Dealing with Sensitive Skin and Skin Issues

Since cold weather here seems to want to hold on (but not for much longer), I thought I'd share some of my skin care tips that our family has used for dealing with skin irritation in the cold months. Both our kids inherited skin sensitivities and issues from me, which are worsened in the cold weather. I've always had dry skin and usually their problems are just rashes now and then (and it's not always easy to identify what the trigger is - it's usually a sensitivity from something coming in contact with their skin.) Jacob has been diagnosed with eczema and flare ups are usually caused by dry weather, sweating and the type of clothing he's wearing. So I'll start with what I do to help with the eczema.

Jacob age 2.5: This photo was taken after a bath and Vaseline had been applied. The redness usually subsided by the morning.

Jacob was about 2 years old when he started getting horrible rashes on his knees and shins, down to his ankles. The physicians diagnosis was eczema. I bought lots of different creams and special soaps and nothing significantly helped. But I needed to figure out first what was triggering the outbreaks. It took a lot of time to research and identify what was causing it and what we could do to effectively prevent and treat it. Looking at where his rash was, and the amount of time he played on the floor sitting on his knees, it made sense to assume it was caused by his clothing. Jenna had a one-time issue with a rash when she was about the same age and it was because the laundry detergent in her clothes didn't rinse properly. I switched her to Tide Free laundry detergent and it worked for her, but this didn't help Jacob. I remember seeing an episode of Dragons Den about a company that sold soap nuts and they started the company for the same reason - they were eczema sufferers. You can read about soap nuts here.

5 whole / 10 half berry husks and cotton sack.

A quick internet search, and I found a local store that sold soap nuts. That was 2 years ago and Jacob's outbreaks have been minimal. The soap nuts are very easy to use: place 5 whole or 10 half berry husks into the small cotton sack (see photo at left) and soak for 1-2 minutes in hot tap water to activate. This is good for up to 4 loads before you need to refill the sack (the berries can go in the compost), and they also work with front loading machines. Additionally, clothes come out clean and with no scent, and seriously, little boys on the farm have stinky dirty clothes. Not only is this product environmentally friendly, but very economical as well. I just bought a second bag of soap nuts for $18. The first bag I bought was 2 years ago for the same price, $18!!

I try to be pro-active and treat his skin before the issues start. When he bathes, it is lukewarm and I wash him with a Polysporin Eczema Care body wash. Pat dry, especially the problem areas, and gently apply plain old Vaseline (petroleum jelly) up and down his legs. I tried once to apply Vaseline on dry skin, and it became very red and painful, so the skin should be damp and better achieved with a bath.

Polysporin wash and petroleum jelly.

In winter on cold days, my hands become so dry, and also with the constant hand washing *germs*, the backs of my hands crack and bleed. It can be very painful. This is one of Jenna's issues as well.

My poor hands.

Aveeno hand cream.

I use Aveeno Intense Relief Overnight Cream (see photo at right,) applying before bed, and usually by the morning my hands have healed. It took me many years to find a product that worked. These brands really need to come together and provide one big sample kit so people like myself can try each one without breaking the bank. And any time my hands are uncovered when the weather is -10 or colder, this is when it gets much worse. I've at least figured out that much - keep hands covered.

I've also struggled, and continue to struggle with acne. I'm 31 and it's still an issue, which seems crazy to me. Aside from going on medication (which I'm not quite ready for yet - mostly because I don't have severe acne), I've started using essential oils to treat my face. I tried Pro-Active many years ago and I think I have now found similar results, but without the harsh chemicals and accidental bleaching of towels and pillow cases (such a small amount is all  it takes to leave a bleach mark.) Has anyone tried Pro-Active? The active ingredient is benzoyl peroxide and it's crazy how many towels I ruined.

Locally grown and produced lavender essential oil.

I received the lavender essential oil bottle for Christmas. The lavender is grown and the products manufactured locally - actually down the road from us and I didn't even know about it! It came with a pamphlet describing the uses and acne treatment was one. It kills the bacteria which in turn reduces acne. You can read more about the uses for lavender here. I never thought I'd be a person to use essential oils. I never saw the use or need after hearing about their popularity over the last few years. My opinion has definitely changed though.

St. Ives scrub.

