Today Wes has a fever of 100.6. Much thanks to Tylenol for changing him from a hot lethargic lump who slept for 5+ hours earlier today to the current baby who is happily rolling an old popcorn tin around the kitchen floor.

Some pictures of us and Wesley, courtesy of my sister. They’re from last week when we ate at The Roof in SLC to celebrate my big brother getting his Ph.D. from the U.

Here you can see Wes doing his single, signature sign that means “more” or “yes” or “I’m happy.”

And another one of Wes, wherein you can see his token tooth. It appears to be coming in crooked, but I guess considering my teeth and John’s, that shouldn’t surprise us.

What a happy little guy.

I was just thinking about how I bought Baby Orajel a year ago, when Wes was about six months old, in case he was teething. I hope it hasn’t expired yet.

The other thing we’ve had on hand for a looooong time without needing is Biter Biscuits. Though they’ve been in the cupboard, I haven’t given them to him often because they are m-e-s-s-y. And a pain to clean up because once the mushy biscuitness is on his face it dries and gets caked on fast. And we all know how much little kids adore having their cheeks rubbed raw with a Clorox wipe. I always silently cursed the makers of these things when I tried to clean up Wes after eating one.

But now I worship the makers of Biter Biscuits. Because right now Wes is sitting in his booster seat, gnawing and gnawing and gnawing at a biscuit. It’s been twenty minutes. It’s been blissfully quiet. And the biscuit is only half gone.

Wes is getting his first tooth.

If you can manage to pry his hand away from his mouth you can see a little white nubber on the bottom gum in front.

What a week! First he picks up his first sign, and now his first tooth.

Nineteen months of waiting and we get a double whammy in one week!

Wesley gets visits from three different therapists four times each month: physical, occupational, and speech. Sometimes these visits are exhausting for me because they remind me how much work I have to do with Wes. And other times, like today, they make me gush with joy to realize what great progress Wes is making.

I have to first point out Wesley’s MAJOR MILESTONE: His first sign.

Let me just say that I’ve been using signs with Wes since he was about two or three months old. When I take him to the library Sing and Sign Time I’m always amazed at the little seven-month-old babies that can sign “milk” like it’s no big deal, and here I’ve been working on it with Wes for over a year, and NOTHING.

Since he was little I’ve been SHOWING the signs to him, and in the last few months I’ve been making him DO them himself (by taking his arms or fingers and making him sign). In the last couple of weeks I’ve noticed that I only have to bring my hands towards his elbows, as if I were about to help him move them to make the sign “more,” but when he sees me coming at him he’ll move his arms himself. Even that was great progress.

Then today, for the first time, all I have to do is say, “Show me ‘more'”–and he does it! All by himself, without me helping him at all.

His sign for “more” is a bit of a convoluted mix between the “milk” sign and “more.” But hey, it works. And he gets this wide, goofy grin on his face every time he does the sign. He really knows he’s communicating with me.

I guess success tastes sweeter the longer you have to wait for it. Because I’m feeling super excited by this. I’ve waited OVER A YEAR for it!

Now he does his “more” sign for everything–milk, more toys, snacks, pretty much whatever I’m asking him about. But that’s OK. Let’s get him settled with one sign and then maybe he’ll figure out there’s more than one in the world.

Check out these videos of him using his signing skills:

More video 1

More video 2

Anyway. Back to the therapists. Today his speech therapist came and Wes did great. She asked me if he’s using his pointer finger to point yet and I said no, although we’ve been working on it.

Well, then she pulls out these flash cards with pictures on them and flips through them with him, and when she says, “Where’s the _____?” he would use his pointer finger to point at the picture. Yeah. I know. Little stinker was holding out on me. He doesn’t curl his other fingers down, but clearly I can see him using his pointer finger, even though his other fingers are outstretched.

She also brought a toy that looks like a lawnmower with little balls that pop up as you push it. That toy gave Wes such a big smile! He loved pushing and pulling it around. AND as he played with it I saw him back up. Walking backwards is something his physical therapist has been wanting him to learn how to do. She just came last week, and when she came I didn’t think I’d ever seen Wes back up while standing. But in the last few days I’ve seen him do it several times, including today with that toy. If the therapists didn’t come I wouldn’t know what to look for. I wouldn’t even know to rejoice in the fact that Wes can walk backwards. But hurray! He can.

So I’m happy for Wes today. He’s getting things. When he wants to, but still, he’s getting them.

Today was a tough day. The kind where I ended up taking myself to a coffee shop to eat hazelnut gelato and a chocolate cupcake. You know the kind of day.

But there was a bright spot. I took Wes in the stroller to run some errands. While waiting in line for the checkout at Robert’s Crafts a gray-haired lady came up beside me and started talking to Wes. This isn’t unusual. Anyone with a baby is accustomed to ladies stopping and admiring your little one. In fact, one of the Roberts Crafts clerks had done it just a few minutes before when I passed her in the aisle.

But this lady was different. And after I minute I realized why. It was when she said, “This is my daughter,” and gestured to the young lady beside her (whom I hadn’t noticed until then). Her daughter was in her late twenties and had Down syndrome.

I introduced Wesley to both of them and we chatted for a few minutes in line. Down syndrome is an interesting, visible thing to have in common with complete strangers. An instant bond.

The lady’s name was Barbara. She told me what a joy our children are. “It’s like living with a celestial spirit, every day,” she said.

“Which makes us have to work harder,” I added, and she nodded.

She asked how old Wes was and I told her (eighteen months), and I also mentioned that he’s in nursery at church. She was surprised and asked if he could walk. I told her he started last month and she told me how great that is. Her daughter took a little longer, until she was three.

“Your family is very blessed,” she said as I paid the clerk and turned to the door.

And you know? She’s right.

Wesley is quite active these days. He’s walking everywhere.

Sometimes he pauses to look around.

When he’s done, he refreshes himself with nice yoga poses.