03/04/2011

Today was Prince and Princess Day for Alexa's preschool class. They made crowns with glitter, painted a fairy tale dragon, and had a dance in the gym.

Gavin loves Baby Tysen so much!

I love Tysen's expression! He's not sure what to think about Gavin holding him.

I took these pictures this morning before I dropped them off at daycare because I thought that they all looked so cute. I love dressing the boys alike. I should do it now because they'll hate it in a few years.

Tysen- 10 weeks old

The boys were so happy this morning. Alexa was a little crabby.

Gavin had his speech evaluation last week at Children's Hospital. I was so proud of him because he was so well-behaved, cooperative, and focused even though the appointment lasted over 2 hours. The speech therapist's name was Jessica and we sat on the floor of her office and played with toys. Gavin thought it was great fun. She would ask him to say certain words. If he repeated the word, even if it wasn't perfect, she praised him and rewarded him by handing him a different toy. Gavin completed a standardized test that assessed his comprehension and expressive communication skills. Gavin's score was 83, which is below average. It is the age equivalency of a child aged 1 year and 10 months. I was surprised to hear that because I assumed that he would score much lower. That's only a 3 month delay according to that test. I asked Jessica if she noticed anything about Gavin's behavior or abilities that was concerning. She assured me that this speech delay is something that he will definitely overcome. She's almost positive that he's just on the verge of having a huge "word explosion" and thinks that he's going to start speaking in sentences in the near future. Due to Gavin's history of ear infections and tubes, Jessica recommended having his hearing tested. Luckily, the audiology department was right next door and we were able to get a walk-in appointment with only a 15 minute wait. Gavin passed the hearing test, however he did have trouble hearing the lower tones. When his ears were visually inspected with a small camera, it was noted that the tube in his right ear was not able to be seen due to ear wax blockage. They recommended that I follow up with the ENT (ear, nose, and throat) doctor that did his ear surgery. A few days later, I took Gavin to see Dr. G and sure enough, the tube was completely blocked and he had an ear infection. Because the tube was blocked, the fluid behind his ear drum was unable to drain, thus causing him pain and affecting his hearing. Dr. G prescribed an antibiotic and instructed me to instill hydrogen peroxide drops in his ear to dissolve the wax that is blocking the tube. We go back to see Dr. G in about a week to ensure that the tube is no longer blocked and that the ear infection has cleared up. Matthew and I have decided that due to Gavin's frequent frustration from being unable to communicate, we will proceed with speech/language therapy on a weekly basis. We are currently on a waiting list. Because we both work full-time, it is very difficult to get an opening. I will keep you posted on Gavin's progress.