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A couple of weeks ago Maya started stuttering a bit. She was getting caught up at the beginning of some of her sentences, saying things like “I,I,I,I,I,I,I want a drink” or “look,look,look,look, there’s a doggie”. The stuttering seemed to be most pronounced and most common during times when she was really excited, really tired, or really frustrated about something. I figured it was probably normal but I wasn’t entirely sure so I did a little research online, in a few parenting books and by calling my daughter’s pediatrician. Turns out it is likely just a perfectly normal case of toddler stuttering, or transient dysfluency.
Almost all children between the ages of 2 and 4, about 85%, will suffer through a phase of stuttering. It occurs when their language skills have out paced their verbal dexterity. Basically their little brains are thinking up the words they want to say faster than their mouth muscles are able to form and actually speak the words. Often stuttering in toddlers and preschoolers takes the shape of getting stuck on the first word of a sentence or even the first syllable of a longer word, like “I-I-I-I-I-I want to play outside” or “base-base-base-baseball is fun”. This differs a bit from traditional stuttering which is often displayed with getting stuck on the first sound (or letter) of a word, like “h-h-h-h-h-h-he is over there”.
Once I discovered that Maya was just going through a very common phase of toddlerhood I wanted to know what, if anything, I needed to do to help her through this phase. In talking with the nurse at her pediatrician’s office and through reading a few sites online I discovered a few things I can do, or should avoid doing, while she goes through this phase:
- Remain patient and listen to your child and maintain eye contact.
- Don’t finish their thought, let them get it out even if they have to stumble over a word 20 or more times.
- When your child has finished their thought repeat it back to them so they can hear it without the stutter and so they know you have understood what they are saying.
Most children will outgrow this type of stuttering around the age of 4, however, if the stutter appears to be getting worse, your child gets upset about their stutter, or you notice any other changes with the stutter be sure to discuss it with your child’s doctor as speech therapy may be needed.
In a couple of weeks we are moving. We will be saying good-bye to this place we have called home for over 7 years. We will leave this condo that felt like home the moment we set foot inside the door. We will way good-bye to the home, neighborhood and neighbors that we love. We will turn the page on this chapter of our life and start a new one.
I’m so excited about moving to our new home. So excited to get settled in and make it our own. So excited to explore our new neighborhood, meet our new neighbors, become part of our new community. But at the same time I’m a little sad. Well, I don’t know if I would say sad really, more nostalgic. This place has been home for us for over 7 years. This was the first place that was ours alone, not a place we were just living but a place we could truly make into a home. This place holds many wonderful memories for me and I feel like I need to take time to honor what this house has meant to me; honor the spot it holds in my heart; honor the history it represents.
When we first moved into this condo we were renting it. We had been looking to move into this great neighborhood but weren’t ready to buy a house or a condo yet. A little after we moved in the building was sold to a guy who planned on rehabing the units and selling them. We loved our place and decided we’d go ahead and buy our unit so we didn’t have to move. It was a big decision for us at the time and sort of forced us to buy sooner than we were planning, but I’m glad we did. Living here has been awesome. We’ve had great neighbors that have become good friends. We’ve continued to love our condo and our neighborhood. We’ve made some amazing memories.
This condo is a big part of our history as a couple and as a family. This was a first home. This was the place we really started to feel like St. Louis was home for us. This is the place where we settled into our married life and began the adventure of starting a family. Every square inch of this place holds a memory for me. It was in this bathroom where I took a home pregnancy test and found out we were going to have a baby. It is in front of this bedroom closet that I stood every week so that Lorne could take pictures of my growing belly. This is the room I transformed from an office into a beautiful nursery for my beautiful baby girl. This is where were brought our baby girl home. This is the living room that has been used as a playroom for the last 2.5 years. This is the floor that is constantly covered in toys, books, crayons and blankets. This the place we called home as a family. This is the home we will remember fondly in years to come.
