4/11/13: no signs

I realized today when I was reading to Callen a baby signs book that he's not really using any signs anymore.  The only time I've seen him signing is if I can't understand what he's saying so he signs "bear" to let me know.  He's talking SO much.  It's really fun to see.  He has so many words that it's impossible to keep track of them now.

He had his annual therapy review last week and it went well.  His speech therapist is recommending him to continue his therapy and work on his vowels and annunciation (and some other stuff).  His food therapist is recommending that he continue therapy as well.  She's made some progress with him but he still has a long way to go.  We love both his therapists and it will be hard to say good-bye to them in five months when he ages out of the program.

1/4/13: Foot, School, & Therapy

I left the house for the first time since i hurt my foot. it's my driving foot but it did okay. I still have massive bruising and some swelling and soreness so I just think it's going to take a long time to heal. After 20 years of acrylics, I got a manicure and gel polish tonight. Hoping it will last as nice as the pink and whites. :) The kids were funny about it though. Elodie said "but I like the pink and white" and Callen came running, pointing to his finger saying "pink pink pink," like where's the pink mom? Too cute.

Today, Elodie took four more MUS math tests for chapters 2-5 and got 100% on all of them. I'm wondering how many chapters she'll test out of just from doing MUS Primer before Alpha (Primer is the kindergarten math and Alpha is the 1st grade math). I think I'll just keep testing her until she gets one wrong and then we'll start with that chapter.

Elodie's reading is progressing nicely as well. She's now reading through the Bob Books First Grade books. She sounds things out quite well and usually has no trouble with whatever reading she has to do for MFW Kindergarten. She also enjoys the read-alouds we do.

Callen's therapy sessions started back yesterday after a two week break. He did really well for both sessions. Sara got him to touch and push a cucumber around on his tray, which was great since before he threw two tantrums just because I put a cucumber slice on his tray. We also got him to kiss it goodbye. Mandy confirmed that he's catching up with his words. He's now on par with an average 2 year old, but he's 2 years old and four months, so that means he's about four months behind on his speech. An average two and an half year old will have 300 words so the average child's words would explode after two. Plus, an average two year old would be speaking in almost all two-word sentences, which Callen's not quite there yet, but he's definitely getting there. We're really pleased with his progress and he does even more for Mandy than he'll do for us (which she says is totally normal since he's in speech mode when he's with her and he only has to be "on" for an hour with her, whereas with us, he has to be "on" all the time). She also said he just hasn't made all those brain pathways yet that are messed up with him. So we're just trying to get him to say as much as we can. I kid you not, he has a new word every day!

Here's some other words he's saying that I don't think I had on his previous list: Let go!; Hey!; boon (spoon); sauce; piggy sauce; piggy no moo (he wanted the Dave's BBQ Sauce, not the Bull's Eye BBQ sauce; Dave's has a pig on it and Bull's Eye has a bull on it).

6/21/12: "Bye Bye!" & Library Owls

On Tuesday, Callen starting saying "Ba Ba" for "Bye Bye" after I'd say "Bye Bye."  By today, he was saying "Ba Ba" spontaneously.  Yay Callen!

At his speech therapy on Tuesday, Mandy taught him how to blend two sounds.  She was really trying to get him to say "mmm-ooooo" as part of "more" and he did it for her so we've been working on that this week too.  He hasn't really said it on his own but he does repeat it after me. :)

After Elodie's make up swim lesson this morning and a couple quickie errands, we went to the County's presentation on owls at the library.  Elodie was really excited to learn about them since her room decor is owls.  I think the biggest thing we learned was that owls eat their prey whole and then regurgitate the indigestible parts, which are called owl pellets.  Yuck!

Can you find Elodie??  I can but only because I know which slice of hair is hers. :)

Then when we got home, I let the kids play outside for a little bit before nap time.  This is just some of what they were up to:

Deck sledding!

5/10/12: new words

Today, Callen is definitely saying "ut oh" and "unh uhn" (as in "no").   He'll be saying "unh uh" over and over as he's running away from you or shaking his head and saying it.  He's still loving taking the step stool everywhere to "see" things or turn on and off lights and the fan.  He's also still loving waving his finger to get me to sing the "I love you there's no doubt about it" song.

Yesterday during speech therapy, he seemed very easily distracted but he did learn one thing, "mine."  Now he'll hug the object tight to his chest and "mmmmmm", like "it's mine."  It's very cute.

