crib
Well... at some point here soon, we are going to go get Colby a new crib. We are going to get a convertible one this time around since soon he'll go into a toddler bed. Anyone have a convertible crib from BRU that they are crazy (or not so crazy) about? I'm hoping to find one in store so we can get it and bring it home that day instead of having to go through the whole shipping process.
random weekend thoughs
1. 30 days... 2 days off... yeah my husband is working way too much
2. Putting the final plans on Colby's birthday... there is no way my little guy turns 1 on Thursday
3. Please someone tell me that we are going to have a day without rain here soon
4. nap time is the best
5. brownies with peanut butter chips topped with chocolate chip ice cream and home made hot fudge sauce
6. We are buying subs for Colby's birthday party so this year I'm making the deserts instead.... making the cake myself and making the ice cream too
7. I've made one batch of ice cream already (vanilla), the 2nd batch is in the fridge (chocolate) and I'll mix it after the boys wake up,... I'll make the last batch (mint chocolate chip) later this week
8. I so need to get out and fun errands tomorrow... hopefully Richard won't have to work
9. I finally brought my coffee table back out to the living room... 2 years later... lol
10. We finally got the certificate to get Colby's new crib... yeah now I have to find time to go to BRU to get a new crib,... hmmmm time??
Menu planning
Planned: (May 22-28)
Friday: nachos (maybe)
Saturday: burgers
Sunday: baked potatoes with salad
day 1: ravioli
day 2: lemon pepper chicken with rice
day 3: bbq beef
day 4: leftovers
Actual:
Friday: nachos
Saturday: burgers
Sunday: brownie sundaes
Monday: baked potatoes with salad
Tuesday: ravioli
Wednesday: fend for yourself (Richard didn't get home until 11:30pm)
Thursday: leftovers (chili mac & cheese)
Planned: (May 29-June 4)
Friday: lemon pepper chicken with rice
Saturday: breakfast
Sunday: no clue yet
day 1: bbq beef
day 2: grilled chicken
day 3: ham steak
day 4: leftover
breakfast?
Richard let me sleep in on Sunday. He fed the boys breakfast... and took pictures of the results
ducks
I'm not sure if I mentioned this on here or not, but on Friday we had ducks swimming in our backyard. No we do not have a pool, or a pond, or a lake behind our house. They were swimming in the puddles. I snapped a few pictures. If I knew they would actually come out I would have snapped more after it had really rained and they were swimming in the bigger puddle.
Memorial Day
Happy Memorial Day to all. Hope you enjoy the day with family and friends. And, take time to remember all those who gave their lives to protect our country.
The things that don't kill you... make you stronger
Over the years I've had a lot of, lets say challenging things, happen in my life. I don't feel like getting into many of them as it would be a really longgggg post then, but let me tell you that one of the things I've always done is step back and assess how this challenge can help me become a better person. As a teacher, I found that a lot of these experiences helped me dealing with children and parents who were dealing with a variety of issues. It was helpful to be able to relate to the difficulties of their life.
The reason that I have been reflecting upon this the last few days is now having to deal with Blake's speech issues I can better understand how parents of special needs children feel. Yes, I know that Blake's speech issue is nothing compared to children who have Austism or Down's Syndrome or even a severe learning disability. But, at the same time I do know how it feels to think that people are looking at my child and wondering why. Why is he not speaking correctly? Why is that mother speaking for her child? Why is the child using sign language? What is wrong? I know how it feels to just wish your child didn't have these issues and could "perform" at the same level as everyone else. I know how it feels to wish people wouldn't assume it is more than it is.
I realize that this challenge in our lives will make us stronger. I know it will build an even stronger bond between Blake and both Richard and I. I know it will allow Blake to become even more creative and expand his knowledge base. I know that we will celebrate even more verbal victories with Blake. I know that it is helping Colby develop his verbal skills. I know that both boys are learning and growing.
As life goes on I will continue to grow and change and know that the things that don't kill me... will make me stronger!
The reason that I have been reflecting upon this the last few days is now having to deal with Blake's speech issues I can better understand how parents of special needs children feel. Yes, I know that Blake's speech issue is nothing compared to children who have Austism or Down's Syndrome or even a severe learning disability. But, at the same time I do know how it feels to think that people are looking at my child and wondering why. Why is he not speaking correctly? Why is that mother speaking for her child? Why is the child using sign language? What is wrong? I know how it feels to just wish your child didn't have these issues and could "perform" at the same level as everyone else. I know how it feels to wish people wouldn't assume it is more than it is.
I realize that this challenge in our lives will make us stronger. I know it will build an even stronger bond between Blake and both Richard and I. I know it will allow Blake to become even more creative and expand his knowledge base. I know that we will celebrate even more verbal victories with Blake. I know that it is helping Colby develop his verbal skills. I know that both boys are learning and growing.
As life goes on I will continue to grow and change and know that the things that don't kill me... will make me stronger!
random weekend thoughs
1. It is neat reconnecting with people I haven't seen since the 90's... the internet is a wonderful thing
2. I can't believe the Colby is almost 1!
3. I appreciate all the support I've received via my blog in regards to Blake's speech. People who know me well know that I understand that none of this is my fault, but I'm a perfectionist, I'm a teacher, I'm a mother, I'm Lori... I always feel like I should have been doing more and should be doing more now. I want it fixed, but I'm also a realist who knows it is slow process and he is making progress and he WILL get there!
4. Rain... Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday... need I say more?? (offically 7.57 inches not including today!)
