Exciting progress

I am quickly finding out that the development of language with a cochlear implant child is similar to the development of everything else of a child. There are times when it seems like nothing is changing and then all of a sudden, boom, so many new skills are acquired! After being in a few weeks of non-changing, this last week (and specifically weekend) have been so much fun to witness. I'll write about this after I tell you about our weekend:

We flew down to Legoland last weekend and unfortunately, Kevin started to get a runny nose the morning of the flight. After landing and taking a nap in the car, he woke up looking very pale. He seemed to have lost his sense of balance. He couldn't stand or walk! It was very scary and I took him to the doctor and they said he had a slight ear infection, but most likely it was due to fluid in his middle ear. Hopefully this isn't a recurring theme with him....!

We had a great time at legoland and took advantage of the disability program they have there. It is kind of like a fastpass at Disneyland and lets you cut in front of the line. I thought I would feel more guilty about using this, but it is the little perks in life that keep you happy.

Anyway, on to Kevin's progress. He now says 'doggy' and I think he said 'grand-pa' today in the bathtub. I'll have to keep my ear out for that one again. He also clicks his tounge on command. I am really happy about that one because it means he is doing something different with his tongue and that will help with his expressive language. We were at a loud restaurant yesterday and Kevin was acting up, so I put my finger to my mouth and said 'shhhh'. He repeated it back to me! He said 'shhhh'. I can't believe he heard that with all the background noise! He also fake sneezes by putting his head back and then pushing it forward and saying 'sh' at the end like the end of a sneeze! :) I love that one! He also pants like a dog when he sees one and says 'ha' for hot when something is hot.

The most impressive thing happened today! I was having breakfast with Kevin and Ethan and doing the typical morning conversation and the toaster oven dinged. Kevin put his finger to his ear and looked at the toaster oven as if to say, I heard that! He then wanted me to go over and get the waffle out. He also got up and went to his changing table today when I said 'you have a poopy diaper, let's change it'. He is understanding soooo much! I love it!

As you can tell, this is a very happy day for me. I love to see the progress in his hearing!