Free Speech Therapy Articulation Picture Cards: Initial B

This version is out of date. Go here for new, easy to download, version and additional sets.

There are a lot of articulation cards available for working on just about any sound for your child. There are many commercial sets that you can buy and there are many that you can find for free online. I've done both. I was frustrated that most of those sets did not meet our needs very well.

When you are working with a young child who has Childhood Apraxia of Speech you need the words to be relatively simple in structure. Many of the lists were half full of two and three syllable words that are way too complicated for a young apraxic child to imitate. Also, children with apraxia need to practice their target sound paired with as many vowels as possible, and most sets are not designed with that goal in mind. Also, if you are working with a toddler, the words need to be relatively easily understood concepts for a young child. A word like "beg" is harder to understand and make a picture for than a word like "bed."

I have complied a set of 40 one-syllable words that I feel are easily understood or taught to a young child and I have made picture cards for them. I also have written out some directions for making the cards and some ideas for activities to do with the cards. You are welcome to download the pictures for use with your child. I will be posting initial sets as I complete them.

For an easy to print version, download a .pdf of the four-page One-Syllable Initial B Articulation Picture Cards file.

This is an old version of the card set. You can find the new version and additional sets in an easy to download format here: Free Speech Therapy Articulation Cards

Apraxia Therapy: Articulation Practice

What is Articulation Practice?

Articulation practice is practicing making specific sounds. Children with all types of speech sound disorders have to practice making sounds.

• Children with a simple articulation disorder only have trouble with one or two sounds and they practice those sounds first in isolation, then at the beginning, middle, and ends of words, then in phrases and sentences, and finally in conversation.
• Children with phonological disorders have trouble with groups of sounds or patterns of sounds and their speech therapist chooses words in those groups or words that have those patterns to practice.
• Children with Childhood Apraxia of Speech have trouble with the motor planning of speech movements. They need to practice all possible combinations of sounds in as many contexts as possible as often as possible to try to make that motor planning smooth and automatic.

How does Articulation Practice need to be different for children with Childhood Apraxia of Speech?

1. Children with Childhood Apraxia of Speech need many more repetitions than children with other types of speech disorders in order to show improvement. It takes a lot of practice to improve motor planning.
2. Children with Childhood Apraxia of Speech need to practice speech in a way that builds complexity much more gradually than children with other types of speech disorders. Instead of working with words as the smallest unit of complexity, they will look at specific types of syllables and work their way up from the simplest syllable shapes to more complex ones. For example, a Consonant-Vowel (CV) syllable shape such as the word "boo" is a very simple syllable shape. Another very simple syllable shape is Vowel-Consonant (VC) such as "at". A complex syllable shape is CCVCC such as "blast". Yes, boo and blast are both one-syllable words that start with B, but one is much simpler than the other.
3. Children with Childhood Apraxia of Speech need to practice consonant sounds paired with as many vowels as possible. For children who do not have difficulty with motor planning, it is enough to simply practice beginning, middle, and ending consonants without thinking about the vowels in between. Children with motor planning problems have to practice each consonant with each vowel because a consonant paired with one vowel requires different motor planning than that same consonant paired with a different vowel.
   
   Here is an example: Say "bee, bee, bee" and then pause before making the next /b/ sound. Your lips are pressed together. Now say "boo, boo, boo" and then pause before making the next /b/ sound. Your lips are pursed as if you're about to blow a kiss. The motor planning for a /b/ paired with the "ee" is different than the motor planning for a /b/ paired with the "oo".

What are some speech therapy materials that can be used to practice articulation in a way that is best for children with Childhood Apraxia of Speech?

• The only formal speech therapy materials that I know of that addresses syllable shapes is the Kaufman Kits (level one and level 2). The Kaufman Kit is designed to work systematically through the simplest syllable shapes in approximate order of difficulty. Alternately, you can simply take free word lists you find online and sort them by syllable shape and start with the simplest ones first gradually working your way up to harder syllable shapes.
• I am not aware of any articulation picture sets that make a deliberate effort to include all vowels. I am currently creating my own picture sets to try to address this issue. The sets are designed as much as possible to include words that are familiar to young children or that are easily taught. The sets will include only one-syllable words and will include at least one example of all possible vowel pairings. Eventually I would like to create multi-syllable words lists as well but that will not happen for quite some time. Look for the sets to begin to appear on this site shortly.

Key Points to Remember about Articulation Practice for Childhood Apraxia of Speech

1. Many, many repetitions.
2. Move from simple syllable shapes to more complicated syllable shapes.
3. Pair each consonant with as many different vowels as possible. Some pairings will be easier than others. Practice them until they become automatic.

