Lots of great news!

Some very exciting updates to share today. Theodore had his two assessments over the past two weeks, and he did amazingly well! He is just about fully caught up in all areas except speech, and is even ahead in others.

On Monday we had his six month review with the Early Start program. He has done so well since his original assessment that he no longer qualifies for the Infant Education program! So our educator, Erika, will be coming for the rest of this month, but then we will end that appointment. We are not leaving the Early Start program completely; we will do another assessment in six months, and if our insurance starts denying payment for PT or speech, then they may cover it. The review team (Erika, her boss (who did the assessment last month), and our service coordinator) were thrilled with his progress. Some areas where he excelled in the assessment were fine motor skills (where he tested in the 22 month range at 18 months old) and Attention and Memory, where he tested in the 28 month range). In terms of speech, at his original assessment he tested at 77% below his age level, but now he is only 29% behind - a huge improvement. There were a few other areas that tested a bit lower, but even in the few weeks since the assessment he has achieved those goals (self-help and gross motor) or they're ones we're not focusing on (for example, we have not worked on utensils as the goal is just to get him to eat! Nevertheless, he's been experimenting with a fork and getting quite good at it).

Last week we also had an assessment with the Behavior and Development department at Lucille Packard. This was similar to the original Early Start assessment, but done by a doctor and resident, rather than an occupational therapist. Despite being tired (nap time came and went during the appointment) and teething very badly, Theodore performed admirably. They declared him overall at a 18.6 month level, which is pretty much exactly how old he was. The only area they had concern about was speech, which they tested out a little lower than the Early Start assessment did. Overall the doctor told me we had a "cognitively normal little boy", which was great to hear! She was pleased by all the "chasing" we've done and said it has clearly benefited him in catching up.

We also followed up with the GI clinic yesterday, where Theodore finally broke the 20lb barrier! He weighed in at 20lbs 2oz, and just a smidge under 31 inches. Since our last appointment it worked out to a gain of 5oz a month, and the expected range at his age is 4-10oz/month, so he's falling nicely into that (though everyone agrees it would be good if he could do a little catch-up gaining too). I admit I'd been pretty upset that the week before he'd weighed in an ounce under 20lbs, but now we've broken that milestone and I am very relieved to have it behind us. He is an extremely active child so getting enough calories into him is a full-time job!

That's all the medical news! Theodore continues to do great in day-to-day life as well. He has been working on a lower canine for a few weeks, off and on, so that has caused some drama, but hopefully it will be through soon, poor boy. We've been keeping very busy with Gym Kids, PT, speech (which we are now attending twice a week), and outings. We've become regulars at the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo, which is a very sweet little place with a few animals (two bobcats, a goose, a peacock, two raccoons, etc.) and a fun indoor area with "science" type installations. It's great for his age group and ability, and we've been four times in the last month! We've also been trying out lots of new parks; I received a brochure that listed all the parks in Sunnyvale, so we've been striking out down the list, sight unseen. Some have been duds, but we discovered a beautiful open space park that was lots of fun to run around in.

Some nature appreciation at Baylands Park

I've also signed him up for a sports class that starts in May. It's for ages 1.5 to 3 years, and apparently will teach them about basketball, soccer, etc. And also in May, we're going to Vancouver for four days! Theodore's Auntie Catherine is having an engagement party, and we're very excited to go attend.

Lots of text, so I'll end for now and get on with the pictures and videos! I almost exclusively take photos with my phone these days, so I apologize that sometimes the quality isn't the best, as even though it's a great camera, it's hard for it to keep up with a busy toddler!



Playing with a balloon at a wedding we attended:


Counting in the park:

Catching Up

Sorry for the huge gap in updates! Once I started falling behind, it always seemed more and more daunting to catch up...but here's a big update, and hopefully I will keep at it more regularly in the future so they will be smaller and more timely!

