Sunday, March 29, 2009

The Adventures Of...

Super Sorting Sister: She can sort anything into color groups in a flash and build tall monochromatic buildings on a single coffee table!


Super Sleep-Sitting-Up Boy: Every super hero has their ups and downs. This one lays down, then sits up, then goes down for the count...:Super Smiling Siblings: They can rise above, and against the odds, play well together. It may not save humanity, but it saves my sanity.


Thursday, March 26, 2009

quote of the day

Morgan (in a very matter-of-fact tone): Mom, if I stir my milk with my straw, it will turn into carrots.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

better n better

Yesterday was better. Thanks for the prayers!

Today was REALLY good. We got some great news. Athan saw Dr. Napier at optho for a pre-op visit. He was supposed to be doing labs and such to prep him for a surgery in April to correct his strabismus (eyes turning inward), but...

his eyes are getting better on their own! :) Dr. Napier said she rarely does this, but she cancelled his surgery. Yeah! We're going to resume patching his eyes, and see if we can help them continue to improve. Sosososo glad for our kiddo! :)

Monday, March 23, 2009

you'll have your good days...

and your bad ones. Today was a bad one. Ugh.

Athan is clingy and cranky. Morgan was defiant and argumentative. I was tired, impatient, selfish, frustrated. Ryan is in the thick of a busy semester...

BIG sigh...

With the presence and prayers of friends, some time with an understanding hubby, and some slow and purposeful deep breaths, we made it.

Tomorrow will be better.

Friday, March 20, 2009

crazy week

No one is sleeping. That makes everything crazy sometimes! I think Athan is constipated again. Maybe we finally got things moving again today, so there's hope for some sleep tonight.

We've had company, which was wonderful! Thanks, Em, for all your help with kiddos, and for just making you life part of ours for a few days. Miss you already.

And there were just a few extra responsibilities this week for Ryan and I, so maybe next week will be calmer. I'll try to post a clearer update when I've slept!


Friday, March 13, 2009

what we've been up to lately:

Athan has been going for the remote (good news - gaining strength and mobility!):Morgan has been hosting parties:
Ryan has been a princess:
And I, apparently, have been taking all the pictures. :)

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

more computer woes

My computer has been limping along for a while, but I think it's finally over. So, my post must wait until Ryan's laptop is here and available.

Athan is doing well. Keeps surprising us with his progress all the time. New words, new behaviors, new skills... Rob and Kat were here Sunday evening to witness his first legit attempt to pull up to the coffee table by himself. He won't get on his knees first, so he just tires to come to standing from his butt. He managed to get his rear end about 6 inches up, giggling all the while, before he gave up and plopped back down. So close! :)

Morgan, poor baby, has been sick. Snot, cough, etc. She lost her voice and sounded SO pitiful for a couple of days. We took her to Dr. C and she's on the mend. Still tired. Aside from being sick, she's still learning letters and sounds with mom some days. She still VERY much loves to cook. She is a great little therapist for Athan. She taught him the make the "k" sound, which we'd never heard him do before. She often (very gently) helps him lay down on the ground to practice sitting up, and then cheers for him when he makes it up. So cute.

I'm busier than I've been in a long time, but it's nice to be back out among adults once in a while! I'm auditing a class at the seminary and helping with an ESL class for Korean women.

Ryan is doing what dads and seminary students do: read, write, parent. When he gets time, he's working on the bathroom (it's fully functional - just trim and cabinets and such to do now).

There's the "catch up" for now.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

ok, not a trend yet

Athan has been back to waking up a bit more, but still, as I said, there is solid evidence that we might all sleep someday. :)

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

again

Yep. Slept through the night again! First time he's ever done this twice in a row!

Monday, March 2, 2009

he slept!

Athan slept from 10:15 last night to 7:00 this morning! :) Yeah! I'm pretty sure he woke up once, but he went back to sleep on his own. Ryan woke up this morning and asked "Did YOU get up with him last night?", fully anticipating that I'd just taken the night shift. Nope.

And he woke up so happy. He was jabbering away in his crib (not his usual cry of "hold Mama"), and then kept talking to us when Ryan picked him up and set him in our bed. He just smiled and sang and talked and cuddled for a few minutes until breakfast. It was nice to see him wake up like that.

When he does this, even if the nights are few and far between right now, it gives me hope that he might actually consistently sleep through the night on his own someday.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

First Steps mtg

We had a meeting on Friday with Athan's First Steps team to discuss the next 6 months of therapies. It was fun to celebrate the progress he's made and look ahead to new goals we've set. Amanda discharged Athan from VIPS service (a good thing - we're pretty sure he has outgrown the need for that therapy - yeah!), and that time will be replaced now with occupational therapy. Laurie will keep coming twice a week to do PT, and we're looking into getting him a special walker to help with his strength and mobility.

Thanks to Dan, Laurie, Amanda, and Emily for helping us move toward all-around health for our kiddo. We're thankful to have you all as part of our journey.