Joshua is two.

Sometimes I'm so focused on Josh and his therapy, receptive and expressive language development, speech progress, etc., that I forget he's also two years old. He is such a stubborn little boys sometimes! I am trying to keep him up today so he will go to sleep early tonight, and my cranky two year old isn't listening to me any more! I even checked to see if his CI was still turned on, working, volume and sensitivity in the right places. He just ignores me. I say the word "candy", and he turns around immediately, signs "candy" and vocalizes, "ah ee". Yes, little guy, you CAN hear me!!!!! Now you're just not LISTENING!

I find he LOVES doing therapy at home now, but I have to make sure I capitalize on his energy early in the day. And if I work with him early on, it follows through the entire day.

Routine: boys wake up, get them dressed, CIs on, fed, Matt off to school. Then some reading and therapy time with Josh and Chris (my helper). Then some free play while I suck down a cup of java (okay, for those of you who know me, I'm back on the bean. At least it's organic beans...). Then throughout the day I try to use ideas I've learned from the Learn to Talk Around the Clock seminar I went to. I really, really want to buy that program. Then Chris to school in the p.m. That's usually when I try to get Jsoh down for a nap. Then pick up Chris, then Matt comes home on the bus. I TRY to do some more therapy with all three of them after school. I kind of have to judge where they're at, how they're feeling and acting to figure out what we can do. If the three of them don't work out together, I just hang with Josh and do some concentrated "Talk Around the Clock" communication with him. Like prop him up on the stool and talk to him about cooking dinner, what I'm doing. Have him participate even if just stirring.

On Josh's school days it's pretty much the same, except when Matt leaves on the bus, I immediately take Chris and Josh to Josh's school. Chris is a hearing peer right now, doing very well, too! Then I have some Mommy time (BIG WHOO HOO!), pick up the kids and head home. Soon Josh will be bussed there five days a week, all day. I think he'll do very well. Two days a week with Chris there seems to be working out as a good transition. Josh hasn't fussed once, missing me.

Okay, Josh's playing on his own downstairs now. I need to go check on him. He absolutely LOVES playing with the trains down there. I want to paint the wall behind his train table like a scene from Thomas the Tank Engine. I could include pictures of some of his better vocalized words: moon, ball, cat, tree, etc. Tie them into the mural. :)