Trading card benefits and something that is hard to explain

Two posts within just a few days? What is going on? There are a few things I wanted to write out before I forget about them. The first thing is GOOD! On Wednesday I saw the number for Elijah's school pop up on my phone. Most of the time this does not mean good news, so I took a deep breath and answered. It was Elijah's teacher, kindly calling to tell me about a positive change she has seen in him this week. First, a quick rewind to a few weeks ago.. Elijah came home and insisted that I let him get Pokemon cards because all the boys in his class were trading them. I felt this could only be a good thing for him, considering the socializing needed for this activity, so we took a trip to the store and got some. He has been talking a little bit about them since and how he and his friends have been making trades. Back to the phone call.. Mrs. G said that since he became interested in the cards, he has befriended a few boys in his class. This would be the first time EVER showing interest in having boys as friends! She said that she was seeing some really positive changes in him, including increased confidence with his peers. She also suggested that this might be a good time to ask a few boys over for a play date and she gave me two names. She mentioned that some major maturing has been happening and that he still blurts out inappropriately, but that he can reign it in much more easily than before (same as at home). I was so grateful for all of this news and also that she thought to call and share it with me.

On another note, the boys and I have been checking out some new parks in the area with the warmer weather. Last week we saw a park that we had never been to, so I pulled over and let them play for a bit. Two kids at the park were interested in Elijah right away and asked him to play. He asked them if Sammy could join in, and they said yes. They all started running around in a tag-like fashion and as usual, Elijah backed out right away. He couldn't keep up, so he started doing his own thing. The other two kids looked confused and asked him why he wouldn't play. As his mom, it is SO HARD to watch this. Should I say something? Nothing? Then I heard Sammy say to them, "Something is wrong with him." Oh man. I could see that this bothered Elijah and that it confused the two kids. When we left, I had a gentle talk about Elijah's heart surgeries and how he might not always be able to keep up with other kids because of what he has been through. I tried to let them know that nothing is "wrong" with Elijah. He obviously does have delays, but I also always want him to feel normal. I have absolutely no idea how to explain it so that both sides are understood.

Sammy did great at his first soccer practice this week. I will say this gently, but I feel like all of the other kids are being groomed to excel...at age 4...and at this point we are there to learn and have fun. I'm going to be the parent who doesn't care about performance (at least not at age 4) and who cheers her awesome little boy on as he kicks the ball into the wrong goal! His first game is tomorrow morning. I can't wait! He looks so darn cute out there and he has a blast with the hugest, cutest smile on his face.

Dan is stuck in a Chicago airport tonight for the second time this spring, so we won't see him until tomorrow afternoon. We can't wait! We've missed him this week! Thanks for checking in...have a great weekend!

Just one of those days.

Oye, today was rough. Elijah had a "bad" day at school, which wasn't super surprising. Last night before midnight I heard him repeatedly kicking the wall next to his bed. I opened his bedroom door. He looked up at me and said, "HI, MOM!" I'm pretty sure he went back to sleep, but he was up again ridiculously early and he looked like he had been tortured when we got him out of bed this morning. Right away, I put calls into his sleep specialist and his developmental ped regarding his sleep meds. His sleep doctor is notorious for not getting back to me for literally WEEKS, hence the reason for the back-up call with the ped. He had mentioned to us that he was very familiar with the med Elijah is taking, so it's always good to have two experts on top of things.

I received a call back from the developmental ped's nurse almost immediately. Impressive! Isn't it funny how doctors operate so differently? The nurse had spoken with Dr. M regarding my concerns about Elijah and his response was: the med he is taking does NOT interrupt sleep. If his sleep is being disturbed beyond the norm, it is not due to the medication. In fact, he suggested upping the dose by just a tiny bit. We did that tonight, but won't know its effect for a week or so.

I was expecting a call from the neuropsychologist today, but it never came. We were supposed to discuss E's options at school and I also have a small list of other questions for him. Do we continue to discipline Elijah in the same way? Could he potentially have a semi-visual view of the world around him? What are the accommodations we need to advocate for to have in his classroom next year?

Everything seemed off the charts today...emotions, behavior, feeling overwhelmed and anxious.. Praying for a much better Tuesday and PEACE!

