What a difference a year makes.

A year ago we started the whole process of having Zack evaluated because of his lack of speech. Well what a year we have had with him. From the time of the first evaluation in January 2008 to the second one in June 2008 he still hadn't had any improvements in his speech. Still the same 5 words he was saying for over a year. Finally in late July a therapist started coming to the house to work with him once a week. He took to her immediately which is why I believe he has done so well. By the end of August he had added 9 more words to his vocabulary. I was thrilled to say the least.
Now just 4 months later you can not keep this child quiet...at all. There isn't anything he won't at least try to say. Even if he doesn't say it right or perfectly he is still doing incredibly well. I would say he talks in sentences but that is a lie...it is more like paragraphs!
I look back and think wow I couldn't wait for him to talk so we could communicate more than just with some sign language signs that we used. Now there are days I wish he would just keep quiet for 2 minutes. (I feel like an awful mom for saying that)

Here is a conversation that happened today.
Zack ~ "Mommy, where Daddy"
Me ~ "He's working"
Zack ~ "Why?"
Me ~ "So he can make the pennies" (long standing phrase we have with Zack since he gets pennies for his piggy bank)
Zack ~ "Mommy...So Why?"
Me ~ "So we can live in the house we live in"
Zack ~ "Um So Why?"
It went on like this for 5 minutes before I finally just said "I don't know".

I can handle the "why" questions but the "So Why" is just flat out annoying the crud out of me.

I fear that when he starts school he is going to be one of those kids who is always getting in trouble because he can't be quiet when the teacher tells him to. Note to self: Give the teacher Kris' cell number let him get the your kid is in trouble again calls.

Next month he is going to be getting another evaluation done to see how far he has come and to see if he still needs the therapy. If he needs it at all it will be for articulation.

I still got it.

Last night I played a couple games of Scrabble with Lilly, Kris and David. I have got to say it... I kicked Butt. Poor Kris, I am such a brat when playing word games with him. I am sure I deflated any ego he may have had. It got so bad David and Lilly were harping on him and I don't think they will let him forget any time soon.
Sorry Kris but it is just so much fun picking on you when we play games.

My Favorite Flower

Merry Christmas.

I hope your Christmas was a merry one. We had a great one. I think all in all everyone was pleased with their gifts and the fact that we were all together.

Zack went to bed late last night so he was a little cranky trying to get him to bed. This morning he woke up and was excited but still a little unsure of all that transpired while he was sleeping. After all that Santa is a sneaky one coming while your sleeping and being so quiet you never hear him.
We let him 'ride' his new bike while we were getting breakfast ready. We decided to eat first then open gifts otherwise Zack would never have eaten.
He really got the hang of tearing open the gifts. A few times I had to snatch some out of his hands that were for other people. Once we finished opening gifts all he wanted to do was play trains. Kris had a time trying to convince him that Santa left one upstairs. First he checked under the tree in his room, nothing. So he went to the playroom opened the door and was all shades of excited to see the train table with tracks already set up. At this point we lost him. He wanted nothing else to do with anything other than play trains. It has been like that all day.
When my parents were leaving Zack wouldn't come down but he did yell from the top of the stairs "Goodbye Grandma and Grandpa, Come again and bring pie".
Priorities... trains and Grandmas Pie what more can a 2 year old ask for?

Oh what a night

Can we say disaster?

Last night we decided to go to a festival of lights. I have been looking forward to it for a few weeks now. So after dinner we head that way. It was probably a 40 minute drive just to get there.
We pull in the entrance and I hear Kris say "hum, maybe I should have gotten gas first". I look over and there is less than a 1/4 tank of gas! Not a good start to our adventure.
After being in this long line of cars for about 45 minutes or so I start to feel nauseated. After about 1.5 hours of being in this line just to get into the park to see the lights David and I take a little walk to the bathrooms (aka porta potties). The fresh air didn't do me any good at all.
2.5 hours after arriving we get to the entrance, I took Zack out of his car seat so he had a very clear view of everything that was there. (we were barely moving 5 miles per hour). At this point he tells me his belly hurt. Oh great. We get done and quite frankly I didn't see it all for having to close my eyes ever now and again.
We stopped at the gas station Zack is going nuts crying. As soon as we started to pull away he got sick. Not fun. Cleaning him and the truck up on a freezing cold night was awful. Poor kid was shivering so bad. Thank goodness I had a spare hoodie I left in the car.
Today he is acting fine. I am fine and now I have a ton of extra cleaning to do, the car seat, the clothes, my truck. If I get a chance to see the pics Kris took for me I will post some.
Maybe we will try again next year...

Random moments

It's 5am and I am sitting here wide awake.
The rest of the house is extremely quiet and all I keep doing is tossing and turning.
How unfair...

______________________________________________________
The other night we went to pick up my truck from the repair shop. Zack is not used to being in Kris car so he was above and beyond his usually chattiness (is that even a word). Anyway we get half way there and he is asking Kris "Daddy where we going" so Kris replies "to pick up mommies truck" the little stinker says to me in all seriousness "Mommy is he serious". I couldn't help it I bust out laughing.

______________________________________________________
The speech therapist was reading Zack a book a few weeks ago. She turned to a page and asked Zack what the bear was doing, she was trying to get him to tell her the bear was sitting. My little chatterbox replied "He's chillin'. Wonder where he got that one from.

_____________________________________________________
Zack has this thing lately that is driving me nuts. If I hear it once a day I hear it at least a hundred times. "Mommy tell you a question". I correct him by saying you ask a question and tell a statement.
Yesterday he comes up to me for what seems like the millionth time and he says "Mommy tell you a question". I am busy and just say "ok tell me a question". the little stinker corrected me by saying "No mommy ask a question, tell a statement".
Well I stand corrected.

_____________________________________________________
I have a habit of calling Zack everything under the sun (Zack, Zackary, Bud, Buddy, Mr. Z, stinker...) The other day I walked into his room after nap time and said "Hey Bud". He looked at me and said "no call me Bud, call me Zack".

Car repairs

Is it just me or does anyone else have this problem?
Every time my vehicle is taken in to be repaired, it needs to go back within a few weeks for the same darn thing! We just brought my 4 Runner in on the 3rd and had the power steering pump replaced. I noticed some wet spots on my driveway where I park. They started out small and have now grown into a big ugly mess. Yesterday I am running a bunch of errands with 2 somewhat grumpy kids and I am getting irritated beyond belief with the fact that I am killing myself turning to turn the steering wheel.
I tried to call Kris but was only able to leave a message for him. He called me back later and I was in the middle of the grocery store and I just about bit his head off.
I hope they repair it correctly this time.
BTW this is the 5th mechanic we have tried in the 5 years we have lived here.

