More Words from Alexander

Alexander is saying frog and fish.

Alexander's New Words

Just a quick note about Alexander's new words. He is saying star, open, potty, Lily, and Nee-Nee. Still no "mommy." :(

I want to try to do a better job of journaling his words. I didn't do a very good job with Lily. I have it in a notebook somewhere. But on the blog, everything is all organized by date...much better system.

Self-Advocacy

Lily is starting to be really good at advocating for herself when she didn't/can't hear something. I think this is one of the things they have been working on at her school. When she first doesn't hear something she says, "Huh?" "What?" or "What did you say?" After I repeat myself 2 or 3 times and she still doesn't hear me, she says, "I can't hear you mommy. Say it louder." I love that she has learned to express when she can't hear something. But even more than that, I love that she can tell someone how they can help her..."say it louder." I think this will be especially helpful when she goes to mainstream school. She will be able to tell the kids if she can't hear them and what they can do so that she WILL be able to hear them. I absolutely LOVE all the things she is learning at OVV.

Alexander is learning new words every day. His new words are bear (with a growl), banana, Diego (just sounds like "duh, duh, duh" but it's what he means), jump, pig, rabbit, duck, ball, diaper. Those are the ones I can think of at the moment.

He understands even more. When asked to point to the correct picture, he can point to a chicken, horse, owl, sheep, elephant, and fish. He also knows what it means to take a bath. When I ask him if he wants to take a bath, he runs to the bathroom and stands beside the bathtub. :)

Here are a few pics from the first snow of the season.

My Blessings: Lily and Alexander

So Alexander's birthday video is blocked because of the song I used "Beautiful Boy." Due to copyright, I can't use it apparently. So I'll try again with this song. This is the original song I put with the video to share at his church baby dedication. The song on this video is "Blessings." Although this video is about Alexander, both of my children are incredible blessings.

I've shared on this blog that finding out about Alexander's hearing loss was bitter sweet. Yes, we had "been through this" before and yes, we knew what to do. There was also part of me that was glad Lily would have someone to relate to...someone who would understand what it's like to have trouble hearing your friends in the cafeteria or a noisy restaurant. Someone who would know what it's like not to be able to hear well in the swimming pool. Someone who knows what it's like to rely every single day on batteries and hearing devices. Since Josh and I are both hearing, we would never be able to relate to her in that way.

But there was also a big part of me that was sad and scared and a little angry that we had to go down this road again. And because I had been through this before and I DID know what to do, I knew that I would all too soon be faced with ABRs (infant hearing tests for which the baby has to be asleep and STAY asleep), hearing aids, ear molds (ugh!), more ABRs, more and more and more EAR MOLDS, sound booth testing, and the constant worry of whether or not he is amplified enough and correctly. By the way, the last thing still hasn't gone away. Since Alexander's hearing loss is moderate with a good chance of progression, I'm constantly wondering if he is getting enough of a boost from his hearing aids to be hearing all frequencies (especially the high frequencies). I also worry about how many words he understands and how many he uses in spontaneous speech. Is he on track for his age? Are we doing enough auditory verbal therapy? But with all the worrying, crying, praying and questioning, my babies are STILL, and will always be, THE VERY BEST things that have ever happened to me. Sometimes God's blessings look different than we expect.

Alexander's First Year

I made this video for Alexander's baby dedication and first birthday party and never got around to posting it for friends and family to see. So here it is 5 months late. :)

Christmas and Talking

Here are a few videos of the kids from different Christmas happenings.

Here is Lily at her Christmas program at Ohio Valley Voices. "Merry Christmas Mommy, Daddy, Alexander, and Mommy...and Nee-Nee." Nee-Nee is my mom, Lily's grandma.



This is Lily saying her poem at my grandmother's church. "Dear Baby Jesus, so tiny and new, came from heaven, for me and you."



This is Lily telling me my necklace is dangerous. :) Then she asks me if she can wear my necklace. Asking questions is one of the things she has been working on at OVV. She used to always say, "I want...." Now she is asking questions.



This is Alexander saying "ho, ho, ho" and "down."



And this is Alexander saying, "sheembo." We're not exactly sure what it means, but he always says it when he wants something to eat or drink. :)

Blessings

As we begin the new year, I think of how blessed we have been in 2011. We were blessed with health, as well as the incredible joy of watching Lily and Alexander grow and change. They have both grown tremendously in their language development. We feel blessed to have learned about The Moog Center for Deaf Education in St. Louis and the Moog Curriculum school in the Cincinnati area--Ohio Valley Voices. We are absolutely AMAZED at the progress Lily has made since she began attending OVV.

My mom has been the most tremendous blessing of 2011. After we learned of Lily's hearing loss, my mom dropped everything, moved from her home of 40+ years, and moved to our city to help us with Lily's therapy. She took Lily to auditory verbal therapy every week for 2 years. Without my mom, Lily wouldn't be able to go to OVV, which is a 2 hour, one way trip. My husband and I both work, so my mom takes Lily to school everyday. It is a huge sacrifice for her and she does it anyway. She never complains, even the day she was sick. She got sick one afternoon after picking Lily up from school. What is usually a 2 hour drive home turned into a 4 hour drive home as she had to stop so often while she was getting sick. Alexander screamed the whole way home and she was so sick, but still no complaining. I hope she knows how much I love and appreciate her. My mom has been just as dedicated to my children's success with listening and speaking as Josh and I have been.

She is a HUGE blessing! I love you mom!