Also wishing you all a wonderful week! Thanks for peeking in. xo

Answers and questions and answers and questions.

We had Elijah's appointment with Dr. M today, his new developmental pediatrician. It was a positive visit. Dr. M is an incredibly smart doctor, a compassionate individual and he really truly listened to us as we explained Elijah in-depth. We talked for an hour and a half! Wow! There was no rushing at all, just a totally relaxed visit where we felt our words were valued, heard and completely understood. Perhaps more than they ever have been before by any other human being.

Once he had a good grasp on Elijah, he drew the below diagram. He explained that Tic Disorder (or Tourette's), ADD and OCD/anxiety, when combined, can mimic autism (the shaded area). This is EXACTLY what Elijah's neurologist recently said to us, almost word for word. Super interesting. So again, Elijah doesn't fall into any one category. He has tendencies toward about every single category, though!

And this doesn't really help him at all in school. He is currently receiving special education services under the Deaf and Hard of Hearing label, which is great and necessary. But the central focus is not directed toward what he really needs help with--social skills, attention and anxiety. It's a tricky situation. There are many pieces to this puzzle and there is no ONE answer, as we have known for so long. For whatever "reason," Elijah has bits and pieces of all of the following: Tic Disorder, anxiety, OCD, ADD or ADHD and autism. That's not to mention his hearing challenges and the frustrations that must go along with that. And then there is the sleeping difficulties, which magnify all of the above and which also may or may not be a result or any or all of the above!

Notice part of the word I jotted in the corner of this diagram. I wrote "diminished" because that is a word Dr. M used to describe our situation with E's schooling. When Elijah is not understood by his educators, his whole medical history and everything he has been through becomes diminished. That is exactly how I've felt this year and I've been unable to verbalize that. There are expectations of him that are very black and white, and he just is not black and white and cannot be treated as such.

Another note I wrote down from the visit was Periventricular Leukomalacia, or PVL. Dr. M explained to us that sometimes children born with congenital heart defects also are born with PVL, which is basically a brain injury that affects motor control and other developmental delays. It's a little bit difficult for me to read about it, although it would explain a lot. I can't believe I have never heard this until now. If Elijah does have PVL, it means that damage to some pathways in his brain was done at birth, or even before, due to either lack of oxygen or bad circulation. This is something we will explore.

What do we do now? Dr. M feels that we need to address some important things at school. I personally feel like we just need to get through the rest of first grade and move on from there. It might be a good idea to get him into a social skills group somewhere to work on the anxiety he deals with with his peers. Also, Dr. M feels we need to do deeper psychological testing. Possibly at school, but definitely with a neuropsychologist. I called the neuro-psych and of course they need loads of paperwork, both from us and school, before they can schedule an appointment, which won't be until at least May. More waiting. I feel slightly impatient, but mostly like we continue to figure more and more out about Elijah. I must sound like a broken record, but we are getting there. And Dr. M did have a few medication recommendations that he thought would be a good fit. He obviously wants to run them by E's sleep specialist/cardiologist first. These meds would hopefully get to the root of E's issues instead of just causing him to feel sleepy, if that makes sense. Let's take care of the anxiety and OCD and maybe then he will be able to sleep better. We obviously don't want him on meds long-term, but getting him through first grade without any further major drama is a big goal.

I was super impressed with Dr. M. He knew every detail about everything that we as Elijah's parents are feeling and dealing with. He was able to fully understand what a complicated "case" E is. There is no way to explain how good it feels to feel completely understood like that. And not just that, but to be given huge unspoken high-fives about what a good job ALL of us have done to get to this point, despite the challenges and struggles and frustrations. Elijah's list of AMAZING doctors continues to grow! He has the best people caring for him and I mean that with my whole heart. We are very blessed and thankful!

That's all for now, ha! If you made it through this entire post, you get an extra pat on the back. :) Thanks for reading! Praying you all have a great rest of your week.

Hand me that blue sky piece, please. The blue one. The one that goes next to that blue one.

Forget the 100-piece puzzle, I'm going for the 1,000-piecer! I can't even believe things could possibly become any more complicated for our boy at this point, but...here we go! I anticipate 2014 being the ride of a lifetime. Lots of ups and downs, but I know many answers will come our way, as well. I KNOW we will be taken care of. I know Jesus has our boys in his loving arms, and us as well.

