It Makes My Heart Smile

There are lots of things that make me happy. The sounds of birds in my backyard in the morning, a cup of hot tea on a chilly morning, fresh sheets straight from the dryer on the bed, new socks straight from the package on my feet, the smell of something yummy baking in my kitchen, the smell of my mom's house when she's making dinner...the list goes on and on. But of all the things that make me happy, watching Joshua tops them all.

I love watching Josh "work" with Ben in the garage... I love watching Josh "work" with his physical therapist...I love watching Joshua "work" with his occupational therapist...I love watching Joshua pick up new skills (like pulling to stand on the chair!)...I love watching Joshua stand all by himself...I love watching Josh play in the new stander we're borrowing (different from the gait trainer, even though they look similar)...I love watching his face light up when he is playing....I love watching Josh snuggle with his new best friend...And I love, love, love, love watching Josh do anything that makes him giggle like this...

It makes my heart smile. :)

Happy Halloween!

Off the top of my head, I can count about 20 elephants around my house. I love elephants. They are smart and beautiful and majestic and strong and completely family oriented. They have feelings and emotions that mirror humans, and they are incredibly adorable as babies. I have elephant picture holders, elephant drawings, toy elephants, elephant Christmas ornaments, even a carved wooden rocking elephant!

But of all my elephants, this one...

is by far....

my all time....

favorite.

So Behind.

I know, I know. I'm behind. We've had some exciting days & nights here this week and I just haven't had time to post. I've actually had this post waiting to be published, I just didn't get to it. And it's a bit of a mishmash (is that even a word?! No? Well, my blog, my words. So there.) so be prepared to jump around. (Is the House of Pain song stuck in your head now too? Drat.)

This...is Joshua's first art project! We colored in therapy last week and Josh loved scribbling. :) This masterpiece is currently being displayed at Wegmans Corporate (in daddy's office).

What? You've always wondered what Joshua's bones look like? Well wait no more! Here they are!

We had an appointment with an orthopaedic surgeon to assess whether or not Josh's right hip was intact or not. And as this xray shows...it's kind of not. The acetabulum (the cup part of the pelvis that holds the top of the femur in place) is shallow and forming improperly. So we'll be working hard for the next 6 months to stretch his hip aductor muscles and get him standing so that the hip will hopefully shape up. We'll do another xray in 6 months and if it still isn't right, we'll be doing some bracing to make it right. If that doesn't work, we start looking at surgery. We don't want to do that. So, to help with stretching and standing, Josh is doing a lot of time in this...

While it looks like a medieval torture device, it's really a stander (an old stander!). Our PT loaned it to us so that Joshua can be standing at least one hour a day. Hopefully soon we'll get a newer version that will allow us to roll him around the house while he stands. :)

We went to the End of Summer Chicken BBQ out at Nodine's last week. We got to see Alison...

...and found out that Joshua will have another cousin next year!

Bebe (Ben's grandfather) spent some quality time singing to Joshua...

And Josh got to go outside to play with Timmy on the slide and the tractor!

Grandpa even turned it on so they could listen to the motor...um, purr...Joshua enjoyed it. Tremendously. :)

This is just because I love this face.

And this? This is because I think it's funny.

Joshua got a new gait trainer on loan from our PT (this is #3)...and I think we have a winner! This will be the style that we order for Joshua. He loves being in it and we love how he looks in it. It's wonderful.

I'll try to post some videos of him walking soon. :)

Fancy Feet!

Josh was fitted for AFOs (ankle-foot orthosis) yesterday. They are going to help him stand in better alignment and keep his feet from pronating. Actually, one of his feet is pronated and the other supinated, but that's a different story. :) So we met Joshua's PT (who we LOVE...have I told you lately how much I love her?!) there and Josh was fitted. Here's how it went...

First, the technician had Josh stand and jump and looked at his feet. Then he told me that he was going to put casts on my son's legs. And I must've looked faint because both he and our PT assured me that they weren't staying on. *phew!* So the tech got all the stuff together......and then they put these long stockings on Joshua's legs and cut them to length. He made some marks on the stockings for where Josh's toes were and the ankle joints & stuff like that.Next, he wrapped Josh's legs in the casts and made sure they molded to his leg.Once they were dry (like 2 minutes later), he cut the casts off...