You cannot apply essential oils directly to skin without a carrier of some kind, so I use it along with St. Ives Blemish Control Apricot Scrub (see photo at left.) I've been using it in the shower in the mornings because it's just easier to rinse the scrub away. I apply a dollop of scrub to my fingers, make a divot (indent) with my finger in the scrub and put one drop of lavender essential oil in that indent. I mix it and gently massage into my face for about 30 seconds then rinse. My face feels tingly while I massage it in and when it's rinsed, it feels very clean.

At night when it's time to remove my makeup, I apply coconut oil with a disposable cotton round pad over my face and let that sit for awhile to help moisturize. Then I wash with Spectro gel and apply Aveeno Positively Radiant toner with another cotton round pad. Before bed I usually apply a thin layer of moisturizer or night cream. I've been using Nivea Pure and Natural soothing day care lately and I like it. I just started using a primer under my makeup too, which I think helps protect my skin by creating a barrier under the makeup. It's always good to find a moisturizer with some SPF and I may switch to that soon (when the sun starts to come out more, anyway).

L to R: coconut oil, Spectro Gel; Aveeno toner; Nivea moisturizer; CoverGirl face primer.

Disclaimer: I do not endorse these products by getting paid to promote them. I'm simply sharing for the fact that they have worked for our family and myself after struggling for a long time to try to find skin care that works. Use caution any time you try a new product on your skin.

Easy Playdough Recipe

The Kindergarten classes at my kids school always asks for volunteer's to make playdough for the class. Of course I try to help out where I can and making playdough takes very little of my time, and besides, the kids enjoy playing with it. Since it's been four years since my oldest child has been in Kindergarten, I discovered this recipe I was given back then has become outdated! To colour the playdough, the recipe calls for the little packets of unsweetened Kool-Aid powder. I've always liked to use it because 1. it's easy and 2. the playdough is scented in the flavour of Kool-Aid you chose. Apparently unsweetened Kool-Aid powder is no longer sold (that I could find in our local grocery store), but it's now sold in a sweetened liquid form and you can add how ever many drops to a big jug of water or a small water bottle. I don't recommend using this to colour the playdough, but rather food colouring.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup table salt

4 tsp. cream of tartar or alum (found in the spice/baking aisle)

2 cups water

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

Food colouring or 1 packet Kool-Aid powder (if you can find it)

Instructions:

1. Mix flour, salt, cream of tartar (or alum) and Kool-Aid powder (if you have it) together in a large cooking pot.

2. Mix water and cooking oil together in a separate bowl. Mix in food colouring in this step if you are using it.

3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir to mix.

4. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until it forms a ball-like shape. Do not overcook (about 5-7 minutes).

5. Turn dough onto clean, dry counter surface and finish mixing/kneading by hand. Putting the dough on parchment or waxed paper works really well. For protection if you have sensitive hands, you can wear dish gloves for this step but it's not required.

6. Allow dough to cool. If you can, lightly wrap the parchment paper around the playdough so it doesn't dry while cooling. Store playdough wrapped in parchment paper in a Ziplock bag.

7. Have fun playing! If you don't have playdough toys, kitchen utensils work great and create fun patterns. Just make sure to supervise your kids.

There is a Time for Everything

I have been planning in my mind over these last few weeks about what topic my next post would be about and then I came across another bloggers post. I learned a new term after reading it: "farm widow." Farm widows are the wives of husbands who farm and are left alone most of the time during planting season because their husbands are busy getting crops in the ground. The particular blogger who wrote this post doesn't like the term (and either do I), but I'll get back to that in a minute.

A few weeks ago, the start of a week was particularly stressful for my husband - things just weren't working out as they should and he was trying so hard to organize everyone so he could get the seed drill and corn planter into the fields. And then I had a ton of yard work I needed him to help me with, and the kids weren't helping matters with the fighting and getting into all sorts of trouble. This was all happening after I had a previous rotten week (potty training spiraled downward, things broke, pets died and kids got into mischief).

So the beginning of that week we were texting back and forth. I think I had a question for him about an invoice or something. He told me how his day was going (which remember, was not good), and he asked how mine was going. I felt bad things weren't going good for him and replied that we were fine at home (but obviously I was pulling my hair out). I never bothered to ask him when he was going to get fertilizing the lawn (from the bags we bought two years ago - still sitting in the same spot), or that I needed a limb moved, or ask him I needed a garden tool rack built or that Jacob had 3 accidents already that day. It just didn't, and doesn't, seem right to bother him with these insignificant things. So maybe significant to me but on the grand scheme of things (ie. hundreds of acres of seed that needs to be planted), not at all important.

