7 Months Home Update

It's been a while since I've done an update, so here's a 7-month update.   He has transitioned to our family so well!  He's so affectionate and happy.  Remember how he used to be terrified of baths?  Now he loves to take a bath, and he doesn't even fuss when having his hair washed or if he gets water in his face.  He also used to be very nervous about leaving the house, but now he loves to go places.  He is very attached to all of us, especially me. 

Today, he had his first dental check-up.  It went really well.  He was nervous, but he let her clean and even floss his teeth.  No cavities!  Oh, and he loves to brush his teeth so much now that when the dentist gave him his new toothbrush, he wanted to go into the bathroom there and brush his teeth again.  Needless to say, he charmed the staff at the office.

Gyunay's speech is still not there.  He can say a few recognizable words, but he generally does not speak, or he makes noises that do not really correspond to the word he's trying to say.  Then again, he will surprise us sometimes and say a word that we don't expect.  Most of the "words" he says are not really full words, but the first syllable of the word, like "ka" for "car" and "ba" for ball, baby, etc.  That said, he recently learned to say my niece's name, and he loves to shout "An-na-belle!" now.  He understands about 90% of what is said to him, and he is a great communicator even without being very verbal, so communication is not a problem for us most of the time.  He starts speech at the local preschool next week.  Now that he is 3, he qualifies for the services offered there, including preschool.  We are not sending him to preschool at this time, though.  He's just not ready for that yet.  We don't see a need to rush him, though, since we don't plan on starting kindergarten until he's 6.  So for now, he's going to have 2 speech sessions a week, and in September we plan to start attending story time at the library. 

He is still in diapers, and I doubt that will change any time soon.  We aren't pushing that, either.  He tried to sit on the potty a few times, but it caused such great anxiety that we are not going to worry about that for now.

He has learned to actually play as well.  He loves to play in his toy kitchen.  He also likes to play in the sand/water table a lot, and outdoors in general.  He has no use for puzzles.  Although he can do simple wood puzzles, he isn't interested in them at all.  He likes to play with his little people, cars, and balls, too.  He still rides his wheely bug through the house.  He's also developed a real love for play-dough recently. 

We've been trying to teach him colors and counting.  He doesn't know his colors at all.  I was unsure about that for a while, but now I'm certain: he doesn't get those yet.  He does understand the concept of counting, but he can only say "two," and uses it repeatedly, so it's hard to tell if he could actually count if he wanted to.  He has learned most of his body parts, and he will point to them when I say them.  He loves to look at books, and he will actually listen to some short ones now.

Physically, he does great.  He can do just about anything a two-handed kid his age can do.  He has to do some things a bit differently, but he copes very well.  He's super strong.  He's also very healthy in general.  He's also a good sleeper, which this mama really appreciates.

 

Overall, he is doing fantastic.  We are over the moon in love with him.