Cardiology Checkup

I brought Elijah in for his routine 6-month cardiology check-up today. We've bought sooo much time with the cadaver valve that has been a part of his body since June of 2011, so with each passing check-up we expect to hear that "It's time!" I would not have been surprised at all if we'd heard those words today. In fact, I was mildly shocked when Dr. G told me everything was great! Wow! Another amazing report. He reviewed today's echo, along with the cardiac MRI that was done ten days ago. Heart function is good and pressures inside his heart are not yet in a concerning range. Sometimes if a valve is nearing the end of its life, an MRI will show thickened tissue that would indicate it is being stretched beyond its means. None of that is present. Praise GOD!

Elijah always amazes me with his total bravery when entering the hospital premises. If I were him, I'd be a mess! He, however, walks in confidently with a smile, flirting with the nurses and telling jokes to everyone. This kid is my hero. And so is his brother. I adore my boys!

Tonight before bed Sammy asked if we could go outside and peek at the moon. We went out just at dusk and we were able to see a few stars pop up in the sky. Sammy loves nighttime. He loves the lights that glow from people's houses. He loves the stars and the moon. Hand in hand, we took a walk together in the dark. It was precious. We promised each other that we'd take many more of those special nighttime walks.

Here's to another six months of cardiology freedom! YAY! :)

ps. BOTH boys' conferences went great this week! Dan and I are beyond grateful for the teachers they've been paired with and how well the year has started at the new school (minus some bullying which has quickly been addressed). Quick brag moment...Sammy is in the 99th percentile for math skills! Such a smart boy!

Hair Brothers

Check out these long-haired #BROS! :)

Part of me does not want to cut their gorgeous hair!

We attended the boys' school conferences tonight. Both went well! Sammy is above average in every area. He is a good friend and a good student. Elijah has progressed IMMENSELY from last year. He is great at math and reading and he is controlling himself much better than last year. Both of our boys have AMAZING teachers and we are so grateful for them.

Elijah BEGGED for us to put him to sleep tonight, which could possibly indicate sickness. We are praying against it, but....more to come!

Love

Tonight after I got home from work the boys and I did tickle time, chasing, pinching butts (don't ask), dancing crazily around the living room while listening to worship music, playing Candy Land and on and on.. It was wonderful. I am so grateful for my awesome boys!

I don't know that I have mentioned some recent appointments Elijah has had. He got new ankle braces a few weeks ago. His PT thought they were necessary, as his ankles are turning inward more these days. He is adjusting to them well. We also decided it would be beneficial to have Elijah start seeing a psychologist after dealing with some behavioral issues at school. After talking to this new doctor, I had the idea to create Emotion Cards at home. Whenever he feels a negative emotion, we encourage him to seek out the appropriate card and flip it over. On the other side, there are multiple suggestions about how to handle the emotion (most of which E helped me come up with). Take a deep breath! Say silly words! Count to 10! Take a rest or time-out! So far it is going well.

We had E's parent-teacher conference this week. It went as expected. Elijah is doing great academically. His teacher struggles with his behavior, mostly in the afternoons (when he becomes tired). Honestly, it's tough hearing her view on him. Not many positive things are expressed. Dan and I know how challenging his behavior can be, but we have perspective and therefore grace. We know where he's been. His IEP meeting is on Friday morning, so please pray that it goes well. And that I don't cry! I have been preparing myself and I'm bringing tissues.

We ran into one of Elijah's kindergarten teachers after his conference the other night. It was so nice to see her! She knows our boy so well and we will never EVER forget the effort she put into shaping him into a great student and person during his kindergarten year. I asked her if we could please just take her along as his teacher every year. :)

On Thursday E will see a sleep specialist who will hopefully give us insight regarding his sleep issues. I am feeling hopeful that this will take care of a lot of other things!

Our sweet Sammy is doing great. He certainly has a sassy and independent side, but he is such a sweet and caring little boy. I love being his mom! I literally yearn for him during the day while I am at work. When I get home, I practically attack him with hugs and kisses. He is precious and adorable and I love him to pieces!

Thanks for checking in. Here's hoping you all have a wonderful week!

Parent-teacher conference

Dan and I had a parent-teacher conference with Elijah's teacher today. It went really well!

His awesomely wonderful teacher said the following:

- Elijah is one of the most consistent kids in the class. He is happy and predictable and cooperative. (Goodness, I wish we could say this about him at home!)

- He has come such a very long way in his development. He is still behind in social, gross motor and fine motor skills, but not by much. When comparing him to where he was at one year ago, it is pretty amazing to think about! He has made tremendous strides.

- Intellectually/academically, he is ahead of where most kindergarten teachers want their students to be at the end of the kindergarten year. He picks up on reading and math and patterns and everything else very quickly.

Elijah is a special little boy. It takes a unique combination of grace and nurturing and structure to make him the happiest, most effective person he can be. His teacher told us today that she was a little bit concerned. If Elijah doesn't receive the perfect combination of qualities in a kindergarten teacher, he could fail. Thankfully, as always, he has the absolute best people looking out for him, so his preschool teacher is going to request that very thing for him. We are going to try to get him the most structured yet nurturing kindergarten teacher possible.

E's teacher thinks that he will need a "special" label of some sort because of his developmental delays (due a lot to all of his medical needs). Because of this, he will likely need to be pulled out of his class for at least speech services, and possibly more? She said to us that Elijah has some autistic tendencies, but that he is not autistic. I have ALWAYS thought this exact thing about him! There are so many things that he does that would qualify him as an autistic kid, but he just isn't.

We have been very blessed with the teachers and doctors who have cared for him. We continue to pray for the same from here on out. I have honestly prayed for his kindergarten teacher since he was born!

PT Conference

Dan and I attended Elijah's parent-teacher conference last night. According to his teachers, Elijah has made HUGE strides in every single area since his IEP meeting in November. He is interacting with children more (he still prefers adults, but will at least interact with other kids when prompted now). His play is very appropriate and he will finally play WITH kids when asked. We found out that he has a special little friend named Laura who he adores. I've heard him mention "Woe-wuh" before but it didn't connect that he was saying "Laura." One of the funniest things his teacher told us is that they had to move Elijah's potty chair so it is hidden from the rest of the class. Otherwise, he will sit on it and try to talk to everyone. She said he was even trying to yell over to the kids in the bathroom from his potty chair (he is deathly afraid of toilets, so he has own special chair). He's a super social kid and is always talking, just like at home.

The common theme seems to be DISTRACTABILITY, which I don't believe is even a word but you get the gist. Elijah is very easily distracted and this often makes staying on task difficult for him. At home we notice this the most at mealtimes. We have gotten to the point where we don't allow anything at the table besides the food in front of him. Even after implementing that rule, Dan or I or both of us have to be constantly reminding him to eat. A piece of lettuce will turn into a spaceship and a spaghetti-o will be its passenger, zooming around the sky. Meals can get stressful in our house. There are lots of reminders and sometimes lots of tears. I imagine this is how it probably is at school when tasks are involved (minus the tears).

Overall, it was a great report. He has made huge strides, even just over the past month. They are suggesting that he be a part of the 4-year-old class next year (now he's in the 3- and 4-year-old class). I am so proud of our boy! He has come so far.