Microphone Lollipops

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!

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

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

LOLA'S SCAB FELL OFF!

AudioLola®

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!