Suddenly

Nick's speech has improved so much in the past few months. He's really trying to make himself understood, to speak clearly and slowly. His favorite movie of the moment is Finding Nemo, and he's obsessed with the diver and mask. So, he's worked so hard to say diver, repeating it over and over. Today, I noticed he's starting to pick up the syllables that he often dropped in words and to pick up words in phrases he often left out. So, bu-els have become bubbles, pole has become ishing pole and the movie "Sages" has become "Ice Age."

I miss sages a bit tho.

Sweet Moment

The other night at bed time, Nick patted the rocking chair and said "sit." So I sat. Then he climbed into my lap and said "sing." So, I did. I know it was partly a tactic to delay bedtime, but, it was a sweet moment, one I miss as the kids get bigger and bigger.

The next day, I was singing in the car and he said "no, sing moma." So, I kept on singing.

Amazing

Since the beginning of the year, I've been working on decluttering. Today, I was going through my files of appliance and other manuals, rooting out the manuals for things long broken or that have been given away. One the items was the microwave K & I bought when we moved in together after getting engaged in 1992. On the front page was contact information, an address and a phone number. No email or web page address. Amazing, what we did before the web became such a part such a part of our everyday lives.

Spring Break Activities

For Spring Break, we did a "staycation" Monday, we went to a local pool and swam. Nick was very reluctant to get into the water at first but by the end he put his face in and blew bubbles, held onto my hands and kicked. The may be the summer he learns to swim. At least he should be able to stand in the shallow end.

Tuesday, we went to Chuck E Cheese. I took a book and let the kids run loose. Nick spent most of his time in the overhead tunnels. The older kids went for the games with the possibility of winning the most tickets.

Wednesday, we hung around in our p.j.s

Thursday, two families we know from an email list came over. We had lunch, played a bit of badminton, played Apples to Apples and the moms hung out & chatted.

Friday, we went to the Georgia Aquarium and the World of Coke. Nick loved the aquarium and practiced signing the words for all the sea animals he knows. His favorite was the beluga whales with the giant tank with the whale sharks, rays, etc. He wasn't too thrilled with the World of Coke until we came to the tasting room.

Friends

We had two families over yesterday, one local, one from out of town. The moms originally met on a pregnancy due date list in 1998. We now have 10 year old boys, plus six other kids ranging in age from 15 to 6. The kids played together while the moms talked.

We've gotten together annually for 10 years, and have probably not spent more than 40 hours together in real life. It's amazing how well you can get to know someone when you email almost daily for over 11 years. We're shared to birth of our children, the deaths of friends and other trials of life. It's good to have friends.

Another Milestone of Sorts

This morning, Nick had his p.j. top on inside out. My guess is that he took it off and then put it back on inside out! He's doing really well on dressing. Sometimes get things on backwards, but hey, sometimes I do that too! Now to work on socks.

Seafood Lasagne

Adapted from The Silver Palate Goodtimes Cookbook, by Julee Rosso & Sheila Lukins. I used to make this fairly often before kids, and had forgotten how good it is.

Sauce

1 pound medium-size shrimp, shelled, deveined, and poached briefly (I used precooked)

1 pound scallops, poached briefly

1 jar (24 oz or larger) Vodka sauce

1 box no cook lasagne noodles

Filling

1 pound container ricotta cheese

8 ounces cream cheese, room temp

2 eggs

1 package (10 ounce) chopped frozen spinach

1 pound cooked lump crabmeat

1 bunch scallions, sliced

1 tablespoon dried basil

Salt & pepper to taste

2 packages sliced mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Butter or grease 13" x 9" pan

1. Mix vodka sauce, scallops and shrimp.
2. Beat ricotta, cream cheese and eggs in a mixing bowl until smooth. Stir in spinach, crabmeat, scallions, basil and salt & pepper to taste.
3. Spread a thin layer of sauce without seafood in the bottom of pan. Top with a layer of noodles. Cover with half of the seafood sauce and then half of the crabmeat filling.
4. Then add a layer of mozzarella cheese followed by a layer of noodles. Top with the remainder of sauce followed by the filling. Cover with the remaining mozzarella.
5. Bake until the top is bubbling and browned, about 50 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

What a Difference a Year Makes

Yesterday, Nick had an appointment to be casted for a new pair of SMOs. He did really well, protesting a bit but not screaming the entire time. The orthotist remembered us from last year and commented on how much Nick had grown and how well he was walking. It's hard to believe it's only been a year that he's been walking. There was a time when I wondered if he would ever walk, now, I almost can't remember him not walking.

