Quick PT update

Cohen went back to PT yesterday to see if she had progressed enough to avoid a neck collar, well she has progressed very well, however it is now habitual for her to hold her head tilted so we will indeed need the neck collar :( But the good news is the one that they ordered was way too big for her so we will get to postpone it another 3 weeks! So we are going to work hard to see if we can break her habit!

These pictures made me realize how much her and Kinson are beginning to resemble! And please forgive me for her clothes falling off, I am putting her in 3-6 months clothes even though they are too big, I refuse to buy 0-3 months clothes anymore!!!

Yum, Yum!

Well, I said I learned so much at her last therapy session on how to feed her better....I will let you be the judge!!

7 Months....

and what is so significant about these pictures?....her mouth is closed!!! Although this is still very seldom it is a huge feat for her. It helps us to understand that the medicine is working as it shrinks the size of her tongue and helps the swelling decrease. Cohen has now been on the Synthroid for 4 weeks and we can tell a significant change in her. It is very hard for us to describe but we know she is different. She is still a very content child but she is beginning to show more smiles and emotion, both happy and mad. She has gotten more demanding which lets us know that she now has the energy and desire to tell us she wants something. She went for Speech Therapy yesterday to help assist with her feeding and also her nonverbal deficits. I learned SO MUCH!!! and after an hour of oral stimulation Cohen made a few sounds on her own while the ST and I were discussing our homework! I was thrilled!!

Another encouraging note, she has had an ongoing ear infection since late March that finally required 3 shots of Rocephin last week, why is that good? It could also explain her nonverbal issues as well. We will return for a follow up to her ears next week and if the are still dull, then we are off for tubes. The ST told me she has seen multiple children who exploded with sounds as soon as their ears cleared up. She sees the ped endocronologist June 8. So we will continue to be patient as this all unfolds and we watch her grow and learn daily. It is so hard for me to be on this side of the "therapy" world, now I understand my patients family's who want to know why the progress isn't faster. Patience, patience, patience!!

Rainy Days....

It has definitely gotten harder to entertain Kinson when the weekends have been like they have been recently....RAINY! We have tried every play place, shopped, visited grandparents, etc just to get him out of the house for a little bit each day. This past Sunday afternoon we went to Burger King and he loved it! He actually made a new friend while we were there, which is a big deal because Kinson isn't the kidest to others! He loved climbing and sliding and of course didnt want to leave, but he is getting better with understanding we will be back.

Girls Trip!

Everybody needs one of these once in awhile, especially as when it seems we can't take anymore, we just need to get away! Luckily I have a wonderful husband who loves to spend quality time with Kinson and Cohen and realizes the need for this time away. So this year for Mother's Day a group of girls I went to highschool/junior high with decided we would head to the beach for an extended weekend.

It is hard for me to believe that we have been out of school over 10 years! We have all been through so much since we graduated high school but we have always been there for each other. It is hilarious when we get together, our highschool hearts tend to come out and it is a never ending gossip/laughter fest! Just what we needed! Thanks Casey for opening up your condo to us!

Congratulations....

to our niece Taylor, she won Miss Brio award this past Saturday! She performs for Brandon Elementary show choir called Brio and they are Fabulous!! It is amazing that these children are just 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. Her fellow choir members voted on this award and that makes this very special to her. We are sad that she will be moving up to the middle school next year and has to leave Brio but the good news is the director has accepted a position to move up as well. We will wait as we see what unfolds for her singing future! Here is Taylor and CoCo:

Adventure Racing--Take 1!

We went to Mobile 2 weeks ago for Bear to do his first Adventure race. It consisted of a 3 man team starting at the Moblie Battleship with thier bikes, given a map and said "Go!" They had to bike a total of 13 miles, run 8 miles, and canoe 4 miles all while accomplishing tasks, puzzles, and checkpoints--think Amazing Race.

The kids and I hung out in the hotal until closer towards the end because I wasnt sure how I would do it handling both of them in public alone so I only have a few pictures of the canoeing and when they finished canoeing they had to get on the Battleship where they had 15 checkpoints they had to find. They loved it, even the canoeing after flipping twice and having an alligator come within 30 ft of the canoe! They have signed up to do another one in Baton Rouge in July!

Not sure why I was worried having both of them....they ended up falling asleep for over an hour while we were on the pier watching the canoeing! Thanks for the stroller Casey!!

Sitting up!!

She might be tiny but she has mastered the skill of sitting up on her own. It amazes me how just last week we were only sitting up 1-2 minutes and this weekend she was sitting up 20-30 mins! This is great for her because she is constantly having to work on strengthening her neck muscles while she is sitting and righting herself, hopefully this will help and get us graduated from PT soon!

This is Bear and her doing part of her "therapy" at home!