Theodore continues to be a wonderful, happy child. He turned 18 months old this month, which is still a shock to me! The time has flown. As I posted previously, he is now walking. This has really opened up both his and our worlds, which has been great fun. He's very enthusiastic and loves to march all over the place. He's still learning his balance and posture, but works hard at it! He loves to be busy and active, and is always on the go.

Enjoying his new big boy shoes on his 18th month birthday!

He's been really blossoming into a little boy, rather than a baby. One of his new favourite things is "helping" me around the house. He loves to put away cutlery in the dishwasher, and claps his hands after each piece goes in! He also makes sure to shut any drawer or cupboard I've left open. He will fetch his shoes and socks before going out, and is very cooperative about getting dressed. It's all quite adorable. Of course, he's also finding ways to get into new scrapes all the time too; recent events have included a short drop face-first into concrete, and three times he harassed the cat so much he got scratched. No lasting harm done, except to my nerves! He can brush things off very easily, and never gets very upset.

We've also started doing different art projects, which has been lots of fun. It's exciting that we can do more planned activities at this point, and that it will only continue to get more interesting! Theodore's favourite activity is playing with stickers. He's created some beautiful masterpieces, if I do say so myself, and we've been mailing them out as they are created. Let me know if you would like one!

Painting yourself is the best part of fingerpainting!

We continue to go to many appointments, etc. Theodore's latest session of Gym Kids just ended, and we are now moving up an age group! I kept him in the 9-15 month class beyond that age range since he wasn't walking yet, but now that he is, we will be trying out the 18-24 month group. It's the same teacher in the same room, so hopefully he will enjoy it! We still go to physical therapy once a week, which continues to be an amazing, beneficial experience. We have also started speech therapy once a week, for half an hour right before PT. It's a bit of a heavy morning, but they're across the street from each other, so it works well. We've only had three speech sessions so far, but they seem like they will be very helpful, and we like our therapist, Miss Lydia, very much. Theodore still does not have any words, but his vocalizations are changing and becoming broader. He has also learned a few useful signs, mainly "all done/all gone", "more", and "me". We believe he has some low muscle tone in his jaw/mouth area (he has overall low muscle tone as well) so the therapy is partly focusing on that.

We are still with the Early Start program and having an infant educator visit, but at Theodore's review next month I may end that, as we are so heavily booked up and it is the least useful of our appointments. We also visited a GI doctor and an occupational therapist this month to consult about Theodore's weight, and have been going to weight checks at the pediatrician frequently. At his 18 month checkup he was just under 20lbs. He is, finally, trending upward in weight gain, but still remains very small. This seems to just be the way he is, but we feel good about checking out all of the possibilities. The GI doctor took one look at his chunky thighs and declared himself worry-free about Theodore's weight!

We are also having a full assessment done at one of the Stanford clinics next week - behaviour and development, a more thorough version of the Early Start one. Again, we're just covering all our bases. We're also set up to finally see Genetics due to his foot abnormality...in July! They're quite busy, obviously!

As you can see this all keeps us *very* busy. In addition, we try to go to the Y three times a week, and on outings several times a day. We were lucky to have tremendously good weather in January and most of February, and would go to the park for hours every day. The past two weeks have been extremely rainy, however, which has made parenting a toddler more challenging! We have been to the pet store to look at the animals rather a lot... We also fully converted the unused space in our oddly-configured living room into a play place for him, complete with wooden play table and a bookshelf (which is actually a library cart!) He also just got a comfy armchair, so we are able to spend a lot of time there, and running around the house, which is fun.

Enjoying his new play table and train set

We were lucky to also have lots of visitors lately. Grandma Carole and Granddad Bill were here in February. Granddad stayed for 10 days and then Grandma stayed an extra 6 days. Theodore loved their company. Best of all, they helped us change his sleeping patterns, and did so gently with almost no tears! Theodore is now put in bed awake and falls asleep on his own while someone sits in the glider in the room, reading or playing on their phone. He is also (usually) no longer nursing during the night until 5am. We are all sleeping better and are very happy about it. He is currently having a regression due to teething - the top two canines came through almost simultaneously, and it looks like the bottom two are trying the same trick - so are back to being rather sleepy, but he will accept Billy soothing him back to sleep in the night, so I sleep at night and Billy sleeps in the morning!