First of all, Elijah is off of the Valium, yay! And...Elijah is off of the Valium, boo! The good side is that his vestibular system appears to have readjusted since surgery and this is wonderful news. He is no longer dizzy or struggling with nausea, and he is not needing medication to control these things. The bad side is that the medication was REALLY helping out with his behavior. After a few days of being off it, things are back to "normal." :( He is back to screaming at us when we ask him to do something (anything) and lashing out at Sammy (uhh, everyone) when things don't go his way. He is back to using icky tones when he talks (pretty much constantly) and saying unkind things to all of us.

I took Elijah to see his primary doctor this morning. My main goal of the visit was to address some things we have been noticing since surgery. His body has been doing A LOT of motor tics, and occasional vocal tics, as well. He is constantly rolling his head in a figure eight pattern with his eyes looking straight up. Sometimes his hands simultaneously open and close. Throw in some arm flapping and body jerking. His eyes seem to get "stuck" sometimes and go up and down when he looks at certain lights. At random times he will blurt out a loud sound that seems to satisfy something inside of him. All of these things (minus the eye movements) are things he has done his whole life. He has just never done them quite so much or intensely before.

Dr. Judy wants Elijah to have an EEG done on his brain in hopes of ruling out any "electrical" issues. There is a chance that these tics are benign responses to stress (recent surgery/difficult recovery), but they could also be signs of a neurological disorder such as tourette's syndrome. Or possibly some sort of seizure disorder, which I don't feel in my gut is the issue. I laughed loudly when she told me that the EEG had to be done while E was sleep-deprived. Ha! He is always sleep-deprived! She said, "Yeah, but you might need to wake him up as early as 4am!" Trust me, he will be wide awake. You have nooo idea.

We will be doing the EEG at Children's this Thursday morning. Coincidentally, that afternoon is his appointment at the sleep clinic. Next Monday brings surgery follow-up with ENT, including a hearing test to confirm left-sided deafness. If we can figure out the financial side of things, the memory-learning-attention testing will begin next Wednesday. Dr. Judy suggested we also get him in to see his neurologist and opthalmologist with these new symptoms, so I'll schedule those appointments tomorrow. We also need to connect with an audiologist. Thanks to our very kind friends Amy and Mitch, we have a few incredible (the "best") recommendations for pediatric audiologists, which we are very thankful for. I have also scheduled an appointment for E to see a developmental pediatrician (appointment not till April, ugh), who will be able to address OCD, anxiety, ADD, or whatever the heck is going on with our boy. Which leads me to..

Dr. Judy told me today that it is a really good sign that Elijah's behavior improved while he was taking a low dose of Valium. This could mean that anxiety is at the root of his struggles (sleep, too, obviously...but which comes first? The chicken or the egg?). Not that we ever wish for him to struggle with anxiety, but this is something we can address. And it could be a very big piece of the puzzle. Since his appointment with the developmental ped is scheduled so far out, Dr. Judy, being the incredible doctor that she is, offered to call this doc and ask for Elijah to be moved up in the schedule. She also told me that she would give Dr. M a brief overview of E and get his thoughts on possibly starting an anti-anxiety med. Typically we wouldn't want to cloud his brain or alter him in any way during the investigative process, but he is obviously really struggling. It's a bit of a tricky situation.

Dr. Judy verbalized what Dan and I have felt for a long time now. There is something we're missing. Once we figure out X, everything else will fall into place. We just don't know what X is yet. And things feel really complicated and overwhelming right now. I am assuming Dr. L (ENT) will clear Elijah to go back to school next week, which means calls from the principal and bad reports from the teacher will be starting up again, adding to the craziness. :(

We continue to battle for our amazing boy! BOTH of our amazing boys! We love them both so much. We couldn't do any of this without a faith in God, you guys! I don't know how anyone gets through difficult times without Him. We appreciate your prayers so much. Thanks for reading!

First day of first grade!

My oldest baby started first grade today! I can hardly believe it! I remember so clearly putting him on the bus for the first time, back when he was a tiny little three-year-old (Sammy's current age - crazy!). Now look at him! He's such a big boy. Both of my boys are growing up so fast.

