these last days of summer

The past couple of days have had glorious weather in the 80s instead of the high 90s and 100s we've suffered through since late Spring. I'm feeling the need to do all the things I wanted to do this summer that I haven't already. Once of those was taking G to Cumberland Park, which is right next to the Titans stadium, just across the river from downtown Nashville.

Cumberland Park is fantastic because of its water jets and wading pool. It's perfect especially for tiny kids, so I was hoping G would love it. At first, he clung to me like a monkey, but he reluctantly let me put him down after a bit. He had a tight grip on my hand for a while after that, and then eventually he was off on his own. He'd return now and then to touch my leg, as though reassuring himself, and then he was off again.

I know he looks pretty serious in most of these pictures, but I swear he was loving it by the end. He didn't want to go and protested having to leave. We had already been there for over an hour, and our feet were very wrinkly!

I didn't really want to leave either... but it was taco night. Nothing really stands in the way of taco night.

talk, baby, talk

If you're wondering why G's chest looks funny in the above pic, he's wearing what's called a LENA, or voice recorder. On Monday, we recorded everything G said and heard the entire day. Yes, I was on my best behavior!

(P.S. G's reading How I Became A Pirate by Melinda Long, one of his favorite books. It's sorta kinda awesome.)

After being denied by our state's early intervention program, despite the fact that G only scored one point in expressive communication, we were accepted by KidTalk! KidTalk is a research program at Vanderbilt University. Part of what they do is provide speech therapy for free to toddlers who need it - in fact, they pay you for the times they review progress.

We've been going through preliminary testing this week as we get ready for the real therapy to start week after next. Mostly, they've been testing him for autism (they do this for all the kids) and getting a baseline for G's speech abilities right now. The LENA helps determine what he's saying right now so we can weight that with what he learns over the next four months.

KidTalk only lasts four months, but I'm hoping one of the main things is accomplishes is teaching me what to do to help G. We spend time at the Vanderbilt clinic each week as the therapist teaches me techniques to use with G. Then we have a session at home where we practice using those techniques.

I've discovered a few things about G this week as he has gone through testing:
- He thinks Play-doh is awesome.
- When a puppet ducky asks to eat his tummy, he obliges by raising his shirt, without missing a beat, sending everyone into stitches while laughing.
- Baby dolls are his newest favorite toy. I'm on the lookout for a great set to get him.
- My kid can go through over 2 hours of extensive play-based testing with only a short cuddle play break with mommy.
- Other people think he's the best kid ever as much as I do.

I can't wait to see how KidTalk benefits both G and me. I see only good things coming from this fantastic opportunity, and I'm so so so thankful to have figured out a way to help out my kiddo.

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my trip to Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg, Tennessee, in pictures

1. Soooo hard to leave this kid behind.
2. But I know he's in good hands with my Mum.
3. And then we hit the road at 6:30am. Time for our first baby-free weekend!


4. Almost 4 hours later, we're on a tram! Hold on! Old dude is crackin' jokes but please just get us there safely, m'kay?
5. Time for a quick shot of the two of us. Aw.
6. And we made it into the park!


7. The entrance to the eagle.
8. The eagle ride at Dollywood is %&^$^# awesome. You feel like you're flying. And about to die. But mostly flying. The wooden roller coaster was mostly "I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die," the tornado was all "I can't see because I'm dizzy G force omg," the mining roller coaster was so cool we rode it again almost immediately, and the indoor only other mining ride was like the beginning of a horror movie where the ride breaks down and there's fire everywhere and screaming, lots of screaming.


9. It stormed on us both days, causing us to leave. But we spent half a day at Dollywood plus most of a second day. Under the train tracks? Not a great place to wait out a thunderstorm.
10. The mostly empty theater was better.
11. A duck.


12. The hot tub at our cabin rocked the socks off my sore feet. I spent every night here. I should've spent every day, too.
13. The view off our balcony. We had a few neighbors but our cabin was one of the most secluded around. I wanted to stay in that rocking chair forever.
14. A tunnel through the Smokies. Honk honk!


15. When we got rained out the first day, we headed to Ripley's Seaquarium. It was cool. This is Dave is the tunnel o' fish. Seeing sharks from upside down = sweetness.
16. Atreyu the penguin.
17. I'm also in a fish tunnel! I look excited!



18: Jellyfish = among the coolest things at the aquarium.
19: Another jellyfish.
20: A sharkface only a sharkmama could love.
21: Sleeping seahorse.


22: Convinced my heights-phobic husband to go on the sky lift with me.
23: On the way up!
24: Aw. <3


25: At the top. Most of Gatlinburg down below.
26: On the way down. Way scarier!
27: Another view from the top. Just gorgeous.


28: Another view from the top. Gotta love the Smoky Mountains.
29: Ate here. I was starving, so it was tasty. Margaritas weren't as good as our local Casa Fiesta, though.
30: 1977 Bumblebee, actually used in the first Transformers movie! I made Dave drive back to Gatlinburg on our last day when I saw it was there in a car museum. Luckily, we didn't even have to pay to see it. I gave him a pat.


31: I LOVE PUTT PUTT.
32: A shot right before my first of two holes in one.
33: Yeah, we had to go through these clouds to go home. The hours of rain weren't fun.

Also:

• Huge amounts of fudge.
• A giant blister on the bottom of my foot. Ow.
• Holding a pregnant woman's four-year-old while she held her sleeping two-year-old on the Dollywood tram - the hubs held all of her stuff. It was pouring and the tram was packed. The four-year-old dealt well with me holding him, though he kept giving me half-awake "who the hell are you?" looks.
• Huge amounts of food. And alcohol.
• A shower with two separate shower heads. Awesome.
• Every picture on every roller coaster looked the same. Me: eyes closed, mouth wide open while I'm screaming. Hubs: relaxed and smiling as though he was going in for a headshot.
• Having my son run across the room to fly into my arms. Coming home is as fantastic as going away.