Now back to "farm widow." The obvious is that it's like saying your husband has died. I can't believe that some people use this term for that reason. It can also most definitely be interpreted the wrong way and it's so disrespectful to your husband. Besides, I am the one who married a farmer and I don't do the field work, so what else is to be expected when planting season is here? But hats off to all the women out there who help in the fields, plus look after the kids and paperwork, or even do all that and have off-farm employment. I guess my point is that the farm husband is out there working hard to support his family and it's never an easy or simple job. There is great passion, sweat, blood and perseverance put forth. How could I get in the way of that?

After being married to a farmer now for almost 10 years (on June 3rd!), I know that things get done all in good time. Usually things are timed in such a way that it all works out in the end. And if not, then it can always wait for another day, or even another year like those bags of lawn fertilizer. I think I pestered him about that on more than one occasion last year and I've only mentioned it once this year. I don't think he needs a reminder about that job because 1. the bags are sitting beside the back door where he can see them and 2. if it gets done, it just means the grass will grow much quicker and I'll have to cut it more often!

Always remember to love and support your husband through planting season. 

Jacob waving to one of our hired guys.

I'm reminded by this scripture verse:

What do workers gain from their toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. Ecclesiastes 3: 9-13

Where Have I Been?

So WHERE have I been? That's an excellent question. And I've been here, busy with mommy, wife and farmer-"ish" things.

In October I turned 30 and my husband and I took our first long distance trip together - to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to visit my aunt and uncle and cousins (who we hardly ever see because flying within Canada is unbelievably expensive). I've been on an airplane before, but not my husband. That part was easy. Navigating the airport and getting to the terminal we were supposed to be at was not. But we made it there and back safe and sound and had a great time exploring "Toon Town." Thanks to our awesome family for trading kids around and baby sitting!

The Prairies

Figure skating lessons started up again shortly after that for Jenna. She's improved so much since starting four years ago.

Jacob and I finished up music class in November and a took a break over the winter from it. We just started a new spring semester a few weeks ago. Even after being away from class over the winter, Jacob picked things up again very quickly.

Also in November, Jacob started a new block of speech therapy. He has made such amazing leaps and bounds with his speech. Communicating with him now is 100 times better. Tantrums are to a minimum, and he's more patient when trying to explain or ask me something. Over this past March break we got him potty trained! It took a few weeks but we think he's got a good handle on it.

December and January was filled with Christmas celebrations with our families. Throughout the winter I did a lot of downhill skiing on Jacob's daycare days. We're so lucky we live close to a great resort. And illnesses were luckily kept to a minimum so I was able to ski about 8 times over the season.

Christmas Day 2015 - Dad and Jacob went for a ride

Any X-Files fan was excited in January when Season 10 was broadcast. Although only 6 episodes were aired, it was great to see my favourite characters back on TV. Over the next few months, before the kids got up and after they went to bed, I watched the entire series from season 1 to 9 on DVD. There was quite a few I had never seen and It was exciting to watch my favourite episodes again.

In February and March, the routine was fairly normal. I kept busy billing out snow removal invoices. Buses were cancelled off and on over February and March. It seemed like only on the days Jacob had to have speech therapy. And if the buses get cancelled, then so does his speech therapy. And we missed his last session 5 times over those two months because of weather. It was actually quite crazy if you think about it - buses were cancelled due to bad weather every Wednesday for about a month and a half! And then our area had a major ice storm hit the end of March. We lost power off and on for a few days, but for no longer than 5 hours at a time. That's incredible for a family that lives in a rural area. We had neighbours without power for 3-4 days, and even homes within town for much longer than that. It was very touching to hear stories of neighbours helping neighbours, and even strangers helping strangers in their times of need. We were also lucky we didn't lose many trees from the heavy ice but we heard about and saw lots of damage to homes and property. The clean-up is still ongoing.

The ice on everything made for some beautiful scenery the days following the storm

Near the beginning of March I was lucky enough to experience pneumonia. What a horrible week I had - unable to get off the couch or sleep or eat well. By the Thursday I had had enough and the doctor put me on some strong antibiotics. I got well enough in time for March break thank goodness. March break came, and the weather was off and on, but Jenna had an amazing time at a week-long outdoor adventure camp. She made friends, created things, and got muddy. We finished off the break with a trip to Ripley's Aquarium in downtown Toronto and went with Jonathan's step-sister. It really is a neat place with lots to see and learn!

