This morning, David asked where his dad was and then answered his own question, "Dad's at work."
I explained to him that dad goes to work so that me and David could be together and play and to buy us things we need to be happy and healthy. He agreed that was really nice of daddy and I told him maybe when we got home we could write dad a letter to say thank you.
Dave thinks a letter means the alphabet. So...he said, "Gon-write him a letter. Write D...and an A.... and another D."
"David! Did you just spell dad?!"
Matter-of-factly, "Yes."
"I'm so proud of you!"
"Oh. Thank you."
Hah, love this kid. Always a surprise.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
Fine motor with beads and shoestrings
This is one of David's favorite regulars. One shoe string with a knot tied at the edge and some more colorful beads that he threads onto the shoe string. As he gets better I use smaller and smaller beads, and have also started using a longer shoe string (I used to keep it shorter when he was first starting out) so that he can practice extending his arms to get the bead down to the very end. Count 'em when you're finished!
Check out that tongue action...
Check out that tongue action...
Fine motor with playdough and beads
This activity is great for hand strengthening. David is 4 1/2, but has the hand strength equivalent to the average 15 month old child, so this is probably typically better for younger children, though you could change the size of the beads to make it an additional challenge for older toddlers and preschoolers.
All I did was take a handful of small beads and hide them in playdough. Make sure to count how many you hide so you make sure you've found them all! Roll it up into a nice ball, then have the kiddo dig 'em out! You could make it a race, hide tiny beads, make it extra tricky by hiding the same color bead as the playdough so they really have to squeeze and dig through to find them.
Basically, if he's sticking his tongue out in concentration doing anything, I know it's a good activity for him!
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Lion King
We've busted out the old VHS collection.
David is falling in love with the Lion King. If he growls at you, it's a term of endearment. He is the daddy lion.
David is falling in love with the Lion King. If he growls at you, it's a term of endearment. He is the daddy lion.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Friday, January 27, 2012
Brilliant Mind
This is more of a journal entry, mostly because I don't want to forget some things from this stage in Dave's life....ok you have been given fair warning ;)
David is one confusing child.
He still has no diagnosis other than significant global developmental delay, but I know that will change as the years go on. We often say "It's a David thing" in our house. He has not followed by the books in any way. We constantly are learning a new normal. Right now it doesn't feel like a trial so much as a life-learning experience.
Despite a 35% delay in speech, some of the things that come out of this kid's mouth just boggles my mind. This is not a "look how awesome my kid is" but seriously I am perplexed by his little mind! How can he have such a severe delay in so many areas yet have this incredible sponge memory?
What re-prompted (seriously this happens all the time where I am blown away at his memory) this, was a few hours ago we went to the library. He hopped on a computer and spent about 2 minutes arrowing through a screen that had a letter of the alphabet followed by a picture of something that starts with that letter. ie, "Rr" with a picture of a rainbow. He spent maybe a couple seconds on each letter, and I was taking note of how quickly but thoroughly he was studying each photo.
Now it is a few hours later and he is sitting on the couch, repeating the alphabet with each letter's corresponding picture. I recognize that he is not just thinking of something on his own that starts with that letter because I specifically remember noting what the pictures were and some of them had strange choices. I wouldn't be able to tell you from my own memory what all the letter's pictures were, but since he is repeating it back to me, it then recalls it from my memory--if that makes sense.
He is having one of those days, that I've mentioned before. Where his quirks and tics are much more noticeable to me, his language is more sparse and harder to understand, but then he starts regenerating information that he has previously processed at some point. The human brain is SO fascinating. I wish I understood him more.