Note: Remember that your child's production does not have to be perfect. For example, say you are practicing "spoon" because it has the "ooh" vowel paired with a final /n/. Your child says "soon". Great! They may have left out the /p/ in "spoon", but they correctly pronounced the vowel and final /n/ that you were looking for. Treat that as correct (for now - until you start working on the /sp/ blend) and heap on the praise.

You might also be interested in the following articles:

Apraxia Therapy: Communication Boards

Apraxia Therapy: Gestural Prompts

Apraxia Therapy: Two-Word Combinations

The Weekly Review: Week Thirteen

Favorite Blog Post of the Week - Men and their New Baby Toys

Amalah shares a story about getting a baby swing for her newborn Ike. My favorite quote from her post was about why her husband chose this particular swing, "It's like somebody attached a cradle seat to an iPad and taught it to fry bacon."

Sibling Moment of the Week:

Last week I taught the kids how to play a modified version of "Red Light, Green Light." We were each holding a hand bell and when I said, "Green Light" everyone shook their bells as fast as possible until I said, "Red Light" when everyone stopped. Then the kids would quiver in anticipation until I said "Green Light" again and the cacophony could resume. They loved it. Next we tried giving the red bell to Ava and the green one to Michael and the person with the red bell got to say "Red Light" while the person with the green bell was the "Green Light" person. They loved that too. We passed a fun and extremely loud half hour and played the game a couple more times over the course of the week.

A few days ago, I was in one room desperately searching a laundry basket for enough clothes to make up outfits to send the kids to school in. The children were crouched over something sitting on the kitchen floor. Two heads bent over a single object. I don't actually know what it was, because I was only half paying attention. All of a sudden I heard them playing "Red Light, Green Light". I have no idea what the game was exactly, but they were playing together and initiated the game entirely on their own while being ignored by their parents. It was a brilliant moment of sibling independent play.

Michael's Update of the Week:

Michael was moved up from one room to the next at his preschool. He was pretty happy in his old room. He always seemed excited to be dropped off and was reluctant to make his way over to me when I came back to pick him up. He liked his teacher and she loved him too.

His new room is more of a formal preschool room. Their routine is a lot more structured and their expectations are higher. He also moved in to a room with a group of rather rambunctious boys. In the two weeks since the move, I have noticed that he doesn't want to go into his room when I drop him off. He clings to my legs and is reluctant to let me leave. He's also practically waiting at the door when I come back to pick him up.

I'm not sure what to do about the problem. I spoke with his teacher and she said that many of the new children are having some trouble adjusting. She'll keep a closer eye on him, but suggested giving him some more time before deciding to be officially worried about the situation.

Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions?

Project of the Week:

This week I'm getting structured home therapy set up for Ava again. I made a speech bag, printed some articulation cards, and prepared a reward chart. We've had two 15-20 minute sessions so far and they are going fairly well.

I've been unhappy with the comprehensiveness of the articulation card sets I've been able to find online for free. Each set will have 20-25 cards, but I have to leave some of them out because they are too hard. In particular, I leave out the ones that are two syllables or include a /k/ or /g/. So we end up with only 10-15 words to practice.

I decided that I can do it better myself. I'm now working on making my own sets of picture articulation cards. My goal is that each set will have 40 one-syllable words that should be familiar to a young child. I am also trying to make sure that each set includes at least one word with each of the American English vowels and diphthongs. That way, the targeted consonant gets practiced with all the vowels. That's important for kids with Childhood Apraxia of Speech because the motor planning is different for each different vowel. You have to practice each different combination to make the motor planning automatic. So far I've made an initial /b/ set and a final /n/ set. I'm going to try to figure out how to share them soon and I'll make more sets as I have time. It takes me several hours per set, so it'll be a slow process, but I'm pleased with the results so far. If any of you have requests for specific sets, let me know and I'll move those sounds to the head of my list of ones to work on.

Speech-Language Pathology Topics: Vowels

What are vowels and why are they important to speech?

A vowel is a sound produced with a relatively open vocal tract. In contrast, consonant sounds are produced by constricting or interrupting the air flow at some point during production. You can maintain a vowel until you run out of breath. For example, take a deep breath and say "eeeeee" for as long as you can. You can keep making that sound until you get bored or until you run out of breath. However, when you make the "p" sound, you can't draw it out. You simply make the sound once and then have to move on. Vowels are essential to speech because they are the core of every syllable we make. Every word has at least one vowel. When vowels are produced incorrectly, that makes speech very difficult to understand.

What are the characteristics of vowels?