....but she had fun!

Ripley's Aquarium, Toronto

And here we are now, nearing the end of April. I have been busy the last two weeks with the wonderful world of accounting. Over the last 10 years, I have been doing our book keeping all by hand and our accountant recommended we switch over to a computer program. It's been a learning curve, but I think I'm getting it now. It should make things a lot easier for everyone now.

Our seasonal hired help has come back now and they have started working ground and planting a few days ago. Seeding time will be our busy season until harvest and we're hoping the weather cooperates at both times,

So that's it, that's what's been going on here. Warmer weather is here to stay, and I can't wait to get out in the garden, planting flowers and watching things grow.

This awesome weather is here to stay!

I Hoarded My Kids' Things!

So for some strange reason that I have yet to understand, I decided to hold on to every piece of clothing both kids ever wore and most of their toys. Jenna is almost 8 and Jacob is almost 3. That equals a TON of clothes. Like I mean bins and bins and bins. Last week I sold the last bit of clothes that I had for sale, and I did feel relief. It wasn't just out of the blue one day that I decided I wanted to get rid of it all either. I did think through it and I did contemplate the possibility of having another baby, but It's just not something I can foresee in  our future. So make sure you have thought thoroughly about selling or donating your kids clothes. I realized the clothes were losing their value and could become outdated sitting down in our dingy basement. I had everything in Rubbermaid totes, but our basement is unfinished with a stone wall and it's damp. I was worried that eventually they would be ruined. Plus my constant need to de-clutter was on my mind.

What easier way to sell it all then to have a sale at our home and have people come to me? There was no way I was going to haul it bin by bin to a second hand kid clothing store and have them pick through only what they wanted, and  have to bring most of it home again (I'll explain more on that later). I knew I wanted each bin of a certain size to be sold all at once. Social media is a wonderful way to get other parent's thoughts about things, so I posted the question on Facebook if anyone would be interested in buying bins of clothes for around $30 each. I received a lot of positive response. And that's how it all started.

So I picked a day and time for a one-day sale, created a Facebook Event page and started sorting through clothes. This was the simplest way to get the information for the sale to the public. And it was easy to just post a photo of each bin of clothes or each item with the appropriate information (size, price, etc,) to the event page, and then share the event link to the buy/sell Facebook groups. A good picture means a lot too - make sure  you have good lighting. Lay items out on the floor and get a shot from above. If you aren't a member of a local Facebook buy/sell group, I suggest you try searching for some in the search bar at the top of the Facebook home page. It's a great way to purchase gently used items and to connect with other moms. But buyer/seller beware. You have to be careful how you do your business because there are scammers and inconsiderate people out there. I also created posters to match the Facebook Event profile picture (to be consistent and recognizable), and put them in areas frequented by parents, like our local Early Years Centre and Arena. Just make sure you ask for permission before doing this.

It took a month to sort and clean clothes and toys. Be prepared to invest a lot of time into doing this if you've held on to as much clothes and toys as I have. And if you do decide to keep everything your kids have ever worn or played with, be organized. At one point I had all the unisex clothes in one bin, but when I found out I was pregnant with Jacob (we didn't find out the gender), I dug them all out and then put them away with the boy clothes that didn't fit him anymore. They should have gone into their own separate bin. And keep outfits together. Even if the pants fit for a longer period of time, put them back with the shirt of the outfit when you put them in storage. I also recommend having a bin of just shoes, hats, socks, etc. where you can just throw those items that don't fit. Fill it with a starting and ending size and label it. I was finding so much of these items mixed in with the clothing and it was more time consuming to sort it all out.

I brought up bins from the basement four to five at a time and literally dumped each one out and started categorizing by size and gender. Baby sizes were sorted into groups by month sizes (0-3 months, 3 months, 3-6 months and so on). I labelled each bin as I went, or used Post-it notes on the floor if I was sorting a variety of sizes. Sizes 1-7 each had their own separate bin. I ended up with one full bin for each of these larger sizes. There was a good mix of half winter and half summer clothing styles.  Socks and shoes were also sorted by size and gender and as were hats and bibs. Dresses, snowsuits and coats were grouped by gender. And if you have a favourite outfit that you just can't give up, keep it. I did keep two to three of my favourites for each kid.

