View from the Ohio

My office had a recent corporate outing on one of the Riverboats downtown. The founder of our company took some amazing photos of the skyline at night and I thought I'd share some scenes of our city. It was also a home game for the Cincinnati Reds and every Friday night home game has fireworks following. We disembarked at just the right time to see the show.

Here are some stunning photos of our home city:

Thanks for the fun night out!

Sam's Speech, 22 months

It's been two months since Sam started his speech therapy, and my emotions have run the gamut. I've started and stopped this blog post many times, depending on my mood. Some days I'd come here disappointed and filled with discouragement, and other days I'd continue writing excitedly with the latest advancements.

On my frustrated days I would be discouraged, like the day I came across a video of Sam babbling happily at 7 months and realized he stopped saying any consonant sounds. He stopped saying his sole word "Good" a few months ago, replacing all "talk" with a whine or a grunt. Or, when I noticed other toddlers his age babbling or talking, and I had to force myself to not compare and wonder too much about when Sam will speak up, and if and when he does, how far behind he will be. Or, when, a couple of weeks ago, I asked Sam's speech therapist about how often she sees children who lose any language they had, like Sam, and she said she sees it but rarely, and it is a concern. (She didn't elaborate... which of course left me to my wild imagination. We ought to have a dedicated conversation on his progress, best/case scenarios, and any possible timeline. It's a "concern", but what does that mean?)

Sam, 7 months old

And then there are good days where I am astounded watching Sam play with one of his battery toys and answering all the questions the game was requesting. Press the letter S. Press the letter that goes with the word that makes this sound [zipper sound]. Press the ball to play to continue playing. He gets them all right. Or when he opens his shapes book and finds the specific shape you ask, or turns to the page to find the animal in his other book. Or, when he stands in front of our family photos and picks out all of us easily. It's a relief to have him pointing now though it's still not clearly intentional to demonstrate a want (instead he leads us to objects or brings objects to us). Or, when he seems to pick up a new sign language word each day. He consistently signs dog, more, please, bath, bed, book, tree, all done, mom, fan, eat, shoes, car, go and more. This morning he signed moon. It's mostly communicated in response to a request, not as an intentional communication to us, but it's a great start! He knows body parts (head, ears, eyes, nose, mouth, belly, hands, toes) and can do motions along with songs. Those are all so encouraging and I have to remind myself he's made all this progress in a quick 2 months! When we had him evaluated in June he was diagnosed as being 9 months language, and here we are 3 months later and he seems to be on target for the age children begin talking (12-15 months).

And then, on Monday, a breakthrough! Or I truly hope it is! Adam and Sam were playing in the other room, and I started hearing sounds that I didn't think were from Adam. Na-na-na-na-na-na with some ma-ma-ma-ma in there, too. We ran to find him, and I'm pretty sure Michael and I both cried a little when we heard his new sounds! Joy. And relief. Each day since then I ask him to say it again, and he does. (I'm fearful he'll lose it just as quickly.) I've also noticed that occasionally he'll stumble across some other consonants like ba-ba or da-da and yesterday he was saying ssssss. We're cautiously encouraged.

Sam continues to work with specialists weekly to help jump-start his language and we had two great sessions this week. Both therapists noticed improvements over the previous visit.

Every other week we take Sam to the children's hospital for speech therapy. Michael usually takes him due to scheduling, but those times that I've attended I really enjoy learning techniques to implement at home.

In addition, we have a behavioral specialist from the Help Me Grow program come to our home each week at 7:30 in the morning (bless her) so I can be involved with Sam's sessions. Occasionally she will bring along an occupational therapist to do additional activities with Sam.

We've learned so much about language development in the last few months. We've learned that there are building blocks of social play, turn-taking, mimicry and nonverbal communication that must be accomplished before he can verbalize. While Sam has always been great at social play and social eye contact, he doesn't always look us in the face when he wants something from us or needs assistance. For example, if take away something that he wants, he reaches for and only stares at the object he wants back. Our play is now focussed on encouraging him to make that "help me" eye contact before we give him what he wants, and he's been doing great at starting to make those connections faster and more frequently.

Sam, 17 months

Additionally, we recently completed a survey as to his daily behaviors to better get a sense of what, if any, sensory issues he may have. Children with sensory issues, it's been explained to us, are overly sensitive to things in their environment which can interfere with normal learning (and speech development). Example, if you're trying to take a test and there's a loud lawnmower outside your window, you may be bothered and can't concentrate/learn. All children have sensory issues that they eventually grow out of. (Sometimes I wonder if there is too much emphasis on trying to peg a behavior as a sensory issue, and I dislike how it makes us question what would be otherwise normal behavior to us. Walking on toes is a sensory issue, and geez, Adam walked on his toes way more than Sam does!)

