Apraxia of Speech . Week 5 . "n"

SOUND: "n" (nnnn)
PRIMARY WORD(S): nose, night, knee
ADDITIONAL WORD(S): new, neigh, Ann
HAND SIGNAL: "n" - using the "inside" of your pointer finger, touch the side of your nose with the tip through the first knuckle, while saying "nnnnn"; "i" (eye) - using your pointer finger, point to yourself while saying "i".
CONTINUED WORD(S): out, in, hot, eat, home, help

Although we list a handful of "continued words", it is extremely important that we continue to work on every word that Ryder is learning.  If he doesn't use the word regularly, he will have to re-learn the word completely.  This was made evident to us when Ryder was taught (sometime in September/October), by the Early Intervention Speech Therapist, the signs for "milk" and "juice" - once he learned the signs, and we didn't insist he say "milk" ("mel") and "juice", he lost the ability.  We have worked hard to gain them back, but have made minimal progress with "milk", and "juice" is now said as "who-ss".

One-step-at-a-time.

Review: Previous Weeks

Brothers . January 2012

I may, or may not, have had a slight issue with narrowing down the "Brothers" picture this month.  You see, when the boys were all in their matching jackets, with "their color" hats, I thought it was perfect for the picture . . . then . . . later in the month, they were all wearing 3 of my favorite jammies . . . then . . . even later . . . the boys were all wearing orange striped shirts from Old Navy (Harvick and Jarrett's came from my 1st grade teacher, and Ryder's was a hand-me-down, purchased at Kid2Kid).

So . . . you get all 3! . . .

Brothers . January 2012
(Harvick, Ryder, and Jarrett)

(December 2011)
(November 2011)
(October 2011)
(September 2011)
(August 2011)
(July 2011)
(June 2011)
(May 2011)

Whipped Cream

Ryder has never enjoyed getting messy, especially when he is eating.  Even at his first birthday, Patrick and I had to strongly encourage Ryder to get his hand in the frosting on his own cupcake!

The other night, while we had out some Whipped Cream to dip our fruit in, Patrick put some on Harvick and Jarrett's trays to see how they would react . . . any maybe to help them not be as fearful of getting messy.

Harvick (left) absolutely loved it, and dug right in.  Jarrett (center) was hesitant, but thought it was okay.  And, Ryder (right) was careful to dip his oranges carefully, as to not get it on his hands!

And, who can pass up the chance to have a shot of Whipped Cream sprayed right in your mouth?!
Harvick (left) was eager, and opened his mouth willingly.  Ryder (center) thinks it is funny, and loves eating it out of the can.  Jarrett (right); however, closed his mouth tight when the can approached.

It was a fun little experiment, and yummy too!

Harvick & Jarrett . 38 Weeks

38 weeks old
20 pounds, 13 ounces (Harvick)
20 pounds, 3 ounces (Jarrett)

(Compare to Ryder at 38 Weeks)

This week marks Harvick and Jarrett now being alive outside of the womb as long as they were inside.  I know it seems like a funny milestone, but when you post weekly, it is easy to notice these things!

No real changes this past week.  Harvick and Jarrett continue to attempt hands and knee crawling, but stick to the army crawl the majority of the time.  Harvick is much more eager to crawl, while Jarrett remains less mobile.  Jarrett appears to have the top two front teeth, and the other bottom one, close to the gums, but no breakthrough yet.  Harvick still has zero signs of any teeth - other than his constant penchant for biting absolutely everything.

It gets harder, every time we try, to take a picture of Harvick and Jarrett together - they just want to crawl around!
(Harvick on the left, Jarrett on the right)

I get this look a lot from Harvick when I tell him to "stop" while he is crawling toward me.

Jarrett took advantage of the bottom shelf, above his changing table, falling down - otherwise, he wouldn't have had room to stand!

Triple bath time!
(Jarrett on the left, Harvick on the right)

Harvick and Jarrett love playing with the foam bath letters.
(Harvick on the left, Jarrett on the right)

After their baths, all three boys laid in Ryder's bed together - it was Ryder's idea to cover them all with his blanket!

Apraxia of Speech . Week 4 . "h"

SOUND: "h" (huh)
PRIMARY WORD(S): hat, hot, home
ADDITIONAL WORD(S): who, hand, help
HAND SIGNAL: "h" (huh) - with your hand cupped in front of your mouth, breathe heavily out, while saying "huh", and move your hand away, "o" - using your pointer finger, draw a circle around your lips as you say "oh"
CONTINUED WORD(S): on, out, in, eat, two

As Ryder learns a new word, it's amazing how many ways he can find to use it.  Did you know so many things come in sets of two??  Two brothers.  Two hands.  Two feet.  Two socks.  Two cheeks.  Two cats.  Two cars/toys/trains/balls.  Just two more bites when he doesn't want to finish his meal.  Two shoes.

