Rory and his Bottle



1276218152854.jpg, originally uploaded by Pamela PC.

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Signing Time

Intrepid readers of this site (if there are any left), may notice that I haven’t yet given any updates on Rory’s burgeoning vocabulary, as I did with Callum here and here. It’s not just because I’ve been so busy, what with two kids and all. It’s because Rory, at 22 months, doesn’t exactly have a burgeoning vocabulary.

We’re not seriously worried about him, especially not about “the A word,” because he’s super cuddly, interactive, and seems to understand most everything we say in a simple way. He can point to things in books, when asked. “Where’s the crocodile?” we prompt, and his little fingertip immediately pounces on the green toothy creature in his favorite book – Dora saves the Little Duck. But not a single word has passed his lips. He sometimes says “uh oh!” and there’s a lot of “dah” and “buh.” Still, no “mama” or “dada” or anything particularly resembling a word.

Anyone who knows me (or who read the title of this post) will wonder why I didn’t try teaching him sign language. Well, I did. Of course I did. And, every once in a while, we’d get a sign out of him. He’d say “hat” or, occasionally, “milk,” but he somehow didn’t “get” that he could express himself, either with sign language or with words. Until yesterday.

Yesterday, the dam broke. He was outside with his father and Callum. Michael did the sign for “water” and Rory did it back. One sign led to another. Turns out, the kid knows, and can do, TONS of signs. Besides “water,” he knew”milk,” “dog,” “apple,” and “bath” right off the bat. It’s like he was just soaking it in all these months. You can imagine my reaction, I’m sure. I was beaming, laughing, clapping — so relieved he is learning to express himself… finally.

In the last few months, we’ve had him evaluated twice and he’s finally qualified for speech therapy through early intervention, so we’ll continue to pursue that. But, what a relief to see him say these words we’ve been teaching him all this time. Our little boy has words, at last.

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Easter 2010

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Snow Day

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Rory Walks



Rory walking., originally uploaded by Pamela PC.

We finally got a little video footage of Rory walking. Here we’re at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, where he got a chance to really stretch his legs.

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Pictures of the Last Few Weeks

The last few months have been busy ones with lots of exciting adventures. On Mother’s Day, Callum ran his first ever running race, while Pamela and Rory did a 1.2 mile charity walk. The whole family enjoyed Memorial Day at the beach on Fire Island. We celebrated Rory turning 1 with cupcakes at home. We planted and cultivated a kitchen garden of carrots, tomatoes and various herbs. A colorful inflatable pool (with a dinosaur head!) took up temporary residence in our back yard on sunny days. Callum finished his first year of real preschool. And now we’re busily making preparations for Callum’s birthday and a visit from Uncle Jim, Aunt Marion, and Cousin Aimee from Scotland next month. So, now, without further ado, some photographic evidence.


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Rory Turned 1 Year Old Last Week!


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Easter in Brooklyn, 2009

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Rory at 9 months

IMGP1290_edited-1.JPG, originally uploaded by Pamela PC.

Can you believe it? He’s 9 months old already. He’s “cruising” up a storm and getting into all kinds of trouble. Thankfully, he’s beautiful and very sweet.

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Rory stands



Rory at the museum, originally uploaded by Pamela PC.

Rory’s all about standing up these days. He’ll crawl over to me and hold up one hand, and then the other, for me to grab each with one of my own. Then he scoots his little body down, places one foot, then the next, and inches himself up to standing. When the surroundings are right (say, he’s right next to the toy garage Callum got for Christmas), he can pull himself up without any outside intervention. And, of course, standing isn’t just about standing. It’s about grabbing and putting things into his mouth, which makes this stage particularly dangerous. Still, it’s a joy to see his horizons expand and get a glimpse of the future, walking, Rory. He still falls down, but he’s getting steadier on his feet every day.

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