OT, PT and colored eggs

The boys had fun coloring Easter eggs this year, although we had a few casualties. Sammy did great with the wax coloring. He is a determined and focused boy.



Holidays are more enjoyable the older the boys get. I love seeing their happy faces!







Sammy thought it was funny to wear his cousin Veda's purse on his head. He can be quite the silly boy.







Elijah had his third OT session today and his OT already loves him to pieces. She started "working" his vestibular system, which I think is great. She gently encouraged him to ride on the tire swing today, and that is a huge accomplishment. He was uncomfortable, but pushed himself. Progress! She also worked with him on his finger/hand strength.



His OT and PT are putting together their summer schedules, so today his OT said, "Ooohhh how I hope I can work with him this summer. I love him!!"



E's PT told me tonight that she was encouraging him to run back and forth between two points. She told him, "Hurry! I'm going to count to ten!" Elijah frantically turned around and said to her, "NO! DON'T DO IT! NO COUNTING, VICKI!" Sooo....yeah....that would be our fault. We do counting at home a lot and IT WORKS. The kid hates it when we start counting. It is one of the only things (along with the Wii) that encourages him to accomplish tasks.



I need to post videos of Sammy because he is so incredibly cute lately. Sassy and cute, that is! He has a funny little personality. We love our Sammy! We love our boys!

Thanks for checking in! Have a great week!

OT eval

I wanted to write down a few details from Elijah's occupational therapy evaluation. He has already been to three OT sessions, and he is doing GREAT! His OT (who is wonderful!) has commented on what a "happy and cooperative" little boy he is. I invited her to come home with us for an evening! :)

One of the main focal points will be his fine motor skills. His hands and fingers are weak, which makes it difficult for him to do things like zip zippers and button pants.

The part that I found really interesting was Elijah's Sensory Profile, which is a "standard method for measuring a child's sensory processing abilities and profiles the effect of sensory processing on functional performance in the daily life of a child." I will list the areas that Elijah scored low in:

Vestibular Processing
Sensory Processing Related to Endurance/Tone
Behavioral Outcomes of Sensory Processing
Emotionally Reactive
Low Endurance/Tone
Sensory Sensitivity

All of that is spot on. I have to paste a little excerpt from the report because these very things are things I have been telling you all about for years (it somehow feels good to have professional validation):

"Elijah demonstrates a significant difference in the area of vestibular processing and is very gravitationally insecure. He became extremely anxious when his feet were lifted off the ground. He refused to tip his head back when off the ground. He demonstrates difficulty with modulation of sensory input related to body position and movement and this affects his emotional responses and is also affecting his motor skills negatively. He is sensory sensitive and often has an exaggerated response to some sensory input in the areas of vestibular, visual and oral sensory. Elijah moves stiffly, locks joints for stability and demonstrates core weakness which could also be impacted by deficits in sensory processing. Elijah hesitates navigating curbs or steps, avoids climbing and jumping and expresses fear of falling and fear of heights."

I think it is so interesting how every piece of development is capable of affecting another piece. Deficits in one area can affect many other things! Elijah was approved to receive OT, in addition to PT, once/week for the next year. We are extremely thankful that we have so many wonderful and smart people looking out for our boy.

I feel like it's only fair that I mention the GOOD things from the report, as well! Most of the areas he was tested in he did great at. All forms of processing (aside from vestibular) were well within the normal range, and his social and attention skills tested great, too. Considering his medical history, he is doing better than we ever could have expected. We are so proud of our boy, who now goes down the BIG SLIDE AT THE PARK all by himself and without any fear! Every little thing means so much. We appreciate every bit of progress, and every little thing.

Spring Break comes to a close

Spring Break week has been mostly good! You know, aside from all of the potty issues. We were able to get out and do a few fun things this week. Elijah's favorite outing (by far) was going to the "Mall at the 'Merica." We rode on the rides and checked out the Sea Life exhibit. Elijah even rode on his first (small) roller coaster! He was VERY proud of himself, and I must say that I was pretty proud, too. It is indescribable to explain how happy it makes me to see Elijah enjoy himself so much on outings like that one (Sammy someday, too). I love that happy little face so much!



Sammy was very indifferent about the entire MOA experience. He has to FULLY absorb his surroundings before enjoying himself, so a place like The Mall is not the most comfortable place for him.