I found clothes mixed in with bins of the wrong size. This was because some clothes fit differently than others. So the size 12 month shirt made by Gymboree fit Jacob an extra 3 months longer than the size 12 month shirt made by Old Navy. The shirt that fit for the longer time period got put away with the next size up. So, just be mindful of the sizes when you put them away. What fits your child at a certain age may not fit another at the same age. It just helps make sorting more efficient if all sizes go together, no matter how they actually fit.

So how do you price everything? Take a look through a local second hand or gently used clothing store. Generally, thrift stores ask a little less than a gently used store. The "big name" stores seem to have the highest prices, but you are paying for better quality there. I had 68L Rubbermaid totes priced by how full they were; half-full was $25, below the rim was $30, and if it was crammed full it was $40. This was an excellent deal for clothes in my opinion. Any of the larger items like my change table and Exersaucer, I compared to the second hand store and also looked at the condition, quality and how current the style of the item was. Be careful when selling items like car seats or baby walkers; these items follow strict safety standards. Do your research and make sure there are no recalls or legal ramifications to selling these things. It's illegal in Canada to sell a baby walker, even at a garage sale. Don't forget to check the expiry date on car seats.

If you decide to get rid of your kids' clothes and toys one day, I wish you only success if you decide to do it the way I did. I do not recommend it though. Sell or donate as you go if you can. Eventually I did donate quite a few items that didn't sell at the big sale to my local thrift store because there just wasn't any interest. Give yourself a timeline if there is something that isn't showing interest in selling. I started with a month and then went down to two weeks (I was still trying to sell items individually on the buy/sell groups after the sale.) I also filled my car one day of bins of clothes that didn't sell and took them to a gently used chain store - they buy clothes from you at a certain percentage of what they would sell them for. And they were extremely picky about what they took and I ended up filling my car full and bringing most of it home (all this after shopping at Costco first - BIG MISTAKE!) I'm not trying to make these businesses sound bad, because if you are shopping there for your own kids, the quality of clothing is excellent. It's just frustrating as a seller to be able to "get rid" of everything you brought in.

It can be one overwhelming endeavor to do what I did. Thank goodness I like to organize and sort and tidy things. Now my basement is in order the way it should be.

The Five Year Age Gap

My kids are five years apart in age. They don't nap together (which would be adorable); they don't play together (ok, sometimes); and they don't colour together (yes, maybe sometimes). Usually when interactions happen between them, things go horribly wrong. For instance, at this moment they are playing in the living room and all I can see and hear is running around, yelling and toys flying. Jenna tries to help Jacob or has an idea about how to play with a toy, and the result is always yelling from someone who isn't cooperating with the other. Actually when I think of it, they get along better if they're apart from each other.

When Jacob was born, Jenna was already starting Sr. Kindergarten. Actually, about the day after I got home from the hospital with Jacob, she started school. That was a big upside at the time. It was like having one kid again (throughout the day anyway). But they never really had that chance to bond and spend time together. Jenna is away for most of the day for 9 months out of the year for school. And now that summer holidays are here, we're all having a rough time adjusting to each other's company.

Jenna was super interested in Jacob until he got mobile. Then he wanted her toys, and now he asks to play with her toys and usually just takes them. We still keep the actual "toy room" gated off because of all of those lovely Polly Pockets and Lego and My Little Pony Accessories. Jacob on occasion, still likes to taste non-edible things. Which reminds me of the time Jenna was almost 3 years old. A button had fallen off a dress and I made the mistake of leaving it laying around somewhere. Well, she swallowed it and it took 5 days to pass through. And I sewed it back on after. She wore the dress on her 3rd birthday. I still have the dress.

Jenna was mostly completely independent when Jacob was a newborn, which made looking after two kids so much easier. She would dress herself for bed while I got myself ready as well. I remember a time she dressed herself three nights in a row; I get the kids to change into clean socks and underwear before bed (less work in the morning). Jenna just put a new pair of socks over her old pair three nights in a row. I think it was winter time, so at least her feet were warm. Never a dull moment.

So because of their difference in age, they also have different agendas and different skill levels, which understandably makes play very difficult. Most of their play involves running and jumping around, rather than sitting quietly playing with toys, ie. active and exuberant kids. And they do obviously have different interests in toys; Jenna likes horses and Jacob likes tractors. Trying to meld the two interests together I've found doesn't always work.