Theodore's Auntie Catherine also came for a weekend at the beginning of March. She was a wonderful house guest and is a fantastic aunt to her nephew! We had a great time going to the market and to a kids' museum in Berkeley.

That's about all that's new! Billy and I are doing well also. We were able to go out on a few dates while we had visitors, which was really nice for us as a couple. I unfortunately developed mastitis two weeks ago after Theodore cut down on his nursing, but I've recovered and hopefully will not experience that again! Other than that, we're not as interesting as Theodore - we don't really have any new tricks! As always, here are photos, and just one little video from the Berkeley museum.

Walking!

Yes, Theodore has started walking! He is very pleased with himself and we are thrilled too, obviously. He was taking 2-4 independent steps two weeks ago, and then last Saturday he just took off with Billy at the park. In the week since he's become very confident, walking far distances and turning well, and he can also stand up without needing to pull up on anything.

Here's a video I took of him walking last night. I'll post a longer update sometime soon!

December and January

A belated update, apologies! Time seems to fly by these days.

Theodore had a wonderful Christmas. He loved seeing all of his family, especially his cousins Austin and Alex. We were in Brampton from the 17th to the 26th, then in Ottawa until January 3rd. We were lucky enough to be able to see all of our immediate families and spend time with Theodore's great-grandmother Peggy, who is 96!

Playing with his cousin Austin

He travelled well, though on the flight to Toronto he only slept one hour out of five. It's definitely getting trickier to fly with him. Unfortunately he got sick in Ottawa, an ear infection, fever, and cold. He recovered fairly quickly, but then Billy and myself got very sick as well! It was a shame, but he enjoyed being taken care of by Auntie Catherine and Grammy Eileen while his parents laid around feeling miserable.

It was Theodore's first real experience with snow, also. He hadn't seen any since he was three months old and obviously didn't remember it. He hated his snowsuit, since he was so bundled up he could hardly move, but he discovered that he could slide very fast in it, and so we had endless fun at the park. Overall I'd say he gave the snow a mixed rating!

Whee! Sliding is fun!

As always, he continues to progress in all his skills. Thanks to his wonderful physical therapist, he is now doing a lot of "proper" hands-and-knees crawling, which is very good for his core strength. He also wants to walk everywhere while holding onto our hands. With me, he demands both hands to be held, but he will go very fast with only one hand with Daddy! He's also practicing standing independently, and can do so for about 10 seconds. He thinks both standing and walking are very fun games, which is great! We feel he will be doing both independently within a month or two.

He is also babbling much more, sometimes non-stop! He does not yet have any words, however. We are going to be starting speech therapy soon, hopefully in a week or two. But the range and variety of his vocalizations is very exciting. His receptive language has also pretty much completely caught up to his age level. He follows directions well and knows the name for a huge number of objects, body parts, people, etc. While we were away he learned one sign, for lights/sun/stars (they're all bodies of light, so it works!) He also reliably throws his hands straight up in the air when he sees football...I had no idea teaching him that would be so effective. ;)

We are still monitoring his weight; unfortunately when he was sick in Ottawa he went a few days where he would only nurse and not eat any solid food, and he was still resistant after he got better, so at his weight check he had not gained any weight. Since then his appetite has picked up. He now seems to actually *have* an appetite, and an interest in food! I'm feeling confident that he will be starting to gain weight now. His favourite foods are macaroni and cheese (homemade or boxed), Annie's Bunnies (bunny-shaped cheese crackers), ice cream, and peas. He's a strange kid! The other day I put a blueberry, a piece of zucchini, and a piece of carrot on his tray. He gave me back the blueberry and ate the zucchini and carrot!

