Bathroom Conversations

Last Saturday afternoon, as we were house bound together, Drew said some fabulous words, "I need go potty!"

Drew's Dad sprang to his feet, immediately grabbed Drew and carried him upstairs to the potty. Drew's Sister was right behind them, proclaiming, "Drew, I will show you how to do it. That's what big sister's do!"

I remained seated. Seriously, Drew is a crazy boy, and I will be lucky if he is potty trained by the time he is three years old and starts preschool. I have no delusions about that, and I knew this time wasn't going to be any different.

Drew's Dad sat Drew on his little potty, and Drew's Sister climbed on her "big girl potty" and they both began to do their business, which for Drew meant playing with himself. I mean, he is a boy after all, and that is what boys do best. (This is where the story gets a little PG-13, so I will try to do my best.) As Drew's Dad tells the story, Drew began to play with himself so much that "it" became, um..., erect.

Drew immediately got a concerned look on his face, and then glancing up at his Dad questioned, "What's that? What's that? What's that?," over and over.

I can only imagine the look on my husbands face, and as he hurriedly tried to come up with an answer to his two year old son's question. "Drew, that is your wiener!"

"Weeeee-nah. Weeeee-nah?" Drew continued, pointing at it with his index finger. "Weeeeee-nah!"

I of course, was still sitting in the living room as this was unfolding, when I hear my name being shouted urgently from upstairs. I sprang to my feet, wondering what on Earth needed my attention so quickly. As I approached the bathroom door I heard, "Weeeee-nah!" I opened the door to find Drew's Dad sitting on the edge of the tub, Drew's Sister sitting on the big girl potty, and Drew, sitting on his little potty, pointing to his penis, saying "Weeeee-nah?"

I could not help but laugh. My little boy, with an erection sitting on his potty, calling it a wiener, over and over. (I feel a bit like Jodi in this post.)

"You called?," I asked my husband.

"Yes," Drew's Dad replied. "He asked me what that is, and I told him it was his wiener. I'm now thinking that isn't the best thing to call it."

"Um, no," I said. "I don't think wiener is good. How about we call it what it is? His penis?"

"Okay," Drew's Dad said, turning his attention back to Drew. "Drew, that is your penis. Can you say penis?"

Drew looked at his Dad for a minute. Then began to touch himself again. "Weeee-nuhhhh!," he proclaimed.

I think this crazy boy is going to be hard to potty train...and raise!

All Is Well

I have been a bad blogger! But I guess everything is just so normal around here that I don't have much to say. I can only say that cochlear implants are truly a miracle so many times. The number of words Drew uses on a daily basis is in the hundreds, if not thousands, at this point, so keeping a running list for you is impossible. I just can't put into words how normal life is, how wonderfully lucky we are that Drew is able to hear and how rewarding it is to see our hard work pay off on a daily basis.

Our most recent efforts have been centered on our upcoming Preschool tours and the impending IEP process. We find great value in sending Drew to a hearing impaired preschool program (which I will blog on the "why" in a seperate post), and we are very fortunate that there are three programs in our area that specialize in teaching the hearing impaired. We have preschool visits scheduled for the first two weeks of February, and we will share with you our analysis of each program and our final decision. I have also been educating myself on the IEP process, and have much to share. There are many of us going through this at the same time, so I am hopeful that we can learn from each other how to secure the services best suited for our child and our families.

Drew continues to amaze us all with his progress. As I was putting him to bed the other night, he looked at me and said, "Mama, I wanna go to golf (golp) store and hit the ball in hole." 12 whole words in one sentence, and it's not surprising that his first 12 word sentence would involve something related to sports! The boy loves sports, probably more than anything else in the whole world.

This is just so, so, so much fun!

18 Months?

That's right! It has now been over 18 months since Drew's cochlear implants were activated. Time flies when you're having fun!

Drew is an amazing little boy, and we could not have scripted this 18 months any more perfectly. He has clearly mastered listening, and will indicate when ever he hears something with the cutest little, "Hear sound?"

Drew is a curious little boy, and asks questions daily like, "What's that?" (We can't wait for the "why" questions to begin.)

Drew is quite social. He will talk to just about anyone, mostly about his two loves: sports and cars. I love watching him talk to his sister, grandparents, friends. He has this cute little way of bending his knees and tilting his head when he is talking to you. It is so precious.

Drew can now clearly articulate his needs. This has made life for the tantrum-proned-boy's Mommy much, much better. When he starts in with a tantrum, I can now say, "Drew, use your words," and he will tell me exactly what he wants. (The only time the tantrum continues is when what he wants to do is not allowed).

Drew now understands the concept of "time-out". If he is doing something he is not supposed to, I will say, "Drew, do you need a timeout?," and generally he will stop the behavior. He also understands my "counting to three" and will stop, most of the time, what he is doing. When Drew does earn himself a timeout, he will sit in the chair and say, "I want down!" And, when it's all over he will say, "Sorry Ma Ma."

My favorite time of day is in the morning. Usually Drew's Sister wakes up for the day first, and will be eating breakfast by the time Drew wakes. After getting his ears on and dressed for the day, Drew always wants to find his sister. He'll say, "Morning [name]. How you?" It is so sweet.

Drew enjoys music, and really likes to dance. He can now sing several songs, relatively in key, and knows most of the words. His favorites are Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Shake Out Your Hands, and Jingle Bells. I am so impressed with how he knows to sing "high" and sing "low" with his voice, and he can do so on command.

Drew's Dad and I have been fortunate enough to watch Drew grow over these past 18 months with a sincere appreciation for all he has accomplished. We celebrate each new word or milestone, as it truly is a gift. We are forever grateful for this wonderful technology.

I took some random video of Drew over this past weekend. Enjoy what our little boy can do, 18 months post activation and 2 years, 3 months old!




And, I used Overstream.net for the first time to caption the video. I have never done it before, so I am sorry if the captions are a little off.

Overheard

Setting: Our living room. Daddy and Drew are playing the Wii. Mario Kart, to be exact.

Drew: "Do it again," referring to another race.

Daddy: "You want to do another race, Drew?"

Drew: "Yes. One more time. One more time...One more time," while holding his index finger in the air.

Daddy: "OKay, Drew. We can race. ONE. MORE. TIME"

I sensed that Daddy was becoming a little annoyed with Drew's repeated requests to continue to race, for over one hour. Drew continued...

Drew: "Drive cars. Mountains. Snow. My turn. I can do it. Drive cars. One more time."

Daddy: "Drew, can you say anything?," referring to Drew's wonderful use of vocabulary while playing the Wii.

Drew: "Anything. Anything..."

Drew and His Sister Wish You a Happy 2009!

Well, despite the fact the the stomach flu has finally hit our house, the kids would like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year!



Drew's Sister has been sick since New Year's Eve, with no signs of feeling better, 48 hours later. I'm hoping that the next 363 days of 2009 are much better than the first two.