In April, the ECI specialist has arranged for a SLP (Speech Language Pathologist) to come evaluate Mr X (yeah, he's Mr X, not Baby X now. Sigh.)

She wants me to keep a record of sounds and words he says, and so here it is! I'm less likely to lose it if it's kept in cyberspace. I'll be updating it, so I apologize if it keeps annoying you in your blog reader!

Sounds:
/s/
sh
/l/
/oo/
/v/
/b/
rah rah (dog barking)
dog panting
tooo (choo choo)


Says Regularly:
ha (hi)
hullo
Bah-bye (Bye-bye)
Daddy
doh/no
da (dog)
umma (Emma)
nie-nie (night-night)
lie (light)
day-doo (thank you)
buh (bus)
Mama

Said once:
oople (apple)
shoe
pop
meow
blast off! (bah off)
Boo (bowl)
"no-no-no" I don't know (more the "sound" of I-dunno than the actual words)

Signs he uses independently
please
more
help
drink
eat
truck (we made up a sign)
baby

Signs he'll use if he sees others do it:
salt
fork
bubble
want
thank you

Signs he'll respond to but won't make himself:
Where
Want
What
See
Hear

And - not speech but bragging - he recognized his written name! Or at least the letter X.

Labels: speech, X

Two years ago, Baby X was born on Good Friday. I was induced because I had diabetes and suddenly developed polyhydramnios.

Turns out it wasn't from my diabetes, but from Baby X himself. He had high blood pressure and polyuria. And man, did that kid pee.

He is such a goofy little sweetie! He doesn't talk much but still makes jokes.

He enjoyed his birthday meal, a nutritious plate of corn dogs, tator tots, and juice pouches.



The Big Wheel was a big hit.


Helping dad build it was fun!




I'm hoping the Doodle Pro will help keep the markers at bay. X is the sneakiest little marker fiend I ever saw. I don't even know where he finds them!

Of course, everyone helped him play with his gifts.


Cupcake time!


Not quite sure about this whole candle business.


Two year olds are busy, and must multitask.

Lick frosting.


Play with truck.



Lick frosting.



Play with truck.



Happy Birthday, X Man!

Labels: Family Life, X

Got a breathless email from Planned Parenthood. (I'm on their list, I like to see what they are up to.) Their new campaign is Get Yourself Tested (for STDs)

Expanding access to preventive care, including contraception and STD testing, will do more than anything else to improve reproductive health for young people.

How is getting tested for an STD preventative health? What condition is it preventing? It is, perhaps, wise depending on one's personal history and behavior to get tested, so early treatment can begin if necessary, but I don't see how it prevents anything.

The email goes on to claim that aside from contraception, getting tested is the biggest way to slow the spread of HIV. I'd say that telling HIV positive people to remain abstinent - and supporting and helping them - would do more.

I can't believe Obama gave the Queen an iPod. It's not even American, it's made in China. How can his people let him remain so utterly clueless? And why hasn't he hired a personal shopper who knows what they are doing?

He should have given her an authentically American gift, like a charity-auction date with George Clooney.

St. Gemma Galgani is one of my patron saints, and her feast day is Apr. 11. A website in her honor is sponsoring a novena, starting Friday, Apr. 3. Go here for details.

In the Senate this week...

These bills failed: Requirement that bills be posted publicly 5 days before a vote (what do the Dems want to keep secret?), funding for a border fence, DeMint amendment to end auto bailouts, Vitter amendment to put an end to TARP, legislation to prevent health care rationing, and CPSIA reform.
Passed? Obama's budget. And also, 2nd amendment rights legislation allowing Amtrak passengers to have a gun in their checked luggage (if they are law abiding, have a permit, etc. of course).

That 90% tax on AIG I railed about has slinked off to die a slow death in committee. Instead, we have Pay for Performance, in which Tim Geithner, who is not an elected official, gets to determine what is fair pay, bonuses, and adequate performance at all levels of any company receiving government bailout money. Yes, even the janitor. Not sure how that's going to play out with the UAW.

