Sometimes I wonder about the sagacity of giving Jamie the power of speech. Lately he's been coming out with some doozies. Other times, he's just hilarious.
************************************
Jamie thinks that discipline is funny. This presents all manner of problems, of course. One evening, I scolded him for something (I don't remember what) and he started to laugh at me.
"You're not funny, Jamie," I said sternly.
"Oh, I funny, Mommy," he replied.
Yeah. You're a riot, Alice.
************************************
This morning we were on our way home from the grocery store and Jamie was in the backseat repeating "Hai-ya! Hai-ya! Hai-ya ya ya!" over and over again.
So I said it right back to him.
"Stop that, Mommy, that's annoying," he said.
O RLY!?
************************************
I took Jamie to lunch at Eat n Park (a perennial favorite of my children) and when his milk came to the table he grabbed a straw to put in it. As he was tearing off the wrapper...
*gasp* "A bendy straw?!" he said.
"Yes, a bendy straw," I replied.
"For me?!"
"For you."
"Yesssssss!"
Who knew bendy straws were that exciting?
************************************
When he's not being a smart ass he's being stubborn. I hear "no" and "I don't want to" an awful lot around here. He's got an opinion on just about everything and he's not afraid to voice it. I love this child to distraction and he can be sweet and adorable and loving. I try to remind myself that there will come a day when stubborn self-confidence will serve him well and in the meantime, I just have to civilize his savage side.
As my mother said on the phone today, "You can't strip to a loincloth, paint yourself blue, and attack the neighbors, kid."
Indeed.
Showing posts with label Jamie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jamie. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Monday, July 23, 2012
I Had To Break Up With Daycare
As I mentioned in my last post, we were planning on pulling Jamie out of daycare late next month to begin with but I had to do it much earlier than I'd anticipated and I'm not happy about it. Jamie has been at this center since he was 15 months old and they've consistently taken good care of him. I liked the teachers and he liked going there.
Until he moved into the preschool room.
It's been a festival of problems since he made the transition to the older room. It seems like every time I pick him up from school there's SOMETHING that's gone wrong. Over the last 10 weeks we've had all of the following happen:
Until he moved into the preschool room.
It's been a festival of problems since he made the transition to the older room. It seems like every time I pick him up from school there's SOMETHING that's gone wrong. Over the last 10 weeks we've had all of the following happen:
- They forgot to feed him. Yes, forgot. From 8 am to 4 pm he had nothing but water and they didn't even know until I called to ream them out.
- He's turned up with multiple scrapes and bruises. I expect a scraped knee here and there but one day he came home with a scraped knee, forehead, and hand while the inside of his mouth was torn to shreds. There's never an explanation. "We don't know how he got hurt. We were outside and he started crying and was all scraped up."
- He came home sunburnt. Jamie is as fair as they come and I'm very careful about the sunblock situation. I put it on him before we leave for school (as daycare requests) and they are supposed to reapply before they go outside in the afternoon. He came home one day with his face flaming red. They don't know how it happened.
- They then claimed they did not have sunblock for him. I gave them a whole tube when he started back to school in May. That whole tube usually lasts the summer. Where is that tube?
- As a result of this, it's clear they used some other kid's sunblock on him. How do I know? He popped with a rash. Jamie seems to have an issue with the spray sunblock and can't use them. I give daycare what he CAN use. Instead they used the spray on him because Jamie popped with the reaction rash.
The final straw was this past week. I was out of town in Michigan dealing with some family things. My mother-in-law had very graciously agreed to watch the boys while I was gone and to make sure that Jamie got back and forth to daycare. I warned the teachers that I was going to be gone and why. I told them that my mother-in-law would be doing drop off and pick up and that she would need help with knowing where to put things and where to pick them up. I asked them to help her out.
The first day I was gone that Jamie was in care, Jamie had an accident. We're still working on the potty training so it's not a huge surprise. The problem came in when his dirty clothes were nowhere to be found and the teachers had no idea where they were. We still don't have them.
On Thursday they finally hit the last straw. First of all, they were having a water play day. Jamie has water clothes there and crocs to wear during water play. Rather than put him in the crocs included in his water play clothing, they left him in sneakers and let those shoes get SOPPING WET.
Then, when my mother-in-law went to pick him up he was sitting in his own poop. The teachers were not aware of this. He had been sitting in it long enough that it was pancaked flat to his butt and stuck to his underwear. THEY LET HIM SIT IN HIS OWN SHIT.
Very. Last. Straw.
I was already dealing with a fairly stressful situation and I had trusted daycare to care for him while I couldn't. Instead, they did nothing of the sort and I wasn't even in the state to properly deal with it.
I called the director on Friday and told her that Jamie would not be back. I outlined all of the issues and she didn't really have any defense (who could?). I have to go pick up his stuff later today and we'll never set another toenail in there.
It makes me sad because he was there for so long and he had been so happy there. But whatever is going on in the preschool room is a giant mess and Jamie is bearing the brunt of that. The next month will be hard with both kids home full time before school starts but it's better than the treatment Jamie has been getting lately.
We did find out that we got a place for him at the preschool we wanted and we'll be starting him there three half-days a week at the start of their school year. I'm hoping he'll like it.
UPDATE: When I went to pick up Jamie's things this morning, the director told me that Jamie's string of issues stemmed from a lack of "independence skills" and that should I put him in another daycare I should really look for a smaller environment for him. Meaning, they expect a three year old to be able to completely undress himself, put on his own swim suit, and change his shoes to get ready for water play. They expect a child who still has not completely mastered potty training to be fully independent in the bathroom. They expect a three year old to be independent in regards to getting his lunch out. I suspect they also think a 3 year old should be able to spread out their nap mat and put themselves to sleep at the appointed hour and to be able to tell time, too.
Are the teachers there merely to direct traffic?
I have so many issues with this I don't even know where to begin. First of all, that this same age, Liam did not have any of those skills. I remember my mother teaching him how to dress himself when she was here helping after Jamie was born - when Liam was FOUR YEARS OLD. Secondly, I was never told that these skills were necessary in their pre-school environment. Not knowing that this is what was expected, I hadn't made an effort to teach these things to Jamie ahead of time. In fact, when they neglected to feed Jamie, I specifically said "if I need to be teaching him how to do this lunch stuff on his own, you need to tell me that now" and no one said "yes, he must know this." Third, as far as the water play goes, it was only his second time having water play in pre-school. I could have told him 100 times before school that day that he needed to change his shoes and the teachers STILL would have needed to remind him. He didn't know the routine and HE'S. THREE. His attention span resembles that of gnat. Fourth, and finally, if you are going to put 3 to 5 year olds into the same pre-school room (which is fine, Liam was in that sort of environment, too) you must acknowledge that the respective skill levels of 3 year olds and 5 year old are VASTLY different. If you are expecting a 3 year old to do all the things a 5 year old can just to survive your daycare, you are doing something very, very wrong. Not to mention that you are tossing kids who had help with all of these things in the older toddler room over to preschool with no preparation whatsoever.
