Our Beach Trip

We just returned from our annual trip to the beach! We missed last year's trip because Daddy had to work summer school. 

To day Mama has been looking forward to this trip would be an understatement.

We visited the city you were born in and saw old friends...

You loved running on the beach. One day, you even fell in line with a trio of joggers running down the beach. Luckily, Daddy caught up to you.

At the advice of Daddy's friend, Miss Allyson, we got you a Puddle Jumper for swimming. You are not a big fan of swimming yet. We're working on it.

You love the beach though. We went every single day we were there.

You had a ball chasing the seagulls...

You became our official elevator operator.

You entertained the patrons of Broadway at the Beach when you played in the fountain...

We blew lots of bubbles on the patio...

And took a pontoon boat cruise.

Two of my favorite pictures from the week...

6 Month Update

It's time for a 6 month update!

 

You are now 2.5....that's way closer to 3 than I'd like. You're growing so fast! Please stop! 

Here are something I hope we never forget about your two and a half year old self...

Speech therapy has been amazing for you. I can't get over your language development in the past month. You've learned to say "I love you" which, I'll admit, made Mama cry. Just a little. Ms. Michele, your SLP, is wonderful. She has a son about 6 months younger than you and we compare notes often. She's given us so many good ideas and your language is booming. Right now, we're waiting on the insurance to approve more sessions. Fingers crossed they approve more, you've made so much progress!

You have become a pint sized back seat driver. Whether we're in the stroller or driving in the car, you can often be heard exclaiming, "How 'bout that way!?" Heaven help us if we don't/can't go "that way." You're also noticing things outside the car more. You love looking at tractors, school buses, and trains as we're driving. You help the stop lights change by saying magic words with Mama to see if that will change the light to green. I may have also taught you to say, "Red light, red light, stop, stop, stop!" and "Green light, green light, go, go, go!" 

You continue to love letters and numbers. You know all your upper and lower case letters (b and d are sometimes confusing) and recognize numbers up to 20. Numbers seem to be your main interest right now and recently your new favorite number is 100. You love to count by tens to 100. I'm currently working on counting by 5s to 100. You are getting pretty good!

Recently, you've discovered how much fun outside can be. You want to be outside all day, every day. You love walking out to the soccer fields and inspecting all the nature you find along the way. One day there were puddles. That was also the day we ran out of clean/dry shoes! You LOVE splashing in mud puddles!

It is hilarious to watch you blow bubbles. I guess I should really call it eating bubbles. However, you love chasing bubbles with your butterfly net. It's hilarious to watch you take off after a bubble.

One of your favorite things to do is go over and eat lunch with Daddy and "the boys." You love running up and down the hallway outside the dining hall. Then you go in and find your seat. We continue to practice saying hello to all of the boys. You give out high fives like they're going out of style. You are having a hard time when Daddy leaves lately, but I'm hoping that will get better once he's home for the summer.

We are also binkie free! Honestly, for something I dreaded for a year, it went really easily. I just hid all your binkies and gave you a teething ring at night. You had been chewing on/through your binkies for months so the extra firm teething ring helped you settle. Now, you can take the teether or leave it.

Last week, you figured out how to climb out of your crib. Yay. So we converted your bed to the toddler bed. We're still teaching you that you have to stay in bed at night, but the mornings make my day. You tiptoe into our room and exclaim, "Hi Mama! I'm here!" Then you climb into bed with me to snuggle. Best. Part. Of. My. Day.

Getting to watch you learn and grow is the highlight of my day, Little Wombat. 

We love you to the moon and back!

Love, 

Mama

Zoo Trip!

I'm so excited to have a good zoo within driving distance again. So I used some money I got for Christmas to get us a family zoo membership. I'm looking forward to loading you up and heading to the zoo frequently throughout the year. 

We went with Granny and Gramdad last week and had a wonderful time. We gave you more freedom than the last time we went to the zoo. You were allowed to get out of the stroller and look around as long as you didn't run off. You could also ride in the stroller when you were tired.

You loved looking at the elephants and zooming through the ape building. Your favorite part of the visit was the playground. It's been several months since it's been warm/dry enough to play at a playground so you had a ball sliding down the slides and climbing like our very own monkey. After the monkey building, we walked down the biiiiiig hill, saw the koalas, and got some lunch. Note to self, on future zoo visits, pack a lunch. The food at the zoo isn't fit for animals. 

After lunch we rode the carousel. You're still a little leery of the carousel, but you enjoy it as long as you can keep a tight grip on me at all times. Instead of heading to the North American portion of the zoo, we went to the Rainforest. It was clear to tell you were getting tired. After leading me through the foliage to the tree climb, you were content to be held or carried the rest of the way through the building. Very out of character for you.

In our way out, I grabbed a drink for me and an apple for you. You ate your apple as we left and finished it shortly after we buckled you into the car. Within minutes,of getting on the road to go home, you had already fallen asleep in your car seat.

I vote zoo trip every day!

Speech Therapy

It has been a crazy month and a half. Since Grandpa died we have been traveling back and forth to Grandma's house every week or so to help her with various tasks. We'll talk about the insanity that is bedtime at Grandma's another day.