The thinking is that once we are aware of those areas of his discomfort, we can start working on helping him cope with them (they call it "organize" him) so that he can be more receptive to learning. Initial results showed typical development in most categories and a marginal deviation in just a couple areas. Frankly the report was way over my head, but I did recognize a lot of "typical" results, which is great! Next week the occupational therapist will come with our behavioral specialist to explain and review these more thoroughly.

Sam gives us a "wow" moment each and every day, and it's so exciting to watch him blossom. He has always been wonderful, Sweet Sam, and I knew from his beginning he is something special. Thank you all for the continued prayers and reassurances on his development. I am so optimistic that there will be a time we won't be able to keep him quiet!

Sam, 20 months

Least Prepared-for Half Marathon Ever

Have you ever been asked to do something that seems wildly crazy and not the smartest to consider doing but kinda really want to do it anyway?  Yep, that's how I got pulled into my recent half marathon.

I had been trying to get back into running here and there, knowing I was committed to the Bourbon Chase relay team in October. I completed my first 3-miler in way-too-many months and was feeling really good about myself when I got a call two days later from a friend telling me he had an entry in the Air Force Half Marathon in Dayton. Spot was for a female, free of charge, mine for the taking. Oh, and the race was in 9 days.

What?

Could I? Should I? Crazy enough, I kinda wanted to! I knew I could finish, that wasn't the question. It was more about how smart it was to try running it, and I was curious to see just what kind of running shape I was actually in.

So of course I did the obvious: threw on my running shoes, ran a complete 5 mile training run and agreed to the challenge.

My race approach -- keep it at a 5/2 split.  Run for 5 minutes, walk for 2 minutes and alternate for as long as I could.

The race was at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton. It started at the museum and ran through the base's back roads and residential areas. As an Army kid, I've been on my share of military posts/bases and really enjoyed exploring this one. Air force or Army, they really have the same feel, similar style. And I really appreciated the park-like (and relatively flat!) course.

The gun went off and I stuck to my plan. 5/2, 5/2, etc right from the get-go and the first few miles ticked by.

I started to fade (but kept pushing) around mile 5, miles 6-7 were a struggle, and when I got to mile 8 I gave up on the plan. (This is where actual training would have been helpful!) I took a goo pack (bleck!) and plenty of water and ran when I could for as long as I could (which wasn't very long each time); I walked the uphills and kept a close eye on my overall pace. I stopped to stretch -- wow, that's another reason to train! My body was not used to such activity and my legs, back, even my arms were starting to complain.

As I hit mile 10 I started to realize that I was almost on the same pace as one of my previous Halfs, which I thought was around 2:45, and was determined to beat that!

Finally, fewer than a mile left, I see the museum and finish in the distance, and more wonderfully was this:

He wrote the sign himself.

Go Mommy, From Love Adam

That last half mile was the toughest, longest part, but it was pretty cool to finish down the runway between all the AF planes and old bombers.

Mission complete! I finished in 2:42:56, which is actually not my slowest Half time ever. (Only 2 minutes slower than my very first Half and 1 minute faster than my slowest time... and those were with training!)

Not bad for only having a 3-miler and a 5-miler to prepare me! Which makes me wonder now how well I could have done with proper training. My PR still stands at 2:23 (and even that one I know I could have done faster) so I'm feeling the itch to sign up for another one next spring and bust that time.

And maybe with training I wouldn't be so sore for the next three days. Ouch! Yes, quads, you have my attention.

I've done the Marine and now the Air Force... maybe I need to look into a Navy or Army race next. Any race suggestions?

Summer: Part 3 -- Everything Else

Between the excitement of my trip away and all our company here, we filled in the rest of the summer with local events and short trips, such as...

Hueston Woods State Park and Pugh's Mill Covered Bridge

National Museum of the Air Force, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton.

A Whole Lotta Backyard Fun.

Splash Park and Playgrounds

Said goodbye to a good man, visited family and passed on tradition.

Renaissance Festival

RiverFest and the Rubber Ducky Regatta

Canoe Trips

Circus
which didn't go over as well as hoped. And, according to Adam, adding bikes and a chair to the tight-rope act "is not a good idea."

