Doing Better
11 years ago
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Over this past weekend....
All three of us had a nano-vacation, that means that it's a vacation that lasted less than 24 hours, in Charlottesville, Va. We were supposed to meet up with an old army friend of mine and I guess, for old time's sake, run a local race. Well, things didn't turn out exactly that way, my friend had to cancel since urgent business beckoned, and with a hotel room and race fee already paid for, we might as well make the trip! Noah Maxx only took a 20 minute nap on the way and it was a sort of a precursor for the trip, that neither he or his moms would be getting much sleep.
One of the upside was that another one of our friends called the day prior to the trip and we decided that dinner on Friday will be a good way to catch up and see his growing family of 4. Yes, that friend of mine was also from my army days. We've also arranged to meet up with Ruby Reed and her moms (we'll call her RR) the following day.
For some reasons, I think I've sort of stopped making friends after I left the army, while most of them and myself stay in touch through the cyberspace, in this present life, I guess people are just that much harder to figure out. Perhaps the same goes to us. For me personally, I really miss relating to people (and vice versa) without so many layers of censors and filters. Maybe it's the mentality that I've got when it comes to dealing with people, I think I've gotten that from growing up in New Jersey in the 80's.
Anyway, I think I've probably spoken too much about that, but back to the trip we go.
We drove down to C-Ville in the rain, that same storm front also caused the death of 30+ people in the Midwest, but thankfully, it wasn't as severe in Virginia. We checked in the hotel (Holiday Inn, y'all!) and after they delivered the pack and play for Noah to sleep in, we set out to meet up with my friend at a local restaurant. Our Garmin lead to this empty lot next to this put-put course and with spotty cell phone signals, I was then playing phone tag with my friend. It turned out, that the actual restaurant was at the mall across the street from the empty lot. I think our Garmin has Alzheimer's, I really am beginning to think so.
Dinner was spent trying to chat, feed the kids (there were a 3 year old, 6 months old, and our Noah, at 19 months old.), and by the end of dinner we went into the mall so the kids can burn off some energy. I think I must have ran more than the actual race distance chasing after Noah in the mall. We all had to go back when one of the kids had a diaper blowout that needed to be tended to. I wish my friend well, he's also in the defense contracting industry and things are a bit (to put it mildly) shaky right now, not a good time to have things be shaky when you're trying to buy a house and not be broke.
Back at the hotel, Noah did not want to go to sleep. Maybe it's the different environment, or maybe the pack and play just felt weird. B and I were really tired but when we did finally get to bed, none of us really slept. Maybe it was the caffeine, or maybe it was us not used to the bed. You can imagine how tired I was when I woke up at 6:30 to get ready for the race.
About the race? Well, I was 30 minutes late for it because I got lost. I'm kind of surprised that they still let me in. It was a beautiful but hilly trail that the race was set in. No, I didn't win the race, wasn't even close to it, but that was ok, and it was neat simply to watch other people farting and grunting along the way while I was probably doing the same.
After the race was over, I headed back to the hotel and took a really quick shower while feeding Noah a banana and trying not to trip over anything. We took off for RR's house. It didn't take us but 5 minutes to get there. We played in their basement with a bunch of RR's toys, which Noah really liked and chatted about things ranging from (from what I could remember) toddler care 101 to the people in the rock band that one of RR's moms is in.
We felt kinda bad because by us showing up at that particular time of the day, we had interrupted RR's nap schedule. (For those who are who are wondering, RR is a month older than Noah.) We headed back to the mall and ate at the Chick Fil A there, and then Noah busted his upper lip after a post lunch run in the mall. Thankfully, he didn't bust more than his lip and the bleeding stopped really soon afterward. More importantly, Noah's pain tolerance is high enough that after maybe 5 minutes, he went about business as usual. He even gave RR a kiss on the forehead before we said goodbye! (It was his first kiss to a girl! All of you go ahead and say "awwww..." now!) Thanks to RR's moms for their hospitality and conversations to remind us that we are not alone in this child rearing adventure as we feel at times.
For such a quick trip, I'd say that it wasn't that bad. Noah was a trooper, as usual!
Will probably post a photo or two later, so stay tuned!
One of the upside was that another one of our friends called the day prior to the trip and we decided that dinner on Friday will be a good way to catch up and see his growing family of 4. Yes, that friend of mine was also from my army days. We've also arranged to meet up with Ruby Reed and her moms (we'll call her RR) the following day.
For some reasons, I think I've sort of stopped making friends after I left the army, while most of them and myself stay in touch through the cyberspace, in this present life, I guess people are just that much harder to figure out. Perhaps the same goes to us. For me personally, I really miss relating to people (and vice versa) without so many layers of censors and filters. Maybe it's the mentality that I've got when it comes to dealing with people, I think I've gotten that from growing up in New Jersey in the 80's.
Anyway, I think I've probably spoken too much about that, but back to the trip we go.
