I just wanted to share Luke's incredible progress in swimming lessons today. I am so bummed that I didn't have my camera with me because it would have been great to get a few picture - definitely next time!
Luke started the fall/winter session at AVAC last week. I requested that he have Miss Carli as his teacher again for this session if she was available mainly because I thought it would be nice for Luke to have some continuity. However, she is not working during the lesson time that we signed up for, so Luke has a new teacher: Mr. Anthony. In the two weeks since the session started, Luke has made so much progress. He is putting his face and head underwater, arms in front, kicking behind, and looking more like a "swimmer." Mr. Anthony lets Luke wear his goggles for the first half of the lesson, and then takes them off for the second half so that Luke gets used to swimming both ways (important for the safety aspect apparently - you don't want a kid who falls into a pool to start scrambling around for his goggles!).
I am amazed and I think that Luke is really responding to having a male teacher. Luke claims that he doesn't like Mr. Anthony, but the second he arrives at the pool, it sure looks like he likes him! He smiles and happily gets in.
I'll post some swimming lesson pictures soon!
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Luke's speech follow up
Just a quick update post our IEP meeting with the local school district regarding Luke's speech/articulation issues...
In short, he does not qualify for services as of now. Apparently, in order to qualify, children need to test about 6 months or more delayed, and Luke does not at this time. That being said, their requirements at age 3 are pretty minimal, so it is likely that if his difficulties with articulation continue, he will qualify at 4 years old.
We also have a lovely neighbor who is a speech pathologist and who screened Luke when he was 2.5 and offered to screen him again in about 6 months. Based on her findings, we may pursue some private speech therapy.
What ALL of the "experts" who have met with Luke have said is that he has an amazing vocabulary, advanced sentence structure and phrasing, and an above average attention span for a boy his age. They all seem to agree that his articulation issues stem from that period of time when he essentially lost a good portion of his hearing due to ear infections (from about 15-21 months) until he had the tubes placed in his ears. That time frame is essential for the language and speech development in kids, and Luke missed out on that due to the fluid behind his eardrums. :(
Our hope (and the hope of the speech therapists who worked with Luke recently) is that his speech will continue to develop and catch up over the next 6-12 months.
In short, he does not qualify for services as of now. Apparently, in order to qualify, children need to test about 6 months or more delayed, and Luke does not at this time. That being said, their requirements at age 3 are pretty minimal, so it is likely that if his difficulties with articulation continue, he will qualify at 4 years old.
We also have a lovely neighbor who is a speech pathologist and who screened Luke when he was 2.5 and offered to screen him again in about 6 months. Based on her findings, we may pursue some private speech therapy.
What ALL of the "experts" who have met with Luke have said is that he has an amazing vocabulary, advanced sentence structure and phrasing, and an above average attention span for a boy his age. They all seem to agree that his articulation issues stem from that period of time when he essentially lost a good portion of his hearing due to ear infections (from about 15-21 months) until he had the tubes placed in his ears. That time frame is essential for the language and speech development in kids, and Luke missed out on that due to the fluid behind his eardrums. :(
Our hope (and the hope of the speech therapists who worked with Luke recently) is that his speech will continue to develop and catch up over the next 6-12 months.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Race ya to the top!
WHAT!? Really? She just looks so tiny, it's hard for me to believe that she can or should be doing any of this. Uh, I think we might also need a gate at the bottom of the stairs.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Fancy girl
Can you tell that I'm finally big enough to fit into my next size of clothing? And Mommy is pretty excited about it!
8 months old and Mommy thinks that I am around 15 and 1/2 pounds, and am now wearing 6-12 month clothing (although some of my 3-6 month stuff still fits and I'm not quite long enough for 6-12 sleepers ...yet!), size 2 shoes, and still in all of my small cloth diapers (size 2 disposables).
It's fun getting fancy!
8 months old and Mommy thinks that I am around 15 and 1/2 pounds, and am now wearing 6-12 month clothing (although some of my 3-6 month stuff still fits and I'm not quite long enough for 6-12 sleepers ...yet!), size 2 shoes, and still in all of my small cloth diapers (size 2 disposables).
It's fun getting fancy!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
When big brother's off at school ...
Mia seems to like having Luke's room and his stuff to herself to get into.
Oh, man... this little sister might be trouble! :)
"Big Boy" Preschool
Luke had his first day of "big boy" (3-4 year olds) preschool today. It was a modified first day as they only had half of the kids there today so that they got more individual attention. The other half of the class will come Friday, and then everyone starts regular days next week. Luke will be attending Mandala Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9-12.
We went to an orientation last week to meet his teachers and see his new classroom. I was (yet again) blown away by the number of things that are prepared for these kids to do each day. It is like a little oasis for children and I LOVE that we are sending him to such a wonderful place. So peaceful, yet full of adventure and play ... a place that supports academic and emotional growth ... a warm and caring environment full of wonderful, nurturing people. Seriously, it is like walking into a lovely bubble-world.
Here he is this morning on his way to his first day. In the 2nd picture he is showing off his "kissing hand" sticker. So cute ... and growing WAY too fast for his mommy.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Reasons to be grateful
I feel grateful most days that I get to be home with my babies during these very special years. However, I have to admit that there are "those" days when it just seems like it might be easier (on me!) to go to work. You know, drive in the car and listen to my own music without screaming in the background, take a bathroom break without kids crawling all over me, go out to lunch and not completely shove it all in my mouth while wiping kids and saving drinks from falling on the floor ... these are the simple pleasures that on some days seem appealing.
But today I was reminded yet again about how lucky I am to be home. After all, if I were not home even just for the three work days that have made up this week so far, I would have missed this...:
Luke came to me today and showed me that he had written his name. I almost couldn't believe it because it was completely unprompted and we haven't really "worked" on doing this. So, you'll see in the 2nd photo I asked him to go and do it again so that I could watch - and sure enough, no problem writing his own name. The 3rd picture is a self-portrait to go along with his name.
...and this:
Mia pulled herself up to stand in her crib on Monday during nap. Since then, she has been busy pulling up on just about everything. She's also crawling faster by the day and that whole belly-to-sitting thing ... yep, that's no problem either (and not an "accident" like I mentioned in my previous post last week). She is EVERYWHERE :)
But today I was reminded yet again about how lucky I am to be home. After all, if I were not home even just for the three work days that have made up this week so far, I would have missed this...:
Luke came to me today and showed me that he had written his name. I almost couldn't believe it because it was completely unprompted and we haven't really "worked" on doing this. So, you'll see in the 2nd photo I asked him to go and do it again so that I could watch - and sure enough, no problem writing his own name. The 3rd picture is a self-portrait to go along with his name.
...and this:
Mia pulled herself up to stand in her crib on Monday during nap. Since then, she has been busy pulling up on just about everything. She's also crawling faster by the day and that whole belly-to-sitting thing ... yep, that's no problem either (and not an "accident" like I mentioned in my previous post last week). She is EVERYWHERE :)
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