He's also decided that the sign for "bird" (pinching his pointer finger and thumb together) can mean any animal that he doesn't know the sign for so yesterday and today, Elodie and I were looking up the signs for octopus, squirrel, fox, and seal.  He loves to sign "bird" EVERY time he hears a bird.  It is very cute.  He has super good hearing and will sign "car," "plane," "helicopter," and "bird" EVERY time he hears one, even if I didn't hear it.

Callen pointing to his sunglasses.  He's also made up his own sign for my "glasses." :)

5/2/12: more speech therapy

Callen had his second speech therapy session today.  She only got him to verbalize a couple times and he was kinda all over the place, but that is the attention span of a 19 month old.  His therapist repeatedly said how cute his giggling is.  His BSF leaders always talk about how they love his giggling and what a joy he is to have in their class.

Tonight, I was playing trains with Callen before bed and saying "train" and "choo choo" a lot and Callen started saying "choo choo!"  Although his version sounds more like "true true," with vibrating lips.  It was so cute! He even pulled his hand down, like signing pulling of the horn whistle cord.

4/26/12: Speech Therapy & Swim

Yesterday Callen had his first speech therapy session at our house.  His therapist was nice but really pushed him to try to either make the form with his mouth or say the sound before she'd give him the item and by the end of the session, he was a very frustrated little boy.  It was very sad to watch.  He'd sign "ball" over and over and "please" over and over and she wouldn't give it to him. :(  He finally did make the "ba-ba" sound once.  I think she got him to put his lips together for another sound.  But at one point he started doing his I'm getting mad spin, where he spins himself in circles before he throws a tantrum and then, sure enough, he sat down and hit his head on the floor and layed on the floor and cried.  She did say that he was a very smart boy (which everyone who knows him says).  She also said that she'd evaluate his mouth next week so we'll see what she says.  I'm starting to wonder if he needs some food therapy.  The original evaluators asked about whether he stuffs his mouth with food and I've noticed he does that more and more.  Plus, there's the whole he doesn't eat basically any vegetables or fruit and we'd like him to have more nutrition in his food.

The therapist told us to be reinforcing the sounds and trying to get him to make his lips form or his mouth say the sound before we hand it over to him so I've been trying that today.  For "bowl," I did get him to say "ba-ba" several times so that was nice.  He's also saying "sssssssssss" for "sissy" consistantly now.  I first noticed it a few days ago (I think?).

Side note:  He still LOVES to pour stuff into anything really... food back and forth into cups and bowls... water from cups into pitchers, etc.

I tried to watch more of Elodie's swim lessons today.  It's always hard to watch her in an above ground pool when I'm on the ground level with Callen running around or watching from the unfinished room (no drywall or flooring) upstairs that has an open stairwell, with Callen running around.



(and no, his feet aren't that big.  He's still wearing a size 4 but I didn't have these in the size he's wearing so these are the next size up.)

She had two back-to-back lessons today because I had to pick up a session to make up for the one we are going to miss.  She mostly did well with the exception of a little crying in the middle.  I saw her repeatedly jump into the pool, get on her belly, use her arms to paddle & legs to kick, while the teacher held her head under water, then she'd roll (with teacher help) onto her back for a little bit, and then roll (with teacher help) back onto her tummy and then reach for the other side of the pool (she was swimming across the short side of the pool).  Then to get back across the pool, she'd launch herself backwards to the teacher, and then be pulled by her head to the other side.  She can also launch herself off the platform to the teacher.  I'm very proud of her!

This week she's LOVED opening my sunroof :)

Here's a photo from Tuesday:

He's mad because I stopped to take a photo but I had to document his cuteness on the pink & purple trike :)

Outside before the rancid stench of decomp got to us

they were so cute on this together until Elodie tried to make him stop pressing the button (here he is pre-haircut.  finally decided I like his hair short... see above from today)

4/5/12: C's Speech Evaluation

Callen did great today during his vision test, hearing test, and therapy evaluation at Chi!d F!nd. His vision and hearing are fine. His fine & gross motor skills, social skills and everything else are fine. His communication is great, except for his verbal communication so he qualifies for speech therapy because he's in the 33-50th percentile. We'll be having a speech therapist come to our home for an hour per week for at least six months because that's when he'll be reevaluated for future services.

Here he is in the waiting room, checking out the doll house.

Here he is after the evaluation was over, playing with the eggs, while we waited for the therapists to write up their evaluations.

He liked to throw the balls behind that tunnel so that I had to retrieve them.

Putting the ball in the tunnel.

Back at home... Bathtime! He LOVES baths!