We drove down to C-Ville in the rain, that same storm front also caused the death of 30+ people in the Midwest, but thankfully, it wasn't as severe in Virginia. We checked in the hotel (Holiday Inn, y'all!) and after they delivered the pack and play for Noah to sleep in, we set out to meet up with my friend at a local restaurant. Our Garmin lead to this empty lot next to this put-put course and with spotty cell phone signals, I was then playing phone tag with my friend. It turned out, that the actual restaurant was at the mall across the street from the empty lot. I think our Garmin has Alzheimer's, I really am beginning to think so.
Dinner was spent trying to chat, feed the kids (there were a 3 year old, 6 months old, and our Noah, at 19 months old.), and by the end of dinner we went into the mall so the kids can burn off some energy. I think I must have ran more than the actual race distance chasing after Noah in the mall. We all had to go back when one of the kids had a diaper blowout that needed to be tended to. I wish my friend well, he's also in the defense contracting industry and things are a bit (to put it mildly) shaky right now, not a good time to have things be shaky when you're trying to buy a house and not be broke.
Back at the hotel, Noah did not want to go to sleep. Maybe it's the different environment, or maybe the pack and play just felt weird. B and I were really tired but when we did finally get to bed, none of us really slept. Maybe it was the caffeine, or maybe it was us not used to the bed. You can imagine how tired I was when I woke up at 6:30 to get ready for the race.
About the race? Well, I was 30 minutes late for it because I got lost. I'm kind of surprised that they still let me in. It was a beautiful but hilly trail that the race was set in. No, I didn't win the race, wasn't even close to it, but that was ok, and it was neat simply to watch other people farting and grunting along the way while I was probably doing the same.
After the race was over, I headed back to the hotel and took a really quick shower while feeding Noah a banana and trying not to trip over anything. We took off for RR's house. It didn't take us but 5 minutes to get there. We played in their basement with a bunch of RR's toys, which Noah really liked and chatted about things ranging from (from what I could remember) toddler care 101 to the people in the rock band that one of RR's moms is in.
We felt kinda bad because by us showing up at that particular time of the day, we had interrupted RR's nap schedule. (For those who are who are wondering, RR is a month older than Noah.) We headed back to the mall and ate at the Chick Fil A there, and then Noah busted his upper lip after a post lunch run in the mall. Thankfully, he didn't bust more than his lip and the bleeding stopped really soon afterward. More importantly, Noah's pain tolerance is high enough that after maybe 5 minutes, he went about business as usual. He even gave RR a kiss on the forehead before we said goodbye! (It was his first kiss to a girl! All of you go ahead and say "awwww..." now!) Thanks to RR's moms for their hospitality and conversations to remind us that we are not alone in this child rearing adventure as we feel at times.
For such a quick trip, I'd say that it wasn't that bad. Noah was a trooper, as usual!
Will probably post a photo or two later, so stay tuned!
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Speech
Today a lady came to our house for just over an hour to do an initial observation of Noah and his speech and overall development. She was nice and seems to be good at what she does.
The assessment form was the same as the one we filled out for his 18 month pediatrician appointment, so we knew how it would go. He's off the charts good at gross and fine motor skills. He's on track for problem solving and social skills. He has zero verbal communication.
Now, he actually communicates with us very well. It's rare we don't know what he means or what he wants. But, he isn't say any actual words, and he doesn't point to things in books or know how to point to his nose, mouth, etc. The biggest reason he can't do those things is that, honestly, we don't work on those with him. He knows his feet and helps us when we say it's time to put his socks or shoes on. He knows his hands and helps put his arms through when we're putting his clothes on. But he can't be bothered with "where is your nose" silliness. And anytime we say a word for him to repeat back to us, he says "yeah" - like yeah I know that's an apple, I'm glad you know that's an apple, now hand it over. So, we end up not going over and over words with him.
In the past week he's started "talking" at us even more. And what we've noticed is that he seems to have so much to say that it gets stuck in his mouth. The lady said it seems like his brain is faster than his mouth. That's a good description.
He understands at least 60-70% of what we say to him.
Also, socially, he's made progress in the past month or so. He used to shake his head "no" at anybody who came to close to him. He doesn't do that anymore. Now, he hugs boys he likes at a friend's house and even hugged a friend of Nerdstar's who was visiting last night. (He hugs us a lot, too!)
We've scheduled a more in-depth diagnosis session for April 5th. There will be a speech pathologist and educator and someone else there to evaluate him. We'll probably go ahead and do that. But really, he's going to talk when he's ready. He's a stay-at-home boy with very little need/motivation to use words so far.
We are a little jealous of all the parents of little girls who talk early and often!
The assessment form was the same as the one we filled out for his 18 month pediatrician appointment, so we knew how it would go. He's off the charts good at gross and fine motor skills. He's on track for problem solving and social skills. He has zero verbal communication.
