Merry Christmas

Part II

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. I sure did! I got a lot of toys. One of my favorite toys is a new drum. Of course, I already have like ten but I needed a new one. A much better one. I also got a swing, a glow magnadoodle, an art easel with some cool paintbrushes, some books and also some boring clothes. I got another item that mom was more excited about than I was, it was a HUGE box of diapers. It has been a hectic week already. I got to see my cousins, Luke and Drew, who are all over the place. It's hard to keep up with them. I am ready to get back to normal though. But that doesn't start again until Thursday when I go back to Ms Becky's. Anyways I'm calling it a night. Merry Christmas everyone!

Party all night long

Mom, dad and I went to St Louis for a checkup. We left yesterday and spent the night at a hotel (thanks to moms free night certificate that she won at work). We went out to eat at Texas Roadhouse with some friends of mom and dads (Jay and his girlfriend) when we got up there. They have really good rolls. I ate a whole roll so when it was time to eat my other food, I was full. It was a fun time. Afterwards, we headed back to the hotel. I got ready for bed. But I was too excited. I got to sleep in a bed all by myself. Mom and dad turned out the lights about 10:00. And I just laid in bed babbling away. I talked all night long. Mom and dad was in their own bed trying to sleep but I was too busy talking. I also thought what I had to say was funny, because in the middle of my conversation with myself, I would start laughing. Mom and dad thought I was funny too because I heard them laughing. They kept asking me what was so funny I tried to tell them the story again but they didn't understand. It was about midnight before I passed out.
About my doctor's appointment, they took another picture of my head. And then I got to see the doctor. He poked at my head and measured it and asked how I was doing. I said great. Not really, because I was exhausted from talking all night long. Instead, mom spoke up for me. He said everything looked great. My shunt is draining like it is supposed too. The only thing is my brain really hasn't expanded any from last year. That's okay because I am still learning things with the brain that I have.

Choices

In therapy today, I was the ruler of the roost. Everything we did, I got to decide if I wanted more or if I wanted to stop what we were doing. We started with the swing and after two times, I was done with it. So I pressed the stop button on the switch. The therapists wasn't too sure if they believed me, because I LOVE to swing. But I pushed that stop button with authority so they knew I meant business.
The next task was a matching game. Mom was a little worried because she didn't think I could do it. I wasn't sure myself. But it was a piece of cake. Ms Terri, showed me a circle, and then she showed me two more objects (a circle and a square), and I was supposed to choose which one matched the circle. After looking them both over, I grabbed for the circle. Mom was shocked. I think the therapists were too. So we did it again. But with different shapes. This time she showed me a star, and then two more - of a star and a triangle. I had to think about this one a little longer. But I grabbed for the right one again. I grabbed the star. Everyone clapped and was so proud of me.
The next thing on the list was giving me this strobe light - which I love. Ms Brandy, turned it on and I moved the light around and played with it for awhile. Then she turned it off. If I wanted it back, I had to press the more button on the switch. I did it instantly - 10 times in a row. But my time was running out and I had to put it away even though I kept pressing the more button. Mom told me NO MORE.

10 Times

I broke a record in therapy today. I always start off swinging, my favorite thing to do in therapy, and the therapist wants me to use the switch. The switch says 'more swinging' on one side, the other side says 'all done'. So they let me swing for awhile and then they stop me. Once they stop me I have to decide if I want to swing more or if I am all done. If I want to swing more, I have to push the 'more swinging' side of the switch; and if I am done I have to push the 'all done' side of the switch. I have been working with this switch for weeks. And the therapist usually has to show me, and take my hand and press the button a few times before I get the hang of it. But the last couple of weeks I have really started to understand the concept and she hasn't had to do hand-over-hand with me. Now I know to do it by myself. It still takes me awhile, once they stop swinging me to actually push the button. My thought process is still a little slow. But I really just take my time to annoy the therapist and mom. I didn't know, but the therapist have been counting each week on how many times I push the switch. Last week, I did it 5 times in a row all by myself. Today, I did it 10 times, yes 10 times, and then on the 11th time I finally pushed the 'all done' button. I was pooped!

Like I said before, mom has been trying to get a video of me talking. But I refuse to amuse her. Except the other night, I let one slip. Just a little one. As you can see from the video, I do not like the camera and I freeze up. If you be patient and listen carefully, I said dad in the video. Hopefully that will satisfy mom for awhile.

Ignoring

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I sure did. I ate a lot of turkey and stuffing. A matter of fact, I am still eating it as leftovers. It's starting to get a little old. But I think mom and dad are too.
I am really starting to babble a lot more. I am working on perfecting the 'da' down. Every now and then, I get some other sound out like 'ga'. But I seem to not remember how to say them over and over.
Now the story behind the pictures. Mom is always trying to get a good picture of me. And well I give her a run for her money. She usually ends up getting one but I make her work for it. I have to amuse her sometimes. Well if you don't know my dad he doesn't like the camera either. So we decided to protest the other night and not look at the camera. She keeps trying to get a video of me talking so everyone can hear me. But I definitely do not cooperate then.

Weekend

I got to spend all weekend at my Grandma's house. My mom and dad went deer hunting and left me with grandma. It was just grandma and me all weekend, grandpa wasn't even there (he went with mom and dad). We did a lot of bonding. We had a lot of fun! But I was sure glad for mom and dad to come home. I was really excited to see them.

I am really getting the 'da' sound down. I say it all the time now. I am working on saying two in a row - like dada. I have said it a couple times, but I haven't mastered it yet. I'll get it eventually.

Mistaken

Apparently, according to dad, I really haven't said my first word. Before, I would make sounds like 'aaah', 'uh' and blowing raspberries. Finally I made the 'da' sound, which to dad that is also a sound and not really a word. He says I would have to put two 'da's' together and then I would have said a word. But I haven't quite done that yet. I'll be working on that. Mom still thinks it is close enough to a word.

Happy Halloween

Trick or treat
Smell my feet
Give me something
good to eat!

I dressed up as Batman this year. I was kind of excited about getting all dressed up, but I didn't know there was a mask involved. But I humored mom and kept it on, but I was glad to see it go after awhile. I got to go door to door with my cousins this year. All in all, it was fun!

da

Guess what? You won't believe what I did yesterday, I was even surprised. I SAID MY FIRST WORD!!!!! You probably can figure out what it is by the title, but it was da. And it wasn't just a freak occurance. I said it like five times in a row for mom and dad yesterday morning before they went to work and I haven't stopped saying it. Mom was so proud and dad was too. I even said it for Ms Brandy, my speech therapist and Ms Terri, my developmental therapist, today during therapy. They were very excited. I knew eventually I would get something out. But now mom of course wants me to say 'mama'. I'll try my best but I can't guarantee anything.
Of course, today is Halloween, and I am going to be Batman. I already started early trick-or-treating, I had to go by my grandma's work and to my friend Jenny's work and show off and then to therapy. Everyone thought I was adorable. I wasn't too fascinated getting all dressed up. Maybe I will be more in to it tonight when I go over to my other grandma house and my nephews house.