Trace has just told Tian she is Chinese too ( make sure you read the last of the Tianisms to fully appreciate this)
Pushing the Empress in her chariot of choice- otherwise known as "Driving Miss Demanding"
We asked her this morning what her bother's name was, without missing a beat she replied, " Scooby." I don't even think she has seen the cartoon...
Trace will be 2 in June and has managed to quietly take over the household. His vocabulary ( in English) is currently limited to : Spiderman ( his most important word), no (which must be accompanied by a foot stomp( just like his daddy)), now, mine, mama, Trevor, Ty, hold you, and snack..
He can sign: eat, more, gummy bears ( often as a sentence). He can also sign play, please and thank you (if we are really lucky). He has no problem expressing his needs or eating!
His latest accomplishments: he can blow bubbles in the tub ( with his mouth :o), blow bubbles outside ( both a big deal since his palate is still open), he can work the water dispenser on the fridge ( I just love it), has become a cereal conosuier, he can also irritate Tian rather expertly and has manged to hold several of the cats at various times.
He loves to give the dogs treats and the cats milk ( no treats for the cats - he eats those :o"). He will share with Tian even when she is a stinker, but can find her favorite mirror at any time and make sure she sees him as he runs. He is always singing and loves to smile at people while sticking his tongue out through the cleft in the gum line ( it is ever so attractive !)
He has also gone to nursery at church and corrected the dumb teachers who thought a panda bear was simply a bear - he stood up - shook his hand back and forth and told them repeatedly, " Xiong Miao." They all thought that is the noise pandas make ( it is Chinese for Panda.)
He can also understand our feeble attempts at Chinese.
He loves to wrestle with his brothers. He would be outside 24/7 if we let him. Unfortunately - it has been raining almost everyday!!!
He loves to be read to ( I have lucked out!!! I am 5 for 5 - all of them love to read :o)
He LOVES animals of any kind. We will have to get the aquarium repaired - he could stand in front of it for hours.
All and all is a VERY happy little boy. He is not bashful, but is much more diplomatic about getting his way than the Empress. She has adjusted to him very well and seems to be enjoying having a partner in crime, especially one who is so willing to carry out her evil plans:o)
Medical update: We have visited with a Otolaryntologist ( a cranio-facial doctor) here in Des Moines who seems very confident in his ability to correct Trace's palate and in the fall improve his nose and lip repair. We will visit Iowa City's cleft team on Monday and then make a decision of where to have the surgery(ies). Both groups want to take care of the surgery ASAP as the longer his palate i sopen the more difficult it will be for him to relearn how to swallow and to speak. I am accepting all soft food suggestions as he will be on a liquid diet for 3 weeks!!!! Keep in mind Trace's favorite thing in the world right now is eating!! Hopefully, we can spend a lot of time outside!
So, here is the plan: in May his palate will be repaired, he will have physical therapy to teach him how to swallow etc and then be evaluated to see if he needs speech therapy. In the fall, we will have a nose/ lip revision. Then, we will sit back and wait for his adult canine teeth to form. So around the age of 9 ( unless he is like poor Ty who will probably be 20 before he gets his ) he will have a surgery to correct his gumridge - they will take a small piece of bone from his hip and place it where the missing bone is in his upper jaw. Then, hopefully he will be done!! We are hopeful that he won't have missing teeth as this past week he finally got one of thh canines on the bottom, and both the lateral incisor and the canine in the cleft - it will look weird, but this is good news, as the more teeth, the more bone that will form and the more hope we have of not having to have a bridge for missing permanant teeth!! Yeah - it also expalins his extreme drooling and cranky days ! He may have to have another lip/nose revsion around 18, but hopefully not.
Have a great night and I will go scrape Cheerios, Play-doh and cat treats off of the kitchen floor ( no, the dogs can't keep up with it all :o)
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