Pretty fun week this week, except that Morgan has found love for the computer and can't be left alone with it for 30 seconds. Tuesday he managed to pry the f key off my keyboard, so now there's just a little stubby thing that is hard to type with. Today I went to the bathroom and while I was gone he was busy signing up all his friends onto aol.
Tuesday morning Morgan went to his first play group and, according to the teachers, had the best first day they had ever seen. The kids were mostly younger than him, but he had a very good time and participated in circle time and did all the hand motions to the songs, etc etc.
Yesterday we put the kids in the wagon and went for a walk around the neighborhood. Timothy walked once we got to the sidewalks, so the pace was relatively slow, and he insisted on stopping at all the stop signs. Then we came home and rode bikes for a while and played red light green light, which Timothy finally got the hang of, but Morgan understood to be exactly the opposite of the way the game was meant to be played, so whenever I said red light, he laughed and ran straight for me.
Both kids ate pb&j sandwiches for lunch, which doesn't sound like a big deal but we've been trying to get them to eat sandwiches for some time now and have to thank Raffi for his rendition of "peanut butter sandwich made with jam". Then Josh and I retired to the porch for a couple minutes and when we returned, Morgan had wrapped himself in a blanket and fallen asleep on the couch. Poor kid, just can't yet make it through the day without a nap. We've found a way to wake him up without him freaking out, so we only let him sleep for a hour, but it still means he plays in his room until about 10pm, while Timothy is usually zonked by 8:30.
I slept until almost 10:30 yesterday morning and was just making coffee when the phone rang and it was some guy from work who I'd never heard of (knew his boss, but she was on vacation and he needed help). So talked him off a ledge for a half hour or so (after complaining that I hadn't even had coffee yet and didn't even work in the office under these conditions) and then asked him who was passing my number around the office. He had called information. Well, points for problem solving I suppose, but told him to burn my number.
Josh is in the kitchen playing crazy songs on the keyboard while Morgan sings at the top of his lungs. hysterical.
Let's see, what else. Timothy and I spent yesterday afternoon watching old game shows on the game show network. Press Your Luck, Let's Make a Deal, etc. He loves press your luck, I think because he gets to shout 'big money big money, no whammies' at the top of his lungs. I'm such a good parent aren't I?
WE ARE SPECIAL, WE ARE WEIRD, BUT WE ARE NOT ALONE
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Monday, November 4, 2002
Life's still whizzing by around here. I was at least able to make it home at an early enough hour last Thursday to go trick or treating, which Timothy enjoyed. He doesn't get oh so excited about the chocolate, but the kid loves lollipops like you wouldnlt believe. You'd think he's hit the lotto and was set for life! Timothy went as a football player. Morgan didn't join us as he was still under the weather, and wouldn't put on his costume. He didn't seem to care though. Timothy also loved answering the door and insisted on holding the bowl of candy while the kids picked what they wanted.
Morgan is starting to get the hang of using words. Tonight Timothy kicked him off the couch and he said "no! no! no!", so that was very encouraging. Saturday night he was playing with me on the couch and did something I can't remember anymore and wouldn't stop so I spanked him and put him down. He ran to Josh for comfort, who wouldn't give it and told him he had to go tell mommy sorry. Back he came and climbed in my lap. He pointed at himself with two fingers and said "uh-oh" and then gave me a kiss. Is that cute or what?!
Morgan has taken to singing. Ok, most would not call it singing. I had my mom listen when she was on the phone. "do you hear him singing?" I said. "I hear someone yelling" she said. He sits in the kitchen where we keep the keyboard (well where else would you put it?) and plays jingle bells (thank you elmo) on one note while singing at the top of his lungs holding the last note as long as he can.
I had Timothy's parent teacher conference today. They didn't recommend therapy so I guess it went well. They said he spent the first month mostly observing, and is starting to interact with the other kids but hasn't quite figured out how to play WITH the kids instead of taking the toys away from them. Still, they seemed to think he was getting there and recommended we try to invite one of his closer friends over for more one on ones. I got to read his journal. He draws all his people with belly buttons. there was a picture of me next to which said "that's mommy, she's going to work". Then there was Josh "that's daddy he likes to go shopping". Then Morgan "that's Morgan. he's sad because he doesn't like to go to my school". Then Timothy (he spells his name Timmy now) "that's me. I know the letters for mommy, daddy, and Morgan too". There were also pages from September that were mostly scribbles, so he's definitely showing improvement. He has trouble with Ms, but the rest of his letters look pretty good. the teachers asked me about wheel of fortune. Giving my forehead a slap, I explained that my weird kid has always liked game shows - now he's addicted to Nick GAS which is reruns of kid game shows from the early 90s. They said that it was impressive he knew vowels from consonants since that's a 1st grade skill. Well, at least tv has some redeeming qualities!
Morgan has finally started playing the computer and knows how to say bear game. He loves the animals on the farm part and has learned new sounds for old macdonald (my favorite is the snake as he does a very good hiss). Unfortunately, he does things to the computer that we're not sure how he does them, but end up weird, so we have to be careful when he plays. He's also taken quite a liking to wheel of fortune, and repeats all the letters and cheers whole heartedly for the winner. There may be hope for him yet!
Both boys adore the Raffi video we have. Timothy's memorized all the songs, plus the commentary in between, so he can pretty much give the whole concert from start to finish, which will come in handy if the power ever goes out.
I guess that's it from here.
Morgan is starting to get the hang of using words. Tonight Timothy kicked him off the couch and he said "no! no! no!", so that was very encouraging. Saturday night he was playing with me on the couch and did something I can't remember anymore and wouldn't stop so I spanked him and put him down. He ran to Josh for comfort, who wouldn't give it and told him he had to go tell mommy sorry. Back he came and climbed in my lap. He pointed at himself with two fingers and said "uh-oh" and then gave me a kiss. Is that cute or what?!
