Just a quick update. Had the meeting to get us going with the government program and appears with J's delay we qualify for services up until his 3rd birthday. We contacted a local speech therapist and she had an opening today so we took it! She too said the same thing, he is way, way behind on his expressive language. She actually said the testing tool she was using often overcompensates things so if she had been using another tool, he probably would have tested much lower on the expressive. They all say every other area is right on or above average. So, we will have our first real session next Wed. The only potential bad thing is that I don't know if insurance will cover it. There is a clause in our policy that states speech therapy will only be covered if it is due to trauma or an illness. The gal at the therapy place said sometimes she has seen Blue Cross cover it and sometimes she has seen them not cover it. So, worst case scenario, Family Outreach will cover about 2/3 and we will have to pick up the other 1/3 or best case scenario, Insurance will cover 2/3 and Family Services will pick up the other 1/3. Either way, we are sure hoping to get him talking soon so the whining will stop. He gets his allergy testing on Friday. (One of the nice things about living in a lesser populated area, seems that the waits for docs are not very long - my dermatologist has been the only exception).
On another note, JR has not been feeling well lately, losing weight, just vague symptoms, etc but I finally convinced him to go to a doc for a check up. The first check up he has had since we got married. The doc called today and said all the bloodwork, etc was perfect and he has the insides of an 18 year old. That is wonderful news but it just blows me a way that an almost 40 year old man can quit working out, eat lots of bread, ice cream etc and still lose weight. It is just not fair. He looks at workout equipment and loses weight, I look at food and gain weight. Oh well, atleast he is healthy with no signs of trouble on the horizon.
No mountain snow predicted for the next week or so, bad for hunters. Our fridge is empty.
B has his Harvest Party tomorrow at preschool, hope to download some pictures tomorrow.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Nada
Nothing. JR saw nothing out on the trail today. The elk and deer were pretty elusive. There is no snow on the ground and until the snow comes they will stay pretty high up. He said when he started hiking there was a guy in front of him with a dog. How irritating. Who takes a dog with them on opening day of rifle season. Hoepfully next weekend will be a little more productive, although it is not going to cool off too much.
I woke up this morning to B counting....twenty four, twenty five, twenty six, twenty seven, twenty eight, twenty nine, twenty ten, thirty. I had to laugh quietly.
When we had the 3 middle school guys with us last week, I moved J's crib out of their room and in to the computer room. Decided to not put it back and see if we could get J to sleep on a mattress on the floor. So far so good. Some days he loves his freedom and will stay up and play in the room, but on those days he is almost begging to go to sleep by 7pm. Several nights ago he woke up and sat on the mattress whining. I came to check on him and he settled himself back down but forgot to lay back down. I laughed at him as he went to sleep sitting up swaying.
Was tempted to grab the camera but he laid down before I could.
I woke up this morning to B counting....twenty four, twenty five, twenty six, twenty seven, twenty eight, twenty nine, twenty ten, thirty. I had to laugh quietly.
When we had the 3 middle school guys with us last week, I moved J's crib out of their room and in to the computer room. Decided to not put it back and see if we could get J to sleep on a mattress on the floor. So far so good. Some days he loves his freedom and will stay up and play in the room, but on those days he is almost begging to go to sleep by 7pm. Several nights ago he woke up and sat on the mattress whining. I came to check on him and he settled himself back down but forgot to lay back down. I laughed at him as he went to sleep sitting up swaying.
Was tempted to grab the camera but he laid down before I could.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Speech Therapy here we come
I was very impressed with the appt for J this morning. They observed him in several different settings and environments. At one point they even watched him and another little boy interact. It was odd seeing about 8 adults standing around watching the boys play.
His coordination and fine motor skills are great. He is also a great communicator just not with words. I don't recall all the technical lingo but basically he does have issues going on. They determined that by several different factors.
He often holds his mouth open and his tongue out. He drools alot. He retracts his tongue quite a bit. He stuffs his face with food. His receptive language age is 15-18 months and his expressive language is 6-9 months. Bottom line is, he has low muscle tone in his mouth/jaw area and is orally aware. There were a couple of times they could tell he wanted to talk, but just could not get the words out.
Because of this evaluation, we qualify for services through some kind of county program. Someone will come out next week to do a home study and then let us know our options for speech therapists. They said an occupational therapist would work too, but using a speech therapist he will also get additional help with his language. They were pretty optimistic that once he realizes what his mouth can do and increases the muscle tone that he will begin to talk.
They also strongly recommended getting him tested for food allergies. They said his tonsils are not huge but definitely enlarged and that can affect how the tongue lays. Given B's allergies, it is very possible that J has them too. So, have another new doc to try out for the allergy testing (most docs don't like to do allergy testing on kids this young).
