A picture speaks a thousand words... or at least one.

Logan and I just got home from Speech Therapy, and since he tried to fall asleep when we were about 30 seconds from home, he's now wide awake and refusing to take his nap. I poured myself a fresh cup of coffee, and I can hear him in his room jumping as always (he already broke his first crib from jumping!) and laughing. Which reminds me, in honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday yesterday, I took some pictures of Logan's room I've been working on:

Logan seems to like it, and I was able to re-use a lot of the decorations from his Dr. Seuss birthday party from last summer, score! He has quite a few Dr. Seuss books, but I can't keep them on display in his room for very long, he grabs them quicker than I can set them up. This boy loves his books!

It was great talking with his Speech Therapist Kerry today about the Fragile X conference. She was ready to soak up whatever information I was willing to give her. As soon as I gave her an example of how Logan would learn best "indirectly" as Marcia Braden had taught us, she was very excited to hear it and started talking about she does believe this, giving examples of things Logan has learned that neither of us showed him how to do. Logan absolutely loves Kerry, but unfortunately she'll be going on maternity leave at the beginning of next month. We're happy for her, don't get me wrong! But now we need to figure out an alternative for Logan's speech. It's not something I'm willing to take a break from at all. 

Speaking of speech therapy. Logan is non-verbal. He can't tell us when he's thirsty, hungry, overwhelmed, tired, or needs a diaper change. We have been trying to figure out a way for Logan to be able to express his needs in a different way. We have been giving Logan access to Goldfish boxes, yogurt containers, all his favorite snack choices that he can then give to me when he wants one since he can't tell me with words.

This is to prepare Logan for the PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System) that is widely used for non-verbal or speech delayed children. Although, Logan isn't quite seeing that a picture of a "Cheez-It" is the same thing as the actual yummy cheesy cracker he can stuff his mouth full of. After seeing some of the educational systems Marcia Braden has available for FX children, I decided rather than an actual box of Cheez-Its hanging on the wall or fridge, maybe I could find a miniature of it. Kerry suggested putting a magnet on them and hanging them on the fridge, which I agree with. That way Logan will see it, and make the connection that it's in the kitchen, and bring it to me to show he wants a snack. Now my mission for the next few days will be to find miniatures of all Logan's favorite foods! Fun!

I know I keep talking about this Fragile X conference, but it made such a large impact on me that I can't stop thinking about it! I am so glad we went, and I feel like it not only taught me a lot about my son, it also prepared me for what the future might hold. I was able to meet an adult with Fragile X, and see how he interacted with everyone at the conference. It was great for me to see, and he did very well I might add! We also watched some videos of FX children in junior and senior high school. This part of the conference was very educational, but very very hard to watch. It showed the obstacles some FX children have to go through, from time at the library, to PE, to simply eating lunch in the loud, crowded cafeteria. A part of me wanted to say I'd made the decision right then and there to homeschool my little boy forever, but the larger part of me knows that's not fair to him. He would miss out on so much interaction with other students, and things like music class, that I'm sure he'd really enjoy. I will admit, there were a couple times during the conference that I shed a few tears, but it was good for me to watch and accept that these are all things that could be in our future. 

Logan has been waving "hi" and "bye-bye" like crazy! I seriously think he practices when he's alone in his room and we think he's sleeping. He waves at us, then claps for himself LOL! It's pretty much the cutest thing anybody could ever see. Another obsession that he's had the last couple days is belts. He keeps finding them in our room, and here he comes at me, on a mission, with an adult size belt trailing after him, and he wants to wrap it around my waist. No matter what I'm doing at the time he'll keep shoving that belt at me til I drop what I'm doing and wrap it around my waist, or his waist. This makes me nervous though, and if I have to leave the room for a minute I take the belt with me as I can just see him wrapping it around his neck or something! GAH! I wish he would go back to his shoe obsession! 

Yesterday I participated in the campaign "Spread the Word to End the Word" and took a pledge online that I will not use the "r-word" in a derogatory way. I shared this with my friends, and a couple of them took the pledge too (yay!)! You can do the same here:

www.r-word.org

As I was emptying out some of the last few boxes in our home, Logan kept looking at this large empty box in the living room. I decided to put him in there to see what he'd do and he was so excited! I guess he felt like King of the Castle or something haha! 

Speaking of King of the Castle, Logan made himself a little throne to sit on out of our throw blankets one night while watching Blue's Clues. He sits in the funniest spots in the room, and in the funniest positions while he's watching tv or a movie.

Well since Logan finally stopped jumping and went to sleep, I will end this post here. Be back soon!