Wednesday, September 29, 2010
1st Haircut!
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Back from the Beach
Our little vacation at the beach was wonderful and much needed. We all had a great time. The weather was beautiful and we spent everyday down by the water.
Now for some updates on Dylan: In my last post I said how sad I was that Dylan hasn't shown much progress in the last few months, well I guess a little break from therapies and appointments was just what he needed. While we were camping I worked with him everyday with his sitting, standing, and even eating more solid foods. He was amazing! He was able to stand by himself with his leg braces on the couch in the trailer looking out the window. He was even able to turn to me when I called his name and not fall over. He is able to pull himself up to a sitting position when he grabs my fingers. I don't even have to pull him up, he is doing it by himself!!! He is still a little unstable when sitting but I know this skill will come soon. This morning as we were packing up he was sitting on the couch and he started to fall to the side and put his hand down and pushed himself back to center. I was shocked because usually when he starts to fall to the side he seems to have no desire or want to try to balance himself and will just fall over. Then yesterday the most miraculous thing happened. My mom and I were down at the beach and talking to Dylan and he was talking back in his usual sounds and then he said "HI" in the sweetest little voice I have ever heard! He has yet to say it again but we both heard him say it plain as day so I am counting "hi" as his first word. It was so amazing to hear Dylan look right at me and form a word I almost cried.
Now I do have to elaborate on Dylan's new skill of eating solid food. For the past few weeks he has been refusing a lot of the pureed baby foods. So I have slowly been introducing him to solid, but soft table foods. I had tried this about two months ago and he ended up choking often and then would sometimes throw up which usually ended up being his entire meal so I felt that maybe he wasn't ready for chewing. He is ready now! His diet now includes: peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, egg salad sandwiches, grilled cheese sandwiches (which I give to him in small bite size pieces), small pieces of cheese, small pieces of fruit, mac & cheese, spaghetti, salmon, tuna, Gerber puffs and yogurt melts. He is doing great eating and he is now actually chewing! Sometimes it takes him a little while but he loves regular food and seems to be over baby food. I am so proud of our little man! He makes me smile every day.
Here are a few pics from the beach:
Now for some updates on Dylan: In my last post I said how sad I was that Dylan hasn't shown much progress in the last few months, well I guess a little break from therapies and appointments was just what he needed. While we were camping I worked with him everyday with his sitting, standing, and even eating more solid foods. He was amazing! He was able to stand by himself with his leg braces on the couch in the trailer looking out the window. He was even able to turn to me when I called his name and not fall over. He is able to pull himself up to a sitting position when he grabs my fingers. I don't even have to pull him up, he is doing it by himself!!! He is still a little unstable when sitting but I know this skill will come soon. This morning as we were packing up he was sitting on the couch and he started to fall to the side and put his hand down and pushed himself back to center. I was shocked because usually when he starts to fall to the side he seems to have no desire or want to try to balance himself and will just fall over. Then yesterday the most miraculous thing happened. My mom and I were down at the beach and talking to Dylan and he was talking back in his usual sounds and then he said "HI" in the sweetest little voice I have ever heard! He has yet to say it again but we both heard him say it plain as day so I am counting "hi" as his first word. It was so amazing to hear Dylan look right at me and form a word I almost cried.
Now I do have to elaborate on Dylan's new skill of eating solid food. For the past few weeks he has been refusing a lot of the pureed baby foods. So I have slowly been introducing him to solid, but soft table foods. I had tried this about two months ago and he ended up choking often and then would sometimes throw up which usually ended up being his entire meal so I felt that maybe he wasn't ready for chewing. He is ready now! His diet now includes: peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, egg salad sandwiches, grilled cheese sandwiches (which I give to him in small bite size pieces), small pieces of cheese, small pieces of fruit, mac & cheese, spaghetti, salmon, tuna, Gerber puffs and yogurt melts. He is doing great eating and he is now actually chewing! Sometimes it takes him a little while but he loves regular food and seems to be over baby food. I am so proud of our little man! He makes me smile every day.
Here are a few pics from the beach:
He loves to feel the sand in his toes.
First time in the backpack for a walk down the beach, he loved it!
This is for all of you that wanted a belly pic - I am now 30 weeks pregnant and feel like I swallowed a basket ball.
My little surfer girl.
At the Santa Barbara Zoo.
I just love those little blond curls coming out of his hat and those sweet baby cheeks.
