Kevin had his mapping appts last Wednesday and Thursday. We split his mapping into 2 days now because he just has a hard time sitting still for all the tests for 3 hours. I love having the appointments on 2 days. It was soooo much less stressful on everyone. It also allowed Kevin to perform like a star because he wasn't so exhausted. You know how some days your kids just make you soooo proud? Well, these were 2 of those days. Kevin performed beautifully during the sound booth tests and dropped the ball in the basket when he heard the 'birdy'. He also said 'birdy' when he heard the sound. He was so reliable! This was the first time we got accurate individual ear tests. I was amazed at the results! He is hearing about 15-20db across the board for the left and 20-25db across the board on the right. With both ears he hears better than that! So, we are able now to start really fine tuning each ear to give him his optimal hearing. This is such an exciting time for him. He is just really starting to blossom and talks constantly! Actually, that was one of the hardest parts of the test. He can't stop talking for a minute and he needs to be silent during the test. It was quite amusing trying to keep him quiet so we could test his hearing. He was born to talk!!!

4 word sentences are now becoming the norm for him. The night of his mapping, I was laying in bed across from his crib trying to get him to sleep (we were staying out of town for the mapping, so I was in the same room as him). He knew I was there and looked up and said 'more juice please, Mommy'. He didn't even have his ears on at the time. As adorable and amazing as that was, I had to still say no. :)

As I was sitting with him in the sound booth trying to keep his attention so that he would do the test I was thinking how hard these kids really do have to work. I mean, how many 2 year olds are expected to sit still, be quiet, and drop a ball when they hear a sound. I know he has been doing these tests all of his life, but it still amazes me that he cooperates so much. I can see why many hearing impaired kids do so well in school. They have been 'trained' to sit still when you need them to!