Kevin seems to be having the greatest quotes these days, so I am going to make a concerted effort to post the quote of the day from him. I hope this will help me remember them a long time from now!
Setting: We are watching a movie and I want to make sure he can hear and understand the movie (still testing the new N5s for sound).
Me: Kevin, can you understand the words?
Kevin: Yes, mom! It's not like it is in Spanish!
A brief update on where he is right now:
Kevin turned 5 last month and received his new N5 upgrades. He loves them and I love the size of them! I can only imagine how small the processors will be in another 5 years!!! Kevin continues to do well and blow people away at his auditory and language skills. He will mainstream Kindergarten in the Fall and I have no doubt that he will do great. He is already starting to read and is very ready for Kindergarten. He is playing t-ball right now and is loving finally being able to play a sport of his own.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Happy 3rd birthday, Kevin's ears!
Today is Kevin's 3rd hearing birthday. It is crazy to think that 3 years has passed already since he first heard our voices. Never in my wildest dreams would I think that he would be where he is right now. I mean, he talks non-stop, completely articulate, and has an incredible vocabulary. Our life, to any outsider, would be very normal. In most ways, it is. Kevin is almost 4, loves all things 'boy': bike riding, swimming, playing in mud, pirates, guns, star wars, monster trucks, etc. We do have our daily challenges, but what I have learned over the past 3 years is that every family has challenges. In some ways, ours might be more difficult, but this is our life as we know it, and therefore it is normal to us. Today, for instance, we all went skiing. I still find bike and ski helmets EXTREMELY frustrating to put on over a CI and not constantly knock it off! So, today, I had to keep putting the coil back on and testing if Kevin could hear me, so it was definitely more challenging than our older son who can just slide his own helmet on and hear me all the time. BUT, I could talk to Kevin all the way up the lift and down the mountain and tell him to turn, do 'pizza', and 'stop'. Even though we had more of a challenge today, our life was normal too and it never amazes me that I can communicate with Kevin on this level.
Kevin recently had a hearing in noise test done and with a signal/noise ratio of 55/60 he scored a 96%. What an amazing little boy!!!
So, if I could just invent helmets that work great for CIs, we would be all set. :)
Happy Hearing Birthday, Kevin!!!
Kevin recently had a hearing in noise test done and with a signal/noise ratio of 55/60 he scored a 96%. What an amazing little boy!!!
So, if I could just invent helmets that work great for CIs, we would be all set. :)
Happy Hearing Birthday, Kevin!!!
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Our lucky boy
Kevin says so much on a daily basis that I would love to 'blog' about, but I just don't seem to find the time. My New Year's resolution is to capture more of his comments on this blog. I know I will love reading them in the future.
Anyway, he did say something yesterday that I thought was very blog worthy! We were in the snow and his Grandpa pulled his hat on forgetting that it would knock his CI's off. So, as he was getting him put back together, Grandpa was having a hard time finding the magnet spot to put the coil back on. He asked Kevin to just do it, and Kevin replied, 'It goes right on the magnet, Grandpa. (click) I'm so lucky I have a magnet so that it sticks to my head!'. I just thought that was priceless because he doesn't really know what is in his head or what was involved with getting the implant. He just knows he has a magnet in his head that sticks the CI on. What a lucky boy to have a magnet in his head!!!
Other fun news to keep this up to date is that Kevin performed in 3 Christmas concerts this month. He sang many songs from his mainstream preschool, We wish you a Merry Christmas from his oral-deaf school, and 2 church songs from our church. It truly is a miracle of a gift to hear your deaf child sing in a microphone his Christmas songs! He loves to sing... does it all the time. Did I mention that Santa brought him a microphone for Christmas???? :)
Anyway, he did say something yesterday that I thought was very blog worthy! We were in the snow and his Grandpa pulled his hat on forgetting that it would knock his CI's off. So, as he was getting him put back together, Grandpa was having a hard time finding the magnet spot to put the coil back on. He asked Kevin to just do it, and Kevin replied, 'It goes right on the magnet, Grandpa. (click) I'm so lucky I have a magnet so that it sticks to my head!'. I just thought that was priceless because he doesn't really know what is in his head or what was involved with getting the implant. He just knows he has a magnet in his head that sticks the CI on. What a lucky boy to have a magnet in his head!!!
