Disneyland Cont.

We went over to Fantasy Land and got in line for Peter Pan. We waited for several minutes. I was pretty excited to take him on his first ride at Disneyland. We got up to the front of the line and only 4 people were ahead of us when they announced that the ride was being shut down for repairs and they didn't know when it would re-open. We were a little disappointed, but went on to a different ride. Teagan ended up loving the carousel of all rides. He loved the horses. That got him started and he realized rides were actually fun. He loved Dumbo, Pirates, the Teacups and eventually when it was running again, Peter Pan. He also wanted to go on Winnie the Pooh over and over. He had a great time. He was able to see several characters and he enjoyed that for the most part. He got a little nervous around Woody, but LOVED Mickey and all the Winnie the Pooh characters.

Over the coarse of our trip, ride after ride would close down right as we got toward the front of the line. It was pretty irritating. The general response from Disney's "Cast Members" was "Well, it's our off season." I kept thinking, ok so that means I pay the same and get screwed?! It happened a few times while were on the ride too. It made me feel pretty disenchanted with Disney. It certainly didn't make it seem anywhere close to the happiest place on earth. One ride operator was actually quite rude to me and that was the last straw. We were on the matterhorn and just barely buckled in when they came around to check our seatbelts. Then someone else came to check our seatbelts, then a guy yelled for us all to get out. He didn't say what was going on or anything he just said "You need to get off this ride." So I start unbuckling Teagan and apparently I wasn't fast enough. He came over and started yelling at me personally. I was doing the best I could to get a 2 year old up and off the ride. It was pretty irritating.

That was the last straw. So I marched right down to guest services and told them I was displeased with my visit. I work in customer service and I know how it feels to be yelled at over something that you didn't cause, so I remainded calm and politely explained the situation. I told her that it was really disheartening to take my son on his first Disney trip and have all the rides shut down after you wait in line. The lady at guest services was civil (wasn't rude, but didn't apologize and never smiled) and gave us a few passes to get to the front of the line on a few rides. She mentioned that it had been happening to several of the rides. She mentioned more rides than even the 8 we had problems with. It sounded like she had given out several front of the line passes. No wonder the lines felt longer than the expected wait time listed. Everyone else complained earlier and got passes long before I did. I felt like that helped a little to make the day better, but I didn't get the passes until the evening of our last day there so we didn't even get the chance to use them all. We did use them for the submarine nemo ride. That line was incredibly long the whole time we were there and I heard from several people that it wasn't worth waiting for. We went to the front of the line for that ride and it certainly wouldn't have been worth waiting in a long line for. Teagan did love it though, so I am glad we got to go on it once. We would have skipped it entirely if it weren't for the pass.

Despite the rides being shut down several times, we had a great trip. It was a lot of tun to have my parents and Lynn there as well as getting to spend time in Disneyland with Darryl's family. Teagan got spoiled by 2 sets of grandparents and came home with loads of Disney weaponry. (My parents bought him a bubble gun and Darryl's parents bought him a cool light-up sword.) Teagan couldn't have been better. He was an angel the whole trip. He really did so much better than I had expected. I was prepared for major toddler melt-downs and he was pleasant and happy the whole time. He didn't cry. He occasionally bumped into people waiting in line and was fascinated with some lady's fanny pack, but other than that, he was great.

Disneyland!

We took Teagan on his very first trip to Disneyland. Darryl and I love Disneyland so we were especially excited to share it with Teag. Lynn was also really wanting to go for his birthday, so luckily my parents decided to take Lynn to Disneyland and we were able to plan it so we could all go together.

My dad drove in the truck with us and we left early in the morning so we ended up getting to our hotel at about 3:30 pm. Teagan was an angel in the car. He was pleasant and just wonderful the whole trip, but I was especially surprised how good he was in the car. Once we got to the hotel, however, he was wound up. My dad decided to play a game with him to keep him occupied. He told Teagan they were going to play Toy Story and Grandpa would be Woody and Teagan would be Buzz (Buzz is Teagan's favorite by a LONG shot). Well, given the nature of kids, Teagan wanted to be Woody instead. So for the rest of the trip he called my Dad Buzz and referred to himself as Woody. My Dad decided that Lynn was Rex (so fitting. The gentle giant.) and my mom was . . . Mrs. Potato Head! She said, "Of all the characters in the show I am Mrs Potato Head?! I couldn't have been Jessie, or Bo Peep, or even Barbie?" My Dad just said, "Well, I can see you've packed your angry eyes." It was pretty funny. (Those of you who don't know my parents well enough, they both have a great sense of humor.) Luckily, I got to be Jessie (we have been back for a few weeks now and he still calls me Jessie) and he decided Darryl was Goofy. (Not in Toy Story, but still very fitting.)