Morgan has taken to singing. Ok, most would not call it singing. I had my mom listen when she was on the phone. "do you hear him singing?" I said. "I hear someone yelling" she said. He sits in the kitchen where we keep the keyboard (well where else would you put it?) and plays jingle bells (thank you elmo) on one note while singing at the top of his lungs holding the last note as long as he can.
I had Timothy's parent teacher conference today. They didn't recommend therapy so I guess it went well. They said he spent the first month mostly observing, and is starting to interact with the other kids but hasn't quite figured out how to play WITH the kids instead of taking the toys away from them. Still, they seemed to think he was getting there and recommended we try to invite one of his closer friends over for more one on ones. I got to read his journal. He draws all his people with belly buttons. there was a picture of me next to which said "that's mommy, she's going to work". Then there was Josh "that's daddy he likes to go shopping". Then Morgan "that's Morgan. he's sad because he doesn't like to go to my school". Then Timothy (he spells his name Timmy now) "that's me. I know the letters for mommy, daddy, and Morgan too". There were also pages from September that were mostly scribbles, so he's definitely showing improvement. He has trouble with Ms, but the rest of his letters look pretty good. the teachers asked me about wheel of fortune. Giving my forehead a slap, I explained that my weird kid has always liked game shows - now he's addicted to Nick GAS which is reruns of kid game shows from the early 90s. They said that it was impressive he knew vowels from consonants since that's a 1st grade skill. Well, at least tv has some redeeming qualities!
Morgan has finally started playing the computer and knows how to say bear game. He loves the animals on the farm part and has learned new sounds for old macdonald (my favorite is the snake as he does a very good hiss). Unfortunately, he does things to the computer that we're not sure how he does them, but end up weird, so we have to be careful when he plays. He's also taken quite a liking to wheel of fortune, and repeats all the letters and cheers whole heartedly for the winner. There may be hope for him yet!
Both boys adore the Raffi video we have. Timothy's memorized all the songs, plus the commentary in between, so he can pretty much give the whole concert from start to finish, which will come in handy if the power ever goes out.
I guess that's it from here.
Sunday, September 29, 2002
Yesterday we decided to play a game that combined Morgan's love of music with his love of walking in circles - yup, musical chairs! Of course, we played the non-competitive style where there's a chair for both boys, but it was nice to see Morgan catching on so quickly. Several times later in the day he brought me a chair because he wanted to play more. It was pretty cute especially a couple times when he liked the song so much he had to stop walking to dance for a moment, and then continue on.
Timothy much more cared about "winning", so he got to win as long as he was the first to sit down, which is not much of an effort since Morgan always waited for Timothy to pick a chair first and then took whatever was left. Still, Timothy concentrated on strategy by walking next to Morgan on the inside and making Morgan take the outer lap. On Elisabeth's advice I was trying to get Morgan to say 'go' before I'd start the music again, but Timothy knew if he said 'ready, set' then Morgan's "go" would quickly follow, so once seated, Morgan would look at Timothy, Timothy would say 'ready, set', Morgan would say "go" and the music would start up again. I don't think that's quite what I was shooting for, but it was cute none the less.
I went to the open house at Timothyls pre-school this week. It's a cute little house with the downstairs turned into a pre-school and the upstairs is an office. I got to meet some moms and got to chat with the teachers. I signed up for a parent conference in november and got to write a note to Timothy in his journal.
Timothy is really starting to sound out words. he can do most 3 letter words and is having some luck with 4 letters. It's fun to watch the lightbulb go on.
Morgan was up last night when I went to bed. Actually, he wasn't up, he was asleep under Timothy's bed with just his feet sticking out and when I went to move him, he woke up. So I let him out with me and changed him. In our room he found a remnant dorito leftover from Joshls earlier snack, and it was like a magnet to his hand. "mmmm," he said "yum yum". As he bit it, a piece fell to the floor. "uh-oh". I tried to take him in bed with me but he can only sleep if he gets to put his fingers in my eyes and up my nose, apparently, so Josh came up and put him back to bed.
It's chilly today. Josh is off golfing with Tim. When we got up this morning, Timothy's first agenda item was to run into the kitchen and turn on golf.
"Daddy's watching championship golf today" he said. So the Ryder Cup is playing to no audience in the kitchen. Morgan's weraing his patriots sweatsuit and looking very cute. Timothy's wearing his "favorite shirt" (the first one he's had, and he refers to that shirt alone as his favorite).
I guess that's about it from here. Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend.
Timothy much more cared about "winning", so he got to win as long as he was the first to sit down, which is not much of an effort since Morgan always waited for Timothy to pick a chair first and then took whatever was left. Still, Timothy concentrated on strategy by walking next to Morgan on the inside and making Morgan take the outer lap. On Elisabeth's advice I was trying to get Morgan to say 'go' before I'd start the music again, but Timothy knew if he said 'ready, set' then Morgan's "go" would quickly follow, so once seated, Morgan would look at Timothy, Timothy would say 'ready, set', Morgan would say "go" and the music would start up again. I don't think that's quite what I was shooting for, but it was cute none the less.
I went to the open house at Timothyls pre-school this week. It's a cute little house with the downstairs turned into a pre-school and the upstairs is an office. I got to meet some moms and got to chat with the teachers. I signed up for a parent conference in november and got to write a note to Timothy in his journal.
Timothy is really starting to sound out words. he can do most 3 letter words and is having some luck with 4 letters. It's fun to watch the lightbulb go on.
Morgan was up last night when I went to bed. Actually, he wasn't up, he was asleep under Timothy's bed with just his feet sticking out and when I went to move him, he woke up. So I let him out with me and changed him. In our room he found a remnant dorito leftover from Joshls earlier snack, and it was like a magnet to his hand. "mmmm," he said "yum yum". As he bit it, a piece fell to the floor. "uh-oh". I tried to take him in bed with me but he can only sleep if he gets to put his fingers in my eyes and up my nose, apparently, so Josh came up and put him back to bed.
It's chilly today. Josh is off golfing with Tim. When we got up this morning, Timothy's first agenda item was to run into the kitchen and turn on golf.