Anyone have any suggestions for getting all the power steering fluid off my driveway?

Wrapping Gifts

Wrapping Christmas Presents is so time consuming.
I decided to start last night while watching TV. You know just to get a head and not have to do it on Christmas Eve. So I gathered up most of the gifts, the paper, tape, and the labels. Then I got to it. Now mind you this is normally Kris' job because he does such a superb job wrapping (I am being serious). Me on the other hand I think as long as you can not see the gift who cares what the wrapping looks like (it's just going to be ripped off and thrown away). It took me 2.5 hours to wrap the gifts. It isn't even that we have a lot to wrap it is just I am that I am that bad at wrapping. I short cut a few times and had to redo. I even ripped the paper on one and had to redo it. I think next year I am giving the job back to Kris. Either that or it will all be in gift bags next year.

Chocolate Milk

Zack just came up to me and said "Mommy Santa Claus ask me if me can haf choclit milk wiff him"
I had to laugh because Zack is a deprived child, he does not get chocolate milk. I fear he would become addicted and I would never be able to get white milk down him again.

Directions

The person or persons who invested the GPS for people like me need to be praised!
I can read a map and I am fairly good at directions but when I have to go someplace new in a downtown setting where there are way too many one way streets I get a bit nervous. I borrowed Kris GPS yesterday and it not only got me there but got me there quicker than the directions that were supplied to me. The directions that were mailed to me would have taken me about 5 miles out of the way and I would have had to back track which irritates me.

Speaking of a downtown setting, why in the world do so many cities have a ton of one way streets? Does it really serve a purpose or is it just to confuse as many drivers as possible?

Zacks visit with Santa

We went the other night to see Santa. I didn't think Zack would have a problem with him since he has been talking about the Jolly one for a month now but I had no idea he would be so chatty with him. He proceeded to tell Santa every Thomas the train toy he wanted for Christmas. He did so well.
When he was done Santa gave him a coloring book and a coupon for a couple free mini cookies from the cookie store in the mall. So yes he had a great night seeing Santa and eating cookies.
Oh to be a kid again...

A Christmas Jingle for your viewing pleasure.

Watch out American Idol here he comes...

Speech Goals

Zack had a review of his speech goals that we set way back in June. I am pretty happy to report that he has met and exceeded those goals. We set new ones to see if he can reach those by his 3rd birthday.
He does have an evaluation set for the end of January to see if he still needs therapy, his therapist is going to focus on articulation to see if he needs work in that area or not. I still can not believe what a change there is with him when it comes to his speech. We now can not get him to keep quiet for more than a few seconds. He is seriously making up for lost time!

He's addicted.

My sister in law and her family were here for a few days and brought along their Wii. Kris let Zack play Mario Kart last night and I think he might be addicted now. He didn't want to give up the controller and a few times today he has told me he wants to race. He doesn't get the game is gone now so he can not.


Just look at the determination he has.

New Award

First let me say Sorry Kristin I do not know how I missed this. Must be old age setting it. LOL




"These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

I am passing it on to my blog friends old and new.

Tracey
Peggy
Sadie
Emily
Kirstin

"Zack I love you"
"Luf you too"
"How much do you love me Zack"
"Bunches and bunches"

Gosh I love that kid!

I stand corrected.

There were some Christmas lights being displayed on TV tonight, Zack yells in excitement "lights". I responded with "Oh Christmas Lights". My darling little love muffin looked at me and said "no mommy, Holiday Lights".
He's only 2 and already he is politically correct. LOL

Random stuff.

Zack is on the mend! I really don't like when he is sick. He gets super clingy and grouchy and barely sleeps. So last night was a welcome relief because 1. I was able to sleep in my own bed and 2. I was able to sleep!

I got out the 2 ft Christmas tree last night and let Zack decorate it. Kris would hand him an ornament and Zack would point to a branch and ask Kris "put here". We keep that tree in his room with all the non breakable ornaments so he can rearrange it a hundred times a day if that is what he chooses. It keeps him from touching the big tree. It worked well last year. The only problem is by the time Christmas comes the decorations are on one side of the tree and all near the bottom. LOL.

I am no where near done with Christmas shopping and that frustrates me. I wanted to be done before Thanksgiving so I didn't have to deal with the rude people, the bad customer service, and the lack of items I want still being on the shelf. I went to a certain card store the other night to get a specific ornament, the cashier wasn't so polite when I asked her where something was. Then I went to a bookstore and found an item for Zacks Christmas on the clearance shelf. A nice big sticker on the box saying 50% off. I get to the register and the woman rings up my stuff, tells me the total, I asked her if it rang up as half off. She said "no its regular price". I pointed to the sticker and she actually huffed and got irritated. I felt like saying something but I didn't. I didn't even get a 'thanks for shopping' or a 'come back soon' or even a 'goodbye'. Oh how I love the holiday season...

And one more thing, can someone tell me why these darn little gremlins keep coming to my house as soon as I clean my kitchen, I go into another room, come back and it is a mess again? Is it a law that says my kitchen can not stay clean for more than an hour?

I thought I could.

I have been tagged by Kristin over at :The Way It Is
Now before I get into all the rules I must say the book nearest me does not have the required amount of pages so I will just use the last line of the last page.

Rules:
* Grab the book closest to you. Now.
* Go to page 56.
* Find the 5th sentence.
* Write that sentence as your title.
* Copy these instructions.
* Tag 5 other friends to play.
* Don't go looking for your favorite book, or the coolest one you have - just grab the closest one

My fifth sentence is: I thought I could, I thought I could, I thought I could, I thought I could, I thought I could.

Stop take half a second and tell me can you figure out what book that is before you read the title?
.
.
.
.
.
the book:
The little engine that could. Retold by Watty Piper

I'm tagging


Sadie
Kirstin
Tara
Tracey
Peggy

My First Award

I received my first award!
It is from Kristin over at the way it is
You should check out her blog she is a tell it like it is kind of person with 3 little boys who are adorable and a bit mischievous.




The Rules
1. Put the logo on your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.
3. Nominate at least seven other blogs.
4. Add links to those blogs on your blog.
5. Leave a message for your nominee on their blog.

The Nominations are...

Tracey check her out at just another mommy blog

Sadie over at where the road begins she is a sweet person.

Emily over at life as I know it

I guess I need to start reading more blogs.