Around the middle of February we finally started speech therapy. Your speech therapist is awesome. She has a little boy about your age so she really "gets" you. I was worried the first time she came because you generally ignore strangers. You'll come look at them, but you don't speak to them or interact with them.

Imagine my surprise when, not only did you speak to your SLP, you showed her your toys, played with her, said "bye," and hugged her! You could have knocked me over with a feather.

Based on what our insurance approved, she comes twice a week for half an hour. Daddy and I definitely see progress which is exciting! We're coming to the end of the sessions the insurance has approved but we're working to get you more sessions so you can continue to improve.

My favorite new word is "Stop!" When you are playing and you aren't ready to transition into something else (or get your diaper changed) you hold up your hand and say, "Stop!" If Daddy and I don't listen you sometimes will come over to us and push us back while saying, "Stop!" 

Unless you're in danger, we stop when you ask us. We do that for two reasons. First, we want you to learn that your words have power and when you use them your thoughts or wishes can be communicated to others. Secondly, we want you to learn that when you tell an adult to stop, they will respect your wishes. I equate it to respecting your boundaries. If you don't want me to do something (right now, my singing is particularly offensive to you) it is your right to tell me to stop. I hope in the future this will help you learn that no means no and to respect other people and their boundaries.

Tonight, you read Brown Bear, Brown Bear with me. I would start and then you would push back the window and say "I see a _______." You will also shout hooray and clap when we sing "If you're happy and you know it."

We're seeing progress, buddy, which is very exciting!

Sad

Oh, buddy. We are all so sad today. Your Grandpa, or Pa as you call him, passed away tonight. We will  miss him so much. It makes me sad that you won't remember him, but Daddy and I are going to tell you all about him as you grow.

You and Pa were buddies right from the start. Pa used to cough frequently. Before you could talk, whenever you saw Pa, you would start fake coughing and then grin. You still did it every time you saw him. You loved to help us push his wheelchair and sit with him at the computer. 

Your Pa was a great man. Now, you have another guardian angel watching over you.

A Mother's Worry

So. Full disclosure, buddy. Two weeks ago, we had you tested by the state's early intervention program. You see, I've been concerned about your speech or your lack of speech, for several months. In my opinion, you don't talk as much as other children around your age. You will repeat just about anything I ask you to (if you want to) but you don't spontaneously say things. You rarely talk to strangers at all, but you'll talk to Daddy or I. Daddy and I finally decided to contact the program for an evaluation. As we see it, we're either catching a problem early or proving I have been worrying over nothing.

We met with your case manager, signed some paperwork, and a nice girl came out to the house to test you. It was a long test for you and I know it was difficult. When she'd ask you to do things, you would say, "No, no, no!" You very, very rarely tell Daddy or I know so I found that encouraging. As a teacher, I have some issues with how she administered the test but at the end of the day she told me that your expressive AND receptive language were both below level. She didn't say how much below level...we'll find that out when your case manager comes back.

She also said she always recommends an evaluation with a pediatric neurologist in order to rule out any neurological problems.

That's where we stand right now. We've been patiently, impatiently waiting for our follow up meeting with your case manager to find out how and where we proceed.

 We love you, buddy. We love you so very much.

expERIEnce Museum

Last week, while Granny and Grandad were here, we went to the children's museum in Erie. I had never been there, but had checked out the reviews online. We had planned earlier in the year to take you to the children's museum in Cleveland, but then I read some horrible reviews and we decided not to go. The museum in Erie did not disappoint! It was one of the better children's museums we've visited.

It was a little complicated getting there (thank goodness for GPS), but with Grandad driving we made it there without a problem. There are three levels to the museum. The entrance level has a huge water table, lunch area, cave/slide, and a water chalkboard. 

Oh, did I mention the giant blocks, too?

Daddy had fun hammering nails, too!

They had a pedal fire truck that you loved. Your feet couldn't quite reach the pedals, but that didn't stop your fun.

This alligator bank looked a lot like our dinosaur bank, Dino. You love Dino. We use Dino to collect change for your college fund. Anytime you find a coin lying around the house (no matter how hard I try to keep them picked up), you come to me, grab my hand, and take me to Dino to deposit your coin. As soon as you saw the alligator, you immediately came to me for a coin. Luckily, I had one.

The water table was a huge hit. You loved playing in the water.

And fishing in the water....

Daddy had fun playing in the water, too!

So did Grandad!

On the lower level they had puzzles, a Smart Table (pardon Mommy while she drools), a toddler area, blocks, and an art area. Three guess where you spent most of your time...

You, of course, took the opportunity to build a tower. We build towers constantly these days.

The top floor of the museum had an imaginative play area, stage, and TRAIN TABLES! We spent quite a while at the train table. I've tried convincing Daddy that you need your own train table, but he just muttered about having to build another house to corral all the toys you "need."

The imaginative play area had a house play set (that you played in for about a minute), a delicatessen, a court room, a post office, and a grocery store. You grabbed a shopping cart in the grocery store and promptly filled your cart with formula and diapers. Only the essentials, right buddy?

You also enjoyed running around the stage. I tried to put a cape on you, but you were unimpressed.