Now, he actually communicates with us very well. It's rare we don't know what he means or what he wants. But, he isn't say any actual words, and he doesn't point to things in books or know how to point to his nose, mouth, etc. The biggest reason he can't do those things is that, honestly, we don't work on those with him. He knows his feet and helps us when we say it's time to put his socks or shoes on. He knows his hands and helps put his arms through when we're putting his clothes on. But he can't be bothered with "where is your nose" silliness. And anytime we say a word for him to repeat back to us, he says "yeah" - like yeah I know that's an apple, I'm glad you know that's an apple, now hand it over. So, we end up not going over and over words with him.
In the past week he's started "talking" at us even more. And what we've noticed is that he seems to have so much to say that it gets stuck in his mouth. The lady said it seems like his brain is faster than his mouth. That's a good description.
He understands at least 60-70% of what we say to him.
Also, socially, he's made progress in the past month or so. He used to shake his head "no" at anybody who came to close to him. He doesn't do that anymore. Now, he hugs boys he likes at a friend's house and even hugged a friend of Nerdstar's who was visiting last night. (He hugs us a lot, too!)
We've scheduled a more in-depth diagnosis session for April 5th. There will be a speech pathologist and educator and someone else there to evaluate him. We'll probably go ahead and do that. But really, he's going to talk when he's ready. He's a stay-at-home boy with very little need/motivation to use words so far.
We are a little jealous of all the parents of little girls who talk early and often!
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Weirdo
There's almost nothing Nerdstar finds more annoying than having something up her nose. So, of course, Noah thinks it's absolutely hilarious to put his finger up her nose! Cracks me up. I told her to put her finger in his nose to see if he'd stop. Her finger is too big for his nose, but it didn't work anyway.
He's also figured out how to point and grunt for something he wants. Not cool dude. He will also stand there and yell pretty darn loud at us when he's mad about some little thing. When he's annoyed (as opposed to mad), he'll swat at his ear.
Two other kinda weird things. He is always grabbing his tongue with his fingers. And he puts his hands over his ears to hear himself talk.
On the good stuff front. Twice I've heard him laugh while sleeping.
We also finally got a prescription cream that cleared up the lingering eczema spots on his legs/feet. We're so happy about that! Now he's not scratching his skin off every time we try to change his diaper, so diaper changes aren't a nightmare anymore.
And one for the record - just watching him run down the hallway can bring joy to my heart.
He's also figured out how to point and grunt for something he wants. Not cool dude. He will also stand there and yell pretty darn loud at us when he's mad about some little thing. When he's annoyed (as opposed to mad), he'll swat at his ear.
Two other kinda weird things. He is always grabbing his tongue with his fingers. And he puts his hands over his ears to hear himself talk.
On the good stuff front. Twice I've heard him laugh while sleeping.
We also finally got a prescription cream that cleared up the lingering eczema spots on his legs/feet. We're so happy about that! Now he's not scratching his skin off every time we try to change his diaper, so diaper changes aren't a nightmare anymore.
And one for the record - just watching him run down the hallway can bring joy to my heart.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
New Neighborhood Watch
Just a couple of things we find fun. For a long time now, Noah sometimes structures his "sentences" so that he says a few things and then laughs. We think it's cool that laughing is something he does quite a bit. Then, about a month or so ago when he was eating, he made a sort of "GULP" sound and when I laughed at him, he did it a bunch more times trying to make me laugh. Now he'll do it every so often. It's pretty darn cool he's already trying to make us laugh. We're sure there will be lots of nonsense stories and joke telling if he ever decides to speak English!
He's also always made me hold him up to see out the windows in front of the desk anytime he heard people/kids or trucks. The other day, I realized he's tall enough and (hopefully) careful enough to put his step in front of the window so he can look out anytime. It's pretty tall for him to get up and down from, but so far he's done great with it and loves looking out throughout the day.
He's also always made me hold him up to see out the windows in front of the desk anytime he heard people/kids or trucks. The other day, I realized he's tall enough and (hopefully) careful enough to put his step in front of the window so he can look out anytime. It's pretty tall for him to get up and down from, but so far he's done great with it and loves looking out throughout the day.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Real Haircut
Our boy grows hair like nobody's business. We've already shaved his head three times, and his hair was cute but getting long again. There's a Cartoon Cuts at a mall we go to and so we decided to give it a try. The problem being that Noah really doesn't like strangers touching him. We really wanted him to have a regular haircut and thought we'd give it a try and if it failed horribly we'd just shave his head again. He sat in Nerdstar's lap and there was much snot and many tears, but the lady was great and got it done. Now he's not so shaggy!
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Video and Reality
I mentioned that Noah has his sets of you.tube videos that he watches every day. He still likes watching the donkeys, chickens, dogs, and cats at Bedlam Farm. I think that's cool. Last weekend we went to a small local farm and he saw some smaller horses and some chickens and we could tell that he made the connection to them from the videos. He got close to the horses, but wasn't quite brave enough to pet them. He liked watching the chickens for quite a while.
I'm glad he doesn't watch actual tv yet, but I've seen that small doses of some decent videos have been at least neat for him to learn a few things. (Enough qualifiers in that last sentence?)
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