Up all night

Just when I thought I would be able to get some sleep.
Zack caught a cold and was up most of the night coughing so guess who got the job of staying up with him? Maybe tonight I can sleep...

Did you know?

Did you know that a Daddy snowman and a Mommy snowman have baby snowman. Yup it is true, Zack told me today. I have absolutely no clue where he picked that up from because we have never discussed where babies come from with him.

Another thing I never knew in all the years I have been leaving Santa Claus milk and cookies, I apparently have been leaving all the wrong things. Zack told me Santa likes Chocolate Milk and his favorite cookie is the M&M cookies! So on that note:

Santa I apologize for leaving you white milk and chocolate chip cookies every year, I promise I will leave you the right stuff from now on.

Sleep

I really would like to sleep tonight but my body is telling me not yet.
Since this happens so often to me I would like to hear your sure fire way of getting yourself to sleep.

Happy Meal

First let me start off this post saying Zack has eaten at McDonalds once in his entire life and that was because it was the only fast food place at the exit we stopped at on our way to PA nearly a year ago. I don't care for McDonalds food all that much so I avoid it.
Anyway today Zack is playing while I was trying to read a book. He came over to me and pushed the book down and said he was hungry. It was nearing the time Kris would get home from work so I told him he had to wait until daddy got home and we would eat. I asked him what he wanted. His response "A happy meal with fries and chicken nuggets"!
I was shocked. He had to have seen a commercial for it on TV. I truly believe McDonalds has great marketing to entice children. How else would he have known about happy meals?

The Bill.

So two weeks ago I went to the ER for chest pains, racing heart and so on. After being there over night and all the following day they released me saying it was all stress induced. What am I stressed about? Money, just like many other Americans now a days.
I received a notice in the mail saying they were billing my insurance and whatever is not covered I would be responsible for. Kris says he thinks they just want me back there because I nearly had a coronary right then and there reading that paper. $7000 for over night? For what? To be sitting in a bed all day waiting patiently for a doctor to come in and tell me what is wrong? To be told there is nothing wrong when clearly there is. Now I understand the waking the patient up to take the vitals and all but to come into the room at 5:30 am to put fresh ice in my water cup and change the trash bag! That is the most expensive day away from the house I have ever had, next time I think I will just go to a SPA it is surely a lot cheaper and less frustrating.

Customer Service

So does customer service really exist anymore?
Tonight we went to a major retail store to make a purchase of some DVDs. I look around myself for a little while but I can not find the one I really came in for. Not once did any of the 4 guys who worked in that part of the store come up to me and see if I needed help. After a while I went up to one and asked if they maybe had some in a different place or if they were out. He looked at me dumbfounded and said "uh I don't know I think if they are not there we are out".
So over to the customer service counter I go to ask for a rain check, 2 more employees standing there having a conversation. Finally one turns and says "can I help you". I felt like saying "No I just wanted to listen in on your conversation" but I kept my attitude in check. I tell him what I want, he keys some info into the computer and he tells me there are six in the store. At this point I am getting irritated and I make a comment about him going to find it for me then. Ten seconds later I had a paper in my hand for a rain check!
Is it really that hard to do your job? Heck the shopping season hasn't really started yet so what could the excuse be?

Flashback.

My mind flashed back to the 1990s this weekend. Remember the show Friends? Well I think I have my own little Joey here.
My SIL and her family came in for the weekend and Zack was excited to have company in the house. When they pulled up he was waiting at the door for them. As the girls were coming up to the door he shouts "Hey girls, how doin'?" It sounded so much like Joeys pick up line 'How you doin'? I wish I would have gotten that on camera.

I must confess

I must confess...
I went on a date today and it wasn't with my husband! (Well one was but the first one wasn't).

I had a bunch of errands to do today so I bundled Zack up and we headed out in the cold. He was actually pretty good compared to his normal feisty self when we are going from place to place. I told him if he was a good boy and helped me that we could go on a date for lunch.
He was, and we did.
He chose Arbys, he loves that place. Normally if we do any fast food place we go through the drive thru but today we went in and sat down. He was pretty well behaved and other than messy hands and face from all the ketchup he was a great date.

Kris and I went out to dinner and a movie tonight. It has been pretty close to a year and a half since we have been on a date. It was pretty nice. We went to dinner, came home so we could put Zack to bed, then left for the movie. I know sounds dumb to break it up like that but he's been kind of needy at bed time lately so it was a way to keep things normal for him. I wonder how long it will be before we make a date again?

Going to bed.

Zacks newest 'try to get out of going to bed thing' is Football. No not play it, he thinks if he tells his father he wants to watch football with him that he will get to stay up later. It really is quiet funny what he can come up with to avoid the inevitable.
Now he really isn't into playing football. Occasionally he will throw the ball with David but it is for a very short time. He much prefers playing hockey.
He has tried using the read another book excuse, the need water excuse and yeah the kids who isn't potty trained yet even used the go pee pee on potty excuse just to get out of going to bed.
I tell you the excuses just seem to be getting better and better, I wonder how long he will try this football excuse before he decides to change it up a bit.

Inside voice

Zack, use your inside voice please.
If I said that phrase once yesterday I said it a hundred times. Does he think I am hard of hearing and he needs to scream at the top of his lungs for everything? Believe me I answer him quickly when he calls for me so why the screaming I will never know. I fear this will carry over into the teenage years.

A little update from yesterday I received an email from my mom saying I made her day and that BTW the pain was gone!

Thanks Mom.

I tried and tried to fight it but I didn't win. I told my Mom weeks ago that I wasn't having a birthday this year but she didn't buy it. She told me she was pretty sure that she remembered being in pain caused by my birth. To be honest I don't believe her story about pain. Lets face it I was an easy child from the moment I was born, Mom must be loosing it because she doesn't seem to remember it that way. I don't know why, maybe she is getting me mixed up with someone else?

Hey it could happen!

Anyway, Mom this is for you...





Oops I forgot this blog shows a different time, so those who have asked, yes my birthday is the 19th.

Haircut Time

Kris took Zack for a haircut this past weekend. Normally Zack freaks out getting a haircut but this time he did pretty well. He sits on Kris' lap since we don't think he is ready to sit by himself yet.
Later that evening when I was giving Zack his bath we were having a conversation about everything he did this weekend. When I brought up the haircut, he looked at me all serious and said "haircut girl mean". I asked why she was mean but didn't get an answer. When I said something to Kris about it he says she wasn't mean but thinks Zack might think she is mean because she made him look down to cut the back of his hair.
I just find it fascinating how a little one thinks one thing and an adult sees it completely different.
BTW he was happy as a clam when he was able to get off Kris' lap and get his lalop (lolly pop).