"Daddy's watching championship golf today" he said. So the Ryder Cup is playing to no audience in the kitchen. Morgan's weraing his patriots sweatsuit and looking very cute. Timothy's wearing his "favorite shirt" (the first one he's had, and he refers to that shirt alone as his favorite).
I guess that's about it from here. Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend.
Sunday, September 22, 2002
Ahhhh the family car trip. (of course, Josh says 4 hours is not a family car trip, but to me it is). We went to Josh's folks this weekend. let me summarize the trip down for you:
"Mommy, where we are?" "New York"
"Ohhh (whining, tears welling) I thought we are going to Philadelphia!"
"We are going to Philadelphia." .....
"Mommy, where we are?"
"It's where are we"
"Yeah where we are"
"New Jersey"
"What's New Jersey"
"A state"
"What's a state?"
"Like Connecticut"
"But I don't want to go back to Connecticut!" .....
"Mommy, where we are?"
"The highway"
"Oh"
On the upside, we learned that Morgan LOVES bridges. As Josh and I looked at each other to congratulate ourselves for finally making him happy, we realized, who's watching the road?
Once there, the kids were on their most perfect behavior, obviously so that were we to ever complain about them, Joshls parents would think us crazy and the wimpiest of parents. Timothy sat quietly at the dinner table, said Amen in all the right places, and blessed the bread perfectly, in Hebrew. Morgan walked in circles. He stopped at each round to do battle with a house plant Susan made the mistake of leaving out. It was much of a battle and the plant was very glad to see us leave.
Saturday night Timothy went to shul with Susan and Jonathan. For some reason he was scared leaving us and was working hard to fight back tears as he waved from the backseat of the car "bye mommy, see you soon", trying his best to smile though his voice quivered and I could see tears welling in his eyes. "have fun Timothy, see you soon" I said, with my voice also quivering and my eyes also filling with tears.
His attempt at bravery both broke my heart and made me off the charts proud at the same time. As Susan started the car, I saw Morgan's head bob behind it in the driveway. "Holy crap" I yelled and darted for him. What kind of a parent am I? It was enough to send me over the edge and after the car was safely out of sight I stood in the driveway and cried. Of course I knew he'd have a fabulous time and be the life of the party, which was indeed the case when he got home.
He had gotten to stand at the torah with grandpa in front of the whole congregation, while grandpa read, and he loved every minute. He walked an elderly lady to her car and gave her a hug and as he walked back with grandma, he said "that was fun" and the elderly lady will be happy for days to come that he had fun giving her a hug. He stood with the other kids at the dessert table and carefully made his pick, and had white grape juice to go with it. And grandma and grandpa won't stop talking about it for months to come I'm sure, and I'm certainly glad I didn't go racing after the car and drag him out, but even now, even now, and perhaps forever, I'll remember it and cry.
So this morning it was time to come home, at which point Timothy dutifully cried and said he never wanted to leave (and then jumped in the car and asked for a movie - that kid can really work a room). Morgan just cried (mostly from lack of sleep as he had woken up at midnight and not gone back to sleep until 2:30, or rather that's when I finally went to sleep so who knows when he did, though I didn't sleep all that well with his foot in my butt and his head at my feet, but whatever). Perhaps he was going to miss the much slumped over house plan that he had made friends with, much like Lenny made friends with the bunnies. Susan took a roll of 36 pictures in under 30 minutes while Josh shoveled all our stuff into the car, and we were off.
I don't think I need to summarize our trip home - just skip to the top and read it again. except that we stopped at McDonalds on the way for pancakes and I jumped out to use the bathroom while Josh went through the drive thru and when I got back Timothy had tears streaming down his face because he thought I was leaving. So the next time we stopped (yes, 5 cups of coffee with do that for you), I took him with me and he was quite happy at that. Of course, it took me several minutes to properly wipe down the seat (how is it women can get that much pee on a seat??) and I decided to use the toilet paper cover thingy and forgot it was an auto-flusher so when I turned to get Timothy, the toilet flushed and sucked the cover thing down. oh well, I'll teach him about hygiene another time.
As we neared home, we heard something that sounded like Timothy singing coming from the back seat. Keeping our eyes directly on the road so as not to cause him to stop, we lowered the radio and had a listen. It went a little something like this:
"follow me, everything is alright. I'll be the one to tuck you in at night, and if you want to leave I can guarantee you won't find nobody else like me"
Nicely put. Of course, you donlt get the full effect without a demonstration. Very animated.
Well, Morgan is tucked into bed to finish his nap and Timothy wants a turn on the computer. I want a turn on the couch, so I think that's enough from me.
"Mommy, where we are?" "New York"
"Ohhh (whining, tears welling) I thought we are going to Philadelphia!"
"We are going to Philadelphia." .....
"Mommy, where we are?"
"It's where are we"
"Yeah where we are"
"New Jersey"
"What's New Jersey"
"A state"
"What's a state?"
"Like Connecticut"
"But I don't want to go back to Connecticut!" .....
"Mommy, where we are?"
"The highway"
"Oh"
On the upside, we learned that Morgan LOVES bridges. As Josh and I looked at each other to congratulate ourselves for finally making him happy, we realized, who's watching the road?
Once there, the kids were on their most perfect behavior, obviously so that were we to ever complain about them, Joshls parents would think us crazy and the wimpiest of parents. Timothy sat quietly at the dinner table, said Amen in all the right places, and blessed the bread perfectly, in Hebrew. Morgan walked in circles. He stopped at each round to do battle with a house plant Susan made the mistake of leaving out. It was much of a battle and the plant was very glad to see us leave.
Saturday night Timothy went to shul with Susan and Jonathan. For some reason he was scared leaving us and was working hard to fight back tears as he waved from the backseat of the car "bye mommy, see you soon", trying his best to smile though his voice quivered and I could see tears welling in his eyes. "have fun Timothy, see you soon" I said, with my voice also quivering and my eyes also filling with tears.
