More zoo pictures

Here are Maryam and Charlie in front of a Hippo. That thing is HUGE!!!!

Here are Maryam and Daddy in front of the flamingos. I tried to steel you one Jen...I thought Mike would LOVE having a real one in his yard.

Here is Maryam with the Tiki guys on stilts. She thought these guys were hysterical! She laughed and laughed and laughed!

And we just had to get her the Gorilla T-shirt! She's finally big enough for it and I think its a GREAT shirt. And how cute is she on the turtle statue wearing her zoo shirt?
Having Maryam eat today was kind of funny...for a change! Brett made us ice cream sundaes tonight after dinner and Maryam went back and forth between us taking a bite of ice cream or chocolate syrup or cool whip. It was quite amusing. At one point she took my spoon over to Daddy's sundae and I'm pretty sure she came back with Daddy's spoon. At another point she had both spoons! And like she does with everything else, she put the spoon into her mouth with something on it and spit it out as soon as she could. At one point she was actually taking her hand and brushing the food off of her tongue.
Maryam's EI teacher came to the house today, much like she does every Monday. Maryam played with different instruments, tried to have a pretend tea party, and knocked down some blocks. Dona wanted to see how Maryam behaves in her high chair when I'm trying to present food to her, so I showed her. She sat there, leaned in for me to put the spoon to her mouth, wouldn't open her mouth, let me put the spoon on her lips, then licked her lips and spit the food out. Next on to cheese puffs, she'd take a bite and spit it out. After a few of those, she started throwing them on the floor. Next I just put her bowl and spoon on her tray and let Dona see what she does with it. She takes the spoon to her mouth, like she's supposed to, but doesn't take a bite. She just basically imitates what we do when we eat. She got all messy, like normal, and stayed calm in her chair, like normal. Dona found it interesting that Maryam was OK with having stuff all over her hands and face.
I credit our OT Amanda with Maryam being OK with having stuff all over her. Amanda has REALLY shown me how to help Maryam with her sensory issues. I know how to calm her down, I can tell when she's going to get all worked up and I know how to help Maryam deal with sensory over load. I think those tools Amanda taught me have made a HUGE difference in how Maryam handles being in the high chair and having food presented to her.
Tomorrow we're going to Disneyland again. I'm hoping to get a few more trips in before Maryam's quarantine. Wish me luck!