Concentration

I bought this set of 5 Thomas the Train puzzles and each one has 12 pieces.  Cannon is not big into puzzles, but will occasionally ask to do them.  Over the last few months he has been working on mastering them.  He had them all figured out but one.  Last night he asked to do them.  So Ryan and I sat on the couch and talked while Cannon did his puzzles on the coffee table.  At one point we realized that Cannon was really concentrating on his puzzles, but we never interrupted him.   He did each puzzle one-at-a-time and then he did them a second time but left them all out after each one was completed.  When we looked at the clock we realized that Cannon had been working on these puzzles for 2 hours straight!  He never asked for help (well once, but he figured it out) and he never took a break.  We couldn't believe that he could concentrate for so long!  I've seen him play for 2 hours straight, but he'll change up his play or activity usually every 30-40 minutes or so.  So we were shocked that he stayed on one activity for so long all on his own!  I could tell that he was proud of himself and I told him I was proud of him for working so hard for so long!  A proud mama moment indeed!

Mother's Day and the Day After

Ryan was in Chicago all last week and didn't get in until late Friday night.  Then on Saturday we had a yard sale/bake sale for the young women at church to raise money for their camp this summer.  So I was gone practically all day on Saturday and didn't get much of a chance to see Ryan.  We did end up watching a movie Saturday night, but I fell asleep 20 minutes into it.  Needless to say, I was anxious to spend some time as a family!

Me, Melanie, Rachel, and Maribel

Mother's Day was busy, but great!  Cannon gave me the gift of sleeping in until 6:45 (the previous morning he woke up at 5:30).  Ryan gave me a new pearl necklace because he knows that pearls are my favorite.  We got ready and headed to church early because we were participating in our friend's baptism!  Ryan was able to baptize and confirm my friend Maribel and her daughter Melanie.  We were so happy for them and it was a wonderful experience.  It was neat that Cannon got to watch Ryan do the baptisms and he was really paying attention and had lots of things to say about it.

After church Cannon wanted to go see the tigers.  I don't think I've mentioned this before, but there is a place close to our church that is a sanctuary for wild animals.  It's the most random thing!  It's in a residential neighborhood and at the end of the street there is this house with lots of cages for the animals.  Currently they have about four tigers, some bears, panthers, lemurs (including a baby one), and a baboon.  At least that's what we can see.  They let anyone come to view them from their fence, so it's been our tradition to go after church.  I'll try and remember to take a picture the next time we go.

For dinner Ryan made us coconut orange chicken, oriental rice, and pumpkin cobbler for dessert!  Ryan is a very good cook (well, he can follow a recipe pretty well), but I always forget that he can!  I loved the dinner, Ryan critiqued his cooking, and Cannon ate but one bite (but he loved the pumpkin cobbler).  After dinner we Skyped Ryan's family and then put Cannon to bed.  Ryan and I hit the sack at about 9:30 and it felt nice to go to bed early!

Ryan took the day off on Monday.  We were so thrilled to spend the day with him.  Cannon slept in again until almost 7 and it was heaven!  I finally felt refreshed.  I let Ryan sleep in until 8:30 and then I sent Cannon up to wake him up.

Our first stop of the day was the Clearwater Aquarium.  This was Ryan's first time going.  Cannon liked the dolphins, sea turtles, and sea otter, but when I started to pet the sting ray he freaked out!  We couldn't even go look at the fish he was so hysterical.  We ended up just leaving.  Since we have an annual membership, it was no big deal to leave except that Ryan only got to spend a grand total of 30 minutes there.  Oh well, at least Ryan and I can go back another time.

Our next stop was downtown St. Petersburg to the Pier.  We brought Cannon's bike so he could ride through the park and down to the Pier.  He has discovered hills and that's all he wanted to do!  I went to get a video of him going down the hill, but he was too fast for me!  He is getting pretty good on his bike now, not balancing yet, but can get in sync.  He really wants to balance and he tries to go fast, but that's when he starts to get a little out of control.

The Pier Aquarium

It was such a beautiful day, especially with the little breeze.  We ate lunch at the Pier and then went upstairs to the aquarium.  We get in free to this one with our other pass.  This aquarium is a lot smaller, but it was just right for Cannon.  It's basically one room with lots of fish tanks.  The lights are dim and it is very quiet and tranquil.  And there are no sharks or sting rays.







They opened up the touching pond and let us hold things like starfish, sea urchins, and some other sea creatures.  Ryan and Cannon only liked to look, but I loved holding each one!  Up to this point, Cannon's favorite part of the day was getting to buy a little toy shark.  I thought he picked out the one that said 97 cents and then I was going to let him use his dollar he got for his birthday.  But when it rang up it was $7!  He had his heart set on it so we let him get it. 

Not sure what this thing is that I was holding!

As we were walking back from the Pier, we saw this little beach area called Spa Beach.  It has white sand leading up to the water, but it's not the kind of beach you swim at.  You really just go to relax or dip your feet in, which is what our intentions were.  However, Cannon decided that he needed to swim completely so I took off his clothes before he got them all soaked!  He swam and swam with his little toy shark.  It really was the perfect swim area for him.  The water was just the right temperature and it stayed shallow for a long time.  And there were no waves.  He could walk around, sit, and crawl in the water.  We let him swim for awhile and then Ryan went to get the car so we didn't have to walk all the way back.  I thought Cannon would fall asleep on the ride home, but he didn't.  Which confirms to me that he really is growing out of his nap.

