Speech Therapy

I've been talking a lot about Matthew, with him turning 5 and starting kindergarten...well now it's Anthony's turn. Oh this child is so sweet and cute and funny. And the other day he had his 6 month speech therapy evaluation. Dawn has been coming to our house once a week, and while I can't quite explain HOW she does it, the sessions have helped him tremendously.

Just for reference, during her first visit 6 months ago, she wrote down that Anthony had about 8-9 words that he would say on a regular basis; he would point and say Mmm-mm for anything he wanted. He would get frustrated easily because he was not able to communicate his wants and needs.

Now, just 6 short months later, he is using 3-4 (and sometimes 5) word sentences. He no longer grunts to communicate, he no longer points unless it's accompanied by words. He repeats everything. He sings songs. And while some people might still have a hard time understanding him, his progress makes my heart sing. Even Matthew gets excited and starts cheering him on when he masters a new word or phrase. The next step is to work on articulation, and just keep on increasing the language. These services will end once he turns 3, and if he needs additional help beyond that, we would go through the West Hartford School system.

We are so very proud of our boy. He's worked so hard (and let me tell you, Speech Therapy is hard work! I'm exhausted after the hour long visit.), and he's so proud of himself. And we could not love this little bundle of cute any more than we already do.

He dressed himself that morning...complete with Matthew's rain boots.

Weeks 22 - 29

Week 22

Sun., June 10 - Anthony and I at the Sottile Family Summer Picnic at Greg and Melissa's house. It was a beautiful 85 degree day! The boys had so much fun playing with their cousins, and we enjoyed catching up with family that we don't get to see very often.

Week 23

Sat., June 16 - Skull Island Mini Golf at the Cape. Even Anthony got in on the action. And while we're not quite ready to sign a contract with Titleist, they do ok. More importantly, they love it.

Week 24

Sun., June 17 - Father's Day at the Cape. It was a gorgeous day - sunny, breezy, perfect. We went to First Encounter Beach for a bit.

Week 25

Thurs., June 21 - Carlie's Birthday! The boys and I spent the day at Winding Trails, awaiting her arrival. The four of us got to visit her just a couple hours after she was born.

Week 26

Thurs., June 28 - We had a small gathering to celebrate my birthday. I love the top picture with Matthew, and just laugh at the flame of candles on the second one. There really weren't THAT many on there. And yes, I had two cakes. You can never have too much cake, I always say. 

Week 27

Wed., July 4 - Hanging out at my sister's house. Matthew was way too busy riding his scooter to stop and take a picture. 

Week 28

Sat., July 21 - We were at my sister's and Matthew and Anthony wanted to have a dance party. Polka was the genre of choice, which they listen to when in my mom's car. Niki snapped this after we all collapsed on the couch. 

Week 29

Sun., July 22 - Just another day at the beach. Life's tough, I know...Gone are the days when Anthony would take a nap in the stroller. This day we was so very tired, didn't want to play, didn't want to be in the water, and just curled up on my lap. I started singing to him and off he drifted. He took about a 1 hour nap on me. Loved every second of it.

Happy Birthday to me! And a list.

Ahhh, the big 3-5. Officially closer to 40 than I am to 30. My 30th was wonderful, I didn't even give it a second thought. I had just had Matthew, things were great. Something about 35, though...it just feels "different". Not bad, just different. My life is very different than it was 5 years ago. Perhaps I've changed in the past 5 years as well? I hope for the better... I'm feeling more comfortable in my own skin, taking better care of myself, more confident in the choices I make, more willing to admit when wrong - ok, so I'm working on that one. Anyway, life is good. And 35 is going to be great!

So in honor of turning 35, I've put together a "bucket list", if you will. Thirty-five things I hope to do in my 35th year (some before I turn 40). 

