16 Months Old!

Lincoln Alan is 16-months-old and every bit a toddler.  He is mobile; showing more and more of his personality, wants, and needs; and expressing his dislikes in a very toddler fashion (tantrums that much to Lincoln's displeasure, I just find kind of funny).  Lincoln still loves to be outside and is a busy boy pushing his truck up and down the sidewalk, walking all the way to the playground, and walking down a couple of houses to play with the "big kids" at the bus stop.  He is also still super social and smiles at everyone, waves hello and good-bye, and makes everyone he meets smile.

We decided to have a second evaluation done for Lincoln's speech.  I was not happy with our first experience - he was in three different rooms in three different sessions, the sessions were 25 minutes once a week, and the therapist was only working on two or three simple words with no carry over from week to week.  Lincoln would spend most of the 25 minutes walking around the room and exploring every cabinet, computer, or swivel chair since the setting was new.  Once we got in the car, he would begin babbling and saying the words he knows and even doing a singing type voice with the radio.  It was night and day with his personality in the session and in his own comfort zone since he would not talk with the therapist because he barely knew her and was so intrigued by the new space.  SOOOOO...in comes the other evaluators from a government program that focuses on early intervention.  They used a standardized assessment and completed the entire assessment in our home which made such a difference!  Linc was super comfortable with them, showed off his best side, and they were blown away with his sweetness (and cuteness).  The results showed that he is above age level in many arenas - one was problem solving where he maxed out at a 2-year-old level and they just stopped him because he was doing so well.  His lowest arena was expressive speech which we expected, but according to their assessment, he was no where near the cut-off for therapy.  We will continue to work with at home using short sentences, labels, and reinforcements and reevaluate if needed at 20 months.  As of now, he has said the following words (although not consistently):  Dadda (consistent), Nana for Mama (although consistent), up, hot, oops (he says oop), again, that, cat (ca), and zoom/vroom.  He is also vocalizing with babbling, singing, and calling out our names when he wants something instead of grunting/pointing.  It is usually jibber jabber but he is learning that expressed sounds help get him what he wants.  I am trying to take a step back and remember that he is still so little and has so much time to run the race of academics, standards, and testing.  I want to enjoy the journey that he is taking us on even if it is a slower pace than expected.  We will all cross the finish line - just in his own time!

Waving Good-Bye - all done with photos! :) 

This is the last monthly birthday that Lincoln will celebrate as an only child.  I find time to snuggle him, cuddle him, and spoil him everyday because I know the next couple of months may be a blur for us all.  We are keeping busy with outings and special times with just the two of us, and I am taking advantage of the easiness of going to the grocery store with just one child or having fun at the different play cafes.  He has no idea what is coming nor will he ever remember being an only child.  I want him to feel as special as he can right now and hopefully he knows that he will always be my first born baby and was able to spend some quiet moments with just his Dada and me.

Happy 16 months, Lincoln!  We love everything you bring to us everyday and cannot wait for you to meet your baby bro.  xo