Because I am so proud

When Grady was two we took him to see a specialist b/c he wasn't talking to a level we felt comfortable with. Now? Well, he's a talkin man! And it may not be as many words as the common child, but I'm just glad he's talking on his own and able to repeat practically any word Terry and I throw at him. The word "love" for example, he's never attempted. I'm just so proud of this little boy. He is my heart.

Grady and the Sharpie

While I stepped away from Grady to do the dishes...  (he seemed content with "Thomas the Tank Engine")  this is what he got into.  His daddy's red sharpie.  I didn't know whether to laugh, or yell at him, or what!  All I said was "oh, my GOD, GRADY!!!!!", proceeded to take the sharpie away from him, look at the damage done to my desk, his daddy's desk, my office chair, his little yellow car...  I immediately put him the bath tub, and took a picture before plopping him in.  I decided not to yell at him b/c the damage had already been done, and quite frankly, I wasn't in there to stop him and tell him it wasn't the best idea he's had.  

This makes me thankful for having older than dirt furniture.  The damage Grady inflicts on our hand me down furniture really doesn't bother me.   And it's comforting to know that as he explores his surroundings, he's not going to feel like Mommy is more concerned about her furniture than her own son making mistakes from time to time.  

Grady has been talking a lot more lately.  He's been trying to say "thank you" but what we get is "guyou you".  He's trying, that's all that matters...  He's also repeating us, which he wasn't doing before hand.  Makes the effort of teaching him words much more fulfilling when you can see that he's interested, gets it, and wants to try himself.  

Blog it Out

Grady will be turning 2 on January 24, 2009.  He is still not talking to the capacity that he "should" be.  He probably says about 20-30 and not consistently.  It's rare.  Other times he'll say a random word that we've never heard before, like "boy" or "purple" or "star".  I took him to his second Early Intervention intake today.  His first was at 18mo.  They said then, that technically he was up to par but if he's not up to 50 words by the age of 2 to come back.  Today his intake revealed he was delayed enough to schedule the actual assessment.  It's an awful feeling to know that your child isn't talking.  There could be so many reasons behind it.  Perhaps I'm not teaching him well enough, perhaps he has a hearing disorder, maybe he just doesn't want to, maybe there's something wrong with his tongue, this list goes on and on.  In the mean time, as a parent, I feel like a slight failure.  He's healthy, sure, I keep him fed, and clothed and sleeps when he needs to, I play with him, and he's loved to pieces, but he won't talk.  I know I shouldn't, but, I feel like I've failed.  I feel like it's my fault he's not talking.  I thought I would blog this out.