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As many of you know Daniel hasn't said his first word yet. He was evaluated on July 13th and it was determined that he needed speech therapy. It takes some time to get the paperwork going and find a therapist but we will officially start therapy this Sunday. He will have therapy once a week for an hour. They assured me anything more than that may become counter productive.

Today we had his hearing test at Lutheran General Hospital. He passed. We were never really concerned with his hearing so this wasn't too surprising.

I want to hear his first word so badly so I can fill that blank space in his baby book next to First Word with something that sounds like a word and the day he said it.

I was very emotional for quite some time and still worry what late speech really means as it relates to any delays later on but I have learned to be patient and accept things. He is a happy little boy and speech is the only concern right now. At his 15 month check up his "other" Dr. said sometimes we just expect too much too early. I trust the experts that evaluated him and their opinion that Daniel does need some help and we are being as proactive as possible.

The evaluator asked what my expectations were for him in 6 months and that was simple "hear the word mama and having it actually mean ME". When I asked the same question of her she said "we can't say," that simple. It will be up to Daniel to tell us when he's ready to talk and how quickly he will progress.

Besides speech he is a happy little boy, he is just quiet, well.. except for shrieking and running around the house like a little mad man.

I will keep you posted on his progress and what goes on in therapy regularly. Everyone has been so supportive and understanding but those that don't know about his situation sometimes ask me "is he talking a lot?" and that sometimes ruins my entire day. So, please don't ask, is he progressing?, has he said his first word?, although I know these questions are sincere, you may catch me on a bad day and not expect an emotional breakdown. If he says something I will be updating this blog ASAP.

I do recognize he is a healthy, happy boy and there are so many other parents in this world that have much bigger problems but he is MY child and my first priority so of course I sound more dramatic about the situation.

We'll keep you posted!

Here is a cute pic of my little munchkin from my cell phone. It's the best I could do. Don't judge me by his bib, Daniel is allergic to plastic bibs so we have to reuse our cloth ones. I call it being green and responsible.

No work Tuesday!

Since my mother in law is on vacation in exciting Branson, Missouri I decided to take the day off and spend the day with D.
We started the day with going to Tot Rock, I wasn't impressed. I think the teacher thinks the kids are 2 because it was waaaayyy too structured than any 14, 15, or 16 month old can handle for 45 minutes. The theme of the class was bugs! Bless her heart she tried for these toddlers to get "it" but having them imagine that feathers are like the canopy of trees in a rain forest may be pushing it. How did D do? Well after he was done hiding behind the chair and bolting for the door about half a dozen times he did ok. I figured if I thought it was dumb he definitely thought it was a waste of his time.
We then went to the library, where we attended a Beach party. Daniel started to fall asleep so I had to get out of there to make his hair cut appointment.
Yes, my baby has a new haircut. He did well again. This time it is shorter than last time. I took pics with our pathetic disposable camera and I need to run and get it developed and post pics. I'll have to do a blog of only pics to make up for this.
We came home, had a snack, and Daniel had a poop explosion. It was BAD. It was all over me, him and his cute outfit. I carried him naked to the bathroom to put him directly under the faucet. After that he took a 3 hour nap. I enjoyed reading a book and eating a delicious sandwich.
When he woke up we went to the park. He has started to enjoy the swing again. He liked it when he was little and then he hated it. Hopefully the love will continue. We came home, had dinner and then went to visit my friend Kathy, in hopes of me borrowing a dress that I could wear to 2 weddings I have coming up. No cigar! Now, I'm on a search for a dress!
It was nice to spend the day with my buttercup. The day went so quickly that I felt I didn't get a chance to teach him anything or read much. Oh well, there is only so much you can fit into a day. Daniel also turned 16 months today. My big boy!

No pics

Today we went to Brookfield zoo and had a great time. The weather was fantastic and Daniel loved the animals and crowds. I was going to post pics BUT our camera broke. Our new Nikon D60 is at the repair shop and I feel naked without it. We had to buy a disposable camera for the zoo today. It was depressing. The worst part about it is...it's totally my fault. This dates back to our vacation a couple of weeks ago. We were sitting by the pool when I put the camera on a chair, at the same time Daniel was getting out of the chair, I was holding him and the camera went flying to the ground. The next day I noticed it wasn't working right. I finally took it in and need a new shutter and flash. The cost $160, all worth it to me. Lesson learned though, we have decided to buy a cheaper camera that we'll take to parties or anywhere we know the expensive camera will be in jeopardy. OK, maybe I have decided this so wish me luck convincing Ryan.

This year we tried to take a couple of pics in the same spot as last year for a comparison so stay tuned.
Anyway, we came back exhausted and I'm ready to pass out.
This was D and I last year. Gosh, was he fat or what?! Well I'm looking a little fat myself as well.

Speechless

It's very seldom that I am speechless about a topic. You bring up cooking and I'll give you some great recipes, pooping issues with kids? I can give you some advice based on books I have read or research I have done, money problems? I can whip out a budget plan with a spreadsheet in a second, but what leaves me absolutely speechless is my realization of how much pain some face in this world, specifically parents with sick kids. I see it more now than ever since I have become a mom and I feel such sadness and anger at the same time.
I sit at my computer reading Kate McRae's site http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mcraekate and have tears flowing. She is a beautiful little girl that not too long ago enjoyed everything that a child should enjoy at such a young age. She has been diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor and has begun chemo therapy last night. Her parents have been seen on you tube asking everyone to pray. If you go to http://www.youtube.com/ and type in Kate McRae you will see a video of her parents in Part I and a video of Kate in Part 2. Many bloggers have posted links to her site and have asked for prayers on behalf of Kate's parents. Please pray for her and her family as Kate starts this long journey.
I have been reading her site for just a few days and it already has taught me to be more patient with Daniel, including the bad nights I wrote about yesterday. Those of us with healthy kids have so much to be thankful for and sometimes we forget how lucky we are to have kids that run around, make a mess, break things and don't take good naps. These simple everyday trials are what many dream about.

