Our Little Talker

Today was a bittersweet day in our house. We had to say good bye to a person that has changed our family, but celebrate the strides that have been made...
When Jackson was 15 months old he was as happy as could be, could follow multiple step directions with ease and loved being around people, but he was not able to communicate verbally with them. Our doctor said, " Wait and see how he is at 18 months." He gained a few more words, bust mostly grunted or pointed.



I remember Todd and I filling out all of the paperwork for his evaluation. We had to answer some tough questions and realize that the outcome of the evaluation could be hard to hear. We took Jackson to his evaluation and I remember sitting behind the glass with Todd watching and tears rolling down my face because someone was evaluating my baby and was going to tell me he wasn't "perfect". Being a kindergarten teacher, I am often the person that has that first tough conversation with parents. Telling them that their child may be struggling in a certain area, or that some type of evaluation might be needed. This time it was different, I recognized these struggles in my own child and had to move forward to help him be more successful.
We had Jackson evaluated and he was diagnosed with an Expressive Speech Delay.


He started one on one speech therapy twice a week for half hour sessions with a wonderful therapist names Ruth. Todd and I weren't able to take him to his sessions because of work so either our wonderful babysitter Michele would or our parents. We often had them video tape the session behind the two way mirror so we could see what they were doing and could better support Jackson at home. We also had a notebook that Ruth wrote in and gave us "homework".

Todd and I went as much as we could- taking mornings off from work, when we were off of school and all summer. We have spent countless hours in front of the mirror playing sound and word games, blowing bubbles and blowing candles out to strengthen the muscles in Jackson's mouth and trying to use every possible moment as a teachable one.
As time went on, Jackson was dropped down to one day a week. Jackson loved going to "Ruth's house", other wise known as The Kaufman Center. Our whole family was amazed at the growth we saw with Jackson. His frustration level went down and he was able to communicate with other children with much more clear language.
In January Ruth said that he had met all of his goals and he was developmentally speaking at his age level and his vocabulary in some areas is well above his age. This was such wonderful news, something that I hadn't expected to hear for a long time. When we went into speech, they said,
"We hope to have him discontinued by the time he goes to kindergarten."




Nineteen months later... Jackson was discontinued from speech today.
We couldn't be more proud of Jackson for how hard he has worked during his therapy sessions and at home.




We feel very blessed that Ruth came into our lives. Ruth changed Jackson's life forever and for that we can't say thank you enough. Maybe down the road we will have to go and spend some time at "Ruth's House" again, but for now, Jackson's words are music to our ears.

The 3 B's...Bubbles, Basketball and Baseball

We have been outside enjoying this beautiful weather. There's nothing like being outside in the warm weather and hearing that sweet sound of belly laughter from the kids. I was pulling weeds the other day and I hear the echo of Aubrin's belly laugh in the yard. Jackson had turned on the bubble maker and Aubrin was running around trying to catch them. Jackson was driving his tractor around the yard trying to catch the bubbles that were "getting away". Jackson pulled up next to Aubrin, told her to get in and off they went to catch the bubbles.
The kids continue to love the basketball hoop. Jackson is very serious when he plays and is determined to make most of the shots he takes. He's supportive of Aubrin and tells her, "Good shot baby, good shot."






We have been trying to get to Todd's baseball games after school. On Wednesday it was Todd's birthday, so I thought if the kids wanted to see their dad on his birthday we needed to head up to the field. We packed a quick picnic dinner and off we went. To our surprise Papa was there when we arrived. Jackson had a great time playing catch with him. Aubrin was dancing to the music and being her social self.


Jackson also took a few minutes from playing catch to talk to Uncle Scott on the phone. I had to snap this picture- he looks just like Todd standing talking on

Basketball Night

For as long as I can remember now, Jackson always has a ball in his hand. If we are outside it's a hard ball and inside it's some type of Nerf ball. We have a basketball hoop in his room, in the living room connected to a door and in the basement. Over the winter, Jackson went to most of the high school basketball games with Todd. He picked up some terminology at the games- "Watch, I can make this shot from downtown" or " That's a Slama Jama". Over spring break Todd and I took the kids and picked out a basketball hoop for outside. Jackson was more than thrilled walking into the store to pick it out. While at the store Jackson and Aubrin both picked out their own balls. Jackson got a mini one like daddy's and Aubrin got a baby blue ball. Over our break the weather was not the greatest, but Jackson was very patient and waited for the hoop to be put up. Of course he needed to help every step of the way. One day Papa came over to help put the pool in the ground and poor the cement. Jackson got right in there with his shovel and then assisted when it was time to hold the pole. Once the cement settled and the rain stopped, Jackson helped Todd with the finishing touches and most importantly, helped put the net up.
Jackson kept telling Todd and I that he wanted to have basketball night. When we asked him what that was he said, " When you put the BBQ in the garage and make chicken and play basketball all night." He had the whole night planned out in his head. So... we did BBQ and had some friends over and played basketball into the night... 9:00pm. That's a late night for a little guy when his bedtime is usually 8:00.
I see many hours being spent in my driveway this summer.

Easter Fun...part 2

Today we had our Easter celebration with Grandma and Papa Miller. Grandma and Papa hid eggs in the yard for the kids to find. They had a great time running around the yard with all of the sunshine. Aubrin found all of the bright color eggs and Jackson found all of the eggs that looked like sports balls. After the egg hunt the kids played outside and then we headed to dinner with Grandma and Papa and also met Uncle Scott and Aunt Katie at the restaurant.
Although it wasn't our traditional Easter celebration with Grandma and Papa, it was just as special.

Easter Fun!

We started our Easter fun going to Aunt Krista and Uncle Mike's house. The kids were very excited to go play with their cousins, dye eggs and watch the State game (well, mommy was)! Tessa and Aubrin found that drinking the colored water was equally as fun as coloring the eggs.
Easter morning the kids woke up and were very excited to see that the Easter Bunny brought Aubrin a trampoline and Jackson a new big boy bike. They were very excited to look through their baskets and find all of their goodies. We went to 8:00 mass, so we got in our Easter clothes and off to mass we went. When we came home Jackson and Aubrin found all of the eggs hidden in the house.
Later that day we had Easter dinner at our house with grandma and grandpa, aunts and uncles, great grandma's and cousins! It was a beautiful day so we were all able to spend some time outside. We also celebrated Will, Emerson and Erin's birthday. Jackson was so excited to finally give Will and Emerson their presents.
It was a wonderful day filled with laughter, good food and great company!

Spring Fever

The weather has been beautiful. Jackson has been spending a lot of time trying to teach Aubrin how to play baseball. He is trying to teach her to hold the bat and then run the bases after she hits. We had a nice visit with Kyle and Colleen on Friday. Jackson and Uncle Kyle played baseball and Aubrin loved playing on the swings and baseball with Colleen.