Much needed update!

So just reviewed the family blog and realized I haven't written a post since 2016! Almost FIVE years ago. 😬 That is a LONG time... there have been school changes, job changes, Coronavirus and a move!

We've just recently relocated to Anchorage, Alaska! VERY different climate than the Phoenix metro! We had a lot of adventures in the Phoenix metro in the seven years we were there. I will probably try to post a few review or informational posts about various things to do in the metro for any military families reading the blog.

Keira has now been implanted for six years. A LOT happened in those six years. I made the decision to switch audiologists after my last blog post. Things went downhill rapidly when I made that decision. Somewhere along the line her mapping was adjusted and she stopped responding completely. We probably lost 9 months of "hearing" time during the period. Which is pretty big since she wasn't implanted until 2.5. After discussing things with her implant company Advanced Bionics they recommended a skilled audiologist and we had the good fortune of working with her for the past four years. Her audiograms now look great for an implanted kid. Once her audiograms were dramatically improved (hearing between 20-30db with one frequency being at 40db) we enrolled her into an oral program to try to get her caught up. She attended that program for about 7-8 months and while there was progress it was slow progress so the decision was made to end her enrollment there. We're not sure if it will just take more time and skill or if her nerve is just not robust enough for her to have clear speech. She currently attends a Deaf program and is in the 2nd grade. She also attended Phoenix Day School for the Deaf for the past 4 years. Her main mode of communication is with American Sign Language.

Peyton is a happy and healthy 11 year old now! She just celebrated her 11th birthday, since we've only been in Alaska a few weeks she decided she wanted a shopping spree at the mall this year.

As with most of the world 2020 was a pretty rough year, both of the girls schools shut down after spring break of 2020 and especially with Keira I noticed regression so I'm very grateful she's back in a classroom setting. The online format was much easier for Peyton but she too prefers the in-classroom instruction.

Here are some recent pics of the girls!