Shame on me.

OK, I will admit I tell little white lies to Zack every now and again.
Stop shaking your head thinking I am a bad mommy, it keeps the peace and most often prevents any kind of tantrum. Admit it you would do it too if you have a restaurant full of people looking at you or the people at the store staring at you like you can't control your child.
My latest and I have to admit greatest little white lie was in a family oriented restaurant that has a game room with several arcade games and they have several more outside the doors to the game room. Zack sees them and well at that moment for him dinner was over and all he wanted was to go play. Neither Kris nor I were done eating so the not so true statement came out of my mouth just in time to avoid the tantrum. As Zack was pointing and saying "play" I asked him if he sees the game flashing, he said yes and I said "when it flashes that means it is broken and we can not play it until they fix it".
It worked he sat back down in his chair and asked for a lalop (lolly pop).
I wonder how much longer I will be able to get away with things like this?

That will teach you Grandma!

Zack really floored my mom today.
She was playing around with him and when he didn't want to do something she said "fine I won't be your friend, I think I will call Phillip". Phillip is my nephew. Well out of the mouth of the once innocent child of mine Zack says "Go head" then he adds "phone over there". I do believe my mom was in total shock, I know I was!

A night away

Well, it happened. I went to the hospital for a racing heart and I spent my first night away from Zack. It was hard not saying his prayers with him or tucking him into bed or checking on him before I fell asleep. He told me on the phone that I was 'far far away'. I don't know where he got that from but he did. When Kris brought him up to see me he wasn't too happy with all the machines he saw in the room, He did fully enjoy trying to fold me up like a pretzel in that uncomfortable thing they called a bed.
I know I have been telling Kris I need a day to myself but dang this wasn't what I was hoping for! I couldn't wait to be sprung from there.
On a good note Zack is spending lots of time playing with Grandma and I do believe she is completely worn out. I know for a fact that she is so tired of playing trains and if she never sees another toy train again she will be happy. just wait grandma until he gets his train table from Santa.

2 minute warning

Well it has finally happened.
I told Zack it was time to get into the shower, he looked at me all serious, held up 2 fingers and said "in 2 minutes"!
I am afraid of what he will come out with next.

This weekend.

I drove all the way out to my moms yesterday to take her to a Christmas Craft show (which is hosted at an elementary school) that we go to each year. Boy were we disappointed. I think I am done with Christmas craft shows for a while. The past few years haven't been to good. We also had Zack and K (the little one I babysit) with us, and Zack just wasn't listening yesterday at all.
I think my mom got the biggest kick out of Zack when we were leaving the show. Zack spotted the playground and kept repeating 'park, park, park'. So when I told him no park because he wasn't a good boy when we were in the show, through his tears he says "Happy". In other words he would be a happy boy if he got to go to the park. I have to say, I didn't buy it and we didn't go.
I do know she was thrilled to hear him call them "bram ma" and "bram pa" for the first time ever.

Today he spent most of the day outdoors with Kris trying to pick more rocks. So I am hoping all the fresh air will help him have a great night of sleep. I really can not wait until we have a nice grassy back yard.
Kris if your reading this all your hard work isn't going un-noticed. Thanks a bunch.

He knows his name.

I am a little excited tonight.
For a few months when you asked Zack his name he would pound his chest and say "aa".
To him that meant Zack.
Then he progressed to saying "Sack". I don't know why but tonight I took it a little further and asked him Zack who. He then told me his first and last name!!
I am still in awe with how much he can say now after being delayed for so long. I can not keep up with the number of words he uses everyday.

He loves to race. It doesn't matter who races with him, he is eager to take anyone on (Kris always tells him you cheat just like your brother always did). We tell him he needs to count before the race starts (as in a count down) so he counts... three, two, one and he takes off. Funny thing is he can not count up like one, two, three but he can count backwards. LOL

Another little funny thing he said today, which I am not sure where he picked it up from. We were leaving the grocery store parking lot, I was waiting to pull out and I hear him in the back seat say "Follow me guys". I have no idea who or what he was talking to but it sure was cute.

Time for a new model!

On Sept 22, I posted about Zack and his first word, first two word sentence and his first three word sentence and how they all were about "Dada".
Well I am sure you can guess what I am about to say now. Yes that's right this morning before Kris left for work he asked Zack if he was going to help fix Davids car. As soon as Kris walked out Zack went running to the toy box looking for his tools. He came back to me and said "Dada fix Days(Davids) car".
I guess I will now be forced to trade this kid in on a new model.

Yeah right like I could ever trade in my little love muffin!

Friendly reminder

If you haven't already, get out and vote today.

Need Puppies?

I was nearly in tears last night while Kris, Zack and myself were on the living room floor playing.
Kris was wrestling with Zack a bit and Zack just grazed Kris' man parts. I started to giggle and said "Ah honey you don't need those puppies do you?" At just that moment Zack turns around and barks at Kris. I bust out laughing. Then Zack looked at Kris and says "need puppies?" It was hilarious. He does have good comedic timing for a 2 year old!

Mommy

It feels so good to hear the word Mommy come out of Zacks mouth.
It took forever to get him to say 'mama', then a month ago he graduated to saying 'mom mom'. For the past week or so I occasionally here a 'mommy' thrown in the mix. It is just a really nice thing to hear coming from his mouth, unless of course it is 2 in the morning.

Halloween

Zack totally got Halloween this year! For days I have been asking him what to do when we go trick or treating and for days he has been knocking on something and telling me "lellow m m". So we worked on saying trick or treat a lot. He did so well last night while hitting a few houses in the neighborhood. He did say "trick treat" to almost everyone. He only told one person "lellow m m".
There was a couple who dressed as ghosts and sat on their porch to hand out candy and Zack walked up to them and said "Boo". I wish I would have gotten it on camera it was just too cute!
David came by for a while and dressed in his costume and walked around the neighborhood with us before going to his Halloween Party. Zack got a kick out of Davids costume.
After we ran out of candy, Zack, Kris and I went downtown to the city park and watched the fireworks. It was the first time Zack had ever seen fireworks and he enjoyed them. I was afraid he wouldn't like it but he did.
On that note I will leave you with a picture of my boys.

David dressed as Cat in the Hat and Zack dressed as Pablo from the Backyardigans.