I feel badly for Jamie that it took me this long to figure it out. It seems I am ever behind-the-eight-ball when it comes to figuring out what's best for these guys. Perhaps that's just parenthood.
UPDATE: When I went to pick up Jamie's things this morning, the director told me that Jamie's string of issues stemmed from a lack of "independence skills" and that should I put him in another daycare I should really look for a smaller environment for him. Meaning, they expect a three year old to be able to completely undress himself, put on his own swim suit, and change his shoes to get ready for water play. They expect a child who still has not completely mastered potty training to be fully independent in the bathroom. They expect a three year old to be independent in regards to getting his lunch out. I suspect they also think a 3 year old should be able to spread out their nap mat and put themselves to sleep at the appointed hour and to be able to tell time, too.
Are the teachers there merely to direct traffic?
I have so many issues with this I don't even know where to begin. First of all, that this same age, Liam did not have any of those skills. I remember my mother teaching him how to dress himself when she was here helping after Jamie was born - when Liam was FOUR YEARS OLD. Secondly, I was never told that these skills were necessary in their pre-school environment. Not knowing that this is what was expected, I hadn't made an effort to teach these things to Jamie ahead of time. In fact, when they neglected to feed Jamie, I specifically said "if I need to be teaching him how to do this lunch stuff on his own, you need to tell me that now" and no one said "yes, he must know this." Third, as far as the water play goes, it was only his second time having water play in pre-school. I could have told him 100 times before school that day that he needed to change his shoes and the teachers STILL would have needed to remind him. He didn't know the routine and HE'S. THREE. His attention span resembles that of gnat. Fourth, and finally, if you are going to put 3 to 5 year olds into the same pre-school room (which is fine, Liam was in that sort of environment, too) you must acknowledge that the respective skill levels of 3 year olds and 5 year old are VASTLY different. If you are expecting a 3 year old to do all the things a 5 year old can just to survive your daycare, you are doing something very, very wrong. Not to mention that you are tossing kids who had help with all of these things in the older toddler room over to preschool with no preparation whatsoever.
I feel badly for Jamie that it took me this long to figure it out. It seems I am ever behind-the-eight-ball when it comes to figuring out what's best for these guys. Perhaps that's just parenthood.
Friday, June 15, 2012
All About Jamie
There's been a lot of frustration going on in the house with regard to Jamie and most of it revolves around his speech therapy. Things have not been great since he got a new therapist when he turned three.
Let me explain. When Jamie started getting therapy at the age of 2, he was with the Early Intervention program called The Alliance for Infants and Toddlers. They provide all kinds of therapeutic support to the 2 and under set from speech to occupational to physical, etc. But their services only run until age three. Once your child turns three they get put into DART- which is the same thing except for the 3 to 5 set. However, because it's a different program that means different therapists, different schedules, different EVERYTHING.
So, back in December of 2011, Jamie was evaluated to see if he qualified. He did. In fact he qualified for more than most kids his age who need speech therapy - he qualified in expressive AND articulation. In January 2012, I met with people from DART as well as his service coordinator from the Alliance to talk about Jamie's IEP (Individual Education Plan - they're standard). We went over the whole thing including how much therapy he would get (45 min per week), where he would receive services (daycare), and what his concrete goals were. It all seemed very normal to me.
By the end of February we had finished up with our therapist from Early Intervention (who was awesome and about whom I cannot say enough wonderful things) and were ready to transition to DART. The therapist who would be seeing Jamie started talking to daycare about scheduling. Not me. DAYCARE. When his daycare schedule didn't fit hers, she tried to pressure the director to switch Jamie's daycare days to accomodate her - thus putting his classroom over quota. When my director approached me about this, I said "No way is she putting YOU in a bind for this. I'll talk to her." Finally, 4 days before Jamie's birthday (so less than a week until she was supposed to start providing services) I tracked her down and spoke to her.
1) She had not yet even read his IEP.
2) She did not know how much therapy he qualified for - she thought he was to get 30 min.
3) She didn't know what his therapy goals were.
When I talked to her about scheduling, she kept wanting to do it in the middle of his nap time. What the heck lady? You work with toddlers. THEY NAP. Finally, I managed to wear her down so she agreed to a 3 pm standing appointment on a day Jamie is already scheduled for daycare.
She didn't pick up until the middle of March. It wasn't ideal as he went 2 weeks without therapy but I figured it wouldn't be a huge deal and let it ride. She picked up with him, saw him twice, and then Scot lost his job. If you recall, that was the last week of March.
That happened the day before Jamie was to be seen for therapy. I called daycare and immediately pulled Jamie out, thus changing everything for therapy. I then called the therapist and explained to her the situation. She said "Ok, we'll cancel for tomorrow and I'll get in touch in a couple of days to reschedule." She did so but guess what? For the first two weeks of April DART was on "spring break" and there were no services. So, instead of Jamie missing one week of services, he missed three. When she picked back up again in mid-April, she came to the house. She did that for a couple of weeks and then Scot had gotten his contract job and we restarted Jamie in daycare so she moved back to working with him there.
Now, she had told me that they would "go all through May, then take 3 weeks off in June." I was NOT PLEASED by this. So we get to the last week of May (after Memorial Day) and she doesn't show up on her regular day. Given then "all through May"statement, I assumed she would be there since it was still MAY.
Now this is where things get completely insane. I called to complain to her about all this schedule crap. He'd been 'in therapy' with DART for 3 months but had only been seen about 8 times - on a very sporadic basis. I knew from listening to Jamie that he was having trouble. He was losing articulation FAST and we stopped being able to really understand him. He would get very frustrated with us - like he used to do before we ever started him in therapy. I worked as hard as I could to help him and work with him but without consistent therapy he was barely treading water. So when she didn't show up that last week in May I was livid.