Other fun news to keep this up to date is that Kevin performed in 3 Christmas concerts this month. He sang many songs from his mainstream preschool, We wish you a Merry Christmas from his oral-deaf school, and 2 church songs from our church. It truly is a miracle of a gift to hear your deaf child sing in a microphone his Christmas songs! He loves to sing... does it all the time. Did I mention that Santa brought him a microphone for Christmas???? :)
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Halloween and Dreams
I just had to share how cute Kevin was during Halloween. A few years ago I was hoping he would be able to say 'Trick or Treat' and it was more like 'tri-o-tre'. This year, Kevin literally talked to each neighbor for about 5 minutes and I had to finally say, 'Ok Kevin, say good-bye'. He was having full conversations about costumes or decorations or whatever he decided to talk about. Plus, he didn't need me to translate for him. Everyone understood what he was saying. It was so special! Our friends who went out with us asked if he was always this talkative. I had to reply.... 'Yes, ALWAYS!'!!! Hooray!
Last night, Kevin woke up and came to our room in the middle of the night. He said (without his CIs) 'The helicopter above my head in my room is too loud' and he crawled in our bed. He was dreaming in sound!!! This might not seem out of the ordinary for a hearing child, but I always wondered if he would dream in sound. He let me know 'loud and clear' last night that, yes, he does!!! I just think that is soooo cool!
Last night, Kevin woke up and came to our room in the middle of the night. He said (without his CIs) 'The helicopter above my head in my room is too loud' and he crawled in our bed. He was dreaming in sound!!! This might not seem out of the ordinary for a hearing child, but I always wondered if he would dream in sound. He let me know 'loud and clear' last night that, yes, he does!!! I just think that is soooo cool!
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Super Agent Oso
Daddy is brushing his teeth this morning.
Enter Kevin bouncing in.
Kevin: (talking rapid fire fast) Daddy, I am Special Agent Oso and you have to turn off the water when you are brushing your teeth. You are wasting water and it is all going down the drain and we are going to run out. I learned this on Special Agent Oso.
Daddy: (turning off water) Thank you Special Agent Oso. I'm glad you taught me this.
Mommy: (turning head so that Kevin doesn't see her laugh hysterically as tears stream down).
Moments like this are priceless to us. This is from our child who wasn't supposed to ever utter a word, let alone hear cartoon characters teach lessons!
Enter Kevin bouncing in.
Kevin: (talking rapid fire fast) Daddy, I am Special Agent Oso and you have to turn off the water when you are brushing your teeth. You are wasting water and it is all going down the drain and we are going to run out. I learned this on Special Agent Oso.
Daddy: (turning off water) Thank you Special Agent Oso. I'm glad you taught me this.
Mommy: (turning head so that Kevin doesn't see her laugh hysterically as tears stream down).
Moments like this are priceless to us. This is from our child who wasn't supposed to ever utter a word, let alone hear cartoon characters teach lessons!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Who says CI kids can't appreciate music!
While Kevin amazes me everyday with things he says, it has been a little while since I have been brought to tears by a 'CI Moment'. Today, it happened again. What a wonderful feeling!
We were driving on the way home from swim practice and there was a lull in our conversation. I had the Vacation Bible School cd on in the car and while it was going in one ear and out the other for me, I guess Kevin was actually listening to it. I remember thinking that I didn't get what the line was in the song and all of a sudden, Kevin sang 'You pray with your heart' in a little melody voice. I stopped and asked what he just said, and he said it again. He said that they learned that at Sunday School and he heard it on the song. Amazing....! Yes, this is truly God at work! Thank you!!! He heard the phrase in the song and actually sang it back. Truly amazing...!
Kevin got mapped a few weeks ago and I forgot to post his fabulous results from that trip. He continues to hear well in both ears, but the exciting news came from the tests that they performed. Last mapping, in March, they did the HINT-c test using voice and he scored in the mid-90s for both ears. They were floored by that. So, this time they decided to do the HINT-c test using a recorded CD and he scored 96% in each ear. Yes, you heard that correctly! He is only 3.5 years old!!! Cochlear Implants and Kevin never cease to amaze me!
I'm a happy Mom!
