Five Days

On January 27th, Gabe celebrated his 2nd birthday. It is amazing and incredible to say that it feels like God flipped some switch in Gabe and everything is suddenly coming together and he is making so much progress in just these five days.

Here's a little summary:
Monday - Gabe started out by shocking us completely when he said "Dada, get cake" on his birthday followed be repeating 'cake' over and over and even pointing to and identifying the slice of cake his Daddy placed on the table before him. The biggest part of this is that not only did he talk, but he made a request... a request that is a three-word phrase AND his first ever three word phrase to be exact. This was a HUGE breakthrough moment!!
Tuesday - Gabe had a speech therapy session and literally blew everyone away by saying word after word and even saying cake again. It helped that there were two slices sitting on the desk beside him  ;) , but still. Getting Gabe to say words has proven tricky, but getting him to say them again after that has felt down right impossible at times. We have literally heard a word and went a month before thinking we might have possibly overheard it again. We have to keep our ears open, because you just might miss it. So the fact that he said 'cake' two days in a row was extremely encouraging.
Wednesday (Snow Ice Day) - After and afternoon of exploring the ice which Gabe liked to feel crunch under his feet as he walked, we came in to warm up and start supper. Mike was feeding Gabe his supper and asked me to pour him up a cup, that he had forgot to make it before he sat down.  For those who don't know Gabe personally, there are two things you should ALWAYS have on hand: 1.) his blanky and 2.) a full, ready and waiting sippy cup especially after feeding him. Just as Gabe was taking in the last bite, I was twisting on the lid of the sippy.  Gabe looked at me. Mike asked him if he was ready for his cup. Gabe looked at us both, reached out toward his approaching treasure and said 'cup'. We were floored.  Gabe usually just doesn't say 'cup'.  He knows what it is, but won't say it.  We have been told to up the ante and make him have to say it before giving it to him, but the truth is that Gabe is stubborn and would likely thirst to death before conforming. So the fact that he said 'cup' without actually being prompted or pressured was such an amazing moment.
Thursday - Mike returned to work, so it was just me and the boys at home. I was changing Gabe's diaper and let me just say it was awful.  It was so bad that Matthew walked into the room, probably got one maybe two good breaths in before catching wind of the odor and announcing "YUCK, Gabe, you stink". After which he ran to his room and closed the door. I think I heard some coughing going on also... Anyway, I always take diaper changing time (no matter how awful) as a time to get in so good face time. It's a great time to work on joint attention, eye contact and just have fun. That's what I was doing before Matthew walked in.  Gabe couldn't help but laugh at Matthew. I started telling Gabe that he was just a little stink bug.  This made Gabe laugh at me. I finished his diaper and picked him up.  He was so locked in on my face that I kept talking to him. I lifted him up over my head like I was throwing him into the air saying 'stink bug' every time he went up. He laughed hysterically while staying completely focused. I brought him back down to my hip. He looked me in the eyes and said 'tink boog'.  (Yay!) I decided to milk the situation for everything I could. I tossed him up a few more times saying 'stink bug' and brought him back down to my hip.  He looked at me, started bouncing on my hip and again said 'tink boog'. Keep in mind, this was quite random so it was the first time we have done this.  Most things he says have been been repeated and drilled in over and over for months. The fact that he was repeating this little phrase after only five minutes of diaper time fun was worth celebrating with more jumping around.
Today (Friday) - We are having a lazy day in watching Up. The cat came and jumped up onto the ottoman in front of me.  Gabe came over to look at her.  He reached out to pet her. She apparently looks funny to him because he just laughed and laughed. I took advantage of the moment and started prompting him to say 'kitty', and guess what? He started saying 'meow'.  Then, he said 'kitty'. I grabbed my camera as fast as I could, and thankfully Gabe kept talking, so I do have proof!  :)



Then Grandma came to visit.  She came bearing the gift of cookies.  Obviously the way to Gabe's heart is through his tummy, because when she showed him the cookie and prompted him to say 'cookie', he did... gladly. And guess what? I grabbed my camera and got even more proof!!  :)



To all the moms and dads that are anxiously waiting to hear the sweet voices of their children with speech delays I say 'STAY STRONG'. You are being heard. Everything you say is being absorbed. You are making a difference, and when you least expect it, they will surprise you with the blessing of hearing their voice. Do not give up. Success could be just around the corner. Gabe's sweet speech therapist said that her professor had told her to look at children like cups.  You keep pouring into them and there is only so much they can hold before they start to overflow.  Gabe's cup is filling up fast, and we are only seeing a few drop of his potential, but we are going to keep flowing until his little cup turns into an artisan well, continually flowing. We are so proud of our little man and can't wait to see what each new day brings.