18 months old

I have been a HUGE blogging slacker!  I have a ton of pictures to catch up on.  We have been crazy busy!  Darin is enjoying his first year of ER residency.   He is learning how to run on little sleep and is gaining a ton of knowledge in each area he rotates in.  We do not get to see him to often but when we do we enjoy every moment.

Nash is growing up so fast.  The past couple of months have been busy for him as well.  In September I had him tested for early intervention because of some sensory issues I noticed.  The testing found him to be above average in his cognitive development.  Although his development in communication, social/emotional and physical were found to be delayed.  So we began Speech, Occupational, and Physical Therapies.  All have proved to be the best for our little Nasharoo and he has since learned to walk, is beginning to say words and is able to eat or touch certain textures with out gagging.  He now allows us to hug him and will give us a kiss, which was not something he enjoyed before therapy.  We still have a lot to work on but he is growing up healthy.  At his 18 month check up there were still some delays and they said we needed early intervention, and were pleased to see that I was 2 steps ahead of them.  Nash is still pretty small only weighing 21 pounds, landing him in the 5th percentile.  He is such a smart little boy and often I realize it is part of his personality to do things on his own time.  This is a great lesson for me, because I usually want things done RIGHT NOW!  I have set up his playroom to be a learning environment and we spend a bit of time during the day working on his development.  I love this time with my little boy, I realize now this is why I needed my education.  Being a mom full-time is very different then being a teacher with a classroom of 20 kids, although Nash's energy wears me out the same.  I love being a mom and I DO use my education daily with helping Nash.  I feel grateful for the knowledge that I have, and I know it is important to keep on learning.

My time is spent caring for Nash but on my OFF times, which is during naps and bedtime when Darin is working.  I have had the opportunity to educate myself in photography.  This has been fun, and I have had a lot of opportunities to practice here in Pennsylvania.  If you are interested in seeing what I do my website is http://christinawillardson.blogspot.com/ This will explain why I have been MIA in the blogging world.  I have a lot to catch up on including visits from both parents, Halloween, Thanksgiving and our great camping adventure to Pennsylvania's Grand Canyon!  Sounds exciting right! ;)