What makes an "e" different than an "o"? The vowel sounds are different from each other because you change the shape of your mouth when making each vowel. There are two main ways you change the shape of your mouth. Some vowels are made in the front of the mouth, some in the center, and some in the back. At the same time, some are made with the mouth relatively closed while some are made with the mouth relatively open. Speech-Language Pathologists use a vowel chart to keep track of the vowels and their characteristics.

If you say "beeeeeeee" and then say "baaaaaaaa" (as in "bat") you'll notice that you open your mouth more to make the "baaaaaa" sound. Next, say "beeeeeee" again and then "baaaaaaa" (as in "body"). This time you'll notice that the first sound is made in the front of the mouth while the second is made in the back.

What is the difference between a simple vowel and a diphthong?

A simple vowel is a sound made by keeping your mouth in a single position. When making a diphthong vowel, your mouth changes position. So, when making the /aI/ sound as in "bike" your mouth starts in a very open position and then closes for the second half of the diphthong. This second chart shows the five common diphthongs in American English and how they move in the mouth.

Why are vowel characteristics important to understand when planning therapy for Childhood Apraxia of Speech?

First of all, understanding the characteristics of vowels can help you understand why some vowels are harder than others for your child. Diphthongs are going to be harder than simple vowels because they require more complicated motor planning. If your child has an easier time with front sounds, they'll probably have an easier time with front vowels. If you are trying to help your child learn a back consonant (like /k/) it should be easier for them to make when paired with a back vowel because that makes the motor planning simpler.

Remember that Childhood Apraxia of Speech is fundamentally a problem with the motor planning of speech. The child has to form a motor plan to get from one sound to the next in a word including the consonants and the vowels. So if your child is working on /b/ words, the motor planning will be different if they are saying "bee" instead of "boo" because the vowels are produced in completely different ways. When you set up practice word lists, you want to pair /b/ with as many different vowels as possible to maximize generalization.

You might also be interested in the following articles:

Voicing Pairs

Random Example of the Complexity of Motor Planning

Apraxia Therapy Materials: Webber Jumbo Articulation Drill Book

Book Review: Webber Jumbo Articulation Drill Book

This is a review of the Webber Jumbo Articulation Drill Book by Sharon Webber, M.S. and M. Thomas Webber, Jr. The book is designed to be a resource for Speech-Language Pathologists that offers a kind of dictionary of words, phrases, and sentences that can be used in therapy for the most common consonant sounds in the English language.

Target Audience

This resource is useful for Speech-Language Pathologists working with all ages. If you need to target specific speech sounds, this book is a wonderful resource for you. The pictures are essentials with young children and the word, phrase, and sentences lists work well with older children and even adults.

How to use the Webber Jumbo Articulation Drill Book

You need to know what sounds you are going to target and in what context (Do you need to target the sound at the beginning, middle, or ends of words? Do you need to target the sound in words, phrases, or sentences?) Once you know what you need to work on, you simply turn to the appropriate section of the book, copy the page, and use it in therapy.

What is inside the Webber Jumbo Articulation Drill Book?

You can view sample pages of the book.

The book has word lists, pictures, phrase lists, and sentences in initial, medial, and final positions for the following sounds: R, S, L, (Initial R, S, and L Blends), Z, SH, CH, TH (voiced and voiceless), F, V, K, G, P, B, T, D, J, H, M, N, and Y. It also includes an articulation drill record form, progress chart, homework helper note, and awards. There are a total of 6,420 target words, 3,120 phrases, 3,120 sentences, and 1,710 pictures.

Therapy Ideas using the Webber Jumbo Articulation Drill Book

• You can practice the words in drill format by simply going through one at a time. Each picture card has boxes at the bottom for you to keep track of correct and incorrect productions if you like.)
• You can make two copies of each page, cut the individual pictures out, and play a matching game or Go Fish style game with the pictures.
• You can cut out the pictures and glue them onto a piece of cardboard in a kind of snake and make a game board. Have the children spin a spinner or roll dice and say the words they land on the number of times that they rolled in order to move forward.
• You can cut out the pictures, glue them onto fish cut out of construction paper and then laminate the fish. Glue a small magnet on the back of each fish. Then make a fishing pole with a magnet on the end of the line and go fishing for the words.
• If you have a small bowling pin game, you can glue or tape words to each pin. The child knocks down the pins and then has to say each word before they can set each pin back up for the new try.
• Form a long train from the pictures. You can put an engine at the front and a caboose at the end. Put a small prize on the caboose like a sticker or piece of candy. When the child finishes saying each word that forms the train, they get the prize on the caboose.
• You can let the children color the black and white line drawing pictures.

