And here we are...

We have finished our third day at the John Tracy Center in LA.; 18 more days to go. I have teasingly called it "deaf toddler boot camp" and have found out it is really "deaf toddler parent boot camp". We have a team of audiologist, speech therapists, and other related professionals working with us to make sure we as parents are up-to-speed on Aly's auditory and verbal needs and that we are her best advocates and cheerleaders. We are being supported to be very hands-on in her development. After only two days, Aly is doing amazingly well wearing her cochlear implant processor and hearing aid (new as of last Wednesday) all day. She is even asking to have them put on. K-sister is in a class/camp for grade school-level hearing siblings. She too is having fun and learning a lot. If anyone has a hearing impaired child under the age of six, I would highly recommend this program. The three weeks at JTC will make a huge difference for all us individually and for us as a family. Below is a recent picture of Aly. She is such a fun, loving, funny, cute, and stubborn little girl. Being deaf/profoundly hard of hearing will not define who she is; it will be one more culture that she will work into her personal web of life.

Lalalalalalala

And the time has finally come. We are on our way to Lalaland to see the wizards of the John Tracy Clinic and to visit the magic kingdom of Mickey Mouse. R-dad and Uncle-W are driving the girls down to LA, and K-mom is flying down two days later. "Deaf toddler boot camp", here we come.