the shape of things

Last week Tante came over for the 5th to the last Gossip Girl and was in for quite a surprise from her Nephie. :)  Thanks to friend Tisha for the app recommendation of Toddler Teasers, Ben has mastered his shapes and moved on to numbers and colors.  Molly was in awe as she watched him play with complete success.
We have worked a lot on colors in our everyday play but hadn't done as much with shapes.  Not only did this app help Ben master them, he caught me by surprise about a month ago when he transferred what he had learned to his Dad's old stuff-the-shape toy that migrated to our house:).  He said "oval' and "star" while putting them in and knocked me off my rocker. 
Last week I finally investigated and discovered the number and color options and quickly spent the $3.99 as he seems to love this format and it certainly works.

 

This is Ben's sticker (reward) page from this app on my phone.  He has similar pages on Ryan's phone and the iPad.  This app is a WINNER!

I've also been meaning to "write to remember" for a couple of months how Ben has started saying letters when out in the world and frequently from the backseat of the car.  I think I first noticed the "a!" "A!" "a" when a Uhaul truck was stopped next to us.  The most fun part of this phase of rapid learning is that I have no idea how "on pace" or age appropriate any of it is.  I know a little from his speech evaluation but I seem to read less and less about where he "should be" and focus more and more on how fun the "now" is.  Because we are also heavily focused on the speech right now and reminded to let the other stuff go, it's a fun bonus when his unexpected learning shows itself.

Ben's speech therapy is going amazingly well and the progress is quick.  I will also say it continues to be EXHAUSTING.  I try to give myself breaks but changing the whole way you would naturally interact does not come easy.  I've agreed to just let myself do the best I can and refocus when I lose focus.  Cathy's tools for engaging Ben and helping him talk are almost magical and certainly despite the exhaustion, there's nothing more rewarding than those sweet words :).