Blake is now 7 months old and had his evaluation with EI. Amanda came while Caroline typed up her report. They tested him in six areas: gross motor, fine motor, play and cognitive, language, social emotional skills, and adaptive skills (feeding, sleeping etc). Gross, Fine and Cognitive were measured in weeks and language social emotional, and adaptive were measured in months. He has to have a 25% delay to qualify from any area and receive services. His areas of delay were a 33% in gross motor, a 27% delay in cognitive, and a 30% delay in language. He had minor delays (1 month or so) in fine and adaptive skills. And my little socialite 30% over into 8-9 month skills with his social emotional skills. A physical therapist called me and scheduled his first apt for 8:45 on Wed the 27. It’s easier to do it without Cory, but I’m sure I can find something to occupy him so he doesn’t try to get so much attention. Poor boy things everyone who walks in the door or near him is there to entertain him!
Blake is eating much better now taking around 28 oz and eating 3/4 of a jar at a time. He even feeds himself graham crackers (which the therapist said was good because it basically turns to mush in his mouth) and teething biscuits.

Cory visited with the neighbors for the evaluation. It was a little over an hour long. I have yet to hear from anyone that they had a bad experience with EI. So far it’s just been a lot of paperwork!
Cory and I went to turn in all his piggy bank money. He had collected quite a bit of money. So we went to the toy store and I let him pick out what he wanted. I tried to get him on a bike, but the training wheels freaked him out and he wants to ride the big one that Pah has been fixing up at his house- which he needs help to do. Instead he picked out two new cars from Cars2.


He’s also been doing well at swimming lessons. He finally got his backpack off and swam (a short distance) back to the wall. Savanna said he could use flippers next time! She says he’s stubborn and just needs to move instead of float there or just swim on his back. He still won’t get his face in the water except to blow bubbles. Sometimes he’ll wear his goggles. Cory still plays in his own pool and though Blake can’t sit in on his own yet, but I can get in the little pool with him and he seems to like it.

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This weekend Blake will be 7 months old. When the social worker was here, she said that she thought Blake would be doing a lot more by the time she saw us again for his evaluation. I smiled and thought she was being nice, but,no, really! He is! He’s started to sit up without support either hanging on to something or just for a few seconds alone.

He’s flip flopping all over the place back and forth, back and forth, tummy to back, tummy to back. A few times he’s started to transfer from hand to hand if you watch him close. He’s doing much better at longer tummy times and with independent play while I get breakfast or do dishes in the morning. It’s definitely time for a new play yard gate.

He’s still struggling with solids. We switched solely to stage 2 foods. I was reading the book I had read when Cory was/is struggling as a picky eater. It said that there were 15 month olds that these therapists visited that were still on purees because their parents were not challenging their mouths enough with solids. So he might struggle and not eat as much because it’s harder work for him to manipulate, but that’s what his mouth needs- it’s not like he’s going to die. We’re right there to swipe it out if he really can’t handle it. I suppose I just never thought mouth therapy!

He’s still not making consonant sounds or sucking on pacifiers, but he has found comfort in blankets or small stuffed animals. He has a hand sized plush rattle giraffe that a friend hand given to us when Cory was born. He takes it to bed. I know we’re not supposed to put anything in his bed, but he sleeps better sucking and it’s that or Jay’s- and Jay can’t fit in the crib. He also likes a stuffed lion. He likes the mane and tail. Not sure I’d put that one in the crib. Tails worry me. The giraffe is kind of paper doll shaped with giraffe prints and little ears and horns. Not a whole lot of dimension to it. Of course I can’t find anymore anywhere…so when this becomes THE lovey, I don’t know what will happen if something happens to IT.
Cory is almost halfway through is swimming lessons. He is just not moving like his should. Savanna is playing hardball and is bringing him down to 1 piece on the backpack only and making him work. But mostly he just treads, he won’t kick and pull with his arms. She did get him to put goggles on. Maybe when he does a group swim, he’ll do what the others are doing. I see others his age in the lap lanes using kickboards and putting their faces in the water. I can’t make him and forcing him would only be painful. He’s just going to do things when he’s ready.
Cory’s been going on fun adventures with Grandma to the zoo, aquarium, Thomas trains, little horses, and I’m sure he’ll have a great time this weekend with Lukas.
We’ve been doing the library program again this year. I don’t think we’ll get a lot of the trails done. Some are just too long and its’ too hot to do them. Cory and I whine a lot. Blake sleeps on Jay in the carrier. Maybe I’ll stop beating myself up over it and just stop doing the really long hard trails. I just have this thing about finishing all 30 and getting it done. Jay likes he has twice as many chances at prizes this year.