Sigh. In the future, you better hope someone you love has enough "quality of life" to be allowed medications and treatments, if Obamacare passes. I wonder if they'll deny prenatal care to women with congenitally disabled children? I'm pretty sure they'll be rationing cancer care for the elderly and disabled.

My baby says "Lovies!" - or, actually, "Yuvvies!" Husband dear deigned to leave the house without kisses and hugs all around and Mr X ran to the window and shouted at him. It's funny, because the /l/ sound is one he makes very well (another quirk, my 3 year old hasn't entirely mastered /l/.) He will say /y/ if the sound is at the beginning of the word.

I bought a new coffee pot. My old one bit the dust very suddenly. Did you know that KitchenAid makes a coffee pot that costs $200?!? I don't know if it grows, harvests, and roasts its own coffee or what, but I ended up with Mr. Coffee. I didn't buy the cheapest, but it wasn't that expensive for an appliance I use every day. Most important feature: automatic shutoff. Really, really important. Second most important feature? Pause 'N Serve. Because having to wait for the whole pot to brew is so burdensome.

I was briefly tempted by the French presses - so simple, no plugs. But friends and the Web of Lies internet told me I'd also have to have a good bean grinder to make uniform, coarse grains. Plus I'd have to boil water everyday, first thing in the morning, and I'm way too lazy for that.

Please keep my friend's family and especially his little girl in your prayers tomorrow. She has a medical test and gets nervous.

Labels: 7 Quick Takes, politics, Prolife, speech, X

We got our tax refund, and spent way too much money at Ikea (which has been quite a disappointing experience all the way around, requiring 2 trips to Customer Service for returns and I still have to take one more thing back!).

Does it count as stimulating the economy if I send $500 to Sweden?

Shame on Obama. Not only is he the poster boy for demagoguery, going on The Tonight Show, he has to make fun of disabled people, too. He compared his bowling score (129) to being in the Special Olympics. Because, you know, those Special Olympics people are just so pathetic and underpar, right?

Parenting According to Monster Movies
Sums it up nicely, don't you think?

Look! They've cured a spinal cord injury using stem cells! Wait, they are adult stem cells? No big story on how the Feds need to throw more money at dismembering babies for their body parts embryonic stem cell research? Call off the press meeting.

We have a snake. And turtles. And minnows. Remind me why we moved into a house that backs up to a bayou?

After our trip to Ikea, I got several shelves. We've moved the playroom to the room just off the kitchen, and the living room to the front room, and I wanted to set out some Montessori type works.

I made a flower work, a color matching work, a rainbow work, a toothpick and clay work, set out plastic Easter eggs in an egg basket, and arranged our Easter books on the shelf. So the kids ignored all that and chased each other with a spray bottle, instead. Sigh.

Slowly learning sign language. This site has been a big help. Unfortunately, Baby X's favorite things - buses and garbage trucks - have no signs, only finger spelling. But we're doing the best we can.

Check out other Quick Takes over at Jen's!

Labels: 7 Quick Takes, Montessori, politics, Prolife, Special Needs, speech, X

Baby X waved hello at the garbage truck! This is a milestone. He's almost 23 months and has never waved hi or bye at any one or any thing! His sign language is ramping up, but since he still doesn't cross the midline it's a little hampered. He can say more, please, eat, drink, play, stop, no... and we're working on turtle.

He's potty training and we're suddenly cloth diapering, too (disposables for overnight, still, though.) I'm 100% sure I'm doing it wrong, but it's ridiculously easy! I've thought about cloth diapering a few times over the years, but once I start researching it I get intimidated by the cost of starting and the options and the washing instructions and the details, details, details.

Last month, a friend sent me a big box of cloth diaper pads, and some wraps (too small for X). I decided to work with what we had - size 2T underwear. Put pad in underwear (two for naptime). If wet/accident, dump it in a bucket in the bathroom (#2's washed out in toilet). At the end of the day, put in washer with a little detergent; soak in cold water. Then wash in hot water. Dry. Lather, rinse, repeat.