Pros and Cons of the Webber Jumbo Articulation Drill Book

Pros: This book can be very useful. It gives you some words to use in therapy for all common consonants in all three word positions. If you use the words and pictures creatively, they can make articulation therapy fun and productive. It is also great to have phrases and sentences included as well.

Cons: Young children often need practice with simple, one-syllable words. Often, there are only a small number of simple one-syllable words included for each phoneme in each position. You may not find a lot of exactly what you are looking for. Also, some of the pictures are hard to interpret for little ones or may not be the best illustration for the word.

Bottom Line

If you are looking for a single resource that will have at least a few stimulus words for almost any sound in any context, this is a hard book to beat.

You might also be interested in the following articles:

Apraxia Therapy Materials: The Big Book of Exclamations

Apraxia Therapy Materials: Talking Carl iPhone / iPad App

Apraxia Therapy Materials: Doodle Buddy iPhone / iPad App

Home Therapy Plan - Rough Draft

Here's my first attempt (this time around) at structuring therapy sessions here at home.

1. I made Ava a speech bag to store her speech materials in. Since we're really fancy around here, her bag is a ziploc decorated with stickers.
   
2. I printed some very nice articulation cards I found at mommyspeechtherapy.com. I cut those out, paperclipped the different targets, and stuck them in the bag. Note: I printed these on cardstock at high quality to make the cards more durable and prettier.
   
3. I found a site with some free printable reward charts and printed a butterfly one for Ava.
   

Now, my original idea was that Ava and I would sit down together and my charisma and enthusiasm would result in her wanting to practice speech sounds with me in exchange for the pleasure of putting stickers on the chart after each set of cards.

Hahahahahaha.

After that complete failure, I offered her two froot loops of her choice after doing each stack of cards. ("Two pink mommy." Hmm... what will we do when we run out of red froot loops?) That worked much better. We ended up with only one sticker on the chart. So I stuck the chart up on the wall and now we'll put a sticker up on the chart after each session.

My goal is to try to get in four or five 10-20 minute sessions per week. We'll see how it goes.

Therapy Progress - Small Details Add Up to Big Picture Progress (At least, that's the plan.)

I realized that I haven't done a real update on Ava's therapy progress and speech in quite a while.

Here are her previous updates, in order, for anyone who is just tuning in and is interested in the background:

• Speech Therapy Progress: January 27, 2011
• Therapy Progress - Speed of Light: February 17, 2011
• Two-word combinations begin: March 5, 2011
• Therapy Progress - Practice and Generalization: March 21, 2011
• Therapy Progress - Steady Progress and Subtle Change: April 12, 2011

It has become much more difficult to track Ava's progress. The difference between "My baby isn't talking!" and "My baby is starting to use words!" is pretty clear and exciting. The difference between, "She can't even imitate." and "She can imitate." is also pretty clear cut. The increase from single words to two-word phrases was obvious as well as was the increase to 3-4 word sentences. Getting a new sound is another simple, observable change. Well, we went through all of those easy to track changes and they were wonderful and I was feeling great. Then there was the reality check of a standardized articulation test. Overall, things are getting harder to track now, but I'll try.

Big Picture

Ava is certainly talking a lot. She pretty much never uses a single word utterance any more. She's rarely uses a two-word phrase. Oddly enough, now that she is more ambitious in her speech she is actually harder to understand. When her sentences are longer and particularly when I have no context, I have a lot of trouble understanding her. It is frustrating for me and for her. I can handle my frustration, but watching her get upset when I don't understand just kills me.

So, I suppose the good part of the "big picture" is that Ava's gained enough confidence to try more. In terms of the length of her sentences, she's pretty much age appropriate. Also, the more she talks the more opportunities you have to practice, refine, and correct. The challenging part of the "big picture" is that the more she tries to say the harder she is to understand.

Details

Specifically, we are working on two main areas. We are trying to add final consonants (only the ones she can actually make) to her words. She does best with /t/ and /p/. Those sounds are easier for her because they are voiceless. She can imitate a final /t/ (like in hat) and a final /p/ (like in up) pretty much 100% of the time. She's also using them on her own when talking roughly 30% of the time. We're trying to work on final /d/, /b/, /s/, /n/, and /m/ as well, but those are all harder for her. She can imitate some better than others, and pretty much never uses them on her own.

The other thing we're working on is trying to get some new consonants. Specifically we are trying to get the /k/ sound. Ms. J says that she has gotten Ava to make a /k/ sound in isolation during her therapy sessions, but I just cannot get her to do it here at home. I even tried bribing her with M&M's, but still no luck.

