Quincey's Speech Appointment

Quincey did so good at his first speech appointment.  He loves it.  The first time we went they recorded him having a conversation with the therapist (who's name is Candy) and then she went back and counted all of the disfluencies that he had in that time.  He had 340 disfluencies in that 15 minutes. Now, no one always has 100% fluency in their speech, it is normal to say 'um' every once in awhile, etc. One thing that you don't see in normal speech though is blocking, when you are trying to say something and it won't come out.  He had 10 of those in the 15 min.  Crazy!!!  It is easy to see how we can both get so frustrated!  
Candy sat him on her lap and held his hands as he leaned backward.  While he did this he practiced stretching his speech, and saying things longer and slower.  All of that going backwards right after breakfast started giving him hiccups though, so she stopped that.  Then she held up pictures of things and had him say the words slowly in a sentence ie: 'that is a xylophone'.  Then they played with trains and when he needed more track he needed to say, "More track please!"  "Thank you!" A lot of it is just getting him to recognize what is going on while he is speaking.  And if he starts to have 'bumpy' speech, she tells him to stop and start over again, and he does really well the second time.  So! So far so good.  We have another appointment tomorrow.

My Strawberry Model

The kids and I (especially Maiya) have been having so much fun having strawberries in our garden!  They both love to help me pick them, and eat them.  And Maiya loves to help me make stuff with them!!!! 

My sister got me the Our Best Bites cookbook for my birthday, and I LOVE it!!!!  The have a recipe in there for Strawberry-lime shortcakes with coconut cream.  YES! it is as delightful as it sounds.  It is ingenious! Strawberry and lime are great together,.. coconut and lime are great together, and when you mix it altogether on the shortcake platform... heaven!!!! 

 Another strawberry thing that I have been enjoying is....
Fresh Strawberry Limade

And if we get sick of eating all of them....
Strawberry Freezer Jam

It's raining it's pouring!

It does not rain where we live nearly as much as my kids would like to use their umbrellas! So, they convinced me to turn on the sprinklers, so that they could really try them out! They were entertained with running through the sprinklers with the umbrellas for quite a long time!

I... need.... to.... learn.... to .... talk.... SLOW.

So, I don't know if I've ever mentioned this before, but Quincey has always had problems with speech disfluencies.  Which I made sure to research, and it is considered normal between the ages of 2 and 3.  But, Quincey turned 4 in January, and it has seemed to only get worse.  So, a month or so ago I signed him up for a speech evaluation, and that was today!  I was proud of him for doing so well, and the therapist thought he was so fun and entertaining.  (which he definitely is that!)  But she does think that he does need to have speech therapy, and I agree.  I need some techniques and tips!  It can get very frustrating, for both of us... when it takes him 5 minutes to explain to me what he needs.  One of the things she mentioned to me is to make an effort to talk slowly to him.  Now, I have read this tip before, and so I thought I was doing that already.  But!!! When I say slowly,  I......... mean........ slowly! And those of you who know me know that I am Lorelai Gilmore's long lost sister!!! So, this could be interesting.  But, I saw how it helped him.
So, starting Monday, he will go in 2 times a week for 30 min. appointments.  For as many weeks as it takes.  Luckily, my insurance will cover it all.  I am of course a little overwhelmed with the idea of 2 appointments a week at an office that is 30 minutes from my house (especially when I look at the gas prices!)  But, I think it will be worth it. 
Anything for this sweet face!

It's that time again...

(admittedly, not the best picture... but, you get the point.)

Yep, baby number 3 is on it's way!  Due Dec. 21st.  I am 12 weeks.  I Got to hear the heartbeat today.  Everything looks good and healthy.  I had an ultrasound at 6 weeks just to make sure it wasn't just a molar mass, and again at 8 weeks to verify that it is a viable pregnancy.  I first got to hear the heartbeat then.  It has been cool to see the ultrasounds so early, and comforting as well.  

I am seeing the midwives because they are the only office that accepts my insurance in this area.  At first I wasn't sure how I would like it,  but I have to say... It has been wonderful!  They are so concerned about my questions and making sure that I understand everything, and I never feel like my questions and comments are unwelcome.  But, we will see how it goes.  I still have time to decide I hate it ;)

The kids are excited too.  Quincey is SURE that he is getting a brother.  And Maiya likes to be disagreeable, so she says she wants a sister.  I have been feeling pretty good.  Some very nauseous days/ weeks... but I haven't thrown up at all, so that has been wonderful!  And the past week or so, I have felt really good.  So! bring on the second trimester! 

Things to Remember

Things my kids do right now that I want to remember:
Quincey

(pictured here with his pre-school friend Cooper)

-He says, "I am the one that......"  ie: wants you to get me juice, likes superheroes, doesn't want to go to bed.
-He loves his sister, and defends her and translates for her.  ie: 'What Maiya is trying to say is,....'
-The other day he got it in his head that he wanted to go camping and he went and got sleeping bags and pillows and put them outside, collected sticks and was roasting marshmallows on the (pretend) fire.
-He is good at applying scriptures to daily life.  For example when I was talking about not being bad and being good, he said, 'Alma was bad, but that angel came and told him to be good.' (P.S.  Maiya is good at this too.  She loves to talk about how Laban is a bad guy.)  

Maiya

-Miss Maiya's language has always been really good, and has learned to talk really well, really clearly, pretty early (which has proven to both be really cute, and a bit embarrassing)....
-She pretty much disagrees with everything.  ie: Me: Maiya you are so pretty!  Maiya: (yells, and puts her arms on her hips, and stomps her foot) No! I am not pretty!!!!  I don't want to be pretty!
-She also yells at poor innocent strangers.  For example a woman will come up to her in the grocery store and tell her what a sweet girl she is, and she starts screaming.  "No, I don't like you! You are a mean lady! Go away!"  (admittedly, a bit funny until you keep running into the same lady in the store and she ends up behind you in the checkout line).
-She says Quincey like 'Hen see'.  And calls her niece Amrylin, "Lemon"
-If you ask her to stop doing something she will get so mad and go put herself in time-out in her room, close the door, cry for a few minutes, and come out when she feels better. (I love this, saves me from putting her in time outs!)
-She loves to be outside.  She climbs through the doggy door, (so funny to see) and can sit out there and play with her toys by herself for hours at a time. 

I wouldn't trade them for anything :)

Happy Mother's Day!

I have had a great Mother's Day!  My husband and kids made this sweet apron for me, which is a perfect gift because even though I spend most of my time in the kitchen, I only had one apron... so, now I have two.  :)

And my sweet son made me this cute little flower to hang on my door. 
It says:
This little flower is special you see,
Because it was made from a part of me.
My painted thumb made each flower part,
To show I love you with all my heart!
Happy Mother's Day!

:

And, because I was missing my mommy today, I decided to make her famous Sauerkraut dinner to eat after church.  It is absolutely delicious!!!!  And reminds me of home.  Along with homemade rolls, and mashed potatoes.  If you like sauerkraut, you will need to try this!!!  I needed to record it, so that I can make it again, (and again). 

Sauerkraut Dinner
1 Pork Roast
1 30 oz. jar of Sauerkraut
1 jar Water (fill the Sauerkraut jar)
1/2 Cup pearl barley

Place it all in a Crock pot for 8-10 hours on low. 
When it's done, take roast out, and transfer the sauerkraut to a pan on the stove.  Thicken with water and flour, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Smother the gravy over your pork and potatoes, and enjoy! 

And, finally.... My friend Rachel posted this poem that is very appropriate for mother's day, and I fell in love with it.

I agree, I can never repay my mother for all she has done for me, but I do love that she humors me and is grateful for my attempts.