Music to our ears...

Chance has begun to use phrases like, "We got a ton!" Evidence that he is picking up on phrases that are said around him and adding them into his own vocabulary. He knew when to use the phrase "We got a ton", too. It made total sense in the context he used it in.

It is funny when you have a deaf child - even those little come backs that kids say that usually annoy you as a parent are music to your ears. Instead of being upset, I find myself smiling. One such incident happened when we stopped to get the mail. The kids were all clamoring around telling me that it was their turn to open the mail box. (oh what little pleasures children find in life!)

Chance was adamant that it was HIS turn to open the mailbox. And actually it was. But I told him that if he opened the mailbox, his brother would get to open the door to the house. Chance started to plead his case that his brother had been able to do BOTH yesterday. I told Chance that he had to choose. Chance did not like this and started to sulk. I used one of those motherly phrases,"Your going to be fine." Chance shot back, "No, I'm not!" Obviously Chance got the gist of my meaning and he did not agree.

We've come a long way from the early days when Chance could not express how he felt about something. If there was a disagreement with his brother, Chance could not really tell his side.

Once when we had just found out about Chance being deaf, he threw a fit when we called him in from playing outside. It was dark and time to come in. Chance was highly agitated and would not come away from the door. For all we knew, Chance was upset that he had to come in. Finally, Chance slammed open the door leading out to the garage which hit the pantry door making a hole (in our new house:) This was not Chance-like behavior, so his dad and I both sat down with Chance to try to figure out why he was so upset. After some effort Chance managed to convey to us that he had left his toy out on the grass in the front yard and it was raining. As soon as we recovered his toy, he was fine.

Now we can just take advantage of the fact that Chance can tell us what his needs are and how he is feeling. And if Chance has difficulty expressing what he wants to say, he has the skills to rephrase it or work with us or his friends to get the message across that he wants. It is a wonderful place to be for all of us.