Christmas Eve

This afternoon, we went grocery shopping for a few things.  It was nice for all of us to get out of the house together.  Kyle even helped push the cart to the parking lot, unload the bags and put the cart away.

Tonight, I stumbled onto a book I had downloaded on my Kindle and started reading a few chapters and found other books like it to read.  I have been reading books on living frugally and saving money.  I learned a lot of new ideas as well as ideas I have already been using.

Then I found a book on my Kindle that I don't remember downloading.  I looked it up on Amazon and looked for more free ebooks to download.  Now I have a ton of new books to read.

Yes and No

Yesterday afternoon, I discovered that Kyle can now sign "yes" and "no." I've signed it for him in the past and he would just look at me, but I could tell he was absorbing the information.

We are pretty sure that his teachers and speech therapist are working with to teach him to say and sign "yes" and "no." 

We also realized that Kyle has learned so much this past year at his current school than he did when he was attending his former school for two years of preschool. 

Candy

This weekend, we learned how to sign "candy" and taught it to Kyle. He learned that word really fast. We also noticed Kyle is now knodding "yes" and "no" and knows when to use them. He seems to use either one when we ask him questions! He has also pointed at things he wants, but we're not sure if he can use it all the time.

9 Hours

I have a long day today, I have a 9 hour day at work today with a one hour lunch. I plan on writing a letter on my lunch hour since I don't take an hour to eat lunch. I usually end up walking around the store after I eat. I am back to pen palling. I miss receiving letters in the mail.

We bought Kyle new shoes. They are Toy Story velcro shoes and they light up when he walks. He loves them and loves walking around in them. They make a different sound when he walks and he loves the new feel of them.

Kyle recently learned how to jump! He also started dancing. I usually start dancing and he starts dancing too. He loves it! Shannon also taught him to look through binoculars outside. He loves looking all around with them.

Today is my Friday

Today is my Friday, since I have two consecutive days off! Yesterday was a long day but it seemed to go by fast since there were times when we were really busy. You could tell when church let out because that's when it started to get busy. I only have an 8 hour day at work today. I also bought a portable fan after work. The other cashiers use a fan at their register because it gets warm. Anyway, the fan was on clearance for only $3! I still need to buy batteries for it.

I've been bringing my lunch to work everyday for about two weeks and Shannon reminded me yesterday that I can get lunch at Subway. I decided to do that today since it's my Friday. I am still going to bring a few snacks to have on my breaks. I am looking at getting a lunch tote so I don't have to carry a big ziploc bag to bring my lunch in. LOL

I played Kyle his leap frog DVD last night and he loved it. He smiled throughout the whole movie. After it was over, I turned it off and we went to sleep.

My MIL took home a stray dog on Friday night. The dog has been seen around the neighborhood for at least 3 days. This dog has been in their backyard for the last few days. She tried calling the Humane Society, hopefully they will call her soon. It's a male golden retriever. Since they already have a dog, they take their dog out front to potty.

Saturday

Yesterday was my day off. I had a chance to relax and even take a nap in the afternoon. I did some cleaning and a few loads of laundry.

Shannon did a load of laundry for me today as well. I had an 8 hour day with an hour lunch. I have a 9 hour day tomorrow that I am not looking forward to it. Although, I am glad that I have 3 days off this week. As for pain, I am still feeling it after working so long. I did find that if I take an ibuprofen before work, I don't feel as much pain after work. Sad, but true!

I had to buy some things after work today. I needed more snack foods for my lunches that I bring to work. I also bought a few other things. I still don't have a lunch bag, many people use an insulated lunch tote. I haven't found one that I like. They has some out for "back to school" but they all have kiddie stuff on them.

Kyle's leap frog DVD arrived today! I've been playing it for him ever since I got home. I didn't pay a dime for this DVD, since I had enough amazon gift cards to get it. It was well worth it. He seems to like it. We don't have a DVD player, so I've been playing it on my laptop.

