Cream of Potato Soup

This week we changed speech therapists, and speech times. It seems there have been some problems in the department at the hospital, and Ev's old therapist is covering some other cases, so we got moved to a new SLP. This isn't a really big deal, because Evan already knows the new girl, and likes her, but I wonder if this will change what he's been working on. I hope not too much, because whatever he's been doing has been working.

I'm anxious for school to start as well. Of course, I'm not sure when that will be--when summer session ended in July, the teacher had no idea when school would start for Ev. "Sometime after Labor Day" was all she said, so I'm waiting for a call to tell me when the magical day will be. And it will be a magical day, you can bet on that.

I'm worn out with running around, with the summer schedule. I'm ready for fall to begin. Let's forge ahead together, into the changing leaves and crisp air and football and candy corn. It's time.

Posted by jenny at 10:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I guess I should probably blog something. Things have been going so well though that my usual material is not available. Nothing to complain about = boring blog. But I'll trod on anyway.

Evan is doing really well. He's picking up new words at an alarming rate. Many of them are still at the point where only his immediate family understand them, but he's making good progress. He'll at least try most sounds now, which is something he wasn't confident enough to do before.

He's also recognizing a lot more. Brand logos, places, letters and words are all things that Evan's demonstrated knowledge of lately. It's funny to realize that he knows so much--we're starting to realize that he's got a lot more going on in his head than we give him credit for. So we're pretty pleased with how things are going for him recently.

Mike and I also celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary over the weekend. We got to spend a lovely weekend together, just enjoying each other's company. The last five years haven't been easy--we've weathered many storms together, but I feel that those experiences have made us stronger. I'm lucky to have someone that compliments me so well, in all things--he makes me laugh, he makes me lunch, he's fun and caring and smart, and he's a fantastic father to our son. I'm hoping the next five years are as happy as these ones have been (though I wouldn't mind if they were a little less challenging!).

Posted by jenny at 11:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

My dad and I took Evan on a day trip to Idlewild yesterday. It's a nice little park east of Pittsburgh, and my family took a few trips there when I was a kid. We wanted to see what had changed since then, and if Evan would like it as much as we had.

Ev absolutely loved it. He rode every ride at least twice, and spent hours climbing and jumping and playing in the "Jumpin' Jungle" area, where they have a ball pit and climbing ropes and slides. They had a lot of kiddie rides, and a few I hadn't seen in other parks. I think he had a really fantastic time--he chattered all day long about everything.

He was really well behaved too. Ev was mostly patient while waiting in line, and he stayed seated on the rides until someone came to take him off. He didn't put up too much of a fight getting off of his favorites either, though I did have to do some clever convincing to get him in and out of the ball pit! I think he would have stayed in there all afternoon if he could have.

It's so much fun to see Evan enjoy himself, and do something new. It really shows me how much he's grown. I'm starting to understand the joy that comes with watching your children have these new, exciting experiences. Even today, as we looked at the pictures he can't stop talking about it. I'm so glad he had so much fun--I did too.

Posted by jenny at 06:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Tonight we were watching preseason football (Vikings and Jets, I think) and Evan started to imitate the refs. It was funny--he'd stop in the middle of the living room and start moving his arms around. We'd better go get him a whistle.

Posted by jenny at 10:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We've been having a little trouble lately with stop and go. Meaning that we'll be out walking, and we say stop, and Evan keeps going. I'm not sure if Ev doesn't understand the word stop (though he does seem to understand it when we tell him to stop doing something else, like beating his hairbrush on the coffee table), or if he is just being willfully defiant.

We walk everywhere, including to school and to speech, which is one of the benefits of living in the middle of a small town. But it used to be that Ev would trot happily beside us, holding hands and being generally lovely. Now he's generally unbearable--melting to the pavement, refusing to hold hands, alternately dragging his feet and running ahead. It wouldn't be a big deal except it's almost gotten him killed several times this week.

Ev has almost been hit by a car three times. Twice he got about a foot ahead of me walking home from speech, and darted into the intersection. Both times I was able to grab him before anything terrible happened. After that, I figured I just had to keep a death grip on him when we were walking. But yesterday he did something he's never done before.

We walked together, holding hands, to where the car was parked in the post office lot. I let go of his hand for a split second to open the car door. Usually, he stands right next to the car, anxious to get in and get going. This time, he darted behind the car and directly into the path of another car entering the parking lot. Luckily, that man was paying attention and slammed on his brakes just in time. I twisted my ankle trying to jump out after Evan, and I don't think I would have gotten there in time.

So now, we not only have a behaviour issue, we have a safety issue as well. I'm almost afraid to take Evan outside, for fear he'll get away from me again. I wish I knew how to fix this, how to make him understand. This is the time when I feel like we're really not getting enough support from his therapies, that we need to be doing something more. I don't think I can figure these things out on my own.

