23 Months

Bryson is ALMOST two!!!
He loves his bath time- and playing with the bubbles. It's been SO hot this summer- we've had to spend more time inside than I'd like. It's been over 100 degrees almost every day, so we can't hang out with the neighbors on the front lawn as much as we'd like.

Milestones:
* Bryson's speaking in more two to four word utterances, at least that's what we can understand! He's talking all the time now 'I got it', 'Bye bye dada', 'Dada mow', etc. He also tries to carry on a conversation, but we can't figure out what he's saying....yet.
* Bryson loves 1. yard work/mowers, 2. airplanes, 3. trains
* He still loves Elmo, Abby and Cookie Monster
* Bryson wants to 'help' as much as possible, with laundry, vacuuming, yard work and cleaning up.
* He's wearing 2T shirts/shorts and size 7 shoes
* Still in size 5 diapers
* We weighed him the other day, and his his clothes and diaper on- he was 32 lbs
* Bryson is very affectionate- loves to give kisses, hugs and high fives.
* He loves to fold his hands and pray- he especially loves saying 'amen'.
* He still eats like a champ!

Sensory Bin

Look what we played with in speech and occupational therapy this week:

I decided, kinda last minute, to put together a Fourth of July sensory bin for the office! There's pom poms, foil stars, hard plastic red stars, streamers, pinwheels and little American flags inside the box. (not pictured is my little shovel, to assist with digging)

It's been a while since I've updated on the business/Speech Pathology front- so here's the short version. I hired an OT and COTA a while back- and we needed more space. So, we moved out into our own office, and have been booming ever since! I love working hand-in-hand with Occupational Therapy. It's been great to mix more sensory into my speech therapy sessions.


We have other sensory bins at the office, but this one is my 1st 'themed' bin!

Twenty Two Months and Five Years!

Excuse the photo quality, I took this photo with my phone! Bryson is IN LOVE with all things yard related. He loves to watch Brandon, the neighbors, strangers, etc. mow, weed, blow and sack grass. Every day, he asks Brandon to mow our yard! If Brandon agrees, he runs to get his mower (in the photo) and will patiently follow Brandon around the entire front and back yard.

It's hard to believe that his second birthday is right around the corner! His speech production has just exploded, making his SLP momma very happy! :) He's starting to count 'one, two, three', referring to everyone (family, neighbors, pets) by name and asking for 'help'.
Today at lunch, when we forgot to pray, he reminded us by putting his hands together, bowing his head and just waiting for us to catch on!

Brandon and I also celebrated our fifth anniversary this weekend! It's been a crazy five years, but I wouldn't change a thing!!!! We went out for a date night last night, and it was great just to 'see' where we started and where we are now.

Twenty One Months

Bryson is turning into such a sweet little boy. With the warmer weather, we've been spending most of our time outside. He loves to follow Brandon and I around, 'helping' with whatever we're doing. He helped wash cars, put laundry in the dryer and make chocolate chip cookies yesterday. He loves to play in the water, specifically his water table and the pool at swim lessons. He's still not quite sure of his Elmo sprinkler.

Milestones:

- He moved up to size 5 diapers

- He's almost completely into 2T shirts

- Still taking good afternoon naps/sleeping well at night.

- Bryson's about to move up to a 6 1/2 or 7 in his shoe size

- He's starting to combine 2 words together. Most of the time it's 'my' or 'mine' paired with the name of the object.

- He LOVES to give hugs and kisses

- Bryson is OBSESSED with Elmo, painting and coloring. He also really enjoys naming all the members in our family and all the animal sounds.

I'm looking forward to the summer, as I'm only going to work three days a week instead of four. We'll be able to spend more time together and play with our friends more! It's going to be a great!!!!

Mothers Day

What a difference a year makes! Here's Bryson and I on Mothers Day last year......

and then attempting to get the same pose again this year! (It didn't quite play out the way I wanted it to) But, we got a few good photos in either way.........