Why these specific targets? Well, adding final consonants is huge. Leaving those sounds out makes her much harder to understand and as she starts to add those sounds back in, that should improve her intelligibility. Improving intelligibility (how well she is understood) is the reason for trying to get her to make the /k/ sound. /k/ will be the gateway sound for /g/ because they are a voicing pair. There are a lot of words out there that use the /k/ and /g/ sounds and right now she either leaves the sound out or substitutes a /t/ or /d/. If we can introduce the /k/ and eventually the /g/ she should get a big boost in her ability to make herself understood.

And so we march forward. We choose targets that we hope will get us that much closer to our overall goal of helping Ava express herself in a way that can be understood.

My goal for the next few weeks is to reintroduce structured home practice. She needs more repetitions. That is the core of apraxia therapy. Even if I have to resort to bribing the girl with candy, we will somehow get it done.

Picture Book Review: One by Kathryn Otoshi

Browsing the library books, I plucked this one off the shelf simply because the cover caught my eye. I briefly flipped a couple of pages and thought that the simple illustrations were quite beautiful and decided to bring it home. I knew nothing about the book. I didn't even know what it was about when I began to read it to Michael.

The characters are small watercolor splotches. The main character is Blue. The book begins simply by introducing him. We learn what he likes to do. We gain insights into his personality. We learn about his wishes and insecurities. We meet his friends: Yellow, Green, Purple, and Orange. Then we meet Red. As it turns out, Red is a bit of a hot head. He likes to tease and he particularly likes to pick on Blue.

After setting up the situation, Otoshi does a delicate, creative job of helping the colors stand up for their friend. You just need to find a copy and read it. It is a beautiful and unique book with a great anti-bullying message conveyed in a subtle and compelling way. Young kids will just enjoy the colors and numbers. Older kids will enjoy discussing the story as well.

I would never have gone out looking for an anti-bullying book to read with Michael. In fact, if I had read the book before reading it with him I might have hesitated due to the content (just because he is so young, not because it is objectionable). He found it compelling though. He was very interested in the different characters and talking about what was going on. Upon finishing he instantly asked to hear it again. In the morning he wanted to bring the book downstairs with him and he showed it to everyone who walked by (Ava, Daddy, Ava's therapist...).

The author's website has an excerpt of One that takes you through the first nine pages or so. It gives you a feel for the artwork and the beginning of the story. I highly recommend you check this out.

Tot Clock Promo Code

I love our Tot Clocks. We use them to let the kids know when it is all right to get out of bed in the morning (6:50 am). We use them to let the kids know how long they have to stay in their room for nap even if they aren't sleeping (1 1/2 hours). We use them for time out (2 minutes). All of these settings are customizable. Set them to whatever times work for you.

There are many other features like an activity timer that turns the clock green, a music and white noise player, a storybook reader, and an alarm clock that we don't use but may in the future.

The Tot Clocks have been out of stock for several months but will be back in two weeks. You can pre-order on their site now. I'm on their email list, so I received a promo code that is good through the month of June for 10% off. I'm not sure if the code is a one time use only code or if it can be used many times, but we don't need it so here it is if anyone wants to try it. MTCBIS10



Here is a picture of the back of the clock and a description of many of the features.

Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with this company. I just really like this product.

The Weekly Review: Week Twelve

Blog Posts - New Babies

Congratulations to Amalah on welcoming Ike to her family. He's adorable. Problem Girl got to be present at the birth of her friend's baby Olive and did an amazing job with the pictures.

Weekly Blog Post that made me want to cook:

I have a friend who writes a very successful food blog called the Cupcake Project. She's been featured in Better Homes and Gardens, People Magazine and the New York Times among other publications. She did a slightly off topic post this week on Roasted Onions Filled with Savory Bread Pudding that actually made me want to cook. They just looked and sounded very yummy.

Sibling Moments of the Week:

Michael did something we praised him for. I honestly don't remember what it was (terrible I know). What I do remember, clearly, is how Ava said, "Yea! Good job!" and clapped her hands for him. She wanted to praise him too. I loved it.

In the car: Michael asked me to hand him a car he wanted. Ava had it in her carseat, but she wasn't playing with it. As I was driving, I couldn't get it for him and I told him so. He paused for a minute and then said, "Ava, can you give the car to me please?" She said, "Sure Michael!" and handed him the car. Simple, and yet sweet.