Spa Beach

I made crepes and strawberries for dinner tonight while Ryan and Cannon wrestled on the floor.  Then we had an FHE lesson on baptism and our "special treat" for the night was the leftover pumpkin cobbler.  Then bath and bed for Cannon.

We pretty much had a perfect day!  It's been a long time since we got to have a full day just as a family with nothing else to do. 

Growing Leaps and Bounds!

Over the past few months Cannon's play has really evolved.  His imagination is taking over and he's on a whole new level of play.  I LOVE watching him play and watching him make up games.  There was a time (over the last few months) that Cannon was really hard to deal with and I knew it was because he was having a growth spurt.  Not just physically, but an intellectual growth spurt as I like to call it.  Now that he's come out of it, I am loving three!

His need for independence has made leaps and bounds as well.  Yes, he's always liked to have some sort of independence, but now he demands it.  I was just telling his pediatrician at his three year well check that he couldn't put on any clothes by himself.  Well, the next day Cannon proved me wrong.  When I was getting dressed, he went and put on his own shorts and shirt all by himself and without me knowing!  Now he doesn't do this every day, but this is big progress for us.  He has also started to use the potty once or twice a day.  Awhile ago I put his little potty away and stopped mentioning anything about him using the potty.  I could tell that it was stressing him out.  I told him that I knew he would use the potty when he was ready (that was really hard for me to let go of that control!).  Now, usually once a day, he'll take off his diaper and say that he has to go pee pee.  He tells me to stay where I am because he wants to do it himself.  And he does!  This is also big progress for us!

Cannon also likes to get himself breakfast in the morning.  He's been on a bagel kick and wants one for breakfast every morning.  If I remember, I will leave one in the fridge for him along with a sippy cup of milk.  After he wakes up and greets us in our room, he'll go downstairs and get his breakfast.  Since he has been waking up so early, this buys me a few more minutes of sleep. 

I bought Cannon some real medical equipment that I thought he might enjoy playing with given his recent experiences in the hospital.  I got him the classic Fisher Price medical bag, but I also got him a real stethoscope, blood pressure cuff, and IV tubing (all cheap on Amazon!).  He knew just what to do with all of it!  It is still out in his play area and he uses it almost every day.

 I showed him where his heart is, but he usually likes to listen to Blue's heartbeat. 

 Cannon is still into trains.  Our downstairs bathroom is now a train.  He made up this game where he calls us on board the train and Ryan, Blue, and I have to go in the train.  He always wears some sort of hat and has some sort of whistle.  He plays this same game, but going on an airplane.  And the airplane is the closet.  The other game he plays frequently is "going to work."  I'm sure this is symbolic of Ryan leaving for work all the time.  He'll do this at home and he uses his cell phone to call people.  And he plays work every time we go to the park.  The park has evolved from a place of gross motor activity to imagination.  Sure he's still getting a physical workout with all the climbing and such, but it's been exciting to see him use the equipment for other purposes as well. 

 We still have these cardboard boxes from Christmas.  We made a train out of them and he won't let me throw them away.  Every now and then he wants to paint them some more.  When his friend Ayden comes over to play, they always take a ride on the train!

Cannon also likes ramps and tunnels.  He is always hiding his trains and cars in specific places that he has chosen.  I bought this rain gutter at the hardware store for cheap (like $3).  The guy cut it in half for me.  He and Ayden like to make ramps and put balls or cars down them.  I keep them in the closet, but he'll ask for it when he feels like using it. 




Cannon will also turn any object into part of his play.  For instance, the nail clippers have become an airplane.  A stick can be anything, but it always has sound effects.  Toilet paper rolls, wrapping paper rolls, the part of the dishwasher that hold the silverware.  There are so many other little things that we keep in his play area that aren't really toys, but that he enjoys pretending with.  Our days have become full of play all the time, even more than they have been.  He is never bored, but he'll have times of in between.  But it's easy for him to quickly get back into play. 

I'm really enjoying his age right now!  I think we'll have lots of fun this summer!

Audiologist

Cannon had his second appointment with the audiologist this morning.  Actually it was with two of them.  Six months ago when he had his first evaluation, she said that he had some hearing loss in his right ear.  We talked about how things have been for the past six months.  I feel like he hears pretty well except for when we are at the library or when there are other distractions around and then I know that he can't hear me when I call his name (he's not just ignoring me).  Maybe it's just a distraction thing and not a hearing thing, which would be a different problem.  :)  She was still a little concerned that his speech hasn't improved over this time even though I have been working with him.

We did the same test today as we did six months ago.  He sat in my lap while we were in a small room.  She would play different sounds and he would turn his head toward the sound if he could hear it.  The other audiologist was in there too to help.  He did great with that part, but he did not like them looking in his ears.  He was really upset about it.  The appointment was a lot faster than the last time, only about 20 minutes.  She said that both his ear drums vibrate normally and that he is able to hear within normal limits using both of his ears.  She said that this particular test only tells how he hears using both his ears.  She wants us to come back again one year from now and they will test how each ear hears.  He'll have to wear headphones for this one. Since he is so sensitive about having his ears touched she suggested a few months before we come in to let him listen to things with earphones and headphones on so he gets more used to wearing them.   

I'm happy with the results in the fact that he doesn't have anything major, but I feel like we're still in a grey area because I don't have answers to things. But I guess it's not a big deal and it's not a serious problem for him.  He hears well enough to function and that's the important thing.