Feeding Evaluation

Friday, March 30, we had a feeding therapy evaluation with the Speech and Language Therapist at Walla Walla General Hospital Rehab department. We had been waiting for insurance to authorize the new feeding therapy program before we could begin. To start off, they only authorized the evaluation and once they receive the recommendation from the therapist, they will decide whether or not to approve ongoing therapy.

I have to admit I have mixed feelings about the program. We did about a year and a half of feeding therapy like this starting from the time Caden was 5 months old until right before he turned two. We were unsuccessful in getting him to eat anything by mouth. However, the therapist was invaluable in terms of helping Caden maintain his oral motor skills even though he wasn't eating. This was HUGE when it came time to start the behavior based feeding program we began when he turned two.

I figured I would do the evaluation and see what happened. I really liked the therapist and thought she had some really good ideas in terms of getting Caden to begin to actually enjoy eating. So we will see what happens. A LOT has changed since Caden first began to eat by mouth so hopefully now that he's 100% oral, we can work on getting him to “like” eating and want to feed himself. It will be a long road regardless. But at least we are making progress.

Star of the Week

For the week of March 26-30, Kyler was the Star of the Week in his Kindergarten class. This meant we got to bring in pictures of him to put on the bulletin board and he got a little time each day to talk about the pictures, or tell the class a little about himself.

On Monday, Greg came into the classroom first thing in the morning and read the book, The Berenstain Bears Picnic, at Kyler's request. That was the first time Greg has been able to spend any time in his classroom and Kyler absolutely LOVED it!

Kyler asked if I would make banana cornbread muffins to take in for a treat one day. So we did that on Thursday and then I stayed to have lunch with Kyler. It was a fun week and Kyler enjoyed being able to tell his friends more about himself.

Beach Day

At Kyler's request, we spent our last day in Southern California at the beach. This was actually Caden's first time to the beach and seeing the ocean. So it was a momentous occasion because of that. The kids had so much fun playing in the sand and building sandcastles with Greg. Our friend had several sand toys for us to take with us which made the day much more fun for the boys. And, there was also a nice playground right by the beach.

The boys headed back after collecting water in the pail

Caden enjoying the sand

He even made a sand angel!

I love this pic of Ky looking out over the ocean!

It was a great last day of vacation. We relaxed and enjoyed our family time together. It was an early morning the next day as we headed to the airport to catch our flight home. But we had such a great trip and made sweet memories with the boys.

SeaWorld

Just in case the kids weren't tired enough from Legoland, we decided to go to SeaWorld the next day. We let the boys sleep in a little bit since they were so tired from the previous day. But we wanted to get there before it got too late in the day. So off we went.

Kyler and Greg went on a water ride first thing upon arrival. They got completely drenched but loved it. It was a relatively warm day so they dried off fairly quickly. Then, we mapped out the shows we were going to and other rides/exhibits in between. It ended up being a fairly busy day going from one thing to the next. But even so, the kids seemed to enjoy the animals quite a bit.

Caden with a sting ray behind him

Cool looking beluga whale

A very sleep polar bear

I love this pic of Kyler watching the walrus swim toward us on his back!

Watching the Shamu show

The sea lion was barking for some fish

At the end of another fun day

We saw sting rays, beluga whales, polar bears, orca whales, walruses, sea lions, sharks and more. Kyler really enjoyed the Shamu show. So much so, that he insisted on buying himself a stuffed orca whale with some of his birthday money before we left the park at the end of the day.

We had a good time at SeaWorld, but I think Legoland was more fun overall. We were tired at the end of the day and knew we had one full day left. We let Kyler decide what he wanted to do: one more day at Legoland, one more day at SeaWorld, or a day at the beach. He chose a day at the beach. That was perfectly fine with us since we were all tired of walking around so much.

Legoland!

To celebrate Kyler's 6^th birthday, we decided it was time to take a family trip to Legoland in Carlsbad, CA. Luckily for us, Kyler's birthday fell during his spring break, so we were able to fly down and spend a few days in Southern California. And, we were also fortunate to stay with a friend who lives down there. It was great to see her and have the comforts of home during our visit.

We flew to Orange County on Monday, the day after Kyler's birthday and went to Legoland the following day. To say Kyler was excited would be a huge understatement. He had never been to any kind of amusement/theme park before but he knew it sounded like fun. Greg and I took turns going on rides with Kyler because Caden was too little to go on all but three rides. So one of us stayed with him while the other rode with Kyler.