And in between all of those there were neighborhood walks, trips to the library, time with friends and family, another Reds game, family naps, swim lessons, speech therapy, home projects, etc.  We did manage to pack it in this summer but had a great time doing so!

(This was basically my lazy way of catching up on all the things I neglected to blog about over the past several months. It's heavy on pictures and light on commentary, but who doesn't love looking at pictures of my kids?) 

Adam Update

With all the attention Sam's been getting lately with his speech therapy, I feel like I haven't updated you all on Adam in some time. At 4 1/2, Adam has been so busy being Adam! He is so full of energy and imagination.

Lately, his favorite show is American Ninja Warrior. If you don't have boys in your house and are not aware of this program, it's a competition where men and women attempt to complete an obstacle course that requires crazy strength and agility, and for the last few weeks, since first seeing the show, Adam runs around our house climbing up and over the furniture and racing to the buzzer. He knows many of the competitors, and even the various obstacles, by name. He runs pretend courses and makes up names of other people racing so they can be introduced. When his cousin Emma was in town, the two of them built an American Ninja Warrior course in the basement, complete with their own version of the Warped Wall.

1st day of Pre-K, 2014

Maybe it's in part due to the show, but Adam is becoming much more the daredevil. Last night he made me catch my breath when he leapt from about 7 steps up, down to the bottom. Michael tells me I'd better get used to it.

Adam is very observant and absorbs everything, and we love that he's in a school that teaches him so much. He can name the planets, and knows which one has rings and which is the smallest and which is no longer a planet. He knows his Reds players and what numbers they wear. He knows about 20 different country flags and can tell you that Italy and Mexico are similar except that Mexico has an eagle on its flag. Last night Michael spilled a drink in the kitchen and at first glance Adam said the spill looked like Russia. We had to look at each other and agree. Adam frequently uses specific shapes to describe things (pentagon, octagon, etc) and the other day he asked if he could have a "cylinder cheese" (string cheese that is indeed in the shape of a cylinder). Lately he's noticed that cars have makes designated on them. He'll say, "That one's made out of Dodge."

This week he moved up to the next classroom (and last before Kindergarten!), and we are excited for him to have more exposure to writing. His reading has always been advanced, and in his last classroom his teacher was sending him to the older class to read. I love that when he reads books aloud he reads with inflection, emphasizes all capital words, is aware of when quotes are used for dialog, and applies appropriate sound to questions. Combine the reading with his strong observations skills, he's a chatterbox in the car as he reads aloud all the various signs. He loves books and every night when I check on him in bed I have to remove a handful of them from under his sleeping body. Lately, Curious George is his favorite.

He is continuing with his swim lessons, and I don't know how much he's getting out of the classes because he sure looks like he's having a blast in his own little world. He's picked up skills such as floating and kicking but still working on stroke.

Common phrases these days involve never. As in, I never get to go to the playground. Or, I've never been to the park before. (Honestly, he does and has!) He also likes to race and will challenge you to whoever gets to the mailbox wins! I haven't informed him that he is omitting the "first." This age is full of excitement and wonder, and it makes me smile to hear him say, "Oh boy!" when I tell him his dinner is ready, or "They're so beautiful!" when he sees deer near our home.

He continues to love baseball and having us pitch to him. Aunt Angie got him a real T-ball tee so he can now play on his own. He loves to toss the bat, run the bases and slide into home ("just like Pete Rose!"). A few occasions we've joined the neighbors in a real backyard game. We love where we live.

The most beautiful thing to watch him do is play with Sam. The two love to {gently} wrestle and chase each other around the house. Sam likes to be playing wherever Adam is, though this can sometimes be a frustration for Adam when Sam wants to grab his cars and trucks. (And oh, do we have plenty of those in the house! He still loooooves his cars. Currently it's a garbage truck that, he'll tell you, says Sanitation and Recycling. And on Friday mornings he will jump out of bed and dash to the window at the first sound of the garbage truck). If you tell Sam to "get him", he'll tentatively fall on Adam and laugh, or Adam will start a pillow fight with him or run the house with Sam close at his heels.

Next year at this time we'll be prepping Adam for Kindergarten, and (I say this now) I think I'll be ready to see him off. He has so much learning he wants to do and we hope he is always so eager. I love listening to the conversations he has in his room with his toys. This little boy has my whole heart!

See, he has been to the park!

Summer: Part 2 -- Out of Town Guests

Continuing with our busy summer.... Phase 1 was Europe, phase 2 was Florida. No, no, we didn't travel south... they all came here! We are so blessed to have wonderful friends and family that are dedicated to keeping relationships alive (and who also love to travel). Adam had such fun with all the boys who came to visit!