Teagan had no idea what Disneyland was, so I pulled up a picture online and printed it out (same pic I posted above). He knew that Mickey lived there and that there were rides. His previous experience with rides scared him a bit, so when we first entered the park we are walking down mainstreet and he has this nervous look of dread. It was hysterical. I wish I had been able to get a picture of it. What kid is scared of DISNEYLAND?! He ended up loving it, of coarse, but not til after he realized exactly what kind of rides they were and what to expect.

Summer Update

First Sunburn :( The picture doesn't do it justice. It blistered it was so bad.

Summer is always so busy and I just don't spend time at the computer like I do in the winter. Well, since my son turned 2, I hardly spend much time at the computer at all. He is a busy boy and that makes me one busy mom. But here is our Summer update:

In May we took a quick weekend trip to visit Blake, Kayce, and Glade. We always have a great time visiting and it's fun to watch Teagan play so well with his cousin. They had a great time playing and fighting with each other. Teagan left with scratch marks on his face from Glade's fingernails and Glade nearly had a chunk of hair ripped out of her head (we intervened just in time). But oddly enough, they did enjoy playing together the majority of the time.

June was a busy month and not a whole lot to report. We were house-sitters twice that month and it was fun staying for a while in a big house instead of our little apartment. But of coarse we missed being at home toward the end of our stay.

Darryl's birthday was July 3rd and we went to a family BBQ for my dad's side of the family and Teagan got to play with my cousin's son Gavin. They had a good time together and it's always fun when I get to see Jenny and her family. Afterward, we went to Leatherby's to have our favorite ice cream: toasted almond. Teagan had a few bites and started scratching his tongue and crying. I was starting to suspect a nut allergy especially when his lips started to swell. The reaction wasn't severe and we were lucky that all it took was a bit of benadryl from the Harmon's across the street and he was fine. (He is going to get some allergy testing done to confirm whether or not he has a nut allergy.)

July 4th we were able to spend with Darryl's grandparents and his Aunt Carrie and her kids. Teagan had so much fun at "GG's" house. (Great Grandma Pam) Carrie brought along their adorably huge dog Bea. She is a Bernese mountain dog and St. Bernard mix. She loves kids and was great with Teagan. Teagan also had fun watering GG's plants. She would tell him to get working and he would tell her "It's my life!" It was pretty funny watching them both pretend they were upset with each other. Later that night Darryl and his cousin Griffin lit the fireworks and Teagan jumped up and down screaming "Fire! Fire!" He is a pyro just like his daddy.

Also in July, Darryl and Teagan went to Tropic (Bryce Canyon) for Glade's birthday party where he had a great time and he also got his very first sunburn. (I wasn't there to put sunscreen on him. Ugh.) It blistered and he still as a scar from it :( It didn't seem to bother him though. He didn't complain about it at all. Thankfully it was only on his arms.

Darryl's mom and sister came to Utah to visit in August and we had a great time with them. Teagan got to stay with Grandma Reita a few times. He really enjoyed playing with Darryl's cousin Lance. Reita sustained an injury while watching Teagan. I felt pretty bad about that. He was running off (imagine that) and she ran after him and slipped and hurt her shoulder. Teagan laid down next to next to her on a bench until she felt better. It was pretty cute that he was so concerned. He calls her "my Reita." He certainly loves his grandma.

Daddy and Teagan watching fireworks

Teagan watching the fireworks.

Teagan's favorite thing Uncle Devin taught him to say. "Stop. Hammer time."

Teagan riding bikes with some friends.

Chatterbox

Teagan is talking like crazy! He is quite the talker and man, is he funny! I think he got the excessive talking from me and the wit from his father. It's so fun to listen to the things he says. Thankfully he kicked the swearing habit, but from time to time he will remind me that he doesn't say naughty words like ____ or ____. (Insert words from his first musical composition) I am glad he knows that.