Getting ready for a fun-filled day! 

Making Lego cars to race

The kids had a blast on the HUGE playground

Greg had to have this picture taken  :)

We took a quick detour to the Washington Monument... ;)

Yikes! They gave Kyler a driver's license and let him drive a car!  :/
I think this was his favorite part of the whole day!

Caden's favorite part of the day was the train ride!

There were only three rides he could do and this was one of them.

We tried to take our time and enjoy the experience and let Kyler soak it all in. I have to say the day was a success because as we were walking out of Legoland at closing time, Kyler said, “This was the best day EVER!” Perfect ending to a perfect day! Both the boys had a fabulous time and we created some wonderful family memories!

6 Years Old!

I can't believe my firstborn, my baby boy, turned 6 years old today! It doesn't seem possible! He is so grown up. That makes me both very sad and very happy... all at the same time. :( :)

Yesterday at church, they celebrated his birthday by singing to him and he got a book and some Play Doh. Today, we had a few kids over for a small party. I decided to do a Lego-themed birthday cake because we are taking him to Legoland for his birthday (we leave tomorrow!).

(L-R): Anabella, Miles, Kyler, Caden, Mateo, Mason

My big 6 year old with the family

I am not the best cake maker or decorator, but my friend who made Caden's cake was not available to make Kyler's cake. So I did my best. I did two Lego brick cakes with 6 dots each. I found a good recipe for being able to cut the cake easily without it crumbling. And, for the dots on top of the cake, I used the giant marshmallows cut in half. I have to say, even though it is far from perfect, I am really happy with how it turned out!

He really liked the cakes!

I made a name plate for Kyler out of Legos. And, Greg made a “6” to stand up on the cake plate. We used 6 Lego men to decorate and had 6 candles. Overall, I think it was pretty cute. :)

The final product

I asked Kyler this afternoon if he had a good birthday and his response was, “I've had a really good day, Mom!” That makes it all worth it! I am so happy Kyler had a fun party and enjoyed his Lego cakes. Now I have to finish getting ready for our trip to Southern CA tomorrow! :)

Happy Birthday Kyler! I love you so much and am so proud of you and the young man you are becoming! xoxo

Growth Hormone Therapy

The time has come... we have officially started Growth Hormone Therapy (GHT). I am both excited about it and sad about it. I am excited because I am so hopeful it will help Caden grow so he can catch up to where he should be. But I am sad because it means daily injections until he is full grown. :(

On Sunday, March 11, we had a nurse come out to train us on how to give the injections. She had a “fake skin” to practice on. That was very easy because the skin didn't move and didn't scream or cry. But giving an injection to poor Caden is a whole other story!

Greg gave him his first injection and because he didn't know what was coming, he held so still and was so good. But as soon as the needle went in, he started screaming. Then he came to me to be comforted afterwards. But Monday-Thursday I gave him his shots. Each day was harder than the last in terms of him fighting me. (I really want to know what God didn't give moms 3 arms!) But with each time, he recovered from the “trauma” more quickly. Greg did his shot today and thankfully we get to take one day off/week and we have chosen Saturdays! So no shots tomorrow! :)

It is horrible to have to inflict pain on your child every day. But the nurses and doctors keep telling us the kids become so used to it that once they get a little older, they actually give themselves their own shots. I can hardly believe that! Especially coming from where we are right now. But that would be wonderful if it actually happens.

In the meantime, please pray for us. Pray for me and Greg to be fast and efficient with giving the shots to minimize the pain for Caden. And please pray for Caden to remain calm and quiet so it is less traumatic on him. We have one week down and many many many more to go... I know it will get better but right now it is very stressful on all of us.

Southfork

Saturday afternoon, March 10, we decided to head to Southfork to do some light hiking. We didn't have a lot of time, but we thought it would be fun to check it out.

Kyler was really excited about going hiking and didn't really enjoy the car ride there, even though it wasn't that far away. But once we got there, he was so happy and went running up one trail after another. Caden didn't want to be left out, so he followed Kyler up everything, although we needed to help him quite a bit because it was quite steep and slippery in some places. He was a real trooper though.

We had a really fun family day again. I have to say I am really loving my family and the fun things we are getting to do together. Now that Caden is older, it makes things much easier to get out and enjoy the outdoors. 