We had a very busy day today! We went to Broken Egg for an early breakfast, then we went to church and to Target. We all got in an afternoon nap before having to make yet another trip to the office. The business has been growing SO much- and Brandon built some new storage cabinets up at the office to help us out.

Autism 5K

Yesterday, our office, family and friends all participated in the 'Ready, Set, Run' 5K and Fun Run for the Autism Center of Tulsa. The photo above is from right before the 5K, but we had over 20 people participate! It was a perfect morning- not too hot, not too windy- just plenty of hills on the 5K trail.

My knee has been giving me some trouble, since the week before the cruise. It's finally gotten better with help from an AWESOME chiropractor in town, Dr. Zollner. He's analyzed my stride (while running) and has really helped get rid of the pain and improve my run. I beat my own personal record yesterday, completing the race is 33 minutes and 37 seconds!!

Bryson was a trooper yesterday as well. Brandon pushed him in his stroller through the 5K!

Overall, it was a wonderful day. I'm very thankful for our health, and to have a career that doesn't feel like 'work'.

Twenty.

It's hard to believe that Bryson will be twenty months old tomorrow!! Today, we walked down to the church's on the corner Easter egg hunt, with our neighbors(we count them as friends too!). Even though it had been raining off and on overnight and into the morning, the rain cleared just in time! Bryson had a blast and was a very well behaved little boy. He was able to 'find' plenty of eggs, we all got free Chikfila for lunch, and Bryson got to spend some time jumping in the bouncy castle!

Twenty Month Old Milestones:

- we're moving up to size 5 diapers just as soon as we finish this last box of 4's.

- we're also moving up to 2T clothing, size 6 to 6 1/2 shoes

- Bryson is talking up a storm. Still no consistent two-word utterances, but he loves to look at pictures and label family members and knows a TON of animal noises.

- Bryson's sleep habits are holding steady. Thank goodness.

- Bryson's ears had a rough month, but allergies have been TERRIBLE here! We've started him back on Allegra in hopes of keeping him out of the doctors office.

- We've had to start 'time-outs' for his fit throwing, and they have worked wonderfully!

- Now that it's warmer outside, we are spending most of our evenings playing with our neighbor friends.

Cruise!

Brandon and I just returned from an amazing, seven night cruise!!! My parents and my little sister kept Bryson so that we could have a week away.

We departed from Miami aboard the Celebrity Eclipse- one of the biggest and newest ships we've ever been on!

Our ports of call were Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Costa Maya and Roatan. I discovered the website 'cruise critic' a while back, and booked all of our shore excursions based on the recommendations I found on that website.

In Grand Cayman- we booked the 'Stingray, Snorkel and Rum Point' tour through Native Way. We ended up in a group of 6 (including us) and had an AMAZING time. Rum Point was a beautiful beach, we loved interacting with the stingrays and we even got to hold a starfish!

(one of the views from Rum Point)

In Cozumel, we joined up with a group from cruise critic, for the Cozumel Bar Hop. It was a great way to see the entire island, and we had a blast! At sailaway, we met this awesome couple from New York, and we ended up hanging out with them for the majority of the trip.

In Costa Maya, our New York friends joined us for a relaxing day at the beach. We emailed Steve at a beach side restaurant called Tropicante and reserved 2 lounge chairs on the beach. It was wonderful to 'deal' with an American, and he took care of us!! He has a Skype phone, so we were able to call home and check on Bryson while there.

In Roatan, we booked a snorkel tour with Upachaya. Once I get the photos back from Walgreens, I'll post more about this part of our trip.

Brandon and I will be celebrating our fifth anniversary this summer, so this trip was a little bit of an anniversary celebration, mixed with a much needed break from the office and some much needed time alone, as just a couple. We missed Bryson- but it was nice to relax and be a couple! We didn't have to worry about baths, nap and bed times, etc. It was nice (but difficult at times!) to be 'unplugged'- I missed my iphone at times though.

Bryson's been great since we've been home- he really seemed to enjoy himself while we were gone, and he is talking more!!! We are very blessed to have family willing to keep him and to be able to take a week off!

St Paddy's Day

What a beautiful day here in Oklahoma! The high was in the 80's, the sun was shinning and my work day was light!!

