Random Mommy Banter About Stuff

Since Teddy finished Early Intervention and we had our IEP meeting, we've been in waiting mode for his placement letter. It's been a few weeks so I made a few phone calls and the letter is coming and they will need to "call me to discuss." I take that to mean that maybe since it's already almost February and the middle of the school year that there may not be openings in schools that are closest to our house. They told us he qualifies for bus service and let me tell you there is no way in hell I am putting my 3 year old who doesn't speak much on a bus by himself!!!

Since I am not running Teddy to therapy and therapy playgroup appointments, I've been spending more time with him at home while I organize our new place. I like not running around because the quality of time I spend with him is so much better. While I think the Early Intervention helped him in many ways, I was disappointed in the speech therapy. I think she could have come more than once a week but didn't want to. I loved her - she was a sweet person but it was hard to see much progress when he only gets it once a week. But it was free and nothing is perfect I guess.

I guess there would be nothing wrong with keeping him home and sending him to preschool in the fall. The therapists strongly urged us to get him in preschool right away for socialization, etc. I want him to go to Ricky's school for preschool and I think it's best to have continuity so after I see where the placement is, I'll call the preschool teacher at Ricky's school to see what she thinks of Teddy and if he would be okay to start in September given his speech.

I love Ricky's school. Transferring him was the best decision. The school just won the President's Blue Ribbon Award for Excellence in the fall. Ricky is enjoying it and the kids are nicer than the other school (so he says) so that's great. They just had a standardized test earlier this month and Ricky scored in the 3rd-4th grade level for math (OMG) but he scored average for Reading and Phonics. The "problem" is that the average for the first grade kids at his school is well above the national average (40+ points above the national average!!) so even though Ricky scored 'average" it's below the average of the other first grade kids at his school. I guess they started teaching reading in kindergarten at his new school. Meanwhile, Ricky had a joke for a teacher who didn't teach and just treated the class like it was summer camp at his old school. So that means I'll be spending a lot more time on reading and phonics with him - which I love doing - so he can be "above average."

So let me brag about my eldest little boy for a moment. He is amazing at the cello - his teacher keeps telling me he plays better than the 4th graders he teaches. He is also doing very well in karate - he is now a Red belt with one stripe from his last belt exam. He loves it and just learned a new kata. He wants to compete in the next tournament in a few weeks. I will be more nervous than he will be! I am so proud of him and hope he continues to be so driven.

Potty training update - I read Teddy the potty books and talked to him about it and he doesn't seem to be interested. I asked Ricky to show Teddy when he pees and Ricky just says "No way Mom!!' Well can't say I blame him. Not sure I'd like someone to watch me every time I peed, but just thought it would be such a great inspiration for Teddy.... ok next on the list - dvds I guess...

On the home front, both my mom and my MIL will be having surgery next month. They will both need help so there will be lots of shuffling around.

Tonight we'll be seeing "Super 8" after the kids go to bed. I'm going to bake an apple pie and eat it with vanilla ice cream while it's still hot from the oven. Oh yeah, and we have tons of alcohol left over from the parties so it will be nice to have a lot of choices this evening!

Busy Bee, Busy Me

I laugh at myself for claiming to be "back" only to not blog for the entire summer. Really, just one blog entry this whole year? How sad of me.

We had a great summer - everyone was healthy, no family members in the hospital, no accidents. We even managed to take a few days and took the boys to Wisconsin Dells. It made them very happy. They are both water people and love the pool so much so it was perfect. Mark started a new job in May and so far, so good.

Ricky started first grade and after the first week of school, Teddy's speech therapist told me that another nearby private school offered kids from K-8th grade speech therapy up to 3 times a week for its students. I called the principal and she confirmed this was true so I asked what their accommodations were for peanut/tree nut allergy kids and it was amazing what she told me. I'll have to write a post just about that topic because it is wonderful all by itself.

Based on the peanut/nut policy alone, we decided to transfer him immediately. Mark and I came in and met with the principal, toured the school, and pulled Ricky out that very day. He has now gone to the new school for 7 school days, has made a bunch of friends, and says he loves it. It's been pretty stressful, but I am relieved.

I am so blessed that my mom is retired and helps me with the boys. Besides school, Ricky has swimming lessons, karate lesson, cello lesson, and children's orchestra rehearsals every week. The cello was entirely his idea. It's great and I am thrilled he enjoys it. That just started the last few weeks. New school, new instrument. His teacher also heads the children's orchestra. 10 girls and 3 boys. Everyone plays violin except Ricky who is the only cello. He doesn't mind - he gets to sit. I personally love the cello with its low, soulful.