One-step-at-a-time.

Review: Previous Weeks

Ryder's "Parent Night" . January 2012

Last week Ryder had another "Parent Night" at his school.  Like the one in September, the children were encouraged to show their parents the "works" that they most enjoy.  We gathered for an abbreviated Circle Time, and then dismissed via song to continue to do "works". 

Ryder LOVES the active play area.  He did the "slide" over and over!

"Works" have to be done on a mat that stored rolled up, or on the tables.  Ryder is great at unrolling the mat, and did a really great job at rolling it back up as well!

Ryder's teacher has told us that Ryder will typically play with the "work" that she demonstrates during Circle Time.  He especially loves when it is a puzzle-type activity.

Working on the displayed "work" - a stacking snowman.  The teacher took off each piece, and laid them in a row along the edge of the mat - Ryder had his own take on the activity, and stacked the snowman in the reverse order as he took them off.

Concentrating hard to get both pieces started.

Checking which items are magnetic.

Building a tower - Ryder built the tower several times over, and always wants to use EVERY block!

It's always great when Ryder's school has this type of Parent Night (October was a Halloween Party, November was a parent movie night, Race to Nowhere, and they skipped December).  Ryder loves showing us the "works" that he does, and is always happy to have extra time at school!

Harvick & Jarrett . 37 Weeks

37 weeks old
20 pounds, 13 ounces (Harvick)
20 pounds, 3 ounces (Jarrett)
.
(Compare to Ryder at 37 Weeks)

Harvick remains toothless, while Jarrett seems to have his top two front teeth very close to joining his other already-appeared bottom tooth.  Both boys are rocking up on their hands and knees to crawl, and can each take about 3-4 "steps" forward, then they fall into the army crawl.

Harvick and Jarrett continue to be good eaters (especially Harvick!), and are starting to eat more and more small-cut food pieces, in addition to the purees we make for them.  Jarrett shows more preference for certain foods, while Harvick will eat just about anything.

I'm not sure what the difference is, but this past week has yeilded even more pictures than normal . . .

Playing together!
(in both pictures: Jarrett on the left, Harvick on the right)

LEFT: Harvick is captivated by everything Ryder does (Jarrett is too, I just don't have a picture).
RIGHT: We thought Ryder was a big fan of the cats . . . that is, until Jarrett came along.  He gets so excited when they are just in the room!

Patrick was creative in how he could feed Harvick and Jarrett at the same time.
(Jarrett on the left, Harvick on the right)

My Aunt Colleen came for a visit - Harvick and Jarrett enjoyed her company!
(Jarrett on the left (sitting), Harvick on the right (laying))

This was NOT staged!  When Harvick and Jarrett are within each other's reach, they will often grab each others pacifiers - Jarrett often takes the lead in this endeavor.  It's especially cute when they get each others at the same time!
(Harvick on the left, Jarrett on the right)

Cute boys!
(Harvick on the left, Jarrett on the right)

Harvick and Jarrett LOVE their walkers!
LEFT: Patrick put Jarrett in the car walker backwards - Jarrett thought it was great fun!
RIGHT: Harvick was too distracted by Ryder to look at the camera.

Ready for baths!
(Jarrett on the left, Harvick on the right)

When we turned them on their backs, to get another comparison shot - both Harvick and Jarrett completely lost it.  And, when they are both crying it's just too cute to see how they escalate - they are such empathetic boys - thankfully, the crying immediately ended as soon as they rolled back over!

Ryder is great to "show" his brothers how to do something, when Patrick or I ask him.
(Jarrett on the left, Harvick on the right)

Ryder . 2 1/2 Years Old

Ryder is 2 and a half years old.  He is wearing size 4T and 5T shirts, 3T and 4T pants, size 9 shoes, and weighs in at about 36 pounds. 
Since the last "Ryder update", Ryder has already grown and changed so much.  He remains an amazing big brother.  We have never had to deal with any issues of jealousy.  Ryder is patient (typically) with Harvick and Jarrett, and willing to share his toys with them.  He does; however, make the decisions of who gets to play with each toy - the rule is that if he wants a toy that they have taken, he has to give them a different one.  Luckily, Harvick and Jarrett are also typically easy-going, and are willing to have a different toy in place of the one they had!

