Spring

"Farn door not open yet". Jacob was looking out the window across the street where the neighbors have a shed with barn doors. Jacob is combining five words regularly with fewer pauses in between. He is singing Bah Bah Black Sheep and ABC's and Scooby Doo. He misses many of the words but he is intent on mastery. When he sings along, his words are delayed, so he jumps to the very next phrase that he remembers. But he tries so hard. His brain knows what he wants to say. He is deliberate about annunciating final consonant sounds that he knows, which is significant because for some time, he would only pronounce the first part of a word. The hard "g" (guh) and "ck" (cuh) are still a challenge for him as word endings but he can say "go" and "cow". Multiple syllables are also still a challenge but he tries so hard. "Bubbah-fie" (butterfly). "Eh-fen" (elephant). We remind Matthew of how he used to say words like forklift "fork-lik-lik" and ambulance "ambullence". Jacob will learn. I have no doubt.

At school, Jacob was throwing toys across the classroom and had to sit in THECHAIR. Matthew told me all about it. The next day, Jacob told me he was throwing wood chips outside. He was sitting at the picnic table when I came to pick him up. His teacher said that ALL of the boys were in trouble that day. I like that he is getting into trouble for two reasons. One is that he is acting like a little boy. The second is that his naughty takes the edge off of Matthew who is so pleased with himself when Jacob is in trouble and he is not.

We are in such a different place as a family. Jacob is delayed in other areas besides motor skills and speech - eating, dressing, and toileting - but I don't worry so much about him falling and breaking his foot or his teeth again. I don't worry so much about his cognitive development. I am in a peaceful space.