Teddy has speech therapy, developmental therapy, occupational therapy, Speech/OT playgroup, and Toddler Gymnastics every week. He is just a toddler but I already feel what some parents of older kids may have with 2 kids in sports and activities.

My boss has asked me to work 40 hours a month now (was 4 hours a month for the past year) so it's quite an adjustment. The job is nice and easy but it's the logistics of getting everything done with the kids and house and the running to and from that gets me frazzled. I feel like I'm becoming an old lady who obsesses over little things. I actually bought a momAgenda to keep me organized about where I need to be, where the kids need to be, and everything in between. I love it.

Teddy's speech is really getting better. He is using a lot more words and now we're working on putting 2 words together to make a sentence. It's so sad when I see a kid who is the same age asking his mom for this and that at the store while my Teddy uses one word here and there and grunts. He just had his annual meeting with all his therapists this past Tuesday and they recommended the Speech/OT playgroup which consists of 9 kids all the same age who have speech delays. He did a great job his first time this week. He will go to preschool in January already! He's not even potty trained yet but I guess that doesn't matter.

Anyways, it's a new start for Ricky at this new school. So glad he is liking it. Hoping for a great school year.

I'm Back!!!

I haven't blogged since last December when Ricky had the peanut butter scare. So many things have happened since and I just never got blogging back into my mommy routine. I also have not read any of my favorite bloggy friend blogs and I am hoping all the people I read about are fine. I plan on doing lots of catch-up.

It is now May and I can't believe I've been off blogger for that long. In a nutshell, here are the highlights of my life:

1. We had a good Christmas despite the roll of bad luck.

2. Ricky recovered from peanut butter attack. I spend hours at his school in meetings with the principal and assistant principal and I trained almost 20 lunch/recess parents on how to use an epi-pen.

3. Mark fractured his foot! He is still wearing the boot.

4. Mark got a new job!

5. My dad and stepmom visited for 2 weeks and stayed in my house. Nice to catch up with dear old dad!

6. Teddy had a medical diagnostic test by a world renown neurological pediatrician, and 5 therapists last week. After worrying that his speech delay is a sign of a brain problem or some form of autism, we are thrilled beyond belief that their conclusion is just an isolated speech delay and nothing more. Good news! Now Teddy is getting speech and development therapies weekly and now I am waiting for him to get approved to attend City Kids - which is a center where he can get occupational therapy for sensory stuff.

7. I'm a proud mama so bear with me while I brag about my kid a bit!

Ricky is really thriving in karate class. He is practicing his kata more than the arm pit farts now. He will have a belt test in 2 weeks - but I'm guessing he'll get stripes instead of a red belt. You have to be flawless to just skip the 5 stripes and get the belt - but we'll see.

Ricky also brought home a near perfect straight A report card. I couldn't be happier. Of course my family members rewarded him for each A and he was more than glad to fill his piggy bank. As a kid, my sister and I both got compensated for each A. Besides enjoying the achievement and doing it for yourself, it was nice to save up for that special thing.

8. Teddy turned 2 and Ricky turned 6!

Well those are the highlights since my last post. Looking forward to warmer weather and playing outside more. We're going to a play date this afternoon with about 5 other moms. Am I the only crazy person who will only invite 2 moms maximum- over? I think 5 moms with their kids is too many people - especially when they have little kids too. The 6 year old boys can take care of themselves though - so maybe it's not so bad.

I have bumped into Mandy (the mean mom) at birthday parties a few times and at the last one she was VERY VERY nice. I was nice back to her, of course, but after what happened, I just want to keep it cordial. No more play dates. No more inside information about my life. She started asking me personal information like we were friends again and I didn't want to share. I know that everything I tell her will be told to the 4 other moms in her circle (who I used to be friends with). She was the one who broke it off with me so why would I want to go back there? I am trying my best to take the high road and not tell anyone about what they did to me.

The new moms I am befriending keep asking me about the other moms and cliques and I just smile and say nothing. They have such a positive attitude toward the other moms and don't see the cliques and I don't want to ruin it for them. But I feel bad letting them find out by themselves and be victim to the B.S..... I don't know.

The Importance of UP!!

Teddy had his speech therapy appointment this morning with Ms. Diane. She got him to build blocks vertically and say, "UP" several times each time he added a block!! You can't imagine how terribly excited we are. Teddy says close to nothing that is discernible besides 'mama" and "dada."