It helps that the boy is catching onto the Potty Game very quickly.

In my defense, I think it's ridiculously easy for me right now because he's kid #7- I've already cleaned so much poop out of clothing in my lifetime that it doesn't phase me anymore, and I already do a lot of laundry. The diapers are a tiny load comparatively and I don't have to fold them!

How annoying is it to get a pop up message? The latest one says:
Windows is unable to configure you internet connection. Please see Section 8812 on www.microsoft.com for troubleshooting information.

As much as I'd love to browse the technical support for Windows, I can't. Because my connection won't configure.

Have you seen this? A Letter From the Boss.

We finally got our tax return filed. First, we could not find last years tax return or Baby X's social security number. You have to have last year's Adjusted Gross Income or remember your 5 digit PIN, or know your AGI to use the free filing software off the IRS website. And I have to know the social so I can write that little boy off. Why have kids if not for the dedcutions?

Husband dear finally got X's number off his employee paperwork ( you have to fill it in on the insurance application). And you can call the IRS to get your AGI!

If you don't know your IRS PIN or last year's AGI, call 1-800-829-1040. Listen to the Nutcracker Suite hold music for a ridiculously long time. Answer a slew of personal questions and get your info!

I love filing our taxes. Our return is generally uncomplicated, and we get $ back. Now we can play "We Won the Lottery" and plot how to spend it. I want to buy beds for the kids, a Berkey water filter, and laminate cubbies to replace the wire ones in the closet. Husband dear wants to buy a deep freezer, half a cow, and grow to a 2 computer family and/or a 2 car family. Or at least fix the window and door lock so they open. Such a handy thing, a car window that opens! Especially when it's the Drive-Thru one.

I also want to buy new picture frames with glass. We had an unfortunate Superman incident on our moving boxes and every one of our pictures had broken glass. For those of you without boys, a "Superman" incident generally involves capes, peer pressure, and a jumping off point.

Yeah, we dream big over here.


See everyone else's takes over at Jen's!

Labels: 7 Quick Takes, Frugal, speech, X

Wednesday, husband dear took the boys to a new chess club. I guess they had a good time, because they didn't make it home until 10:30! 6 yo Mr S. is just learning the rules. This morning he had a heated argument with Mr P over how the "Popes" move. Mr P insisted they were called bishops, not popes. Mr S, who recently mastered checkers, announce that the bishops had made it to the other side of the board and got "kinged" - making them popes.

Is first grade too young to start lessons on the heirarchy of the church?

I don't see how this could be legal, and I hope the parents sue for a violation of their rights.

A school attorney grills them on Catholic theology, saying he must determine if they are sincere Catholics. But he doesn't quiz them on the Catechism, but rather on the theological roots of beliefs!


450,000 have signed the petition at nostimulus.com. I usually don't sign online petitions, but added my name to this one. The petition is set to be presented to the Senate at 2 pm EST today.

The text of the bill is finally online, 24 hours before the House is set to vote.

Text of SB22, which passed.

Does anyone know anything about the Texas Ratio? Economists say it is an indicator of your bank's health, and likelihood of failure. A ratio of over 100 is a danger sign; the lower the ratio, the better your bank's financial health is. Any thoughts? Chart here. (Sept. 08 figures)

Miss C is so funny. She got an Aquadoodle for Christmas, and she calls it her "Aqua Doodle Doo", because that's what the animals say when we play farm. Someone mistakenly used water colors, not plain water on it last week. Anyone know how to clean it?


We do Montessori style play at home, even though I don't own many classic works. Baby X's speech therapist is having a problem with this - his coping skills, problem solving, and life skills are too good! She wants us to start annoying using playful obstruction so that he will vocalize more (i.e., protest). I've compromised and we'll play tug of war and Hot Potato, instead. Sorry, but the last thing I want or need is a toddler who is being provoked on purpose! (Besides, it's not like he never throws a fit or gets provoked. He's just remarkably easy going and transitions very well.)

