CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?

This is what James looks like in the tub now that we have to protect his ears from water:

(A cotton ball torn in half and coated in vaseline to make it stick)

It's been one week since he got the tubes, and we're already wondering whether the removal of all that buildup in his ears has improved his hearing (and thus his speaking ability), as well as his balance...

He's talking more than ever, with new words sprouting up like weeds. The other night he started answering his Grandma with "OK" when she'd tell him such things as "We'll read the book after dinner, OK?" He can say "bat" when we fly his stuffed bat toward him, "turtle" (tuddle) when we point out the many turtles he has in his room, and "bee" when he sees the bee in one of his favorite books. His words are forming mini sentences more often, such as "The book" and "Want more" and "Up please", instead of just saying "book", "moh" or "up". He can now say "juice" (duece), "cup", "apple", and "cheese" (tease). He knows EXACTLY what ice cream is and will repeat "ice!" quite enthusiastically if we ask him if he wants ice cream. He's even improving his manners by saying "Thank you" (don-du) when told "Tell Daddy thank you." Oh, and he says "Grandma" (Ma-maw) too. (Since he already says "ampa" for Grandpa, now we just need to teach him Grambot and he's all set!)

And while he still toddles, he really does seem to sway and stumble less when walking. And he runs more. We took him for his first walk around the neighborhood Friday evening where we actually let him WALK (rather than ride in the stroller). He was so cute running ahead of us, then pausing and looking back when I told him to "Freeze!" He was all over the place, trying his footing on all the different textures (pavement, rocks, pine needles, grass, leaf piles, etc.). Then there was the solo stair climbing and sliding he did at the park on Saturday, and his marathon walking session at the zoo yesterday.

We're so glad to see that the tubes seem to be helping so far. Though the real test will be his first cold of the season... (or maybe he won't get one this year?...)