I made it clear what was going on, that I wasn't happy, and that we needed something different. She called me back the next day and I got no help from her. NONE. All I got was "this is the schedule. This is what we do. Kids are fine. Jamie is fine, there is nothing wrong with his progress." Nothing wrong? Really? Even when I told her that I was his mother and spent more time around him than anyone she just stonewalled me and refused to offer any help at all. Also, the reason she didn't show up was because that last week of May was one of the three weeks in June they were on break. So, apparently if June 1st falls on a Friday, that qualifies as a week in June.
In an effort to sum some of this up, Scot and I started climbing the chain of command at DART. I've had the same conversation with at least 4 different people. I've said that Jamie is falling behind, that he is losing things. I've said that he is frustrated. I've said that his IEP says one thing and he is receiving something else. I've stated clearly and succinctly that I want a different therapist. I've pointed out that this schedule crap has been going on since day 1 and that he is suffering for it. I have been told:
1) The schedule is 3 wks off in June, on 2 wks, off another 3 weeks, on for 3 weeks in July/Aug and then back in full time in September. That totals up to 5 weeks of therapy between the end of May and the end of August. This means, in Jamie's case, SIX MONTHS of inconsistent therapy between March and September.
2) That there's no problem with my child despite what I say and that I can't change this schedule or do a damn thing about him losing stuff.
3) That his IEP says he doesn't have to have services during breaks so he won't get them.
4) That I cannot have a new therapist because the one we have is the only one that serves our district.
Although my therapist neglected to give me this information, one of her higher ups did say that we can amend his IEP. However this requires that we re-evaluate data and that first we'll look at teaching methods, then teaching environment, THEN amending the IEP to get him continuous service. It's kind of hard to collect that data when you're NOT COLLECTING FOR HALF THE SUMMER. So, by the time we do all that, it'll be September anyway.
Basically, my kid is shit out of luck.
Scot and I discussed it to death. In the end, it became clear that we would not be able to punch through the layers of bureaucracy in a time frame that would end up helping Jamie and that our only option was to hire a private speech therapist to work with him.
I called his old therapist looking for suggestions. She tried but didn't find many options (or really any). In the end, Twitter saved the day and with those connections, I was able to hire someone to see Jamie once a week for 30 min to work on articulation through the summer and her first visit is later today. My very generous parents are paying for this because they are just as incensed as we are.
DART keeps saying things about how they want to help but they really don't. They don't want to have to offer any more than absolutely necessary and, frankly, kids like Jamie are the losers in that situation. Jamie remains about a year behind his peers. I had hoped that by now he'd have closed that gap some - not entirely - but some.
So, for the summer, we will have the private therapist work with him every week here at our house while DART can provide support services at daycare in those 5 short weeks they dole out over the summer. It's not ideal but it is the very best we can do for him right now. Consistency is essential and this is the way to get it for him.
Once he's got a more full time schedule in September, I figure we'll allow him to get through until end of May next year and re-evaluate. If he doesn't test out of the program before then, we may voluntarily pull him if he's doing well enough. I've had enough crap from these people to fill a 55 gallon drum.
Let me explain. When Jamie started getting therapy at the age of 2, he was with the Early Intervention program called The Alliance for Infants and Toddlers. They provide all kinds of therapeutic support to the 2 and under set from speech to occupational to physical, etc. But their services only run until age three. Once your child turns three they get put into DART- which is the same thing except for the 3 to 5 set. However, because it's a different program that means different therapists, different schedules, different EVERYTHING.
So, back in December of 2011, Jamie was evaluated to see if he qualified. He did. In fact he qualified for more than most kids his age who need speech therapy - he qualified in expressive AND articulation. In January 2012, I met with people from DART as well as his service coordinator from the Alliance to talk about Jamie's IEP (Individual Education Plan - they're standard). We went over the whole thing including how much therapy he would get (45 min per week), where he would receive services (daycare), and what his concrete goals were. It all seemed very normal to me.
By the end of February we had finished up with our therapist from Early Intervention (who was awesome and about whom I cannot say enough wonderful things) and were ready to transition to DART. The therapist who would be seeing Jamie started talking to daycare about scheduling. Not me. DAYCARE. When his daycare schedule didn't fit hers, she tried to pressure the director to switch Jamie's daycare days to accomodate her - thus putting his classroom over quota. When my director approached me about this, I said "No way is she putting YOU in a bind for this. I'll talk to her." Finally, 4 days before Jamie's birthday (so less than a week until she was supposed to start providing services) I tracked her down and spoke to her.
1) She had not yet even read his IEP.
2) She did not know how much therapy he qualified for - she thought he was to get 30 min.
3) She didn't know what his therapy goals were.
When I talked to her about scheduling, she kept wanting to do it in the middle of his nap time. What the heck lady? You work with toddlers. THEY NAP. Finally, I managed to wear her down so she agreed to a 3 pm standing appointment on a day Jamie is already scheduled for daycare.
She didn't pick up until the middle of March. It wasn't ideal as he went 2 weeks without therapy but I figured it wouldn't be a huge deal and let it ride. She picked up with him, saw him twice, and then Scot lost his job. If you recall, that was the last week of March.
That happened the day before Jamie was to be seen for therapy. I called daycare and immediately pulled Jamie out, thus changing everything for therapy. I then called the therapist and explained to her the situation. She said "Ok, we'll cancel for tomorrow and I'll get in touch in a couple of days to reschedule." She did so but guess what? For the first two weeks of April DART was on "spring break" and there were no services. So, instead of Jamie missing one week of services, he missed three. When she picked back up again in mid-April, she came to the house. She did that for a couple of weeks and then Scot had gotten his contract job and we restarted Jamie in daycare so she moved back to working with him there.
Now, she had told me that they would "go all through May, then take 3 weeks off in June." I was NOT PLEASED by this. So we get to the last week of May (after Memorial Day) and she doesn't show up on her regular day. Given then "all through May"statement, I assumed she would be there since it was still MAY.
Now this is where things get completely insane. I called to complain to her about all this schedule crap. He'd been 'in therapy' with DART for 3 months but had only been seen about 8 times - on a very sporadic basis. I knew from listening to Jamie that he was having trouble. He was losing articulation FAST and we stopped being able to really understand him. He would get very frustrated with us - like he used to do before we ever started him in therapy. I worked as hard as I could to help him and work with him but without consistent therapy he was barely treading water. So when she didn't show up that last week in May I was livid.
