Easter

Ben had a fantastic Easter! He ran all around Grandma and Grandpa's house collecting eggs.

Then he took his eggs out of the basket.

They were hard to open.

But ...horray!




The Easter Bunny filled Ben's eggs with delicious dried fruit.
He ate all of it.


Cousin Maddy showed Ben how to blow bubbles.

Ben tried to catch the bubbles and eat them.

Possible the best part of the day was Grandpa's ham.

Ben parked himself like a little puppy at Grandpa Paul's feet for a pre dinner snack.

Happy Easter!

Three Months Hearing

Today Ben had another booth test and a MAP adjustment with Dr. Don. In the booth Ben tested at 15 db. That's incredible for a little guy who couldn't hear a thing three months ago!

Don preformed a few language evaluations on Ben also. He was quite impressed.
Some great things noted were:

• Consistently responding to familiar and unfamiliar environmental sounds. Such as: the dog barking, a knock at the door, or a beep from a machine.
• Responding to his name. (He signed his name each time we said Ben.)
• Differentiate between Mom and Dad's voices and turn to the person talking.
• Using words/sounds to communicate.
• Responding to words when not looking at the speaker. (Don asked if Ben recognized words. I said, "Sure he knows daddy......". From across the room Ben looked up from his toy and signed and said dada.)
• Have a change in behavior when the sound to his implant spontaneously goes off. (Ben takes his his ear off and hands it to one of us while whining if his battery goes dead or the magnet slips off.)

According to Don, Ben's language is developing at a quick pace. He is using all the sounds that would be expected from a typical hearing 14 month old.

Ben put on quite the show, playing, talking and signing. His favorite word for today was hep. He asked for hep opening a toy, sitting in a chair, and opening his snacks.

He also looked super smart when he wanted a snack from Don and said "mmm uh" while signing more please. Our little prodigy!

Mommy and Daddy couldn't be prouder!

Oranges

Great Grandma has an orange tree in her back yard. Ben fell in love.

He picked his first Orange.

He was so excited, he bit into it right away.

But, something was very wrong with this orange.

It tasted awful!

He tried to put it back on the tree.

After much convincing, Ben kept his orange.

Yum!

It was delicious after all!

As soon as he finished, he hopped down and grabbed Great Grandma's finger. He led her out the back door, right back to the orange tree. Over and over!

We came home with at least 20 pounds of Great Grandma's oranges.

Great Grandma Daisy

We spent last week with Great Grandma Daisy in California. Ben had a wonderful time.

He took Great Grandma on walks
and always used his best manners; signing please, saying ta tu (thank you), and asking for hep (help).

Grandma took Ben, Daddy, Mommy, and Uncle Jon to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Ben loved the touch pools,
the penguins,

listening to the sounds of the whales and seals,

and making crayon rubbings of dolphins.

He was a little confused why he couldn't get his pacifier wet in the wave tunnel.

What a fantastic vacation!

Spring

I have the cutest kid in the world.

Yes, I'm biased. But, take a look and you'll agree!

I pulled out a purple flower for him. He is trying to put it back.

Ben is known for this smile all around town. Really, how can you not smile along with him?



Ben signs 'Daddy'. Definitely his hero.

Grateful

Ben said "MOMMA"!

Honestly, as far as excitement goes, it's a tie between seeing him for the first time or hearing my name from his little mouth.


Thank you Cochlear!

Sunshine

Ben spent his weekend exploring the great outdoors.

He tasted a few rocks and picked a flower.

He even wandered over to chat with his good friend Frank.

Ben was determined to help Daddy with some 'Man Work.'

A little trash pick up,

tool sorting, and searching for things to pound.

He finished up his day with a little chicken chasing and spit sharing with the dog.

Ben is becoming quite the 'little boy'. Daddy couldn't be prouder and Mommy couldn't be more nervous!

Happy Valentine's Day!