First up was my friend Sarah and her boys Brennan and newbie Aiden, who I was delighted to meet for the first time. We spent a day at the aquarium but mostly just hung around the house.

Me, Sarah, sister Kim

Adam, cousin Jake, Brennan

Adam loved playing with the boys. Clearly shirts are optional.

rainy day at the Aquarium

Adam was not taking an eye off Mighty Mike.

Adam with Aiden and Brennan

Sam thought Brennan was hilarious.

Not long after we said goodbye to them (all to soon), cousins Emma and Austin came in town from Jacksonville. This is always a fun time to get all the cousins together.

Soft serve ice cream cones... maybe not the smartest idea on a hot night.

"Mommy, help." 

cousins Emma and Sophie with Sam

All the girls want to hang with Sam.

All the cousins, minus 1 -- Austin, Emma, Adam, Sophie and Noah / Hailey, Carter, Alyssa and Sam.

Annual head shot

Grandma was here, too!

And lastly, in August, my friend Christie and her two little ones made the drive to visit. They travel with their own bouncy house.

These two had so much fun.

Rainy day at the movies to see Planes: Fire and Rescue.

We topped off their week with our second-annual crab boil. One of my favorite new traditions! And of course I didn't manage to get a picture of all the kiddos together, but we'll be seeing this family again in a few short weeks when they come back for Thanksgiving. Can't wait!

Summer: Part 1 -- Europe

Summer is winding down. Can you feel it? Fall is in there air around here, and we're loving it! Cool evenings, windows open, perfect football weather. We've had a busy summer, so it's about time I start recapping some of the fun things we've did. We've had visitors from Florida and trips to Europe and active children in swim lessons and speech. We continue to explore local events and love on our city. We'll miss the long daylight and spontaneous backyard baseball games with the neighbors, walks around our home, or simple backyard play.

But in my attempt to keep things posted here chronologically, I'll start with that trip to Europe I mentioned. This was the ultimate girls' trip with just my mom and sisters. And I would be remiss if I didn't publicly thank and appreciate my Mom for this wonderful gift to us, made possible by my Aunt Barbara. I'm going to take a moment and give her a proper tribute...

My Aunt B was one of the most genuine people I knew. 

She cared deeply for animals and adopted pets from shelters and humanely trapped and released rodents in her house. 

She cared deeply for nature, was an avid hiker and camper, had a compost pile, and picked up litter along the side of the road. 

She was a pioneer for women's sports, joined the Title Nine fight, and is in the New Jersey Coaches Hall of Fame. 

She volunteered with Meals on Wheels and county beautification projects. 

But most of all, she cared for her family deeply. I still remember how she once lovingly reproached me for not acknowledging family birthdays because it is important to tell and show people you care -- Family is #1. But I don't think I honestly knew how much family meant to her until she was gone. 

She was a fighter, fighting her way through a 13-mile half marathon to honor my mom's battle with breast cancer, unaware that the same disease was also attacking her body. She'd fight the cancer herself, but we'd lose her the next year. She has been gone four years now. 

Aside from a wonderful legacy, she also bestowed generously on her family. I remember being awe-struck when I learned of the sum she left me. I don't say this to boast. I say this to revere. Because of her incredible gift, we were able to purchase the home we love. Because of her gift, my sister and her husband were able to start TurningPoint church. Because of her gift, my mom (her sister) was able to take her daughters on this 10-day, unforgettable, European vacation. The trip appropriately spanned over her birthday and we kept running into Barbaras along the way.

We left our hearts at home with our husbands and kiddos, flew out to Rome overnight on a Thursday, arrived in Rome Friday morning, survived the crazy Italian traffic, dropped our luggage and hit the pavement immediately to see all we could.

We'd spend the day and the next in Rome and Vatican City before boarding an Oceania cruise throughout the Mediterranean to Barcelona, where we got to spend a very full day with dear friends of ours from Florida who live there now. My favorite places were Vatican City, Florence, Santa Marguerita/Portofino, and St Tropez. Such a fantastic trip, and I fell in love with Italy all over again.

Click here to view the highlights!

After 10 days I was happy to get back home to my family, but I still love looking through pictures. My breath still catches on the beauty we saw and captured, and if Michael will let me, many of these will be enlarged and plastered all over our house. Thank you, Mom, for the most incredible gift! It was unbelievably special to share it with you and my favorite ladies!