Can you tell that we "forced" Sammy to pose in today's portion of the below photo? :) He was not at all happy about all of the attention we gave to Elijah this morning. While putting a lunch together for E, I looked over to see Sammy taking every single cereal box out of our pantry and throwing them all onto the kitchen floor. This was not normal Sammy behavior, so I knew he needed some love. Dan snuggled with him on the couch while I got E out the door.

I'll be honest. I was worried about today. Considering some of the behavioral issues we have been dealing with at home, I was expecting a phone call all day long. But my phone never rang. Elijah hopped off the bus this afternoon with a smile, and he looked as perky as ever. I can't know for certain, but I feel like today went well! He used the potty and he told me he was kind to everyone. He enjoyed punching in his meal code to get his milk at lunch (funny that this was a highlight) and he loved the note I left for him in his lunch box. :) He also enjoyed learning about drums in music. He is excited to start drumming, he says! I'm so excited about what this year will bring for him. One of my specific prayers is that he makes some friends.

I feel like our summer of absolute craziness has primed him for this first grade experience. First grade? That's nothing compared to what we experienced in our recent travels! As always, things unfold just as they are supposed to, right? 

Dan has been feeling good since his accident. His knee is still a little bit sore, but he has felt no other after-effects. Amazing! We have all felt super blessed this week. I have a hard time being away from him, which is a new thing. I chatted with a friend of ours from the dropzone who happened to be driving by "the scene" shortly after Dan's accident. He stopped to make sure Dan was ok. He said to me, "Megan, your family has been in my mind since Saturday. I can't believe how close you were to losing your dad and husband. Inches, Megan, inches."

I am getting ready for another season working at Midwest. It is the same freelance gig I did last year and I LOVE this job. The people are incredible and the work is rewarding. This will start in the next few weeks, which will be a fresh new season for us!

Thanks for checking in! I still have to wrap up the last installment of our big summer trip, which I'm hoping to do in the next week or so. I'll end with a photo of Dan on the side of an airport shuttle bus trailer that I saw while driving down the interstate last week. Pretty cool! I have a famous husband! :)

IEP meeting and BATHS!

Yes, you read that right. Sammy is now willingly taking baths! Finally! We had to trick him a bit, but it has been working. We have started putting Elijah in the bath first, not saying a word to Sam about getting in. Eventually, Sammy decides for himself that, HEY! That looks like fun! And he comes over to join his brother. Only because it was his own idea. I have never known a more independent person than Samson David Porta.

I posted this photo because you can see Elijah's lazy eye here. We especially notice it when he's not wearing his glasses, but it occasionally happens when he is wearing his glasses, as well.

Dan and I attended Elijah's Evaluation meeting and also his IEP meeting this afternoon. I always get nervous about these meetings because sometimes it is hard to hear about all of the things that are "wrong" with our boy. These meetings get much easier the older he gets, and the more I get used to attending them. Back when he was really behind in every area, they weren't so easy.

Today's meeting was good. Dan and I are so proud of how far Elijah has come. As we sat and listened to everyone talk about concerns and areas that need improvement (and ALSO how smart and friendly and likable he is), I remembered where he was at three years ago. He has come so far. Incredibly far!

The nurse who attended the meeting said the most perfect thing. She had read through Elijah's medical records (which we very much appreciate), and she said that people who have valve replacements need a lot of time to function at full capacity after the replacement occurs. For the first few years of his life, he lived with a temporary valve and also with very low oxygen saturation in his blood. As the nurse said, HE IS JUST BEHIND. He started late for good reason and he is just behind. This is what has been on my heart so strongly for the past six months. He had such a late start, so it is understandable that he has so many delays. 

There are literally 26 pages of information about Elijah that we went through today. We are so very grateful to have such amazing and focused care for him. His "team" is seriously awesome, you guys. We are blessed beyond words.

In a nutshell..

Elijah's academics are a non-issue. He is above average in this area. He is finally interacting with his peers at a "normal" level, which is music to our ears. 

Concerns: His fine motor skills are very delayed and they are starting to get in the way of his productivity in class. For example, he needs helps twisting the glue cap open and closed and turning pages in a notebook, so he spends his time asking for help instead of accomplishing tasks. Winter is almost here, and he is unable to snap and button and zip and tie. That means that time will be taken away from other important tasks as he tries to get these things accomplished.