His attempt at bravery both broke my heart and made me off the charts proud at the same time. As Susan started the car, I saw Morgan's head bob behind it in the driveway. "Holy crap" I yelled and darted for him. What kind of a parent am I? It was enough to send me over the edge and after the car was safely out of sight I stood in the driveway and cried. Of course I knew he'd have a fabulous time and be the life of the party, which was indeed the case when he got home.
He had gotten to stand at the torah with grandpa in front of the whole congregation, while grandpa read, and he loved every minute. He walked an elderly lady to her car and gave her a hug and as he walked back with grandma, he said "that was fun" and the elderly lady will be happy for days to come that he had fun giving her a hug. He stood with the other kids at the dessert table and carefully made his pick, and had white grape juice to go with it. And grandma and grandpa won't stop talking about it for months to come I'm sure, and I'm certainly glad I didn't go racing after the car and drag him out, but even now, even now, and perhaps forever, I'll remember it and cry.
So this morning it was time to come home, at which point Timothy dutifully cried and said he never wanted to leave (and then jumped in the car and asked for a movie - that kid can really work a room). Morgan just cried (mostly from lack of sleep as he had woken up at midnight and not gone back to sleep until 2:30, or rather that's when I finally went to sleep so who knows when he did, though I didn't sleep all that well with his foot in my butt and his head at my feet, but whatever). Perhaps he was going to miss the much slumped over house plan that he had made friends with, much like Lenny made friends with the bunnies. Susan took a roll of 36 pictures in under 30 minutes while Josh shoveled all our stuff into the car, and we were off.
I don't think I need to summarize our trip home - just skip to the top and read it again. except that we stopped at McDonalds on the way for pancakes and I jumped out to use the bathroom while Josh went through the drive thru and when I got back Timothy had tears streaming down his face because he thought I was leaving. So the next time we stopped (yes, 5 cups of coffee with do that for you), I took him with me and he was quite happy at that. Of course, it took me several minutes to properly wipe down the seat (how is it women can get that much pee on a seat??) and I decided to use the toilet paper cover thingy and forgot it was an auto-flusher so when I turned to get Timothy, the toilet flushed and sucked the cover thing down. oh well, I'll teach him about hygiene another time.
As we neared home, we heard something that sounded like Timothy singing coming from the back seat. Keeping our eyes directly on the road so as not to cause him to stop, we lowered the radio and had a listen. It went a little something like this:
"follow me, everything is alright. I'll be the one to tuck you in at night, and if you want to leave I can guarantee you won't find nobody else like me"
Nicely put. Of course, you donlt get the full effect without a demonstration. Very animated.
Well, Morgan is tucked into bed to finish his nap and Timothy wants a turn on the computer. I want a turn on the couch, so I think that's enough from me.
Sunday, September 15, 2002
My face is chapped from Morgan-kisses. it's the kind of pain that doesn't hurt, it instead makes everything feel better. He's been giving me lots of hugs and kisses this weekend, which has been very nice. Timothy too, of course, but he is always willing and Morgan sometimes less so. I got the kids superman pajamas today, complete with cape. I put Morgan's on and he loved it. He ran about and then ran over to kiss me, except I was trying to get Timothy's on at the time, so he had to grab my head and twist it sideways to make contact. Strong kid that Morgan. Once they were both suited up, they raced in circles around the house, first chasing Josh and then each other. Morgan found this especially entertaining, and was running so fast and so long that he actually started breathing hard. It must've been over 20 minutes that they kept it up. Timothy was sweating. Josh tired much quicker, but instead would stand in a doorway and jump out at them at each round, at which point they would scream with delight and both jump and hug him.
Last night we played hide'n'seek in the dark. Timothy's getting the hang of hiding, and Morgan likes to count to 10. Unfortunately, we were dogsitting Abbey, and she was an excellent seeker, not at all deterred by the darkness. No matter where we hid, she was there within seconds, wagging her tail and completely giving us away. ah well.
Mom was down today and we hit Target. I needed some clothes for Timothy, and then we did some early xmas shopping. I shopped for Ruby, since she's the funnest, and we got some stuff for the boys as well. Great prices. then we had lunch at Friendly's. I hadn't eaten out in the longest time and had been missing it. We had great service, which was odd at best. anyway, then we came back and did the wrapping. Timothy pouted when grandma left because he wanted to go with her. He's going up Wednesday to spend the day at "grandma's school".
I feel much relaxed after the weekend. I had to talk myself out of just going into work several times, but I'm glad I did. I needed the break. another tough week, but it should be a little better. I'm trying to get down to 9 hour days, as I think that would be quite pleasant.
Last night we played hide'n'seek in the dark. Timothy's getting the hang of hiding, and Morgan likes to count to 10. Unfortunately, we were dogsitting Abbey, and she was an excellent seeker, not at all deterred by the darkness. No matter where we hid, she was there within seconds, wagging her tail and completely giving us away. ah well.
Mom was down today and we hit Target. I needed some clothes for Timothy, and then we did some early xmas shopping. I shopped for Ruby, since she's the funnest, and we got some stuff for the boys as well. Great prices. then we had lunch at Friendly's. I hadn't eaten out in the longest time and had been missing it. We had great service, which was odd at best. anyway, then we came back and did the wrapping. Timothy pouted when grandma left because he wanted to go with her. He's going up Wednesday to spend the day at "grandma's school".
I feel much relaxed after the weekend. I had to talk myself out of just going into work several times, but I'm glad I did. I needed the break. another tough week, but it should be a little better. I'm trying to get down to 9 hour days, as I think that would be quite pleasant.
Monday, September 9, 2002
Yesterday was a red letter day for Timothy. We went to the Wapping Fair, which is just a local once a year thing with rides and animals and games and such. We go every year and regret it every year because the kids scream and won't go on the rides and won't go near the animals and we give all our tickets to whatever family we see on our way out. Still, each year I hope it will be different - and this year it was!
