Just sing... sing a song!

Okay, I admit it. I have been chasing my near two year old around the house, removing the pacifier from his mouth and forcing him to say words. He just smiles back up at me -- or screams for the binky -- then says nothing. I think I've heard a thank-you here or there, and possibly a "more." When I ask him to point at his nose, he clutches the general vicinity of his face. Then I get ambitious and turn to Simon says on steroids: "Where's your hair? Where are your eyes? Where's your mouth?" He runs far away, as any child would that can sniff out his mother's neurosis like a shark can smell blood in the water.

So on the drive home from Chuck E. Cheese yesterday, as the boys were singing Old MacDonald in the back seat, and I looked back to see Peter smiling and clapping, I was taken by surprise to hear him chiming in on the "Ee-eye-ee-eye-oh!" As soon as we got home, that flip cam came out of my purse.

Why could I not have guessed that music might be far more conducive to developing Peter's speech skills? How did I miss that? I mean I love to sing, the older boys love to sing, so why wouldn't Peter? So we are on the road -- and a unique path, Peter's own.

Speaking of on the road, my posts, as we have all noticed, have slimmed down. This might be because it's virtually impossible to get to a computer alone and stay there with three small children in the house. This time tomorrow, our I-Mac will be packed up, boxed and shipped to North Carolina, where we will all land up in June. I-Mac, I will miss you, but I do have my school Macbook, and two computers for one adult in temporary housing is a little over the top.

The boys and I will be remaining here until the end of my school year, and then we'll be joining Jason in late June in our new home. He will continue to visit as he has been until then. I was lucky enough to get a teaching job in North Carolina that will begin in early to mid August (New Jersey teacher, you can all gasp now). Owen will finish pre-k, Nicholas will finish preschool, Peter will hang, as always at Grandma and Grandpa A's house, and then we'll all fall in together in the evenings. Some people have asked if this is going to be just a little hectic. I say spring is here, the moving truck is pulling up, and we have made it through a tough winter. After eight months of uncertainty, I think we can face the next three with some certainties in place. I can live with that, as can Jason, and our boys are much better than anyone else at going with the flow.