After supper, we brought out the sand and water table for Bryson and his friend Lauren to play in. They LOVED it- I can't wait for summer, when we can spend every evening outside!

5K and other news....

I participated in my first organized 5K this past weekend- the St. Paddy's Day Run. Over 2,600 runners were there! I completed the race is 34 minutes and 59 seconds, which basically means I was running an 11 minute mile. I've been averaging that on the treadmill at Gold's Gym- although I hoped to run a smidge faster.

Brandon and Bryson came to cheer me on and play on the inflatables. It meant alot to me to have them there in the crowd!!

In other news this past week- I hired an OT (Occupational Therapist) and COTA (OT assistant)!! I'm so excited to be adding these two ladies to the team and for my kids to get the services they need.
Spring Break is this coming week- and then we'll be on our Caribbean cruise before you know it!! I can't wait!

18 Months

Bryson is now 18 months old! It's been a rough week for him. He's cutting at least three teeth and has become a drooling machine. His nose and ears have started to drain, but we are hoping it's just from all the teeth........

Bryson now weighs 31 lbs and is 33 inches tall. He wears size 18-24 month clothing, with a few small 2T shirts mixed in. I got this outfit he has on at the JBF sale yesterday- I love it on him! He's such a little man now.

Bryson LOVES Elmo. He will bring us the remote when he wants to watch his Elmo DVD's. He's been playing really well by himself lately. He can identify most of his body parts- most recently his tummy. He's talking more and more, and able to follow directions most of the time.

He's still in size 4 diapers, but is slowly moving up to size 6 shoes. He's still sleeping about 11 hours a night, and continues to love his monkey.

Five miles!

(Excuse the photo quality, it was taken with my iphone!)

I ran my first race today, the 5 mile poker run here in Tulsa. I completed the race in 56 minutes. The trail was pretty clear, with occasional ice/snow patches that forced us to walk to avoid taking a spill.

Erin (on the L in the photo) and I started training back at the start of January with the' couch to 5k' program/app on my iphone. The crazy Oklahoma weather seriously messed with our training schedule, and I doubted if we could even run the entire 5 miles since we were only training for 3.2!! BUT- we did it!!!!!!!

And now, I'm officially addicted to running. I just signed up for the St. Patricks Day run benefiting Special Olympics. I can't wait!

Accomplishments

We're going on day four of the great blizzard of 2011! And, it just started snowing again- expecting 4-6 inches tonight! We've gone a little stir crazy, and have taken on several 'projects'. Here's what we've done to pass the time:

*replace all the cabinet pulls in the kitchen with silver knobs (used to be white)
*watched way too many Elmo dvd's
*Brandon replaced the lock, knob and kick plate on the front door
*shoveled 3 driveways
*watched several netflix instant watch movies
*some online shopping
*plenty of baby snuggling :)

Here's hoping for warm, sunny days ahead!

Blizzard 2011

We received over 14 inches of snow here in Oklahoma this week! I've never seen this much snow in my entire life!!! It's so beautiful, but we have to limit our time outside because it is SO cold. Tonight it's supposed to be BELOW ZERO. Insane.

Bryson still doesn't really like the snow. He's fine with it until it touches his skin, and then he's done. We'll keep trying though :) We have some snow drifts around the house- this one is up to the formal dining room window!

For fun, we've made snow ice cream, shoveled our driveway and our neighbors and I've now resorted to pulling some of the toys out of my amazon toy sale stockpile! Brandon's office has been closed for the past two days and will be closed again tomorrow. I've been unable to work because I have to be able to drive to the office/daycares/etc- and well, we aren't getting out of our driveway anytime soon.

Luckily, we've had some wonderful family time and some good times with our neighbors. I'll have to work for the next couple Friday's (my usual day off) to make up these snow days, but I feel very blessed to have this opportunity to stay home with the family!

Seventeen

Bryson's now seventeen months old! He loves to 'help' with certain chores, such as shutting the dishwasher door, washing the car, rinsing off his toothbrush and occasionally bringing us a diaper.

