Monday, December 12, 2011

Man of few words

Dylan's two year doctor appointment went well: he's above average for size (88th percentile) but being referred for some speech help to get his word count up.

He's good with "B" and "S" words (Ha!) but isn't stringing enough of them together. Luckily, he's good at pointing and showing what he wants and all his caregivers are good at reading him.

Plus, I'm great at reading people's non-verbal cues, so I can infer more from an eyebrow slant than some people can from an entire conversation. Which means that while I rock at charades, I probably am not helping him stretch verbally, even though we talk and read with him a lot and verbal communication is kind of the lingua franca at our house.

But we'll go get some tips from the speech and language pros so that he can start sparring verbally with his sister, instead of just screeching in frustration or whacking her when she's bugging him.

If he turns out to be a great orator, this will make a funny story some day. Kind of like actor James Earl Jones: he has one of the most recognizable and enthralling voices of a generation but he overcame a severe stutter. Fascinating story.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Quality cioppino

On a whim, made first ever cioppino using this recipe http://allrecipes.com/recipe/cioppino/Detail.aspx with reviewer recommendations of clam juice, no water, less butter in lieu of olive oil and other minor edits. Used shrimp, clams, scallops, wild cod.

Dylan ate two bowls and Jason said,  "This is the best dish you've ever made in our entire marriage." Favoriting.


Fierce chairs

Saw some awesome chairs at the Ballard Farmers Market. Dylan seems to really dig them.

Thursday, December 08, 2011

Birthday boy

Two years ago today, this little dumpling popped into our life. Happy birthday to the cutest little boy in my life.


Thursday, December 01, 2011

Teacher to Ava's class on a field trip: How about a song for our walk? Ava: 'Moves like Jagger'? Me: Think she means one everyone knows.