Progress with Speech!

We have been making some huge progress with speech lately...Russell is finally starting to repeat things to me after I say them!! And I know this may sound like nothing to most Mom's...But to us, this is HUGE!

I just posted not to long ago that Russell would not repeat anything back to me, even words he knows...And I have always thought that once he started repeating words he knows back to me and copying sounds, he would start learning new words way faster because he will be trying to imitate me.

I have waited and waited for this day...

And just this past week he has started doing it! Not only with words he knows, but also with some new words I have been trying to introduce to him.

I took this video of him today which probably wasn't the best day to attempt this as he REFUSED to nap today and was super cranky...sigh...It was a long day...Anyway, I taped him just repeating a few names and words...Again, this is a big deal to us as he never, ever use to do this before.

He talks quietly in the video...And as his Mom I know I can hear and understand each word clearly, but I am not sure others will...Anyway, here is a little clip of a few words, by the time I get to the girls names he is done trying to repeat after me, haha....

I am so proud of him....I am so excited about this!!

If there is one thing I have learned from Russell it is this...He will run on his own timeline...He needs lot's of practice, repetition,  and patience...But he will do it!

Teaching Russell can be tricky. I find when I am trying to teach him something new he pretends to not even listen or pay attention...Often I feel like I am just talking to myself cause he is not focusing on what we are doing. When he acts this way I just keep going as though he is listening...Cause what happens is a few days later out of the blue he does it as though he has always known how!

An example would be when I bought Russell a bag of little plastic animals. He loves playing with them and setting them up. I wanted to teach him the names of each one. We started with the giraffe. I would pick it up and say the name to Russell...When I would put it back down I would ask him to find the giraffe...He ignored me for about two days...Then one day I had all the animals on the floor and asked Russell for the giraffe...He went right to it, picked it up and handed it to me.

So he had been listening and paying attention the entire time!

I find Russell is following instructions way better now, we only have to ask him once to do something and he will go and do it...This is exciting because even for simple instructions we would have to repeat things over and over...I have just been amazed this week at how much Russell has improved with some of these skills. It feels like it came on all of the sudden out of no where!

Russell has also been learning new songs and nursery rhymes. I have held off on taking him to any Strong Start or Preschool programs because I felt Russell was to young and not ready to sit or pay attention.

The other day I let Russell watch some Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes on my laptop...We watched Wheels on the Bus...Russell sat really still and watched it very intently...When it was over I played it again...By the third time Russell started doing the hand actions he saw the other children doing, he even tried repeating some of the words!

So another thing I learn from Russell...He is ready to do things sooner than I think...I need to stop underestimating where he is at developmentally...All he needs is opportunity and he can do anything.

I could go on and on in this post...I am just so proud of Russell.

And if it sounds like I am bragging in this post...It's because I am.

I know some of the Moms who blog are often scared to do posts like this where they rattle on about what their child is doing cause they are afraid they may sound like they are bragging to the Moms whose children are not doing those things yet....

Well, I don't play that game.

If it sounds like I am bragging about Russell's accomplishments, it's because I am.

If I wait for over a year for my child to learn to do something and then he finally does it...You can bet your ass you will read about it on here...Because this is my blog...And on my blog I celebrate my son and the hard work he has done to accomplish something.

I never hesitate to blog about the things he isn't doing yet, so why would I pause before writing about the things he is doing?

So there. 

I am proud as hell of my boy and he deserves to be bragged about :)

Pow Wow-And Moves like Jagger!

Today there was a Pow Wow held at the kids school.

My sister and I took Zane and Russell for a bit to watch some of the dancers.

Here in the Nicola Valley the Native culture is very strong.

Many people ask what the Nationality of our last name is...For those of you who do not know, Brad is Native American...

I doubt people can really tell that our kids are part Native, cause they are quite fair...Neleah is the only kid in the family who ended up with dark hair. lol...I guess my genes are just stronger than Brads! HA!

My kids love taking part in these things. Neleah did hand drumming today...I just missed it, so no pictures :(

The dancers are fun to watch...I love all the colors.

Russell loves dancing and he happens to have some pretty sweet dance moves too, so one day perhaps he'll be out there dancing! My sisters boys are Native also...Hayden is all about Pow Wows...I tried getting a picture of him while he was out there dancing, but no luck...

I did get one of a grouchy Zane in front of the Tepee though!

His face cracks me up...He looks pretty pissed off! haha

And just so you can all see what awesome dance moves the boy has, here is a little video Russell posted on FB for his girlfriends Lily and Addison.

He's got moves like Jagger!

And that's all for now...

Restless Leg syndrome?

Sleep...I miss it. 

Russell has been having a rough week when it comes to sleep...He is up every single night some time between 1am and 5am...For at least an hour if not more...After letting him fuss for a while we usually end up moving him into our bed because I need sleep damn it! 

I'm exhausted...It's like having an infant all over again, and I am not cut out for that kind of thing any more, I just don't have the energy...

Russell has always been a bad sleeper. He is restless, up constantly through out the night...It's dreadful.

Having his tonsils and adenoids removed has helped...Russell breathes so differently now...He never snores or gasps for air...There are no times where I have seen him stop breathing...So the surgery was well worth it.

But I don't think this is where Russell's sleeping issues end.
Russell moves constantly in his sleep. His legs never stop moving...It wakes him during the night and he can't settle back down. 

I am wondering about Restless Leg syndrome...Has anyone heard of it?

I can't think of what else it could be.

I took a video of Russell sleeping this morning...This is typical...This is how he sleeps.

Notice his legs in constant motion...

Apparently Restless Leg syndrome is a neurological disorder where a person has strange sensations in their legs, such as tingling, itchy feeling, pain...Symptoms that make them move their legs to try to gain relief. It disrupts their sleep which obviously affects their behavior during the day. 

No sleep = Irritability, loss of concentration, daytime fatigue... 

It worries me because Russell is already going to struggle when it comes to learning and stuff, he does not need the above things added on to everything else he has to battle. 

I don't know if we can have this diagnosed as Russell cannot even communicate to us what his legs feel like at night...Ah, the communication thing...Times like this it makes me very sad. I just wish he could tell me what was going on with him at night, how he feels...

Even if it is diagnosed, is there anything to help stop it? Or is this just something we will have to deal with forever?