5 Things Friday 7.23.09 - The Explosion

In the past week, Noah has really started talking, and I am starting to think that this is the explosion that everyone is talking about. He is labeling everything, starting to repeat more and more, getting really good at following directions and even starting to communicate things he wants. Here are 5 of my favorite things over the past couple days.

1. I was drying him off after bath and leaning over him drying his hair. He reached out and started rubbing his hand over my face saying, "dry, dry, dry." It was so sweet. I wasn't saying dry at the time, but it is probably something I usually would say. And, the fact that he was imitating me drying by rubbing my face was so heart-meltingly precious.

2. He is really started to be aware of getting hurt when he falls down. It is something I have been working on with him. I'll say, "Ouch, did you hurt your hand/arm/foot? Are you okay? You're fine." All the while rubbing the injured area. So, now when he gets hurt, he'll say one or all of the following: "Owwwhhh. Fine. Fine. Fine. Owkay. Owkay."

3. Want is one of the signs/words that his speech therapist used a lot to teach him to request things. It is something she tried to make him do every session for at least 10 times a session. Well, I think it finally caught on because he signs it constantly, and follows it up with a "wunt, wunt, wunt." At the grocery this week, he even signed/said it on the cracker aisle. He also started saying cracker. I can't in good conscience call it a sentence since they were a little spread apart, but I definitely got the message.

4. The counting is something he does a lot throughout the day. His therapists seem to think that he is using it as sort of a regulatory tool when he gets upset or bored or whatever. Their suggestion to me was to try to use the counting as a way to encourage interaction. The key also being to make the counting functional. He has a small toy with a crab, some fish and a starfish on it. He always goes over and counts them, so I started repeating after him with "one fish, two fish, one crab." Now he will still count them, but say, "one crab, two fish, three fish, four star."

5. I find that a lot of the things he is starting to say regularly are things that I say to him pretty consistently. The most recent that makes me laugh the most is "yay!" He started it yesterday, and any time we finish doing something or playing something, he will look at me, pause, and say, "yaaay!" It is really cute!

No More Speech

Noah is done with speech therapy in Miami... and it is all HER fault.

Meet HER. Baby Emily.

She was born last Wednesday. And, she has taken up all the time of Noah's speech therapist, Mrs. Silvia. Silvia shared the news last Wednesday via text. I quote: Emily... 6 lbs, 9 oz, 19in... Cute! Noah? Nice age difference... Signed Matchmaker Mom.

Me: I'll make sure Noah looks her up when he comes to Miami on spring break 2030.

Noah and I are going to miss Mrs. Silvia so much. 3 days a week for an hour each time. I think Noah and I have spent more time with Mrs. Silvia in the last six months than we have with Daddy. She has done so much for Noah, and I have learned so much in the process. I can definitely say that I now know what I am looking for in a speech therapist. Thank you Silvia. You will be missed!

Shapes and Numbers

Noah is starting to say more and more words and even starting to use them functionally. The more things he comes out with, the more I am starting to realize... he knows a lot of stuff. Here are a couple videos from bath time tonight.

Shapes.

Numbers.

Swim Lessons

I decided to sign Noah up for some "Mommy and Me" swim classes. The classes are thirty minutes long. Noah has learned to hold on to the side, tolerate floating on his back and fill in the words to Humpty Dumpty. He has not learned how to close his mouth under water. In fact, I am pretty sure he drinks quite a bit of chlorinated water during our half hour swim.

Time to practice swimming.

Not visible in this picture, but I promise his mouth is wide open.

Ahhh... this water kind of tastes funny.

Gulp.

Lucky Number 7

Happy 7 years, Dean! I am very much looking forward to settling down with you. Let the countdown begin... who am I kidding? Let the countdown continue. 18 days left! I love you!

Totally Unrelated

42 bites. I counted. Several times. During the multiple applications of hydro cortisone cream throughout the day yesterday. This morning he woke up still running a slight temperature. So, I placed another call into his pediatrician. The nurse suggested I bring him in because it "might be an indication he is coming down with something." Something? Something else? Meaning not related to the mosquito bites. Seriously, how can it be unrelated, he has 42 mosquito bites.

So, I brought him in this afternoon, and he has the croup. Totally unrelated to his 42 bites. And, I kid you not, 45 minutes before I walked into the pedi's office, he started making this wheezing sound, and my google search result ridden brain interpreted it as a symptom of West Nile virus, and when the doctor said it was the croup, I was so relieved. She started writing a prescription for steroids which I interrupted to ask if she could give him a shot instead. She said she could... finally, someone who will give a shot around here. So, now he is down for the night. Still sporting 42 bites, which surprisingly don't seem to bother him, which actually shouldn't be surprising since they didn't seem to bother him when he got them, and pumped up with steroids to treat his croup. Once again hoping he feels better tomorrow.

The Sign Says Stop

Through therapy, I've learned that Noah is a very visual child. He gets the message much clearer with signs and gestures and pictures. Noah loves to play in our bed. It is pretty high off the ground, and he can get on it without any help. I usually keep the door to our bedroom closed, so he only goes in there when I'm with him. Well, he and Daddy must have had a field day while I was out of town last weekend because on the Monday after I got back, he only wanted to climb on the bed. He would not listen to "no," so finally I grabbed a sheet of paper, drew a stop sign in red crayon, and taped it to the door. He was not happy. He would go to the door, point to the sign, protest a bit and walk away. This went on for a little while, and then he decided that he had a enough. This is what I found.

I guess he technically followed the rules. He didn't open the door until the stop sign was down. Too bad he was the one tearing down the sign. Do I have trouble on my hands or what?