I am just thankful that it is nothing serious that cannot be overcome.
It was interesting when we were talking about the food allergies and how they can affect the body. The speech therapist told me of a child who was diagnosed as autistic. They did allergy testing on him and he had an peanut allergy. As soon as they cut out peanuts, it was like night and day. He started talking, interacting, etc.
Heading out to play tennis in a bit and cards (Pinochle) later on tonight!
His coordination and fine motor skills are great. He is also a great communicator just not with words. I don't recall all the technical lingo but basically he does have issues going on. They determined that by several different factors.
He often holds his mouth open and his tongue out. He drools alot. He retracts his tongue quite a bit. He stuffs his face with food. His receptive language age is 15-18 months and his expressive language is 6-9 months. Bottom line is, he has low muscle tone in his mouth/jaw area and is orally aware. There were a couple of times they could tell he wanted to talk, but just could not get the words out.
Because of this evaluation, we qualify for services through some kind of county program. Someone will come out next week to do a home study and then let us know our options for speech therapists. They said an occupational therapist would work too, but using a speech therapist he will also get additional help with his language. They were pretty optimistic that once he realizes what his mouth can do and increases the muscle tone that he will begin to talk.
They also strongly recommended getting him tested for food allergies. They said his tonsils are not huge but definitely enlarged and that can affect how the tongue lays. Given B's allergies, it is very possible that J has them too. So, have another new doc to try out for the allergy testing (most docs don't like to do allergy testing on kids this young).
I am just thankful that it is nothing serious that cannot be overcome.
It was interesting when we were talking about the food allergies and how they can affect the body. The speech therapist told me of a child who was diagnosed as autistic. They did allergy testing on him and he had an peanut allergy. As soon as they cut out peanuts, it was like night and day. He started talking, interacting, etc.
Heading out to play tennis in a bit and cards (Pinochle) later on tonight!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Distractions!
This past Monday and Tuesday night we hosted (3) 14 year old boys that were in town for the Annual State Student Council Association. They were all from a town 1 hour west of here and just a lot of fun. I imagined what it would be like in 10 years when B is 14. They did not have much down time but what little they had B loved chasing them around and "gettin' 'em". We have been staying pretty close to home this week. The crisp cool days have been nice but after about 10 minutes the nose is very cold. Plus I have been thinking a lot recently about how busy everyone is - even us stay at home moms. There are so many good things to get involved with but what do all of those things take us away from. My hope is as the snow starts falling, that I will be diligent enough to get work around the house done in small pockets of time and use the other time to get on the floor and play, paint pictures with the boys, etc. I am just really starting to see how so many 'good' things in my life crowd out the best things. That is probably why I have not been on the computer as much lately. Seems like I save my big chunks of computer time for when the boys are in bed, but by the time everything is clean and I have made it to the gym and back, I am tired. Just unbelievable the society we live in (the instantaneousness of it) and how easy it is for us to get distracted and how Satan loves pulling us away from the important things and it opens us up to being more vulnerable. We take J in for his evaluation on Friday and I guess I am feeling like the last couple of weeks I have not spent as much time with him as I would have liked, trying to encourage words. It will all come in due time. The more I watch him though, I am pretty sure that his not speaking is a large part of his stubborness but we will see. J sure has his own opinions. Today we were heading to bible study and J had put on B's dress shoes. I attempted to take them off and he screamed until I quit. We tried to leave the house without his coat and he screamed until I put it on. He was sitting at the table eating snack and I grabbed a small bite. He screamed until I went and got him another bite of snack from the counter. He can now turn door knobs and climb on top of the bar stools. Any given point during the day you can see him pushing a chair, step stool etc across the room because he wants something. B is still enjoying preschool. We have started restricting foods again and it has made some difference in him - I just really miss the convenience foods (crackers with cheese, pasta, nachos, mac-n-cheese, yogurt) that are quick and no brainer to whip up. He has also started digging his little heels in. Today I found myself starting to get drawn into an argument with him. I finally stopped the car and turned around and told him to watch the attitude. He stared me down, let out a really deep sigh and started to roll his eyes. I don't know why some of his expressions just crack me up, but they do. I somehow managed to hold off the snicker and think I made my point, atleast for the moment. JR heads out to the mountains this weekend as rifle season opens up. We also have some gift certificates to the local hardware store so hoping to finally agree on a few colors to paint the downstairs and try to knock it out this weekend. JRs dad has started checking in on the blog. Since he can't read the text I am going to try to start having more pics and videos, so here is one of them roughhousing.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Warmer weather
As this past week progressed, we did get warmer. I think we were in the 70s today. This is the time of year where you just never know. You need coat and gloves in the morning and shorts for the afternoon.