This time last year, Nick was starting to but 2 & 3 word phrases together. But, the words were one syllable or one syllable of a longer word and the phrases were often echos. Now, he's putting together real sentences with multiple syllable words. The other night in the bath he said "Go way, no wash my hair." He's also started to answer questions about things that happened. We're not quite to being able to ask him about his day but, occasionally, he'll tell us about something big that happened at school. And he actually answered a question in circle time at school.

Last year we were working on potty training but not seeing much success. Now, he mostly goes on demand and stays dry as long as we put him on the potty. Now, he can undress himself. The other day he pulled down his pants & pullup and peed on the potty all his own.

Self help skills are coming along, he has mastered a fork and spoon and eats cereal with a minimum of mess. He drinks from an open cup without spilling. Undresses himself, of course, I often find him naked in the bath tub! He knows to cover his mouth when he coughs and mostly to use tissues to wipe his nose.

When you have a child with delays, it's hard to see progress. Perhaps we need to take a longer view more often.

Struggling

I'm struggling a bit with Nick's placement for next year. I'm pretty sure it's the right choice, but have reservations. It feels a bit like a step backwards. Right now, he's in full inclusion in a pre-K class. The recommendation is to put him in a self contained special education class that is partnered with a regular education kindergarten class. Initially, he'll have a minimum of 1 hour per day of regular education instruction along with going to "specials" with the regular education class. I met and saw in action the teacher Nick is likely to have. She's fantastic, and is probably a good fit for him. In know, he'll get a lot more one-on-one instruction which he really needs. But, it's still not inclusion. I have to remember inclusion is what I want and not what Nick may need.

It's never easy is it?

He is Down Syndrome - not

When I first heard of people first language, it seemed a too politically correct. However, the further we get into this journey the more it makes sense.

This morning, I talked with a gentleman with an older child with DS. He said "my daughter is Down Syndrome." And then talked about someone else who "is Down Syndrome." It bothered me, a lot.

Driving home, I got to thinking about people first language and how someone isn't a label and that they are so much more than a label. Nick isn't Down Syndrome, he's Nick. But, I'm also guilty of not using people first language. Nate has a friend who's bipolar, or rather has bipolar disorder. We have another friend who is dyslexic, or rather has dyslexia. Both of these children are so much more than their disorders or disabilities.

Quote

Came across this quote recently...

"The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate.... Returning violence for violence multiples violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."

Martin Luther King 1967

2009 Goals or Resolutions

I'm only about 26 or so days late on writing these up, but I have been more or less working on them.

• Get housework done earlier in the day. I'm pretty good about making beds, emptying the dishwasher, etc., but it doesn't get done until about 4 p.m. when the kids are home from school. Because the routine work isn't done, special projects don't get started and lots of time is lost goofing on the computer.
• Knit, sew, craft from stash. No more quick trips to Michaels, Joanne's, & the yarn store just to see what's out there. There is probably enough yarn in this house to keep me knitting for the next 10 years.
• Finish or frog UFOs. I've already made a good start on this finishing one afghan in 2009.
• Declutter by recycling, donating, or throwing out one bag every week.
• Eat out less, especially fast food.
• Stick to the budget. We actually have a budget set for this year. It also means keeping up with Quicken, which I've spent the last week getting completely caught up. (Of course, this was a bit depressing looking at IRA & 401K losses from last year.)
• Be more patient with the kids, hubby, & myself.
• Take time to do things I enjoy, like knitting, playing the piano, etc.
• Buy less junk.
• Keep in better touch with old friends and make some new ones. (hmm, an excuse to use Facebook?)
• Finish Nick's potty training.

Christmas Eve Eve

All is quiet, everyone is asleep. All the presents are bought & wrapped, cookies made, house & tree decorated. Not much to do tomorrow except plan christmas meal, shop, enjoy the day and the kids. We're keeping it pretty low key this year, not terribly extravagant on the gifts, sticking close to home. Very peaceful a real change from years past and I'm looking forward to it.

Have several Nick stories to post, will do so soon.

Today...

What a busy day...

