The Rain in Spain

The French don't care what they do actually, as long as they pronounce it properly. ~My Fair Lady

Scootch likes to talk. He's a natural chatterbox, just like Monkey. Only problem is that we all have a very difficult time understanding him. Since I'm the one home with him all day, I usually have a 70% success rate of figuring out what he's trying to say. Unfortunately, everyone else looks to me when we're in mixed company because they can't make out more than 50% of his chatter. Simple words, like the word "the" never comes out correctly. Even calling his sister sounds more like he's pronouncing the name of an exclusive southern island. I can't even describe what it sounds like when he requests to watch "Dora the Explorer." His pronunciation defies repeating. Compounded with that is the fact that he really has quite a large vocabulary for an almost 4 year old. He knows what he wants to say, and the words come out fast and furious. Its a trial to keep up and translate at the same time. So when I happened to have both boys in tow for Little Bear's last doctor's appointment, I asked their pediatrician about a speech evaluation and she wrote me a referral right then and there for Scootch.

I got an appointment last Monday with the Department of Speech and Hearing at the nearby hospital and hubby and I took Scootch in to see Dr. Ross. We went over his past history with his tongue and swallow studies from when he was an infant, and then - in Scootch's point of view - he got to "play" with the doctor for the next 40 minutes. He was happy as a clam talking about the cranes and trucks he was playing with. And then he got to spend time telling stories about the pictures in a flip book with the doctor. He thought it was a blast and even told the doctor he was coming back in 10 days to visit again.

I'm happy to say that the doctor immediately said at the end of the appointment that she didn't think he had any real issues with his speech that she was really concerned about. We received the official report of the evaluation today, and he scored in the 46th percentile for skill equivalency on the articulation test. Basically the boiled down result is that most of his trouble sounds aren't things that are expected to be mastered until age 7 or 8, so he has a few years to catch up. His speech is a bit muddled, but she just suggested trying to get him to calm down and speak more slowly, do some mirror exercises where someone looks in a mirror with him and repeats the same words so he can see how his mouth differs from one saying the word properly, and just keep trying to correct him in his everyday speech until he adopts the right pronunciation as his default. I'm also hoping that starting Preschool in the fall will give him more practice in adjusting his speech so he's understood by his peers.

Just another hurdle cleared. I'm glad we were rewarded for being more safe than sorry.

Good Day

My childhood may be over, but that doesn't mean playtime is. ~Ron Olson

Silly Monkey

Handsome Scootch

Sweet Little Bear

Just a fun spring day at the park :-)

Things to Remember

Childhood is measured out by sounds and smells and sights, before the dark hour of reason grows. ~John Betjeman

Little Bear is growing up way too fast. The camera is full of pictures of him, because I'm just so scared I'm going to forget all of this. I can barely remember how we fast forwarded to this point from a snuggly newborn. But I just wanted to share a few of my favorite things.

Little Bear and Ghia at their favorite hang out.

Silly brothers playing their silly games together.

The face. Whenever you catch him doing something wrong and tell him "no," your penalty is this pouty little mug.

Grippy toes. He eats like this everyday. We've discussed taking the tray off and just having him eat from the table, but to be honest, I'd miss this too much.

He's 15 months old today. I know all too soon we'll be at 18 months old. And from then on it will be a fast trip downhill to two years old. I can't slow it down, but I can max out the memory card on the camera all I want.

Flying Colors

A watched child never learns. ~Robert Brault

Scootch is largely sheltered since I've been sent home from the workforce. After Little Bear was born, I went from working almost 30 hours a week to only a mere 7, so putting Scootch back into daycare with his friends was not a feasible option. I've tried to join story time at the library, and other play groups like that to keep him with peers, but the truth is that he is a solitary soul. He will sometimes play with others when others are available, but, for the most part he likes to just run around and observe everybody else. He really enjoys just holing up in the playroom and making elaborate train layouts and complicated arrangements of Matchbox cars. In addition to this situation making me worry about his social development, it also doesn't give me many opportunities to see how Scootch handles himself with others regarding his allergies.