* He's wearing 18-24 month clothing and depending on the brand, size 5 1/2 to 6 shoes.
* He's wearing size 4 diapers.
* Bryson LOVES Elmo and Sesame Street! He has a great 'Ernie laugh' and favors Cookie Monster.

* He's starting to talk more- saying 'cookie', 'NaNa' (Nannie), 'Papa', 'Stinky' when he needs his diaper changed and so on.

* Bryson's still a huge thumb sucker....ugh....

* The fit throwing has started. When he doesn't get his way and he's mad about it, he'll throw himself on the floor and cry.

* He LOVES to give kisses and hugs. He blows kisses and waves/says 'bye bye' every time we leave school, home, etc.

Bryson is turning into a delightful toddler and I can't wait to see what the next few months hold as he talks more and more!!

Snow Day!

I've been itchin' for a good snow day. Even though, it's silly to wish for one, because if I don't work, I don't get paid. Nevertheless, I woke up at 4:30AM Thursday morning-giddy-to see the snow falling!

My nephew Asher came over to spend the day with us, as my SIL and Brandon both had to work. The boys only spent a short amount of time outside, but we had a GREAT day. Bryson loves playing with his cousin and Asher does a great job of entertaining him.

Bryson did really well with the snow, until he face planted into it. He enjoyed it from the sled- but as soon as he fell off, he was DONE. He was almost impossible to calm (as it was nap time) so I just put him to bed and let Asher play a few minutes longer. Then neighborhood kids enjoyed pulling Bryson and Asher around though!

Speech

A friend of mine recently published a book for parents titled 'Teaching Speech the Fun Way". It's basically a 'how-to' book for parents to teach their children proper articulation techniques. If your child struggles with just a few sounds/has just a few sound errors- I'd highly recommend this book!

Right now, it's only $10 on Amazon and qualifies for free shipping! Monica in no way asked me to write this post- I've just recommended it to so many of my clients, I figure why not put it out there on my blog too! :)

2010 in Review

January 2010- a slow, but long month. Bryson started full-time day care at his current facility and had RSV. Yuck.

February 2010- Bryson is now 6 months old!

March 2010- I joined Jazzercise and lost the majority of my baby weight (still a little bit hangin' on though). Bryson started to crawl, and we finally were able to play outside some!

April 2010- Bryson received his first set of PE tubes for his ears. These tubes (in retrospect) actually caused more problems then they were worth......

Bryson started to pull to stand this month.

May 2010- Bryson took his first trip to the lake and I celebrated my first mother's day. Also, the charter school I contract with was hit by a small tornado, which made for an interesting last week of school. Thank goodness none of my materials were ruined.

June 2010-Bryson got his 1st haircut!!!! We took a Diaper Dolphins swim class, and played outside almost every night with the neighbors.

July 2010- We enjoyed our annual neighborhood potluck/4th of July party and Bryson started walking! Career wise, I made a drastic move and took a leap of faith.....

August 2010- My business partner and I opened our own private practice!!! We celebrated Bryson's 1st Birthday, and he started going to daycare 4 days a week and I am finally able to spend more time with him.

September 2010- I really can't remember much from September! We wrapped up the summer by going to lake Texoma, and we were blessed to find a new ENT who promptly replaced Bryson's PE tubes with the correct set and removed his adenoids. A huge sigh of relief- we saw a great reduction in the amount of drainage from his ears.

October 2010- Brandon's parents came to visit and we had a blast taking Bryson to the pumpkin patch and dressing him up for Halloween. Also, Brandon and I had a much needed getaway weekend to Eureka Springs!

November 2o10- Simply Speaking opened its OWN, free-standing office in Jenks! As a family, we continued to cheer on our OSU Cowboys in football, traveled to Texas for Thanksgiving and got more involved with our church.

December 2010- Simply Speaking really started taking off! We thoroughly enjoyed Bryson's first 'real' Christmas season and watching him open gifts Christmas morning.

I can't wait to see what 2011 holds for our family, Simply Speaking and our friends!