Hands-on Learning

We are just starting to work on learning letters with Silas. Up until now, he has not been interested AT ALL! I needed to find a way to teach the letters, slowly and repetitively, without the usual "tools"--flashcards, puzzles, etc. I bought a big bag of smarties for Silas to use to outline his letters in candy. We are starting with the vowels and doing one letter a week. Last week we started with the letter "A"- upper and lower case. He seems to enjoy doing it, so we will see if he catches on. If anyone has any other good hands-on learning ideas, send them my way!

Fun in the Tub

Valentines Day recap

Double Date with Jason and Beth Stamper--we laughed a lot!

My long-stem white rose from Matt and Silas--(Silas picked the color)

Valentine's Day, post-date, self-taken, which is the only kind of picture we usually get with just the two of us.

Boys will be boys

Matt bought Silas a book on insects a while back and it's one of his favorites! He knows I have a strong aversion to bugs and spiders, so he will find some of the ugliest insects in the book, bring it to me and ask questions like, "Mommy, would you like to have these bugs in our house? or "Mommy, would you like to have this bug crawling all over you?" Crazy Kid!

More Therapy

Ezekiel's physical therapist brought over some bands for Ezekiel's legs. They are meant to keep his knees close together so that he is forced to work at getting in and out of sitting properly, and this will help him to keep his knees under him when he is on his belly. All of this, to help aid him in starting to crawl.

Up Close and Personal

Exploring

Good Morning!

Great Expectations

That's exactly what I have ever time we sit Ezekiel in his chair to eat. Every now and then, he actually does what he's supposed to do--all on his own terms of course. I was ecstatic the other day when he ate about 6 bites of baby food--PROGRESS!

The simple things in life

Ezekiel LOVES our electric toothbrushes. I sit on the floor by him while I am brushing my teeth and he grabs on and just laughs. It's fun to see him experience life through his other senses.

Standing Watch

There are just some moments that have to be captured in pictures. This was Silas in all his garb waiting for Sara to come home from a playdate with her friend. He had just gotten up from his nap and was anxious to see his sister. He sat and waited by the door until she came home. It was cute!

Spirit Week

Twin Day

Sara with her friends, Jonas Stamper and Hannah Goodroad.

White shirts, khaki pants and baseball caps-we kept it simple!

Feeding Failures- (an informative post for family)

Experimentation

Ezekiel does NOT like baby food at all. He gags constantly or just sits with his mouth open while the food dissolves on his tongue. We have skipped right to table food at this point, but at the beginning of this adventure, I was advised to let Ezekiel "play" with his food to get used to the texture. His speech therapist noticed during Aural Rehab that Ezekiel did not like to touch certain textures nor would he put them in his mouth. SO, I tried it. I stripped him down and let him go to town, which totally goes against all that is in me, but I did it anyway. The end result? Ezekiel had a ball, was an absolute mess, and I managed to get about three or four bites into him.

BATH TIME!!!!

Slow Progression

Creative Juices

It's amazing how much of a mess two kids can make when they are using their imaginations. No complaints here--it keeps them busy and there's no fighting!