Michael and Ava's Cuteness of the Week:

At naptime, I put the children down for their nap by myself. We read stories in Michael's room with both children in my lap and then Ava and I tell Michael goodnight and head off to her room for one last song. Recently, the children have made a game of kissing my nose. I've been encouraging it because it is such a great oral motor activity (and it is sweet!). You have to do a pretty good job of pursing your lips to kiss the tip of a nose. I say, "Don't kiss my nose!" and hide it behind my hand. They giggle and pull my hand away before giving my nose a kiss. They take turns. Then I pretend to wipe the kisses away and we start all over again. It is fun, and sweet, and they would be willing to to it indefinitely as far as I can tell. I eventually have to call a halt or they'd never get down for nap. It's a game we all enjoy.

Family News Bulletin of the Week:

We just found out that my husband's parents are going to come visit next week. It is something of a spur of the moment decision and we are so excited to be expecting them. I can't tell the kids yet, because they aren't quite old enough to understand the week long delay before their grandparents arrive. I'm looking forward to sharing the news with them when the visit gets a little closer. We're going to plan several special outings I think and I can't wait. I hope the weather cooperates.

"Big" Decision I'm Considering

Ava refuses to let me put anything in her hair. No headbands. No bows. No hair bands. Nothing at all is tolerated. Her hair is getting longer (finally) and although I love the little hints of curl in the back, the front is in her eyes all the time. I can tell it is bothering her. She's constantly trying to sweep it out of her way. I wanted to wait until she had lots of hair before getting her first haircut, but it is in her eyes, and quite scraggly to be honest. I'm thinking of getting her first haircut. Somehow, it makes me a little sad. Odd, I know.

Extended Family

I grew up in New Orleans, LA. My mom is the oldest of five siblings all of whom lived within about 30 minutes driving distance of each other. Every weekend all the aunts, uncles, cousins, and assorted family friends would gather at my grandparents house to watch the Saints play football and eat my Pa-pa's Cajun cooking. It was boisterous, crowded, and loud but we were family. It was fun. To this day we are all close even though we are significantly more spread out around the country. My closeness with my extended family is a big part of who I am as a person and of the values I hold as important.

I am blessed to live only about five minutes away from my parents. We have them over for dinner once a week, and one of the kids spends the night at their house every weekend. It's wonderful for my children to have such a close relationship with their grandparents. It is a gift to the children and to my parents and watching those relationships develop and deepen is incredibly important to me.

It makes me sad though, that my children rarely get to experience the huge extended family gathering that I grew up with on a weekly basis. They don't know what it is like to be in a room crowded with family all talking at once. They haven't had the opportunity to become close to our extended relatives simply due to distance.

We prioritize visits. Many of my Louisiana relatives travel to us once a year and we go to them once a year as well. As the children get a little older, they remember those visits and begin to anticipate the next one. We also visit my dad's family in Arkansas once a year and my husband's family in Oklahoma once a year. My husband's parents are wonderful and come to us several times a year. They're here for both kids' birthdays and often for at least one bonus visit.

So we try to find different ways to stay close to family. And it works. But if I could only convince everyone I love to move into my neighborhood - that would be perfect. Weekend gatherings would be so much fun.

Complacency and Marathons

When I finally accepted that I needed to get help for Ava, she tested so low, and the label Childhood Apraxia of Speech was spoken out loud it had a huge, profound impact on me. I was very depressed. I had difficulty thinking about anything else. My mind constantly circled around questions that simply cannot be answered right now about how much progress Ava will make and what will the impact of all of this have on her childhood and future.

After a few weeks I passed through the "this has rocked my world and not in a good way" stage and into a more productive stage. There was a flurry of research, self-education, setting up appointments, starting therapy, getting hearing checked, surgery for PE tubes, learning and using sign language, making and setting up communication boards, IFSP meetings, considering and trying nutritional supplements, and blogging about all of the above. And, it was all worth it. We saw changes in Ava's ability to communicate - dramatic and celebrated changes.

I began to breathe a sigh of relief. Yes, the disorder is still there, but it is responding to treatment. I relaxed. I gave myself permission to stop pushing Ava so much at home. To be honest, she didn't respond well when I tried to sit her down at home and do structured therapy with her myself and so I stopped even trying. I switched to a more indirect method of working with her through books and songs and correcting the many utterances we get each day as a natural part of our daily life. So much positive change had taken place so quickly that I began to think that we were "okay." Perhaps we were lucky enough that Ava's apraxia was so mild that we could get her "caught up" in a 1-2 year time frame rather than a much more extended time frame.

Then, our first standardized articulation test was a bit of a reality check and I realized how she is still very far behind her same-age peers. I had become a bit complacent. The progress Ava had already made was such a relief that I forgot that there is still a long way to go. I haven't quite decided what to do about that yet, but over the next couple of weeks I'm going to be thinking about ways I can focus on Ava's speech more here at home again. I'd like to build in some speech time every day in a way that hopefully she and I can both enjoy. I need to remember that this journey is something of a marathon and that I cannot just simply hope that we've come far enough that the rest will magically take care of itself.