Part of Baby X's practical life skills apparently involve camera use. He's only 1 year old, but he loves to get ahold of the camera. I'm seeing a whole new perspective on my house, and some places are really dirty. I just never noticed because they are, you know, 20 inches off the floor.

I now have 300 pictures of the underside of my table, because that's where he runs to hide when he has something he knows he shouldn't have!

Labels: 7 Quick Takes, C, education, In The News, S, speech, X

Baby X has what we call "Little Man Jammies". They're a horrific print with collar and buttons, and he loves them to death.


He's a weird little boy. He really cares about what he wears.




P.S. - I lied, CM. You can't have him!

Labels: Family Life, X

1. We paid off our van! First time since I've been married that I don't have a car payment. So of course we've outgrown it AND it's developed an oil leak. Maybe I can pick up a school bus, cheap.

2. What IS it with boys and fire? Mr R got a magnifying glass in his stocking (he's recently become very interested in rocks and crystals.) Remember the oil-leakin' van? It leaked on the driveway. And my boys discovered they can easily create fire with Pennzoil + Magnification + winter Texas sun. Does that count as a science lesson? I'm marking it down.

3. Baby X makes three signs now. Please, more, and eat. He uses the signs to ask for... food. And he talks! Kind of. He says uh-oh when he falls off whatever surface he is scaling.

4. This house is available for us to rent-to-own. I love the house. I will never buy the house because of the HOA Nazis. Yes, another warning. Gasp! Our garage door was open in the middle of the day!

5. St. Gemma Galgani is my patron saint. I just discovered a great website dedicated to her, with reprints of her writing, photos, etc. It is sobering to think she died a saint at 26. I'm 30... probably have 70 more years before I *might* come close to being called one. And even that's doubtful! LOL

6. Katie at Team Bettendorf is having an interesting discussion about Christian neighbors. She asks, "Are you your Christian neighbor?" Do your neighbors know you are a Christian? Do you even know your neighbor's names? I don't agree with the premise that the organized church is to blame for lack of neighborliness, but the comments are thoughtful. It's an ongoing theme on her blog. I do know several of my neighbors - we've shared food, given opinions on roofing estimates, and I know where they work and their children's names. But we're still neighborly, not friendly. BTW, the neighborhood Mormon missionaries know me too. I'm the crazy lady who told them I could never be part of a church that wasn't prolife.

7. I am genetically programmed to blog about my grocery list. Just as I can't help but be Catholic - the chemicals in my DNA require it. Proof?

Labels: 7 Quick Takes, Catholic, children, Linky love, X

Baby X is 20 months old and does not talk.

He does not babble like normal babies - no buh-buh-buh-buh, no da-da-da-da.

He doesn't wave hi or bye-bye. I have the book Baby Signs, and like I did with all of the children, tried to teach him some signs when he was a few months old. He does not use a single sign. He may, occasionally, point.

Poor little guy. He has a whining noise he makes, with different intonations, and we interpret what he means. He did say "Ha" for hi a few times last week, but doesn't do it consistently and only says it after someone else does.

So we had him evaluated. It took a lot of paperwork. My set is 10 pages long!

They pegged most of his development as right on track 18-21 months. (I think he's more advanced than that, but he got marked down for a lot of speech related things, like "says please and thank you".) He's socialized at a 29 month old level (who says homeschoolers are unsocialized, LOL!)

His receptive speech has always been fabulous. He will hear me talk about going to the store, and bring me my purse and shoes. He'll hear me say to one of the kids that dinner's almost ready, and go get in his high chair.


His expressive speech is at a 4 month old level. He has one consonant sound, which he only makes when he's playing animals.

I was curious as to what a speech evaluation would look like for a baby who isn't talking. They did a lot of motor skills evaluations by providing him with different toys to play with - a ring stacker, a peg board, a shape puzzle. They gave him a pencil to draw with.

Most of the evaluation consisted of questions for me - how does he walk up the stairs? What does he do when he's hungry? How does he greet his father when he comes home from work.

