I've been remiss in updating the blog with much more than photos lately - we've been busy! So this will be a long one - I want to capture all his recent developments since I won't remember what he's doing now in another few months!
We've had a quiet weekend this weekend, since I got the "your kid barfed" call at work on Friday. I was able to get him into the pediatrician for their last appointment of the week (4:30 on Friday). We spent over an hour there, including waiting time and then waiting for the instant strep test results - when we were leaving, they'd turned most of the lights out! I guess they were as ready for the week to end as I was!
Charlie doesn't have strep, and probably just got sick due to his sinus drainage, since he's had a cold this week. He also got eaten alive outside on Thursday when he was throwing a fit during PT, so it was good to have a chance to ask the doctor about the bites. He sat in the grass and yelled/cried/hit the ground for several minutes, and he may have sat on some kind of nest because when we got him back up, he had bites all over his legs! Poor little guy. Several got very swollen and red, so the doctor said we need to keep him in pants and long sleeves pretty much all the time, since clearly he's sensitive (last year, a mosquito bite became a staph infection). Considering the 90 degree temps that are par for the course here in DC in the summers, I think I might break the rules on the sleeves, but I did go out and buy him more lightweight pants.
Yesterday we had to drop the car off for service, so we headed over to the IHOP for breakfast. I think we may be at the age where meals out are rare, b/c Charlie is REALLY testing his limits. He's loud and wants to be moving all the time. We can get him to sit still at home if we have toys for him to play with in his high chair, but restaurants are a lot harder.
While Charlie is testing limits and showing his stubborn side often, he's still tons of fun. He moves around like a wild man, and his playroom looks like a tornado hit when he leaves. He loves toys that play music or make noises or talk, like his Elmo that prattles on incessantly when Charlie's awake. He's at his best in the morning - he wakes up so happy and ready to attack the day. I wish I got to see his morning smile more than on the weekends!
This morning after I got his milk, I asked him if he wanted to go downstairs and play, and he handed me his milk cup and walked down both flights of stairs completely on his own! We've spent many hours of therapy on these stairs, so it's so great to see him handle them nonchalantly. His movements and gross motor skills have really improved.
While he still isn't talking, he makes sounds all the time now. Unlike many babies, he was not a babbler and really made few noises other than grunting now and then, so it is music to my ears to hear him vocalizing. One of his favorite things to do is to pick up an object and make a sound (kind of a "Huh?") and we tell him what the object is called. He's clearly taking it all in. Last night he and George were playing with his vehicle puzzle, and George asked him to remove the pieces by name. He got every one right, even the ocean liner! His understanding these days is huge (though sometimes his stubbornness keeps him from responding!).
Charlie still doesn't watch any tv (ironically, George, who makes his career in television, keeps insisting we keep Charlie from watching kids shows) - the developmental specialists told us to keep him away from tv until he was 2 since he has some delays, and now it's just not part of our routine. But lately I've shown him a couple of videos on my computer (anyone seen the baby moose playing in the sprinkler? Charlie loved it!) and he's gotten really into them. I'm thinking this might come in very handy during our drive to Michigan this summer - we may be playing our Earth DVDs on the drive.
Charlie's private therapy will be over at the end of the month, and he'll start the "Pathways to Preschool" program in July, which means he'll have a weekly group session that we or Pamela will attend with him. While we'll miss the personal attention, I think it will be great for him to get used to the group atmosphere before he starts school in September.
Right now, he's busy stacking buckets my mom gave him for his birthday (thanks Mom, he loves them!). This may not seem like a big deal to most, but he should have been able to stack toys a few months back (one of the arbitrary milestones they measure him by). His lack of coordination made stacking difficult for a while, but his fine motor skills are showing improvement lately too.
He's very affectionate, and still LOVES reading. Often when we're reading books about puppies or babies (typical fare for the board books he loves), he'll lean over and kiss whatever we're reading about. One minute he'll be playing with his trucks and school bus, and the next minute he's pushing "Gladys" in the stroller around the room.
This is a great age, even with the attitude and boundary-testing. It's so fun to watch his sponge-like brain soaking everything up!
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