Friday, July 29, 2011
Digging in the Garden
My husband was also productive this summer. Mostly, he was working on his online program (www.sonicfit.com), a music theory and ear training program, but he also dug up all the ugly stuff in the garden and planted pretty new flowers, an herb garden and tomatoes. We got a new gas grill and got rid of the small climber that Miles never used anymore. Miles had a great time getting in on the digging.
The Summer of Ignored Promises and Other Ways of Being Productive
At the beginning of the summer, I swore that I would make full usage of my gym membership, blog more and get back to my love of cooking. Well, I did none of those things and yet I feel like the summer was a success. Instead, I got back to my love of rock climbing, cleaned out our garage and did a lot of bodywork (acupuncture and massage).
Miles was also a terrific reminder of so many fun things that I had put to the side when I got married and had a kid. He saw a video of scuba divers and wanted so much to be able to do that. I told him that he was too young as of now (he's not even really swimming yet) but that we would get some snorkeling equipment and he could do that. Getting him his own equipment inspired me to get out my old scuba gear. I showed him how to swim down with the snorkel and clear out his breathing tube. He really took to it and is very comfortable floating with his face in the water, breathing through the snorkel.
He has also shown interest in rock climbing. When we go anywhere that has an easily climbable rock, he is quick to want to scramble up. So I made plans with a rock climbing friend to take him to the gym and give him his first experience with all the gear. I'm really excited! I hope he loves it!
We had our first camping expedition to Big Basin Redwood State Park. Miles has been wanting to go camping since he first read "Fred and Ted Go Camping" over a year ago. We planned just one night so that if he liked it, we would leave him wanting more and, if he didn't like it, we wouldn't be tortured by an unhappy child. The results were fantastic. While he really didn't like the windy drive to the park, he loved the whole camping experience, including hiking/biking the trails, making a campfire, toasting marshmallows and wearing glow sticks at night. We are planning to go again before the summer is over, maybe even bringing along a friend and his family.
As we got to the park and were heading to the park headquarters to check in, something prompted Miles to say, "Mommy, I love you so much." Of course, I told him how much I loved him. This interchange was overheard by a woman walking by who turned and said, "Oh, that is so cute!" I could only nod my head. That's my boy.
Miles was also a terrific reminder of so many fun things that I had put to the side when I got married and had a kid. He saw a video of scuba divers and wanted so much to be able to do that. I told him that he was too young as of now (he's not even really swimming yet) but that we would get some snorkeling equipment and he could do that. Getting him his own equipment inspired me to get out my old scuba gear. I showed him how to swim down with the snorkel and clear out his breathing tube. He really took to it and is very comfortable floating with his face in the water, breathing through the snorkel.
He has also shown interest in rock climbing. When we go anywhere that has an easily climbable rock, he is quick to want to scramble up. So I made plans with a rock climbing friend to take him to the gym and give him his first experience with all the gear. I'm really excited! I hope he loves it!
We had our first camping expedition to Big Basin Redwood State Park. Miles has been wanting to go camping since he first read "Fred and Ted Go Camping" over a year ago. We planned just one night so that if he liked it, we would leave him wanting more and, if he didn't like it, we wouldn't be tortured by an unhappy child. The results were fantastic. While he really didn't like the windy drive to the park, he loved the whole camping experience, including hiking/biking the trails, making a campfire, toasting marshmallows and wearing glow sticks at night. We are planning to go again before the summer is over, maybe even bringing along a friend and his family.
As we got to the park and were heading to the park headquarters to check in, something prompted Miles to say, "Mommy, I love you so much." Of course, I told him how much I loved him. This interchange was overheard by a woman walking by who turned and said, "Oh, that is so cute!" I could only nod my head. That's my boy.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Final Placement!
Since I have been so remiss with posting, I see that I never mentioned Miles' IEP meeting with our school district. After all the assessments, which took forever to get done as everyone was on summer vacation, I got a phone call from the Special Ed. department letting me know that Miles was not going qualify for going to the county's hard of hearing preschool program. This was a moment of both joy and panic as it meant that he was doing so well that he didn't need the program but it also meant that we now had to scramble to find a preschool for him. Luckily, we were able to find a local program that we liked. We had to take three days a week until they had a full time spot open up but we were able to coordinate with our daycare provider from the year before.
The IEP meeting caused me no end of stress as it started with the determination of whether or not he even qualified for special ed. services. In my mind, I was screaming, "WHAT?!? Do you not see the hearing aids he wears in his ears??? Do you think we do this for fun???" But finally someone said that he would not be able to meet his full potential without support, so he qualified. Then the director told me that to receive speech services through the district, we would have to bring him to the school during school hours.
"Do you not understand that we are both teachers? How are we supposed to do that?"
Happily, the speech therapist that would be working with Miles said that she would arrange a way to come to his preschool to work with him there. And she has. Miles loves her and has made enormous progress.