I made it clear what was going on, that I wasn't happy, and that we needed something different. She called me back the next day and I got no help from her. NONE. All I got was "this is the schedule. This is what we do. Kids are fine. Jamie is fine, there is nothing wrong with his progress." Nothing wrong? Really? Even when I told her that I was his mother and spent more time around him than anyone she just stonewalled me and refused to offer any help at all. Also, the reason she didn't show up was because that last week of May was one of the three weeks in June they were on break. So, apparently if June 1st falls on a Friday, that qualifies as a week in June.
In an effort to sum some of this up, Scot and I started climbing the chain of command at DART. I've had the same conversation with at least 4 different people. I've said that Jamie is falling behind, that he is losing things. I've said that he is frustrated. I've said that his IEP says one thing and he is receiving something else. I've stated clearly and succinctly that I want a different therapist. I've pointed out that this schedule crap has been going on since day 1 and that he is suffering for it. I have been told:
1) The schedule is 3 wks off in June, on 2 wks, off another 3 weeks, on for 3 weeks in July/Aug and then back in full time in September. That totals up to 5 weeks of therapy between the end of May and the end of August. This means, in Jamie's case, SIX MONTHS of inconsistent therapy between March and September.
2) That there's no problem with my child despite what I say and that I can't change this schedule or do a damn thing about him losing stuff.
3) That his IEP says he doesn't have to have services during breaks so he won't get them.
4) That I cannot have a new therapist because the one we have is the only one that serves our district.
Although my therapist neglected to give me this information, one of her higher ups did say that we can amend his IEP. However this requires that we re-evaluate data and that first we'll look at teaching methods, then teaching environment, THEN amending the IEP to get him continuous service. It's kind of hard to collect that data when you're NOT COLLECTING FOR HALF THE SUMMER. So, by the time we do all that, it'll be September anyway.
Basically, my kid is shit out of luck.
Scot and I discussed it to death. In the end, it became clear that we would not be able to punch through the layers of bureaucracy in a time frame that would end up helping Jamie and that our only option was to hire a private speech therapist to work with him.
I called his old therapist looking for suggestions. She tried but didn't find many options (or really any). In the end, Twitter saved the day and with those connections, I was able to hire someone to see Jamie once a week for 30 min to work on articulation through the summer and her first visit is later today. My very generous parents are paying for this because they are just as incensed as we are.
DART keeps saying things about how they want to help but they really don't. They don't want to have to offer any more than absolutely necessary and, frankly, kids like Jamie are the losers in that situation. Jamie remains about a year behind his peers. I had hoped that by now he'd have closed that gap some - not entirely - but some.
So, for the summer, we will have the private therapist work with him every week here at our house while DART can provide support services at daycare in those 5 short weeks they dole out over the summer. It's not ideal but it is the very best we can do for him right now. Consistency is essential and this is the way to get it for him.
Once he's got a more full time schedule in September, I figure we'll allow him to get through until end of May next year and re-evaluate. If he doesn't test out of the program before then, we may voluntarily pull him if he's doing well enough. I've had enough crap from these people to fill a 55 gallon drum.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Wordless Wednesday: Jamie At The Park
 |
| Wearing Mommy's sunglasses |
(not quite wordless, but...)
The weather has been incredible for March. Last year at this time, it was snowy. The last several days here have been sunny with low humidity and temps in the mid-60's to low-70's (!!) This called for a trip to the park.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Birthday Celebration
Jamie doesn't turn 3 until tomorrow but due to familial scheduling, we celebrated his birthday today. In honor, I give you a pictorial essay.
Going for the big one first (his new car seat was enclosed)
Anything with construction equipment makes Jamie a happy kid.
Ball pit!
The birthday cupcakes, as requested.
YUM!
Ball pit nap
Nap's over! Wake up!
It was a successful birthday all the way around.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Language Is A Double-Edged Sword
The Good:
Yesterday I picked up Jamie at daycare and when he caught sight of me he came running over yelling, "Hi Mommy!!!" Then a gave me a big hug and said "Miss you!" I melted into a puddle.
Jamie can't really say 'brother' - it comes out 'bobby.' So, everyday when Liam comes home from school "Hi Bobby!" with a big hug for brother. He also tells Bobby good-bye every morning and night-night every night at bedtime. It's really pretty adorable.
I got to actually have a conversation with Jamie about his birthday cake. I asked him what kind he wanted and he told me "chocolate." Then I asked if he wanted a cake or cupcakes and he told me "cupcakes." So, he's getting chocolate cupcakes on his birthday.
He's using full sentences. Examples include, "I sit right here." "I watch TV right now, please." "I want mac and cheese." "I need help, please."
The Bad:
Mommy is his favorite word. One of these days I'm going to count how many times he says it in a day and I'm betting good money it'll top 150. He's been very clingy lately and if I walk away for more than 5 seconds, "Mooom-my" comes floating after me. By the end of a typical day, I think "Mommy" is the most vile word in the English language.
He thinks that just because he can say something that he should get it. Sorry kid, but we don't have dessert after lunch and no matter how many times you ask, the answer will still be no.
He never. shuts. up. I knew that this would happen when we started him in speech therapy but he is relentless. He is a champ at interrupting anyone and everyone and I'm slowly trying to pound some conversational manners into him. Seeing as his 7 year old brother still interrupts us all the time (no matter how much we scold him), I fear this is a long battle.
Yesterday I picked up Jamie at daycare and when he caught sight of me he came running over yelling, "Hi Mommy!!!" Then a gave me a big hug and said "Miss you!" I melted into a puddle.
Jamie can't really say 'brother' - it comes out 'bobby.' So, everyday when Liam comes home from school "Hi Bobby!" with a big hug for brother. He also tells Bobby good-bye every morning and night-night every night at bedtime. It's really pretty adorable.
I got to actually have a conversation with Jamie about his birthday cake. I asked him what kind he wanted and he told me "chocolate." Then I asked if he wanted a cake or cupcakes and he told me "cupcakes." So, he's getting chocolate cupcakes on his birthday.
He's using full sentences. Examples include, "I sit right here." "I watch TV right now, please." "I want mac and cheese." "I need help, please."
The Bad:
Mommy is his favorite word. One of these days I'm going to count how many times he says it in a day and I'm betting good money it'll top 150. He's been very clingy lately and if I walk away for more than 5 seconds, "Mooom-my" comes floating after me. By the end of a typical day, I think "Mommy" is the most vile word in the English language.