Morgan only screamed on the way in, which was nice, and was generally quiet in his stroller the rest of the time (except the animals part, which he still was having no part of). Timothy, on the other hand, was captain daring! First he played two games, for which he won a stuffed dog with a red sox outfit on that made him very happy. Then he decided he wanted to go on the merry go round, which he did happily. He picked the horse he wanted, one that went up and down (which I warned him about) and as I stood there next to him, he gleefully waved at Josh and Morgan as he rode! When it stopped, he said he wanted to go again.
I asked if he'd like to look for another ride first and he agreed to that. So next there was a mini-train thing that went in about a 1 a foot oval track at a pace even Morgan could outrun, but he got on all by himself after waiting patiently in line, let the lady buckle him in, and waved around every turn! Next he decided to get a little braver and try the cars that go round and round, but at a much quicker pace. Again, he went by himself and let the lady strap him in. The ride started with quite a lunge and I was sure that would be the end of it, but he got over it in 0.3 seconds and grabbed the steering wheel and pretended to drive. "Watch this mommy!" he screamed as he came around, leaning into the steering wheel and driving wildly. I was so proud I almost cried.
I tried to get him into the animal area, which he was not into, but put up with for about 2 minutes since I told him then we could go on another ride. I got him to watch a little girl that was going for a pony ride, but she got scared and wouldn't go on the pony, so that wasn't the best choice. So he wasn't going for the pony ride, and didn't like the big fire dalmation in the costume, or the fire truck itself, but he did brave the port-a-potty, which was definately the scariest ride there. After that he dragged me back to the rides and wanted to go on the tilt-a-whirl! "Are you sure?" I said. He was sure, so on we went, and we even spun around, and he loved it.
By then Morgan had had enough (it was quite warm out yesterday and Timothy had been sick and Morgan was starting to get it), so we went home. Timothy asked me to carry him to the car, which is very unusual, so he was plenty tired. He rode home with his stuffed dog and a soda, and a big smile. "That was fun, Mommy, we had fun." Yes, yes we did.
Morgan has learned how to work the pictures on the fridge. At his therapist's suggestion, we put up pictures of a cup, milk, yogurt, etc etc and the theory is he'll take what he wants and give it to Josh, and get the actual item in return. He's caught on quite quickly, and has been ordering up a storm today. He's started saying more words, like Mandy and book and sings to himself all the time. He reads books where he babbles as he turns each page and then claps for himself when he's done.
Josh had the boys in the doctor's office last week waiting for the doctor to fill out Timothy's pre-school form and Morgan was doing his usual laps around the chairs, eye-ing the new baby in the carrier with each turn, so Josh was eyeing Morgan. Josh isn't as quick as he used to be, obviously, because Morgan went right over to the baby and (gently) touched him on the face. Josh lept and grabbed him back, fearing the mother must have been appauled (especially in a doctor's office where he could be sick with any number of things!). I thought it was a cute story, but Josh was horribly embarassed.
I guess that's about it from here.
Morgan only screamed on the way in, which was nice, and was generally quiet in his stroller the rest of the time (except the animals part, which he still was having no part of). Timothy, on the other hand, was captain daring! First he played two games, for which he won a stuffed dog with a red sox outfit on that made him very happy. Then he decided he wanted to go on the merry go round, which he did happily. He picked the horse he wanted, one that went up and down (which I warned him about) and as I stood there next to him, he gleefully waved at Josh and Morgan as he rode! When it stopped, he said he wanted to go again.
I asked if he'd like to look for another ride first and he agreed to that. So next there was a mini-train thing that went in about a 1 a foot oval track at a pace even Morgan could outrun, but he got on all by himself after waiting patiently in line, let the lady buckle him in, and waved around every turn! Next he decided to get a little braver and try the cars that go round and round, but at a much quicker pace. Again, he went by himself and let the lady strap him in. The ride started with quite a lunge and I was sure that would be the end of it, but he got over it in 0.3 seconds and grabbed the steering wheel and pretended to drive. "Watch this mommy!" he screamed as he came around, leaning into the steering wheel and driving wildly. I was so proud I almost cried.
I tried to get him into the animal area, which he was not into, but put up with for about 2 minutes since I told him then we could go on another ride. I got him to watch a little girl that was going for a pony ride, but she got scared and wouldn't go on the pony, so that wasn't the best choice. So he wasn't going for the pony ride, and didn't like the big fire dalmation in the costume, or the fire truck itself, but he did brave the port-a-potty, which was definately the scariest ride there. After that he dragged me back to the rides and wanted to go on the tilt-a-whirl! "Are you sure?" I said. He was sure, so on we went, and we even spun around, and he loved it.
By then Morgan had had enough (it was quite warm out yesterday and Timothy had been sick and Morgan was starting to get it), so we went home. Timothy asked me to carry him to the car, which is very unusual, so he was plenty tired. He rode home with his stuffed dog and a soda, and a big smile. "That was fun, Mommy, we had fun." Yes, yes we did.
Morgan has learned how to work the pictures on the fridge. At his therapist's suggestion, we put up pictures of a cup, milk, yogurt, etc etc and the theory is he'll take what he wants and give it to Josh, and get the actual item in return. He's caught on quite quickly, and has been ordering up a storm today. He's started saying more words, like Mandy and book and sings to himself all the time. He reads books where he babbles as he turns each page and then claps for himself when he's done.
Josh had the boys in the doctor's office last week waiting for the doctor to fill out Timothy's pre-school form and Morgan was doing his usual laps around the chairs, eye-ing the new baby in the carrier with each turn, so Josh was eyeing Morgan. Josh isn't as quick as he used to be, obviously, because Morgan went right over to the baby and (gently) touched him on the face. Josh lept and grabbed him back, fearing the mother must have been appauled (especially in a doctor's office where he could be sick with any number of things!). I thought it was a cute story, but Josh was horribly embarassed.
I guess that's about it from here.
