Yappity-Yap

It’s taken 3 years, but we can finally have a conversation with our son!  Wyatt’s speech delay has been confusing and frustrating for Chris and myself.  Conversing with Wyatt was like talking to a brick wall. We would talk to him with no response, or a response that we did not understand which resulted in major frustration on both sides.  We watched children much younger than him soar past him in the speech area. At 2  1/2 years old he was testing almost a year behind where he should have been.  We went to speech pathologists, a child therapist, and EI (early intervention) specialists desperately trying to figure out why he was so far behind in this area and so far ahead (or normal) with all other developmental milestones. Since starting BECEP and his new daycare this last winter it is finally starting to come around and instead of frustration, we now find ourselves laughing much more. . .

Whenever a commercial is playing on the television, Wyatt will stop, look, and shout, “Wyatt would like that too Mom!”  He will repeat this louder and LOUDER until you agree with him.  If there is a commercial for Turbo Tax, he wants that too.  I have just learned to say, ” Yep, that looks fun,” or “Oh, OK.”

A couple of weeks ago, I was in Fargo with the kiddos visiting the grandparents. My mother suggested we take Wyatt on a ride through the car wash. I took her not-so-subtle hint that my car needed a wash and we did it.  While we were going through the wash, I was explaining to Wyatt what was going on the whole time. He just sat in his car seat with eyes like saucers. If you know Wyatt, you know he has these huge gorgeous blue eyes. They were half the size of his face.  When we were all done and driving away, Wyatt announced, “See? It’s not scar-wy.”  Anytime Wyatt is frightened, he pulls out this phrase. Like he is trying to convince himself that he’s not scared.  He used this line while playing in my parents basement – I totally get it, I was terrified of the basement when I was little. I would’ve sworn to you that gremlins lived down there.

One afternoon last week, Wyatt and I were over at his little girlfriend’s house, Baby Bella, for a play date.  While her mom, Beth, and I were downstairs making dinner the kids were playing up in Bella’s room. All the sudden I heard a scream from upstairs and Wyatt shouting, “Mom! Baby Bella take clothes off!”  Not exactly what you want to hear as a parent, but at 2 and 3 years old it was hilarious. Bella is learning how to dress and undress herself right now, so apparently she was showing off her new skills.  Wyatt hates to be undressed at all, even socks are a requirement at all times, so he was quite upset about this and kept trying to get her clothes back on. That a boy, Wyatt.  Here’s a picture of Bella and Wyatt that will be great at their wedding slideshow

The best part of Wyatt being able to express him self better is how he tries to care for his baby sister. If she is crying he will say, “It’s OK Brook-a-lyn,” or “Mom, she’s very hungry.”  One night lying in bed with Wyatt for our nightly “cuddle time” Brooklyn started fussing. I was going to let her fuss, since I wanted to give Wyatt some undivided attention.  But Wyatt put his hand on my cheek and said, “Go get her mom. Goodnight!” When we read stories at night he usually wants her right there so she can enjoy the story too. The other night, he insisted she lay right next to him and held her hand the entire time. When we were done reading, he kissed her hand and said, “Night Brook-a-lyn, I love you” and trotted off to bed. I think my heart melted more than the first time he said “I love you” to me.  It is so amazing to see the unconditional love between the two of them right now. It is the purest and simplest kind of love – and it’s beautiful.

Related Responses

• No related posts.