Keep ALL kids that are sick and their families in your prayers and ask that they may find peace and comfort.

GO TO SLEEP!

Daniel has been a bad boy at night. He's been waking up crying every hour after about 1am. Ryan and I have been taking turns going in and putting him back to sleep but he just keeps bouncing up and crying. Funny thing is, when we bring him to bed with us he stops. I think tonight may be some tough love time and letting him cry. We're both exhausted and this is not good for anyone. The little guy makes up for lost sleep with 3 hour naps during the day and Ryan and I have to work. We need you to sleep little guy like you did on vacation.

Fun with the GPs

Our weekend was very nice and fairly uneventful. Daniel did great with my sister and his grandma (goes by Bunia, pronounced Boo-na). It started a little dramatic but as soon as I left all was well.

On to the week...

Tuesdays and Thursdays have become Grandma & Grandpa days for Daniel. Tuesdays start with a "Tot Rock" class at our park district, followed by a trip to Chuckie Cheese (or some other place like Baskin Robbins today, where Daniel enjoyed a scoop of strawberry ice cream) and ending with a 3 hour nap. I'm sure Grandma enjoys them except for today when it was only an hour and a half.
Daniel enjoying time with the rodent.

Loving his ride!

Thursdays the day starts with a trip to the library for some play time with other kids and chair pushing around the library. This is heaven for him as we have put all chairs except one from the kitchen in the basement to avoid such things as this.

Love me some chair pushing.

I'm glad Daniel has this time to spend with the GPs (Grandparents). As he gets older he will have fond memories of their time together.

Their time together has forced grandma and grandpa to be in tip top shape to keep up with D. Grandma recuperates on Wednesday and Friday.
THANKS GRANDMA AND GRANDPA FOR A WONDERFUL TWO DAYS A WEEK!

15 month check up

Today Daniel had his 15 month check up. We were 2 weeks late for it because of our vacation. His stats are:

Weight: 27lbs 3oz (75%)

Length: 33.5 inches (90%)
He got 3 shots. He wasn't a happy camper but he got some cool band aids to brag about.

Daniel became a "baby-daddy!" Yes, that's right my son has a baby with a bottle to feed. I got a weird look from Ryan but after explaining that he needs to learn how to take care of a baby he understood. NOT! The only doll I could find with the least amount of pink is this one. I think it's cute. Daniel "fed" it once or twice and patted its head when asked "to make nice to baby" and then he flung it from the high chair. I'm sure it got a concussion but what do you expect from a 15 month old father.
Daniel is also practicing with his utensils. He's not up for the baby kind size but the real deal. He gave the spoon to the baby too so he's getting better at parenting.

This weekend I have a wedding shower to attend so Daniel is going to spend some much needed quality time with his Godmother. My sister swears D doesn't like her so hopefully after 3-4 hours she will think differently unless of course Daniel decides to be crabby.

How about this weather? It's mid July and it's 69 degrees today, I mean come on! I was hoping to go to the pool but I don't think that will happen this weekend.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Vacation Part 2

I have finished laundry, FINALLY!
I have also uploaded the photos on Shutterfly so if you have time check them out http://themarronclan.shutterfly.com/. I started with 465 photos and was able to get them down to 168! It's amazing how much photos you delete after you notice how awful you look in a bikini.

On another note Daniel is officially off the bottle! The transition was smooth since I didn't bring a bottle on vacation hoping the new scenery would make him forget it. It worked! He drinks milk from a cup in the morning and at night. He looks like such a big boy now. I was worried that it would eliminate our bonding time at night but I figured he can have the cup while I read to him and it has worked out. He is still waking up at night a couple of times hoping I will give in and bring him to bed with us like I did on vacation but I haven't. I'm thinking in the next two days he should be sleeping through the night but of course nothing is simple because he's teething AGAIN.

Vacation Part 1

We're back home safe and sound. I have laundry piled up to the ceiling that I've been trying to get through.

Our trip was great, although very hot! It was humid and the only place with airconditioning was our room. The water in the pool was bath warm by noon. The ocean was the only refreshing place on the resort. The food was great and my hips and behind have a few extra pounds to show for it. It was nice to spend time together and for someone to cook the food besides me or the sitter.

Daniel was not afraid of the water, he wanted to let my hand go in the ocean. He loved the sand and was a great baby on the entire trip including the airplane.

We took a ton of pictures so I will have to get through those and post it on shutterfly. I will post the link to them in Part 2. For now these pictures pretty much explain our first family vacation.

It is good to be home and back into our routine. Daniel is having a hard time today with napping so I hope that will get better in the next few days.

on our way home

We are on our way back home! Of course we are delayed! We have tons of pics to share. A blackberry comes in handy at times like this.

Still Waiting

We have been waiting to see how Daniel feels this week to see if our vacation will happen and so far not much of an improvement. Today he seemed to have started to run a fever so I suspect he will end up getting an ear infection. I made an appointment for tomorrow to get him checked out. I pray that he won't get a fever overnight and his checkup tomorrow won't show an ear infection and that the Dr. will give him something to help his cough.
Ryan and I were really looking forward to our first family vacation so we are a little sad but at the same time his health is most important. We'll plan fun things in Chicago for the week if we have to cancel.
Fingers crossed!