Kyle also has some new toys from his Grandma. This past week, she bought some race cars and a little race track and today Kyle had some new toy trucks.

As for his speech therapy, it's on hold for now. It turns out we have to reapply for Medicaid! UGH! Medicaid is also changing their policies that all applicants must submit a birth certificate, which is good I guess. I am confused with the application process because she included an application plus a big packet of other papers to fill out. So I may have Shannon go in with the paper to apply. In the meantime, Kyle's speech therapist called yesterday and gave me a number to a preschool with the school distract to get him a full evaluation. She said to keep on them because they get many referrals. His speech therapist also said she would call again and go over her report with us.

DVD for Kyle

I finally saved up enough gift cards from Amazon and bought Kyle a Leap Frog DVD. The entire order cost me $0! I am hoping he'll like it, especially with all the fun songs that teach the alphabet.

Shannon said that he's let Kyle wear his sunglasses a few times. Kyle likes wearing them and looking at the world through them. He likes looking all around and he looks curious seeing things through the sunglasses. I am surprised he likes wearing them. I hope to get some sunglasses just for Kyle, he'll love that.

Kyle is getting used to me being gone for most of the day. He loves riding in the car, so when it's time, he's ready to go.

Lazy Sunday

We spent today just relaxing and spending time as a family. I did a few loads of laundry today. I also had to find my dress shoes and also found more of my dress pants, which needed to be washed. I am just glad I have everything ready and washed. I already figured out what I am going to wear for my interview.

Disney's Cars was on TV today, so I turned it on for Kyle. The second he heard it, he ran over and started watching it. Shannon and I ended up watching it too since it had been awhile since we've seen it. It's a cute movie!

It's been a lazy day for all of us. I hope to get back into swing of things tomorrow.

I think I may have found what developmental delay Kyle may have. I am not sure, but Shannon and I are talking about it more and more and trying to figure it all out. Although, I should say that he has not been officially diagnosed by a doctor, nor have we received word from his speech therapist regarding her observations and test results. The other day, I was looking at getting a Leap Frog DVD for Kyle. One of the customer comments lead me to research a certain developmental delay. I looked up the symptoms and they sound a lot like Kyle. Soon after, I read them out loud to Shannon to see if he noticed them too. Since then, I have been reading more about it. With this certain disorder, most parents don't notice a problem until their child isn't progressing as other children are. This disorder is usually diagnosed around the age of 3. This is the first site that I found that was very informative. I found this second site that has a lot of great information. As I read through these sites, I realized that the questions the speech therapist was asking us were for her to make a general conclusion to a certain disorder/delay.

I hope to get the Leap Frog DVD very soon! As soon as I receive the amazon gift card from one of my websites that I use, I will get it! The DVD teaches the alphabet in a fun animated movie, they have catchy songs for each letter. The customer comments were positive and the kids really enjoyed watching it over and over. Kyle loves music and songs, so I hope he will like this DVD.

Happy Father's Day

The cable is still out. They are sending a technician out tomorrow! I am still waiting for my laptop battery and cord to arrive. Shannon used "overnight shipping" and somehow we think that's a scam.

Last night I took the time to read to Kyle. I was able to read the entire book to him without him trying to turn the page before I was done reading. Then, right before bedtime, he handed me the same book and I read it to him again. After that, I told him it was bedtime. I hope we can get him more books soon.

I also want to make flashcards of the alphabet. One side will be the letter and the other side will have a simple word. Shannon said we should just buy a set of flashcards! LOL I don't mind either way. I want to get Kyle some DVDs by Leapfrog that teach the alphabet and simple words. I'll see how the flashcards work.

I plan on calling a pediatrician on Monday to make an appointment for Kyle! Hopefully we won't have to wait too long to get him in to see a doctor. Shannon is finally on board to apply for WIC (which we automatically qualify for). Now it's just a matter of getting him to take us to the office to sign up!

I applied for a few jobs through craigslist for Shannon. I am always cautious when using that site.