1. Run a 5K. An official one (I can already run 3.1 miles).
2. Splurge on designer denim. Don't laugh at me.
3. Take swimming lessons. No, I don't know how to swim. Yes, really. I told you not to laugh at me.
4.  Finish the boys' toy room.
5. Organize (and print out) a ton of pictures. This one is overwhelming.
6. Do a wine tasting.
7. Update the boys' baby books.
8. Have a girls' weekend in NYC.
9. Have the main bathroom remodeled.
10. Lose my mom-pouch. If it kills me.
11. Have a sunset picnic on the beach with my hubby.
12. Make a real plan to go back to Hawaii. We keep saying "in a few years", every year. 
13. Redo our bedroom. Top to bottom.
14. Fly a kite.
15. Go sledding down the hill at Wolcott Park.
16. Get a full body massage.
17. Have a camp fire in our back yard.
18. Take a vacation to Montana or Colorado...oooh Yellowstone! I'm probably going to floor my husband with this one.
19. Make one of those amazing decorated cakes for Matthew and/or Anthony's birthday.
20. Do more random acts of kindness
21. Read more; aiming for 1 book a month at this point.
22. Master my DSLR.
23. Go back to Disney.
24. Make a piece of pottery with the kids.
25. Enjoy an outdoor concert or performance of some sort.
26. Go to a drive-in.
27. Make a photo book.
28. Get better at this: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly Plants." ~ Michael Pollan. 
29. Get Anthony to give up the mo-mo, sleep in a big boy bed, and out of diapers.
30. Get more creative with cooking.
31. Run through someone else's sprinkler.
32. Build something. Anything.
33. Make lasagna.
34. Dance under the stars. Anyone having an outdoor wedding anytime soon??
35. Unplug more, live in the moment more, appreciate more.

Still rockin' the oil.

So it's been a while since I started using the oil cleansing method, and I thought I'd give a bit of an update for the 1.3 people who care. I think I like it! I don't know that my skin feels any cleaner or softer than when I was applying a chemical filled cleanser, but it sure doesn't feel worse. And the other day, a friend told me my skin looked great, and asked if I had anything done, like a peal or something. Sweet.

I have since started using castor oil, along with olive oil and a couple drops of tea tree oil. And yes, this concoction still sits in a shot glass on my bathroom counter. I really need to find something else to put it in. I made a batch using 3 tablespoons of olive oil to 1 tablespoon castor oil, and at some point I think I added maybe another teaspoon of castor, which seems to be working better since I have combination skin.

I think I'll keep up with it. I like having all the ingredients at home, and I love that they are all natural. Plus, a little goes a LONG way (I use about 1/4 teaspoon per wash).  If you are even remotely curious about it, try it out. But I will warn you, you really do have to give it a sold 1-2 weeks for your skin to adjust. 

Weeks 17 - 21

What a busy month it has been!

Week 21

Fri., June 1 - Matthew's graduation from Quaker Lane Nursery School. What an amazing day. A year ago, he got overwhelmed and ran to me before the ceremony even began. This year he sang, performing every song, and walked up to get his diploma with such a proud look on his face.

Week 20

Sun., May 20 - First Winding Trails visit of the season. Matthew wanted nothing to do with the water, so he was off riding his bike (being watched by my sister, brother-in-law, niece, and her friend Sarah). I had the incredibly hard task of watching Anthony throw pebbles into the water. After the beach, Matthew and I picked Bobby up from the airport, while Anthony went to bed (my mom was with him).

Week 19

Sun., May 13 - Mother's Day cookout at my sister's. Believe it or not, this is the best picture we got. I wish my husband could have been there to celebrate with us, but I had a wonderful day and spent it surrounded by my loving family.

Week 18

Fri., May 11 - Making s'mores at Michelle's house. That was the day hubby left for Australia for 10 (no, not 9 honey!) days.

Week 17

Fri., May 4 - Matthew's 5th Birthday! What a fun day that was. I was the helping parent at his school that morning, we brought in chocolate cupcakes to share with his friends that we baked the night before. We spent a good part of the day playing outside, then went out to dinner at Rainforest Cafe. Anthony hated it, the thunder and loud animals overwhelm him...but he was a trooper for his brother.