I will spend the next two weeks taking down the pictures I so loving framed and hung on the walls. I will pack up our books, dishes, clothes, and the other miscelanious objects of our lives into boxes. I will pack it all up so that movers can come and take all our belongings to our new house.
When this place is empty, before I head out the door for the last time I will take one last look around. I will remember the first time I walked through the door and just knew this was our home. I will remember the excitement of sitting at our dining room table and signing the contract to buy this place we loved. I will remember what it felt like to bring Maya home to this place. I will ingrain in my memory all the wonderful moments that we had here in this condo. Then I will close the door, walk down the stairs and head over to our new house so we can beginning making that house home. We will create a new home sweet home all the while carrying the memories of our very much loved first home sweet home.
Good-bye little condo. Oh how I’ve loved you and oh how I will miss you.
As quickly as our potty training adventures began they have ended. Not because we’ve given up but because my daughter is super smart and figured this whole potty training thing out already. Maya is full time in big girl underwear, at home, while we’re out and even during nap time!!!! The only time she wears a pull up now is for bedtime, although a couple of nights in a row she has woken up dry so I’m think that might not last long either.
I’m so proud of her for figuring this out so quickly. As soon as we realized she wasn’t digging the pull ups and switched to big girl underwear for our training she got it within a couple of days. I haven’t changed a diaper in over a month, I haven’t even changed a wet pull up in almost a week, I can’t tell you how awesome that is 
She’s a big girl now!!!
Maya, mommy is so proud of you but would like you to not grow up quite so fast, you can slow down a bit if you want 
The popularity of baby names changes over the years. What is super popular one year will completely drop off the list a few years later. That is, when it comes to names for girls anyway. Turns out that not much has changed over the years when it comes to boys names. What was popular 100 years ago is still fairly popular today. Over the last 100 years the same boys names have dominated the list, names like William, James, Michael and Joshua. Whereas with girls names the names that dominated the list 100 years ago are completely gone from the list now.
The name that has sat in the top spot for girls most frequently over the last 100 years is Mary (although it hasn’t even been on the list since 1967). For boys the name that has dominated the top spot most often is Michael. Michael was last the number one name back in 1998, but is still in the top five today.
Last year the top five girls names were:
- Isabella
- Emma
- Olivia
- Sophia
- Ava
100 years ago, in 1909 the list looked very different with the top 5 girls names being:
- Mary
- Helen
- Margaret
- Dorothy
- Ruth
Last year the top 5 boys names were:
- Jacob
- Ethan
- Michael
- Alexander
- William
100 years ago the list looked different, but not entirely:
- John
- James
- William
- Robert
- George
Why do you think popular girls names are always changing while the top boys names seem to hang around?
Monday was my birthday. It was just a regular, run of the mill birthday. It wasn’t a big milestone birthday, I was just turning 33, kinda boring. But to Maya it was a special day just because it was a birthday. Every birthday is awesome in Maya’s eyes.
When she woke up I asked her if she remembered what day it was, her eyes light up and she gasped before saying “It’s Mommy’s birfday, happy birfday, Mommy!!!” It was music to my ears and absolutely made my day.
Of course, in Maya’s world birthdays are synonymous with cupcakes. Before she was even finished eating her breakfast she was already asking about cupcakes. I had promised her that as a special treat for Mommy’s birthday we would go to the cupcake bar and get cupcakes for lunch. I told her she could pick whatever cupcake she wanted. What more could a cupcake loving 2 year old ask for than her choice of whatever giant sized cupcake she wanted She picked out the “orange” one, better know as Dreamsicle (tastes exactly like a creamsicle popsicle)
After her first bite of the “orange” cupcake that was the size of her head she exclaimed “mmmm, good cupcape, mommy, good cupcape.”
I’m glad Maya enjoyed celebrating my birthday with me. Having her be so excited and showering me with birthday hugs and endless “happy birfday, mommy” wishes made it a pretty special day for me.
Thank you Maya (and Lorne) for making my birthday special