While I'm pleased with how things turned out, I'm annoyed that they couldn't work out the details any earlier. When the whole process began, we asked that decisions be made earlier rather than later as Jeff and I had to be able to hit the ground running once the school year began.
All in all, Miles is thrilled with his new school, he is making lots of hearing friends and is doing great!
The IEP meeting caused me no end of stress as it started with the determination of whether or not he even qualified for special ed. services. In my mind, I was screaming, "WHAT?!? Do you not see the hearing aids he wears in his ears??? Do you think we do this for fun???" But finally someone said that he would not be able to meet his full potential without support, so he qualified. Then the director told me that to receive speech services through the district, we would have to bring him to the school during school hours.
"Do you not understand that we are both teachers? How are we supposed to do that?"
Happily, the speech therapist that would be working with Miles said that she would arrange a way to come to his preschool to work with him there. And she has. Miles loves her and has made enormous progress.
While I'm pleased with how things turned out, I'm annoyed that they couldn't work out the details any earlier. When the whole process began, we asked that decisions be made earlier rather than later as Jeff and I had to be able to hit the ground running once the school year began.
All in all, Miles is thrilled with his new school, he is making lots of hearing friends and is doing great!
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Been so long...
A friend commented that I've been off the blogging wagon. True enough.
I originally started this a blog to talk about the issues of raising a child who is hard of hearing but Miles has made such progress that it is almost a non-issue.
That is, if you don't count the trips to the audiologist, the worry over ear wax and ear infections, IEP's and inattentive Special Ed Departments. But, really, it has been smooth sailing. Miles is starting to be very aware of pronouncing his "s" sound and is working so hard. He is almost 95% intelligible by strangers and his vocabulary is coming along nicely.
So I guess now I get to turn this into another blog about how wonderful my family is.
I have been surprised by how much of a boy Miles is turning into. These days, he is all about setting things on fire and putting them out, making things explode and shoot out. We recently went to a birthday party at Pump It Up (a party venue that has inflatable jumpy houses, slides and other entertainment.) While the girls were all about the slides, the boys were all about these air cannons that were there. The cannons were air powered and shot out these Nerf type balls that wouldn't cause any damage if one were hit. Miles would have spent the entire two hours in there. We finally convinced him to give the slides a try and, after some trepidation, he was hooked.
He is also all about the roller coasters. We went to Disneyland this spring and he made his mama's heart sing by taking quickly to the "big" roller coasters. Now that he is 40 inches tall, he can ride on Thunder Mountain and Space Mountain. He had no fear. I was amused to see that it was rides like Roger Rabbit that freaked him out.
But he is also his daddy's boy. We went to see Jeff conduct a local choir recently and it was the first time in awhile that Miles got to see his daddy in action. Miles was really impressed and surprised me by being a great audience member through a full hour of performance. When we got home, he wanted me to conduct him singing and then wanted to switch roles. When Jeff arrived home, Miles wanted to try on Jeff's tuxedo.
I originally started this a blog to talk about the issues of raising a child who is hard of hearing but Miles has made such progress that it is almost a non-issue.
That is, if you don't count the trips to the audiologist, the worry over ear wax and ear infections, IEP's and inattentive Special Ed Departments. But, really, it has been smooth sailing. Miles is starting to be very aware of pronouncing his "s" sound and is working so hard. He is almost 95% intelligible by strangers and his vocabulary is coming along nicely.
So I guess now I get to turn this into another blog about how wonderful my family is.
I have been surprised by how much of a boy Miles is turning into. These days, he is all about setting things on fire and putting them out, making things explode and shoot out. We recently went to a birthday party at Pump It Up (a party venue that has inflatable jumpy houses, slides and other entertainment.) While the girls were all about the slides, the boys were all about these air cannons that were there. The cannons were air powered and shot out these Nerf type balls that wouldn't cause any damage if one were hit. Miles would have spent the entire two hours in there. We finally convinced him to give the slides a try and, after some trepidation, he was hooked.
He is also all about the roller coasters. We went to Disneyland this spring and he made his mama's heart sing by taking quickly to the "big" roller coasters. Now that he is 40 inches tall, he can ride on Thunder Mountain and Space Mountain. He had no fear. I was amused to see that it was rides like Roger Rabbit that freaked him out.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
My Most Wonderful Husband
Right around the Fourth of July, Jeff was going to take Miles to the farmer's market. As they got ready to go, Miles pulled out his hearing aids, telling Jeff, "I want to be like you, I want to be like you."
Hearing this just about broke my heart. But Jeff didn't skip a beat.
"You are just like me. You look just like me. You love music like I do. You have blond hair like I do. But I wear glasses and you wear hearing aids."
I love that man more and more each day.
Hearing this just about broke my heart. But Jeff didn't skip a beat.
