Lately, I've noticed huge improvements and changes in Ronan's speech. He's always been a fairly good talker when he does speak, but he didn't talk much for awhile. Over the past month or two, though, he's started talking a lot more. Yesterday, for instance, we were watching some squirrels playing around our house and Ronan would keep up a running commentary on what they were doing: "Two squirrels! They're jumping! He's on my house. He's eating. Oh no! Squirrel will eat me!" (Not sure where that last one came from.) It's been fun to get a better glimpse into what he's thinking.

Since I'd been getting slightly concerned about his speech, I decided to use the county's free development service and get him checked, just in case. The evaluation team (of four women) came out and did a series of tests with him - they couldn't focus on just one aspect, they test all the developmental skills. Ronan did a great job and scored in the high average range in all areas. They were really impressed with him and his concentration and determination. One of the tests was to string four large beads on a shoelace. It took him a bit to get the hang of it, and it was so tempting for all of us to just help him. But eventually he got it and was very proud of himself. After that, the other beads were no problem. They didn't see any problems with his speech - the main thing they said was that it was clear sometimes he was trying to talk faster than his mouth could keep up, but that wasn't uncommon at all. And he also hit that language growth in between the time I set up the appointment and when they actually came out. I felt a little sheepish and like the over-concerned mom, but it was nice to get confirmation that everything's ok.

It's hard to believe that October is almost over. I'm not sure what Ronan's going to do with Halloween. A couple weeks ago, I took him to Boo at the Zoo with some friends of mine and their kids. I got Ronan a firefighter costume (basically, a jacket and a hat, to go with the boots my mom gave him awhile ago), which I thought he'd love, since that's his new thing. He was pretty taken with the hat, but he hated the jacket. I kind of had to bribe him to put it on when we got to the zoo (telling him about the candy he'd get), but it didn't last long. We got to the penguin exhibit (the first stop) and Ronan decided that was it for the costume. He wouldn't even wear the hat. The people at the treat station were very understanding and no one denied him candy, so that was good. But I was still a little bummed. He looked so cute in it! We're supposed to go trick-or-treating on Sunday, but I'm not sure if he'll get it or not. Oh well. I guess it's not the end of the world if he doesn't get a lot of candy.

Other than that, things are going fine for me. I leave next week to go to DC for a research trip, which I hope will be productive. Then in Dec. I'm heading to CA for more research. Then I think that'll be it for traveling until after the baby.

I've been reminded lately how hard it is to be away from old friends and family. One of my good friends had a stillbirth on Tuesday. I cannot imagine the pain they are all going through and I really wish I was able to just zip up to MN and be with her. They had a service yesterday and I just wasn't able to make it up there. I'm lucky to be surrounded by great people here, but it's hard when you can't be there for someone else. And losing a baby is just so awful and so unfair.

Well, Ronan's climbed into my lap and has decided to help me type, so time to go.