Saturday, August 31, 2002
This was a busy and stressful week, but luckily I have a high tolerance for stress. Still, pretty soon I'm going to start cracking under the pressure. I'm working 10-12 hours a day, plus 30-60 minutes commute time, so I haven't even checked email since Tuesday. The next 2 weeks should be the worst, and then things should get somewhat back to normal (although my EA laughed at me when I said that).
Morgan's therapist came this week and he loved her and did all the games and stuff that she wanted him to. She said she was pleasantly surprised with his abilities after having read his evaluation, so I took that as a good sign. She won't be here this week, because we're scheduled for Mondays for one hour, but she'll be here next week.
Morgan's making a lot of progress even without that though. Josh took him to the post office yesterday and he didn't cry, which is huge. This weekend we might try going for ice cream. He's talking more as well. Timothy gets him to say words. He goes up to Morgan and says 'Morgan, say bubble' and when Morgan says it, Timothy says 'goooood'. It's pretty cute.
Timothy starts his new pre-school on Tuesday and is very excited. I have a feeling Morgan will miss him! they went for a visit to the school this week and they both loved it and again, Morgan didn't even cry.
well, the monsters want a snack ...
Morgan's therapist came this week and he loved her and did all the games and stuff that she wanted him to. She said she was pleasantly surprised with his abilities after having read his evaluation, so I took that as a good sign. She won't be here this week, because we're scheduled for Mondays for one hour, but she'll be here next week.
Morgan's making a lot of progress even without that though. Josh took him to the post office yesterday and he didn't cry, which is huge. This weekend we might try going for ice cream. He's talking more as well. Timothy gets him to say words. He goes up to Morgan and says 'Morgan, say bubble' and when Morgan says it, Timothy says 'goooood'. It's pretty cute.
Timothy starts his new pre-school on Tuesday and is very excited. I have a feeling Morgan will miss him! they went for a visit to the school this week and they both loved it and again, Morgan didn't even cry.
well, the monsters want a snack ...
Saturday, August 24, 2002
We had the most fabulous vacation ever. The kids played together, the weather was great, everything was perfect (except that the water was only knee deep, but you can't have everything!). Morgan was cheerful and sunny all week (except when we tried to go to Naples and ride some of those little cars, at which point he screamed, so we bought fudge and went home).
Then, of course, since not everything could be perfect, we decided to come home. The traffic was one thing, but as we were going thru the NH toll, I looked at Josh and said 'what's that smell?' It smelled sort of like spoiled milk and burning engine mixed together. Josh said it must be the truck beside us, but after passing the truck, it did not get better. 'Maybe it's Morgan' he says. 'Yeah right,' I say, turning around to check. Yeah right was right, all down his leg and in a flood in his car seat. So we pull off at the next exit and Josh gets to clean Morgan while I clean the car. I don't know that I got the better deal. Then we stop at McDonalds to try to override the smell in the car and on the way out Josh's drink spills all over me. so I get to ride home sticky with Coke and the car still smells and the fries didn't have any salt (what the heck??). Oh well, we were home just 2.5 hours later, so we left at 9am and got home about 1:30, not too bad. In MA people kept coming to a stop on the highway for no darn good reason and just as we were going to complain about it, they'd start again. Whatever!
Got some great pictures from the week. Timothy decided that he loves water now and kept asking to try the ski-doos they had next door. He'd stay in the lake until he turned purple and then sit with me on the chair for a while wrapped in a towel. Morgan put his whole face in the water, but mostly enjoyed covering himself with mud. I read the Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, which wasn't too bad, and an Erma Bombeck book which was HYSTERICAL!! Josh thought I was crazy, I just sat there and laughed and laughed. I think it only took me a couple hours to read. Josh enjoyed being king of the remote, which he doesn't get to do at home much.
Well, the unpacking will wait. I've got to rest from my vacation!
Then, of course, since not everything could be perfect, we decided to come home. The traffic was one thing, but as we were going thru the NH toll, I looked at Josh and said 'what's that smell?' It smelled sort of like spoiled milk and burning engine mixed together. Josh said it must be the truck beside us, but after passing the truck, it did not get better. 'Maybe it's Morgan' he says. 'Yeah right,' I say, turning around to check. Yeah right was right, all down his leg and in a flood in his car seat. So we pull off at the next exit and Josh gets to clean Morgan while I clean the car. I don't know that I got the better deal. Then we stop at McDonalds to try to override the smell in the car and on the way out Josh's drink spills all over me. so I get to ride home sticky with Coke and the car still smells and the fries didn't have any salt (what the heck??). Oh well, we were home just 2.5 hours later, so we left at 9am and got home about 1:30, not too bad. In MA people kept coming to a stop on the highway for no darn good reason and just as we were going to complain about it, they'd start again. Whatever!
Got some great pictures from the week. Timothy decided that he loves water now and kept asking to try the ski-doos they had next door. He'd stay in the lake until he turned purple and then sit with me on the chair for a while wrapped in a towel. Morgan put his whole face in the water, but mostly enjoyed covering himself with mud. I read the Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, which wasn't too bad, and an Erma Bombeck book which was HYSTERICAL!! Josh thought I was crazy, I just sat there and laughed and laughed. I think it only took me a couple hours to read. Josh enjoyed being king of the remote, which he doesn't get to do at home much.
Well, the unpacking will wait. I've got to rest from my vacation!
Sunday, August 11, 2002
Not a lot for news this week. I was able to leave work early on Friday instead, so I got home at a normal hour at least one day! I found out Thursday that I'll be getting a staff person starting the day after labor day, so I hope that helps my hours some.
Josh has found that when he's taking Timothy to class in the mornings, many children point at Timothy and say to their mom "Mom, THAT's Timothy".
Timothy's gotten quite good at writing his name and his coloring is improving as well. Each picture shows a concerted effort to remain within the lines. We're trying to get Morgan to try his hand at coloring as well, though he mostly just uses the crayons as drumsticks.