Rocks

This morning I made myself a cup of hot chocolate, the kind with mini marshmallows in it. I heated the water, poured the packet in and didn't have a chance to stir it at that moment. When I set it on the table, Zack looked into it and was concerned.
I asked him what was wrong. He pointed to my cup and said "rocks". He was concerned because he thought there were rocks in my cup. How cute is that?

The world ended last night.

I just thought you would want to know the world no longer exists, at least in Zacks mind.
We decided to take him to the bookstore so he could play with the train table he loves so much. So I wandered around the store while Kris was watching Zack. When I made my way back over there one other child was playing with the trains. We had already been in the store for 40 minutes or so before Kris started giving the countdown to Zack. When it was time to go Zack started throwing the tantrum of all tantrums! The other child was also throwing a tantrum but I am not really sure why since he wasn't leaving yet.
We never did get Zacks coat on to leave, I wound up carrying that and Kris was carrying a screaming, kicking, hitting 2.5 year old. From what Kris said Zack got in a few good hits.
When we were fighting Zack to get him buckled in the car seat the other child was being carried out kicking and screaming by his mom.
So the world ended last night for 2 little boys and the rest of us don't seem to realize that.

Pure Heaven

Yesterday I had to wash Zacks sheets, I put them in the dryer just as he was eating lunch so that by the time he was done they were nice and dry and ready for nap time. Once he was done and cleaned up we went to get his sheets from the dryer, I draped the pillow case around his shoulders and all he could say was "AHH" they were still warm. It started to slip as he was walking upstairs which upset him a bit but by the time I made up his mattress and got him into bed they were still a bit warm and he was in heaven! He never moved or lifted his head up to look at me as I left the room like he normally does.
Is there anything better than climbing into bed with still warm from the dryer sheets?

Mountain Weekend

This past weekend we went to the mountains with some friends of ours. We go with them every year and have a great time.
This year we went to a place that has a corn maze, petting zoo, hay ride and some other things for the kids to do. We all had a good time.
Zack had a blast feeding the goats in the petting zoo, he thought it was funny that there tongues tickled his palms when he was feeding them.
He was a bit unsure about the hay ride while sitting there waiting for everyone to board, once we started moving, he enjoyed it.
We also went to an animal rescue place. They take in animals that have been hurt or abandon animals. For some reason he really liked the "mad owl". The owl kept trying to fly in its cage and Zack told me he was mad. LOL

Here is a picture of Kris and Zack


Zack saying hi to a pony


Zack petting a goat


Cheesy grin when they hay ride started


I forgot to take pictures when it was pumpkin carving time. How slack is that?
I can not wait to go again next year, we always have a great time.

Zacks New Words

Freaky dreams.

I was having a freaky dream this morning about suffocating under a couch cushion. My arms were over my head, the cushion over my face. There were a few people there but no-one was trying to help me even when I was saying help me.
When I woke up my pillow was over my face! I had to wonder was I making noise in my sleep and Kris put the pillow over my head to shut me up? So I had to question him and ask him if he was trying to shut me up by putting the pillow on me. He said no, but do I really believe him? LOL You know because I could not have done it myself! LOL
I always blame any freaky or odd dream I have on him, poor guy just sits and takes it.

Mean Mommy

I am the most hated mom in the world right now.
I took Zack to the doctor for his flu shot. He loves to go to the doctors office just to play with the toys in the waiting room. As soon as the nurse stands at the door calling his name, he either tries to bolt out the door or hide! I had to chase him down, carry him in to the exam room and hold him while he cried. Boy does that kids have a set of lungs on him. Just as quickly as the tears came, they were gone. This time I let him have a lalop (lollipop) which was promptly devoured.
He was polite enough to say thank you to the receptionist who gave him a sticker. So that is a good thing.
When we got home I asked him if he was going to tell Dada he had a lollipop, he responded with "No, girl" as he was poking his leg. So I take that as he is telling Dada the girl poked him in the leg. I wonder if he is just looking for sympathy.

Frustrating

I have tried several times today to embed a video in my blog and for some unknown reason it will not work. So if I can ever get it embedded than you will see Zack and hear his new words.
Anyone who has a blog have any advice to get it embedded?

Trunk or Treat

Kris and I took Zack to a trunk or treat event today. He was all excited to go trick or treating and wearing his Pablo costume. We have been working on saying trick or treat for a while now and although it doesn't sound exactly like it you can tell what he is trying to say. We got there and got set up and put his costume on. He looked so cute. When it was time to trick or treat Kris took him from car to car while I handed out candy from our car. When they got back to our car he told me Zack wouldn't say a word to anyone much less look at them. Oh well so much for working on that phrase.
Last night while in the car he couldn't find the moon in the sky, he always gets so excited when he sees the moon. So we played a game of trying to find the moon. I taught him to say "Moon, Where are you?" It is so cute hearing him say Moon, Are you?" He tends to leave a word out here and there but that is ok for now. I am still so happy with what he is picking up.

Trying hard.

I have been trying to get a decent video of Zack saying a few words but it isn't working out so great. I will keep trying. He is repeating everything these past few days.

Today we were in the car and I pointed out a very ugly car to Kris who laughed and said "now that's pimping". Well from the back seat a tiny voice says "pipping". I had to politely remind Kris that we now have a parrot and have to watch what we say.

Here's your sign...

Last night Kris, Zack and I were out in the back yard picking more rocks. After a short while Zack was not interrested in doing that anymore so he found his own things to do. At one point he was trying to take the shovel away from Kris, while Kris was still trying to use it. Kris tells him go get your shovel by the house. Trying to explain where something is to a 2 year old can be frustrating but I had to stop and laugh at Kris when he was telling Zack "it's to your right buddy"

Hey Kris, Here's your sign...

For crying out loud he is only 2.

And just to be fair I need to hand myself the sign too. Yesterday afternoon David showed up on his way home from work. We were up stairs playing with the kids. Kaylee crawled under the kiddie table a few times saying it was her house. Well about 10 minutes later Zack was crawling under the table trying to say something and I couldn't understand so I was naming things off that I thought he was saying. He was starting to get frustrated with my lack of knowledge. David looks at me and says "Mom he is saying HOUSE". Duh, I felt like an idiot.

Sleep Deprivation

It is only 8:00 am and I am already wishing for nap time. How bad is that?
I could not sleep last night so I didn't get to sleep until after 12:30 am. Zack woke up crying at about 2:00 but within a few minutes he put himself back to sleep. He woke up at 4:50 am crying for "dada". He apparently had a bad dream and would not go back to sleep. I am exhausted already.

