Let there be sound! (and an 18 Month update)

And just like that October is over.....I have a bigger October post planned, but it is still under construction.

Will turned 18 months old on Halloween Eve! We saw the doctor for our well visit and he weighed in at 28 lbs and is 32 1/4 inches tall!! Everything looked great at the visit and we were all very happy to hear that there would be NO shots!!

At 18 months, Will is really starting to talk and mimic words and sounds. He can do a bunch of animal noises, say his own name and the names of most of our family members and grandparents/aunts/uncles. He uses sign language for about 6-8words (some new ones we are working on from daycare) and is trying to say those coordinating words too. Memories of Jack saying 'please' and urgently doing the sign in order to get a graham cracker come to my mind-followed quickly by my brothers joking that one day he would be 40 and still signing and saying please. We are working to encourage Will to talk more and 'use his words' instead of pointing and whining or making little noises at what he wants.

He still gets frustrated easily and this has most recently been expressed with biting. Biting at home, biting at day care and being bitten back. We are working hard at reprimanding him when he bites, putting him in time out and giving all our attention to the 'victim' (usually Jack). Thankfully, at daycare he is one of 4 'biters' in his class and has not been doing it consistently enough to be suspended. We like to joke that he is a 'Monday Morning Biter' as that is when the majority of his attacks take place. He seems to chill out for the rest of the week. Turning 18 months has brought on a new change at daycare too. He has moved up to the next classroom and loves his new teachers and new friends. The routine is a little different-they eat at little tables and chairs and nap on mats, not in the cribs!! There is a great playground with ride on toys and swings for him to play on. The transition has gone very smoothly and we are all happy for him to be welcomed so warmly into his new room. Thank you Miss Lyn and Miss Debby.

He is a bundle of energy and mischief-climbing, jumping, running and falling A LOT! I recently found him in the bathroom having unrolled half a roll of toilet paper into the toilet. YIKES. Two days later, he found a dixie cup in the bathroom trash and promptly started emptying the toilet all over the floor. Thankfully it was 'clean' and he was getting ready for a bath. Jack (and I) are frequently heard saying-"What are we going to do with this kid?" He is very lovable and cuddly despite his crazy activity. He loves to play with a little baby doll (one of my old boy cabbage patch kids), rocking him, putting him in the grocery cart, and even changing his diaper. "Oooh Baby!" he says as he puts the doll on his shoulder to comfort him. He and Jack love to play hide and seek and chase each other around the house and backyard. He loves Elmo and Cookie Monster and imitates the way Cookie eats his cookies. He loves music and to dance or act out the song. My favorite is "If you're happy and you know it".

He has recently become interested in what Jack does when he goes potty. He runs after Jack into the bathroom to watch and then says "Pee Pee" and "Potty" while trying to pull his own pants and diaper down. We have sat on the little potty a few times and try to go each night before getting in the tub. I even put a pair of training pants on him one day so he could see what it feels like to have a diaper off. It lasted about 30 minutes before he peed in the playroom. No pressure, just trying to see what his interest is.

So for the past few months we have been plagued with a constant stream of ear infections. This coincided with my return to work and Will's start at daycare. It seemed like he would get one, go on an antibiotic for 10 days-look great after a few days and then on day 14 have a high fever and be up screaming all night. We would return to the doctor's to find he had a new infection. At first it seemed like just bad luck, but each time it happened the more I knew what we were looking towards-TUBES. After 4 ear infections in 2 months we were referred to an ENT in Greenville. We saw them last week (after 3 long weeks of hoping and praying that a new ear infection wouldn't surface before we got to our appointment). The verdict was this-there was still fluid and mucus in one ear. He met the criteria for tubes, but we could wait and see what would happen. The winter is fast approaching and the ear infections are only going to get worse. We opted to schedule the surgery.

Playing in the PreOp playroom

In Pre-Op Playroom making friends.

 Today was our big day! Will and I got up early and arrived at the surgery center at 5:50am. We checked in and went to a playroom to wait. Two other little boys joined us. One also getting tubes and one having his adenoids removed. The boys all played nicely together, but you could tell they were all getting hungry and cranky as the time wore on. At 7:40 we went to the OR. Will cried as they took him from my arms. I fought back tears knowing he was in good hands. I waited for 10 LONG minutes by myself in a little room, cuddling his blankie, folding his clothes and watching the clock. At 7:50 he was in the recovery room and I was taken to see him. He woke up screaming and fighting the wires and tubes around him. I cuddled him in his blankie and gave him his binky which seemed to work for a little bit. I talked to him softly (as they told me his sense of hearing would all of a sudden be improved from the release of pressure) and he calmed down quickly. With in a few minutes he was awake, drinking water and eating cheerios. He guzzled down some apple juice and was ready to give a wave and blow a kiss goodbye. We were home by 8:30. He had more breakfast and was loving the apple juice (I don't give him juice, so he must have thought it was a super treat-even diluted down). We watched some Sesame Street and he came around to being his sweet little self. We are all so relieved that the procedure is over and went well and hope that this is a big help for his little ears and maybe will improve his speech a little!!

All done and having a snack!

More on our busy October to come.....