Our church has a Coffee and Fellowship hour following services on Sunday morning. People in the congregation take turns hosting it every week, usually supplying homemade baked goods or some bagels arranged on a push cart to supplement the available coffee, tea, and juice. The kids in the congregation, ours included, like to sit under a few tables that are against the wall in the lobby and hide out while they eat the available snacks. Some congregation members are aware of Scootch's allergies and try to be accomodating, but we usually bring a packet of cookies or fruit snacks as a substitute for Scootch so we can be assured he has something to snack on as well. It has proved to be a valuable time to teach him about food awareness. I've told him repeatedly that he's not allowed to have anything off the cart unless Mommy or Daddy or MeMa gets it for him. And that if anyone hands him something, he needs to ask for permission before he eats it. But truthfully, I always wonder if these teachings fall on deaf ears. He is, after all, only three and a half. He barely remembers instructions I give him in the time he runs from the kitchen to the playroom. Today hubby told me he witnessed our little lessons rubbing off on Scootch at the Fellowship hour after service this morning. And I couldn't be more proud of him.

I had been busy helping Monkey dole out her Girl Scout cookie orders to the right owners, and Scootch was sitting alone under the tables, patiently awaiting the arrival of his sister and friends. Today's offering was homemade chocolate chip cookies, and a woman noticed Scootch was without one. She bent down to look under the tables and ask him if he wanted a cookie and offered him one from the trolley. Scootch replied to her, "No, my mom has my cookie. I can't have those." By that time, Daddy had gotten the packet of safe treats we brought from home and set him up with snacks and a napkin. So when I was finally settling Monkey next to him with her own treats, he was already munching away happily and paying me no mind.

Relief. Pride. Happiness. All the best feelings to have as a parent. And I got to feel them today. He passed another test with flying colors.

Hello Operator

The amount of things this boy knows how to do never ceases to amaze me! Pretty soon he'll be ordering himself a pizza!

Extra Guts and Glory on the Side

I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it's in your mind. ~John Lennon

Scootch goes through cycles of favorites. As a toddler, it was Thomas the Tank and Bob the Builder. Thomas is still a favorite, but had to make room for Mater and McQueen once Cars came to our house. We had a small window of loving 101 Dalmations, but the new favorite is How to Train Your Dragon. Before we go any further, I will admit to helping this favoritism along. Growing up, my favorite animated movie was Peter Pan until Lilo & Stitch came out the year before I got married. Once I saw How to Train your Dragon, I'm sad to say my love for Stitch was replaced by Toothless. It probably helps that was directed by the same Chris Sanders who wrote Lilo & Stitch. Yes, I'm admitting I have a love for animated childrens movies. Don't judge. ;-)

But back to Scootch's love for the movie. I may have gotten a bit carried away and bought every movie and short film related to the original. We have How to Train Your Dragon, The Legend of the BoneKnapper Dragon, Book of Dragons, and The Gift of the Night Fury. In Scootch terms they are "The Long One," "The Skeleton Dragon," "All the Dragons," and "The One With All The Babies."



Either way, we love the "Dragon Movies." :-)

Just Can't Get Enough

Cookies are made of butter and love. ~Norwegian Proverb

We eat these faster than I can make them. True story. I think the recipe I use makes about 4 dozen cookies, only about 3 dozen make it into the tin, and then the tin is empty in 3 days or less. After all the days and nights playing with every recipe under the sun, thanks to hubby's cousin, we finally have a winner. Scootch begs me to make them on a daily basis, and I really can't blame him. They are, in every way, just like the floury, doughy, chocolate chip cookies of my youth. But allergy friendly for my little boy.

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 1/4 C flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 C unsalted butter
3/4 C packed brown sugar
1/4 C granulated sugar
1 package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp Ener-G egg replacer
1/4 C milk
1/2 C chocolate chips (or more if you desire)

-Preheat oven to 350F
-Whisk together flour, baking soda, & salt, and set aside
-In a separate bowl, beat butter until creamy (about 2 minutes)
-Add sugars to butter gradually, beating until fluffy (about 2-5 minutes). Scrape sides
-Beat in pudding mix until blended
-Whisk together Ener-G and milk in separate bowl and add to bowl, beat well.
-Add vanilla and beat until smooth. Scrape well.
-Stir in flour mixture until just incorporated.
-Stir in chocolate chips
-Drop by heaping tablespoons into baking stone (or a cookie sheet if you use that) leaving about 2 inches between cookies.
-Bake at 350F for 12-15 minutes or until bottoms are browned.
-Cool for 2 minutes on pan before transferring to cooling rack



The cooking time might vary. I use a baking stone, which takes a few minutes longer to heat up and brown your baked goods. If you use a cookie sheet, its thinner, so you might need to reduce the cooking time a few minutes.

Also, the part about letting them cool is important. Don't skimp on that step like I tried to do or your cookies will be ravaged and you'll be forced to eat them as a failure offering. (Or maybe I do it intentionally?? I'll never tell!)

Enjoy!