(no subject)
well, i suppose it's about time for me to update. it's been for-freakin'-ever.
alexander's b-day was a big success. the playground was assembled pretty much in the nick of time, for which i still owe some people dinner. both the boys love it. alexander loves going into the little clubhouse, and climbing the ladder up into the top. he's afraid of the slide and the big-boy swing though. nathaniel actually helped, the other day, to get alexander to go down the slide. ni-ni was climbing up it all the way to the top and then sliding down, and after a while alexander let us help him down in a few times.
and guess what else we did since last i posted? we all went to the beach! mamma and johnny had been trying for most of two years to get up here and meet nathaniel, but it never quite worked out. so johnny talked to me and figured out how much it would cost to get us down there, and down we went! we met up with them in a little town called mexico beach, about 20 miles out of panama city. due to a slew of medical problems, mamma only has the strength to socialize for short periods at a time, and we tried to spend a lot of the rest of the time on the beach. medications she's taking make it a no-go for her to be out in the sun, so bless her heart she didn't even get to watch the boys beaching it, but here's hoping that with kevin in charge of the camera we've got lots of good pictures we can send. i've not even seen them all yet, but it'll get done. ni-ni really liked the water, and xander really liked the sand but was afraid of the water, so keeping an eye on both of them was rough. we saw dolphins, and swam around near a little school of swordfish, and got lots of shells, and both boys and i all successfully avoided sunburn (not so much for kevin). i'm not sure that i would plan another vacation with nathaniel for quite some time - he gets so much more easily agitated out of his element - but it was great fun and i'm really glad we went. maybe by the time we make it down there again i'll not need someone else to pay my way, and maybe the boys will be a little more aware of how to be calm and gentle with someone so they can spend more time with mamma. they're both so high energy now i was afraid they'd hurt her if the got too close.
nathaniel has been assessed for occupational therapy, and he starts weekly sessions next week. also next week is his intake appointment with TEAMS in chattanooga, which is the beginning of the process of having him screened for autism or whatever else may be the cause for his delays. he's also being referred for an assessment for speech therapy. so good lord, his schedule is about to be as full as mine was in high school.
he has made some definite improvements lately. in the past month or 6 weeks or so, he's started waving and pointing, and now a lot of the times when he points at something he vocalizes too - no words, of course, but oohs and ahhs and sometimes a two-syllable sound that sounds like baby for 'what's that?' but we're not sure. he's also started listening better and obeying caommmands. like 'you're too far, come back this way' or 'bring me your cup for more milk/blueberries/juice.' he can point to his nose now, but only does it on command when he feels like it. he's not had his helmet on in almost a month, i don't think. he's started to sit at the table like a bog boy instead of in his high chair about three weeks ago, and has started to sometimes use a fork. and this morning, for the first time ever, he acted like he wanted to eat a bowl of cereal. so i made us a bowl and he actually ate cereal with milk, with a spoon! he made a big mess but he was doing it! so i cheered him on and clapped and yayed and then cleaned up the mess. totally worth a few paper towels!
i need more coffee now. i think i hit on all the major things i need to remember.
alexander's b-day was a big success. the playground was assembled pretty much in the nick of time, for which i still owe some people dinner. both the boys love it. alexander loves going into the little clubhouse, and climbing the ladder up into the top. he's afraid of the slide and the big-boy swing though. nathaniel actually helped, the other day, to get alexander to go down the slide. ni-ni was climbing up it all the way to the top and then sliding down, and after a while alexander let us help him down in a few times.
and guess what else we did since last i posted? we all went to the beach! mamma and johnny had been trying for most of two years to get up here and meet nathaniel, but it never quite worked out. so johnny talked to me and figured out how much it would cost to get us down there, and down we went! we met up with them in a little town called mexico beach, about 20 miles out of panama city. due to a slew of medical problems, mamma only has the strength to socialize for short periods at a time, and we tried to spend a lot of the rest of the time on the beach. medications she's taking make it a no-go for her to be out in the sun, so bless her heart she didn't even get to watch the boys beaching it, but here's hoping that with kevin in charge of the camera we've got lots of good pictures we can send. i've not even seen them all yet, but it'll get done. ni-ni really liked the water, and xander really liked the sand but was afraid of the water, so keeping an eye on both of them was rough. we saw dolphins, and swam around near a little school of swordfish, and got lots of shells, and both boys and i all successfully avoided sunburn (not so much for kevin). i'm not sure that i would plan another vacation with nathaniel for quite some time - he gets so much more easily agitated out of his element - but it was great fun and i'm really glad we went. maybe by the time we make it down there again i'll not need someone else to pay my way, and maybe the boys will be a little more aware of how to be calm and gentle with someone so they can spend more time with mamma. they're both so high energy now i was afraid they'd hurt her if the got too close.
nathaniel has been assessed for occupational therapy, and he starts weekly sessions next week. also next week is his intake appointment with TEAMS in chattanooga, which is the beginning of the process of having him screened for autism or whatever else may be the cause for his delays. he's also being referred for an assessment for speech therapy. so good lord, his schedule is about to be as full as mine was in high school.
he has made some definite improvements lately. in the past month or 6 weeks or so, he's started waving and pointing, and now a lot of the times when he points at something he vocalizes too - no words, of course, but oohs and ahhs and sometimes a two-syllable sound that sounds like baby for 'what's that?' but we're not sure. he's also started listening better and obeying caommmands. like 'you're too far, come back this way' or 'bring me your cup for more milk/blueberries/juice.' he can point to his nose now, but only does it on command when he feels like it. he's not had his helmet on in almost a month, i don't think. he's started to sit at the table like a bog boy instead of in his high chair about three weeks ago, and has started to sometimes use a fork. and this morning, for the first time ever, he acted like he wanted to eat a bowl of cereal. so i made us a bowl and he actually ate cereal with milk, with a spoon! he made a big mess but he was doing it! so i cheered him on and clapped and yayed and then cleaned up the mess. totally worth a few paper towels!
i need more coffee now. i think i hit on all the major things i need to remember.