Fascinated with what is outside.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Finally I post
Well, it has been a very busy couple of weeks and to top it all off Verizon was just able to get our Internet up and running today so I blame that on my lack of blog posts. We have now officially moved into our new house and everything is coming along. We still have some things to unpack but the majority of it is done. The kids and the dog have settled in great and it is beginning to feel like home. I have started the long process of finding new doctors and therapists for Dylan. I have already found a great Pediatrician that I love and she was able to give me a lot of referrals to different specialists.
Sadly the therapist department hasn't proved to be that easy. I already put in the request for Dylan to be transferred from Riverside county to Los Angeles county and have been told that it could take over a month for the Regional Center to review his file and assign us a new therapist. I just hate waiting that long. I will be honest I have been so busy getting everything together that I have had little time throughout the day to work a lot with Dylan. He has been a little trooper and will sit happily in his jumper or bouncy seat watching me while I unpack but I have yet to really put in any good therapy time. I feel so guilty because of it. It has all been really stressful for me (not to mention that I am now 29 weeks along and getting pretty uncomfortable). I have promised myself that starting this week we are back in mommy PT/OT business!
No real big changes with Dylan these last few weeks. He was sick this week with a cold/cough/rash/fever that left him pretty unhappy but he is on the mend now and back to his happy self. I am a bit sad that I have no new progress to report but I know in my heart that he will start making more strides in his development in these next few months.
Hailey has started her new Preschool and loves it. She is so proud to be in the Kinder-Prep class, she feels like a big kid now.
And because I am completely crazy the kids and I are heading to the beach for the next few days for some much needed relaxation. I say that I am crazy because it feels like there is still so much to do at home and now I am packing up to leave. I promise to take lots of pics and post when I get back on Thursday.
Sadly the therapist department hasn't proved to be that easy. I already put in the request for Dylan to be transferred from Riverside county to Los Angeles county and have been told that it could take over a month for the Regional Center to review his file and assign us a new therapist. I just hate waiting that long. I will be honest I have been so busy getting everything together that I have had little time throughout the day to work a lot with Dylan. He has been a little trooper and will sit happily in his jumper or bouncy seat watching me while I unpack but I have yet to really put in any good therapy time. I feel so guilty because of it. It has all been really stressful for me (not to mention that I am now 29 weeks along and getting pretty uncomfortable). I have promised myself that starting this week we are back in mommy PT/OT business!
No real big changes with Dylan these last few weeks. He was sick this week with a cold/cough/rash/fever that left him pretty unhappy but he is on the mend now and back to his happy self. I am a bit sad that I have no new progress to report but I know in my heart that he will start making more strides in his development in these next few months.
Hailey has started her new Preschool and loves it. She is so proud to be in the Kinder-Prep class, she feels like a big kid now.
And because I am completely crazy the kids and I are heading to the beach for the next few days for some much needed relaxation. I say that I am crazy because it feels like there is still so much to do at home and now I am packing up to leave. I promise to take lots of pics and post when I get back on Thursday.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
18 month check-up
Dylan had his 18 month check-up with the Pediatrician today and here is how he measured up:
Weight: 15lbs 9oz - 70% on WHS growth chart, this is a growth of 9oz in 2 months, not too bad for Dylan.
Height: 29" - 70% on WHS growth chart, this is a growth of 1" in 2 months.
Head Circumference: 16.25" - 50% on WHS growth chart, this is only 0.25" gain since 2 months ago, Dylan's head has always been the slowest to grow.
I am very happy with this news. Dylan is still eating like a champ and we load all his food with Duocal and/or coconut oil to add more fat and calories and he also gets 6 oz of Pediasure a day to balance out his diet (which I wish he would drink more of, but that's one thing, you can't force him to eat or drink if he doesn't want to). I did think that he had gained more weight because he just looks so big to me but I am always happy with any increase in weight or length.
Weight: 15lbs 9oz - 70% on WHS growth chart, this is a growth of 9oz in 2 months, not too bad for Dylan.
Height: 29" - 70% on WHS growth chart, this is a growth of 1" in 2 months.
Head Circumference: 16.25" - 50% on WHS growth chart, this is only 0.25" gain since 2 months ago, Dylan's head has always been the slowest to grow.
I am very happy with this news. Dylan is still eating like a champ and we load all his food with Duocal and/or coconut oil to add more fat and calories and he also gets 6 oz of Pediasure a day to balance out his diet (which I wish he would drink more of, but that's one thing, you can't force him to eat or drink if he doesn't want to). I did think that he had gained more weight because he just looks so big to me but I am always happy with any increase in weight or length.
He loves to play with the paper on the exam table.
Big boy in the hamper!