Kyler was really sad when we had to leave, but it was getting cold and we needed to head home to eat dinner. We will definitely head out there to do more hiking in the future. Both the boys had a great time and it was so nice to be out in the fresh air!

Chalk Art

Kyler doesn't enjoy doing art projects or drawing most of the time. So when he does draw something or make something, it is a pretty big deal for me. I thought his chalk art picture in our driveway was really cute so I had to take a picture of him next to it. :)

Riding to School

One of Kyler's favorite things is riding his bike to school. And what he loves even more than that, is when Daddy can ride with him! It is the cutest thing to see them ride off together.

Aren't they adorable??? :)

Bike Day

For the month of March, Kyler's class has been studying transportation: air, sea, and land. On Thursday, March 8, it was BIKE DAY! Kyler was anxiously awaiting this day because all the kids got to bring their bikes or scooters to school so they could ride through an obstacle course. They had a guest speaker come in and talk to them all about bike safety, etc.

The obstacle course activity was in the afternoon, so Caden and I walked over to the school to watch. A few of the parents spent a lot of time putting together the course and getting everything ready. The kids all lined up and took turns one by one.

Kyler ready to take his turn on the course

And there he goes...

Very focused on the course and his next turn

There were a few minor accidents, but overall everyone had a great time and Kyler loved every minute of it! We even lucked out with the weather. It was sunny and windy, but no rain.

Shriner's Hospital, Spokane

I had to drive back to Spokane for Caden's appointment at Shriner's Hospital for Children, Spokane on Tuesday, March 6. His appointment was early Tuesday morning so we drove up late Monday night and spent the night with my sister. Again, I have to say, I am so grateful to have a place to stay when we go up for doctor's appointments!

It's kind of hard to see, due to the lighting at 

this time of day, but this is Shriner's in Spokane

We had just seen the orthopedic doctor at Shriner's in Sacramento before we moved in December and he thought we didn't need to be seen for another year or two. But because we moved and we wanted to establish ourselves with the new doctors, we went ahead and had the referral sent so we could start right away.

Caden wanted to ride the carousel horse in the
waiting room and he asked me to take his picture!

Caden started with x-rays of his spine to see how the scoliosis looked. I also brought digital copies of his last x-ray from Sacramento as well as the MRI of his spine from November 2010. They were very happy to have those to compare to. The doctor wasn't overly concerned about Caden's spine right now. But when I mentioned we were starting growth hormone therapy, he said that is when they really want to monitor him closely. He said it is during periods of rapid growth that the scoliosis can accelerate and become more severe. So he wants to see Caden back in six months.

While we waited in the exam room for the doctor to come in, Caden occupied himself by reading a book about trees, as well as using the exam table as a slide. I thought it was very thoughtful of the designers of the tables to think about that as a secondary use for small children! ;)

It wasn't a very long appointment so we were out of there relatively early in the day. But that gave me time to run some errands in the “big” city, and have lunch with my sister before driving back home. It was a good trip and I was glad to see the ortho doc before starting the growth hormones. Now I know what we need to watch out for.

Sledding

Saturday afternoon, March 3, we decided to take advantage of not having anything going on and drove up to the mountains to go sledding. We almost didn't go because it was getting later in the day and we weren't sure it would be worth while. However, we had the most fabulous family day ever! I am so glad we went!

We drove up, found a place to park, bundled up the kids and started walking up the hills. Caden had the easiest job as he just got to sit in the toboggan and have Greg pull him up the hill. But the rest of us hiked around and enjoyed sledding down. 

Me getting to sled down with Caden

Hiking to the next spot

All my boys!

The kids had such a blast! I was so proud of Kyler for not whining or complaining about being cold, or tired, or hungry, etc. He did such a great job and we all had such a fantastic time. We took turns going down different hills and at one point Kyler initiated a snowball fight. He and Greg had a fun time slinging snowballs at each other and occasionally at me and Caden. 

Getting ready for a snowball fight!

My last run of the day

By the time we headed home, the kids were worn out. When we got home, they were both begging to go to bed, even though it wasn't their bedtime yet. So off to bed they went and we had a nice quiet evening. The next morning they both slept in pretty late also. I guess that meant they had a fun time sledding! :) Such great memories were made and I am glad we went.