So maybe having two kids with a big age gap isn't all that bad. Maybe I've made it out to be worse than it seems. For us, it wasn't planned that way at all - it would have been about three years difference if I hadn't had a traumatic miscarriage; and then another one after that plus there was the added mental and physical healing time after losing two pregnancies.

It can be rough at times, no matter if you have one child or four (!) or if they're 18 months apart (like me and my younger sister) or 12 years apart (like me and my younger brother). I still think though that if they were closer in age, they would be closer friends and get along better. But obviously there's no changing the way things have already turned out. Jacob will forever look up to his big sister and Jenna will always want to look out for her little brother, that I know for certain.

When Your Child Can't Communicate

About a year ago Jacob was diagnosed with a speech delay. He was a little more than 2 years old at the time, and it was no surprise to me. I could have diagnosed him myself even before that. But I kept telling myself "He'll grow out of it. He's still learning....." and brushed it off. But daily life was one big horrible mess of a struggle. The frustration I could see in his face was enough to make me cry. And after putting all my energy into trying to figure out what he wanted, I would literally put my hands up and walk away. He would slump down on the floor with his head down. And I'll admit - I did a lot of yelling. Something else I'll admit - I gave him (and still give him) what he wanted (to a certain point). Because, when your child is almost 3 and he's still hitting speech and language milestones, and after you've exhausted yourself trying to figure out what he wants but he is finally able to "tell" you, you give it to him.

So when I brought this issue of a speech delay to my doctors attention, it was no surprise I was given a referral. A referral for a referral actually. Although I waited six months to finally start speech therapy (not really long from what I heard), there was me making phone calls and getting no return back, I had to attend an orientation session before I could even get Jacob's name on the list, and I found out that within my public health unit agency, a referral isn't necessary to start speech therapy. If a parent believes their child needs therapy, they only have to call and get on the waiting list. Jacob was born tongue tied, and I was told that was a warning sign of a speech delay and its recommended that parents start the process of speech therapy at birth. Another warning sign is premature birth or birth via emergency C-section. And the need for speech therapy has increased drastically over the years.

But I wonder why? Why are children speech delayed more than they used to be? I never really read to Jacob much when he was smaller (I do now because he uses it as a bedtime stall tactic!) But is that it? Parents just don't have time to sit and read to their children and instead sit them in front of the TV? When Jenna was little, I read to her all the time. She would get her board books out and look through them, that was her thing to do. Now she's one little chatter box and reads through small chapter books. It's a huge challenge to deal with one child who talks way, way too much, and one child where it's a fight to figure out what he wants. Don't get me wrong, Jacob is making leaps and bounds with his speech, but I am dealing with the extremes of two speech and language issues - one on either end of the spectrum. And it never fails, Jacob wants something and I'm trying to figure it out when Jenna comes in and starts telling me about a new idea she just got. Sometimes I feel like I'm in the middle of a room where a bomb just went off and there's just chaos but I still have the ringing in my ears - I can see what's going on but I can't process the sounds.

So back to speech therapy - complete waste of time. We actually missed the first four classes out of six for various reasons. And I know the kid is only 2, but if I wanted to play games with him to help him talk, I would do that at home, or take him somewhere where I can do that with him - and not wait six months to do so. And this was a totally new world to me; after having a first child with no speech issues, I didn't know where to start or what to do with Jacob. So what did I find that helped us with improving Jacob's speech? Music Together. Both my kids have always loved music (as most kids do), and Music Together has been such a wonderful experience for both of us and has helped Jacob's speech improve drastically. The instructors are educated in speech and language development. Music Together believes children teach themselves through imitation and play, through being immersed in their environment, and through every interaction with adults and older children. Here's the website. I am lucky enough that we have a local person that has a class close to our home that I can go to. Children newborn up to kindergarten can attend and most classes are filled with an assortment of children in those age groups. Jacob is active and does a lot of running around, and as long as the kids aren't going to hurt themselves, there's absolutely no requirement for the children to sit and sing the songs. But I have to say that by the end of the 10 week session, Jacob had his favourite songs that he would attempt to sing and do the actions to at home. Cutest thing ever.

Moving forward, we'll continue with Music Together in the Fall and I'll try to practice that thing called patience. Jacob is almost 3 and we are still proud and praising him for the new words he says. It's still like when you hear your 10 month old babble "Da Da" or "Ma Ma." You're so excited and go to grab the baby book to write it down. I can make the baby book last to age 3. Wait, I haven't even started Jacob's baby book yet........Sigh.