Holly's third speech therapist came out on Friday and spent some time with us. Future visits will happen at the daycare center - which makes life easier! She asked me to start writing down the words Holly 'knows' - 'know' meaning she's used it spontaneously and appropriately more than once. The goal is to have her at 50 words with some two word combinations (like "hi mama") by 24 months old. We're almost there!

I sent the current list into the school... having written them down let's see how many I can remember...

hi, bye, sit, chair, hat, shirt, nose, ears, eyes, hair, teeth, shoes, socks, baby, mine, more, again, Nanna, Mama, Dada, on, off, up, down, please, dressed (as in to get dressed), kitty (though it doesn't sound like much of anything it's consistent always means the same thing), kiss, bye, Alba (teacher), Chelle (teacher), Danielle (teacher), thanks, no-thank-you, wee, uhoh, brush, help, book, ball, train, done 42!

hi mama, hi dada, hi *teacher*
bye Alba
my *item* (my book, my train, my ball...)

So she's quite the little chatter box these days. She's also not afraid to try out new sounds and new words. She's doing a lot more babbling than she used to. All in all we're pretty happy with where she's come. She'll be re-evaluated in November (after 6 months of services). We'll see how things go.

The woman that Ky had been taking riding lessons from has been MIA. I managed to run into her friend/partner at the barn and chat - sounds like J was making some changes. She dropped her email and barn phones to instead use her work email and her cell phone (I have neither). I did try leaving her a couple of messages on her voicemail at work, but haven't gotten a response.

So yesterday we visited a *new* barn. This one is closer - about 20 minutes closer! It's only 5 minutes away from us. It's not someone's backyard - it's a business barn. About 15 horses in the main barn (or maybe 17?) and 4 ponies in the 'Pony Barn'. It's owned by a husband/wife. We got to meet both of them and all of the horses that they own (there are also boarders, but since they don't own them they don't vouch for them). Kyle was in love. Ryan was antsy and nervous and shy. So we walked all over and finally found the smallest pony they have - Yellow Brick Road. "Bricker" is I think less than 13 hands. She is blond and cute as a button. She stands about as tall as Kyle. Ryan was petting her and loving her and I even heard him singing to her softly.

Ryan has declared he would like to ride - as long as it's on Bricker.

Poor Mommy. I will sacrifice my own riding so that he can. I won't be able to afford all three of us! But who knows, maybe they'll have some random barn type chores I can do to bring the cost down :o)

A link to a picture of 'Bricker'

Ky's Birthday is coming.

And everyone asks what he wants. He's been pretty quiet on the subject. He's got a new bike from us (and he loves it!).

So I'll throw some ideas up here...
He's growing like a weed - so pants/shirts would be good for him in size 10/12
He has a great denim jacket with a fleece vest insert that he got from Grammie which is going to be too small - so a new jacket of some sort. Identical would be ideal... it kind of acts like a weighted vest for him when he wears it.

He's wearing out his sneakers again - regular boy size 3 (as opposed to 'little boy')

Decorations for their new room... wall stickers, that kind of thing. Something we can use to make it 'theirs'.

And if anyone wants the link for his Amazon wish list - just ask.


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I booked a party for him and some friends at the local swimming pool, and we're planning a family party in just over 2 weeks. That means I have to make a cake! (and clean! LOL)

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In other news, we finished up what we needed to and have the guy coming to measure for flooring in the new room tomorrow! Almost there! Yay!

OK - so first of all did anyone take note of the title? Having enough language accumulated for a title such as 'Holly-isms' is actually a pretty big deal since only 6 weeks ago she had just one word! (and a sign or two)

"Signs"
More - which she uses to also mean milk, and 'I want' or 'give me'
bye bye - not necessarily a true sign - but clearly meanful (the wave has now been expanded to include Hi! as well)
Yes and No - yes is a giant head nod, no is vigorous shaking - both very cute

words:
Hi! She says Hi alot - when she sees you, when you're playing, as a greeting, just in general... she really, really likes Hi (so did Ryan for that matter)
Dada - of course :o)
shoe - this one is new this weekend and still emerging - you wouldn't really know what it was unless you could see the object she's referring to
all done
help (sounds more like 'ep' but we know what she means... not something some random person would understand though)
up and down


The really nice part is that we can have mini conversations now - Holly, do you want to go lie down? *giant head nod* great! Get binky and pop her in the crib where she readily snoozes. Communication is nice!

