We had Jameson’s six month evaluation last week for his speech progress.
He has come a long way.
Things Jameson loves: Buzz Lightyear and a good leaf pile
He uses his words when sharing (or not sharing) with peers, instead of his hands. A big relief!
He imitates new words and sounds with confidence!
He can string together a number of phrases and can be understood most of the time!
According to his speech therapist, he is still about 6-8 months behind his non-speech delayed peers but we are confident he will close that gap eventually.
He requested a side of cereal with his chicken tikka masala. An odd choice, but a choice he was able to ask for!
I am just so happy my little boy is trying out new words every day. I’m so happy we are able to understand him more and he gets the joy of feeling understood.
We still have many moments when it is hard to understand what he is trying to say, and he will still resort to gibberish often when he is playing. We still have moments when a meltdown occurs because we can’t understand what it is that he wants. It isn’t perfect or easy, but its progress.
It’s another step forward for our baby boy. He’s speaking more and more each day, and for that I am so very grateful.
It’s starting to feel like Autumn here in Connecticut and we wasted no time doing some of the most basic Fall things you can do: hitting up the Farmer’s Market and going out for cider donuts.
Jameson’s love for apples has returned just in time for apple picking season. Truly his mother’s child.
D and I took Jameson to our local Farmer’s Market this Saturday and it amazed me at how mature he has grown in these few months.
Our first trip to the market was probably sometime in the beginning of the summer and consisted of D shopping for fresh produce and baked goods, and me chasing after Jameson as he weaved in and out of the seller stalls. An Instagram worthy trip it was not.
Cut to this weekend and our little man was in it to win it. He stood my my side the whole time, named the different kinds of fruits and vegetables with me, and happily chomped on an apple that he picked out with enthusiasm.
Earlier in the morning we went to a local diner for an early bird breakfast after dropping D’s car off at the shop. Which brings me to our title topic: dining with a two year-old.
With a big boy fork and a straw full of juice, who could be happier?
Here too I have seen how Jameson is growing up and into the person he’s going to be.
You see, Jameson loves food but hates standing still. Especially if we are somewhere new like, oh, a restaurant. He thinks its silly to sit and wait for our meal when there are perfectly good nooks and crannies to be explored. Like the giant gumball machine filled with what he assumes to be brightly colored bouncy balls. Or the table of toddlers sitting right behind us who are probably just waiting for a friend like Jameson to walk over and make their acquaintance.
That is where my tradition of bringing a “busy bag” has come in clutch.
Feeling proud of himself for matching the square to the square. He did this puzzle about five times. Note to self: buy more puzzles.
I don’t remember when I first heard of the idea of a busy bag for toddlers in restaurants, but it has been a heaven sent more times than I can count. I’m sure it was probably the result of scrolling on Pinterest one sleep-deprived newborn night.
Either way, it helps D and I stick to our rule of no technology at the table. There is nothing we hate more than seeing a kid sitting at a restaurant with their parents, playing on an iPad the whole meal. It’s even worse when the parents are also zoned out on their phone.
Let’s be real for a moment. Tech addiction is a serious thing these days and most of us are addicted to some degree. It can take some planning and commitment to rein it in and focus on the present moment.
In our house this looks like time limits on television, no iPads for kids, and a self-imposed time limit on my own social media accounts to remind myself to unplug. There’s actually a section on iPhones to set this limit, which is helpful.
But back to our busy bags. They usually work out great in keeping Jameson occupied while waiting for his meal. Of course this time in particular I had recently dumped out his busy bag with the intention of refilling it with new items…and completely forgot to refill it.
What was left when inside when I opened it up in the diner? One shapes puzzle and a hot wheels car. Oh man.
I could feel my heart pick up it’s pace as he finished his puzzle for the third time and pushed it to the side.
“Wow, you did!” I exclaimed, a little too excitedly as I eyed our waitress who was busy with another table. Damn.
“You want to try it again?” I asked. My husband shook his head and handed Jameson a hot wheels car instead.
The joy of playing with that lasted about three minutes and then he was trying to stand up in his high chair.
“No no, Jamie. We’re waiting for our meal,” D said.
Jameson sat down with a dramatic cry that had some of the other patrons giving us the side eye.
Trust me guys, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. That was just his warmup cry, I thought to myself.
We went back and forth with this borderline meltdown dance for what felt like an hour but was probably closer to ten minutes, before our breakfast landed on the table.
“A bite of the cider donut before breakfast? My parents must really be scrambling here.”
Jameson happily dug into his feast of silver dollar pancakes and strawberries while I pretended my egg white omelet was just as good. It wasn’t, guys. Nothing is as good as syrupy pancakes. But alas, I’m trying to make sure my pregnancy weight gain stays on the healthy track *sigh*.
My two year-old looking like a five year-old somehow. How??
It was a close one, but we managed to have a somewhat relaxing breakfast in public, with a toddler. And no tech.
My toddler is a fairly adventurous eater. This is partially because D and I eat a varied diet and have been giving him the same meals as we eat, since he was old enough to eat them. It’s also because our son doesn’t seem to have any sensory issues with food textures.
Always partial to the almond croissants, of course
Being a special education teacher, I’m well aware that some kids can have serious sensory aversions that have nothing to do with whether or not you did “baby-led weaning” with them (no matter what the hardcore weaners will tell you).
But luckily, Jameson seems to tolerate all kinds of textures pretty well.
So yes, my son is a good eater, but he’s also a toddler. Meaning he is starting to assert his independence around at the dinner table (and the lunch table, and the breakfast table…).
When I say that, I don’t mean he’s throwing massive tantrums and flinging peas on the wall every day. Although, he’s done each of those things at some point or another, being a tot and all.
What he’s been doing lately is some kind of “choose one” toddler ritual where he will pick one food on his plate and eat only that food.
“Chicken and potatoes? Sorry, but I’ve decided that only peas are worthy of my palette today!”
“Nice try with the bacon, egg and cheese, mom. But I’m only eating oatmeal today, k?”- my toddler, probably
Also, I’ve had to hide the fruit bowl from view during dinner.
Yes, really.
If he catches a glimpse of a banana or a cherry tomato it is game over. He will immediately decide that what we have served him is straight-up trash and only seventeen bananas will do.
Jameson was on cloud nine at the apple orchard this past fall
Looking around online, it seems like this is a normal part of the toddler stage, and that it should pass eventually.
For now, I’ll be doing my best to not make a big fuss about him only eating parts of his meals…and hiding the fruit bowl like a crazy woman at dinner.
Has your toddler went through any picky eating stages that made you scratch your head or laugh? I’d love to hear about it!
Paige is Parenting 