I knew being married to a (future) endodontist would come in handy! My husband took Logan's implant up to his school tonight and was able to fix it with his dental tools! Yeah!

Sound-less...again!

On Friday, my youngest son, Chase, pulled off Logan's implant (as he often does) a bit forcefully. He detached the magnet part, so I just hooked it back on, thinking it was no big deal. After a while, I noticed that Logan was not responding to sounds that he normally recognizes. After determining that he was just not "ignoring" me, I knew something was wrong with the implant. I found out that there is a tool that is used to see if all the electrodes are connected properly, something we definitely should have! My husband figured out that the small prongs were bent so the magnet cord could not attach properly. Since it was now Friday evening, we would have to wait until Monday to submit for a replacement, which takes 2-3 days! I quickly remembered all of the frustration we had months ago when we had to chase Logan down, stomp our feet on the floor or throw something (soft, of course) at him--all to get his attention. The hard part has been his constant asking for the implant and having to tell him it is broke. Hopefully we get it fixed soon!

Tanner helping Logan count to ten...

(make sure to turn your volume up and pause the music, at the bottom of the page, to hear the audio.)

Florida schools...

We went to Florida this past week to look for a home and to check out schools for Logan. I knew there was a preschool program through the school district right in Gainesville, but I wasn't sure what kind of program it was. The other option was an auditory verbal program, Clarke, in Jacksonville, over 2 hours away. We visited Clarke school on our first day in town. It seemed to be a great program, very similar to John Tracy, and just what we were looking for, however, I was unsure of how I would make the commute everyday, especially with two other kids. We then visited the preschool program at the nearby elementary school. The teachers were fantastic, the school was beautiful and the program was very well organized, but...it was a total communication program (meaning both oral and signing).

When we decided to get Logan a Cochlear Implant, we also decided that we would go completely oral with him, since we are hearing family. We would love to bring his signing back once he is completely oral, we think it will be a great second language for him, but we feel we need to eliminate it right now, as he is learning to speak orally, to help him progress.

So, I was bummed. I was really hoping that program would work, and like I said, it was a great program. I was actually trying to convince myself that a total communication program would fit our needs just fine, but after further thought, I knew that Logan needed to be in an Auditory Verbal program.

I started to become slightly emotional with the decision we had made to come to Florida. Los Angeles had a wonderful school just a few miles away, and we were finding nothing in Gainesville. This next year is crucial for Logan's speech development and part of me felt like I'd be a bad mom if I didn't travel the 2 hours to put him in the school that would best suit his needs.

Just then, we found out of a women that was rumored to be starting an oral program right in Gainesville in the fall. We called her immediately and found that it was true! I was so thrilled that I began tearing up on the phone. She said that about 4-5 parents of cochlear implant children had gone to the school district and demanded that they provide this service. Oh the power of good parents...Thank you so much!

I'm It... I've been tagged!

10 years ago I was... A freshman at Utah State University dancing on the Aggiettes dance team!

Five Snacks I enjoy, in a perfect, non weight-gaining world:
1. oreo cookies
2. fudge
3. chips and guacamole
4. banana shakes
5. brownies

In the real world:
1. almonds
2. fruit salad
3. chips and salsa
4. apples and peanut butter
5. popcorn

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
1. donate to Charity, cliche, but true
2. start up Oral Deaf Education Centers in any state that doesn't already have one
3. Go on vacation with all my loved ones

5 jobs I've had:
1. Photographer at Kiddie Kandids
2. Dance Instructor
3. Dental Assistant
4. Substitute high school teacher
5. MOM!

3 of my habits:
1. make up in the car (only at stop lights, though!)
2. being obsessed with cleaning my kids ears (the audiologist told me that was bad)
3. going to bed too late

5 Places I've lived:
1. Las Vegas, NV
2. Logan, UT
3. Provo, UT
4. Los Angeles, CA
5. (starting in June) Gainesville, FL

Something most people don't know about me:
I competed in the Miss Nevada Pageant the summer before my Senior Year of high School

What is the one thing you would tell the parent of a child recently diagnosed with profound hearing loss?:
Take it one day at a time. There is so much to be grateful for, focus on that, instead of what is lacking. And very important...treat your hearing impaired child the same as you would a hearing child. Okay, so that was three things. :)

Too funny...

So I am sitting on the couch with Logan and my older son, Tanner, watching a movie when Logan heard Tanner "toot"! Logan looked at me and pointed at his ear with a puzzled look on his face, telling me that he had heard that, but was unfamiliar with the sound. If only there had been a video camera in the room as Tanner and I tried to explain to Logan what a toot was. He starred at us confused as if we weren't making any sense. I guess I never realized that he was unaware that that funny feeling in his tummy/bum, made a sound. Tanner proceeded to tell him that it was stinky and that we only do it in the bathroom. Logan walked in the bathroom and told us that he didn't smell anything...he wasn't getting it! :) By this time Tanner and I were laughing so hard which made it difficult for us to be serious so that we could relay the message to Logan that it wasn't nice to toot.

About an hour later Tanner accidentally dropped a box of crackers on the kitchen floor. Logan looked at me and began holding his nose and "waving" his bottom thinking he had heard a toot. Maybe we'll try this again in a few weeks! :-)

First week of preschool at JTC!

Logan started the preschool at John Tracy this week. He will start full days next week, until 3:30! He loved it and did great, but each day I picked him up I walked down the hall and out to the car holding back the tears. This place is what we've been looking for for so long and we only have 5 more weeks to absorb as much as we can. When we had the decision to make between doing Jake's residency in Florida or staying here, we had a hard time choosing. We wanted the best place for Logan, and for the family. At the time, we had not yet found the John Tracy Clinic. I feel like if we had, we may have spent the next two years here in LA instead. I have to be careful not to say "what if," and look more to what lies ahead, but those thoughts won't seem to leave. Logan is at a crucial stage for language development, he is on the right track and just needs a good head start. My husband has reminded me that the purpose of John Tracy was to educate me to be the best teacher for Logan, and I know that, I just feel like there is still so much to learn from them and I'm angry that we did not have the opportunity to take full advantage of them. I see parents there with their newborn babies that were just diagnosed and wonder why that wasn't us, why the doctors and audiologists didn't tell us that this was out there, I feel like that should've been part of their job.

I don't mean to be negative, we are making a lot of progress with Logan and he is trying so hard. His receptive language is now up to 31 words!! We are so proud of him.

His teacher, Megan

His Auditory Verbal Therapist, Jenny (she was giving him his tattoo!)

Logan found this note in his lunchbox on his first day and wanted me to take a picture of him with it! :)