We celebrated Valentine's day with a trip to the coast. Ben played in the sun andenjoyed a snack of Pepsi and sticks.
Then he picked out his first pair of walking shoes. He broke them in chasing old ladies through Eddie Bauer.


When we got home the biggest surprise of all was waiting for us...
A glider rocker for Mommy. Now Mommy and Ben can rock the night away in comfort!

Louder

Yesterday we went back up to visit Dr. Don and have Ben's ear turned up. Ben was given four more programs, each a bit louder than the first.

Next, we went into the hearing booth to see how well Ben is responding to sounds. With Ben on his first program (the quietest) he responded consistently at 20 db!!!!

Take a look at the audiogram. Ben can hear everything above the 20 db line- most speech sounds, even a clock ticking. Not bad considering a month ago he hadn't responded at 90 db!

Ben celebrated his new hearing by spending the day pressing buttons on the phone. He has always loved to carry the phone around, but today he found the beeps quite humorous.

Progress

Ben has been activated (had the sound turned on in his processor) for 18 days.

We noticed a week or so ago he began acting differently. For a few days, he decreased his usually loud vocalizations and stopped banging with his hammer. We thought he might be hearing the sounds he was making for the first time.

Then miracles happened: he dropped to the ground and turned when we slammed the lid to his toy box. Ben's first startle to sound with his 'new ear'!

Today, Ben turned to his name while he was playing. Super exciting!

Birthday Boy!

Ben is one today! It's hard to believe we have known him for only a year. He has taught us more than we could have imagined. We are blessed!

January 2009- Twelve hours old

January 2010! Happy Birthday!

At one year Ben:

Loves to eat bananas and oranges

Weighs 20.5 pounds

Still loves his pacifier

Says "Dadadada" and "dabadaba"

Is loud!

Plays with anything he can pound or throw

Hums himself to sleep almost every night

Hates water on his head

Loves his Daddy

Points and smiles at each person we pass in the store

Screams at the vacuum

Drinks his bathwater

Is ticklish everywhere

Throws his food

Cuddles with Mommy

Fights each diaper change

Climbs the stairs

Walks like Frankenstein

Likes to be outside

Is opinionated and strongwilled

Brushes his own hair

Is not a fan of stuffed animals

Tries to feed people

Always wants the phone and remote

Loves peek-a-boo

Smiles all the time

We can't wait to see what the next year will bring!

Activation

The sound is on!

Dr. Don turned on Ben's sound today. He created four programs for Ben's processor. The first is the quietest and the fourth is the loudest. The audiologists want Ben to slowly get used to sound and not be startled.

In Don's office we tried the first two programs without much of a response. We know, according to Don's computer, sound was going into the electrode.

Once we got home we tried all the programs. We vacuumed, yelled and banged a hammer. Still nothing. The sounds may not be loud enough for Ben to have a big reaction (we don't want that reaction to be tears). Ben needs practice learning what the sound coming in means. We have to teach him how to listen. This is where the Auditory Therapy will come in.

On Friday, Don will turn the sound up once more. Once again we'll have four programs to try out. Maybe then we will have a head turn. I can't wait to stop yelling at my baby.

New Gadgets

We picked up Ben's new hearing equipment today. It comes in a fancy case that weighs more than Ben. As a bonus, kids get a super cute Koala (Cochlear equipment is made in Australia) with a toy processor Velcroed to it's head.
Dr. Don wants Ben to practice wearing his processor before it is activated. Mom and Dad need to practice putting it on over and over. We have tried several different options so far, but this kid is quick.



He can wear the entire processor on his ear like this:

Or we can take the battery pack off the back, attach a longer cord, and clip it to his body. This makes the portion that sits behind his ear shorter.

So far this, along with some tape, has worked best (staying on for the record of 30 seconds). Otherwise, each time he turns his head the bottom of the Behind The Ear brushes off on his shoulder. These things must have been designed for a kid with a neck. Hmmm...


We have some other options to try tomorrow. He is stubborn, but I think that may be something he inherited?