Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Summer 2012

Oh my friends, I actually thought out loud that I was doing so well posting at least once a month....I said that in April....its now, gulp, August.  No posts from me.  Faithfully reading, occasionally commenting, but not writing.

Things are our house are crazy busy as usual.  Summer is fun.  I love all the activities, I even like the heat (as long as I have AC to retreat to). Summer is tiring, this is a tired mama posting today.

Since last update whats new?  Well, we rode our gerbil wheel of life out till the end of school.  J finished 1st grade, lost a tooth on the last day of school and another a week later.  We have had a toothless wonder this summer - fun to watch him eat corn on the cob!  J immediately plunged into summer activities.  He does 2 field trips a week with his daycare and the other days are spent at the sitter where Z goes.  She has a pool and an Xbox and other kids he has known since he was a baby.  In July, he also got to spend 5 days with his cousins in IL, 4 kids aged 15-9.  He is 7.5 and they love him and he them; he had a blast.  So in short, J is tan, blonder than ever and having a great time this summer.

We have swimming lessons once a week at the local Y (we are not members but their lessons are great and its only a few extra $)- the rest of us swim in the family pool, it has zero entry and a baby slide for Z, during his lesson and stay for a bit after.  It makes for a late night but its fun and swimming lessons at our house are non-negotiable.  We skip other activities in the summer for swimming lessons as it is a skill that my children, all children NEED to have.  I cant wait to put Z in next summer, he has no fear in the water and its frightening.  He walks into that zero entry pool right up to his lips and wont hold hands without throwing a fit (see screeching below).

Speaking of my little Z, he is independent and getting into everything.  He is following simple instructions and is just generally a fun little guy.  HOWEVER, according to Dr S (pediatrician), he is slightly delayed in his speech.  He will look at you and babble with intensity and facial expression, so he is saying something in his head that makes perfect sense - just not to us.  This is so weird for me because J was talking right on track maybe even a little early and then zoomed ahead with huge words like "actually" and small sentences.  Z, at 18 months, has about 4 words (Dr Goo-gle says 50 is average). Holy crud, when you hear it like that, he is really behind right?  Then I remember he was an early walker - he was very concentrated on the mobility thing since he was 5 months old.  So maybe he isn't behind, he just did it in the wrong order.  I also have lots of people saying "my daughter didn't talk till she was 3 and she is just fine"  - seriously, I cant do this for another 18 mos. He needs to learn to talk.  This lack of communication is compounded by his frustration at not being able to tell us what he wants has led to an escalation of screeching - sometimes for attention and most times in utter frustration.  In church and in public are the most fun displays of screeching - Dr advice, ignore it and it will stop.  So don't I look awesome in the middle of the grocery store with a screeching Z in the cart and Im not supposed to look.  My gut is to leave the store but we need things there like milk and dinner.....  Dr S gave us 4 weeks for him to show us 2 new words, if he doesn't then we go for hearing test, and start down the road to a speech therapist.  So, now we are paying close attention, and he has figured out how to nod yes and shake his head for no, but has now stopped some of his other sounds.  I used to say "would you like more?" and he would smile and say "mohr" soft on the r sound but it was there.  Now he smiles and nods.....its not a word, but it is communicating so I think I will take it.  Sigh.

This last 4 weeks of summer is going to go super fast.  This week a family my dad met and befriended while working in Peru, South America are here to visit.  They have an 8 yr old boy and  7 yr old girl.  We are doing tons of WI type, kid friendly activities.  J gets to go along for the daytime stuff while Z stays at the sitter and Husband and I work.  Until Friday, my mom is staying with Z and the rest of us are boarding an Am.trak train to Chicago for the day.  Cant wait! This is such a great experience for us all, we all have a slight language barrier; they speak broken English, their kids speak some English, my dad speaks some Spanish, and my sister understands some Spanish....the rest of us, not so much.  We got to meet them on Skype before they came and now I hope we can keep that up.

The Peru family leaves on Sunday and on Thursday, we leave for a long weekend at a friends cabin.  A short, HA, 6+ hour drive away.  I'm not sure I will be ready to go, oh well.  There is a Wal.ma.rt in town, if I forget anything right?  It will be nice to sit by the lake and the campfire and just chill.  Well as much as I can with 4 kids 7.5yr-18 mos near the water, fishing, playing etc.... :)  But we can get away as a family with close friends.  Its an annual trip that we look forward to very much.

The following weekend is open so far, the next is Labor day already and we are headed out to Husbands moms property for 2 nights with the cousins etc, then we come home for the Monday off and J starts 2nd grade on Tues.  2nd grade?  Holy Crud!

Ok, I really have to go now.  I think I hit all the main points.  I'm sure there is more and I'm hoping to post more on the rest of our summer adventures.

I hope all is well with you and summer is treating you well.