Wes is a picky eater. You can offer all sorts of foods but 99.9% of the time his response is a clamped-shut mouth and frequently, now that he’s learned a new word, “NO!”

But recently we’ve had some breakthroughs. A couple weeks ago John and I got a some things from the fine eatery at Costco (pizza and a chicken bake), which we split between our two plates. Wes sat on my lap. Occasionally I would offer him a bite (see above about clamped-shut mouth and “NO!”). So eventually I gave up and enjoyed the food myself.

Then, after a few minutes, to our great astonishment, Wes reached out and picked up a piece of chicken and put it in his mouth. And chewed. And swallowed.

And then he did it again. He even tried a piece of sausage from the pizza (which took him about five minutes to chew). He didn’t eat much, but we were so glad he was willing to try some food on his own accord.

The other breakthrough isn’t quite so celebratory of Wesley’s own initiative. I learned this trick at the playgroup I take him to twice a week that’s for 2-3 year old kids with developmental delays. They end every session with a snack that’s designed to introduce the kids to new textures and flavors (again, see above about clamped-shut mouth and “NO!”). Wes usually leaves playgroup hungry.

The excellent employees there told me that sometimes to get a kid to try something new you have to force him. It’s not always pleasant, but they’re right. It works.

Last night for dinner we had pizza. I offered Wes a bite (you can guess what happened). So I pushed the pizza into his mouth and forced him to taste it. The result? He liked it and asked for more. He polished off an entire piece of cheese pizza and half a breadstick. That’s the first time he’s ever eaten pizza.

I also gave him a shortbread cookie covered in chocolate. He looked skeptical but finally took a nibble. And then ate four of the cookies in rapid succession.

This morning we had pancakes. I gave him his pancakes plain at first, but then I thought I’d try to feed him a chocolate chip pancake with whipped cream. He wouldn’t try it. But I made him, and he wanted more.

It doesn’t always work, like if he really isn’t interested in the food, but so far I’m having success in getting him to at least taste stuff he normally would just clamp his mouth closed at and say “NO!”

Today I took Wes to Walmart. A few minutes into our browsing we passed a Walmart associate who said, “Oh! What a doll!” (She meant Wes.)

I smiled thanks and we kept on going. Not a minute later we passed another associate who looked at Wes and said, “LOOK at that cutie!”

So two people said something nice about Wes. Not totally unusual. Then we hit the produce section and a young lady looked at Wes and said, “He is so cute. Just adorable.”

And then I started wondering why he was raking in the compliments. Was it his haircut? I just trimmed his hair on Sunday but believe me, it’s not a good cut. At least it’s shorter, and that’s all that counts. In fact when I took him to playgroup on Tuesday a couple of people remarked about his haircut and said, “He looks like such a little boy!” (which is code for, “His haircut is crooked!”).

Um, yeah. Here’s the proof.

So just as I was thinking about this, while still in the produce section, a fourth person–a guy this time–comes whooshing by, obviously on his way to the checkstand. “You have a beautiful boy there. I hope you know that.” I stuttered out “thanks” as he waved and wished us a happy holiday.

We continued our shopping. I still didn’t know what brought on the attention. Especially considering it was 8 a.m.–not really Walmart’s busiest time. Wes probably received compliments from about 5% of the Walmart population.

As we passed the frozen food aisle on our way to the checkstand to pay, we were stopped by an entire family: a grandpa wearing a BYU hat, his daughter, and her three daughters. They wanted to visit with Wes.

I got Wes to wave hello, and they asked how he’s doing. Not really sure what they wanted to know, I told them that he’s doing great–walking, running, into everything. Then the mom told me that she has two siblings with Down syndrome. Both were adopted and are now in their late twenties.

We made small talk for a minute, and then the grandpa looked me in the eye and said, “You have a very special boy here. I hope you know that.”

I think I do. But if I forget, I get occasional reminders.

So I already mentioned how Wesley has learned to say his first word that starts with a consonant sound: “NO!”

We’re really thrilled.

Recently he’s picked up an additional skill: saying “No!” while shaking his finger, just like we do when we’re disciplining him. It kind of shows us how smart he is, because he only does it when he gets in the vicinity of something he KNOWS we don’t like him messing with. And then it’s like he’s telling himself, “No, no, no!”

Like in the video below. We always tell him (about 1000 times a day, it feels like) not to play with the alarm clock, the phone, the lamp, etc., on the shelf next to our bed. By the time I grabbed the camera he had already knocked down the alarm clock.

