Playing catch-up…
June 30, 2009 | Updates
Just FYI, this post was writting about the beginning of May…that’s why it may seem a bit out of context…
April came and went pretty quickly. We did have a fun Spring Break together with the kids. We didn’t go out of town or anything, but we did find some fun things to do locally. We went to Baby Animal Days and saw tons of fun things from chickens to pigs, oxen to goats. The kids had a good time. Highlights were the snakes that Wes loved and the Easter Bunny that neither Samuel or Nathan were too sure of. Plus, it was pretty funny when Nathan jumped on a little “bouncy horse” (sort of like a bouncy ball) and bounced right out of the little market they were showcasing them in. Kaylee went to “fetch” him, but the guy manning the store didn’t realize anyone had gone for him and looked pretty worried that a 2 year old had just shoplifted his $40 horse. Good times!
We also went to see Monsters vs. Aliens. Samuel was his usual self in the movie and paid attention (while wiggling), but also took a small catnap halfway through the picture. And we ended the weekend with colring eggs, Easter Egg Hunts and candy filled baskets. It was a fun weekend.
Otherwise, April was fairly uneventful. Tanner did attend Junior Prom. Besides running out of gas and ripping his pants, I think he had good time :). Oh, those teenage years.
Samuel’s IEP was held in April and it was interesting that his Occupational and Physical Therapists said they saw improvements in his rolling. They said that at the beginning of the year, it was more “flopping” around and now, they could see some “segmented” rolling and they were really impressed with that. They seemed more inclined to help and support ABR given the positive change, so that was good to hear.
May also brought a big change for us as my sister, Kaylee, who has been working with Samuel daily over the last 3 years decided to go home for the summer. That means I’ve been searching for a replacement, which is pretty well an impossible thing to do. I do have a few candidates, however, and am hoping that one of them will get us through the summer until Kaylee returns.
In good news, Samuel was able to try out the new Dynovox Eyemax system which allows those without the use of their hands to communicate through eyegaze. Samuel was pretty funny about it. I think he thought it was some kind of therapy session since his school teacher and therapists were all there. He acted afraid to even look at the screen and would squint his eyes if he did. And pretty soon, true to form, he closed his eyes and dozed off to dreamland. Ah, the perfect way to avoid any kind of therapy! About the time we started to leave, he perked right back up - stinker! But we did schedule a 12 day home trial with the device within the next month, so I’m excited to see if he can learn to use it. I tried it myself and it did sync well with my eyes, which was a nice improvement over the last eye gazing system I tried. Wouldn’t it be great if he could learn to use it? Here’s to hoping for that!
I’ll leave you with a picture of Nathan’s swollen eyes. I think he has allergies. They showed up about the time it got warm enough to play outside. They also came at the same time as a cold (I think). Anyway, the doctor agrees and we seem to be good if we keep him on a daily dose of zyrtec. Otherwise, he’s miserable. Hopefully it’s just a springtime thing. Hopefully…
Here’s to hoping you’re all doing well. I LOVE the spring weather. I LOVE letting my kids play outside. I LOVE these few weeks when the weather is nice and the canal if OFF. As soon the they turn it on, I will have to be completely neurotic again. Not looking forward to that…
Love,
The Jewkes
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July 2nd, 2009 at 11:26 am, Natalie Says:
What handsome boys you have! Love those dressy pics of Samuel and Tanner. And poor Nathan’s eyes! Hopefully by now they are all better. You continue to amaze me with all of the new stuff you find to help Samuel. Maybe if I was more like you I could find somebody to help Brea eat! We have an appt. in SLC on the 15th with the dysphagia clinic so we’ll see if they have any wonderful advice.
Hope you’re enjoying your summer and that you’ve found a replacement for your sister. I hope Samuel has a happy birthday this month too!
July 8th, 2009 at 1:23 am, Suzi Searles Says:
Loved the pictures and update, so glad to see that you are back to keeping us up to date on Samuel and the rest of the family.
I so enjoyed getting to know you last month, what a blessing to be able to sit and talk with another mom that knows exactly about what I go through every day. I hope and pray that you are having a great summer and that Samuel is staying healthy. Let us know how things are going when you get a spare moment.
Suzi