Public Service Announcement

This morning Zack was reaching up on the counter for food. Any food he could get his grubby little hands on. I handed him a peach and told him to go sit at the table to eat it.
He was chowing down on it then hit the pit. I don't know what it is with this kid but he seems to feel the need to gnaw on the pit. After making him spit that out, I dug the pit out and told him we don't eat the pit. So the rest of the morning all I have been hearing is "no eat pip". I did try to correct his pronunciation but it isn't happening. He just keeps repeating himself "no eat pip".

So if you are going to enjoy a nice juicy peach, I just want to remind you "Please don't eat the PIP".

Acorns

We went to the park yesterday, it was entirely too nice to stay indoors. Both Zack and Kaylee played on the slides and swings for a while then discovered the million acorns laying on the ground. Zack was the first to stuff one in his pocket. I told him it was ok to bring one home and show to daddy. I guess one meant 'one of everyone he sees'. Before I knew it he had his pockets so stuffed full of acorns they were falling out as he walked. I don't really know how he was walking anyway since they were weighing down his pants, with that I thought of 'I hope he doesn't wear his pants like that as a teenager'.
He cried and pitched a fit when it was time to leave. He kept bending down to pick up just one more as he was walking to the car. When I cleaned out his pockets so he could get buckled in his car seat I not only found acorns but I found several dead bugs. Yuck! I don't think he intentionally put them in his pocket because he is still a bit fearful of bugs. This makes me wonder what else I am going to be finding in his pockets thought the next few years.
Zack has always been interested in natures bounty but he has never wanted to take it home before. I guess I need to start learning about nature so I can be teaching him. I guess he doesn't know mommy is an indoor girl. LOL

Red

This child of mine is making me sick with that he dips in RED (aka Ketchup). I know tons of kids like ketchup and I am fine with that, heck I even use it sometimes, but seriously I am wondering when Zacks skin is going to start turning RED. This kid of mine eats more ketchup than any human I have ever seen. On average we go through a bottle of it every 10 days.

I thought it was gross when he started dipping his fruit (Mandarin oranges, grapes, apples...). Then it started making me queasy when I caved and gave him a brownie and he dipped that in there. Well last night my stomach was churning watching him eat marshmallows dipped in Ketchup! I am really afraid of what he will dip next. Someone please tell me (even if you have to lie to me) that this too shall pass.

You know those little packets of ketchup you get from fast food places well I have to keep a baggie of them in my purse for emergency situations. Speaking of fast food when the drive thru person asks if you want ketchup and you tell them yes and a lot of it. Why do they think 5 packets are a lot? That is just a tease to my child.

We are really messed up.

Our country sure is messed up.
I read the paper and watch the news and think wow we let our country and society get so screwed up!
We have a government that is not governing, police that are not policing, teachers that are not teaching, mothers that are not mothering. When are we as a society going to wake up and finally realize how bad it has gotten and how much worse it will get if we don't do something?

A Day out with Thomas the Train.

We had the most fantastic day on Sunday. We took Zack to see Thomas the Train in Spencer NC. We opted for a early train ride so we bought the tickets a few weeks ago for the 9:15 am train. We left the house at 7 am in order to be there a little before our train ride. When we got there we missed the turn into the parking area and passed the train, Zack saw it was all kinds of excited! If he wasn't buckled into his seat, that kid would have bolted!

The first thing we did was go have his picture taken in front of Thomas, as you can see he has the cheesiest grin ever.



Here his is just in Awe...



Waiting patiently for the train to start moving...



After the train ride, watching a show...



Meeting Sir Topham Hatt.



Zack about 5 minutes after leaving...



He really had a blast, I don't think there was anything that he missed, other than getting the temporary tattoo. Which we heard about when we got home so I had to dig around and find some here.
I had a great time watching Zack get so excited about everything. Even though the tickets are a bit pricey I think it was worth every penny seeing that cheesy grin and seeing his eyes light up watching Thomas the Train.

Too Tired

I was hoping to have some pictures up tonight of our super exciting day today but... I am exhausted so I think you are just going to have to wait for the pictures as well as the story.

Last night at dinner I was going down a list of names and asking Zack if they were "a girl or a boy" (example, is Daddy a boy or a girl). He was doing really well answering correctly to everyone I asked. So Kris and I being the excited parents we clapped for him while telling him what a good job he did. The little bugger bowed to us while we were clapping for him! Neither Kris nor I could contain our laughter. It was just one of the funniest moments because neither of us expected that.
This morning Zack and I went to the park, we went to the one downtown. Zack played a little on the slides but there were kids there that were a bit bigger and they were a little to hyper for Zack's taste so we went for a walk in the park. He decided to pick up sticks along the way, not so bad but he had a bunch of them and was holding on for dear life. I was hoping he didn't want to take them all home with him. When we were walking over the bridge I asked him if he wanted to throw one into the water. He had a blast doing that. We stood there until every last one of them was in the stream.
I didn't realize how long we were at the park so when we left I stopped at Arbys on the way home and got him fries and a "hamburger" (aka a roast beef sandwich). I didn't get a kids meal with time and now I am scared! He ate every last fry and 3/4 of that sandwich. Aren't 2 year old supposed to eat small amounts? Where can they possible store all that food?

Getting Mail

I really dread going to the mailbox somedays. I just know there isn't anything good in there before I even get to the end of the driveway. When did I start feeling like that? I remember loving going to the mailbox and getting mail out, even though some of it was bills I still liked seeing what else was in there for me. Many years ago I started signing up for freebies just to see if they would come in the mail, now I don't bother with many of them (unless it is free diapers or something I really want to try). I don't even get excited when they come in.
I remember feeling the same way about email. I couldn't wait to log on knowing that someone was taking the time to write me or just checking up on me. Now there is so much spam to delete it seems like some days are a pain to bother checking it.
I know for a fact Kris doesn't like checking the mail because I can count on one hand the number of times he has bothered to check the mailbox in the past year. Unless he is expecting a package of parts he could care less about the mail.
Zack is always wanting to check the mail even though he still isn't tall enough to reach in and get it. Yesterday I gave him an envelope addressed to him, he looked at me and said "mail" in an excited little voice. I wonder how long it will be before he isn't excited to check the mail anymore.

Remember years ago people wrote letters to other people just to see how they were doing and fill them in on what was going on. Remember when email first became popular and people emailed letters to other people because it was cheaper than sending it through the mail. Now it just seems like people forward jokes and such but no one sends letters whether it is through the mail or email.

