Saturday, January 28, 2012

Catching Up

You may not have noticed that I've been trying to catch up the blog a little. If you have a blog reader, I'm sorry for the posts that have inundated you from me. I've posted the stories and photos in the time they occurred, to make it easier for me to find later. Here are all the posts so you can go back and enjoy!

Sock Hoarder
Halloween
Little Sweater Man
To the Zoo We Go!
Swingin' Good Time
Homecoming
Caleb's Birthday Party 
Brother Play 
A New Friend 
The Christmas Tree Is Up!

Whew! Well, that got me through the first of December. Just a couple more months, and I'll be caught up!

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

The Honey Bear

The first time we visited our Speech therapist--we weren't even starting therapy, yet, just getting evaluated--she stressed the importance of avoiding prolonged use of a sippy cup. She eyed my almost-3-yr-old sucking on his sippy and sent us home with two different cups: one for James and one for Caleb.

Since that day, I have made the transition with Caleb. He uses cups with lids and straws (Take and Toss brand) most of the time, and open cups only at the table. We had a period of time where Caleb knocked his cup over as much as his sippy (the reason we had not transitioned), but it really didn't take him too long to figure it out.

James is still taking bottles, but he is also learning how to use a honey bear cup. It's an actual honey bear (though I think the producer sells them empty) with a silicon straw stuck through the lid. The honey bear is ideal because it's so squeezy. I just squeeze the liquid up into the straw and allow a little into his mouth. He automatically swallows, encouraging more liquid out of the straw. Before you know it, tada! He's learned how to use a straw!

And you know, that's exactly what's happened. It's so cool to see him confidently grab the honey bear and take a big drink. He loves it! He doesn't sustain it long enough for the bear to replace the bottle, but we use it at mealtimes. Next, we'll start working on his ability to use the same Take and Toss cups that Caleb uses. His liquids are thickened so much that I don't think he will be able to use an open cup (imagine drinking applesauce from a cup). But who knows; I never would have guessed he'd skip the sippy, and look at him go!

Thursday, January 05, 2012

James Plays Pat-a-Cake

We've been playing pat-a-cake with James for a long time. And when he started clapping, it got even more fun. Then he showed some "roll 'em up" movements, and occasionally (but not while singing the song), he would throw up his hands in a "throw 'em in the pan!" sort of way. Well, I can proudly say, it's all come together. This boy is a pat-a-cake king, and he thinks it's pretty darn awesome. So do we.