Of the bunch I think the clear yes and no are the most helpful. If I can reduce something to a yes/no question that she can understand we get very far. We use this alot in response to her 'more' signing ... More what? Do you want.... milk? *giant nod* - great!

We're working hard on adding signs for Eat and Drink, and help. Though since she actually *says* help - it might not be something to focus on.
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We had a fabulously, quiet weekend. Hope you had a nice holiday!

Where does the time go?

Just two work days left and then we are on vacation! I hate leaving my team right now, but it's been planned for so long, and I know I need it. So we work around it. It's a bad week for Steve too - but again - we didn't know 18 months ago!

The boys are so excited. And we'll be cruising with Uncle Paul and Auntie Liz and girls. It will be way fun. We're planning on at least one night of paid babysitting and since the cabins are adjacent I'm bringing the baby monitor so we can hang out together after kiddy bedtime.

Kyle went back to ride Minnie on Sunday - he totally enjoyed it. Posting came right back to him. J was very happy with how he did after his winter break. We'll be going back again regularly after the cruise. With me joining on occassion. First I need a helmet though!

We've been encouraging Holly to talk more. Trying not to just give her what she's looking for. And this morning I caught her 'talking' to some stuffed animals. She may even have said 'bear' but I'm not certain.

The boys had haircuts on Sunday (including Steve) and all look much less shaggy now. I had my dip and clip on Saturday. So we're all nice and pretty now! I did my nails this week too - now I just have to keep them nice!

I'm probably 75% packed. Yay! I have to pack the stuff we use all the time (like the boys' undies... Steve's stuff... etc) and our dressy stuff. I put together some fun activity books for the kids too - and some goodies. Just because.

We're almost there!

That's Holly I'm referring to. She doesn't talk. So when we went to see the Doc today for her 15 month visit I said "last time we were here and I told you she had 4 or 5 words? Yeah, I apparently made that all up" She says DaDa. Very well, very clear, you can totally see she means "that's my daddy right there and I love him to pieces he's the best daddy ever!". :o) But it's really all she says. She signs for 'more' which means 'I'm hungry' to her. And she gets her point across in other ways - this morning she came over and handed me her blanket. You want a nap? OK. Popped her and her blanket in the crib and left and she settled down for a nice long nap.

The daycare center sent home her 12 month evaluation in January and they noted her lack of words. She doesn't babble. Well, she babbles occassionally, but mostly she's just quiet. She hears us and clearly understands us - she'll retrieve her coat and shoes when you tell her it's time to go. When you ask her if she'd like milk or if she'd like to eat she comes running and hands you her binky in exchange. If you tell her it's time for shoes she sits down and gives you her feet. She's bright and hears us. But she's not talking. So we have a referrel for Early Intervention for a speech delay. Because hey - extra help is never a bad thing :) It could be as simple as - we respond to her actions and her 'eh' and know what she needs so she doesn't NEED to talk. But it's better to find out.

Otherwise her motor skills are excellent, and she's still growing. Everything looks great. She got 3 shots today and that was about it.

Ky had his two baby molars 'wiggled' out today. I sat just behind where they were (so I couldn't see!) and he didn't make a peep. She periodically asked him if she could change the scent in the 'silly air' - from chocolate and strawberry, to just strawberry, back again... just chocolate. And she chatted with him almost non stop. I love her! So glad to have her in our back pocket for any future dental needs :o)

In two months he goes back to the orthodontist for a 'recall' - to check and see how things look. After that at some point he goes in for 'separaters' to keep the space there for the future adult teeth.