I got Morgan to use the walkie talkie phones he got for his birthday yesterday. I make the phone ring, then he picks it up and says hello (which sounds like oooooh?). I say hello and he screams 'Hi there!' Then about 5 seconds of babble, then 'byyyyye', and he hangs up and stares at it until it rings again. It's pretty funny. We repeated this game for about, I don't know, 3 years. Ok, an hour, but it certainly felt like longer!
Wyle E. Coyote fell off a cliff yesterday and Morgan said 'uh-oh'. He's also learned the word hungry, which is nice.
Josh is out playing a birthday round of golf, but should be back soon. Tomorrow's the big 2-9. He's not too moved. I told him he should think it's a bigger deal to be kicking off the last year of his 20s, but maybe it hasn't hit him yet.
Josh has found that when he's taking Timothy to class in the mornings, many children point at Timothy and say to their mom "Mom, THAT's Timothy".
Timothy's gotten quite good at writing his name and his coloring is improving as well. Each picture shows a concerted effort to remain within the lines. We're trying to get Morgan to try his hand at coloring as well, though he mostly just uses the crayons as drumsticks.
I got Morgan to use the walkie talkie phones he got for his birthday yesterday. I make the phone ring, then he picks it up and says hello (which sounds like oooooh?). I say hello and he screams 'Hi there!' Then about 5 seconds of babble, then 'byyyyye', and he hangs up and stares at it until it rings again. It's pretty funny. We repeated this game for about, I don't know, 3 years. Ok, an hour, but it certainly felt like longer!
Wyle E. Coyote fell off a cliff yesterday and Morgan said 'uh-oh'. He's also learned the word hungry, which is nice.
Josh is out playing a birthday round of golf, but should be back soon. Tomorrow's the big 2-9. He's not too moved. I told him he should think it's a bigger deal to be kicking off the last year of his 20s, but maybe it hasn't hit him yet.
August 2002 - Morgan's Birth to 3 Evaluation
Morgan had an early intervention assessment this week and here's the report. We thought he had a bit of a speech delay since he's two and doesn't talk. This is not what we were expecting to hear.
Child's Name: Morgan
Evaluated by: Stepping Stones Birth to Three Program
Referred for: speech delay
Assessment (scores from Age Appropriate, Mild Delay, Moderate Delay, or Significant Delay):
Gross Motor - Significant Delay
Morgan walks well by himself. He can take steps forwards and sideways while playing. He can also squat down to play and resumes standing without support. Morgan cannot walk up or down stairs but can creep on the stairs by himself. He cannot balance well enough to kick a ball.
Fine Motor - Significant Delay
Morgan uses both of his hands to play with toys. He does display a neat pincer grasp with small items and a voluntary release as he hands toys to an adult. Morgan was not interested in the tasks presented today but reportedly can stack blocks. He could not figure out how to turn over a bottle to get a Cheerio out and could not place rings on a post.
Cognition/Learning Style - Significant Delay
Morgan does display an understanding of simple cause and effect and can operate toys that have buttons or switches. He was also able to complete a simple shape puzzle using a trial and error approach. He is able to play with a toy for a long time if it is an activity he chooses. He is a very self directed child who gets frustrated when he cannot do things.
Personal Social - Significant Delay
Morgan makes eye contact. He imitates sounds and words, although not always He responds to the talking of familiar persons. Dad reports that at times Morgan seems to have selective hearing. He responds well to praise and assists with some household tasks. He greets familiar adults i.e. Mom/Dad when they have been gone for a while via running for a hud to Dad and sometimes the same for Mom. He babbles during the day.
Morgan gets frustrated easily - closes his eyes and whines. He does not always like to follow instruction from others - very self directed. Transitions can be difficult for him. He shows affection via kisses. He will sit for a short story and claps for himself when happy with something that he has done. He is not yet using pronouns, stating his name, or using words for ownership or possession.
Self Help/Adaptive Skills - Significant Delay
Morgan is able to play independently very well. He enjoys music, throwing golf balls, playing with blocks, and watching Sesame Street. He can play for up to 20 minutes prior to demanding attention. He can play with one activity for at least three minutes. During play with other children he reportedly does not actively participate.
Regarding eating, Morgan drinks from a sippy cup and takes his bottle when not feeling well to increase fluid intake. He uses some gestures to indicate his desire for food/drink. He can drink from an open cup, needs help with a spoon as he doesn't always repeat the process to finish the meal. He does not always distinguish between food and non-food items.
Communication:
Receptive Language - Moderate Delay
Expressive Language - Significant Delay
Communication Total - Significant Delay
Receptively, Morgan responds to sounds and voices, although sometimes inconsistently. He seems to know the names of some familiar objects and people, but is inconsistent in looking for them or towards them. His listening skills are described as selective. He will sometimes follow directions but not usually.
Expressively, Morgan vocalizes often during play. He especially likes to "sing". He is not using words to communicate but will sometimes use gestures. He often whines when he gets frustrated and will close his eyes and pay his face. He is doing some jargonning, changing his intonation, but there are no recognizable words. He does do some imitation and can imitate members of syllables and intonation better than the actual words.
Child's Name: Morgan
Evaluated by: Stepping Stones Birth to Three Program
Referred for: speech delay
Assessment (scores from Age Appropriate, Mild Delay, Moderate Delay, or Significant Delay):
Gross Motor - Significant Delay
Morgan walks well by himself. He can take steps forwards and sideways while playing. He can also squat down to play and resumes standing without support. Morgan cannot walk up or down stairs but can creep on the stairs by himself. He cannot balance well enough to kick a ball.
Fine Motor - Significant Delay
Morgan uses both of his hands to play with toys. He does display a neat pincer grasp with small items and a voluntary release as he hands toys to an adult. Morgan was not interested in the tasks presented today but reportedly can stack blocks. He could not figure out how to turn over a bottle to get a Cheerio out and could not place rings on a post.