Standing so big and strong.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Moving
Sorry for the lack of posts but life has been a bit hectic around here. We closed escrow on our new house last Friday and have been working on it, packing, moving, etc... We are very excited to be moving back to the suburbs of Los Angeles to be closer to family and friends. My mom's house is literally 2.2 miles away (which is a lot better than 100 miles) and that definitely brings a big smile to my face.
Dylan has been doing great. He has figured out how to bounce his bouncy seat and will bounce until he is sweating. He is still working on sitting and can balance for a while if we put him in the right position but we are still having trouble with him wanting to throw his body backwards. So, I am working a lot with him on the yoga ball to strengthen is trunk muscles. He can stand by himself with his leg braces on and has been "talkin" up a storm - no words yet but he likes to make a lot of noise.
I take Dylan for his 18 month check-up tomorrow morning and I will post with all the updates.
Here are a few pictures of our new house that we hope to move into labor day weekend:
Dylan bouncing and talking during the construction.
Dylan has been doing great. He has figured out how to bounce his bouncy seat and will bounce until he is sweating. He is still working on sitting and can balance for a while if we put him in the right position but we are still having trouble with him wanting to throw his body backwards. So, I am working a lot with him on the yoga ball to strengthen is trunk muscles. He can stand by himself with his leg braces on and has been "talkin" up a storm - no words yet but he likes to make a lot of noise.
I take Dylan for his 18 month check-up tomorrow morning and I will post with all the updates.
Here are a few pictures of our new house that we hope to move into labor day weekend:
Dylan in his new room - he likes it!
Me and Hailey watching the boys all hard at work.
Dylan bouncing and talking during the construction.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Therapy with Dana
If I have said it before I will say it again - Dylan has the best therapist. Dana has been with us since Dylan was just about two months old. She is amazing! She brings over the greatest toys and therapy aids and the best part she leaves them with us to use between sessions. She is always coming up with new and creative ways to get him to work his muscles and she has taught me so much. Thank you so much Dana. We are going to miss you terribly when we move in a few weeks.
Here are some pictures and videos from today:
Dylan is getting stronger and stronger every day. Today he stood in the hamper and "rode" around for over 25 minutes without help. I was shocked, I can't believe the change. Just yesterday I still had to give him hip support when standing.
This is not the best scooting video because it was at the end of the session and he was tired, but he still made his way around the entire kitchen.
Here are some pictures and videos from today:
Dylan is getting stronger and stronger every day. Today he stood in the hamper and "rode" around for over 25 minutes without help. I was shocked, I can't believe the change. Just yesterday I still had to give him hip support when standing.
This is not the best scooting video because it was at the end of the session and he was tired, but he still made his way around the entire kitchen.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
We all should enjoy the small things...
This past week has been emotional for me. The things that have transpired have left me feeling very sad, upset and confused. The person that has caused this is someone very close to me and my immediate family and has chosen to exclude us from his life. Typical Kristy would stay up late worrying about the situation and try to think how I can make it all better but, after Friday and Saturday - FORGET IT, I have already tried too hard. I have done nothing wrong and I refuse to enable this to go on the way it has. In the long run this person has made a decision for his life and there is nothing any of us can do about it so I am going to stop losing sleep over it (because I have already lost too much).
I am moving on and looking forward. Life is to short to let these things get in the way. I have so much to be happy and thankful for. I have a wonderful family, amazing husband and kids, fantastic friends - truly a great life. I have a mother who is (well it's hard to find the right word) the most loving, compassionate, giving person I have every known. With out her I don't know what I would do.
I am moving on and looking forward. Life is to short to let these things get in the way. I have so much to be happy and thankful for. I have a wonderful family, amazing husband and kids, fantastic friends - truly a great life. I have a mother who is (well it's hard to find the right word) the most loving, compassionate, giving person I have every known. With out her I don't know what I would do.
A squeeze from Grandma always brings a smile...
...and even her french toast at the crack of dawn on a Saturday morning can make every thing seem better. Even the stool she bought especially for Hailey in the kitchen can be the most exciting thing in the world to a four year old and bring hours of smiles. Thanks Mom/Grandma.
More to enjoy are the summer afternoons at Grandma and Grandpa's house for a swim and time with extended family...
The feel of the water at the perfect temperature on a hot day can make anyone relax...or jump right in...
These are the times to be happy in life.
Then after a long, fun day some people just can't help themselves but fall right asleep in the pool cradled in the big, strong arms of Uncle Paul and...
...how nice to then get snuggled by mommy and wrapped in a warm blanket for a little afternoon nap on the grass.
A great end to a wonderful day.
My message to everyone today is to stop and enjoy the small things. If you miss out on these few happy moments in life you will never appreciate what is truly special. Love to you all.
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