4 months old. Wow. I knew he was behind...but not that far behind. The therapist will come to our home one day per week to work with me (and him, but she's mostly teaching me and the other kids.)

They are going to try to train him to use picture cards, as well, to communicate. Eventually, the goal is to have him give me a card with a picture of milk on it when he wants milk, and so on.

I predict the card for "go outside" will get lots of wear and tear. He's such a funny, sweet little guy!

Oh, my beautiful darling! I love you so! I can't wait until you can tell me what you are thinking about.

Labels: children, special education, Special Needs, speech, X

First, some things that make me happy.

Baby X learned to nod his head, and he blows on his food. Even if you serve him watermelon, he'll blow to make sure it's not too hot.

Mr P does math just like his mama - weird made up shortcuts. I didn't teach it to him (his math book teaches math as a process of addition). For example, for a problem like 6x7, we will take half (3x7) and add it together. Very helpful for larger numbers - 18x9 would, in my mind, actually be 9x9 + 9x9. Mr P does it the same way, and came up with the method on his own. Must be genetic. Can't wait until we get to squares and cubes!

Google Earth lets you download and explore Ancient Rome. You'll have to download the application.


H/T Melissa Wiley for the Google link.

Labels: children, education, Friday Fun, P, X

Baby X went to the doctor today for a well child checkup, and since this blog is also my family record and journal, here are the stats.

Weight - 24 lbs, 10 oz. - 25%
Height - 32 inches - 50%
Head Circumference - 90%

Blood Pressure - 96/64, - 95% (but not off the charts! Yay!)

Oh, and the doctor refuses to treat him and asked me to cancel all of my other children's well-child checkups because we follow an alternate vaccination schedule. An alternate schedule devised by myself and our previous pediatrician! It's a huge practice with several locations.

Nice, Texas Children's Pediatrics. You discriminate against patients who have adverse reactions to medication. Real nice.

Does he know it took me 35 minutes on the phone to schedule all of those appointments in the first place?

Labels: health, Rants and Raves, vaccines, X

I tell my kids that I see everything, but they never believe me.


How did Mom know Miss E ate all the apples and half the bag of Tootsie Rolls?

Yes, when I buy fruit I have to hide it, or else they'll gorge themselves the first day and we'll have nothing for the rest of the week.


Baby X has discovered the joys of turning the lights on and off.


Every time I turned around, he had dragged the chair over again and was flicking it on-off-on-off.


How did I know what he was up to? It's a mystery.

On another shenanigans note, it finally happened. Miss C ate an oleander flower. After calling poison control (FOUR different numbers, the one listed in the phone book and online were disconnected) they told me that she'd have to eat half a pound's worth before she had ill effects. Good to know!

Labels: C, children, E, Family Life, X

Please prepare yourself for gratuitous family picture posting.

What personality are you? A lion? An otter? Choleric? INTJ? Huh? There are as many scales as there are books for sale on the topic.

Labels: C, E, Family Life, Friday Fun, S, V, X

1. Blogging may be light today. Then again, I may hide research online all day, so you never know.

Husband dear is home with a stomach ick. I have a summer cold. Miss C had a bug on Saturday, that included 1 day of throwing up and three days of hives; Miss E caught it at 2 am Wednesday morning.

Yesterday I spent the day doing the nasty Mommy chores of cleaning up various bodily fluids.

My big boys discovered that if you get sidewalk chalk wet, you can paint on your body with it. The house is destroyed. The boys are bored. I need to finish planning the school year so we can start in two weeks. I don't have enough time or energy or pens.


And yet I can't help sighing. Baby X is 16 months old, and there's not a new baby in sight. I've started getting nostalgic. He's outgrown his baby clothes, and I'm packing them up instead of leaving them out, as I usually do, for the next one coming.

I'm usually pregnant by the baby's first birthday. We've never *not* had a baby in the house, but I just realized that even if I got pregnant *today*, Baby X would be two years old before the new one was born.

Baby X weaned last month, for good. I never nursed a baby for so long, and he was such a goof about nursing. He liked to stand up, or straddle my leg like a horse. He didn't want to be cradled like a baby - he's a kid! Or at least he thinks so.

