Happy Birthday Braxton

I made the birthday cake this year!

Yesterday we celebrated Braxton's fourth birthday. I can't believe that I have a four year old! I was pretty young when I had him and many people doubted me when they found out I was pregnant but hey, look at us now! I was telling Brian the other night how amazed I was at just how much having Braxton changed us. Sure, back then I knew that having a baby would change stuff, but little did I know that it would be so life changing that I wouldn't even be able to relate to the person I was four years ago. 

Day to day my life has revolved around this little boy for 1,461 days. Granted, he now shares some space with his little sister Ava, but he's what started it all. I have to say that this past year, from age 3 to 4, has been my favorite of his. If you know us, you know that Braxton has a significant speech delay, and it's been rough. I have written about it on here, and you can search the tag "speech delay" if you would like to read more about our journey. 

This school year's picture

Back in May of this year, he finally got tubes put in his ears to see if his hearing was what was blocking his speech. Getting those tubes has been the best decision we have made yet. He went from saying a handful of words, only one word "sentences", to having well over 50-75 words now (if not more, I have lost count!) and he also can put 4, 5, 6 words into a sentence! For him to be able to communicate with us has made the world of difference to our whole family life. There are far fewer tantrums due to lack of communication, he can actively tell us what he wants so he feels more like a kid rather than a toddler, and he also has more of an understanding of what's going on which has helped him calm down quite a bit. 

Pretty much every day when I picked him up last year from nursery school, two days a week, the teacher would tell me how he wasn't listening, during story time he would roam around and disturb the other kids, that he was at times hitting and biting, etc. etc. I got to a point where I didn't want to even take him anymore, just because I knew it was exhausting for everyone. This year is a COMPLETELY different story, in such a good way! The teachers rave about him, how excellent he is doing, how well he gets along with the other children. He's now striking up conversations with his classmates, which is amazing for his development, and also he is showing such great imaginative play. I can't tell you how many times the teachers and I have both said "it's amazing what a year has done for him." As a mom, that makes me the happiest person in the world.

While he is doing so well, he still has a ways to go, to be where we want him. Last week he had a check up at the ENT and we were told that both tubes are still in place, and while the right ear looks perfect, the left one has some blockage and for some sounds he has a mild hearing loss in it. That was frustrating to hear, only because of the progress he has made because of the tubes, and how much more he needs to go to really be speaking like a "regular" four year old. They weren't too concerned however, and they said that we need to come back to see them in four months. We shall see...

Our new kitty friend, a rescue, that has taken to Braxton so well. They love each other so much. 

I'm really excited to see what this next year brings. If he's done this well in under 7 months, I think it'll only be getting better. Wish us luck!