Teddy will be 2 in a month. I worry about him all the time and I will continue to do so until he talks more and shows that he is OK. I blame myself for his silence. When he was 11 months old, Mark went to Missouri with his mother for a funeral and stayed overnight. Teddy was sick and got up a few times in the night and finally I just put him in bed with me. I was exhausted, out of it, and thought he would be comforted by being with me. Barricaded by pillows, my arm and my leg strategically placed to sense each movement.

I will never forget the sound of BOOM...then the piercing cry. He fell off our bed. Onto our hardwood floors. I phoned the doctor in the morning and they said that if he vomits, he has a concussion. The nurse was very nice. I was embarassed, self-loathing at being a stupid mother. She said if he doesn't vomit, he's fine. Well he never vomited. His eyes looked fine, no bumps on his head.

I still wonder if that fall caused him some brain damage that is the root of his speech issues. That or the fact that I was very sick when I was pregnant with him and took lots of meds. I had gestational diabetes and asthma - which led to such a horrible cough that I fractured my ribs - front first - then the back a few months later. I had to take steroids to suppress the cough and tons of Tylenol 3. Or was it all the fertility drugs I took the year before Teddy was conceived. Did all that screw up my eggies? Who knows.

Ms. Diane says he is making good progress and making more sounds. He is actually paying more attention to the books we read together and he sits with me longer than he did in the past. I am really hoping he is OK. Please god. Make him Ok.

Anyways, that's where things are with Teddy on the speech front.

In the meantime, I have a horrible headache today - the first day of December with our first snow. Nothing that seems to stick, but I love watching it blow around in the sky. I plan on cutting out snowflakes with Ricky when he gets home from school.

Not a lick of Christmas shopping accomplished! No decorations put up yet! No clue what our Christmas card photo will be. We might host but we're not sure yet!! I'm actually pretty calm about everything. Am I crazy?

Mrs. Crabby Pants

Not sure why but I'm in a really foul mood today. I should be excited about Thanksgiving tomorrow - spending time with both sides of our family and all the yummy food I'll be scooping into my belly. But no, I'm just plain annoyed. Ever have a day when you're crabby for no good reason - just crabby? This doesn't happen to me often and I try not to let it happen. Today I find it kind of hard.

Had fun with the boys this morning here at home. Teddy had his speech therapy appointment (the therapist comes to our house every week - heavenly not to drive him somewhere) and I spent some time working with Ricky on his math and phonics. When Teddy gets up from his nap we have some errands to run and maybe tonight I'll get to see my sister and BIL and maybe bake a pie or two.

The speech therapy is good - Teddy sat with her for 45 minutes straight and played without losing focus or getting up to look for us. She is trying to teach him sign language ("more", etc.) and he signs here and there but not on a consistent basis. I listen to her play with him and do farm animal noises and car and truck noises and I think - this is what I do too - and it must not be enough - because we have to have someone come to our house and play with him and pay them. Kind of feel like a crappy mom about that!!

Had parent-teacher conferences yesterday for Ricky. He's doing well overall and is above average. Got every single math problem correct this year so far - his teacher says. He's great at phonics and mastered all the letter sounds and can read. He's not as interested in practicing how to write letters and numbers and this is where he may start talking to his neighbor and lose focus.

He will also tattle on other people when he is not involved - she said a lot of them do this. I told him to mind his own business except if a student is getting hurt. This tattling thing is so subjective!! I think it's okay for kids to tattle for other kids. Here is an example - the Big Bully took Ricky's Star Wars lunch bag during snack time and wrote all over it. This was when the bullying was still going on. Ricky was intimidated and didn't want to tell and the girl who sits across from him got up from her seat and told the teacher. Ricky was very grateful.

I have decided to stop being so grumpy. Starting now. I have a great husband and 2 adorable little boys and a family who loves me. Everyone is healthy, nobody is dying. We have a house and are renovating another. Fun family holidays are upon us. Lots to look forward to. So I'm slapping myself with the happy stick right now !!!! (*SLAP, *SLAP, *SLAP!!)

Random Bits

Our fence at the other house is finally being installed. I was so excited I bought the installation guys lunch today and threw in a dessert. Nothing too fancy, but thought I would do something nice. They work their butts off. In fact, I try to buy lunch for our carpenter and plumber once in a while too. I feel like they do a really good job to begin with, but the perks help, you know?