He's so ready to grow up, and I so want him to stay little.

He eats with a fork and can drink without a lid. He sees the camera and knows to ham it up. He answers the phone. He can open jars and loves peanut butter (Heaven help me!) He's a big boy, now.


I'm not yearning yet, or even pining. Just sighing for another little one. I'm just selfish, I guess.

Labels: Family Life, X

Miss C is coming right along with the potty training. I shamelessly bribe her with tic tacs and Pez.

Making the bathroom easily accessible to the two year old is a bonus for the one year old. He's found a new toy!

Labels: Family Life, X

I was tagged by Proverbs 31 to tell you 8 random things about my kitchen forever ago - I didn't forget!

My life is pretty random, and I don't know if it's interesting enough for a post - here goes. Try not to fall asleep.

1. I have some really big pots, and I know how to use them. I bought husband dear a 24" wok from a restaurant store last year for Christmas, and he knows how to use it!


2. This house has the biggest kitchen I've ever had, but I still needed more storage. I have a bookshelf that holds my potatoes, etc., cookbooks, mixing bowls, and dishtowels; a dresser holds my small appliances, tupperwares, misc. supplies, and a whole drawer taken up by tea.

3. A few years ago, I saw a flat topped stove in a store and decided that was the perfect solution to a messy kitchen. I always wanted one, and now I finally have one! And the are terrible. I hate it. If I spill anything while cooking, it instantly sears to cooktop. Heaven help me if I let the noodles boil over! There is nowhere for the water to go, so it covers the entire stovetop before dripping to the floor - boiling hot.

4. I have a naked woman on my counter. Okay, it's really a vintage tin from Godiva chocolates, and you can't really tell she's naked because of the hair and all. I keep Mr R's vitamins in it.

5. I do not own a food processor, an electric can opener, or a blender. My waffle maker gets lots of use, as does my coffee pot! The coffee pot is the only appliance that gets left out and plugged in all the time (since the demise of the crockpot, that is!) I'm intrinsically lazy, so I make waffles on the waffle maker and then make "waffle eggs" to go with it - it saves washing the scrambled egg pan.

6. The smallest "kitchen" I ever had was when we lived in a motel for two months. We plugged our microwave and crockpot in on top of the dresser, and paid $15 extra a week for a small fridge. Dishes had to be washed in the bathtub. The kids got used to powdered milk - I would mix up one quart in the morning, and it's all that would fit in the little fridge! You can cook anything in a crockpot.

7. Every year in September, husband dear likes to buy a couple of bushels of green chiles, roast them, and then freeze them. The smell of peppers cooking makes me sick - luckily, I was spared this year because no one sells green chiles on the side of the road in SC. I have been made sick by the smell of boiled peanuts and ONE WHOLE CAN of salt. Husband dear also makes other weird things that I won't touch (but that the kids love), including tripe menudo and tako. Tako is raw octopus steeped in soy sauce, kind of like ceviche. No thanks. Husband dear likes to cook, but we don't really cook together. My dishes might get cooties.

8. I cook by the seat of my pants. My recipes go something like this: Add about the same amount of rice and milk. Stir in some sugar (rice pudding) or pour milk over it like cereal (scalloped potatoes). I think this is an inherited trait, as I have a family recipe for oatmeal cookies that instructs "add milk until it [the dough] is juicy". The only thing I really use recipes for are baking. I also substitute A LOT. Maybe too much!

I tag my most faithful commenters who also have blogs: Daja, Birdie, Mom2Fur, Heather, and Barb SFO.

And any one else that wants to play! Leave a note in the comments if you do it and I'll take a peek.

Labels: Better Budget Challenge, Bible Study, cooking, Friday Fun, homemaking, Meme, V, X

He's here!


His feet are longer than my middle finger! He definitely belongs to me... I'm a size 10 (11 in heels).


Here's how Baby C feels about the new baby:


Here's how Baby C feels about me.

Labels: children, Family Life, X