September Pictures

Hi! An update is coming very shortly. Here's a few pictures from September....

Bike ride at Great Falls

Great picture, but I was not happy about where they were standing!

Check out the deer standing behind us

Are we done yet?

Breakfast in our big boy chair now that we're sitting better!

High five from Nick

High fives on both sides!

Random Update

I posted a few updates at once today, dating back to August 20. Go to the archives on the right bar to read the updates in August. After going through all of our pictures I realize just how busy our summer has been!

Lucas is great. He’s added a few more words to his vocabulary and new sounds. He always has us laughing. I’ve been trying to teach him to sound like a monkey and he finally attempted it last night. It was the cutest thing I’ve ever heard! For "real words", he can say… hi, bye, g’bye, more, mommy, daddy (de), night night, yeah!, whoa, up, kitty (de-de), ball and book (both come out “ba”), and water (wa). The important thing is that he’s starting to initiate these words in a purposeful manner (a different part of the brain than mimicking). He also produced his first Spanish word last week… “agua”, which comes out “a-wa”. Its very sweet, the other day I held up his cup of water prompting him to ask for it, he whined and squealed for it and I kept saying “what do you say?” He couldn’t come up with it and kept getting more frustrated, wanting me to give it to him. I finally whispered “agua”… and BAM, a lightbulb went off, and he YELLED at me, “Aaaaaaaaa-waaa!” Ok, ok! Here you go! I had a good laugh.

We officially start speech therapy next week, I’m excited to learn some exercises to help him advance in this area. I haven’t met the therapist assigned yet but I spoke with her on the phone and I like her demeanor so far. When I told her what he was doing, she was very encouraging saying he’s right on track with the natural progression of speech and told me some things she’d work on. She didn’t focus at all on “but does he do xx? He should be doing xx" (like the other speech therapist that did the evaluation). And she didn't just assume that he's going to have major issues due to his injury (being late to develop and having real speech issues are two different things). I’m very glad we will not be seeing the evaluator again. I forgot to mention that she came back a second time a few weeks ago to complete her language “test” for Lucas. She literally tallied up his score, then told me that he’s way behind for a 2 1/2 year old, that according to the test he should be able to say about 100 words. He's very behind. Really?! No @#!% You needed a standardized test to tell me that? He's not 2 1/2... not even close... I'm so tired of people acting surprised and/or concerned when he's not at the level of his actual age. I asked her if the test made any accomodates for his vision issues, motor delays, or being exposed to two languages (a lot of the questions were about whether he could name an object, or go get an object on command...no, but it doesn't mean he doesnt undertand it). It just means he scores a "0" for that question. She said no, but that we should have him re-tested with one from a different state for the visually impaired. I don't think so. As I've said before, he'll get to these levels, after he's gone through every step of development like every other child. He's not going to suddenly skip steps to catch up, especially while overcoming a brain injury! Sorry for venting... sometimes the claws come out.

He’s getting stronger every day, we haven’t been able to get him weighed due to some crazy schedules and vacation closure at our doctor’s office, but we can tell he’s really packed it on. He’s feeling very strong and sturdy, and tonight I actually saw his belly hanging over his pants. :-) I’m loving that he can support himself upright now, its liberating that I'm finally able to run into a store and put him in the cart. Sounds like a simple thing, right? I haven’t been able to do that until this past month. If I needed to run into the grocery, I would either have to carry him the whole time, or put him in a stroller and try to push the cart too…not easy. This sounds crazy, but it warms my heart every time I see him sitting in the cart like a big boy, I actually look forward to running a quick errand with him (quick being the operative word...he's not a patient shopper)! Of course, he’s the social butterfly and has to tell EVERY single person “hi” in the store that we pass by… and I mean everybody through the aisles. Or he'll say 43 “hi’s” to the register clerk. Its nice to see the smile he puts on their faces when he catches them off guard, he's so small that people don't expect him to be talking to them. We get so many “awwww, he’s so cute" comments. But no one knows by looking at him strolling through Target how much he’s been through to do a simple thing like riding in the cart like all the other kids! Not only can he sit up, he knows to use his arms to grab on and support himself when we move (we’ve been working on balance for months in PT). He usually takes my hand off the handle...that's his space. The other day he shocked me when he placed his right hand on the metal bar to hold on, then he slowly raised the left hand and grab on too!! :-) I didn’t prompt him at all to do this. Its the first time I’ve ever seen him use his left hand to support himself in any capacity! All of this sounds so simple, but its so far from it. I’m so proud of him.

He’s really starting to move around on the floor on his back. He can now scoot all the way across the floor pushing with his legs to his favorite toy and turn it on! He still hates his belly and his left arm really creates a challenge for him when on his belly, but its coming. Mobility… we’re getting there!

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We're looking forward to a nice long weekend with the kids for Labor Day. Two weekends ago we took them to Pittsburgh to see American Idol and left Lucas with Bran's parents overnight. It was a great trip, they loved the show and we spent the next day seeing Pittsburgh and visiting the science museum for kids. Although I hate being away from Lucas, it was good to do something just for the three of them, as we can sometimes be limited in what we do on the weekends with a two year old in tow!

Little helper Check out the hands...left arm too!

Bran and the kids at American Idol The girls

Like Father, like Son... does Nicholas resemble his Dad, or what?On the Incline RailAt the Carnegie Science CenterLife size game of Operation

A Day to Celebrate

Today marks two years since Little Man came home after those long five months! I can’t believe it! This is the day that is the most important for me, the one that marks the true beginning for all of us (or the end of an extremely difficult chapter, however you want to look at it). This time of year heading into fall is already reminding me of that time in our lives. I’ve reflected a lot this weekend, replaying in my mind the events of that special day. I remember working that morning for a few hours to tie things up before maternity leave, running to Best Buy to buy the video camera we’d been looking at, running home to meet Bran, and then making the 40 minute drive that we did every day for 156 days to finally bring our boy home!! It was surreal and I was terrified… but it was the best day of my life. It was such an amazing feeling. It brings tears to my eyes thinking about it now, and I think it always will.

We arrived home to a big basket of flowers on our front step that Bran’s parents had delivered, with balloons floating above saying “Welcome Home!” I remember putting his car seat on the living room floor, with him tethered to the apnea monitor, thinking “now what?” As if it was yesterday, I remember sitting on our own couch for the first time, it was such a privilege. I just stared at him for hours, thrilled to have him home with us. I got no sleep that night, not because he was fussy, but because I was worried something would happen to him. I held him the entire night. I was never more happy to be sleep deprived the next day and to snuggle up for naps together.

So, here’s to another new chapter… and below are a few reminiscent pictures of the best day ever!

You have Taught Me
By Anne Maclellan

You have taught me patience to rejoice in small gains which others take for granted.

You have taught me tolerance to accept that your perspective is different and deserves respect.

You have taught me courage to fight for you when no one else will.

You have taught me endurance to go on when I feel I can't anymore.

You have taught me humility to accept when I can't make things better but can only be here for you.

You have taught me to love at a deeper level than I ever thought possible.

The first few minutes at home

We made it! The first morning