Sweet Talker

Teagan is such a talker lately. I can't even keep track of all the cute/funny things he says because there are so many. The other day he didn't want to go to bed so he came and sat on my lap and hugged me and said, "I love you SO much, mama." I told him I loved him too but that he needed to go to bed. Then he proceeded to sing to me in hopes that might win me over. That worked a little. At least until the end of the song. :)

My Dad travels a lot for his job and when he was finally home again this weekend, Teagan sat next to him and said, "Grandpa, I so glad you home." It made my dad's day. That same day he was convinced it was my dad's birthday so we had to make him a monkey cake. Teagan loved getting to help. He couldn't wait to show Grandpa the cake he made. This fake birthday celebration was complete with candles and singing. Guess which part Teagan liked best? The fire. "How 'bout more fire daddy? Please more fire?" Yep. He is his father's son. Then he licked the frosting off the candle and dipped it back in the cake for more. He doesn't quite know about double dipping manners yet.

My visiting teacher is near my Grandmother's age and she came to visit today and mentioned that she was a little sad that her youngest grandson was almost 12. Teagan chimes in, "Don't worry Grandma. Don't be sad." He couldn't have been sweeter. She was delighted by his response and concern for her and especially that he called her Grandma.

Last night we were visiting my parents and it had just gotten dark. We were getting ready to leave when Teagan opened the back door and yelled into the night, "Hello? Bad Guys? . . . I will fight you bad guys!" Then shut the door with a satisfied look on his face. He was ready to defend us all from any intruders that may have been lurking in my parent's back yard.

He amazes me all the time with the funny things he says. I need to write them down right as it happens because when I try to write it later, I forget most of what he says.

My sweet boy

Teagan loves to sing and it's the most adorable thing to me. He only sings when he is in the mood to sing and he is almost never in the mood if asked to sing. My favorite is when he sings Beyond the Sea. Darryl sang that song to him almost everyday since he was born. It's so cute to hear Teagan start to sing it. I am amazed at the number of songs he can sing by himself. He can sing I am a Child of God, Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam, and I also love when he sings me this song. Ya. When my little boy has both arms around my neck and sings that song to me, it's enough to make my heart burst. The best part is, that it only happens when it's his idea.

Teagan has been so affectionate lately. He tells me almost everyday, "Mama I love you SO much!" It's really cute. He is also concerned with having the whole family together as much as possible. He loves it when he gets to have Mom and Dad with him. He grabs our heads and pulls us in to kiss his cheeks. He loves it when we each kiss his cheeks at the same time. Then he wants a group hug. I really love that he enjoys having our little family together as much as possible. It doesn't happen very often since we have crazy work/school schedules, but I am glad Teagan makes the most of the time we do have together. I love my little family.

About Darryl

I mostly blog about Teagan since this blog's main purpose is a family journal. (And since I didn't do a baby book. Bad mom.) But I feel like I need to write a bit about what life is like for Darryl and me as well.

Darryl is currently in nursing school. It's a private school that graduates students at an accelerated rate so they really pack in as much as they can each semester. He is stressed to say the least. He is thriving and really loving the work. He gets more and more excited about being a nurse everyday. Darryl has had to overcome some challenges that most do not face. He has a learning disability. Darryl is dyslexic.

Despite common beliefs that dyslexia is just inverting numbers and letters or reading things backwards, it's not. There are a few different forms of dyslexia, and I am not claiming to know a whole lot on the subject, but I do know a lot more since I married Darryl. Dyslexia (at least the type Darryl has) is where a person does not associate a sound with a symbol. So when you teach children to read and tell them to "sound it out" this impossible for those with dyslexia. There is a disconnect between the sound the letter makes and the symbol itself. Dyslexia is not an intellectual disability and most people with dyslexia are actually quite intelligent, but faced with a learning/reading disability that makes traditional schooling quite difficult.

Darryl was 7 years old when he found out he had dyslexia. A specialist who did testing on Darryl told my mother-in-law that his dyslexia was among the worst she had ever seen. Not a day goes by that I don't think about and feel grateful for my In-Laws and their response to Darryl's learning disability. Darryl was put in a private school (and from what I understand, an expensive private school). This school specialized in teaching children with Dyslexia. He could have been held back by his disability, but his parents sacrificed so much to give their kids a bright future. Darryl's literacy and scholarly success is due to the education he received at this specialized school.

Darryl is 28 now and when he graduates from nursing school, he will have his 2ND associates degree and another year to go before finally getting his bachelor's. (At least during that year he will be able to work as a nurse!) He also went to the Fire and Rescue Academy at UVU and has a certificate (and only 2 classes away from a bachelor's in fire science). Darryl has finished quite a bit of schooling but has changed his mind about career fields a few times. That's perfectly OK, since I feel like he is the one who will have to go to work everyday, he might as well find something he loves. Sometimes Darryl or I will get a bit discouraged about how long it has taken to finally get into and stay with a career path, I remember how much he has accomplished. He is a college graduate and when he was a kid, it was questionable as to whether or not he would even be fully literate.

I am so proud of how hard he works. His dyslexia means he has to work SO much harder to learn the material. It takes a lot more time and a whole lot more effort. I am so proud of him for everything he has accomplished and I am so happy that he finally found a career path that he is excited about. He loves going to school. He loves it even more than he loves his job. (Too bad washing windows at the Church Office Building doesn't pay better, or he would want to do that for the rest of his life. He loves working for the Church and likes to have a physically active job that keeps him moving.) I am so proud of him working hard to provide for our future. On days where one or both of us is SO tired of being poor college students we just have to remember it's not forever and that he has accomplished quite a feat already.