Well, I say get your pen and paper out people and send someone you love or haven't heard from in a while a letter or a card or a drawing that your child did. Make someone want to go to their mailbox!

Wordless Wednesday

Fun Morning

Zack and I had a fun morning today.
After breakfast we read a few books, only bad thing is they are same books over and over again. Oh yeah and he likes to give the endings away before you turn the last page!
Then we played a few computer games, he loves the sesame street website with Ah-mo (Elmo).
He watched a little tv while I was getting our stuff ready then off to the park we went. We had the whole park to ourselves which was great. I got on the teeter-totter with him and bounced him around which he thought was hilarious! We raced down the side by side slide many times. I would not have done this if other people were there. He learned how to hang and swing himself on the bars (to cute). We watched 3 squirrels play in the grass, he tried throwing them some sticks and things he found on the ground but he hasn't mastered the long distance throwing yet. He spent a ton of time watching ants that gathered on some kind of nut shell. He was fascinated with them. I think we were there about an hour and a half before he started getting a bit tired.
In the parking lot I was trying to get the wipes out of his diaper bag he looked at me touched the truck and said "hot". As clear as can be. Now he has a tendency to leave of the end sounds of many words but he made sure to add that T sound to hot.
Then we met Kris and had lunch together. Zack ate all his food and some of my salad. He loves certain green foods (lettuce, pickles, celery) and will tell you green in sign language when he wants some.
As soon as his head hit the pillow for nap time he was out! I don't think I even got to the door before I heard him snoring. LOL

Oh what a day.

It is only 11:30 am and I already want to pull my own hair out.
Last night the DVD player in the living room died. Now this wouldn't be a big problem but when the DVD player in the family room isn't hooked up it spells disaster.
I tried taking the cables off the dead one to put on the other one but they are on there so tight I can't get them off.
And the reason I am going nuts is because I have a child who can not live without his favorite cartoon and must see it 12,000 times a day. Zack has asked for "Max" about 8000 times already today and I still have about 9 hours or so until he goes to bed.
All the toys in the world aren't helping today. He wants nothing but his beloved Max & Ruby cartoons.
I think by the time this day is over I will need a wig to cover the bald spots.

On a different note, David called. He is stuck in traffic on his way to the Obama rally. He is very interested in politics so this will be a good experience for him.

Is it a law?

That all little children must become puddle jumpers?
It has been raining here and windy but I decided to take Zack to the library just to get out of the house. I don't know why little ones are so drawn to puddles but he splashed in every puddle he could find. After a while I just gave up trying to get him to stop and let him do it. He found every puddle there was. Of course his pants, shoes and socks were all wet but he didn't seem to care.

Like father, like son.

Short post today.
Kris comes in the door after work tonight and says hi to Zack and turns to me and says "hey babe".
Clear as can be Zack says "hey babe".
I bust out laughing it was just to funny.

Dada 3, Mama 0

Ok, so here is the deal.
Zacks first word was Dada. Alright a kid has to start somewhere but my goodness it took another 7 months for him to say Mama!
Three weeks ago he said his first two word sentence. He said "Dada home" as Kris walked in the door from work. I was happy but again starting with the Dada is not making Mama feel so great.
Well a few nights ago he said his first three word sentence. I bet you know where this is going...
that's right he said "Dada no home". (He was patiently waiting for Kris to come home). Well I have to say I am happy he is putting things together but darn it. I swear if his first real sentence is about Dada I just may have to trade him in for a new model!

Carousel Festival

The town we live in hosts a Carousel festival every year in the city park. It is something nice to bring a family too that doesn't cost you an arm and a leg.
The park is home to a Dentzel Menagerie Carousel. What I read about the Carousel is this one came from Ohio and was built sometime around 1906-1910. There are only 14 complete Dentzel Carousels in the world. It is hand carved, hand painted, the horse tails are real hair and the animals all have glass eyes. It is quite beautiful.
The park also features a small train that rides on a track. It is fast becoming one of Zacks favorite things to do at that park. Kris and Zack waited in a very long line today so they could take a ride. Kris said Zack had a good time until the crowd started yelling when they went into the tunnel, then poor Zack covered his ears. He still came off wanting more though. I told him I would take him on another day when the lines weren't so long.
I did break my own rule today...
I let Zack eat dessert before dinner. We bought a funnel cake then went and sat on the grass and we ate it. I told Zack this was the only time he could eat dessert before dinner, he looked at me like I was nuts. By the time the funnel cake was gone my once clean child was covered in powdered sugar. I wish I had my camera.
We had a great time and can not wait to go again next year.

Going to the store

After dinner we went to the store. While in the store Kris picked up the guitar for one of those gaming systems they have displayed and tried to play. Yes I said tried, he wasn't very good (sorry dear but it is the truth). As a matter of fact while he was attempting to play Zack walked away from him! I started to giggle over that.
While in the store we let Zack walk around rather then put him in a shopping cart. I swear his hands were going a mile a minute touching every thing on every shelf. If the item had buttons or knobs well that meant he had to touch every one and make sure all the buttons worked. If the items were small enough he felt the need to take them off the shelf and carry them. Please someone tell me that this will stop soon. It is really hard trying to get him out of the store without a fuss because he hasn't touched everything.

Obsessions.

I am obsessed with collecting Zebras. Doesn't matter if they are stuffed animals, painted ceramics, statues, tins with zebras on them. It just doesn't matter I have a whole cabinet full and will continue to collect more.
I swear David is obsessed with basketball shoes/sneakers (or whatever you want to call them). He will say he isn't but I have to disagree. I think everytime I see him he has a new pair of shoes on and they always match his clothes. He sure did not get that from me, I could care less about shoes.
Zack is completely obsessed with the cartoon Max and Ruby. If the tv isn't on he is pointing and yelling Max. If the tv is on and Max and Ruby is not on, he is pointing and yelling Max. Some days it is annoying, ok I will be honest MOST days it is annoying. If Zack could really talk I swear he could recite every episode of that show. I found some Beanie Babies of Max and Ruby on line so I ordered them and they came in yesterday. Before bed time I gave them to him. He clung to them even after he was asleep. I forgot the cut the tags off before giving them to him and now he won't let me.

Quite the helper.

It has been raining steadily all day so we can not go out to play. I decided to make some brownies with Zack and K. this morning. Zack had to help put the egg in the bowl he was so focused. I don't think I have ever seen him that focused on anything before. He also wanted to help with the water so I let him have the measuring cup and to my amazement he took his time and got every last drop in the bowl. He kept sticking his face near the bowl saying UMM.
After the oven timer beeped be came running, boy was he disappointed when I told him he was to wait until after dinner tonight to have one.