I just got off the phone with Rainbow to finally install the big giant monster of fun that we ordered back in May!! They will install it a week from today. HOORAY! At least Ricky and Teddy can enjoy whatever we have left of the good weather this year before the cold and snow arrives. We ordered a supersized clubhouse that has a big sandbox underneath, and I won't even bother ordering the sand until the spring. I nearly crapped in my pants when the Rainbow lady told me I need 1,000 pounds of sand for that sucker. I guess I'll just order it from a landscaper and I'm afraid to know how much that's going to cost. They could have installed it a few days after we bought it in May, but we wanted to have the new fence put it in to prevent people from playing on it, getting hurt, and suing us. Very over-the-top concern, but there nonetheless.

I'm really enjoying my mother's retirement. Isn't that a sad thing to say? My mom's always been a big help from day one, but since she's been retired she's been such a big help with the boys. This morning she went shopping with me and then we had lunch out. Right now, Teddy is taking his nap, and my mom is going to Ricky's school to pick him up. I would normally have to wake Teddy up to pick up Ricky, but not today. Then she's going to take him to go get a snack before she drops him off. That is so nice. I just wish my aunt was still around to galavant with us.

We were invited to a Halloween party this year and haven't figured out our costumes yet. We normally host, but since our house is on the market, we decided it wouldn't be such a good idea to trash it. Then we got an invitation from our friends. They used to do it years ago, and then they moved to Hawaii for a few years and they just moved back this year. I have no clue what to be - part of me always wanted to be Snow White. I have the black hair, right? I'm Asian, so I can't be anyone who is blonde. We still need to figure out Ricky's costume too. I'm his Room Mom, so I have to make decorated cupcakes for the party - which the 8th graders do for the kindergarteners. I can't wait. I may wear my costume to his party.

Meanwhile, I got a flyer sent home in Ricky's folder for a get-together at a local bar for all the Kindergarten Moms. No clue who organized it, it just had the information and "no need to RSVP, just show up." I am really starting to think (in my old age) that people tend to like other people more when they don't know them very well. I think that after I got burned from those mommy friends that I really want to keep a distance from the other moms at school in order to preserve the peace for Ricky. We will be social with the other parents, of course, but not overly. I would like to know the other parents of boys in Ricky's class especially, because of all the play dates. But not hang out with them. I have enough friends of my own, and I haven't even seen a majority of them this year!!

Teddy's first speech therapy appointment will be next week. Meanwhile, he continues using his own little ways of communicating when he is happy (claps/smiles), upset (grunts, yells), is hungry (brings me his empty cups), wants to eat or wants a hug (tugs at my leg). He continues to be Linus - dragging his stinky blanket all over the house. It is so sad that he still is at a 12 month speech level (I think - but will ask the therapist) but that is my guess.

Enough for now. Hoping for a great weekend!

Happy to Be Ignored (but heard)

We took Teddy to the hospital today for his hearing test and the results are great: his hearing is within normal ranges = he can hear everything we say and just chooses to ignore us most of the time. HOORAY!!

The doctor and her helper were wonderful. I had to bring all the comfort items since some of the tests had ear buds inserted in his ears. Of course, the stinky blanket (along with their Elmo videos) did the trick. Teddy is like Linus and has a security blanket which he drags all over the house. He gets pissed off when I wash it - and it seems to comfort him more the stinkier it is. Well, I controlled myself and didn't wash it and it was the *most* disgusting thing in the world. Mark and I both apologized up and down for the stinky blanket - but they seemed to understand - what else could they say???

Tomorrow morning Teddy will have an occupational therapy evaluation. This is just to check out his sensory stuff. I mentioned to the therapists last week that Teddy gets really pissed off when I vacuum - to the point of crying at times, so they recommended occupational therapy.

Meanwhile, we had a busy weekend and had an open house this past Sunday. We killed ourselves cleaning the house and getting it ready for TWO people to come through and of course, not be interested at all. Our realtor just called me up and said that someone wants to see our house Saturday afternoon. So for the next 2 days we'll kill ourselves once again. Having a clean house is great and all but sheeeezzzzz... won't someone buy our house??? Pretty please????

I could write more and go on and on, but I'm really freaking tired!

Must. Do. More. With. My. Kid.

A developmental therapist and a speech therapist came to our house yesterday for Teddy's evaluation. They were great - they played with him first to get him comfortable and brought toys to watch how he plays. At the end of the appointment, they verbally told us their findings and their recommendations.

1. Teddy needs speech therapy. (surprise!!!) After all the paperwork is dealt with, speech therapy can start right away - once a week. The therapist will come to our house for an hour every week - which is great so I don't have to cart him somewhere.