One of my friends (Melissa) got me a ticket to the 12:20 a.m. showing of New Moon the day it was released. After I agreed to go I had serious second thoughts because, um, who is it that’s always dead tired by 9 p.m.?

Oh, yeah–that would be me.

But as it turned out I had no trouble staying awake, even though I was tired. Maybe it was the adrenaline from Zumba mixed with the anticipation of seeing my boyfriend, i.e., Edward. In any case, I was alert the whole movie and the drive home.

The night started with my Zumba class in Lehi at 8 p.m. I used two songs from the “Twilight” soundtrack to get us in the mood, plus I wore my vampire shirt. I used it to experiment with t-shirt cutting.

Zumba was insane that night. Usually when I get to class there are a few people lined up outside, waiting to go in once the class before ours is finished. But when I got there Thursday night about twenty people were already in line. The facility puts a cap on the number of people allowed in to Zumba, but we exceeded it. The front desk sent someone up to ask me if they could let more people in even though there weren’t any more passes. I let them in. Everyone had fantastic energy and we had a good time.

Melissa’s in my Zumba class, and afterwards she kindly let me into her home to shower (since I live 20 miles away). We headed to Chili’s for a late dinner wiith her sister- and mother-in-law.

We each wore a Twilight shirt for the occasion to appropriately profess our love (we have the same boyfriend).

We saw a lot of different Twilight t-shirts at the movie theater. And a few guys. My favorite t-shirt was worn by a guy and said, “Real men read Twilight.”

We had a few minutes to pose with our boyfriend.

And with our boyfriend’s rival, Jacob.

About the movie…it made me like Jacob a lot more. But I may have been a tiny bit swayed by his rockin’ body. And I’m not even shallow like that.

I thought the movie was funny and entertaining. Unless I was drugged over with fatigue and just thought it was a good movie. I think I would see it again.

Melissa and I agreed that the only real downer about the movie is that we see Jacob walking around for half the movie shirtless (see “rockin’ body,” above). And then near the end Edward takes off his shirt and…well, it didn’t really compare. At all.

But we’ll still take Edward over Jacob.

Did anyone else see New Moon yet?

Wes is two now. He doesn’t talk much but he’s gradually picking up more signs. Sometimes he surprises us with what he knows. The other day he picked up a leaf that had fallen off a houseplant and automatically started signing “Tree.”

In this video he signs Tree (turn hand side to side) and Wind (move arms back and forth, like the wind).

In this video he’s signing Dog (slap leg), Cat (shows the whiskers), Sheep (move scissor-like fingers up the arm, like you’re shearing), Horse (two fingers on top of the head like ears), and Pig (hand under the chin, fingers wiggling). In the middle of the video, as I’m trying to get him to sign Sheep, he may also be signing Grass (hand under the chin like you’re smelling the grass). I didn’t ask him to sign it, but he was watching Signing Time, and Grass was the sign being shown on TV.

And for better or worse he’s starting to make sounds that resemble words, including “No!” In this video he signs Me (touch chest), More (put both hands together), and Milk (squeeze fingers together). He also says “No” and signs/says “Head.”

Wesley is speech-delayed, of course, but he does make a lot of noise. Sometimes the sounds he makes even resemble words. Like “at” for “cat,” “at” for “light, “at” for pretty much anything, really.

Just today we’re noticing his first sound resembling a word that actually has a consonant sound at the beginning:

“NO!”

It’s progress, so we’ll take it.

I helped organize a Zumba Halloween party that raised money for the Utah Down Syndrome Foundation. The party was on October 29th. The first hour was all Zumba (in 20-minute segments taught by three different instructors), then we broke for a dance performance by P.A.L.S. (a dance troupe of young adults with Down syndrome). Following that, I taught my 20-minute segment, we drew some names for prizes, and then we did 20 minutes all-request Zumba.

Around 75-100 people came, many in costume. In spite of the heater not working and it being about 40 degrees outside, the event was a success. For a first-time effort at organizing a fundraiser, it turned out well. And I learned a lot. One thing I’ll do differently next time is not agree to teach three back-to-back Zumba classes the same day as the event, because by the time it was my turn to teach my body was like, “Three hours of exercise is enough. I quit.” It was fun anyway, but I was tired.

I just got back pictures from the event taken by our talented photographer, Tabitha Davidson (check out her photography Web site).

Observe:

We held it at The Apollo in American Fork. The lighting was cool.