Not too much else is new in his or our world. He did get his first haircut - see the photos for a picture! We continue to go to regular appointments, to the Y (though he is experiencing intense separation anxiety again and does not enjoy that as much), and Gym Kids. For the last few weeks we were blessed with amazing weather - 65F or warmer and beautifully sunny every day. We practically lived at the park! We are battling some sleep issues again, but seem to be making progress, which is encouraging. We are also looking forward to another visit from Grandma Carole and Granddad Bill, who are coming to visit on February 12th!

Will try to update more often...in the meantime, here are rather a lot of photos and three videos.

Billy bought Theodore a synthesizer, and took this video of him playing it:


Here he is playing on a keyboard during supper (kid loves music!):


And here is a video taken on my phone at the park:


And the photos! The slideshow doesn't seem to be loading right now, so here's a direct link to the album: December and January photos

15 months already!

A few days late, but Theodore turned 15 months old this week! It's hard to believe how much he's growing up.

We have been quite busy since my last update. As I mentioned, Grandma Carole and Granddad Bill were in town for two weeks. We then had a nice Thanksgiving long weekend, and Auntie Suzie arrived! Theodore really enjoyed her company. At the end of the week, his Auntie Catherine arrived as well! We had a full house, which was lots of fun.

Celebrating Hanukkah with Auntie Suzie

We have also started with his early intervention. Once a week an "infant educator" comes to the house for an hour, where we do play therapy, focusing on speech development and cognitive skills. It's fun and informal, which is nice. Due to the time that elapsed between Theodore's assessment and the start of the intervention, he's already achieved at least half of the goals she has for him! We are also doing physical therapy once a week, in San Jose with a therapist who specializes in pediatric PT. Again, it's a lot of fun, playing and climbing. She is working to encourage him to do a hands-and-knees crawl, or at least try out the position to develop his core muscles. She also keenly noted that when he stands up and climbs (more on that in a moment) and also when he scoots, he is always pushing off from his "good" foot, rather than the one with the abnormality. She thinks it is an unconscious compensation, because while we saw the pediatric orthopedist again and she thinks everything looks fine and healthy, he does have less structure to use to balance on. So we are trying to encourage him to use that foot/leg more, to avoid it being underdeveloped, compared to the other. He's pretty game for it, though by the end of the session he gets annoyed!

The other big news is that starting pretty much the day after I last updated, Theodore had an absolute explosion of new skills. He can climb up and safely back down the stairs, he can easily pull to stand and is very close to doing it without needing something to pull on, he's cruising very fast around the furniture, and he can push his firetruck and take several steps behind it. Due to the heroic efforts of Grandma Carole, he is now self-feeding very well, though we're still working on a cup. He actually prefers to bite into food now, especially whatever you're eating! He also clearly understands so much more of what we say - practically everything. He is pointing up a storm and has started to express very definite wants. He's developing a little toddler attitude! He also hates being told "no", but has to get used to it... It's been lots of fun, though, watching him take off - for a while, it seemed like every day he learned or did something new! He will give his baby doll a "kiss" if you ask, he initiates peek-a-boo play, he can put some of his puzzles together - so many new things. And in general, he continues to be a very happy, cheerful little boy.

Cruising around the coffee table!

Theodore also had his fifteen month pediatrician visit this week. It went well, though the doctor was concerned because he has not put on much weight and is still under nineteen pounds. He did grow in length and head circumference, however, and is burning up calories like crazy these days with all his activity. We are trying a bit of a bulking up diet, though, to see what we can do! Otherwise he was considered very healthy.

That's a long enough update for now! If I don't get to update over the holidays, hope everyone has good ones, whatever you celebrate. We are off to Canada on December 17th for just over two weeks, splitting our time between Brampton and Ottawa.

Video this time: taken by Auntie Suzie, it's Boy vs. Roomba!



And as always, the pics!

October and November to date

Apologies for the long time between updates! We've been very busy, as always.