As has always been the case for him, gross motor is a concern, as well. He is unable to keep up with his peers. We were encouraged to hear that although he cannot keep up or physically participate in the way that his peers do, he adapts well! He can't jump while turning in a circle, but he can do his own little circle dance and accomplish it as best he can. He can't sit unassisted for the entire circle time, but he leans and adjusts his weight and body as he needs to. He can't keep up with the kids while they walk to the library, but he does his little half-run that gets the job done.

And the other main concern was Elijah's distractibility and his need to constantly repeat things and have things repeated. Dan and I can relate very well to this concern, as we remind him to do things CONSTANTLY at home. Repetition is a major theme for us. 

So there it is. Elijah is behind, but he is making progress. He has very good reason to be behind. We support and love him and we will do anything in the world to help him continue to catch up and be the happiest person he can be. We feel so incredibly thankful that he has such a caring and competent care team. Honestly, they are the best. Elijah is one lucky little guy. 

And our Sammy. We love him so very much. He is a cute, smart little boy. My most recent prediction about him is that he is going to have a love for music. He can tell me the name of any instrument just by sound and he has this natural, deep little singing voice. He still loves to snuggle, and every night he has to sleep with his blankie ("bebe"), blanket ("banket," which he likes for me to cover his back with when he goes to bed), cow ("Cowwy") and bear ("Baloo"). He often talks to and cares for the stuffed animals in our house, which is the cutest thing.

I love these precious boys!

Thanks for checking in! Have a great weekend!

Continued heat and progress

Check it out, people! We are killing this potty chart! E has not had an accident in five consecutive days. He is collecting his "prizes" all over the place. In fact, almost too quickly! It is hard to redeem some of them when Dan is working so much.

This is the third consecutive day of crazy humid gross heat. Not that I mind much at all, but I worry about my hard-working hubby being out in this for 12+ hours/day. I saw 102 degrees on my phone today and gasped out loud! Thankfully, tomorrow is supposed to be 20 degrees cooler. 

We had a free morning today, so I figured we would go on an indoor adventure. The Children's Museum is one of the boys' absolute favorite places to go, so we headed over to St. Paul! A lot of other families had the same idea because it was super crowded, but still fun for the boys.

Elijah and Sammy adore the area of the museum with the grocery store, post office, doctor's office, restaurant and dance studio. Elijah loved playing the role of Postman today.

It was so cute hearing him talk to himself: "Oh! Ok. Have to send a letter to Gwammie and Gwamps. Here you go. Oh! Have to run over to the yellow house and pick up my mail! Oh! Here we go! Bye, Mom!" He was a busy boy!

And here is the ham of our family, Elijah Daniel. 

I even got Sammy to visit the stage with his brother. If Elijah left, though, Sammy would leave, too.

I was proud of him for breaking out of his comfort zone!

The grocery store is always a big hit with E. Today he played the role of Cashier very well. 

Sammy has started lengthening his sentences. Instead of "Juice, peas, Mama," he now says, "I want juice, peas, Mama." He is such a little talker when he is comfortable. He is a smart little boy. He knows shapes, colors, numbers and letters back and forth and up and down. I have noticed what a caregiver he seems to be, as well. I see him bringing Elijah his water bottle or his shoes or a cracker and saying, "Here you go, Uh-YA-YA." If I give Sammy a treat, he will say, "Uh-YA-YA, too?" So I give him two treats, and he will happily share one with his brother. Another crazy thing about Sammy is that he OBEYS. We aren't quite used to this! :) If I ask him to please pick up his shapes game, he will go and DO IT. ??? Without complaining! He will put every single little teeny shape into the box and bring the box back to the shelf. Wonderful! What is going on?!

And Elijah. I had some sweet moments with him today. I made extra extra extra effort to spend quality time with him while I could. He needs SO MUCH QT in order to be a totally happy little boy. This helps his attitude and behavior tremendously. We had a long and busy morning, so I had him lay down for a nap this afternoon, which typically happens once a week or so. I laid down with him as he was falling asleep, and he had his little arms wrapped around me super tightly. "Mama, I love you!" "Mama! You are so pretty!" "Mama, you are nice!" Jeez, I could have laid there forever! Usually I hear very much the opposite of all of these things from him. :)

The boys and I plan to head to the dropzone to visit Dan tomorrow and spend a few nights there with him and our skydiving friends. We are all looking forward to it. I hope you all have a great weekend! Thank you so much for taking the time to check in on us!

