on the move

"Mommy, I think these are a little too big for me..."

We've been super busy lately and haven't had a chance to post.  This may be a long post, but I 'm going to try to catch you up on everything that's been going on.  We have moved several hours away from our old home (and the grandparents who are not very happy about this) and I started a new job.  My past co-workers threw me a wonderful surprise send-off party, complete with a delicious cake and tons of yummy food.  I'm really going to miss them, but hopefully I'll see them when we're in town visiting the grandparents.

We got really lucky and a spot opened up in the preschool we were stalking wanted to get Super Dude into, so I hopped right into the car and drove there to enroll him.  I can't believe I actually had to sign a tuition check.  I didn't think I'd be writing one of those for another 16 years!  I LOVE his school.  They concentrate on language skills, teach sign language and Spanish and it was spotless.  The day I took him to enroll, he got to hang out in his class with his new teachers while I did all the mommy/daddy stuff.  He went right in, started playing and didn't even notice that I left.  When I returned to pick him up, he was sitting in the teacher's lap and they were all sitting in a circle singing a song.  He had to hug every one before we left (we'll have to work on that with cold/flu season coming up!).  He starts in 2 weeks and we're really looking forward to finally being able to socialize him after 2 years of isolation from October--April.  The security is crazy--we have to scan our hand into a palm-scanner before we can enter to pick him up!

Just prior to moving, we went out on one last boat trip with our friends, the Cieszkos.  The little boys, big boys and ladies had a great time!

My parents (gigi and granddad) got the dude a wagon for his birthday.  Even though his birthday is a month away, they gave it to him early so we could enjoy this beautiful weather.  Nana (hubby's mom) got the dude a tricycle, but he needs to grow another 1/4 inch before he can fully use it, which won't be long at the rate he's going!  [he'll be 2 in October, but is in 3T shirts for the length; 2Ts are belly shirts!]

I can't remember if I posted about Super Dude's speech diagnosis of Speech Apraxia, but we were pretty devastated.  The SLP suggested that we bring him to therapy once a week, but with school starting soon, we've put therapy on hold.  We're interested in seeing the progress he makes in school first, before we add something that may be unnecessary.  We've implemented the SLP's home therapy suggestions and the dude's speech is slowly improving.  His eating has turned a corner and he's been doing really well (but, don't tell him!).

I included this last picture because it just cracks me up!  Super Dude in his new cowboy boot slippers.

fishy face

Hubs and I drove 2 hours today to take the dude to meet his new Speech Language Pathologist who will be providing therapy for both feeding and speech/language.  This visit concentrated on dude's feeding issues and she'll address his speech delays at the next visit.  It was a very informative session and she gave us lots of tips to use at home.  She also told us that feeding difficulties and speech delays go hand-in-hand, but she has all confidences that the dude will catch up.  She even got the dude to take a few sips of Pediasure from a straw (and that's no small feat)!  Oh, she also told me that letting the dude blow bubbles into his cup (as seen in the video in this post) is a huge "no-no" and that we have to break that habit immediately. 

I'm looking forward to our next session and getting insight on his speech delays.  Looks like we'll continue to rely on signing for now as it helps him "tell" us his needs and thus, reduces the number and severity of tantrums.  Right now, he has about 10 spoken words and about 10 signs.  If you ask him to say a word that he can't say his response is "mama."  It goes something like this, and it always makes me chuckle:

Mommy:  "say bath"

Dude:  "bath"

Mommy:  "say LaLa"

Dude:  "yaya"

Mommy:  "say chair"

Dude:  "mama"

Mommy:  "say cup"

Dude:  "mama"

Mommy:  "say up"

Dude:  "uh mama"

Yep, the dude is a mama's boy!

The dude loves to ride in the car (now that he is forward-facing) and he usually laughs, makes faces and dances from the back seat.  He certainly provides the entertainment for a long trip.  On our way home from the appointment today, I caught him making "fishy faces" and laughing.  After looking at the pics, I thought I remembered a photo of myself with a similar "fishy face."  What do you think--does he have mommy's fishy face perfected?

the mommy as a little one