Dan and I have been feeling very tired and run down, so we are starting a healthier diet and schedule tomorrow. April will be our turn-around month! It is ridiculous how tired we always feel.



I won't say anything further on the potty issues. Things are the same there, and still quite frustrating.



We are excited to get Elijah back in school this week. Life is so much happier for all of us when he has that time with friends in the mornings.



The weather tomorrow is supposed to be phenomenal, so we are looking forward to enjoying that!



I will go over Elijah's OT report sometime in the next few days. It was interesting to read, and it has gotten my wheels turning. We are constantly being reminded lately what a special, awesome little boy he is! Sammy, too, of course! We love our boys!



Good night! More later!

Random doings and sayings

I love this photo of the boys snuggling, despite Elijah looking quite wiped out.



Sammy loves his new orange Crocs that I got for him in Colorado. He wants to be wearing them constantly. If one happens to fall off, he yells, GOCK! GOCK! GOCK! until we put it back on.

Elijah has always had little quirks and unique sensitivities. Since he was a tiny baby he has absolutely hated the sun shining in his face while riding in the car. He still hates it. So every time the sun is shining in his face, which happens often because that's what suns do, we get to hear, THE SUN IS SHOOTING ME! (Repeat until the sun is no longer "shooting" him.) Just recently he has been extra sensitive to wind, as well. If we are walking outside when it is windy, he says, THE WIND IS BLOWING ME AWAY! (Again, repeat until the wind has stopped blowing him away.) No drama or anything!

That leads nicely into this topic. We have decided to put Elijah into occupational therapy, as well as physical therapy. We are hoping that will help him with some of his fine motor skill delays and also self-care and some sensory issues that still linger from when he was a baby. He will hopefully start that next Monday. I hear that his new OT has all sorts of activities lined up for him!

Lately Elijah has been asking me about his scars. He points to his big one and asks what Dr. Moga did. I explain that he had to cut an incision to get into his heart, and he seems to understand that. Then he points to his chest tube scars and asks where they came from. Those are a little more difficult to explain, but we are honest about why they are there. We have talked a little bit about his upcoming heart cath, and he seems to know what to expect.

The boys have a game they play with me lately that makes us all giggle. When I ask for a kiss or a hug they will say, "NOOOO!" and laugh and run away. I chase them and say, "You can't deny Mama Kisses!" Once I get my hands on them they get assaulted with Mama's kisses! Thankfully they both love getting smooched by Mama.

The potty troubles are still present. I would say there is a teeny improvement in that arena. Just teeny. At least now we see him trying to hold it instead of just going wherever and whenever. We do still have our share of accidents, though. And we still get sassed when we ask him to go. Overall, the sassing has made slight improvements, as well. Dan and I have stuck to our guns and have not backed down ONCE with discipline/consequences. He is learning that we aren't tolerating manipulation, which is good!

Sammy has this funny thing that he constantly does where he will take family inventory. MAMA? Yes, I'm Mama. DADA? Daddy is at work. UH-YA-YA? Elijah is at school. Then he will pat the top of his head. (This is a funny thing because he has never once attempted to say his own name. It's always a head-pat when referring to himself.) Yes, you are Sammy. He does this about 900 times per day. Then he will point to his toes (or any body part) and grunt (grunting is his way of saying, "Look!"). Yes, those are Sammy's toes. Then he will point in Dan's direction and grunt. Yes, Daddy has toes. Then he will point at me and grunt. Yep, Mama has toes, too. Then at Elijah. Elijah does indeed have toes. And on and on.

My favorite recent word of Sammy's is his word for JAMMIES. He calls them BEEZ-BEEZ. :) He has also been saying a string of nonsense words that never fails to make Elijah and I laugh. It sounds like blub-blub-blub-blub-blub-BOP!

Last weekend Elijah got to spend a night with Auntie Lissa and Uncle Dan and two of his cousins! He adores Auntie Lissa's house, and he had a blast with them, as usual. I love this photo of him and his cousin (and puppy) sleeping. Sshhh, please don't tell Emma I posted this!



And he even got to ride the lawn mower with Uncle Dan!



Elijah woke up this morning with a tiny cough and runny nose, so we will be on croup alert tonight. Other than that, and our boys' silly antics, not much is going on with us. We have been outside a lot, enjoying this beautiful Minnesota weather! Which reminds me, happy spring! Thanks for checking in.