We have TEETH!!

We are so excited!! We hit a big milestone yesterday – Taylor has her first teeth! The bottom two in the center just broke through her gums – hurray!! We were beginning to wonder if we would need to invest in false teeth. David found them and was so excited. He ran to the rest of us and we all did a happy dance for Taylor, accompanied by a chant “Taylor has teeth, Taylor has teeth!!!” We talked about it after the kids went to bed and agreed it was so exciting because it indicates that she is growing. She has been such a baby in appearance and people are really surprised to learn that she is 19 months old. I only share her age if asked because some people are polite about it (oh, she’s a cute little one) and some are just too curious for my preference. Someone this week-end was pressing me on her size, physical skills, etc. until I finally just said “she has a neurological issue and is delayed”. I don’t mind talking about it to friends/family/polite people, but I’m not a huge fan of nosiness that doesn’t seem well-intentioned, just nosy.

Anyway, we’ve also felt that we’ve been on a bit of a plateau due to ear infections/bad sleep, so we’re choosing to see her new teeth as a sign of progress on the horizon – and far more important than new chompers. We are so ready for her to make more progress with her physical skills, but as always, patience is the name of the game. She has had a few fun wins lately – my personal favorite – she was laying down while I changed her diaper and she reached behind her head and picked up her binky off the floor. The binky has been the source of many sleepless nights, so if she could perfect this skill, we would all be thrilled. It is a fine motor skill, so it was exciting to see her do it. She also has her smiles back – she really didn’t feel well for weeks, so it is so fun to see her grin again. Her face just lights up. She also is doing well drinking thick fluid out of cup – not a sippee cup, but the real deal. She hasn’t done well with a sippee cup, but she has done great with a regular cup. At school, she she’s experimented with a watered-down smoothie and she loves it. We still have a lot of progress to make on the food front, but this is good progress. We’ll be thrilled to get rid of bottles and formula!

My pop culture reference of the day is expressing my disappointment in Obama and his disparaging comment about the Special Olympics on The Tonight Show. He was discussing his poor bowling skills and said it was so bad it was like the Special Olympics. As a savvy, elected leader, I couldn’t believe he made such an offensive statement about some of our most defenseless citizens. As a PR professional, I was amazed at the blunder and as Taylor’s mom, I was very disappointed. He did provide a great teaching moment – for some reason, we have (thankfully) become more sensitive about other minorities – whether they be racial, sexual preference, gender, etc. – yet somehow, it’s still sort of OK to poke fun at the disabled community. I don’t want to be overly soapbox, but I do think this community deserves the same respect as anyone else. Shame on any public figures that don’t immediately recognize this – off-handed jokes do offend and we should set a higher standard for ourselves and the next generation of children that we’re raising. One of my goals for Lauren, Jacob and Taylor is that they are kind, respectful and sensitively aware of others that are different (but still wonderful) – and thankful for their blessings. I’m certain I won’t teach this perfectly, but I think it’s one of my most important jobs as their mom.