Speech Therapy Ups and Haircut Downs

This week has been fairly routine and not a lot of photo ops. Today was Ian's next to-next to last speech visit with Mona. He only has 2 left! It would be a major step in the wrong direction to lose her at this point. It frustrates me SO much that the school district picks up at age 3. It seems so young. He has a ton of momentum with her right now and, even if he qualifies for speech therapy through the school district, it won't be the same. They won't get the same out of him in an office as Mona gets from him at our house.

I've decided to check Shawn's insurance benefits to see if Speech Therapy can be covered to some extent, and if so, we might just stick with Mona "off the grid". I'll even take Ian's old therapist Maura... but I'm feeling really sick about losing that group's support right now. They've done so much good for Ian and he just LOVES Mona...and I mean loves her. He talks about her, asks about her, and responds so well to her when she's here. He listens and interacts with her in a way that he doesn't do with most family and especially his teachers (I sometimes wonder if he talks at all at school). As a parent, she gives me good feedback and provides wonderful suggestions for improvement. She is creative and sweet... and I'll miss her.

I don't have pictures, but I took Ian for a haircut yesterday and he had a major MAJOR meltdown. He did great during his last haircut and sat well for the stylist. This time, I'm not sure what the trigger was, but he went into full meltdown mode and kept saying she was hurting him. She wasn't...I was right there. I think she might have poked him with the scissors once and it set him off. She was also nervous, which doesn't help. For crying out loud, it's Great Clips. They cut 2 kinds of hair: Men and kids. You'd think they'd have a system down. Anyway, it was similar to when he has blood drawn. In order to get to a point where it was even and he didn't have a mullet, I had to put him in my lap and hold his legs, arms and head. Yeah. It was as difficult as it sounds. He's getting really strong! In the end, he ended up with a bowl cut... when he didn't even really need his bangs cut at all and the sides and back are almost the same length....and it was $15 plus my guilt-laden $5 tip. $20 bucks. Next time I might take Grandpa Tom up on his offer to borrow the dog clippers.

Before she rang us up, she went to the back of the salon for a minute and I thought I could hear crying. I felt really bad for her, but come on... That can't be the first dramatic 2 year old she's ever seen. I assured her that she did fine and that I should be sorry. I wasn't really (I mean, I just pinned my child down while a stranger came at him with sharp objects) but felt like I had to be nice about it.

Within minutes of leaving, he was just fine. We went next door to the toy store and his sucker of a mom bought a tiny little train piece for $20. I don't know what's worse, the fact that toy makers exploit parents by putting these things in irresistible packaging and at the front of the store, or that there are people like me that fall for it. Regardless, he was thrilled and the haircut fiasco was long forgotten. So, I was down $40 for a toddler haircut and a consolation prize. C'est La Vie!

Tomorrow is another exciting Grandma Trish day. Ian asked out of the blue yesterday to go to Grandma's house and see Spirit. I asked if he wanted to take Polli... He said "No, Polli stay home. Only Ian play with Spirit". Once the weather gets nicer, Spirit can come on Fridays and they can all lounge on the patio... sounds nice!

For those wondering, he is doing great with his glasses. When he's at home, he never takes them off and usually asks for help if they come off or get off kilter. Odd that most of the pictures I saw of him at grandma's house, there were no glasses on! They're also usually around his neck or just getting put back on when I pick him up from school. What would kids do without their moms around to be the police?

Below are a measly few pictures from the past few days. I've been a slacker with the camera. Ian also doesn't love it when I have it out, possibly because of the flash. He's always saying "Mommy, camera down!". He's getting more like his daddy every day!

When I ask him to smile at the camera, this is what I get. A quick flash of cheezy overdone grin. Sorry about the mouth full of apple.

Getting REALLY good at "no lid" drinking. Niced moo-stache, Ian!

Roadkill