Autumn Colors

Another month, another color challenge. It felt like Fall here for a few days, rain and 70 degree weather. For us in the desert, that is wool coat, scarves and boots weather. We're wimps. But it put me in such a great mood for pumpkin flavored everything and a color combination that was reminiscent of a rustic Fall afternoon! Details of the challenge are posted on the Crate blog if you all want to check them out. 

the colors are: dove grey, peacock blue and gingerbread brown

I only intended to create 2 layouts but the above layout was such a simplistic idea that it begged to be made for this challenge. My Fall to-do list (below) is taped onto a paper bag so I can add photos from our adventures when I get around to taking them!

I love this page. Chase has a speech delay and really has only started speaking with in the past 9 months. He started off  "talking" as a typical 1 year old will start to do, but as he grew older he also grew quieter until he reached 2 and had lost all verbal communication. After months of trying to locate the correct people to help with his development I was finally put in contact with the right speech therapists and we had Chase tested for possible eye sight and hearing issues. After we had ruled out an array of possible answers to the questions of why he had just stopped talking, it was left up to us, him and an in home speech therapists to get him on the right track. We started speech therapy once a week and on a good week he might be able to mimic a single letter sound. After a disappointing 4 or 5 months of practicing every day and flashcards almost every hour, it was mentioned that sign language would help him more than anything else, and this way he would have some way of communicating. So, Chase and I learned sign language and that was how we talked to eachother. 

When he turned 3, he was tested again for eye and ear issues and still nothing, although by 3 he was able to say 2 words: momma and no - even though I was still the only one who could understand him. He started preschool at a developmental preschool for children who have special needs last September. His first IEP was so simple and basic, we just wanted him to be able to pronounce 4 consonants and 3 vowels sounds. By the end of the year his IEP goal was to have at least 4 working phrases. I found a video on my phone a couple days ago that I had taken of Chase last December on Christmas morning, he still had no speech capability and was signing to me about our dog barking. 

At 4 now, Chase putting together words to form sentences that actually make sense, even if they're not so nice(thanks in part to the older boys in the neighborhood that he idolizes), is incredible. He's basically learned how to speak within just the past 9 months and he still signs to me but only when he's really upset with someone or I've had to ask him - can you tell me what you said again? Speech is one of those things that you just take for granted because we don't have to think about it, we assume that development goes in order; first they crawl, then start pulling up, and then walking happens just like a baby babbling, then mimicking and then talking. It's been a great experience though and a humbling reminder to slow down and really being proud of all the little things he's able to do, like being able to pronounce the "d" sound - which he mastered about 2 weeks ago! 

This picture is what his speech therapist does to his mouth when he's trying to pronounce the "o" sound. :) He loves showing me what he's learned each day at school.

I also created a few art pieces for my piano. I have this small collection of chipmunks from my Grandma that I'll display along with these for Fall. 

I'm working on a fun little project with my crafty twin Jessica this week, with some luck, I'll be back to post about it this week! Thanks for stopping by!