Desree taught the first segment, and we had a surprise visit from Michael Jackson!

Then Jessica taught.

And Laura. I didn’t even recognize her when I arrived. Nice wig, Laura!

(By the way, these three ladies are GREAT Zumba instructors.)

I was supposed to be a schoolgirl.

The last song I taught was a booty battle. My classes love booty battles. We divide the room in half and face off. One side does a move, then the other side does the same move, trying to best them. There is much booty shaking and smack talking.

Wes was Superman.

GOOD NEWS

I got a new job teaching aerobics at BYU starting winter semester. I’ve been subbing there for a year, but now I’ll be teaching four classes a week. Aerobics at BYU is open to anyone in the community (not just students) and it’s the cheapest deal around: $44 for a whole semester (3 1/2 months) and you can go to any of the cardio classes. Here’s what I’ll be teaching:

M/W 6 a.m. (step aerobics)
T/Th 5:30 p.m. (Zumba)

Other cardio classes you can attend:

M/W 5:30 p.m.
T/Th 7:30 p.m.
Saturday 8:30 a.m.

So if you’ve been looking for a new workout class, especially once the new year hits, come check it out.

AND NOW THE BAD NEWS

Sort of bad news. I guess it depends on how you look at it. I’ve had four miscarriages this year. Four miscarriages is not usual, especially not four in a row. But hurrah for insurance, which will cover 100% of the recommended tests. Without insurance each test would be $250-$570, and there are eight of them. If any of you have had recurrent miscarriages and actually found out what the problem was let me know.

On the bright side, I like not being pregnant because I can enjoy teaching aerobics and Zumba without the inconvenience of morning sickness, varicose veins, or a big belly.

MORE GOOD NEWS

Speaking of which, I’ll be teaching a new Zumba class in Springville at the Academy of Ballet (200 South Main) tomorrow (Thursday Nov. 12) at 8 p.m. Cost is $3.50.

I’ll also be teaching another 8-week Zumba session starting in January 20th on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. My current session just ended last night. I gave my class a survey at the end to see how to make it better next time. They were a subdued class, so it was hard to tell how into Zumba they were. Turns out they loved it and only wished they could make the class longer than eight weeks.

AND ONE MORE THING

I’ve lost weight since I started teaching Zumba/aerobics last year. I’ve gone down about a size in both pants and shirts. So I have all these old t-shirts and tank tops that I used to workout in that I never wear anymore because they’re baggy.

This week I pulled out one of my old tank tops and took a scissors to it. First I cut off the straps in the back and tied the straps together behind the neck (halter top fit). Then I cut straight down the back and took out a few inches of material to make the shirt less baggy. I saved the material to use for ties. I punched holes down the back side and used the extra material to tie the shirt back together.

It was a good practice attempt. I’m going to try it again on another shirt I actually like. If it turns out well I’ll post pictures. Have any of you done this before?

We’ve been busy, running around everywhere. Or at least Wes has:

He learned this game from nursery at church. At the end of class when they’re waiting for parents to come they line the kids up against a wall and have them run back and forth. I remember when Wes started nursery at 18 months old. He had only been walking for a month or two then, and he was small and still didn’t have any teeth, so the teachers would hold him while the other kids ran. It’s been eight months since he started nursery, and now he knows how the game works and can run as good (but maybe not as fast) as the rest of the kids.

Sometimes I look at him and still see a baby. And then other times, increasingly often, I look at him see an ACTIVE two-year-old! He loves to run and climb everything he can. Lately we’ve seen him stepping on the handles of the drawers in the kitchen to hull himself up so he can peek over the top of the counter.

He’s got four molars and four front teeth (the two on top and two on bottom). He’s starting to get the teeth that go in between the front teeth and molars. Basically he’s been teething since last April. He won’t chew on anything except his hands, so his fingers are fat with calluses. I’m super happy he has molars: Now I can give him the ENTIRE piece of toast (crust and all) because he can chew it.

He’s a picky eater, though. There are a few never-fail foods: instant oatmeal (maple and brown sugar ONLY), pretzel sticks, and milk. Yeah, that’s the whole list. Other foods he’ll eat sometimes, when he feels like it: buttered toast, apple sauce, pureed fruits and vegetables (nothing with chunks or he’ll spit it out), ice cream, yogurt, M&Ms, fudge-striped shortbread cookies. I think that’s it. My mom says I was a picky eater, but I’m pretty sure I ate more than oatmeal, pretzel sticks, and milk on a regular basis.