"You are just like me. You look just like me. You love music like I do. You have blond hair like I do. But I wear glasses and you wear hearing aids."
I love that man more and more each day.
Here I Am!
I have been very remiss in my blogging. It must mean that life is getting good. Or just very busy.
In April, my brother came into town. He lives in Hong Kong and the last time I saw him, my father was dying. Before this trip, he and his wife had yet to meet Miles. That gives you an idea on how long ago it was. He came to the Bay to run in the Big Sur International Marathon.
We met up with Evan on Thursday when he came to our house for dinner. Miles and I met him in the driveway where he proceeded to become one of Miles' favorite people by giving him a present, a colorful octopus from Sri Lanka (my brother travels the world). Miles showed off his biking skills by riding down to the park and then impressed Evan with his strong throwing arm by tossing back some softballs from the girls practicing on the baseball fields. Evan secured his position as "great uncle" by throwing Miles around and tickling him until he was red in the face.
We got to see both Evan and Cheryl again on Saturday when we drove down to Carmel where they were staying for the marathon the following day. Miles was thrilled to go to the beach, though it wasn't as warm as the day we went to Santa Cruz. We walked on the shore, explored the pretty downtown and then went to Point Lobos for a hike and some baby harbor seal watching. The mamas were out having their pups and warming themselves in the sun.
On our way home, we stopped in Santa Cruz at a Mexican restaurant we have been to with friends. There was a table of women next to us who, by their conversation, were obviously teachers. As they got up to leave they stopped to fawn over Miles. One commented on his hearing aids and said that she was a teacher at a school that had deaf and hard of hearing program. I asked her which one. She said, "Oh, it's in Santa Clara," which made me ask again, "Which one?" When she told me the name of her school, I said, "That's the school we're hopefully going to send him to for preschool." Of course, that set off a long conversation about the program and how wonderful the teachers are.
As a side note, Miles' Early Start teacher had to be a little aggressive to get the assessment process into play. I'm hoping we don't get closed out but they are sending someone to begin the evaluations in about two weeks. Space in this program is surprisingly limited.
We went to see the ENT at the end of April as Miles was showing fluid in one of his ears again. Both tubes were working their way out of his ears so we needed to do the whole process again. While we were there, I mentioned how loudly he snored and that he seemed to always have a runny nose. "Ah, sounds like adenoids. We could do the scope but we might as well just do it while he's out during the surgery."
Mid-May, we went to Lucille Packard Children's Hospital where Miles got himself a new pair of ear tubes and was unburdened of his abnormally large adenoids. He now sleeps silently and there is no sign of snot!
In April, my brother came into town. He lives in Hong Kong and the last time I saw him, my father was dying. Before this trip, he and his wife had yet to meet Miles. That gives you an idea on how long ago it was. He came to the Bay to run in the Big Sur International Marathon.
We met up with Evan on Thursday when he came to our house for dinner. Miles and I met him in the driveway where he proceeded to become one of Miles' favorite people by giving him a present, a colorful octopus from Sri Lanka (my brother travels the world). Miles showed off his biking skills by riding down to the park and then impressed Evan with his strong throwing arm by tossing back some softballs from the girls practicing on the baseball fields. Evan secured his position as "great uncle" by throwing Miles around and tickling him until he was red in the face.
We got to see both Evan and Cheryl again on Saturday when we drove down to Carmel where they were staying for the marathon the following day. Miles was thrilled to go to the beach, though it wasn't as warm as the day we went to Santa Cruz. We walked on the shore, explored the pretty downtown and then went to Point Lobos for a hike and some baby harbor seal watching. The mamas were out having their pups and warming themselves in the sun.
On our way home, we stopped in Santa Cruz at a Mexican restaurant we have been to with friends. There was a table of women next to us who, by their conversation, were obviously teachers. As they got up to leave they stopped to fawn over Miles. One commented on his hearing aids and said that she was a teacher at a school that had deaf and hard of hearing program. I asked her which one. She said, "Oh, it's in Santa Clara," which made me ask again, "Which one?" When she told me the name of her school, I said, "That's the school we're hopefully going to send him to for preschool." Of course, that set off a long conversation about the program and how wonderful the teachers are.
As a side note, Miles' Early Start teacher had to be a little aggressive to get the assessment process into play. I'm hoping we don't get closed out but they are sending someone to begin the evaluations in about two weeks. Space in this program is surprisingly limited.
We went to see the ENT at the end of April as Miles was showing fluid in one of his ears again. Both tubes were working their way out of his ears so we needed to do the whole process again. While we were there, I mentioned how loudly he snored and that he seemed to always have a runny nose. "Ah, sounds like adenoids. We could do the scope but we might as well just do it while he's out during the surgery."
Mid-May, we went to Lucille Packard Children's Hospital where Miles got himself a new pair of ear tubes and was unburdened of his abnormally large adenoids. He now sleeps silently and there is no sign of snot!
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