Still no words, 2 ST to go

I wondered how Speech would go today for Nikko since he's not responsive to FS anymore. Gloria brought in her arsenal of toys but we spent a lot of time building with our own brick blocks since Nikko was interested in that from the start. We didn't work in the corner because Gloria thinks he's outgrown working there and we won't get good stuff from him there. She's back to the floortime model of taking his lead. He seemed responsive to her pictures of items such as a banana, pig, school bus and bread. Unfortunately he unbeknownst to us grew an attachment to the banana and bread pictures, so we discovered when it was time to clean up that he was going to throw a big fit over their removal. That's exactly what happened when we had to make the pictures disappear. Gloria said she was disappointed that Nikko still hasn't made the connection with pictures yet, but it shows me that she was at least aware that his concept of pictures was my original goal for him. On the outside, it really looks as if she just came in here every week, played some games or puzzles with Nikko, and left. Honestly, that's exactly what she did. But Gloria did try to enunciate words and make them meaningful. We have two sessions left with her, and if for some reason Nikko started talking before he turned 3, I think I'd have to give a huge donation to the church.

Nikko actually fell asleep between 2:30 and 3p. Luckily, so did his sibs, and I was able to snag a nap before we trekked over to Mom's house to wish her a happy birthday. I couldn't stay for dinner, however, because Denis was coming home from Georgia today and I wanted him to see the kids before or around dinner, not just as they were about to go to bed. He hasn't seen the younger ones in over a week, so I thought it was important. Also, Ronin and Audrey were sporting temperatures and I didn't want Jovy to catch anything. By the time we got home, Ronin had deteriorated a little more and they both had fevers. They're sleeping right now, I went in to check on them, and they seem to be doing much better. We'll see how hot they feel in the morning. Denis also feels crappy. I don't blame him, since he's been in hot, humid weather for a week and comes back to a cool blast (which I love!). I also felt crappy after being on airplanes for most of the day, so I wasn't about to force Denis to drive over to Mom's house and be miserable in the living room. Fortunately, Nikko and I aren't sick. For me, however, it's a matter of time before I get what Ronin has. That's why I'm going to try not to go to bed at 2:30 tonight.