Been a quite week. I have a cold, so have not been online much.
JR is anticipating the opening of rifle season next Sunday, so he went out today to sight in the rifle. Got a shot or two of B.
B has started snoring, so it is probably 100% the allergies. So, we have backed way off the allergy foods again. This time next week he should be better, not to mention having kleenex all over the floor. Who taught him to blow his nose and just throw the Kleenex on the floor?
J still diggin his heels in with talking. He has added a few 'words' although not recognizable to anyone but me. We take him this coming Friday to the other appt I scheduled a month ago. We will see what they say.
Off to put them in bed.
Been a quite week. I have a cold, so have not been online much.
JR is anticipating the opening of rifle season next Sunday, so he went out today to sight in the rifle. Got a shot or two of B.
B has started snoring, so it is probably 100% the allergies. So, we have backed way off the allergy foods again. This time next week he should be better, not to mention having kleenex all over the floor. Who taught him to blow his nose and just throw the Kleenex on the floor?
J still diggin his heels in with talking. He has added a few 'words' although not recognizable to anyone but me. We take him this coming Friday to the other appt I scheduled a month ago. We will see what they say.
Off to put them in bed.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Miscellaneous
The bad news is, it is snowing. The good news is, we were forcasted to get up to 10 inches in the valley but I don't think we have accumulated an inch yet. I am not quite ready for Ol Man Winter to come and stay, so hopefully it will warm back up a bit.
Have not made much headway with J and his words. Either we get busy and forget or run out of time after 20 minutes. One of the words we are working with him on is 'down'. Down from crib, down from chair, downstairs, etc. The first time I tried to get him to say it, he said 'da' (different inflection than word for dad). I got excited and started clapping my hands and then immediately got him out of his bed. Well, the other day I walked into his room and the second he saw me he started clapping. So, he now thinks down means to clap. He has started using his tongue to make clicking noises and making a popping noise with his lips. So, he can use his lips and tongue. I think he is a stubborn little guy!
Whenever B is looking through a magazine or sees something in the store, he is always saying 'hey mom, look, Ike has this movie (or Tristan has this car or Evan has this book, etc). I was starting to think that he just likes to hear himself talk. So, the other day he saw a movie in a magazine and told me Colter had that movie. Now, we had been at Colter's house about 6 weeks ago and I had personally been through all the movies several times. J kept pulling them up and I kept cleaning them up, matching movie to case, etc. So, I knew that Colter did not have that movie. I told B that he did not have that movie. He said yes he does mom. I told him no, he said yes. I said, okay, do you want me to call Colter's mom. He said sure. I knew Colter's mom would not think I was nuts wanting to prove B wrong. (I have been working with him on lying and not just saying things to say them.) Well, she told me they did have that movie. She had told me that the case had been up in Colter's room behind his bedroom door for the longest time. I had to apologize to B. I just cannot believe his memory. I am sure amidst all the toys he had found the case, remembered the man and dinosaur on it, studied it and then went on playing. I know he did not watch it over there. Not only does he remember stuff, he remembers the details behind it.
Today I was making a cake and he was helping me. I had him smell the vanilla and he immediately said 'oh, that smells great'. I was so excited. The first confirmation I have gotten that he appears to smell. His congestion has gotten a little better but we still have him eating some of his allergic foods. While I was making the cake, I had creamed the butter and sugar and added the 6 eggs. He really wanted to try it. After telling him no, that he would not like it, he insisted. So, I figured why not. At some point he will have to start trusting mom. He took a small spoonful. I watched him and said 'is it good'? He nodded his head as he smacked his lips and muttered 'it is really good'. I kept looking at him like 'whatever' and he looked at me very matter of fact and said 'i am really serious'. I don't know where he gets all the grown up talk. Oh, they are such joys and blessings. Here is a short video clip of the monkey at the park the other day.
Have not made much headway with J and his words. Either we get busy and forget or run out of time after 20 minutes. One of the words we are working with him on is 'down'. Down from crib, down from chair, downstairs, etc. The first time I tried to get him to say it, he said 'da' (different inflection than word for dad). I got excited and started clapping my hands and then immediately got him out of his bed. Well, the other day I walked into his room and the second he saw me he started clapping. So, he now thinks down means to clap. He has started using his tongue to make clicking noises and making a popping noise with his lips. So, he can use his lips and tongue. I think he is a stubborn little guy!
