My Little Chatterbox

Not too long ago I blogged a bit about Jack's speech delay. Just months ago, while he was right where he should be, even ahead, regarding receptive language, he was VERY behind in regards to expressive language and had a language delay of almost a year (at around 19 mos. old he was tested and had no words at all; at 2 he only had four words total).

Well, since Jack receives speech therapy through the state, he was due a review to see if he still even qualified for speech therapy. Jack talks about 90 miles a minute these days, so I assumed he was not going to need therapy any longer, but requested that his therapist do another evaluation to be sure (plus I just wanted to know where we stand).

I am VERY proud to report that, regarding expressive language, Jack rated at almost 3.5 years - he's 2 yrs., 7 mos. - almost a year ahead of his actual age. We were floored and thrilled. So Jack is doing incredibly well, needless to say.

Tucker's doing great. He turns 4 mos. old this Friday. He's also a little chatterbox - he makes a lot of noise, that one - and he's just about to sit up on his own. We think he's been working on some teeth too over the last month, which would not be surprising if he follows Jack's pattern - Jack's first teeth appeared at around 4.5 mos.

We had a great Thanksgiving, even though some of our loved ones could not make it due to a stomach virus (what a day to get one, poor things). Food was eaten, football was watched, Lego Star Wars was played. I think Tucker enjoyed his first Turkey Day:

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We're now officially into Christmas - we put up the tree just last night and Jack LOVES IT. We're working on learning some Christmas tunes - Jack loves singing. Jack and Tucker's Granna got them Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas and the boys have been enjoying that.

And I apologize for the lack of bloggery lately - between running after the boys, working and trying to exercise (that's new starting this week - I need to fit in my clothes better and am generally just not happy about the state of things regarding my shape) - it's just too busy around here to make time!

Quick Kiddo Update

Tucker had his 2 mo. checkup today, weighing in at 14.1 lbs. (90-95th percentile) and 23 1/2 in. (75th). He's going to be outta that infant seat before we know it... His doc said he holds his head up like a 6 mo. old, and he pulled out the charm and flashed a big grin for her.

Jack's vocabulary is growing. His latest phrases include "Go Away". This evening it was "Go away, Mommy". I'm not really sure what it's all about, but I'm sure there's some two-year-old independence going on there. Last Tuesday we had out first incident of pushing another child down - luckily the mom was very understanding (I think something along the lines of "Boys will be boys" was said) - luckily he did not repeat it again, so hopefully Jack won't grow up to be the bully. I don't want a weakling either, but somewhere in between would be quite nice...

Still around...

Blogging is hard with two boys! Scratch that - life is a serious adjustment when you go from one kiddo to two. Don't get me wrong, it's awesome - I love these boys more than I ever thought possible - but it's a serious adjustment. Personal time is VERY hard to find these days - life is very full.

I was telling my friend the other day that you forget about how life is with a newborn. Much like childbirth, you just kind of wipe that out of your head. I think God did that so we'd keep on reproducing... You forget so quickly about those 1am diaper changes, about getting hosed during said diaper change, about surviving on so little sleep.... But with a second child (or third, fourth, etc...) you have a better feeling about it - a knowledge that he will grow so very quickly, that the newborn phase will pass by in a blink, and next thing you know, he'll be walking and talking.

Jack has been adjusting famously - better than I thought he might. He loves when Tucker is in the bouncy seat - Jack will turn on the bouncy seat and its keyboard and just watch... There's been very little reverting - wanting to watch the Baby Einstein DVDs again (all the time), and some more "yelling", which sounds like Tucker's crying - Jack's a smart cookie, and I am sure he has realized that Tucker's needs are met almost instantaneously.

Speaking of Jack, speech therapy started about a month ago, but by that time Jack had 50 words! He now has about 150 words, and strings them together quite well - ex. "I get ball", "Mommy do it" (his favorite sentence to say these days). So the speech therapist is primarily concentrating on pronunciation.

Anyway, I'm probably pushing it by posting so much - the boys are napping, but Tucker is quite the voracious eater and I'm sure he will be up any moment - but here are some photos:

Ever seen jaundice? That's what it looks like. Cleared up within a couple of days, but boy did we have a little pumpkin there for a while...

Speech Therapy Update

Just wanted to let everyone know that Jack will now get speech therapy, courtesy of the state, once a week. This is GREAT news for us.

While Jack tests at 4 months ahead on receptive language (i.e., what he understands), he is very behind on expressive language (speaking). At age two, he has only 4 words - mama, bye, blue, and woof.

So the news that the state approved his speech therapy was music to our ears. I'm anxious to see what the speech therapist will do to get him to speak.

Eureka!

From a Babyzone article on late talkers:

"Stephen Camarata, a speech-language pathologist with over 20 years’ experience working with late talkers, said that he’s seen children who are more prone to perfectionism wait until they can enunciate and speak at an adult level—something they simply cannot do in the toddler years."

Oh gosh, this could totally be my child. I am not kidding. He's a bit of a perfectionist, especially for a 2 year old.

Jack's "teacher" recommended a book to me called The Einstein Syndrome: Bright Children Who Talk Late. I might have to get this - has anyone read it?

Jack recently had a second speech evaluation, and we're still waiting to see if the speech pathologist's recommendation to TEIS will have some sway above his test scores - kiddo's just too darn smart and receptive for his own good ;).

Happy Birthday to Jack!

Jack had a great second birthday. The party - just family really - is this Sunday, but he enjoyed a cupcake today (check out the crayon candles!):

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We went to the pediatrician yesterday (no shots until he's 4!) and all seems well, excepting the speech delay, of course. Jack had a speech evaluation the other day, so we're awaiting a verdict from TEIS to see if they will provide speech therapy for the man. Anyway, yesterday Jack weighed in at 25 lbs. (10-25%) and 34 1/2 inches (50%). So he's average height, and just a little bit on the skinny side, as always. The pediatrician seems to think he's growing well though, so that's always good news.

I don't think the doctor believed me when I said that he knows his colors, but when you can put about 20 blocks, crayons, anything, in front of him, ask him to pick certain colors, and he gets them right every time - well, I think he knows his colors!

Now he just needs to talk! He has finally added "Woof" to his vocabulary - all his language development has really exploded over the past 3 weeks - so I remain optimistic that some real talking is just around the corner. And once he starts talking...