DIRT CAKE

This is B's birthday cake. She don't eat cake, muffins, or bread so we've made this dirt cake the past couple of years. It's yummy! I use low fat everything to help but it's still not good to keep around, you'll just eat the whole thing! It's layers:oreos,chocolate pudding,cool whip that has cream cheese and confectioners sugar folded into it and repeat the layers w/oreos for the dirt on top...add some gummy worms and a flower and you're done. This is a real crowd pleaser.

TORNADO WARNING

As I've stated before Gage gets really nervous during bad weather. Today there have been many tornado warnings across the state. He's put up a few warnings of his own, he's taken on the role of sheriff and has decided we should all stay near him during the bad storms.

Fun at the Park

Today we met our friends Samantha and her Grandma at the local park.Samantha is a year older than Gage and lives out of state but comes to stay w/Grandma and Grandpa during the Summer and at holidays.We met her a few years ago and try to see her when she is here.She has always signed and was struggling verbally when we first met her.Her parents were not informed about AVT(auditory verbal therapy) so I took the liberty of informing them and I wrote a letter to her school suggesting they try to incorporate some listening activities into her therapy.A cochlear implant may be a big disappointment if not properly trained on how to use them.Well, I can tell the school has obviously been helping her more now and she seems to be progressing beautifully with both oral and signing skills.I understood almost everything she said today and the fact that she talked soooo much was even an improvement.Before she preferred to gesture or sign and became frustrated easily when we didn't understand her clearly.She's truly a testament of how just a little information can go a long way!

BIRTHDAY GIRL

So what did she ask when I told her she was no longer 3, I explained that she's a BIG FOUR YEAR OLD now..."so can I have a real baby now?" our previous answer to that has always been, "when you get big"...oops.

Merry Christmas

Here they are. Gage is chillin' w/the gamecube and PawPaw. Brook got her kitchen and lots of pink stuff!

The Windstorm

Gage is very dramatic about the weather. Our power was out for 18hrs. We read and told ghost stories. They had a ball.

Babies and Brook

this exhibits what I posted on learn2hear about giving wrong answers to see if they are listening. I did this w/Old McDonald. As you can see I still have to highlight the "s" sound when it's at the end of words...she still leaves them off frequently.

Pretend Cooking

Casually introducing new words during this pretend play session: menu, seasoning, utensils. Watch Brook correct her mispronunciation of the word utensils. Also she hears the airplane (thinks it's Daddy's car first) before I announce that I hear it. Also watch me chase Gage down to make sure he hears the new word seasoning (lol).

UPDATE

Gage gets a check mark today for excessive talking...do you see what I mean when I say, the therapists do a great job at teaching them to talk but no one tells us how to make them stop! Also Brook's birthday is in a few days and I told her she was not going to be three anymore, she was going to be FOUR!!! Her response..."am I gonna be huge like you?" let's hope not!

Preschool Party

We had our annual preschool Christmas party today. It was so much fun as usual. Even Brook had fun. She's "a little lost" here but I had one processor in my pocket and the other one was turned down a bit due to the loud drum line that came in. She ended up dancing and having a ball until Santa showed up, she got her gift and ran out in tears. It was overall great though,dancers,cloggers,singers,Rudolph,you name it.Can't wait til next year!!

Coloring Sheets

this is just taking coloring a step farther...it's simply listening and following directions

School Photos are In

Now if you've been keeping up here for a while, back when school first started, I received a baggie full of hair in his backpack one day when I picked him up. He decided to give himself a haircut because he was bored. I made him wear his hair like that for his "punishment" and here is a nice shot of the do.