Posted by jenny at 08:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I don't really have much to blog about, but the page looks weird because I haven't updated in a while, so I figured I should say something. I know I have readers out there--if you want some new content, post a question or subject in the comments and I'll see if that sparks something.

I just gave Evan a bath. He hadn't had one since Friday and was starting to get a little rank. He always gets annoyed with me when I have to wash his hair, but he's pretty cooperative otherwise. When I was toweling him off, I noticed something (no, not a nubbin)--he smells like a boy.

When he was younger, he would get out of the bath smelling all sweet and powdery and baby-like. I love that baby smell--I would have ten babies just for the smell. But now Ev doesn't smell that way at all anymore. He smells like sweaty little boy most of the time.

It's not a bad smell, but if anyone out there has a little boy or has been close to one, you know what I'm talking about. It's sweat and dirt and playing and BOY. Even after he's been scrubbed, he still has that smell, only it's got a bit of soap scent in the mix.

So there's no trace of baby left on my baby. He's lost that new car smell. I don't mind too much, but sometimes these little parts of his growing up sting a bit.

Posted by jenny at 09:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This morning, I woke early for a bathroom trip (I am getting old) and returned to find Ev had crawled into our bed, snuggling down into the warm spot Mike had just left. He was fast asleep, streched out on his stomach with his arms over his head. I laid down next to him just to watch him sleep--his eyelids flutter, his muscles twitch, his deep breathing, the small smile on his lips.

Every so often I'm still amazed at him (most times when he's sleeping and still, which is so rare and special a time in itself). I can't believe how tall he is, how strong and fit, how beautiful. How did we make something that looks like this?

And he keeps growing and changing. I can barely remember Evan's babyhood or when he was first crawling or walking. Now he runs. Now he comes in here while I'm writing, with his electric toothbrush in his mouth. He's jumping on my lap, bouncing to a Tegan and Sara song. He says "Mama, nah nah" and it's time for me to go.

Posted by jenny at 10:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Evan got a haircut yesterday. His hair grows so fast, and it's been so hot that we decided to give him an all-over buzz and see how that went. I have to say it went pretty well. You can judge for yourself in the picture at right.

We borrowed Uncle Jer's clippers and did it on the front porch. Ev tolerated the cut well--he didn't enjoy it, but we didn't have to hold him down like we usually do! I think we might have found a new style.

Posted by jenny at 04:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Evan said 15 different words today in therapy, some we didn't know he knew and most without being prompted (the SLP didn't have to say "say blue" for Evan to say blue--he just did).

He says hat now, and when he says hat he taps the top of his head. He says "fuffle", which is waffle, his new favorite food. He will say "hi Dada" and today while we were playing in the backyard wading pool, I got him to say "ball in pool" when he threw the ball in with a splash.

This all sounds so silly, this catalog of words Ev can say--if someone didn't know better you'd think we were talking about an 18 month old. But it's hard not to be giddy with excitement. It's been a long, hard road to get here, and we still have a very long road ahead, but it feels so good to see Evan making progress. He's finally able to find some sounds without working so hard, finally confident enough to say a few words, finally able to tell us things we've been waiting years to hear. And we're just so happy for him.

Posted by jenny at 08:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Since the last few entries have been more about me (sorry folks), I thought it was about time to give a little news about Evan. In so many ways lately, he seems to be doing better.

His speech is improving daily. With Mike's constant help, Ev is adding new words quickly. He still has a lot of trouble getting his words out, and he's got a long way to go, but he's making really good progress. Most people wouldn't understand his words yet--his pronunciation isn't great and he leaves parts of words out ("hep" is help, "et" is eat), but we're so proud that he's trying so hard. Emily, his SLP, is excited about his progress as well.

Evan's doing well at sports too. His baseball swing is great--he'll actually swing at the ball now, and he even makes contact sometimes. He's so thrilled when he makes a hit. He's also become quite the little golfer. His swing is almost pretty--he looks like a pint sized pro. I know he didn't get that from me. But all the sporting has kept us pretty busy this summer. If we're not at the park hitting baseballs, I'm digging golf balls out of the ivy in the backyard.

With the summer about two-thirds over, I have to say we've been having a lot of fun. August is a fairly quiet month, but we're hoping to get in a few more trips to the beach and maybe a little vacation before it's all over. It's so great to have a three year old in the summertime.

Posted by jenny at 09:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Yesterday, Mike sent me away for the afternoon. I can't say I was unhappy about it--I've been feeling pretty cranky the last few days and it was good for me to have a few hours to myself. All I did was visit my mom and dad, and run a few errands, but it was just the thing I needed. I'm hoping that helped enough that I can have a happy, productive week.

I can't believe it's August already. It seems like the summer just started, and now it's just about over. I am shocked by all the back to school displays and winter jackets out in the stores. I don't know if I'm ready for this. But this is the first year I'll have someone going back to school, so maybe it's not so bad after all.

Posted by jenny at 09:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)