Whenever we go anywhere in the car, we usually pass a Temple. There are quite a few in the Valley now so it's not hard to spot them going just about anywhere. Teagan begs me to sing "the Temple song." (I love to see the Temple) And then after I sing that about 6 times (he never gets sick of it and always begs for more) I change it up and sing something else, usually a primary song. One day I was singing If the Savior Stood Beside Me. While I was singing, it occurred to me that Teagan might not know that the Savior is Jesus Christ. So after singing, I told him that the Savior was Jesus. He said, "I love Jesus. I want to go with him." It just touched my heart. He knows that we are supposed to follow Christ and that when you follow someone it means you go with them. I thought it was adorable.

Teagan has a large vocabulary and is constantly surprising us with the things he says. However, there are several sounds he has a hard time with and has trouble saying lots of words correctly. My mom was concerned with his pronunciation so I brought it up to our pediatrician during his most recent well check visit. He asked Teagan so say a few things and he thought it would be worth it to have him screened for early intervention services that help with speech and other developmental delays.

We scheduled the meeting and a woman named Beth came to our apartment and talked to Teagan and did a developmental assessment on him. About 5 minutes into the meeting she told me that she didn't think he would qualify for services and that he was the best 2 year old talker she has seen. I felt a bit sheepish for wasting her time, and I told her so, but she insisted that my concerns were certainly valid. For as many words as he is saying, it's natural to have some concern about his pronunciation. In order to qualify for services he would need to score below 7% in one or more developmental assessment. I was a bit taken back when she showed me his scores and what is considered normal (between 16 and 80%) and that Teagan scored in the 90's for most things. His expressive communication score was 98%! Now that he gets from his mother. :)

Other areas like dressing himself, and other independent behavior he scored 38%. While that is still well within the normal range, it did open my eyes to the fact that I am doing too much for him. I just dress him. I don't usually have him help at all. When he is thirsty, I get him a drink instead of having him get himself one. He also scored around 40% with peer social skills. This is an area where I feel Teagan could use some improvement. He has a really hard time sharing. As in, if he has to share, he throws a complete tantrum until it's his turn again. Then he is fine until he has to give someone else a turn, then another screaming fit. He is starting to improve, but I think more peer interaction would help it improve faster. Even though he didn't need early intervention, I am really thankful I got the evaluation. It opened my eyes to ways I could help his development instead of hinder it. I just never thought to have him help dress himself. (I know that sounds dumb, but it really didn't occur to me.) I just always did it for him. I think it's good for me to recognize opportunities for Teagan to try things himself.

Beth, the lady who did his evaluation, told me that Teagan would be a great candidate for the Early Intervention Toddler Preschool as a non-delayed peer. What that means is that the Preschool for kids with developmental delays integrates non-delayed kids into the class. It's once a week and a perfect opportunity for Teagan to have more peer social interaction. Beth is a speech therapist and thought Teagan would be excellent in that class because he talks so well. I guess normal 2 year olds use 2-3 word sentences and Teagan regularly uses 5+ word sentances. (I didn't realize that until she told me. I don't really know what is normal for most 2 year olds. I just know what is normal for him.) I was excited for Teagan to have a structured social opportunity so I jumped at the chance, and since it's a state run program, you can't beat the price! He will start "preschool" at the end of the month.

My mom has been trying to get him to pronounce words correctly and when he asks for a "reent" or "weent" she tries to get him to say drink. She says, "Teagan, look at my mouth, drink." (Heavy emphasis on the d and k sounds) Well, he is hit and miss with his s sound as well so sometimes she tells him "say ssss like a snake." This morning, Teagan was wanting a drink and asked me for a "reent" and I said, "You want a drink?" and he said, "Look at my mouth, sss like a snake, DUH-reent!" I had to laugh. He was throwing in everything just to make sure he wasn't asked to say it again. We are trying to not correct him, but just model correct behavior since that's what the speech therapist suggested. I am sure he will come around to k sounds soon. (According to the speech therapist, k sounds aren't common until 4 years old, so he has a while.)

I am trying to think of all the funny things he has said so I will be able to read them later, but I can't remember. I guess I will just have to start getting back into the groove with my blog. It's been so neglected lately.

Being a Ute's fan has advantages

Teagan thinks the letter "U" is Utes. It cracks me up. But in all honesty, the kid learned every letter in the word UTAH because of the obscene amount of University of Utah apparel my family wears on a regular basis. I admit that on my days off, I generally wear a Utes shirt (I have several) and a pair of jeans. My dad does the same thing, so do most of my siblings. No wonder when I pointed to the letter "H" and asked Teagan what it was, he said "It's H from the Utes!" So when learning the alphabet, he easily recognized the letters he sees so often.