Cory’s current fascination is tractor combines. He likes Frank from Cars, and wanted a toy one. Grandma and Pah got him one this weekend. He’s been playing with it nonstop. He even wants it to come to bed. He watches YouTube to see what they do with the grain. He watches them in fields when we drive by. Of course he still asks where it’s mouth is and if it chases cars away from tractors…like the Tractor Tippin’ scene in Cars.

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So yeah, Blake is 6.5 months old, Cory is 4 years old now and a few things have happened. Cory’s 4 year check up went alright. The sucky part were the several shots two nurses jumped on him to administer. They remember things like that…and bring it up for days. The doctor didn’t listen wholeheartedly to my concerns of his crazy behaviors that sometimes leave me and him in tears. He did think less hand held games and tv would help. He also felt the need to address Cory and say ” Are we strong willed like our Mommy?” Whatever. He has gotten a bit better. Hes gotten more independent getting dressed and putting shoes on and cleaning up toys. Hes completely out of diapers now at bedtime which is great. But we still have bad whining screaming jumping out of control days where I just want to either leave and head for a spa  and lock him in his room. Otherwise hes a loving brother and I do see him growing up. He starts kindergarten next year for crying out loud.

Blake had his 6 month check up and I have noted some delays that I shared with the same doctor. He agreed and even though Blake is healthy, he has been referred to Early Intervention, which is free.  Most of what we see is him struggling to eat even his stage 1 foods and some of his bottles. Still struggling to sit up supported and was only rolling over one way. He has now rolled the other way, but he doesn’t always do it. I also shared he was spitting up a lot- a little several times after a meal and wheezing some still doing belly time and coughing. The doctor said he has reflex and prescribed Zantac. We’ve already seen some improvements and increased belly time, but he’s still spitting up some. He also isn’t transfering- moving one object from one had to the other.

Ms. Miller came out Tuesday afternoon to go over what she called the Family Interview or Intake Appointment. It was a lot of questions of demographics. She wanted to know his doctor visits, hospitalizations, immunizations, family members their employment status and level of education, how many books we had in the house- which I sort of smiled at and though in what room? She said she has to make sure that families have at least 20 books. She didn’t say it, but I’ve talk to families as a teacher with more DVDs and video games than books. We’re kind of the opposite. We might have 20 video games, but we have hundreds of books. She asked if there was any learning disabilities or impairments in the family. I told her quite plainly that our families are obnoxiously gifted.

Cory was alright, but he was a bit noisy. Ms. Miller had some sort of hearing device and I think she was frustrated, though calm and patient, while asking information. I think for Blake’s eval, I may find somewhere else for him to be. The eval is scheduled with Pentacle-I think, with a girl named Amanda that Ms. Miller hasn’t heard of before. I’m not so sure about noobs, but she said she was confident in that association’s reputation and ability to find me some answers.

Blake’s had a fever for most of the weekend, so it being close to 102, I decided to take him to the doctor. Dr. Dempsey said it was just a summer virus going around. He may have some diarrhea and will probably only last a few more days. That was good news to me. I am really tired of getting up in the middle of the night with this fever. Even though he upped his tylenol to 1.2ml, it only lasts so long before he’s fussy again. On top of all that and Cory’s swimming lessons, it had been a busy day!

His first private lesson this summer with Savanna- same girl he had last year- was rough. He wouldn’t do anything and just whined that he wanted to just swim. She was making him work and do strokes. Tuesday was better. He would stand and jump in. He would lean back in the water and practice moving his arms over head. She wants to get him out of that backpack and be down to a 1 or 2 of 4 pieces from now on.

Otherwise, Cory has been a dear entertaining brother. He will jump or run or squeal just to get Blake to laugh and have some attention. 5 more minutes for me is what I say! Attention is the game lately. The neighbor girls were over and entertained him most of the late morning into early afternoon. I brought out lemonade and snacks and then lunch. Their mom seemed embarrassed that I did that and felt her children were ill-mannered, but it’s how I grew up! We were always at someone’s house and  we had lunch there when we played. I finally got the backyard weeded!