...and repeated on his other leg. So cool! We ended up with two casts perfectly molded to Joshua's feet & calves. Then, it was the most important moment of all. Picking out the color! I called Ben (who couldn't make it because the appointment was in the middle of the day) and went over the colors, even sending him some pictures to get his opinion. In the end, we decided on the "Blue Fly & Drive" pattern. I was feeling really pressured to choose just the right pattern & color. I mean, I want my son to look cool! Or at least as cool as he can look in AFOs. Then I was told that it really wasn't that big of a choice...Josh would likely get new ones every 6 months. So I guess we'll have lots of time to try out all the different patterns. Maybe next time we'll go with the camo. :)

We pick them up in two weeks. I can't wait to see them!

More Walking!

I don't even need to say anything...these videos are exciting enough on their own. :)

Sweet Baby

This.... is our newest niece, Alison.

Dear Ali, We love you already!

Joshua thinks you are facinating...how you wiggle and move and squeek.We can't wait to watch you grow and change! Someday, we will watch you run and play with Joshua and Timmy. Someday, we will have tea parties and play dress up with Auntie Carly. Someday, you'll go fishing with 'the guys'. But for now, we'll snuggle you, and kiss you, and hold you tight.

Welcome, sweet baby girl. We love you.

One Small Step...

Joshua is walking!!! Ok...so that's a bit of an exaggeration. He's not really walking, but he's in the beginning stage of learning to take steps. :) We have a gait trainer on loan from Joshua's new PT (who we LOVE)...so without further adieu, here are Joshua's first steps...

Niagara Falls & New Skills!

Last weekend, we drove up to Niagara Falls for the day. It was how Ben wanted to celebrate his birthday. So we got food packed, extra clothes, drinks, addresses, plans, blankets, coats...everything we could think of into the car and head out. The skies were dark and the clouds looked like they might burst at any moment, but the rain held off. We had hoped that Joshua would sleep on the way up, but he entertained us by singing and chatting and talking to himself in the back seat. Ben kept his eyes on the road and soon enough, we were there.

We were almost to the border when Ben suddenly said, "Um, hon? We forgot our passports." Drat, drat and double drat! See, after July 1, 2009, you can no longer cross the border without passports. Your NY license will not do it anymore. So, we fell back and regrouped. We decided to stay there and explore the American side of the falls. I had actually never been to the American side, so it was a new experience for me. We parked on Goat Island and walked around the island (it's a small island!), stopping to see the falls...or at least what we could see through the incredibly heavy mist. We originally had thought that it was raining...but it turned out to be just the mist from the falls. Crazy! So after a few self portraits and two pictures of Josh & Ben at the falls...

...we ran for cover. All of us looked as though we had run through a rainstorm, and we had to bundle Josh up to keep him warm.

Once we got back to the car, the skies opened up and it poured. So we drove into downtown Buffalo, had wings at the Anchor Bar (where chicken wings were created), and headed home. Josh was sleeping by the time we hit the thruway. All in all, it was a really good day spent together. What more could we ask for?

This week has been a big week for Joshua motorically. His OT got him a new splint for his right hand and there was a noticable difference in the first few minutes he had it on!

We are keeping it on him whenever he is awake, sometimes with the supinator strap (it puts a very slight amount of torque on his arm to remind him to turn it out, not in) and sometimes without. But whenever he tries to use his hand now, it's so much easier for him. It's so exciting to see him use his right hand!This morning, while having his morning bottle, he even reached up (with his left hand) and started to push the bottle back into his mouth when I pulled it away! That, my friends, is HUGE! Up until now, he has relied on us to make sure he gets his bottle. If we don't hold it there, he cried and screamed at the injustice of it all. The simple act of reaching up to keep it in his mouth means that he's starting to want to be independant. It's awesome.

Once he masters this, we can move on to a sippy cup or maybe even a straw!!! Those are both goals on his IFSP (Individualized Family Service Plan) through Early Intervention...and oh, how it warms my heart to see *Achieved* checked next to a goal. :)