He thinks that just because he can say something that he should get it. Sorry kid, but we don't have dessert after lunch and no matter how many times you ask, the answer will still be no.
He never. shuts. up. I knew that this would happen when we started him in speech therapy but he is relentless. He is a champ at interrupting anyone and everyone and I'm slowly trying to pound some conversational manners into him. Seeing as his 7 year old brother still interrupts us all the time (no matter how much we scold him), I fear this is a long battle.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Friday, October 21, 2011
The Hard Evidence
I've been posting on this blog for months now about Jamie's improving ability to speak. I've been meaning to get some of it on video for everyone to hear for themselves and I finally got some today. He's Chatty Charlie at all other times unless he his asleep but the second I picked up the video camera he didn't want to cooperate.
So, this is the best I could do.
Bear with me when you hear me say "dump truck" and "back hoe" about 40 kajillion times. They're two of his best and most favorite words so I was trying to get him interested in talking by getting him to say those two words.
Without further ado, I give you Jamie the (Finally!) Talking Toddler.
So, this is the best I could do.
Bear with me when you hear me say "dump truck" and "back hoe" about 40 kajillion times. They're two of his best and most favorite words so I was trying to get him interested in talking by getting him to say those two words.
Without further ado, I give you Jamie the (Finally!) Talking Toddler.
As always, he still has a long way to go but he's come so very, very far already.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
All Smiles In The Big Boy Bed
Several months back, Jamie moved out of the crib and into a bed. Since he was new the world of beds without bars, we put it on the floor so that it was more at his level and less intimidating. It's been that way ever since even though we had a bed frame ready to go for him.
I've been meaning to get the frame out and get him into an honest to goodness bed but I just didn't get around to it. I wanted to give him a few months of the on-the-floor set up to get used to the whole thing and a few months turned into 6 months.
Today I finally hauled it out, cleaned it up, carried it upstairs, and set up the bed. This was my bed when I was a kid and aside from the fact that I misplaced the bed knobs (I assume they'll turn up eventually, I know I've seen them), the bed is still in great shape. Jamie was thrilled.
I've been meaning to get the frame out and get him into an honest to goodness bed but I just didn't get around to it. I wanted to give him a few months of the on-the-floor set up to get used to the whole thing and a few months turned into 6 months.
Today I finally hauled it out, cleaned it up, carried it upstairs, and set up the bed. This was my bed when I was a kid and aside from the fact that I misplaced the bed knobs (I assume they'll turn up eventually, I know I've seen them), the bed is still in great shape. Jamie was thrilled.
Climbing up...
On top of the world looking down on creation...
Happiest kid on the block
Lifting his 36 lb bulk out of bed each morning just got a whole lot easier.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
The Kids Keep Growing Up
Yeah, I get it, kids grow up. It's what they're supposed to do. Lately, it seems like I turn around they've changed hugely without any warning at all.
I've mentioned before that Liam has eating issues. Since the institution of his menu, things haven't really changed too much. He eats the things on the menu and not much else. He loves snack foods and sweets but those are doled out in a limited fashion.
Imagine my surprise when he tried not one but THREE new foods in one night.
I don't know what made me do it, but I had cooked a nice meal for the rest of us and before fixing Liam any food I told him that he had to have one bite of everything I'd made. I made breaded/baked chicken and served it over orzo with pesto over the top and broccoli on the side. Liam was given three small bites to try - one of each thing. What shocked me was that he sat down and tried everything without any nasty words, no tantrums, no crying, no gagging - NONE of the things that we've seen happen in the past. He didn't like a single thing he put in his mouth but he ate it anyway.
Then, I made him a peanut butter sandwich.
Then, a week or so ago, he came off the bus from school and the first words out of his mouth were "Mom! I tried red apples at school today and they were SO GOOD! I love them!"
I could only reply, "What?"
This kid was adamantly anti-fresh apples. He'll eat apple sauce but don't ask him to eat a hunk of raw apple. It just won't happen. Somehow his teacher at school got him to try both red and green apples (he didn't like the green.) Later that same week the kids made applesauce at school and came home with the recipe. Liam said "It was so good, Mom! We have to make it!" He has never in his life been willing to eat my homemade applesauce. He was only willing to eat Mott's.
We still have the occasional battle over food with him but he's starting to realize that every new food is not his enemy. He's growing up.
Jamie just keeps getting bigger. I pulled out fall/winter clothes for him since the weather has finally mostly turned. I thought I might still get some use out of last year's 2T's but it's not working out. The pants are long enough but not big enough in the waist and his shirts are just barely covering the diaper peeking out of the top of his pants. So, I moved him up to 3T's figuring that a little big was better than a little small.
Except they're not really big. They fit him. I have to roll up the pants a bit but otherwise, they're pretty perfect.
Liam was tiny at this age. He was always at least a year behind in sizes - especially with pants - and this was the age when I started getting multiple years use out of clothing for him. So, it's more than a little odd to see Jamie wearing clothes at the age of 2.5 that Liam was wearing at the age of four. Actually, not odd, freaky. Where did this giant kid come from?! How is it possible that he's big enough for this?!
Add to this the fact that Jamie is really racing with his language these days. His therapist told me that if he'd been where he is now back when he was first evaluated, he wouldn't have qualified for services. He's picking up new words so fast that I can't keep up with it anymore. I say something, he says it back - no prompting, no processing, no working hard. He just does it. He still has A LOT of work to do on enunciation and articulation but the words are coming out now. He never shuts up unless he's asleep and I suddenly have a truck detector in the back seat. Everywhere I go, he yells "TRUCK! TRUCK!" every time he sees one.
These two things taken together have really knocked it into my head in stunning fashion that Jamie isn't a baby anymore. When he was so speech-delayed that he wasn't really talking it was easy to forget that he was two. In fact, I had to remind myself regularly that he was plenty old enough to behave himself properly, have rudimentary manners, and start learning the concept of sharing. With his language so "baby-like" it was too easy for me to forget that he wasn't a baby. The advent of real language has brought it home how old he's getting - with the force of a sledgehammer. He's growing up, too. I can't wait to see how Jamie's personality shows itself when it comes to language.
I find myself realizing that I'm exiting the incredibly hard early years and things are beginning to ease up for me in a way I longed for when Jamie was a baby. I'm looking forward to new adventures.
I've mentioned before that Liam has eating issues. Since the institution of his menu, things haven't really changed too much. He eats the things on the menu and not much else. He loves snack foods and sweets but those are doled out in a limited fashion.