Whenever B is looking through a magazine or sees something in the store, he is always saying 'hey mom, look, Ike has this movie (or Tristan has this car or Evan has this book, etc). I was starting to think that he just likes to hear himself talk. So, the other day he saw a movie in a magazine and told me Colter had that movie. Now, we had been at Colter's house about 6 weeks ago and I had personally been through all the movies several times. J kept pulling them up and I kept cleaning them up, matching movie to case, etc. So, I knew that Colter did not have that movie. I told B that he did not have that movie. He said yes he does mom. I told him no, he said yes. I said, okay, do you want me to call Colter's mom. He said sure. I knew Colter's mom would not think I was nuts wanting to prove B wrong. (I have been working with him on lying and not just saying things to say them.) Well, she told me they did have that movie. She had told me that the case had been up in Colter's room behind his bedroom door for the longest time. I had to apologize to B. I just cannot believe his memory. I am sure amidst all the toys he had found the case, remembered the man and dinosaur on it, studied it and then went on playing. I know he did not watch it over there. Not only does he remember stuff, he remembers the details behind it.
Today I was making a cake and he was helping me. I had him smell the vanilla and he immediately said 'oh, that smells great'. I was so excited. The first confirmation I have gotten that he appears to smell. His congestion has gotten a little better but we still have him eating some of his allergic foods. While I was making the cake, I had creamed the butter and sugar and added the 6 eggs. He really wanted to try it. After telling him no, that he would not like it, he insisted. So, I figured why not. At some point he will have to start trusting mom. He took a small spoonful. I watched him and said 'is it good'? He nodded his head as he smacked his lips and muttered 'it is really good'. I kept looking at him like 'whatever' and he looked at me very matter of fact and said 'i am really serious'. I don't know where he gets all the grown up talk. Oh, they are such joys and blessings. Here is a short video clip of the monkey at the park the other day.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
First Field Trip
B's preschool class went on a field trip to the Pumpkin Patch. They had a great time, despite the cold wind. They took a hayride to the pumpkin patch and found pumpkins. They all brought apples and got to put them in the grinder and press to make apple 'cider'. There were about 60 apples and it made over a gallon of drink. It was cool to see them make the connection that what they were drinking had been the big apples they brought. Then they played in the hay bales. J had a great time and will have to post a video of him climbing in the hay soon. He took lots of face plants as he would hit a hole or soft spot and fall. I was prepared for hay in the pants but not in the mouth. Rocky Creek Farms (the pumpkin patch) has a huge tree with 8 or so tire swings, etc. A really neat place to go with the kids and let them run wild for a few hours.
They say snow is heading our way, at least for a day or two and then I think it is suppose to warm back up.
When the pics are rolling, if you move your cursor over the pic, a caption should pop up. The bottom left corner is how you can speed up or slow down the pace (with the + and - buttons.
They say snow is heading our way, at least for a day or two and then I think it is suppose to warm back up.
When the pics are rolling, if you move your cursor over the pic, a caption should pop up. The bottom left corner is how you can speed up or slow down the pace (with the + and - buttons.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Little J's words
One thing I have been watching the last couple of months is J and his speech. So, when he finally hit 18 months I decided it was time to get him evaluated. Not that I was really concerned but not having ANY words at 18 months is not the norm. He is very social and communicates a lot, just not with words. I made an appt for the end of Oct through a program I saw advertized at the docs office. Seems there is a group that comes in once a month from a neighboring town to evaluate kids. They can be parent referred. So, we have an appt in about 3 weeks. Meanwhile, this past week the local schools were offering a free child screening for kids up to 5 years old. Decided to make an appointment and take both boys.
B did really well and passed his hearing (so that makes it selective hearing). The most interesting observation they made about him is that when he writes or colors, he does not put his elbow or pinky side of his hand on the table. So, they really encouraged us to help him with this so as to increase the amount of control he has. They also noticed that he does not skip, how have I forgotten how to teach him to skip? Not sure what skipping shows, other than coordination or the movements across the line of the body. They said he was also not able to problem solve - they asked him 'what do you do when you are thirsty', 'what do you do when it is dark', etc. Assuming it was him just being shy, we started asking him questions. He picked up on it immediately and always answered "I don't know". Once I asked the 'what do you do with candy', he immediately answered and finally figured out how the game worked.