He's back at school - I thought with the exhaustion hitting last night (made a full day of school, then a Dr appointment for Ry, then a chiro appointment for the three of us) combined with the wiggles today that I might have to get him early. But it's just about 2:00 and I haven't heard from them yet. Wow. What a trooper we have!

Ryan's 6 year visit was yesterday and went well. Steve handled it for me, so I don't have my usual level of detail - but I'm thrilled to pieces that I have decided to give up a little of the control :o) It's a hard thing for me you see ... At any rate, Steve ran through the behaviour stuff and she agrees that it sounds a lot like Middle Child Syndrome ;o) and we should keep doing what we're doing.

We shall see....

Ky had his first appointment of what will be a series of stuff today. This was really a different matter altogether, but it paved the road for us. Besides the teeth that need to be pulled, Ky had a cavity that our regular dentist felt she didn't want to fill. The Pediatric dentist used Nitrous Oxide today and things went beyond well. I heard him (Ky) chatting away back there. Not a peep of fear. He didn't ask me why we were going, so I didn't offer anything, but I did suggest he bring one of his animal - so he brought Lucky. His new dalmation.

As we were leaving he was all smiles... did you have fun? "Yes!" would you like to do it again? "ok!" (not questions I planned on asking, but they popped out because of his happiness). Yay for good experiences.

The Doc reports that 'wiggles' are much easier than fillings. So the teeth that need to be removed should be simple. The basically don't have roots, and I'm guessing she calls them wiggles because that's effectively how she gets them out. Ky meets with the orthodontist next week to discuss these teeth and what we need to do after they come out.

-- edited to add --
When we got home tonight I prompted Ky to tell Daddy about the dentist... and I got new news....

"I got a Pirates of the Caribean filling!!!"

Who knew?

So the next time I need a filling, I want my glass of wine first AND a Pirates' filling, please.

The boys have really been catching on to the whole morning routine thing. It's making life much easier in the morning. They get up, one of us gets them breakfast (usually organic Panda Puffs - the current favorite), then they go and pick out clothes and get dressed. Brush their teeth on the way back, then they can play until the 'bus alarm' goes off. (to complete the morning picture, we take turns showering, who ever isn't in the shower when Holly gets up grabs her. Holly gets a bite to eat, then gets dressed for the day. I pack lunch for the kiddos and sometimes for me - Steve generally says 'no thanks'...)

So..... today Ryan came out with a shirt with sleeves that were just a touch too short, and some nice chords on. He even remembered socks! Great! It's a great day!

- fast forward into my work day -

I come back to my desk from marathon meetings 9 - 12:00!!! to voicemail (oops left the cell phone at my desk again) - a message from the school.... could you please bring underwear in for ryan? He isn't wearing any, and is bothering his classmates by showing them.

???? OMG!

OK after the initial reaction of "I can't believe a child of mine would do that!" - It was worth quite a few chuckles (obviously NOT in front of Ry!) This is definitely one of those stories that we'll trot out for the girlfriends when he's in his teens ;o)

And now? Now there is a nice reminder list posted above his dresser. He knows to look at it so he remembers ALL the steps - 1. undies, 2. socks, 3. shirt, 4. pants. Yay. I said - "so you'll never forget your undies again, right" - "RIGHT!" and he looked very happy with the list.

We will, however, be verifying that all appropriate articles of clothing have made it onto his body for the foreseeable future.

The cake...




