As the year is coming to an end I wanted to reflect back on all that has happened. It has been a very good year, except on December 12th we lost our beloved Huckleberry. Dylan and Huck had a very special bond and it has been very hard for Dylan to understand where his 'best bud' has gone. :( We couldn't have asked for a better, more loyal, fun-loving dog like Huck and our home will not be the same without him.
- This year Dylan phased out of the birth to 3 program through the Regional Center and started pre-school (5 days/week & 3 hours/day) and it has been fantastic for him!
- He still attends Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy weekly.
- He continues to improve on his strength and gross and fine motor skills and he can now:
- grasp objects (such as a small toy or ball) and take them from one container and put them in another
- with minimal guidance he can pick up his large toy coins and put them in the piggy bank (a very narrow slot)
- he is more interested in his toys that make noise and will purposely roll over to one and hit the button to make it play music.
- he learned how to take reciprocal steps and can now walk across a room with only light/minimal assistance.
- he can stand up against the wall when placed there and he can pull himself from sit to stand when prompted.
- his grasp is getting much stronger and he will now actively grab and hold on to things
- he can push himself up to sitting independently and can pivot all around on his bum
- his main means of mobility is still rolling but he is quite the speed roller so look out!
- he has begun to spoon feed himself when the spoon is placed in his hand - this skill is still hit or miss but when he really wants to feed himself he will.
- he can say "MAMA" and does so all the time. He will still babble and makes a lot of his own sounds and when he is really excited he will call out for his sister Hailey, but it sounds more like "HAYYEEE"
- he can sign "more" and "all-done" and is becoming more consistent in doing so
- we have even heard him say "again, again, again" during a speech therapy session - his therapist said she heard it too, so I am going to count it.
- he recently started to clap!
- We made it through the year with NO hospitalizations and only a few minor colds.
- He loves the vacuum cleaner and will follow me around the house laughing and smiling when I am vacuuming - the only down fall is that he gets really mad when I turn it off.
- We had a wonderful Christmas this year and I was so happy to see Dylan excited about his gifts.
Some may look at these accomplishment and think they are so minor, but in our lives they are HUGE!!! Dylan has continued to show slow and steady progress and we can't wait to see what this next year brings.
I wanted to end this post with a few recent videos, enjoy!
Please ignore my very loud and high pitched voice
Happy New Year!