Cognition/Learning Style - Significant Delay
Morgan does display an understanding of simple cause and effect and can operate toys that have buttons or switches. He was also able to complete a simple shape puzzle using a trial and error approach. He is able to play with a toy for a long time if it is an activity he chooses. He is a very self directed child who gets frustrated when he cannot do things.
Personal Social - Significant Delay
Morgan makes eye contact. He imitates sounds and words, although not always He responds to the talking of familiar persons. Dad reports that at times Morgan seems to have selective hearing. He responds well to praise and assists with some household tasks. He greets familiar adults i.e. Mom/Dad when they have been gone for a while via running for a hud to Dad and sometimes the same for Mom. He babbles during the day.
Morgan gets frustrated easily - closes his eyes and whines. He does not always like to follow instruction from others - very self directed. Transitions can be difficult for him. He shows affection via kisses. He will sit for a short story and claps for himself when happy with something that he has done. He is not yet using pronouns, stating his name, or using words for ownership or possession.
Self Help/Adaptive Skills - Significant Delay
Morgan is able to play independently very well. He enjoys music, throwing golf balls, playing with blocks, and watching Sesame Street. He can play for up to 20 minutes prior to demanding attention. He can play with one activity for at least three minutes. During play with other children he reportedly does not actively participate.
Regarding eating, Morgan drinks from a sippy cup and takes his bottle when not feeling well to increase fluid intake. He uses some gestures to indicate his desire for food/drink. He can drink from an open cup, needs help with a spoon as he doesn't always repeat the process to finish the meal. He does not always distinguish between food and non-food items.
Communication:
Receptive Language - Moderate Delay
Expressive Language - Significant Delay
Communication Total - Significant Delay
Receptively, Morgan responds to sounds and voices, although sometimes inconsistently. He seems to know the names of some familiar objects and people, but is inconsistent in looking for them or towards them. His listening skills are described as selective. He will sometimes follow directions but not usually.
Expressively, Morgan vocalizes often during play. He especially likes to "sing". He is not using words to communicate but will sometimes use gestures. He often whines when he gets frustrated and will close his eyes and pay his face. He is doing some jargonning, changing his intonation, but there are no recognizable words. He does do some imitation and can imitate members of syllables and intonation better than the actual words.
Sunday, August 4, 2002
Let's see let's see, this week is a blur. It's been about a billion degrees every day, which is far from my favorite weather. Morgan had a fever for several days, which had broken on Thursday but then Friday he started having bad diarhea with worse diaper rash (actually bleeding), which continued through yesterday and so far this morning. We called Josh's mom to see if we could give him some kaopectate for children (which said call the doctor for under age 3, and our doctor takes forever to call back, so we figured this is where having a doctor in the family would come in handy) and gave him some of that last night. It made things more solid, but did not help with the diaper rash. So he gets hosed off after every poop, instead of using wipes (which cause him to scream in pain), and then walks like frankenstein through most of the day. He doesn't sit down. It's very very sad. Timothy also got a fever Friday afternoon, but one dose of motrin seemed to do the trick, and he's been fine since.
Timothy went over to play at his friend Michael's on Friday. Josh and Morgan stayed for the playdate. Michael is a triplet, so his two siblings were there as well. in fact, Timothy played more with the siblings as Michael was having some trouble sharing and I guess cried most of the time. I thought it was weird how someone who's been forced to share his whole life would have difficulty, but Mandy pointed out he's probably been forced to protect his territory his whole life too.
We're trying to take a little break from video games today and maybe for a few days. When I told Timothy it was time to turn the games off the other day, he said "What? Are you crazy?" Yeah, time to give that a rest.
Birth to 3 (the early intervention organization here in Connecticut) is coming out on Tuesday to do an evaluation of Morgan, so we'll see how that goes. He still doesn't talk much, maybe a handful of words. His latest word is 'pop', which he says when we're doing the jack in the box. He also sings all the 'la la la' parts of the Sesame Street songs (like the Bert and Ernie song 'la la la la light bulb, ... '), except he says twa wa wa.
I think that's about it for news around here. If anyone knows a rain dance or cool weather dance, please let me know!
Timothy went over to play at his friend Michael's on Friday. Josh and Morgan stayed for the playdate. Michael is a triplet, so his two siblings were there as well. in fact, Timothy played more with the siblings as Michael was having some trouble sharing and I guess cried most of the time. I thought it was weird how someone who's been forced to share his whole life would have difficulty, but Mandy pointed out he's probably been forced to protect his territory his whole life too.
We're trying to take a little break from video games today and maybe for a few days. When I told Timothy it was time to turn the games off the other day, he said "What? Are you crazy?" Yeah, time to give that a rest.
Birth to 3 (the early intervention organization here in Connecticut) is coming out on Tuesday to do an evaluation of Morgan, so we'll see how that goes. He still doesn't talk much, maybe a handful of words. His latest word is 'pop', which he says when we're doing the jack in the box. He also sings all the 'la la la' parts of the Sesame Street songs (like the Bert and Ernie song 'la la la la light bulb, ... '), except he says twa wa wa.
I think that's about it for news around here. If anyone knows a rain dance or cool weather dance, please let me know!
Thursday, August 1, 2002
Yesterday when Josh picked Timothy up from his third day of summer day camp, he saw that the campers had made 'camp rules' that day, and the rules were posted on the door. He read:
1. no hitting (okay, good rule)
2. no kicking (sure, sounds good)
3. no looking in someone's mouth when they're eating (well, alright, seems obvious, but whatever)
4. I am a good football player
hmmmm, I wonder who could've come up with that one. Could it be Timothy? Sure enough, Josh verified this with the teachers, who also mentionned that they were impressed with his yardside commentary of free play. Great.
1. no hitting (okay, good rule)
2. no kicking (sure, sounds good)
3. no looking in someone's mouth when they're eating (well, alright, seems obvious, but whatever)
4. I am a good football player
hmmmm, I wonder who could've come up with that one. Could it be Timothy? Sure enough, Josh verified this with the teachers, who also mentionned that they were impressed with his yardside commentary of free play. Great.
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