Here is the image I worked from:


First, I drew it on paper - freehand. As practice :o)
Then I 'drew' the outline and details on the cake with a toothpick and 'colored' it in with frosting - use the handy P.Chef decorator set of course! :o)

and Ry being silly at his party:

And I didn't post yesterday - bad Mommy.
Yesterday my 'Little Guy' turned 6. SIX! How can this be? We had a party at OneStopFun and he had a blast. 11 of his classmates joined him along with Ky and a friend for Ky. They played in the Gym Mania and then the Caterpillar moon bounce. They ate the "Yellow cake with Pumkin" that I made with Pachirisu on it (and not a shabby one at that - yes, I ate up the 'you did this yourself' comments - but hey... it's nice to be appreciated LOL)

They played some more. They got their goody bags and home they all went. I know Ry slept REALLY well. We opened gifts at home. And considering that the report from friends to parents for gift purchasing was unanimously 'pokemon' we only ended up with one duplicate - and it was a duplicate NEW item, not a dupe of something he had already - AND it was the best dupe it could have been - a pokemon set that included Torterra - Ryan is THRILLED to have TWO Torterras.

The bummer is that I couldn't find my camera before we left - so I grabbed the boys' - the lower end of the camera scale (but good enough for the under 8 crowd!) and the problem of me not normally using it led to some pretty crummy shots. But I did get one where you can *see* the cake - it's just not the best photo ever. The foil the cake was on sent the flash back at the cam - my camera would have handled it better - these not so much :( oh well. Next time, no foil!

I'm working on getting a couple pics up - will update later :o)

For Christmas, Auntie Jen gave Holly a doll. Because we are predominantly a boy house we didn't have any! So now Holly has 'Holly's Baby' - since Holly hasn't grasped the concept of naming (or she's named it DaDa!) we just call her Holly's Baby. Holly LOVES her baby. She carries her around, wraps her up, pushes her in the stroller - and can do this for an hour - especially if Mommy or Daddy is helping.

Sunday I gave her an infant gown to put on the baby. She promptly stripped her and then used the gown as a blanket. She's got an independent streak for sure! Here you can see her wrap, unwrap, move, wrap, move, wrap, - the continual focus is fun :o)

Oh happy Day!

This morning I hear "Mommy! I was DOING something with MY tooth and it came OUT!" :o) thankfully, it was the tooth that was hanging on by a mere thread of something last night. Yay! He is SO excited. He's been wiggling and hoping for about 2 weeks!

I'll try to get a pic of his new smile tonight.

Thursday I felt kinda blah. By the time I went to bed I had a bad case of chills. Where you CAN'T get warm. I was huddled under our nest of blankets - lots of blankets - and stole an extra from the boys' stash to wrap around me under all of ours. Still shivering. Steve was amazed. "I'm not well" was all I could tell him. He snuggled up and shared his warmth - great guy my Hubby :o) later in the night I did actually register a fever.

I spent Friday at home on the couch. I did nothing except read a little email, let the dogs in and out, and read and snooze. It was much needed. I felt better by late afternoon. Then crappy again by bedtime. We cancelled the party for the kids - but there weren't that many folks coming anyway. And then Holly started throwing up Saturday afternoon. So it was good to have cancelled.

Saturday, Ry opened the gift my parents had sent up (no, you are not late!!! his birthday is at the END of Feb - we just figured the family that normally drives up would only want to do it for one party in the course of a few weeks, so we tried to have one for both Holly and Ryan). Sunday I felt well enough for baking, so I made cupcakes and we sang to both Ry and Holly. I took pictures, being Holly's first birthday and all - but she had no idea what to do with the cake and didn't seem to like having frosting on her fingers :o)

Then we gave Holly the book that Kyle picked out from all of us. She gave it the Holly Stamp of Approval - she sat on it. I totally have to get video of this expression of love that is uniquely hers. She does it at school - she sits on her friends!!! It's a hoot. Basically, she loves you and if you are a grown up, it ends up that she sits on your lap and snuggles in. It's adorable. But the dogs don't think so. The cats agree with the dogs. Sitting on the book is just wicked cute :o)

Ryan opened gift one from us - Thomas the Train footy jammies in his size. He's in heaven :o)

Now I have to remember to schedule his party for him and his friends!

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Our friends' daugher, L is still in the hospital - she had surgery Friday night to have a chest tube put in to drain her lung. She's doing better (yay!) and hopefully will have the tube out today.