We were driving on the way home from swim practice and there was a lull in our conversation. I had the Vacation Bible School cd on in the car and while it was going in one ear and out the other for me, I guess Kevin was actually listening to it. I remember thinking that I didn't get what the line was in the song and all of a sudden, Kevin sang 'You pray with your heart' in a little melody voice. I stopped and asked what he just said, and he said it again. He said that they learned that at Sunday School and he heard it on the song. Amazing....! Yes, this is truly God at work! Thank you!!! He heard the phrase in the song and actually sang it back. Truly amazing...!
Kevin got mapped a few weeks ago and I forgot to post his fabulous results from that trip. He continues to hear well in both ears, but the exciting news came from the tests that they performed. Last mapping, in March, they did the HINT-c test using voice and he scored in the mid-90s for both ears. They were floored by that. So, this time they decided to do the HINT-c test using a recorded CD and he scored 96% in each ear. Yes, you heard that correctly! He is only 3.5 years old!!! Cochlear Implants and Kevin never cease to amaze me!
I'm a happy Mom!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Good-bye Annie
We just found out that Kevin's beloved audiologist is leaving for another job. Tomorrow will be Kevin's last mapping appt. with her. I am soooo sad about this! I have felt this enormous safety net under Kevin for the past 2.5 years because of his awesome team of surgeon, audi, and speech teacher. I am just a little shaken about how this will affect Kevin and how long it will take to regain the trust of a new audiologist. I guess I will have to start the interviewing process of a new audi now. At least we have 6 months until his next mapping. Good-bye Annie... you will be missed deeply! Good luck with your new endeavor!
Kevin continues to do awesome with both his hearing and talking. He is in a mixed age class (3 -5 year olds) in both his mainstream and auditory-oral preschools. It is crazy how well he is doing! My little jokester has also settled down and pays attention really well. He talks about everything he is learning and sings new songs all of the time. It is really fun to see how much he is blossoming!
Have I mentioned that Kevin is a fish? He swims so well that is blows my mind! He is only 3.5 years old and he is already taking side-breath strokes. Wouldn't it be ironic if my deaf child chooses a sport where he isn't supposed to wear his CI? Of course, I used the Aloksak bag and it works great, but still it would be ironic. I can't wait for the new Cochlear processor to test exactly how waterproof it is! :)
I also want to mention something that happened to us the other night. This was a first for me and it made me kind of sad. We were at a fun pizza place having dinner and happened to sit at a table next to 4 deaf adults. As soon as Kevin walked in, they made awful faces and started signing really fast to each other showing their disapproval of his CIs. Now, I don't know sign, so I don't know exactly what they were saying, but I can read facial and body language and they were not pleased in the slightest and not afraid to show it. They went on about his CI for about a 1/2 hour. I thought how sad that we totally ruined their dinner. I also realized that one day Kevin wouldn't be oblivious to this kind of hatred and I wonder how he will handle it. This was really the first time that I have encountered this first-hand. I wish I could have had a conversation with this about this, but I don't know sign language... I guess that is their point. Interesting dilemma...
Kevin continues to do awesome with both his hearing and talking. He is in a mixed age class (3 -5 year olds) in both his mainstream and auditory-oral preschools. It is crazy how well he is doing! My little jokester has also settled down and pays attention really well. He talks about everything he is learning and sings new songs all of the time. It is really fun to see how much he is blossoming!
Have I mentioned that Kevin is a fish? He swims so well that is blows my mind! He is only 3.5 years old and he is already taking side-breath strokes. Wouldn't it be ironic if my deaf child chooses a sport where he isn't supposed to wear his CI? Of course, I used the Aloksak bag and it works great, but still it would be ironic. I can't wait for the new Cochlear processor to test exactly how waterproof it is! :)
I also want to mention something that happened to us the other night. This was a first for me and it made me kind of sad. We were at a fun pizza place having dinner and happened to sit at a table next to 4 deaf adults. As soon as Kevin walked in, they made awful faces and started signing really fast to each other showing their disapproval of his CIs. Now, I don't know sign, so I don't know exactly what they were saying, but I can read facial and body language and they were not pleased in the slightest and not afraid to show it. They went on about his CI for about a 1/2 hour. I thought how sad that we totally ruined their dinner. I also realized that one day Kevin wouldn't be oblivious to this kind of hatred and I wonder how he will handle it. This was really the first time that I have encountered this first-hand. I wish I could have had a conversation with this about this, but I don't know sign language... I guess that is their point. Interesting dilemma...
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