Imagine my surprise when he tried not one but THREE new foods in one night.
I don't know what made me do it, but I had cooked a nice meal for the rest of us and before fixing Liam any food I told him that he had to have one bite of everything I'd made. I made breaded/baked chicken and served it over orzo with pesto over the top and broccoli on the side. Liam was given three small bites to try - one of each thing. What shocked me was that he sat down and tried everything without any nasty words, no tantrums, no crying, no gagging - NONE of the things that we've seen happen in the past. He didn't like a single thing he put in his mouth but he ate it anyway.
Then, I made him a peanut butter sandwich.
Then, a week or so ago, he came off the bus from school and the first words out of his mouth were "Mom! I tried red apples at school today and they were SO GOOD! I love them!"
I could only reply, "What?"
This kid was adamantly anti-fresh apples. He'll eat apple sauce but don't ask him to eat a hunk of raw apple. It just won't happen. Somehow his teacher at school got him to try both red and green apples (he didn't like the green.) Later that same week the kids made applesauce at school and came home with the recipe. Liam said "It was so good, Mom! We have to make it!" He has never in his life been willing to eat my homemade applesauce. He was only willing to eat Mott's.
We still have the occasional battle over food with him but he's starting to realize that every new food is not his enemy. He's growing up.
Jamie just keeps getting bigger. I pulled out fall/winter clothes for him since the weather has finally mostly turned. I thought I might still get some use out of last year's 2T's but it's not working out. The pants are long enough but not big enough in the waist and his shirts are just barely covering the diaper peeking out of the top of his pants. So, I moved him up to 3T's figuring that a little big was better than a little small.
Except they're not really big. They fit him. I have to roll up the pants a bit but otherwise, they're pretty perfect.
Liam was tiny at this age. He was always at least a year behind in sizes - especially with pants - and this was the age when I started getting multiple years use out of clothing for him. So, it's more than a little odd to see Jamie wearing clothes at the age of 2.5 that Liam was wearing at the age of four. Actually, not odd, freaky. Where did this giant kid come from?! How is it possible that he's big enough for this?!
Add to this the fact that Jamie is really racing with his language these days. His therapist told me that if he'd been where he is now back when he was first evaluated, he wouldn't have qualified for services. He's picking up new words so fast that I can't keep up with it anymore. I say something, he says it back - no prompting, no processing, no working hard. He just does it. He still has A LOT of work to do on enunciation and articulation but the words are coming out now. He never shuts up unless he's asleep and I suddenly have a truck detector in the back seat. Everywhere I go, he yells "TRUCK! TRUCK!" every time he sees one.
These two things taken together have really knocked it into my head in stunning fashion that Jamie isn't a baby anymore. When he was so speech-delayed that he wasn't really talking it was easy to forget that he was two. In fact, I had to remind myself regularly that he was plenty old enough to behave himself properly, have rudimentary manners, and start learning the concept of sharing. With his language so "baby-like" it was too easy for me to forget that he wasn't a baby. The advent of real language has brought it home how old he's getting - with the force of a sledgehammer. He's growing up, too. I can't wait to see how Jamie's personality shows itself when it comes to language.
I find myself realizing that I'm exiting the incredibly hard early years and things are beginning to ease up for me in a way I longed for when Jamie was a baby. I'm looking forward to new adventures.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
The Tantrum From Hell Explained
I have a theory about childhood development. I only have my two children as evidence but from what I have observed with the two of them, whenever they are about to make a major developmental leap, they are impossible. With Liam the problems always manifested themselves in his sleep and the poor sleep resulted in difficult behavior. This was true from the time he was an infant and it's still true today. His last serious sleep regression coincided with learning to read.
Jamie hasn't been as extreme as his brother, in large part because he is a better sleeper over all. But he still has his moments and his sleep regressions (and consequent poor behavior) have also centered on major developmental milestones. It doesn't seem nearly as dire as it did with Liam and I can't tell if that's because of Jamie or because he's our second kid and we're less uptight.
Whatever the case, the general pattern is that if there is any rewiring in their brains going on, I'm guaranteed to have a rough time with them behavior-wise.
Guess who made a leap?
Jamie made another jump with the language today. His therapist and I suspected it was on the horizon because in his last therapy session things were coming easier to him and he was speaking more clearly. He seemed to be able to repeat words more quickly and more clearly than he had been doing previously. This wasn't a major improvement but it was a noticeable one.
Before his tantrum yesterday Jamie was tetchy all day. He was frustrated and difficult and his speech was complete gobbledegook when he chose to speak at all. I spent most of the day trying to translate what he wanted and failing utterly. It was like his speech had suddenly regressed. Then he had a thermonuclear meltdown at bedtime.
This morning he suddenly started talking in phrases spontaneously. It's happened a few times before but his usual pattern is that he can repeat what we say but rarely, if ever, does he apply what he knows how to say to anything else. He started doing that today out of the blue.
The first time he did it, I was putting my shoes on so I could take the kids to the playground and Jamie saw me doing it. He said "Shoe? Me?" Shoe is a brand new word. He said both words quite clearly - probably the clearest I've ever heard him speak. Of course I told him that yes, he was going to have to put his shoes on, too.
Then, while at the playground, he was sliding down the big slide with his brother. He got upset at one point and Liam tried to get him to go back up and slide down again with him. Jamie replied, "No! Mama do!" Again, very clearly said. Again, an entirely new phrase.
Later, Liam asked if he wanted to slide again and Jamie said, "No. All done." The kid is having conversations now. REAL conversations.
Last, I was putting him down for his nap and he had his snuggle blankie over his head. I pulled it off so we could rock together and he popped out with "PEEK-BOO!" Now, he's known how to say peek-a-boo for quite some time but it was always said in reply to us when we were playing with him. This time he plucked it from his vocabulary and used it correctly all on his own.
So there you have it. His impression of Linda Blair was the precursor to him making a huge leap in his language abilities. He has truly outdone his brother on this one.
Jamie hasn't been as extreme as his brother, in large part because he is a better sleeper over all. But he still has his moments and his sleep regressions (and consequent poor behavior) have also centered on major developmental milestones. It doesn't seem nearly as dire as it did with Liam and I can't tell if that's because of Jamie or because he's our second kid and we're less uptight.
Whatever the case, the general pattern is that if there is any rewiring in their brains going on, I'm guaranteed to have a rough time with them behavior-wise.
