"The days go by slow, but the years go by fast." A lady with ten year old twins said this to me outside of Target when C and C were about a year old. I didn't quite grasp the depth and truth of that quote until recently as I started thinking about and preparing for my trios upcoming birthdays. Birthdays are such a bittersweet time for parents. A time filled with excitement, planning, presents, parties, and pure joy, but at the same time it is so hard accepting that my babies do and will get older. As much as I want to press pause, I can't. And even if I could, I wouldn't because it is so beautiful watching my children learn, explore, and grow. I am amazed every day at their growing intelligence and also a little ragged by the end of the day from their relentless questions and needs that need to be met instantly!
Clayton's questions are exhausting, but they are also brilliant. He truly is an intelligent little being. His brain is extremely mechanical and his thinking very broad, yet specific. Clay remembers everything even things that happened a year ago. The connections he makes between things is what amazes me the most. While reading him a book about different trucks, he stopped me on an unfamiliar tractor. I explained that it is used to cut down trees, which are made of wood. I then explained that wood is used to make items like furniture, or more specifically his bed. He pondered for a moment and then said that "wood is also used to make the floor of the courts of racquetball courts, but not the outside courts, Mommy but, the inside courts" (he plays racquetball with his Grammie every now and then). What?! Where did that come from? All day long he makes these connections. It's incredible. Mrs. Bardelsik emphasized multiple times how smart Clayton was. He had a fabulous conference. Ryan and I were so proud.
Chloe is our creative little thinker. She is so different from Clayton, yet equally as smart. Chloe likes to celebrate each and every accomplishment when we are doing learning time. It is so cute. Mrs. Bardelsik said that during her assessment she would say "All done!" after every letter she properly identified. She loves to sing and knows the words of so many songs, including the Frozen soundtrack. She loves playing Memory or her "cards" as she calls them and is doing such a good job with counting and understanding who won based on how many pairs each player has.
Easton was formally assessed by the OC Regional Center. The consultant came to our house, which was really cool. He was assessed for his cognitive, behavioral, social, physical, and speech development. He scored 24-28 months in all categories except for speech, which was 14 months. His diagnosis: classic speech delay and nothing more! He did qualify for speech therapy which we will start soon, but the consultant is confident that he will be all caught up within a couple of months. She confirmed that we can make him work at words with a reward system. Bring on the M & M's! Since the assessment, Easton's vocabulary has soared! We are so excited and he gets so excited when he says a word and gets a M & M! He's added words, sounds, and blends. The key is consistency, which we are fully embracing now.
Here's some pictures from our month...
We had our stairwell stained and painted. Love it!
Big time bike riding boo boo
Date night with Daddy!
Preschool Olympics!
Swimming Lessons...Kids loved it!
Happy Birthday Grammie!
Happy Birthday Daddy!
Big Kid beds!
Special golf date with Papa Jim
Clayton and Chloe's first school conference...so proud of them!
Donuts from Daddy...a tradition Ryan enjoys carrying on from his childhood.
Date day with our Little E at the Irvine Park Zoo! Easton's favorite animals were the rooster, goats, and snakes!
Celebrating sweet, Easton James with all the people who love him! Such a blessed little boy he is and blessed are we who get to be a part of his joyful life!
