weren't able to get a new microphone until Tuesday. It was amazing to see what a difference it is making to her - that day without being able to hear, she seemed more lethargic and less engaged with us and her surroundings. Derrick brought her to our Halloween party at the library, and she just kind of sat back and watched it all happen. Maybe she didn't feel so good that day either, but we did see a difference, and we missed her being hooked up. We are going on vacation next week, so we really really hope she doesn't have any microphone lollipops while we're gone!

WARNING: Simulation. Not an actual microphone. Do not attempt at home.

Knuffle Bunny!

2006-10-19T13:45:00.000-04:00

Lola has favorite books now! She's always loved books, but now she picks them up and sits on our laps with them. She demands them when we get to bed, and sometimes she even points for them when we get up in the morning. This week we've read Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems every night!

She is also making all kinds of sounds! Every day it seems that she is making more and more sounds. We say her name to her a lot, and Derrick said the other day it sounded like she said OOOO aaaaa, so she's on her way!

The Train

2006-10-12T15:10:00.000-04:00

A very cool thing happened this week. Lola and Derrick were walking down Frankfort Avenue when a train approached from behind us. Lola immediately started looking around for it and signed the word "train." Now this may not sound like much, but it means three things: (a) she knew the sign for "train," a sign we had only shown her once, (b) she heard the train before she saw it, and (c) most importantly, she knew what the sound was before she saw the train! This was a very momentous occasion for us!

On another note, NPR had a very informative two-hour segment on deaf culture and cochlear implants. You can listen to it here.

Too Much Information

2006-10-07T15:50:00.000-04:00

LOLA'S SCAB FELL OFF!

AudioLola®

2006-10-05T17:20:00.000-04:00

What's new with Lola now that she's turned on? She enjoys books on a whole new level now. We could tell a difference the day after she was turned on. She's completely rapt. It's fun! Her newest sign is for "monster," which she learned when her daddy was reading her a dinosaur book. We go to Dr. Windmill again tomorrow to get turned up!

New Developments

2006-09-28T20:47:00.000-04:00

No pictures this time, just updates.

So Lola has had her implant turned on for a week now and she has already accomplished so much! She is making many word-like sounds now -- much more than she ever did before. Her magnet is constantly falling off, and one time she signed "where" and "sound" when it fell. So she has already made the connection between the implant and hearing -- remarkable! That usually takes months, the therapist told us. She now turns when called from behind -- something she has never done before.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Activation Day! (or, Lola Gets Turned On)

2006-09-20T21:31:00.000-04:00

Today was the big day! We caravaned to the doctor's office for Lola's implant activation. Mommy, Daddy, Uncle Justin and Uncle John were in attendance.

Our audiologist Dr. Windmill attached the magnet to test the electrodes for the first time:

Why, whatever could this be? Lola wondered:

A series of beeps sounded while Dr. Windmill adjusted the levels. Lola seemed very interested:

The doctor adjusted four of the sixteen electrodes today. This is what Lola's face looked like most of the time:

Then she decided it would be more fun to play and wave:

The audiologist then officially "switched her on." Lola was hearing live sound for the first time! She didn't react strongly, but seemed to be concentrating very hard on everything. She was very interested when Uncle John clapped his hands:

After a while of playing and banging on everything in sight, they fitted Lola with a not-so-stylish harness to hold her processor while she's still little:

After that, we went home and crammed lots of sound into that little girl! We go back to the audiologist every couple weeks so she can fine-tune the program. Every couple days until then we turn the volume up a little so as to not scare her.

Stay tuned for more -- possibly a video, if I can figure out how to put it up.

The Gash

2006-09-14T09:47:00.000-04:00

So we've given everybody two weeks for it to heal, but it's time for a closeup of the incision:

It looks much better than it did last week and we go to the surgeon's today to see if it's healed enough to turn her on! The activation session is scheduled for next Wednesday, the 20th. We also received the bill from the hospital -- Lola's new robot ear is officially worth more than our house! Our favorite part is the last line.

The Reveal

2006-09-03T20:06:00.000-04:00

On Sunday, we took off Lola's bandage per doctor's orders and were quite surprised at the size of the incision. We'll spare you the gory close-ups:

Lola's New Hat

2006-08-31T12:51:00.000-04:00

Lola is back to her old photogenic self today, two days after surgery:

The Big Day (Birth of a Cyborg)

2006-08-29T23:00:00.000-04:00

Today was Lola's surgery for her c ochlear implant! We arrived at the hospital at 7:15 a.m. and commenced waiting . . .

Lola prepared herself by reading the pamphlet on her procedure . . .

They finally called us back, took Lola's vital signs and fitted her with a stylish O.R. gown . . .

We then had to amuse ourselves for an hour or two while the surgery before ours finished up . . .

They finally came to dope up our child . . . Valium was administered to reduce separation anxiety; alas, they wouldn't give us any. They took her to the operating room . . .

Lola's on drugs!!!

The nurses then put Lola to sleep and threaded a breathing tube down her throat. Surgery began at 10:15.

WARNING: Blood! These are images from Dr. Severtson's microscope. The first is the implant in her skull and the second is the electrode being threaded into her cochlea.

The bright light is the surgeon's light shining off the implant!

Our audiologist Dr. Windmill prepares to test the electrode.

Luckily for Susan, Project Runway was on cable in the waiting room.

We then met with our audiologist who had some good news and some bad news. The good news was that they tested the implant and her brain's response to it, and the results were perfect! The bad news was that the surgeon decided that he didn't like the position of the implant, so he had to go back in and move it. A couple hours later, they brought her to us. She was still asleep and extremely puffy from all the fluids they had pumped into her. Her cheek was bruised from the pins they had inserted to mark her facial nerve.

They gave us the hair they shaved off, because technically it was Lola's first haircut!

Susan took this opportunity to trim Lola's fingernails . . .

While our daughter recovered from surgery, we ate Slushees . . .

After about an hour, Lola began to wake up. And boy, was she unhappy!

We went home shortly after they took her IVs out and she nursed for awhile. Altogether, we spent almost ten hours at the hospital! That night was pretty rough, with Lola waking often and crying alot. But the next morning, she was back to her old self! We wait for about 3-4 weeks for the incision to heal and then our audiologist will attach the external equipment and turn it on. What a day that will be! Check back often for further updates.