Look Alike?

Daddy Time

Dave gets to read with J every night but this is the first he has been able to read to both boys!

Daddy reading with the boys

Daddy and Jackson trying on different hats

Daddy making Luke laugh

Oh, Little Luke

You are a stinker, and you know it! Here are just a few things that earn you the title:

-Two out of the four times you have stayed in the church nursery, I have been called back to get you. You immediately stop the uncontrollable fussing!

-I think that you must have terrible gas while driving in the car since you are screaming at the top of your lungs. I take you out of the carseat at J's school, and you stop crying right away. No burps, nothing! Just wanted Mommy to hold you.

-You cry at every red light!

-You manage to kick off the new, bigger swaddling blanket we bought for you!!! You also are sure to kick the whole time I try to put you in it. For the most part, your arms have stayed tucked in. Today, I see a little arm coming through the top of the blanket! Houdini.

-Right when we think you are asleep, you open up your eyes and smile!

Potty Training Already

I got a real laugh out of this one...



I picked up L from the church nursery yesterday only to find him in a Pull-up. I guess they want us to start potty training him! Love it!!

My New Habit

I have found my thumb...



Mommy and Daddy want me to take my pacifier instead, but I could careless about their reasons. :)

Where are we Exactly?

This time a year and a half ago, I could have named this post "Waiting on Words". Thankfully, we aren't there now, but we very much have a ways to go. I am quite sure J will have many years of speech therapy, but let's remember where we were and where we are now. Progress comes at a much slower pace for most apraxic kids than children with just a speech delay. There are some consistent errors amongst these children, but overall each child is different. The disorder can be baffling to parents and SLPs. It is comforting to look back at our speech folder from a year ago, September 2010, and see that we were working on vowel sounds, and "Dada" "Mama" "moo" neigh" "and we were trying to get "joo" for "juice". He would tell us "all di" if he wanted something to be over. He gave some good approximations and imitated well. Today, J can label many items, make simple requests, and get his point across with just two word phrases. For example, a conversation with him might go something like this: J: Mama car? Mommy: "Oh, you want to go in Mommy's car? Where do you want to go, the store?" J: Store (sto), yeah (enthusiastically). Mommy: Well, we can't go there now. J: "Donald?"...And so on, until the two of us come up with something we both agree on. :) He will tell me things like "Luke sleep" or "Sit, Mama" if Dave is driving, and Luke needs me in the backseat, "Mama Luke" if he wants me to take Luke, so Dave can play with him. All of this is, of course, significantly behind his peers, BUT it is the nature of the disorder and tremendous progress! He has enough confidence to talk to many adults, but still needs a boost to talk to his peers. This weekend, he requested to watch Toy Story by saying "I want (wah) Woody Buzz" and this is HUGE, a HUGE STEP IN PROGRESS for him. We absolutely LOVE hearing new words from him; however we still face the obstacle of the clarity of the words. For example, a common problem for many kids with apraxia is vowel distortion, and Jackson certainly deals with this problem. Examples: He pronounces Jake and Jack as Jeck, firetruck is fi-treck, police car is peace-car, potty is petty. Then, many apraxic kids will put their own unique spin on words. (i.e. a dog was once "wuff" (wuh) and now he says "wuh-dog"). Funny thing is that somewhat more difficult words come out pretty clear, apple juice, sheep, football, etc. Another issue is that he will add an extra sound onto words (i.e. fun will be fun-e or eat may be eat-uh)or he will confuse words that have similarities. A little boy in his class has a name that begins with the sound "Kee" and J sticks the /o/ sound right in front like he is saying "ok". If you think about his vowel distortion and how the boy's name begins, I totally see why he does it. Sometimes, he will self-correct, but he will put "I" in front of "pray", because he says "Ipad" so often. Finally, something that is hard for him and others is singing. Last week, Lori sang "Row Row Row Your Boat" and he sang "Row Row" with her and filled in "boat", "stream", and "dream". It was precious and such an accomplishment!



This is pretty much J's reaction when you praise him for something that he said really well.

September is Here

September is here, and our fall activities will be starting soon. This means more firsts for L! Yay!! I really LOVE this time of year!! In the midst of that excitement, we are still faced with a few burdens that are quite heavy right now. Both of my grandparents are pretty sick, and my last post revealed where we are with my sister. So much that keeps us on our knees! Our life is busy with two little boys, and it sometimes feels like a complete juggling act! We are so in love with them and beyond thankful that God has entrusted us with the responsibility of raising both of them. To say they are different from one another is quite an understatement! Dave and I have learned to divide our responsibilities to get everything done and meet each son's needs!! Now, if we could just fit in a date night...I realized just how much we need one when I found myself sorta jealous of this old couple in Walmart who were picking out tomatoes together!

J-3 years 9 mos.



You just started school with a new teacher! It didn't take you long to start talking to her, and it shows us that you feel comfortable with her! She cares about you, works hard to help you, and gets excited about all of your accomplishments! You love for people to genuinely praise you, so she is just what you need. Miss Lori told me that you would be just fine and would offer your huge smile to your next teacher with no problem...she was right. You enthusiastically tell me "yeah" when I ask if you like her! At church, you moved up to a new class. We really miss your teachers, especially Mr. Dave (yes, I have spyed on you and see you light up with him), but you walked right in your new class just like it was no big deal! In just a few months, you will be FOUR, Little Man! Oh, this makes Mommy sad, but you love growing up! We know that you have to work very hard at some things, but your progress amazes us! We celebrate every new word and phrase that you say! We love hearing you put your thoughts into words! Last week at church, Miss Mandy asked me if I knew just how many people LOVE you there! You can capture some hearts, and there are definitely a lot of dear people that God has put into our life because of you!

L-14 weeks



I am kissing the top of your head as I type, my sweet baby L! You will smile at about anyone who will talk to you, including the tv! You get slightly upset if you are really engaged in our conversation with you and then we stop. Some days, we don't have much time to snuggle or talk until the very end of the day, but you'll take it even then. You spend the very first part of your day with Daddy before he leaves for work. You love to hear his voice! I smile everytime I watch you snuggle with your lovey! So precious! I never grow tired of hearing your sounds...your cooing and babbling is music to my ears, Little Guy! You are an awesome night sleeper...you give us 10+ hours at night! At church, you stay with Miss Karen. She is so sweet to you and quickly figured out that you fight sleep and tummy troubles can cause you to be fussy! You like to sit up and watch your big brother play. This week, I had you laying on the floor while we were playing, and you were trying to turn over. You are a go-getter, very driven! I think you are going to keep us on our toes!!