Guess who made a leap?
Jamie made another jump with the language today. His therapist and I suspected it was on the horizon because in his last therapy session things were coming easier to him and he was speaking more clearly. He seemed to be able to repeat words more quickly and more clearly than he had been doing previously. This wasn't a major improvement but it was a noticeable one.
Before his tantrum yesterday Jamie was tetchy all day. He was frustrated and difficult and his speech was complete gobbledegook when he chose to speak at all. I spent most of the day trying to translate what he wanted and failing utterly. It was like his speech had suddenly regressed. Then he had a thermonuclear meltdown at bedtime.
This morning he suddenly started talking in phrases spontaneously. It's happened a few times before but his usual pattern is that he can repeat what we say but rarely, if ever, does he apply what he knows how to say to anything else. He started doing that today out of the blue.
The first time he did it, I was putting my shoes on so I could take the kids to the playground and Jamie saw me doing it. He said "Shoe? Me?" Shoe is a brand new word. He said both words quite clearly - probably the clearest I've ever heard him speak. Of course I told him that yes, he was going to have to put his shoes on, too.
Then, while at the playground, he was sliding down the big slide with his brother. He got upset at one point and Liam tried to get him to go back up and slide down again with him. Jamie replied, "No! Mama do!" Again, very clearly said. Again, an entirely new phrase.
Later, Liam asked if he wanted to slide again and Jamie said, "No. All done." The kid is having conversations now. REAL conversations.
Last, I was putting him down for his nap and he had his snuggle blankie over his head. I pulled it off so we could rock together and he popped out with "PEEK-BOO!" Now, he's known how to say peek-a-boo for quite some time but it was always said in reply to us when we were playing with him. This time he plucked it from his vocabulary and used it correctly all on his own.
So there you have it. His impression of Linda Blair was the precursor to him making a huge leap in his language abilities. He has truly outdone his brother on this one.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Impressive. Most Impressive.
I witnessed something tonight that I have never previously seen in my life. I watched Jamie have a ferocious tantrum. I've seen kids tantrum before. I've seen Jamie tantrum before. But this was something in another league altogether. When it was over and done with I was pretty sure we needed an old priest and a young priest.
The screaming began the second that Scot told Jamie was time to head upstairs for bath. Jamie wanted me to take him but I had reached my limit with him by that point and Scot had volunteered to take bath and bed duty for Jamie while I took on Liam. Jamie was having none of this.
Scot dragged him upstairs and the symphony of screaming was so loud it nearly drowned out the TV. Jamie was screaming at high pitch and high volume but also gutturally. They were the kind of screams that you just know hurt your throat to utter. But he was going at it full bore, only pausing to suck in another breath so he could keep screaming.
"Liam," I said, "we need to head upstairs right now. You can finish watching this tomorrow."
I grabbed the clean laundry and headed up. I got Liam started on putting his clean clothes away and then went in to help Scot tag team Jamie. I walked in and Jamie was kicking, screaming, and flailing on his bed while Scot tried to get his clothes off. Scot got him down to his diaper and he FLIPPED OUT even further and tried to pluck his clothes out of the dirty laundry and make me put them back on him.
We walked out and let him scream. I checked on Liam and his clothes and then grabbed Jamie's and put them away. I refused to look at Jamie. He followed me around screaming as loud as he could. Again, without pause except to get air.
Finally, I pinned him down and removed his diaper. I think I have bruises from the assault of his legs. He ran around naked and screaming for all he was worth while I tried to snatch him and put him in the bath that was running for him. I finally got him and deposited him in the tub.
Baths are his favorite thing. He loves them and they soothe him. He never goes to sleep as well or as easily on nights that we skip his bath - which means we rarely skip them. I was hoping that the bath would help.
He continued to scream.
High pitched. Loud. Guttural.
He flailed and splashed to express his anger. I tried to calm him down but all he did was scream and point imperiously OUT of the tub. He refused to calm down even in the tiniest increment.
I finally just washed him and pulled him out and he got mad at me for giving him what he wanted.
So now there's a wet, naked, screaming, red-faced toddler standing there. I wrapped him up in his towel and tried, futilely, to determine his problem and calm him down. I dried him off and hung up the towel hoping that he would lead me to his desire. Nope.
He ran around the upstairs naked and screaming. This went on for some time. I had to pin him to the floor to administer his night time medication. This is unheard of. He was screaming so hard I was afraid he was going to choke.
Finally, I decided I couldn't put it off any longer and it was time to get him in his diaper and pj's. He saw what was coming and started trying to fight me off like an enraged badger.
It took the both of us to hold him down just to get the diaper on him.
Eventually we got him dressed and ready for bed. I sat down with him to rock and he suddenly seemed to calm a bit and let me soothe him. He was still tetchy but he had stopped screaming - at least I'm pretty sure he did because I was deaf by this point. With the help of a small sippy of water, I was able to get him settled in bed without him launching into another rendition of the scream symphony.
I think if he his head had spun around three times while vomiting pea soup I would not have been shocked. I now know what a full bore redheaded temper tantrum looks like and I don't like it one tiny bit.
The screaming began the second that Scot told Jamie was time to head upstairs for bath. Jamie wanted me to take him but I had reached my limit with him by that point and Scot had volunteered to take bath and bed duty for Jamie while I took on Liam. Jamie was having none of this.
Scot dragged him upstairs and the symphony of screaming was so loud it nearly drowned out the TV. Jamie was screaming at high pitch and high volume but also gutturally. They were the kind of screams that you just know hurt your throat to utter. But he was going at it full bore, only pausing to suck in another breath so he could keep screaming.
"Liam," I said, "we need to head upstairs right now. You can finish watching this tomorrow."
I grabbed the clean laundry and headed up. I got Liam started on putting his clean clothes away and then went in to help Scot tag team Jamie. I walked in and Jamie was kicking, screaming, and flailing on his bed while Scot tried to get his clothes off. Scot got him down to his diaper and he FLIPPED OUT even further and tried to pluck his clothes out of the dirty laundry and make me put them back on him.
We walked out and let him scream. I checked on Liam and his clothes and then grabbed Jamie's and put them away. I refused to look at Jamie. He followed me around screaming as loud as he could. Again, without pause except to get air.
Finally, I pinned him down and removed his diaper. I think I have bruises from the assault of his legs. He ran around naked and screaming for all he was worth while I tried to snatch him and put him in the bath that was running for him. I finally got him and deposited him in the tub.