5. Blake had a blast playing in the puddles this week... if you didn't see the video of it yesterday check it out!
6. Ghirardelli Ultimate Fudge Brownie... yeah if you have never tried them you soooo need to go buy a box right NOW!
7. In the month of May so far Richard has had TWO days off... yeah that's it! One to celebrate my birthday and then Mother's day... and he will be working for the next two weekends too... I think. It's hard, but at least he has a job... and job security!
8. I went to the grocery store by myself today... when did that become a treat?
9. Richard put a computer on the floor in the playroom for the boys... oh boy is Blake psyched about this
10. A food processor is a wonderful toy! Plus now I don't have to splurge to buy shreds or shredded cheese or.... now I just need to find some more cool things to do with it (that was my b-day present from Richard). Between that and the crock pot, meal prep is easy!
Hope everyone is having a great weekend and gets to enjoy the long weekend (refer to #7 if you want to know how we are spending ours... yeah at home!)
Menu planning
Planned: (May 15- 21)
Friday: pulled pork sandwiches (leftovers)
Saturday: out to mom's for dinner
Sunday: Spaghetti and meatballs (meatballs are leftovers)
day 1: leftover sloppy Richard's
day 2: tacos
day 3: nachos (using the leftover taco meat from day 2)
day 4: ?? who knows we couldn't decide on another meal
Actual:
Friday: pulled pork sandwiches
Sat.: dinner at Mom's
Sunday: spaghetti and meatballs
Monday: Sloppy Richard's
Tuesday: taco wraps
Wednesday: herb and garlic chicken w/ rice pilaf
Thursday: Panera Bread for dinner... I had/have a sore throat so nacho did not appeal
Planned: (May 22-28)
Friday: nachos (maybe)
Saturday: burgers
Sunday: baked potatoes with salad
day 1: ravioli
day 2: lemon pepper chicken with rice
day 3: bbq beef
day 4: leftovers
Makes me happy...
Since today is our 4th day of rain I thought I'd focus on the positives instead
Things that make me happy...
1. Listening to the boys laugh
2. Watching the boys play together
3. Hearing Blake and Colby learn new words and sounds
4. Getting outside to play
5. Phone calls from Richard
6. Nap and bedtimes without tears
7. Weekends
8. Crossing things off the to-do list
9. Hugs and kisses from my boys (and my husband)
10. My laptop... my connection to the outside world of people over the age of 2
What makes you happy??
Things that make me happy...
1. Listening to the boys laugh
2. Watching the boys play together
3. Hearing Blake and Colby learn new words and sounds
4. Getting outside to play
5. Phone calls from Richard
6. Nap and bedtimes without tears
7. Weekends
8. Crossing things off the to-do list
9. Hugs and kisses from my boys (and my husband)
10. My laptop... my connection to the outside world of people over the age of 2
What makes you happy??
a little rain?
This was yesterday in our backyard. And it was raining again today... 3 straight days of rain... yeah we have a bit of water
Speech development
I haven't posted about Blake's speech in a while, so I figured I'd fill you in...
First this is a slow process and we knew that going in. He is learning more and more signs and beginning to use the independently. He is also clearly saying more beginning sounds than ever. We are still working on /m/, /b/, /p/, /ee/, /oo/, /oh/ and /h/.
It is hard because he tries very hard, but still struggles to say the sounds correctly. We haven't had a chance to constant an ENT about his tongue, but that is on the top of the to-do list. We are now also working on using his upper lip... he doesn't round it when he makes sounds such as /oo/. We've noticed that he keeps it flat while drinking out of both a sippy cup or straw cup. Strange.. he does have the strength to use it correctly... now it's just a reteaching thing.
As for me... well I still struggle with trying to help him. I still struggle with trying to figure out what he needs to keep his frustration at bay. I still struggle with the feeling that I should have caught this earlier, I should have done something to eliminate this issue before it got to this point. But alas there is nothing I could have done, and nothing I can do now. We just take it one step at a time and realize that he is making progress... and he will get there.
First this is a slow process and we knew that going in. He is learning more and more signs and beginning to use the independently. He is also clearly saying more beginning sounds than ever. We are still working on /m/, /b/, /p/, /ee/, /oo/, /oh/ and /h/.
It is hard because he tries very hard, but still struggles to say the sounds correctly. We haven't had a chance to constant an ENT about his tongue, but that is on the top of the to-do list. We are now also working on using his upper lip... he doesn't round it when he makes sounds such as /oo/. We've noticed that he keeps it flat while drinking out of both a sippy cup or straw cup. Strange.. he does have the strength to use it correctly... now it's just a reteaching thing.
As for me... well I still struggle with trying to help him. I still struggle with trying to figure out what he needs to keep his frustration at bay. I still struggle with the feeling that I should have caught this earlier, I should have done something to eliminate this issue before it got to this point. But alas there is nothing I could have done, and nothing I can do now. We just take it one step at a time and realize that he is making progress... and he will get there.
The big cup battle
Colby is off of bottles already, but now the struggle is what cup will he use?? We went through this same battle with Blake. The will drink water out of any cup you hand them... but put milk in the same cup and NOOOOOOPPPPE!
There is ONE style cup that Colby will drink milk out of... same kind as Blake. This cup is hard to find and is usally about $7 a cup. At least, we had 3 left from Blake.
I'll keep trying to convince Colby that he can drink milk out of other cups. I think Blake was about 18 months when we finally convinced him.
There is ONE style cup that Colby will drink milk out of... same kind as Blake. This cup is hard to find and is usally about $7 a cup. At least, we had 3 left from Blake.
I'll keep trying to convince Colby that he can drink milk out of other cups. I think Blake was about 18 months when we finally convinced him.
family photo
My mom took this picture at her house the other day... I figured I hadn't shared a new family picture in a while so....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)