my amazing Seth

Apparently people with Down syndrome have some trouble learning to speak coherently. Seth sure has! His most understandable words have always been "Dad" and "Mom" -- he says those very clearly. He can say other words, but usually not correctly so that his speech therapist and I are the only ones who understand what he's saying. One of most difficult things for Seth has been saying the first letters of words. Instead of saying "cow," he says "ow;" instead of saying "moo," he says "oooooo." A lot of the time he gets close enough that I can decipher, but other people are looking to me like he's speaking a foreign language and I'm the interpreter. Yesterday, though, Seth clearly said "KEY" -- talking along with "Blue's Clues" :-) YAY SETH!!!! One more baby step on the road of development :-)

While I'm on the topic of Seth, I'll do a little update on him in general. He's still seeing his speech therapist every week and his occupational therapist every week. He still has psoriasis, so we are going to a dermatologist at the end of October (the first available time -- one of the negatives of living in a secluded place, not enough specialist doctors to meet the needs of all the people quickly). After trying the foods that he was allergic to, he is no longer allergic to beef, turkey, or oats, but he's still VERY allergic to green beans (any more than two green beans a day gives him pretty severe stomach cramps). I'm not sure if he is or isn't still allergic to peas because life has been CRAZY the past few months and I never really finished the whole "re-introduction process" for peas. He doesn't seem to be allergic to them, though. He's still sleeping in a crib because he has absolutely no concept of authority -- the fact that he really is expected to obey when I tell him to do or not to do something. So it's safer (and easier) for him to sleep in a crib. He's slowly learning to feed himself, using a fork or spoon. This is a very slow and difficult process for him to learn and for me to watch and teach (that touch of ocd in me really flares up at this topic). Overall, Seth is doing GREAT in every area of life and is a constant source of smiles and laughter for me!!!

(by the way, if you happen to be able to see the date and time on that picture, it's not correct -- he woke up early today, but not THAT early!)