2. Teddy needs a hearing evaluation at the hospital. Our local hospital called me today to schedule the appointment. He goes next week for an hour for a 4 part test. I have to bring all his comfort items - sippy cup/bottle, blanket, toys that will soothe him. Apparently for 2 of the tests they will put something in his ears and I am afraid he will get freaked out and cry and try to take them out.

3. He doesn't need developmental therapy. The therapist says that she would place him to be around 18 months (oops) even though he's almost 21 months!

4. The evaluation made Mark and I feel really guilty that we don't spend enough time with Teddy. He doesn't know all the sounds animals make, doesn't imitate us, doesn't point at things and say what they are. They asked me about toddler classes, library story times, and I told them Teddy's class was canceled and I am going to register him for another one. I also made it sound like I take him to story time at the library all the time even though I've only taken him once!!!! They asked how he is at the park and the park equipment, etc. It was that kind of situation. I get the picture. I made all the time in the world for Ricky - at this age I had him in 3 classes/play group per week. I now know that taking him to the Children's Museum and the Exploritorium are important rather than a treat. While Ricky is at school, I need to treat Teddy like he's my first child - my one and only.

5. A big discovery was that they told him that he's very limber - since he likes to sit in a W shape on the floor and the recommended gymnastics classes.

6. The speech therapist suggested giving him straws to drink from, and to drink lemonade before meals because if he is very limber, he must be too limber in the mouth area as well and the sour taste may wake him mouth muscles up.

So I've been making it a point to talk to him as much as I can and they suggested using sign language. He doesn't seem to have any disabilities, so that's good. I guess we'll have to wait to see how much he can hear and go from there.

On the Road to Babble-On

Well, the lady from Early Intervention came by on Wednesday to meet with us about Teddy not talking. I want to thank The Captain's Wife, a blogger who brought early intervention to my attention. I was initally annoyed that our (very expensive) private insurance didn't cover speech therapy and she told me that states do have early intervention programs for age 0-3. I never would have thought about it - and if I did - Teddy would've lost the time.

Anyways, the woman came. We signed lots of papers and talked about Teddy and the way he communicates, plays, interacts, and his life. A speech therapist and a developmental therapist will come to our house to evaluate him within the next two weeks and based on the results, they will let us know how often he needs therapy. She was guessing it would be once a week.

The incredible part is that it would be one hour long session, once a week, in our home until the age of 3 - if that's how long he needs it. The cost would be around $30 - $60 a month - depending on our income. We haven't figured it all out yet because Mark is self-employed and makes great money some weeks, and lesser money some weeks. But there is a general ballpark. But usually therapy is about $80- $100 or more an hour and we'd be getting all this therapy for Teddy for $30 - $60 per month?? Incredible. I've paid tons in taxes throughout my life so it's all good.

On another note, can I just mention that Ricky starting full-day kindergarten and soccer is making me super busy - just those things alone??? I only have ONE kid in school right now and the soccer practices, games, birthday parties, field trips, fundraisers, blah, blah, blah.....gosh what will things be like when they're both in school? I really don't remember being this social when I was in grammar school. All our birthday parties were on the weekends...

Teddy's Moms and Tots class - that was supposed to start next week - got cancelled so now I have to find another one. Apparently, they couldn't find a teacher. I really need to get him involved in a social class. He needs to play with other kids his age now. Maybe that will help him talk more too.

Too Many Books But Who's Complaining

So I went a month or so with nothing to read and suddenly 5 books that I had on hold at the library all showed up for me at the exact same time! So now I am frantically reading what I can - a page here and there just so I finish! Three of them are due in a week! Eek!! Granted, I could probably get a pal at the library to erase my fines, but since many of these have holds on them, I don't want to be inconsiderate to the next reader who's waiting for their book.

These are the books I'm reading:

1. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

2. Mudbound by Hillary Jordan

3. The Writing on My Forehead by Nafisa Haji

4. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

5. One Thousand White Women: the Journals of May Dodd by Jim Fergus

I started the Writing on my Forehead by I have to put that down because it's not due til the end of the month. I started Mockingjay and I will start Mudbound since they are due in a week. I'll start the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo when I finish one book - I don't want to get *too* crazy.

Meanwhile, we had an open house yesterday and our agent said that 5 groups of people came in to look, but nobody was interested. He is encouraging us to drop our price by $20K in order to get an offer that is $50K below our current asking price! This market sucks!

