Duke's Speech Therapy - Week 5

This week something just clicked! Duke and I worked on his flash cards and he did a great job of imitating me. I will hold up a picture and demonstrate and he will imitate me.  he is able to produce /b/, /m/, /n/, /t/, /d/, /p/, /s/, /h/, /w/. He is able to imitate the long vowel: /I/, /o/, /a/. He attempts to produce: /r/, /y/, /l/, /ch/, /sh/, /u/ and /e/. I was soooo proud of him! Leaps and bounds ahead of just last week!

We worked on his sounds with Kathy and then they played peek-a-boo barn and tried to get him to imitate the animal sounds. Kathy will be sending us pictures with single syllable workd on them (boat, book, bye, boy, Mom, make, pie, Pop, ect.) We will try to work those into his routine as well! So proud of you Duke!!

Little Fish and Indians

Jakob is the Scout Master in our Ward. He really likes it! For the last few pack meeting they have had Arrow of Light Ceremonies. Jakob likes to make them pretty special (I love that about him!) So he dresses up as an Indian and I make the boys a mini headdress.

This arrow of light was combined with a fishing trip at the lake by our house so Jakob didn't wear the Indian costume but we did paint his face and he wore his headdress. 

The fish were biting like crazy! Some of the boys caught 15+ (it was probably the same three fish.) 

Duke had no problem touching them, so gross!!

Then E asked if she could try. Never have I ever caught a fish but since the boys were catching one right after another we figured she should be able to no problem. She picked out a purple pole and set straight to work.

 She had several bites but she wasn't fast enough to hook them. 

Then she caught one! She was so gosh darn excited and Jakob and I were so proud of her!!! It was a great evening and we look forward to our next fishing trip!

Taking Our Time

 I read a quote one day that said "Be the Mom you want them to remember." It was just the perfect quote, not about being the best, the cleanest, the do-it-all-all-the-time, but just the type of Mom you want them to remember. So lately I've been trying. One night a week E has dance class. Some days Daddy can take Duke and most others he can't. It isn't a big deal, but it just makes it a bit more difficult taking Duke. On this particular evening everyone was a bit cranky, it was dinner time and past bed time and I was ready to be done. But on our way home we passed Micky D's and E asked for a shake. Normally I would have given some speal about how late it was or how they had to have "real food" but instead I decided to pull in to get shakes. 

 We came home and took our time. Talked about our day, laughed giggled and just spent time together and it was so nice.

 Duke has been my shadow lately, not wanting me out of his sight and not going to Daddy when he gets home. Just a Mama's boy running up and giving me hugs. He must know I need extra love. 

 It wasn't anything big, just a matter of slowing down for one night but it made everyone a little bit happier. So here is trying to be the Mom I want them to remember. 

And savoring these hugs while I can!

Duke's Speech Therapy - Week 4

This week Duke wasn't very responsive to his turtle cards. He got frustrated easily and didn't want to work. We went into the play room and played. We try to  narrate but he does not attempt to copy us at all. We got out a mirror and tried getting him to see where his lips, tongue, and articulates are. He attempted to put on chap stick but insisted on putting it on his cheeks. Such a silly boy. We tried making happy and sad faces, trying to get him to imitate us but he wanted nothing to do with that. We want him to become more aware of his face and how to move his muscles to get appropriate sounds.this week we are to work in the mirror and work on his expressions. Also trying to get him to ask for help and use words he does know and add a few signs such as thirsty, drink, eat, book and so on. 

Rocking Redo

A while back I mentioned that E and I found a little rocker at a yard sale for $5. It was ugly but it had a lot of hidden potential.

 

 So one afternoon we decided to rip it apart!!

This little guy took way longer than I thought it would but it was so worth it! I still need to paint the arms, but that can wait for another day. 

The back was a beast, but we finally figured it out. Trial and error but it is fun to learn. 

It is 100% kid approved!

The only hard part is sharing!!

Little Fish

 Well, maybe not such a fish. At long last we put E in swimming lessons. She is terrified of the water and after 4 weeks with miss Marybell she was doing really well. She was so stinking cute! 

 She really liked going to swim lessons (it may or may not have something to do with Daddy buying doughnuts after every class.) And she was eager to be in the water. She was still pretty timid and needed assistance jumping in the water and kicking on her flutter board by the end of her lessons and will be repeating this class again until she gets a bit more comfortable but she keeps asking to go back!

Way to go baby girl! We are so proud of you!

Love Him

This boy makes me so unbelievably happy. There is something unique and special that happens between Mama and Son. I can't exactly explain it but this boy makes my heart and soul warm.

Duke's Speech Therapy - Week 3

This week Duke did really well with signing help and working on that m/ sound. He doesn't do it on his own but will demonstrate it accurately when prompted. He gets frustrated when he's not understood, especially when he is trying so hard. He wasn't fond of me inserting myself into his play, but at times it was successful. This week we were given turtles and sounds on Popsicle sticks and he is to attempt to repeat the sounds combined with a sign. He got really upset when we asked him to say o/ and he would respond with m/ since that is what we worked on all week. We have all of the vowels and the h/, m/ and b/ sounds since he does use those when he babbles. When we ask him to mimic us he ends up growling or giving non verbal sounds. So this week we are to attempt adding in more sounds.