Since we pulled him from his special ed school about a week ago I have been reintroduced to his little world. I felt like I was missing so much of it. He was up at 6:00 and getting ready, gone by 6:50, and not home again until 3:40. In the last 3 1/2 hours he was home before bed, he was tired and needed quiet - not conversation, or was busy eating, bathing, etc. Months of time passed where I felt like I was missing really knowing my child. I am sure all parents feel this way when their little children tot off to kindergarten, or in dual-income families where the schedules are similar to what I mentioned above, or maybe even more rigid. I feel blessed to be staying home with him. It is a challenging experience as I try to understand what makes him feel so angry, and how to get through to him on days where he is in a different world. How to balance teaching him the things of a regular-developing world while battling knowing that expectations need to be adjusted. To be so so proud of him for making it out for our first morning of running multiple errands in underwear, when he is 4 1/2 and most kids his age have been potty trained for a year or year and a half or more by now. His victories are different, but it makes me so much more proud of him for having to overcome them at a heavier price and harder work. And then there are things like today that just boggle my inferior mind. 100% of the time I think that David is insanely smarter than both Bart and I, but his mind just doesn't know how to properly process the information. I can't wait to see the little boy, and adolescent, and man he becomes, it's such a mystery.
Ok. Time stamped and sealed into the blogosphere... to remember on a hard day, or some day in the probably not-so-distant future when I might forget what life was like back when Dave was 4 and started staying home again. :)
David is one confusing child.
He still has no diagnosis other than significant global developmental delay, but I know that will change as the years go on. We often say "It's a David thing" in our house. He has not followed by the books in any way. We constantly are learning a new normal. Right now it doesn't feel like a trial so much as a life-learning experience.
Despite a 35% delay in speech, some of the things that come out of this kid's mouth just boggles my mind. This is not a "look how awesome my kid is" but seriously I am perplexed by his little mind! How can he have such a severe delay in so many areas yet have this incredible sponge memory?
What re-prompted (seriously this happens all the time where I am blown away at his memory) this, was a few hours ago we went to the library. He hopped on a computer and spent about 2 minutes arrowing through a screen that had a letter of the alphabet followed by a picture of something that starts with that letter. ie, "Rr" with a picture of a rainbow. He spent maybe a couple seconds on each letter, and I was taking note of how quickly but thoroughly he was studying each photo.
Now it is a few hours later and he is sitting on the couch, repeating the alphabet with each letter's corresponding picture. I recognize that he is not just thinking of something on his own that starts with that letter because I specifically remember noting what the pictures were and some of them had strange choices. I wouldn't be able to tell you from my own memory what all the letter's pictures were, but since he is repeating it back to me, it then recalls it from my memory--if that makes sense.
He is having one of those days, that I've mentioned before. Where his quirks and tics are much more noticeable to me, his language is more sparse and harder to understand, but then he starts regenerating information that he has previously processed at some point. The human brain is SO fascinating. I wish I understood him more.
Since we pulled him from his special ed school about a week ago I have been reintroduced to his little world. I felt like I was missing so much of it. He was up at 6:00 and getting ready, gone by 6:50, and not home again until 3:40. In the last 3 1/2 hours he was home before bed, he was tired and needed quiet - not conversation, or was busy eating, bathing, etc. Months of time passed where I felt like I was missing really knowing my child. I am sure all parents feel this way when their little children tot off to kindergarten, or in dual-income families where the schedules are similar to what I mentioned above, or maybe even more rigid. I feel blessed to be staying home with him. It is a challenging experience as I try to understand what makes him feel so angry, and how to get through to him on days where he is in a different world. How to balance teaching him the things of a regular-developing world while battling knowing that expectations need to be adjusted. To be so so proud of him for making it out for our first morning of running multiple errands in underwear, when he is 4 1/2 and most kids his age have been potty trained for a year or year and a half or more by now. His victories are different, but it makes me so much more proud of him for having to overcome them at a heavier price and harder work. And then there are things like today that just boggle my inferior mind. 100% of the time I think that David is insanely smarter than both Bart and I, but his mind just doesn't know how to properly process the information. I can't wait to see the little boy, and adolescent, and man he becomes, it's such a mystery.
Ok. Time stamped and sealed into the blogosphere... to remember on a hard day, or some day in the probably not-so-distant future when I might forget what life was like back when Dave was 4 and started staying home again. :)
Monday, December 26, 2011
the one
Every year there is "the one" gift Dave will sleep, eat, brush teeth with, and generally carry around like a security blanket for weeks after Christmas.
This year? His choice was immediately obvious. He is in Star Wars heaven.
This year? His choice was immediately obvious. He is in Star Wars heaven.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Christmas Prep
We have been decking the halls and are officially ready for Christmas after visiting Santa yesterday. So many things to feel grateful and excited for this Christmas season!