So now we’re just looking forward to a vacation with Gail and Bryon and Lukas at  OC NJ the end of the month.

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Blake’s been keeping up with his lightly runny nose and coughing and wheezing. No fever. He’s eating and playing and seems fine as long as we pat his back and suck his nose and give him albuterol treatments. He’s really loving the rolling over from belly to back…but that doesn’t get him belly time!
Cory loves him and brings him toys and makes noises for him.


Cory’s birthday party is underway and he’s selected Mario and the theme.I’ve got some ideas for the kids such as a coin hunt and Yoshi egg pop with painted spots on balloons. Brittany is going to make Mario colored mushroom cupcakes. Otherwise it’ll be pizza and outdoor visiting in our backyard with friends, family and neighbors and we truly asked them all not to bring presents.

Blake’s schedule bounces all over, but he’s eating and getting a good total amount of sleep even if it’s scattered. He’s not the best cereal eater, but he’s getting better.

Cory and I worked on a color project called Chromatography where really that sounds super mom, but it was coffee filters, markers, and water. It showed him that markers are made from different colors like other things. He already knows the colors, so it was something of a next step that we did like a science experiment. He’s also moved past his refrigerator magnet letters to magnet words. He has memorized a lot of stories, so I don’t know if Cory is really reading along with Jay or just has memorized the words. Regarless, a lot of beginning reading is memorizing sight words- good for him. He’s still a tantrum mess some days, and I can’t wait for summer to start to take some grad classes and go places with my boys in the afternoon. His play has gotten quiet imaginative. I can’t even always keep up…even if he lets me. He’s got rules. I”m not totally sure what Einstein and the Serpent Pirate Master were doing here with all the sea creatures.

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Of course, just as I was getting used to Blake’s 4 hours schedule of 10 hours at night and 2 hour naps during the day, he changed the following week I put it in writing. Now he’s sleeping 12 hours a night and 3 one hour naps during the day with three hour cycles. My mom always laughs when I say that we’ve got him on a schedule. She says by the time you get it figured out, they’re doing something else.
Nanny B is going to take care of the boys in the AM and get them to day care before she heads out to her new job. I sure will appreciate that instead of getting two boys dressed, fed and out the door by 7:15. When Brittany gets here it take the two of us to get them fed, dressed and ready to go for the day! Then I head out normally when Cory’s settled and watching tv and the hard part is just getting him in the car at that point.
Blake has 4 more weeks of PT (no one thinks he needs it, but his PT who probably just really likes seeing him well …or wants the insurance and our money). Grandma is going to be wonderful as always and pick him up and take him to PT on wed. at 11.
Brittany stayed late today so Jay and I could meet with the day care teachers and see if they’d take Blake earlier than we originally said. We’re glad they could and had room. Blake had a crib all ready and set up right next to Cristy’s little girl, Willow’s crib who’ll start on the 16th. It’s weird thinking of Willow only being 9 weeks old and Blake 19. They’re only 10 weeks apart and so different in what they’re doing! In any case we dropped off all his things and papers except for the doctors immunizations checklist that needs to be faxed within 30 days, so that Brittany won’t have any MORE to bring to day care on Mon. morning but bottles and the boys. It sure was a crazy afternoon organizing all that within an hour before the weekend! Brittany said she’s going to feel odd giving Blake over to someone else and leaving the day care empty handed.
Cory is super in love with Super Mario and wants to wear his bib overalls and red tshirt all the time. He’s only got one, so it takes every morning to explain that he can’t wear it again. His new learning interest is time. Not the clock kind, like he already is learning, but days. He’s starting to understand days of the week and months on a calendar. He was asking about what day was church and what day is school closed and what day does he go to school, etc. I pointed to the calendar and showed him the seven days like seven boxes on his sticker charts (funny that).What am I going to do with a preschooler who wants calendars, maps of the world, globes, and encyclopedias in his room? I almost can’t keep up with how much he wants to know…at least Jay can feed his brain on the internet. So hyper and smarts from Daddy and um..anxieties and OCD from Mommy? I wonder what good thing he gets from me?….aside from my complexion

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