whew!!

WAY too much to update...so much for having more time this summer. ;) I started this back in July, and I'm just now getting back to finish it, and it's almost mid-AUGUST! What happened?

Oh yeah, that's right, summer is over! I'm already back to school and we are trying to get back into the routines of "normal"...FINALLY. I must be the only teacher who doesn't enjoy the summer and can't wait to get back to work?

Where to even start?

I moved my classroom into the pod with my grade level, so that is awesome. Seem to have a great group of kids, but today was only DAY 2, so that may change by next week ;). Loving being back to work, my same old "song and dance" is that I stink at the stay-home-mom thing. Most days were ok, but there were sure a few that I was not very proud of...

Caydree started this week at her new "school" as well. They will have 2 weeks before "kindergarten" really starts, so she will at least be used to her new surroundings and many of her classmates! Grandma has been here to help/visit this week, so that has been awesome, and Caydree has loved the special attention that only Grandma can give. :) In two weeks I will have a kindergartener...really?? Hard to believe, but I think she is going to love it!

She has cavities, finally took them to the dentist...that was nothing but drama for her. May have to go the general anesthesia route to get any work done, she is so stubborn and just refuses to let them do anything. Apparently, in all of the drama between the regular dentist and the pediatric specialist, I told her she would "die" if she didn't get her cavities taken care of. I don't recall saying that, maybe something along the lines of 'starving to death' because she wouldn't be able to eat if her teeth fell out, but now she's obsessed with that as well. Awesome. Did I mention that I'm a super mom? The guilt from the cavities wasn't enough, now I feel bad and have to convince her that she won't die! Gheesh, another joy of parenthood.

Calder is good, a whopping 27 pounds soaking wet, fully clothed with shoes and a soggy diaper. ;) Had his 18 month well check (late) and also our first speech appointment! He is the cutest and funniest little man I know...and has kept me laughing and crying all summer. I've cleaned up more mess than I ever imagined possible, and he keeps surprising me with something better. He is all about being independent and doing everything by himself...so you can imagine how an oatmeal breakfast followed by a dirty diaper change might go. ;) Most often he is a great helper, and will start part-time daycare after his birthday in September. He got to visit the other day and LOVED it, so that will be a really great thing for him socially.

Back to the speech...we met with our team therapist for the initial evaluation, and it went pretty well. I knew he was behind, but forgot to ask her "how far behind"...so I hope that she will tell us next time. Speech is different for everyone, so I know that I can't really compare, but I still want to know. He has started a LOT more "talking" in the last month, so I expect that it will continue to grow and pretty soon we will be asking him to stop talking. :)

Problems he has:
-very limited consonant sounds
-hypernasality
-small fistula (hole in palate) that still lets some air escape, so there is difficulty blowing out of nose and mouth separately. Believe it or not, he blows out of both simultaneously...try it, it's next to impossible!?

SO, we are working on the breath, and the "plosive" sounds like "p" and "b". He likes to practice, but I'm really only seeing improvement in the blowing activities. We use a straw to blow cotton balls and to blow bubbles in water. He loves whistles and noisemakers which are also great practice. It's pretty darn cute, we showed him how to plug his nose when he blows, and he tries so hard! Our next appointment is Aug. 26th, so hopefully she has noticed some improvements as well. He actually asked me for juice in an almost complete sentence last night, but it sounded like this, "ah ooo, eee?" Translated: " want juice, please?" All the while he is signing and gesturing like mad to make sure we understand! I can't help but love how sweet he is...

The funniest thing he does is re-enact his injuries. He falls, cries, gets a "coldie" from the freezer, then he's fine...until he has to tell everyone else about it the rest of the day. He takes you to the place he fell and shows you just how it happened while he is saying things like, "oh, ow...UH!" As he pats his "owie", then smacks the floor, the wall, the table, the corner, the chair, etc...wherever it happened. He is DRAMATIC...poor kid. ;)

Other than that things are getting back to normal, whatever that will look like this year! I like to think that I will be a better mommy in the coming days...more routine = happier kids and that = happier mommy.

Maybe they will look back on our summer and remember the playtime outside with our neighborhood friends, the glittery, painted "projects" that mommy and Caydree made, snuggling on the couch to watch cartoons and eat frozen pancakes, an occasional trip out for errands and a happy meal, slip-and-slide fun, some beach days with the family, or our road trip to Tucson to visit Grandma and Grandpa. That's all this mommy can hope...maybe our summer wasn't so bad after all. :)