We got the tree up super early this year in mid November. We waited until after Thanksgiving to decorate it and the rest of the house, but it's been nice sitting by the glow of the tree each night after Dave is in bed.
Yesterday Dave and I went to see Santa. He wasn't really into the idea of leaving the house at first--he was happy to get to stay home with mom and just play instead of school.
Then he realized what I actually meant.
And got super excited.
He was star-struck when we got there and he saw it was ACTUALLY SANTA CLAUS!
He got a little nervous while we waited in line
And tried to be patient while he waited for his turn.
Santa is such a sweet old man!
He asked Dave for a big hug and sent him on his way with a piece of chocolate, stickers, and a coloring book!
Christmas Eve? bring it on!
We got the tree up super early this year in mid November. We waited until after Thanksgiving to decorate it and the rest of the house, but it's been nice sitting by the glow of the tree each night after Dave is in bed.
Yesterday Dave and I went to see Santa. He wasn't really into the idea of leaving the house at first--he was happy to get to stay home with mom and just play instead of school.
Christmas Eve? bring it on!
Saturday, December 3, 2011
"quirky"
I'm a little OCD. And I say that not in a "haha that's funny" way, but honestly, there are some slightly crazy things about me. Bart teases me a bit about it. The most evident of this is my nighttime routine. Everything on my bedstand (tissues, glass of water, stick of blistex, plugged in phone, and st. ives intensive healing for sensitive skin lotion) is carefully placed in the same places so I can get to them in the middle of the night. I can't sleep without lotion on my feet, to the extent of when I get out of bed if I forget something after I do my lotion, I have to reapply. It has to be the one kind of lotion. If I don't do it my feet literally hurt. This drives Bart CRAZY because lotioning routine takes about a minute and sometimes I will have to redo it two or so times before I'm able to lay down for good.
Crazy, right? I know. I also feel weird sitting in certain areas of a room, like if my back is to something sometimes it bothers me, and I panic a little bit if I feel like I'm in a place where I can't leave if I need to quickly. I like making lists. I'm a little bit psycho.
The first time we took Dave in for a consult we mentioned his OCD behavior and his need for processes to be done in a certain way and not interrupted. He is still like this in a very severe way, I think it's part of his disabilities, but I'm certain it is perpetuated by having me as a mother. As we were answering her questions, I was lining up toys that Dave was bringing me into a straight line. The doctor looked at me like I was nuts.
Like mother, like son?
Well, I became more aware of the genetics of this thing over Thanksgiving. Like mother, like daughter? My mom labelled all the dishes we were going to use. For everything. It helped a lot in the chaos of getting everything plated and ready, but did we REALLY need a label for the salad tons to know what they were for? Or what the gravy boat is for?
I don't feel any less crazy, but at least I feel less alone!
Crazy, right? I know. I also feel weird sitting in certain areas of a room, like if my back is to something sometimes it bothers me, and I panic a little bit if I feel like I'm in a place where I can't leave if I need to quickly. I like making lists. I'm a little bit psycho.
The first time we took Dave in for a consult we mentioned his OCD behavior and his need for processes to be done in a certain way and not interrupted. He is still like this in a very severe way, I think it's part of his disabilities, but I'm certain it is perpetuated by having me as a mother. As we were answering her questions, I was lining up toys that Dave was bringing me into a straight line. The doctor looked at me like I was nuts.
Like mother, like son?
Well, I became more aware of the genetics of this thing over Thanksgiving. Like mother, like daughter? My mom labelled all the dishes we were going to use. For everything. It helped a lot in the chaos of getting everything plated and ready, but did we REALLY need a label for the salad tons to know what they were for? Or what the gravy boat is for?
I don't feel any less crazy, but at least I feel less alone!
Branson
The first week of November, Bart's parents and his older sister Heather came to visit. We spent a couple days in Branson. None of us had ever been, and we really enjoyed ourselves. It seems like there is so much to do there. The highlights were riding the Branson Belle boat and the famous train. Dave really thought it was cool. Fall colors were still abundant. Bart also went with his parents and Heather to see the Osmonds while I hung back with Dave in the hotel. I'm so glad they were able to visit.
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