Ryder is doing great in school.  He absolutely loves attending!  Every morning, since he was just an infant, as I get him ready I tell him what day it is, and what is planned for the day.  He caught on quickly to "Tuesday" and "Thursday" being school days, and was very sad over the 2-week Christmas break.  By all means, he does still love his babysitter, but school is something that is special, and just for him.

As previously mentioned, Ryder's diagnosis of Apraxia of Speech has been a difficult one.  Ryder is receiving weekly Speech Therapy through PCMC, as well as twice monthly therapy through our school district.  It's a (very) slow progression, but Ryder has already started responding well to the new therapy techniques.  Ryder's understanding of vocabulary is immense, and seems to increase constantly.  The road to get Ryder to speak at an "average" ability is a long one, but we are confident that our little guy will do it!

Ryder has no "favorite" food, but is a constant snacker.  His go-to snacks are typically granola bars, fruit snacks, or most recently bananas (this could be in part because he is now able to say "banana").  Ryder continues to be a good eater, and an excellent milk drinker!  Ryder is currently completely fascinated with cars, trucks, and especially trains.  He loves to jump, and play "go" with us - meaning he runs around the house until someone tells him to "stop" - then, he waits for someone to tell him to "go", so that he can run around some more!  At stop lights, Ryder is the first to inform us (every. single. time.) that the light has changed from red to "green, go". 

And, what would an update post be without way too many pictures?!

Ryder continues to love the bead maze!

Eating two of my favorite foods - Nutella (with apples!) and Mexican Bread!!

Ryder loves reading - we allow him to have two books in bed with him for naps and at night.  It helps him to stay calm until he is ready to fall asleep.

Ryder has shown very little interest in most crafts, but recently he has been enjoying coloring more.

Eating a cookie at the Hooper "Halloween Haunt".

Notice all of the trucks in the background!

Ryder played a fishing game at his school's Halloween Family Night - he won a slinky!

Caught eating snacks out of two cups!

Cute boy!

Ryder loves to help Patrick and I in the kitchen - in this picture we were making mini pumpkin chocolate chip muffins to take to school for his Thanksgiving lunch.

Silly boy!

Ryder (typically) loves getting ready to go to the babysitters or school - he can put his shoes on by himself, but he rarely turns down an offer of help.

Bathtime!

Playing with Patrick:
LEFT: Jumping on the puzzle mat the boys got for Christmas
MIDDLE: I love this picture!  Patrick put Ryder up on his shoulders - Ryder is still a bit nervous with balancing like this, so he grabbed at Patrick to balance!
RIGHT: Patrick was hanging a new shelf in the hall, and Ryder ran to grab his Handy Manny tools to "help"!

Yes, the picture is blurry - but, it shoes how Ryder carries his cars around.  He really utilizes his hands, arms, and chin!  I picked up a small bag at Target for him to use, but he still loves this method!

Although not exactly the same - doesn't this picture remind you of one taken just one day shy of 2 years previous to this one?!

Notice Ryder's cars - lined up under the desk in the kitchen!

Ryder . 2.5 years old . 01/17/2012
Ryder's hair is a bit long, but it is the perfect length to stay in a faux mohawk in the bath!

Apraxia of Speech . Week 3 . "oo" w/beginning consonant

SOUND: "oo" with a beginning consonant

PRIMARY WORD(S): two, moo, boo

ADDITIONAL WORD(S): boot, juice

HAND SIGNAL: "oo", "t", "m" (muh) - with your lips pursed together, run your pointer finger from left to right (or right to left) across your lips, as you make the "m" sound.

BONUS WORD(S): juice

 

Ryder has shown great progress with putting words together to form "sentences" already (he will put as many of 5 "words" together - "mom, geen uck bown, peaz" (mom, green ball down, please), when asking for me to help him get the green truck that had fallen down the stairs). This is a good indicator, that as the testing indicated, Ryder has no issue with comprehension. He understands how language works, he just needs to gain the ability to form the sounds, then the words - once the words are formed, sentences will follow without issue.

It is also a good reminder that despite the way Ryder may "say" the word, it is important for us to repeat the correct annunciation back to him (Sure Ryder, did you want me to help you go downstairs to get your green truck? Thank you for asking so nicely, and saying please!).  We have been cautioned, over and over, to never tell Ryder that he has done it incorrectly.  For example, he says "bown" for "down".  When he says this, we will repeat it back to him correctly.  If there is an opportunity to correct it, we work with him (Ryder, can you say "down" - it's with a "d", "duh", "duh", "duh", down).  Most of the time, Ryder will agree with us, and say - "duh", "duh", "duh", "bown".  It's okay that he does this - we praise (exuberantly!) any attempts he makes - the long-term goal is that through the repetition of the correct sound, he will be able to form the sound correctly in the context of the word.