Baths are his favorite thing. He loves them and they soothe him. He never goes to sleep as well or as easily on nights that we skip his bath - which means we rarely skip them. I was hoping that the bath would help.
He continued to scream.
High pitched. Loud. Guttural.
He flailed and splashed to express his anger. I tried to calm him down but all he did was scream and point imperiously OUT of the tub. He refused to calm down even in the tiniest increment.
I finally just washed him and pulled him out and he got mad at me for giving him what he wanted.
So now there's a wet, naked, screaming, red-faced toddler standing there. I wrapped him up in his towel and tried, futilely, to determine his problem and calm him down. I dried him off and hung up the towel hoping that he would lead me to his desire. Nope.
He ran around the upstairs naked and screaming. This went on for some time. I had to pin him to the floor to administer his night time medication. This is unheard of. He was screaming so hard I was afraid he was going to choke.
Finally, I decided I couldn't put it off any longer and it was time to get him in his diaper and pj's. He saw what was coming and started trying to fight me off like an enraged badger.
It took the both of us to hold him down just to get the diaper on him.
Eventually we got him dressed and ready for bed. I sat down with him to rock and he suddenly seemed to calm a bit and let me soothe him. He was still tetchy but he had stopped screaming - at least I'm pretty sure he did because I was deaf by this point. With the help of a small sippy of water, I was able to get him settled in bed without him launching into another rendition of the scream symphony.
I think if he his head had spun around three times while vomiting pea soup I would not have been shocked. I now know what a full bore redheaded temper tantrum looks like and I don't like it one tiny bit.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Chatterbox
Jamie is forging ahead with language just as fast as he can go. He's begun to use 3 and 4 word phrases without prompting. He tries so hard to communicate with us.
His recent list of phrases includes:
Maggie, where are you?
There it is!
Night-night! Love you!
Sit right here, Mama.
I don't know.
It sounds like he's saying more than just those but, as usual, the enunciation could use some work. I'm just happy to hear him trying in the first place.
Aside from increased vocabulary and better facility with stringing words together, the biggest change is how much happier he is. We used to have 20 min tantrums at meal times because he couldn't communicate what he wanted. He would get frustrated, we would get frustrated, and it would all degenerate into screams. Those days are mostly a thing of the past. His base level of frustration has dropped significantly and stems more from not getting what he wants rather than not being able to tell us what he wants. He no longer loses his shit at the first sign that someone doesn't understand him. Instead, I consistently see him try desperately to get his point across and he works at it until he succeeds.
There is still a very long way to go. He is way behind his peers as far as being inteligible goes. If my memory hasn't rotted away completely (always a hazard), Jamie seems to be around the same level Liam was when Liam got tubes just before he turned two. After Liam got his tubes, it took him about a year to catch up. He wasn't nearly so badly delayed as Jamie and he didn't get early intervention like Jamie has but it still took almost a year. Now, he never shuts up, uses words far beyond his age level, and deploys sarcasm with devastating accuracy. With continued therapy, I believe Jamie will be chattering away like a pro within the next year.
His recent list of phrases includes:
Maggie, where are you?
There it is!
Night-night! Love you!
Sit right here, Mama.
I don't know.
It sounds like he's saying more than just those but, as usual, the enunciation could use some work. I'm just happy to hear him trying in the first place.
Aside from increased vocabulary and better facility with stringing words together, the biggest change is how much happier he is. We used to have 20 min tantrums at meal times because he couldn't communicate what he wanted. He would get frustrated, we would get frustrated, and it would all degenerate into screams. Those days are mostly a thing of the past. His base level of frustration has dropped significantly and stems more from not getting what he wants rather than not being able to tell us what he wants. He no longer loses his shit at the first sign that someone doesn't understand him. Instead, I consistently see him try desperately to get his point across and he works at it until he succeeds.
There is still a very long way to go. He is way behind his peers as far as being inteligible goes. If my memory hasn't rotted away completely (always a hazard), Jamie seems to be around the same level Liam was when Liam got tubes just before he turned two. After Liam got his tubes, it took him about a year to catch up. He wasn't nearly so badly delayed as Jamie and he didn't get early intervention like Jamie has but it still took almost a year. Now, he never shuts up, uses words far beyond his age level, and deploys sarcasm with devastating accuracy. With continued therapy, I believe Jamie will be chattering away like a pro within the next year.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Women The World Over Are Jealous
The eyelashes kill me.
And it's not just Jamie that has them. Both of my boys are blessed with them. Liam was three in this picture, but they're just as full and thick today.
Why, yes, I did just make a whole post about my kids eyelashes.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
The Floodgates Have Opened
Language is suddenly pouring out of Jamie in a torrent. When he said five new words in the space of an hour, I decided to start writing them down so I wouldn't forget them by the time his next therapy session rolled around.
That list took up half the white board on my refrigerator.
Since I started keeping track (on FRIDAY) he has said all of the following:
please
airplane
waffle
blow
bird
one more
Perry (as in, the platypus)
beep (for beeping noses)
book
sit
ting (for clinking glasses together)
oh yeah
bowl
blue bowl
thank you, Mama
hat
Roary (the name of a toy)
Toodles (from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse)
french toast
"French toast" happened just this morning. "What do you want for breakfast, Jamie?" I asked him.
"French toast!" (not clear or distinct but intelligible)
"French toast?" I clarified.
"Uh-huh!"
Easiest. mealtime. interaction. EVER. It hasn't been that easy since he was nursing full time and there was only one choice to begin with.
Our next step is to start working on two and three words phrases to teach him how words can go together. He's starting to pick it up already.
That list took up half the white board on my refrigerator.
Since I started keeping track (on FRIDAY) he has said all of the following:
please
airplane
waffle
blow
bird
one more
Perry (as in, the platypus)
beep (for beeping noses)
book
sit
ting (for clinking glasses together)
oh yeah
bowl
blue bowl
thank you, Mama
hat
Roary (the name of a toy)
Toodles (from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse)
french toast
"French toast" happened just this morning. "What do you want for breakfast, Jamie?" I asked him.
"French toast!" (not clear or distinct but intelligible)
"French toast?" I clarified.
"Uh-huh!"
Easiest. mealtime. interaction. EVER. It hasn't been that easy since he was nursing full time and there was only one choice to begin with.
Our next step is to start working on two and three words phrases to teach him how words can go together. He's starting to pick it up already.
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