Memorial Day, Birthday, Visits

I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day. It was the last day of our family visit. We had a great visit. It was a nice balance of activity (zoo, restaurants, outdoor play) and just hanging out at the house (lots of erector set building, good conversation, and general horseplay with the children). Ava joined in the conversations with everyone else. It was really the first time we've had houseguests since Ava's started talking so much. She did a pretty good job of communicating. Most of the time, our guests were able to figure out what she was trying to say. I took comfort from that.

We spent some time outside in the sprinkler. Traditionally, my children are extremely suspicious of sprinklers and treat them with great caution. Today, we seemed to break through and the kids started to run through the sprinkler and laugh and giggle with glee. I loved watching them play. As I looked back at the pictures I realized how similar in size the kids look right now. I understand why people occasionally ask us if they are twins. There were many things that were difficult about having children 15 months apart, but it is starting to pay off now. I love watching them play together and talk together more and more as peers.

(Yes, Michael does indeed have his swim pants on backwards. He did that after a trip to the bathroom. When we pointed it out to him he said, "I like them that way." We just let it go. It gives the pictures that special, unique touch.)

Yesterday was also my birthday. We didn't do anything spectacular to celebrate, but my husband made sure my day was special in little ways that all added up. First, he let me sleep in. Several times during the day he took care of things (lunch, putting the kids down for nap) letting me have a few quiet moments to myself. Those things sound little, but around here they are much appreciated. It was a nice, quiet birthday.

Erector Set Marathon

Michael's godmother is in town for the holiday weekend and she brought him an Erector Set! He loves it. For the past three days he wants to play with it every spare moment. Of course, what that actually means is that he requests that an adult build something for him. The chosen adult spends 45 minutes building the requested model while he plays with random extra parts. The instant the model is done he plays with it for five minutes and then immediately disassembles it. We have at least convinced him that it is polite to ask the builder if it is all right before he begins deconstruction.

Here are just a few of the models he disassembled shortly after they were completed. We all had fun though.

Going to the zoo.

We have a wonderful zoo in town. Admission is even free. We took the kids several times last summer, but Ava was still a baby really. I'm pretty sure she didn't remember it at all.

We went yesterday and it was wonderful. We have family in town and so the ratio was four adults to two kids which is always nice. The weather was cloudy and cool which is actually better than blazingly hot and sunburn-inducing sunny. Neither child is taking a morning nap any more which allowed us to stay from 8am till noon for the first time.

Highlights of the day included the expression on Ava's face during the carousel ride. It wasn't her first one ever, but I think it's the only one she remembers. She loved it and the smiles and squeals of excitement were priceless.

The children were bored by most of the animals to be honest, but even the kids were excited to see the baby elephant playing in a pool of water. The water came up to about the chest of the baby elephant. The elephant was jumping up so that its two front legs were out of the water and then splashing down. It also would dive totally under the water and jump back up in a huge splash. The pool of water was extremely close to the fence so the view was perfect. You wouldn't have wanted to be closer to be honest. The whole thing couldn't have lasted more than five minutes, but it was amazing.

Car Seat Dilemma

There's been a lot of press recently about keeping children rear-facing in car seats longer. The statistic that is most powerful for me from the New York Times article is that "children under 2 are 75 percent less likely to suffer severe or fatal injuries in a crash if they are facing the rear." More and more often I am reading recommendations that you leave your child rear-facing until they reach the height and weight limits of your particular car seat. Depending on which car seat you buy, that can easily be until your child is four or five years old.

I had read similar recommendations when I was researching moving Michael from his infant seat to a convertible car seat back in 2008. At that time, I decided to buy the Radian 80 car seat because it would allow us to keep Michael in a five point harness until he was 80 pounds!! It also had the highest weight and height limits for rear-facing. Well, he's three and a half years old and still rear-facing. Ava is a little over two and she's rear-facing as well.

All of a sudden it occurred to me that I'd better check those height and weight limits, because I simply hadn't thought about it for a long time. We were just going on autopilot. Well, as it turns out, the weight limit for rear-facing on our model is 35 pounds. Michael currently weighs 33 pounds.

We have two choices. We can turn his car seat around. He'll remain in the car seat forward-facing in the five point harness until he's 80 pounds. That's a really long time. Or we can buy the newest version of the Radian 80 which has increased its weight limit for rear-facing to 45 pounds. That's the highest available in the US. The 50th percentile for 45 pounds is 5 1/2 years old. Buying the new seat would allow us to keep Michael rear-facing for at least another year and probably longer.