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One-step-at-a-time.

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Review: Weeks 1 and 2

The Helmet

Yesterday Harvick was given the "all-clear" to discontinue use of his helmet completely!!!  He had one final scan of his head, and the measurements indicate his head is now more symmetrical than most people's heads are naturally.

In the image below, you are looking at Harvick's head from the top.  The top of the image is his face, with the bottom being the back of his head.  The red head-shape line is Harvick's "before", and the blue is the "after".   The lower left section is where Harvick's flat spot was.  This is where space was left in the helmet, so as his head grew naturally, it filled in the empty space.  The helmet was against his head in the lower right section - you'll notice the growth in this area is minimal.

In the end, Harvick wore his helmet for 13 weeks, 2 days (about 9 weeks full-time, and 4 weeks part-time).  Given that we were told an estimated 13-35 weeks of full-time (plus additional part-time, we couldn't be happier with Harvick's excellent end result!

Harvick & Jarrett . 36 Weeks

36 weeks old
20 pounds, 8 ounces (Harvick)
20 pounds, 3 ounces (Jarrett)
.
(Compare to Ryder at 36 Weeks)

BREAKING NEWS: Jarrett cut his first tooth this week.  I check their gums frequently, and on Sunday night there were no signs of teeth in either babies' mouth.  Monday night; however, Jarrett had a tooth that had popped through on the bottom.  Harvick remains toothless - which I'm okay with.  You see, I am still planning to nurse them for at least another month.  Ryder literally cut his first tooth the weekend he stopped nursing - I was hoping Harvick and Jarrett would be like their big brother!

Harvick continues to be an army crawling maniac.  He will rock up on his hands and knees to crawl, but only lasts a few "steps" that way, before reverting to the army crawl.  Jarrett can crawl, especially well when going backward, but is content with the toys he has within his reach.

It's funny how many orange and blue coordinating shirts we have - almost all hand-me-downs from Ryder and/or friends!
(Harvick on the left, Jarrett on the right)

Playing together.
(Harvick on the left, Jarrett on the right)

More playing!
(Harvick on the left, Jarrett on the right)

Harvick and Jarrett LOVE their walkers!  They are purposeful in their directional movement, and often end up facing each other!
(Harvick on the left, Jarrett on the right)

Cute close-up shots!  And, again with the orange and blue hand-me-downs!  Patrick and I bought these shirts on our last "just us" weekend getaway 2 weeks before Ryder was born.
(Jarrett on the left, Harvick on the right)

Even with Jarrett blurry, this shot makes me laugh.  All three boys LOVE the bath, and have such different personalities, even when bathing.  Jarrett is splashing around like a crazy person, while Harvick is content with just chewing on the bath toys!
(Jarrett (splashing!) on the left, and Harvick on the right)

Apraxia of Speech . Week 2 . "t"

SOUND: "t" (tuh)

WORD: two (Ryder responds best to this context, rather than to or too)

ADDITIONAL WORD(S): out, eat

("word" and "additional word(s)" are broken out into two categories to emphasize importance)

HAND SIGNAL: Using your pointer finger, touch your fingertip to your "snot channel", and as you say "tuh" turn your finger away and out from you.

BONUS WORD(S): on

("bonus word(s)" has been added to include words to practice as a secondary focus each week)

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One-step-at-a-time.

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Review: Week 1

Union Station

Given Ryder's current interest (obsession?!) with trains, we took advantage of an errand-free Sunday on New Years, and took the boys to Union Station after church.  We went knowing that the Train Museum isn't open on Sundays - Ryder may enjoy some parts of the museum, but we knew he would be more interested in the actual trains sitting outside!

Harvick and Jarrett rode in their backpack carriers - they were sleepy since they skipped their morning nap at church, but once we got there, they had no interest in resting!
(Harvick on the left, Jarrett on the right)

Patrick was quite agile, even with Jarrett strapped to him in the carrier.  Ryder loved getting to climb on the trains!

At the front of a train.

In an empty train car - Ryder thought it was fun to run around in there.

 

Standing at the back of a train - seeing Patrick climb up on this train was quite impressive - there are no stairs, and it is several feet off of the ground.



Patrick showing Ryder the train.

Getting on this train car was pretty much the extent of my climbing.  I did; however, have to balance as I crossed over a train coupling - this flatbed had no stairs of it's own.

Of course, I wanted to attempt a family picture while we were there.  With absolutely no one else around, a self-portrait was all we could do . . . and, it turned out okay . . .



Union Station . 01/01/2012
Left to Right: Harvick, Ryder, Kayleen, Jarrett, and Patrick