Ricky is also home today with a double ear infection. He's had fevers all weekend. We're wondering if Teddy has it too - he's been getting up in the middle of the night the last few nights - and I've found myself waking up in my rocker a few hours later with a sore neck! He hasn't had a fever, but I'll have to watch him.

It is so beautiful outside - a truly beautiful September day and I have to keep them inside. I'd rather it was raining! It's nice to have a really clean house though - aside from laundry, I don't feel guilty reading or relaxing because everything is done.

The Speech Coordinator for the State is coming on Wednesday morning to meet us and meet Teddy and to go over all the options for him. He will then we evaluated on another date at our home. Both meetings are free. It's so annoying that our expensive insurance doesn't cover speech therapy!! UGH!!!

Starting Fresh

Has it really been a month since I last blogged? Shame on me! Things are different in the Chipper Librarian household. This is what I've been up to (not that anyone cares):

1. Ricky just started Kindergarten. It's a Catholic school, so he had to get used to the uniform. He was a bit nervous about tucking in his shirt, so he spent the first week not drinking anything so he didn't have to pee - so he didn't have to tuck in his shirt!! I spent a lot of time telling him about kidney stones and dehydration. Hopefully this will pass!

There is a big kid in his class who got held back and is fond of picking on Ricky. For the first week, this kid was demanding that Ricky give him his gummies for snack time every day. I knew something was going on when I would find a torn piece of plastic (the remains of a ziplock sandwich bag) in his lunch bag. Last week things died down and he said it was okay. He just hides his gummies and eats them when the boy isn't looking. UGH!!!

On a lighter note, last week Ricky was grinning all day and night after school because he overheard all the girls in his class say that he was cute and was the smartest kid in class. Nothing better than a boost to the self esteem! When he's down, I'll remind him of this and it always cheers him up.

2. All the popular kids (the moms I don't hang out with anymore) all ended up in the same class. Hmmmm....I wonder how *that* happened. There are tons of kids/parents now at drop off and pick-up and I hardly ever cross paths with them so that's good. It is sad to think that I used to go on play dates with these women and their kids, and our social calendar was pretty active. Now, my phone is silent and I spend many days not talking to anyone and waiting for Mark to come home from work. I have to admit, it gets lonely at times. But I remind myself that it's better to be alone than with bad company! I don't need those petty bitches in my life!

3. I'm applying for Illinois' All Kids program for Teddy - for his speech therapy. It takes 40 days to be approved. Supposedly it will cover 100%.....it's better than nothing! All my days of over-annunciating are not having the results I've been looking for. All he says is "mamama" and "dadadada' but basically it's the same as last year. I can tell he understands us, but otherwise he is the same baby - just bigger, chubbier, and runs all over the place. No new communication. We are so very worried that it's more than just a delay. The pediatrician told me that this is genetic - and my husband and nephew both did not speak til age 3. My MIL and SIL have assured me many times not to worry.....so I'm trying hard not to.

4. Our house is still on the (crappy) market. One woman gave us a very crappy verbal offer and we almost accepted it but then she ended up pursuing some other house that was listed $90K lower than ours! Oh well....

I think those are the major things. Just trying to enjoy every day with my boys. They are growing up so fast!

19 months old and not really talking....

I took Teddy to his 18 month old check-up a few weeks ago and since he really only says "mommy" and 'dadada", the pediatrician gave me a script for speech therapy. I haven't had a chance to call the insurance to see if it's covered yet, so I haven't taken him yet. I think there is a part of me that thinks I can do the therapy on him myself.

Ricky and Teddy are completely different. Ricky was talking non-stop at 12 months but didn't walk until 18 months. Teddy was walking and running at 12 months and still not really talking - today he turns 19 months.

The doctor told me that this is a genetic trait and I found out from my MIL that my husband was a delayed talker and our nephew (who is very bright) didn't talk until the age of 3!!!

This not talking thing is kind of a blow to my over-achieving side of the family. It causes some worry because delayed speech can be linked to autism or other learning disabilities. I'm hoping that since Mark and our nephew were delayed in speech (but turned out just fine) that Teddy's situation is nothing but a repeat of what's in his genes.

Ricky knew all his letters by 20 months - I had a deck of flashcards and put them in random order and he knew them. (I really did it to wow my dad - who visits once a year). When I think of this, it makes me really worry about Teddy. I know each child is different and develops at their own pace, so I really try to put it out of my mind. Teddy is constantly babbling sounds (which is good) and I hope that his delayed speech is nothing to worry about. Meanwhile, I better see if the speech therapy is covered by insurance....