With J, of course my biggest thing was his speech. They observed him for a while and through some questions, determined he was at about 14 month level for communicating (at this point he should have at least 10 recognizable words). She said it was not a concern at this point but said she would give him 2 months. If by the end of two months he does not have words, then we would probably get referred out for services. They observed that most of the sounds he makes are from the back of the throat and he is not using his lips or tongue. So, our main homework assignment is to try to force him to speak. When he is in his crib, keep repeating 'up' until he says it. So, we tried it this morning. After about 10 minutes of wailing, he finally said 'uuu'. I immediately picked him up. However, when we tried it later that morning he dug his heels in until we were on a time crunch and had to get on with the morning, so he won. They told us to expect lots of meltdowns the first couple of days! There was not anyone to assess his hearing but there will be at the end of the month appointment. Will be curious to see what kind of progress he makes between now and then.
A cool, overcast day. Expecting some mountain snow showers tonight. So glad we don't live in the mountains anymore!
B did really well and passed his hearing (so that makes it selective hearing). The most interesting observation they made about him is that when he writes or colors, he does not put his elbow or pinky side of his hand on the table. So, they really encouraged us to help him with this so as to increase the amount of control he has. They also noticed that he does not skip, how have I forgotten how to teach him to skip? Not sure what skipping shows, other than coordination or the movements across the line of the body. They said he was also not able to problem solve - they asked him 'what do you do when you are thirsty', 'what do you do when it is dark', etc. Assuming it was him just being shy, we started asking him questions. He picked up on it immediately and always answered "I don't know". Once I asked the 'what do you do with candy', he immediately answered and finally figured out how the game worked.
With J, of course my biggest thing was his speech. They observed him for a while and through some questions, determined he was at about 14 month level for communicating (at this point he should have at least 10 recognizable words). She said it was not a concern at this point but said she would give him 2 months. If by the end of two months he does not have words, then we would probably get referred out for services. They observed that most of the sounds he makes are from the back of the throat and he is not using his lips or tongue. So, our main homework assignment is to try to force him to speak. When he is in his crib, keep repeating 'up' until he says it. So, we tried it this morning. After about 10 minutes of wailing, he finally said 'uuu'. I immediately picked him up. However, when we tried it later that morning he dug his heels in until we were on a time crunch and had to get on with the morning, so he won. They told us to expect lots of meltdowns the first couple of days! There was not anyone to assess his hearing but there will be at the end of the month appointment. Will be curious to see what kind of progress he makes between now and then.
A cool, overcast day. Expecting some mountain snow showers tonight. So glad we don't live in the mountains anymore!
Thursday, October 2, 2008
The Kleenex are flying
Well, seems like the runny nose is starting with B and I heard him snoring a little last night. Not sure if it is a cold or his body starting to react to the foods we were reintroducing. It the past the perpetual runny nose and snoring were the strongest indicators for his allergies. The chiropractor has finished the general stuff for his allergies and is now starting with the specific vials. Still not sure how it is all suppose to work, but we will see. Every week we go I inquire about more success stories he is having with his laser. He said he is seeing remarkable results for those with carpal tunnel.
One thing I love (among other things) about B's age is his exploration of the English language and how it all works. He is getting really good at using verbs in the past tense. However, instead of "I jumped" it is more like "I jump-ped" - making it two syllables and stressing the -ed ending. Yesterday he was watching a Charlie Brown movie. (Which by the way I had never watched Charlie Brown from a parent standpoint, but could not believe how negative and rude everyone was to C.B. I took the teaching moment about how not to treat friends and call them stupid, insecure, etc.)Anyway, during the movie Schroeder sat down to play the piano. I said "oh, he is playing so nicely" to which B replied "no mom, he is not playing nicely, he is playing naughty"
J has now figured out how to climb on the bathroom counter and bypass stepping on the toilet paper holder. He just climbs on top of the tank and leans across. The kid is way more adventurous than his older brother. Our day in the ER is coming....
Not much on the docket for the weekend. Looks like the weather will get a little cooler but as long as no snow in the forecast, I can deal with it!
One thing I love (among other things) about B's age is his exploration of the English language and how it all works. He is getting really good at using verbs in the past tense. However, instead of "I jumped" it is more like "I jump-ped" - making it two syllables and stressing the -ed ending. Yesterday he was watching a Charlie Brown movie. (Which by the way I had never watched Charlie Brown from a parent standpoint, but could not believe how negative and rude everyone was to C.B. I took the teaching moment about how not to treat friends and call them stupid, insecure, etc.)Anyway, during the movie Schroeder sat down to play the piano. I said "oh, he is playing so nicely" to which B replied "no mom, he is not playing nicely, he is playing naughty"
J has now figured out how to climb on the bathroom counter and bypass stepping on the toilet paper holder. He just climbs on top of the tank and leans across. The kid is way more adventurous than his older brother. Our day in the ER is coming....
Not much on the docket for the weekend. Looks like the weather will get a little cooler but as long as no snow in the forecast, I can deal with it!
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