I don’t call attention to the links in theright corner usually, but Where the Hell is Matt is pretty awesome, and this page on Common Ties … wow.

Danny got to meet another grandma, and a grandpa, this weekend. It really seemed to thrill him! There were plenty of smiles and even a few laughs (the first I’ve heard!) to be had out of the visit. Another step forward for my little guy, and I tell you, that one was pretty sweet! Of course, I have tried with absolutely no success to get him to reproduce the sound. I am, I think, just a big boob to my younger son; the smiles and laughs are usually reserved for someone - anyone - who isn’t me.

Another step forward is a big one, and one that I am absolutely over the moon about. Daniel was napping on the futon when Eric decided to wake him up. (Thank you, Eric…..) I went over to play with him a little, then rolled him onto his tummy. Unlike the floor, Daniel will actually tolerate being on his stomach on the futon, probably because it’s softer. He doesn’t lift his head or anything, he’s not into that, but he’ll lay there so I figured I’d let him lay. Well, soon, I find him on his side. Then, not too much longer, his back! Three and a half months old, and he’s rolled from tummy to back. That is, for anyone keeping track, the same age Eric first rolled from front to back. We’ll see if he does it again any time soon; Eric took a couple weeks before he started to do it with any consistency, so I’m not going to sweat it if Danny doesn’t do it again any time soon.

Not to be outdone by his little brother, Eric decided to master a new skill too: walking down stairs. It’s incredible how cautious he is about it! He’ll have one if not both hands on the railing at all times, and he’s just barely big enough to reach it, which makes it rather cute to watch. He certainly isn’t going to outrun anyone going downstairs, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing!

It was a busy weekend in many ways around our house. Add in congestion for both boys and some serious teething on Eric’s behalf, and we’re just a little worn out.

Eric got a toy from his grandparents this past weekend for his birthday. Of course, being the horrible gift spoilers we are, we gave it to him yesterday. (All my fault!) From it came absolute proof that English is one messed up language. I feel for anyone learning it as a second language.

“A says ay, and A says ah. Every letter makes a sound, A says ay - and ah!”

“C says see, and C says sss. Every letter makes a sound, C says see - and sss!”

“E says ee, and E says eh. Every letter makes a sound, E says ee - and eh!”

Yeah, I can’t see the confusion there at all… It’s amazing any of us learn to read at that rate!

Sound quality sucks, I was right beside the camera and the kids obviously not. You’ll have to turn it up to hear Eric.

To those who have heard of the levee break in St. Charles County, yes, that is my county, and no, we are not in danger of being flooded or evacuated. The areas currently flooding or at risk due to the break are on a flood plain and a few miles away from our house. We’re good.

It’s late, but I know I’d be quite a poor blogger … person … if I didn’t post an update on the evaluation today. I was, indeed, completely in knots for nothing! I really hope that I’ll approach the next one (July 8th) with a lot less eek and a lot more meh. Our therapist, who I met for the first time today, was great! I really felt comfortable with her, and she was great with Daniel. She got him to track fairly well, noticing like I have that he really doesn’t care for much but faces still. I learned a fair bit about things I can do to keep encouraging him to develop well, some of which I was actually doing already! He pulled his usual screaming for tummy time, but unlike the last PT who did his initial evaluation, she shrugged and was like, “All right, not worth the fight. Put him on your chest and recline, that’s just as good.” As if enough about her hadn’t won me over already, that really sealed the deal.

So far so good. We’ll continue twice a month. I also learned that part of his arching and looking up all the time is related to his being a preemie - unlike full term babies, he didn’t spend nearly as long all curled up, so where you try to encourage full term babies to relax, it’s good to encourage preemies to curl up a bit to bring them in to a normal position.

I found, through an online community I frequent, this blog today. Turn On My Ears is a blog about a toddler who has bilaternal cochlear implants. He was diagnosed shortly after he was born with profound hearing loss, and was implanted at 8 months. To read everything they’ve gone through, and how well Drew is doing today, has been incredible. I was moved to tears a few times, and for the first time since finding out Daniel was deaf, I cried not for what is or what might have been, but what could be.

I learned a lot, too. I have a list of links that I want to check out, things I want to research. I’ve been doing a lot of research and this blog has been a great resource. The hearing schools, or at least two of them, have put their emphasis on hearing aids right now - and while I appreciate that, their optimism, I do know that there isn’t a great chance they will do him much good. We’ll see, of course. I’m anxious to get started; I think if I’ve not heard anything by Monday I plan on calling to see where we’re at.

So check the blog out. I’d especially like to point out this entry. Whether it comes with implants or hearing aids, I can’t wait for that day.

I ordered something from Amazon this past weekend. On June 16, it was shipped out from Hazelwood, MO. On June 18, it arrived … at Hazelwood, MO. It took two days to get from point A to point B in the same town?

I want my stuff! (OK, technically it’s John’s stuff. I still want it.) Heck, I work just down the road, I’ll come pick it up. It’ll probably be faster with this kind of crazy shipping…

On a side note, can you tell I am finally catching up on my piles at work?

Yes, I have moved and updated the wishlist again! It can be found in the Pages section to the left. The nice thing here is that it has categories so that I can put the entire family’s wishlists in one place, all you need to do is use the drop down menu to see gifts for individuals or for the whole family. Now I just need to fill it!

I have very little reason to be, but I am nervous. I am nervous because of Daniel’s PT appointment tomorrow. There is a part of me that says hey, he is a normal baby, it’s all good, he’s only 2 months adjusted. But then there is a mean little part of me that reminds me that I went into the hearing test feeling the same way - largely that he was normal, with just a few niggling doubts in the back of my mind that I couldn’t get rid of. We all know how that turned out.

So I’m nervous. Does he track enough? I don’t know if he’s not tracking sometimes or if he’s just too distracted. Does he reach for things and try to grasp them? I don’t know, I don’t often hold toys out for him, so maybe he just doesn’t have an opportunity. He’s not raising his head and chest when I put him on the floor, no, he just lays there, flips his head to the other side sometimes. I nit pick and nit pick and work myself into absolute knots.

And I have to go through years of this kind of thing? UGH!

I hate that she put the PT visit so late in the week. I wish she’d said we could get together Monday afternoon or something. Like ripping off a bandaid. Worry worry panic panic freak out. So I keep busy in the evenings. I throw myself into making supper. I feed Daniel and give him lots of cuddles. I chase Eric around the kitchen. I settle in to play World of Warcraft with John. I’m good 99% of the time, but the last couple days before an evaluation or appointment obviously aren’t going to be pretty for me, at least until I get a few GOOD ones under my belt - because the track record right now isn’t so great.

Here’s hoping in about 26 hours I’m posting that the therapist had a glowing review for Daniel!