Spring Is in the Air

We have been having so much fun this spring. We have had lots of outings and enjoyed working in the yard. I will post lots of pictures, but will give some commentary. Especially since it has been quite a while since I've given an update on the progress Thomas is making.

We started spring with a trip to the Fort Worth butterfly exhibit. My intention was for the outing to be a wonderful language opportunity. Little did I know that the inside exhibit was going to be so loud due to lots of people and an indoor waterfall.

However, I was able to maximize the time before we walked in to the exhibit by talking with Thomas about all the fish in this tank. He has now learned the word "fish" instead of the learning-to-listen sound "swish." Here is a picture of Thomas looking at the fish tank.



Once we got inside, Thomas was more fascinated by the waterfall than the actual butterflies. Good thing that the Hearing School did a themed unit on bugs, which was also a recent activity with his AVT, the wonderful Ms. Becky. He now says the words butterfly, spider, bug, fly and ant.





Then it was on to Easter. We got the kids all dressed up for an Easter egg hunt in a neighboring town. While Thomas did find the hunt somewhat amusing, he was more interested in playing on the equipment. He now says the words swing, slide, whee, climb, egg, look and peep (for a baby chick) -- oh and don't forget the word "cheese" for smiling when he is getting his picture taken.







We have also been working in the yard a lot this spring. Thomas has helped me pick up sticks from the tree in the backyard, poured and spread new topsoil for the flower bed, planted new spring plants and spread the mulch. Through this fun activity, he now says the words dirt, stick, flower, pour, wa-wa (for the word water) and dig. Also, he is working to clearly say "help me."

We also took a family trip to the zoo and are now season pass holders. We've been working on the conversational language of "that's a _____." The zoo was a wonderful opportunity to use this saying over and over and over "that's a lion" "that's a monkey" "that's a zebra" etc. While he doesn't have the concept down quite yet expressively, I think that he may be getting it. As a matter of fact just a little bit ago, we were looking at family photos. I said, "who is that (pointing to a picture of myself). Thomas said, "dats mama." So, I'm hoping this is simply a glimpse of what is to grow.



With all of the spring activities, we've been working on the names
of colors, too. He loves the color purple (not the movie, haha) and says it whenever I show him the color. He also loves to say blue, yellow or green. Orange and red are harder for him to say given the "r" sound.

Finally, I've been trying to loosen up a little on my "mommy rules" here at the house and not to allow myself to get disappointed when the kids watch TV at Sean's parents' house. Here is a quick video of Thomas acting out his favorite scene from the movie "Ice Age" while having fun at his Kiki and Papa G's house (these are the names selected by Sean's parents as their grandparent names). While I know that TV isn't "good" for our little ones with hearing loss, I have come to learn that sometimes you just gotta let them be kids. And as a mom that didn't know what to expect of my deaf/hoh child, I love to see him acting this out and making the same sounds that he hears.




So for now, Thomas and I are stopping and smelling the flowers; playing outside with Sidney and Sean and enjoying the fact that 'spring is in the air.'