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.

Good words bad words

Sammy is napping, Elijah is having quiet-time with a computer game and Dan is at work, so I am going to write some things down quick! Gotta make the most of my "free" time with a house full of boys!

I cannot BELIEVE Elijah's memory. Lately he has said a few things that make me scratch my head. The craziest one was from the other night while the boys were taking a bath. Elijah was pretending like he was swimming and I said to Dan, "We should get him back in swim lessons." Elijah said, "Oh. With Cindy?" I wondered who the heck Cindy was, and then was distracted by Sammy peeing on the floor. A little while later, it occurred to me. Cindy was the name of Elijah's swim therapist BACK WHEN HE WAS STILL TWO YEARS OLD. I'm not kidding. He only went to four sessions since it was such a traumatic experience, and we have not mentioned her name since. I looked up the posts about it on this blog just to be sure, and I looked up her name on their website. Sure enough, he remembered that detail from way back then! I asked him if he remembered anything else about swim therapy, and he said, "I remember you standing by the side of the pool and watching me. It was a wittle bit scary." Wow. Dan and I are in serious trouble. Someday he will be reminiscing about how his mama lost her cool EVERY SINGLE DAY. Great!

Sammy Jammy is in a language explosion right now! He is saying so many new things. He says "chase" (dees) when he wants to play the chasing game with Elijah through the house. He says "fall" (faa) when he wants to play Ring Around the Rosie with Mama. His newest and cutest word is NO. It sounds so darn cute coming out of his mouth. Ask me what I think of it in a week and I may have a different opinion!

Sam is already WALKING up and down our stairs (holding onto the wall for help). Elijah just started doing this a few months ago! Sam's progress in some areas makes our heads spin. We were so used to Elijah doing everything in Elijah Time. Here's a fun fact: When Elijah was 20 months old (Sammy's current age), he was just starting to crawl!

The "bad" words continue to spew out of our oldest boy's mouth. It's a never-ending battle. If it's not one word, it's another. His latest trick is saying under his breath, "Shush, Mom." UGH, this makes me crazy mad! "Dangit" and "cr*p" are still choice words, as well. For a while, when we would ask him to do something, he would say, "Neh-vah!" Or he would point his finger to his lips as if to say, "Sshh," but not let a single sound come out. Or instead of pointing his finger at me, he will point a pinky or thumb my way. Clever! He's always thinking of new ways to bend those rules! He also does what I call word-testing. He will rattle out a bunch of nonsense sounds until he gets a reaction from us. A-ha! That must be a bad one! Then he will repeat that string of sounds. We have stopped reacting, though, so he's having a tougher time. The other day one of us must have had a slight reaction to something he said that rhymes with "bucket" (I know, lovely, right?), so he has been saying it on occasion when he's playing and reciting his nonsense words. Every single time, he will look up at us to see if we react. It is HARD not to react to that one! I'm hoping it goes away if we continue to act like it's not a big deal.

Sammy is still sick. The poor kid has some sort of cold or cough or runny nose for months (it seems). We are hoping for a reprieve for his little body!

We have a fun hotel-waterpark night coming up, so we are all getting excited!! Thanks for checking in. Have a great weekend.

Mama llama tears

Cutie pie bath boys!



And here are a few photos from our night with cousin Kaleigh last weekend! The boys had so much fun having her over. She taught Elijah how to play hide-and-seek, we had pizza-movie night and we even went to the zoo! We can't wait to have her back soon!



Notice the cute bunnies perched on the back of our couch? That is the Rabbit family. My mom hand-knitted those for the boys. Aren't they adorable?



It seems nearly impossible that it is well into February already. We are still in the process of figuring out our "new life," and making some important decisions. It's a bit stressful at times, but mostly I feel liberated. I feel like there are exciting things in store for our family.

