A word on...

jargoning: an unintelligible language expressed with all of the conviction of understandability.

Ayden talks a lot... with variation in sounds and inflection. He knows exactly what he is saying to us, but we don't understand most of what he is trying to communicate. Apparently, children who can jargon have perfectly understandable conversations with each other, as evidenced by Ayden's interactions with other children. I wish I knew what they were telling each other or what Ayden tells Bryan everyday when he gets home from work. (He's probably telling on me!)

We can interpret some of what our son is communicating. Ayden uses "da" to mean "dad," "mom," "thank you," and any number of other things. Occasionally, he will say words that resemble "yes," "no," or "done." Two nights ago, he repeated "night, night" after me. He can also "moo" like a cow, and he attempts to imitate his daddy's impression of Looney Tunes' Taz. He can say "all done" and "more" in sign language, but he uses them most correctly in the context of eating. He waves "bye," which is often an attention getter as he leaves therapy or Target or wherever.

Even though we don't often understand Ayden, we are positive that he understands what we are saying. A lot of what he has begun to comprehend has come from everyday routine. For example, "Ayden, put your arm through your shirt hole." or "Ayden, put your pacifier in your crib." He enjoys the repetition of song, such as with the "Itsy Bitsy Spider," for which he does the hand motions. He also follows the instructions that characters give him on tv; for instance, today he was patting his legs because a character on Little Einsteins was telling him to do so. We know he understands when we tell him not to do something. It is interesting to watch the inner workings of his mind as he contemplates whether or not obedience is worth not doing something he really wants to do.

"The itsy bitsy spider..."

When Bryan was a toddler, he didn't speak at all until he was two years old. He then spoke in complete sentences. I guess he was silently studying and perfecting the language. I, on the other hand, was a jargoning blabbermouth. I guess Ayden takes more after me in this regard.

Prayers for Jude

Please pray for Ayden's buddy Jude, as he is undergoing a heart catheterization and arrhythmia study this morning. Please go to Jude's CaringBridge site for more information.

8:53AM- They gave Jude Versed to calm his nerves and then took him for the procedures.

11:00AM-Jude's heart cath is complete. The doctor saw no need for intervention. The arrhythmia study has begun.

11:45AM- Arrhythmia study is complete. No issues there! Praise the Lord! After recovery, Jude will spend the night in one of the hospital patient rooms. Whether or not Jude will have his Fontan (third heart surgery) this fall or next year is yet to be determined.

UPDATE: During Thursday morning's cath conference, the doctors decided to wait on surgery. They will, of course, watch Jude closely in the meantime.

What's Old is New Again

Before I started using YouTube to embed videos, I was uploading them directly into the blog. This old way had a relatively small file size limit, which in turn limited the quality, size, and length of the clip. I was forced to cut continuous clips into multiple pieces and then upload each of them. Multiple videos not only cluttered a post, but probably also affected the blog's overall load time.

My most recent blog project has been to replace these old videos with YouTube clips. I'll spare you the links to all of those old posts, but if you're interested in them, or if you're a fairly new reader who hasn't ventured over a year deep into older posts, check out the YouTube channel. The 10 or so videos posted over the last couple of days are the replacements.

Some New Toys

Gran and Grandad came to visit over the holiday weekend. As always, they came with a few things for Ayden, including some new toys. Ayden is big into rolling things on the kitchen floor right now, so the toys that had wheels were big hits. Ayden loves attention more than he does rolling things, so his two favorite toys were Gran and Grandad, who played with him nonstop while they were here. (That's a special treat for Ayden, as Allison and I can't possibly play with him all the time, every day.)

Up His Sleeve

Ayden had some visitors this week, some with new tricks to teach and others with reminders. Among those visitors was Caroline. Caroline, now a junior in high school, was, once upon a time, one of my seventh graders and basketball cheerleaders. She and I often got mistaken for each other in the middle school hallway, a fact that I was reminded of after Bryan commented on how much we looked alike.

Ayden had yet to meet Caroline. Not only did she nanny this summer, but she also spent four weeks passionately working in orphanages in China. Caroline is very involved in the orphan ministry Show Hope and has been instrumental in beginning a partnership club, The Movement, at her school, as well as at other high schools across the nation.

Caroline would never have wanted me to post all of this about her on our blog, but I do so to show you her heart. She is one of the most caring, thoughtful, selfless people I have ever met. I'm afraid that my writing capabilities are far too deficient to express how beautiful Caroline is, but her humble actions say enough. While I was pregnant with Ayden, she gave Ayden some of her favorite childhood books and wrote him precious letters and notes to go with each. (One of his current favorite books, Friendly Fish, was one of those books that Caroline gave him.) I know those gifts were meant for my then unborn son, but every time she came into my classroom to deliver another sweet package, I was the one encouraged.

 

Ayden immediately adored Caroline. She taught him how much fun it is to be chased around the house. He would crawl a short distance, look to see if she was there, laugh hysterically, and then rush to crawl the next short distance. Of course, she lovingly played along with every step. Playing chase is now one of Ayden's favorite activities, and between hide & seek and chase, he's become quite rascally.

Thank you for blessing our family, Ms. Caroline!

Ayden and I were not only blessed by Caroline this past week. Bryan was out of town, and my parents came to help around the house and to love on Ayden and me. I was exhausted and overwhelmed, and they gave me strength. My daddy, Ayden's G-Daddy, spent many sweaty hours in the attic fixing our air conditioning. (Yes, during the hottest week all summer, we had no air conditioning!) My mama cleaned our bathrooms and cooked. They both spent time with their grandson.

G-Daddy greeted Ayden with their customary headbutt. Yes, I said "headbutt." It's pretty much something Ayden only does with his G-Daddy, and they have made it quite the ritual.

 

G-Daddy also continued Bryan's work with Ayden on stacking cups. G-Daddy was able to hand the cups to Ayden in the appropriate order, and he would stack them without help with balancing or straightening. Of course, with each activity, whether it be stacking cups or placing puzzle pieces, there was lots of clapping!

 

 

Grancee is among the people Ayden most recognizes. He reaches for her immediately, and he allows her to hold him perhaps more than anyone else. Their newest trick is called "the elevator." Ayden reaches up to Grancee, and she then picks him up. He sticks his booty out indicating that he wants to slide down her leg. And repeat. She got quite the workout! Sadly, I don't have a picture or video of their new fun!