Last night he couldn't wait to get outside with Kris and help him with the lawn. We need to reseed the back yard so Kris is working his tail off to do it right. Anytime Kris would pick up a rake, Zack would stop what he is doing and run over to pick up one and help. When Kris would throw his rake down Zack would do the same. It was pretty funny to watch. No matter what Kris did, Zack was sure to follow. The only bad thing is I don't think Kris will ask Zack to help him pick rocks anymore. Zack tends to go for the biggest ones he can find. Well Zack found a big one and was trying to demonstrate his brute strength by throwing it into the bucket only it caught Kris' hand instead and mashed it up against the bucket. Kris is alright now but man I know that had to hurt.

Today started off terrible. I was just having an off day and Zack was in a none listening kind of mood which really wasn't helping anything. He was sent to Time Out several times this morning for doing exactly what I told him not to do. I don't like having to put him in Time Out but sometimes that is the best place for him. After he had his nap, he woke up with a somewhat better attitude.
Zack is amazing me everyday with at least trying to say new words. Last night I let him watch some tv and Diego came on so he started yelling "AH-GO". Tonight he was telling Kris that "Dora" was on tv. I can not tell you how happy I am with his progress in the past few weeks.
Today we read one of his ABC books and to my amazement he was able to point out a few of the letters that I asked him to, he even tried saying the letter.

When bad things happen.

Kris went to the doctor last week they told him he had pink eye.
He has been using the medicine but it has gotten a lot worse. So he goes back today, they give him a prescription for antibiotics. He calls me to let me know he isn't trusting them and he is on his way to the eye doctors office. The eye doctor told him to throw away the medicine the other doctor prescribed and not to bother getting the new script filled. He prescribed something else. Hope this one works.
While at the eye doctors, someone hit his car and 2 others in the parking lot and drove off! Thankfully the road crew who was working right by there and some of the office employees saw it happen and got a plate number for the cops. I don't know yet what damage was done to the car.
When Kris was telling me this on the phone I told him if he went back to work, to let his boss know that I didn't want him back by the machines. I figure he is having so many problems today I don't want to chance anything more happening.

Oh the wonders.

There are some days Zack will eat more than any other child I have ever seen and today was one of those days. I am telling you I fear my grocery bill when he gets older. I think Kris is going to have to get a 3rd job to keep up with him.
For the past few days Zack has been telling me "her". I couldn't figure out what or who he was referring to. Well I figured it out, he is referring to my mother, his grandmother. I have no idea where he picked that up from.
Another baffeling thing he has come up with that I just don't know where he got the idea from is when giving him some "cookies" (vanilla wafers) he asked for milk and indicated he wanted to dunk his cookies. I have not done this and Kris swears he hasn't done it so where does he get it from?

Napping.

Why is it when I finally gets some free time to sleep without anyone else being home, I am wide awake? Kris decided to go into work today for a few hours and took Zack with him. I am thinking Yes, I will sleep the morning away. Not so! I sleep for 15 mintures and woke up in a panic that Zack was upstairs in his crib and crying and screaming because no one came to get him after he woke up for a nap. I couldn't sleep after that.
When Kris and Zack came home, poor Zack looked exhausted. He went right down for a nap with no fuss. Kris must have worn him out. When he woke up from his nap, he was full of energy. Neither of us can keep up with him.

Progress

Zack is progressing very well with new words. We now have a total of 18 words that we (mom and dad) can understand. His favorite word of course is NO. I hear it about 1000 times a day but that is ok with me because he is speaking. His next favorite new word is Help (haap). The minute he realizes he can not get something he yells HAAP. It is so good to hear him speaking.

Something funny happened the other night. Kris was driving and apparently needed to spit so he was clearing his throat, rolled down the window and spit. Zack from the back seat starts trying to mimic daddy and clears his throat the tries to spit. Nothing funnier than watching a 2 year old trying to spit when they don't know how. I was laughing hysterically and all Kris could do was shake his head. Maybe now he will get that Zack is going to mimic everything he sees daddy do.

projects.

Have you ever started a project that had you so frustrated you gave up way to easily?
I bought a bookshelf for Zacks room the other day and attempted to put it together yesterday. Now I have put many of them together in the past and never had a problem. This new one is "No Tools Needed". Instead of screws and nails it is plastic plugs. I gave up trying to put it together when it kept breaking (good thing they put extra plugs in the bag). Last night at 10:30 pm I tried again, finally got it put together. I have no clue how long it will hold up but it is done. Give me the one with the nails and screws and I will have no problem, give me something 'easy' and forget about it!

David

Going through some papers today I found a picture of David as a little one. Where did the time go? How in the world can he be 24 years old? He was a good kid until those darn teenage years hit but thankfully we made it through. He is handsome, funny, smart and has a sarcastic side to him just like his mom. (Did I say that?). Oh yeah and he is very opinionated. If he doesn't agree with you he will argue his case until you give up. I find that funny though because he was so shy as a young child. He wouldn't even order his own burger whenever I took him to McDonalds!
I am proud of the adult he turned out to be.

Zacks Words

My 2 year old son Zack still isn't speaking much so he has a speech therapist come out once a week to the house to work with him. He is doing real well. When we started the whole speech therapy process, the only real words we could get out of Zack was Dada, Mama, and pwa (please). He would also get out uh-huh (yes) and ah-ah (no). We are picking up new words at a good rate now. We have gotten Maw (for his grandma), More, Home, On, Off, Fa (fan), Baa-Oo (balloon) and today we got Pa-Bo (Pablo from the Backyardigans show) and Ahmo (Elmo).
I can not begin say how proud I am of him. He went from not being able to get out the sounds to being able to get some sounds out and also put 2 sounds together to form a word.
He picks up sign language pretty quickly too. That in itself has helped us tremendously. I really feel that his frustration level has gone down some. Not a lot because there is still a lot he can not communicate to us but hey at this point any drop in frustration is a blessing.

My first blog post ever.

We had a 71st birthday party for my mom Sat evening. She didn't know anything about it and was shocked to say the least. Four of my five brothers were able to make it which just made her day. Even though she was exhausted I think she had a good time.
Zack did well having that many people around. He is in the shy stage right now so it takes a while for him to get used to people. He did get a bit attached to my brother John. As a matter of fact he is mad at John right now for going back home. Let that be a lesson to John to stay in touch with him! LOL