Isn't this little Sammy just the sweetest thing? I could squeeze and hug on this boy all day long. And sometimes I do! Thankfully he allows it. I love this little snuggle man.



I went on a field trip today with Elijah and his preschool class. We saw the play Llama Llama Red Pajama, which is based on a book that we happen to love. It was a super cute play. Every field trip I have been on with Elijah has been nothing but enjoyable. That one-on-one time is so super special to me. He even did the customary fall-asleep-on-Mama-on-the-bus-ride-home, which I adore. When we first got on the bus this morning, I saw a teacher that I hadn't seen since Elijah was a baby. She used to come to our house for physical therapy back during the time when he was extremely delayed and cried through every single PT session. When I saw her today, she pointed at Elijah and said, "It is unbelievable how far he has come!" I scooted into our bus seat and cried. Sometimes I forget. When I'm experiencing day after day after day of defiance and sass and poop, it is embarrassingly easy to forget. He has overcome so very much. You know that strong will I speak of often? That same strong will is what has helped to get him where he is today! He is one determined and willful little person, and there is a ton of GOOD in that. Please remind me of this when I'm complaining! :)

I have a ton of work to catch up on for my food blog (thanks to our Super Bowl snacks!), so I must go do that! Thanks for checking in on us!

Installment 4: The Dirty Face Brothers

This is my last Dirty Face Bros post! I'm still very far behind with posting pics, which I guess is a good thing. It means I've been taking a lot of photos!



We attended Elijah's IEP meeting this morning, and it went very well. Elijah has made HUGE strides in every area of development: social, gross motor, speech, fine motor. His teachers had many positive things to say about his progress and about him as a student and person. He still has catching up to do in most areas, but not as noticeably as a year ago. They are going to spend this year preparing him for Kindergarten in hopes that he will be much more self-sufficient by this time next year. KINDERGARTEN?! How the heck did that happen?!



His teacher mentioned that he has started initiating interactions with other children, which is AWESOME. He still has his favorite little friend at school, Laura (Woe-yuh). She also said that he is a well-liked little guy, and that academically they have zero concerns. Apparently when they were asking him to count, he started counting backwards. :) I asked his teachers if they knew he was starting to read and they seemed surprised. His speech therapist mentioned that he seems to catch onto concepts a lot more quickly than the other students. So, yay for a great IEP meeting! We absolutely love his teachers and therapists to pieces.



Elijah earned enough potty quarters to get his Ken doll. Ken dolls aren't what they used to be! They are so fashionable these days, with the Justin Bieber hair and all. Elijah loves it, though. I hear him occasionally explaining things to Ken. "This is how you go potty, Ken. Pull down your pants and then you sit on the potty chair!" Ken is learning a lot! And he "sleeps" in a casket on our kitchen table every night. It's actually the plastic casing from the package he came in, but it looks like a casket. It's a little bit creepy to see that early in the morning.



My sweet Sammy and I have been having some special bed-time moments lately. He allows me to sing to him again. For a long stretch (the entire summer/fall), he just wanted to be put in bed. The boy loves his sleep. So it has been nice being able to hold him for a bit again and sing and snuggle before bed. When I put him into his crib, we play a form of peek-a-boo involving pig noises. He laughs so stinkin' hard. It's difficult to stop because he gets so sad when the game is over, but luckily he forgets quickly and goes to sleep.



Dan has TWO more weekends away from home and then we get him back! I cannot wait for an entire weekend with all of us together again.



That's about all for now. I have apple orchard and corn maze photos to share I'll try to catch up over the weekend.



Thanks for checking in on us! (This is Sammy's new favorite place to sit in our house.)

Installment 2: The Dirty Face Brothers

Here is part 2 of my Dirty Face (and arms and legs) photo session with our boys the other night.



Our oldest beautiful-eyed boy has his first cavity! :( I was hoping we could dodge this bullet, but alas. He's following in him mama's footsteps. Actually, the cavity is super teeny, and we are going to take care of it right away so hopefully it won't be too traumatic. The dentist won't even need to use novocaine or needles, thanks to laser dentistry. Crazy!



Elijah's quarter jar has ONE quarter in it currently. Yep, that's it. Apparently Ken is not enough motivation to keep poop out of his pants. We'll keep trying.