It's safer. We don't mind having him rear-facing. He doesn't mind being rear-facing. His sister is rear-facing and it is convenient to have them both facing the same direction. Pretty much the only negative is having to buy a new, very expensive car seat when I didn't expect I'd need to.

1. What do you think about the new recommendations to keep children rear-facing until at least 2 years of age and preferably to the weight limits of your car seat (depending on the seat, until your child is five years old)?
2. Do you think keeping Michael rear-facing for at least another year is worth buying a new Radian?

The Weekly Review: Week Eleven

Blog Post that Puts All of My Weekly Accomplishments Put Together to Shame:

Jessica at Balancing Everything posted about her new kitchen table. You know. The one she made. Enough said.

Weekly Blog Post that made me laugh:

Swistle describes the possible thoughts school personnel have when writing school dress codes. Trust me. This post is really funny.

Guilty Pleasure of the Week:

So, when I didn't like our second attempt at chocolate chip cookies and we had no other treats in the house I put a couple of spoonfuls of brown sugar in a bowl and ate that as my dessert. It was actually quite yummy and completely did the trick at calming down my craving for sweets. Still, I ate a couple of spoonfuls of sugar straight. Probably not something to be proud of exactly.

Michael's Questionable New Behavior of the Week:

Outright defiance. Sigh. He engages in some kind of behavior I wish to stop. Often, he knows before he even starts that the behavior is unacceptable (throwing heavy objects around the room, for example). When asked to stop he pretends to not even hear the request and simply continues on as if I'm not in the room. Seriously? Where is this behavior coming from and how do I stop it?

Ava's Cuteness of the Week:

At bedtime and naptime, the last thing I do as I'm shutting Ava's door is to say, "Good night sweetheart!" and make two kissing noises. This week she has started making kissing noises back to me. I love it.

Project of the Week:

I am responsible for our public library system obtaining two new very nice children's picture books. I am trying to use the library instead of buying books for the children. I discovered a very sweet series of books about a Mole and his friends, Rabbit, Hedgehog, and Squirrel (by Jonathan Emmett). The library had two books in the series, but Amazon told me that there were two more that the library didn't own. Our library's website has a form to request new books. I requested the two other books (No Place Like Home and Diamond in the Snow) in the series several weeks ago, and they appeared on my reserved list this week. I picked them up from the library yesterday. I was quite pleased. The other two books in the series are Bringing Down the Moon and The Best Gift of All.

Be Prepared

With a two year old and a three year old you have to find the right balance when discussing extreme weather. You want them to take it seriously, but to not be terrified.

Ironically, my kids know what a "twister" is because of an episode of Wonder Pets. They enjoy singing the line, "They go round, round, round picking stuff off the ground." They know that sometimes there is a tornado warning which means that there might be a tornado nearby.

Last night a series of storms pushed through our area and we decided we needed to upgrade our plan of going to the basement with the kids and huddling in the darkness at the bottom of the stairs. We cleaned out the basement closet and put blankets, pillows, flashlights, snacks, water bottles, and a couple of just-in-case diapers in there. We also loaded up the iPad with episodes of Handy Manny.

Of course, by the time we got all that done, the storms had pretty much passed through, but by then the kids were excited about the "hidey cave" and so we went down there anyway and watched an episode of Handy Manny just to test it out. The kids loved it and protested when it was time to leave.

All in all, it was a pretty good upgrade of our What to Do When There's a Tornado Warning Plan and a great dry run. Now we just have to figure out what to do with all the stuff we pulled out of that closet and tossed into the center of the basement.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Needed

Does someone have a great chocolate chip cookie recipe they'd be willing to send me? We lost ours. In our first year of marriage we made the best from scratch chocolate chip cookies. Then I got pregnant with Michael. Then we moved in the third trimester and three months later Michael arrived. Ava arrived 15 months after that. We went almost four years without even looking for that recipe.

A couple of weeks ago, unable to locate the recipe, my husband tried the recipe on the Toll House Chocolate Chips bag. Definitely not the recipe we wanted. Then we tried the one from the Better Homes & Garden cookbook. Also not right.

So now I'm looking for suggestions.

Please?

Seriously?

First I wrote about how I really did need to find Ava a regular playmate.

Then I wrote about the miraculous discovery only a few days later that a little girl Ava's age lives only a few houses away in our neighborhood.

We had one very nice playdate and then a few weeks later we had another very nice playdate. We seem to have some difficulty coordinating regular playdates, but I can live with irregular.

Then one day last week as I was driving by their house on the way to ours...