In October we went to Austin, Texas for four days to attend my cousin Eric's wedding. We had a fabulous trip. Theodore really enjoyed spending time with his cousins Austin and Alexandra in particular. Austin is four and a half and Alex is two and a half, and Theodore found them fascinating and exciting! He was very well-behaved at the wedding, and we all had fun relaxing and sightseeing.

Family photo at the wedding

Theodore also dressed up for Halloween for the first time! Since we were able to decide his costume, we chose to dress him up as Tintin, since his hair was perfect for it! We took him over to our friends' house and took him to two houses to trick-or-treat. He wasn't really sure what was going on, but enjoyed himself nonetheless!

Tintin!

Also, right now Grandma Carole and Granddad Bill are visiting! They have been here a week and are staying for one more week. Theodore has really liked having their company, and it's been a very nice visit, including some babysitting so that Billy and I can go on dates. Next up Auntie Suzie and Auntie Catherine are both coming too!

Developmentally, Theodore continues to improve every day. He is scooting, climbing, and trying to stand. And just today he got up two stairs! He has also started to babble consonants, and now we get a steady stream of "bababa" and a few "dadada"s. He has also learned how to push buttons, point, and make a hand gesture for "more". He is also clearly understanding much more of what we say, and knows the names for many objects and people. He continues to love books, balls, and chasing the cat, and his new favourite activity is putting things in other things - so we have fun putting away his toys in the box! He eats solid foods very well now, eating a variety of things at each meal, and enjoying most of them. On the weekend we gave him fresh Valencia orange slices, and he was ecstatic!

We continue to attend gym class, which he really enjoys. We have not yet started with the early intervention program, but hopefully that will be starting up quite soon. We are also looking forward to Thanksgiving, and a four day weekend for Billy! Theodore adores his father and so will really enjoy that.

No video right now, but as always, here are photos!

Belated Updates

A little behind on updating, apologies!

Since I last updated, we've been fairly busy. We took a quick trip to Seattle at the end of September to visit our friends Anton and Catherine. Teddy enjoyed seeing the sights and going to the aquarium, and visiting another friend, Barry, and playing with his young son's toys!

At the Seattle Aquarium

When we got back, he had a rash so I took him to the doctor. We think he's allergic to strawberries, which is a shame, but what exciting is that they weighed him and he'd put on 7oz in two weeks! He's slowly but surely getting into eating more solid foods so we're happy to see him putting on more weight.

What's especially exciting is that he's gaining despite being more active every day. He has perfected his 'scoot' and roams around the house, throwing and retrieving toys, pulling things off the shelves, and chasing the cat. He's also now practicing pulling up on his hands - he does a mean downward facing dog - and climbing on things, like the Wii Fit board. He also loves to stand up and look around when up, though has to be put in the standing position - but once there, he can stay upright while only loosely holding on with one hand. He isn't yet interested in moving his legs while upright, however.

He had his assessment with the state Early Start program this week. We will be getting a full report next week, but he does qualify for services for speech and physical therapy. Apparently much of the therapy will be conducted at our house, and it's all free, so we're pretty excited! I will definitely update with more information when I have it; after getting the report we will be talking and discussing therapy plans with a case worker.

We've also been attending a Gym Kids class, and enjoying it a lot. It's 45 minutes of free play in a large room full of mats, climbing gear, slides, and balls, and then 15 minutes of "circle time" - songs, bubbles, and a parachute. Very fun!

Other than all that, life continues as normal - trips to the park, to the store, and trying to get in the right number of naps! I've had two colds since I last updated, so that's slowed us down a little, and we suffered through two heat waves, but we keep having fun. Next week we are off to Austin, Texas for my cousin's wedding for four days. We can't wait to go explore and see all of my family!

Playing in his baby pool at 5pm in October!!

I think that's everything...so here are some photos and a video! It's an old video, actually, from August, that I just found on the camera I had misplaced. Just 20 seconds, but shows Teddy's hilarious reaction to seeing animals. :)



And photos!