Growing Pains

Waylon is definitely a toddler, heading quickly towards the Terrible Twos. We dont see the same fast-paced physical development we did the first year, but there have been plenty of changes the last few weeks. As I posted below, Waylon is now refusing baths. He is also tantruming a little bit, giving mommy and daddy glimpses of the fun to come. He is definitely opinionated about what he will and wont do. For instance, not only does he have his own chair (see post below), but sometimes he wont sit in his high chair and insists on sitting on a barstool to eat. Since we only have two stools, this means daddy usually has to eat weekend breakfasts standing up.

Another interesting change is Waylon's eyes. He used to have Aaron's turqoise-blue color, but now they are changing to a grey-blue, similar to my dad's. We'll have to wait to see if they turn green like mine. I realize this isn't exactly earth shattering information, but it was pretty strange when we first noticed it.

Of course, no post about changes (especially titled "growing pains") would be complete without a comment about Waylon's verbal skills, or lack thereof. At eighteen months he was not saying five words, so the pediatrician referred him for a hearing test and Regional Center ("RC") services. The RC assists the developmentally delayed, but they also provide early intervention for children under three that have developmental or speech delays. Waylon is still in the intake process with RC, but the coordinator seems to think he will qualify for services. This is strange for me since many of my young clients at the Children's Law Center that qualifed for RC services were drug babies (maybe I snuck some crack during my pregnanct that I dont remember...). Waylon has a full developmental evaluation to determine services. In the meantime, we had his hearing tested last Thursday and got big news--Waylon has mild to moderate hearing impairment, which they think is due to fluid behind his eardrums. We have an appointment with an ENT doctor next week to learn more. This may be the reason for his delayed speech, but Iprobably only time will tell. Even if they can do something for him (probably tubes in the ear), I have to imagine he'll still need some speech therapy since the world has sounded like its underwater for most of his life, and he will probably need some therapy to catch up.

I thought this picture of Waylon attempting yoga really summed up his evolving personality.