• Did four loads of laundry, folded and put away.
• K took Nate to the Lego store to use a gift certificate from LAST Christmas. He bought a small Star Wars ship, a small Mars Mission ship, a large grey baseplate, and a small pick-a-brick. Took him nearly an hour to pick it all out. He's a careful shopper when he's using his own or gift money.
  
• I took M.E. to REI to look for a jacket. Ended up with a North Face furry fleece. "Everyone" has North Face. Nick crawled in a tent and wouldn't come out. He was also kept escaping every time I turned my back, fortunately, he's not quiet and I could find him pretty quickly.
• Baked cornbread and pumpkin muffins.
• Made sweet potato casserole and squash delight casserole.
• Made Shrimp & Hot Root Soup and the Abbots Special Abbey Trifle from the Redwall cookbook. The custard for the trifle didn't set up. Not sure what went wrong. The custard had some solid chunks in it that I pushed through the strainer. Oh well, we have vanilla & raspberry soup in a lady finger bowl.
• Baked pumpkin and apple pies, they look great.
• Not sure how I'll transport all of this. But, I sure won't have to do too much cooking tomorrow.
• Nick, after watching a Bob-the-Builder episode where Loft falls off a bridge, kept racing into the kitchen with his toy shopping cart. Tipping it over saying "Oh no, what a mess." Coming up to me, telling me "Heavy, help, what to do?" And then I'd help him turn it upright. After about the 20th time M.E. was fed up and would upright it before he could. Nick would give her an evil, eye race out of the kitchen and then come back in again, until she was tired of it.
• Just turned out the lights on two readers, was told I was so mean because their books are so good.

Still Chuckling

The period of time after Nick's birth was one of my lowest, I didn't know what he would be capable of and would I love him enough. But, I was sure things were going to be alright and wished my future self could come and reassure me. Today, Nick's teacher told me about something Nick did that would make a good story for the future me to tell to the past me.

Today was the Thanksgiving lunch at Nick's school. As soon as she saw me, Nick's teacher said "I have to tell you what your son did today." "Oh, oh," I said. She replied, "Oh, it's a good story, you will really laugh."

Lately, Nick become much more interactive with others, to the point of ordering us to do what he wants. He's also, been engaging in more pretend and imaginative play.

Apparently, he walked over to his teacher with a broom in one hand and a play microphone in the other. He told his teacher, "Sing, Dog Out." Which means "Sing, 'Who let the dogs out.'" So she did, while he accompanied her pretending to play the guitar using the broom. And wouldn't let her stop for nearly 10 minutes. Boy, do I wish we had a video.

Something else to like about Nick's school

The Michael's near Nick's school has a better selection of yarn than either of the two near us.

I know, I'm a bit shallow and more than little obsessed.

Hooray! Me!!

Sometimes, I think that having as much therapy as Nick has has made him a bit of a praise junky and when he can't get it from someone else he'll praise himself. 

Nick has made great strides with fine motor lately, especially holding a fork & spoon. The other night he had a bowl of cereal after dinner. He ate a few spoonfuls without spilling and suddenly put his hands up in the air and said "Hooray! Me!" He continued to eat a few more spoonfuls and repeat the "Hooray! Me!" several more times. By the end we were all joining in.

What I've been up to

Knitting, knitting, knitting, in preparation for a couple of craft fairs.

Bernat Alpaca blend

Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk (I think)

Made from Debbie Mumm Traditions

Jaegar Luxury Tweed (alpaca/lambswool) in Sea Sky

A felted bag out of Paton's Merino. This is a version of the Ella scarf bag using a mosaic knit pattern.

I need to write up patterns for the cable scarves and put them on my Etsy site.

Daisy & Nick

Daisy, the dog, and Nick have a relationship that can best be explained as sibling rivalry. They seem to tussle over toys just like sibs do. The other day, Nick commandeered one of my laundry baskets and was pretending to be a turtle.
Daisy came in with a toy. And before she knew what happened, a small arm shot out from under the laundry basket and snatched away her toy.
Where'd it go? She could smell it, and hear Nick's giggles.
Ah, there it is..
It's just Nick. This went on for several more rounds until Daisy ran off with her toy.

Carving Pumpkins

Not only did the big kids carve their pumpkins all by themselves, Nick was able to help with the scooping out of the pumpkin. He wasn't thrilled with the texture of the "guts" but he had a lot of fun scooping up the seeds.