So here are our upcoming big dates in the next few weeks:
Oct 25th: IEP meeting
Nov 3rd: Dentist
Nov 7th: Cardiology appt



I haven't mentioned this in a while, but Elijah is still in weekly physical therapy. He loves to go "pway" at Vicki's "house." We are glad he finally sees it as "playing," as that has not always been the case. I remember the months and months of TEARS that occurred before he realized that we weren't trying to torture him. He also gets some PT and speech attention through his school that we believe hugely benefits him. His teachers and therapists are truly awesome! I just saw a note on Elijah's daily report the other day that said they were teaching him to get up from sitting on the ground using a kneeling transition (as opposed to using just feet and hands with butt up in the air). I love knowing that the people caring for him are keeping THAT close of an eye on the details. I know I always say this, but he is in the best hands!



Let's see, what else. Elijah still begs us to be tickled constantly. He loves saying goofy nonsense words and giggling his head off. He is still into knock-knock jokes (please tell us some new ones!). He and I have a new thing where we go lay in the grass after Sam is in bed and find pictures in the clouds. As much as this little boy pushes my buttons and tests his boundaries, I love him (and his cute, snuggly little brother) to pieces!

Installment 1: The Dirty Face Brothers

This first photo is an exception to the title. Elijah and I went to his cousin Kaleigh's birthday party last weekend. That boy was in HEAVEN, getting all kinds of love from his cousins and aunties. He had tons of fun in the bounce-house, too!



I have about 50 Dirty Face Brothers photos to share, so I will start with this first batch of Sam. Who is his Mother, anyway, and why doesn't she wash off his face?!



I'll start with sharing some words Sam is saying...
up (UMP)
Yo Gabba Gabba (oo-GLLAHLLA-GLLAHLLA...still with tongue sticking out of mouth)
Elijah (uh-ya-ya or uh-da-da)
magnet (da-de)
raisins, blueberries and cereal (BRRrr...???)
cheese (deez)
shoes and hat (iss...add a cute lisp to the "s")
airplane and car (brrrm brrrrm)
puppy (uff uff)
cow (booooo)
Dada
Mama
go (GGgooooooo)
play (bay...and he simultaneously does the sign for it, which is so stinkin' cute because he just wiggles his fingers all around)
eat (he says this when he is hungry OR thirsty)
all done (ah-duh)
peek-a-boo (uh-boo)



Sam started doing a funny dance the other day. He leans his head over to touch his right shoulder, and then smiles. That's it. It's simple, but hilarious.



And Elijah...oh, our strong-willed little Elijah. Some weeks it seems like we are making Potty progress. Other weeks, we regress. He knows when to go and what needs to be done. He just doesn't do it. But he's great at telling me, "Mom, I pooped mine pants!" It is sooo hard not to get frustrated, especially when I KNOW that he knows. Ever since Kaleigh's birthday party on Saturday, Elijah has been obsessed with the idea of having a Barbie doll. He asked me a thousand times on the way home if he could get a Ken doll. So we are using that as incentive. If he goes pee in the potty, he gets one quarter. If he goes poop in the potty, he gets two quarters. If he has an accident in his pants, one quarter gets taken away. If he gets TEN quarters, we will go shopping for a Ken doll.



School is going really well for Elijah so far this year. He has made many leaps with social skills. The other day his teacher wrote that he spontaneously was asking other kids questions, which is just huge for him. I noticed at Kaleigh's birthday party that he was doing the same. I heard him ask her, "Kiwi, what's your teacher's name?" and then, "Kiwi, what's your favorite color?"



The other night I was in the kitchen making cookies and Elijah was helping. I was having him put M&M's on a few of the cookies. I heard him say, "One pwus one equals two! One pwus two equals fwee!" I said, "Elijah, are you doing MATH?! What is one plus three?" He said, "Four!" I called over to Dan and said, "DO YOU HEAR THIS? Our four-year-old is doing math!" What the heck!



Skydiving season is getting slower and slower with each passing week. Things for me have been, well, nutty. I won't get into that or my brain will explode.



Elijah has an IEP meeting next week and a cardiology appointment coming up in early November. All will go great, we pray!



Installment 2: The Dirty Face Brothers coming soon!

Proud!

Can you see what on this page made me cry tears of happiness?