Snow Day!

It snowed sometime last week, so we bundled the boys up and ventured outside.  Isaac has seen snow, but I think this was the first time he really played in it.  

Gabe helped me shovel the driveway and was such a good helper.  I can honestly say, he requested to shovel the drive.  I really didn't put him up to it!  

 

We then woke up Isaac from nap and took him on a sled ride!

Gabe wanted to help pull Isaac.  

And Isaac loved it!

When we went to take Isaac out, he bawled and tugged on his seat belt.  I think he had a good time and hopefully we will get another snow so we can play in the snow again!

One foot, two foot, sock foot, shoe foot...

We have known about Isaac's club feet before he was born.  On our 24 week ultrasound when we learned about Isaac's spina bifida, and omphalocele and also his bilateral club feet.  To be honest, it was the least of my worries.

Here is an ultrasound of his little feet moving!  Even his little toes were wiggling!  It is always my proof that he did once have movement!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3EDsQj6yLg

When he arrived into this world and I tickled his little toes, I couldn't help but melt over his tiny, precious, crooked little feet.  They were seriously the tiniest feet I had ever seen.  They just barely filled Dan's pointer finger.

They were quite prominently clubbed at birth, however we noticed after he had his spinal surgery, everything seemed to relax a bit.  His toes still pointed inward and down, however not as much as before.  We continued to wait to fix his feet until he had recovered fully from his spine surgery and bladder and pelvic surgery.  The process to fix his clubbed feet would consist of a series of castings to slowly bend out his feet.  After months of casts, he would then probably need a surgery to clip his heal cord and finally he would then have boots made that he would wear for several years to come.  

Last week we went to see Isaac's orthopedic doctor to proceed with his feet repair.  When he examined his feet he was surprised to see that they are no longer clubbed.  They do point downward but they didn't seem to be clubbed!  From what I understand, his repair will begin with a small surgery to clip/release his heal cord as it is very tight making the feet point down.  Before he leaves surgery they will put casts on his feet so that his feet will stay in the corrected position.  He will have these casts on for three weeks while they make AFO's for him.  AFO's are ankle-foot-orthotics.  They are little braces molded specifically for his foot so that his foot will have support to stay in the correct position.  He will most likely wear these for a long time.  The AFO's will help his feet from going back to how they were.  Since they are not clubbed we have avoided weekly cast changes to turn the feet outward which would have consisted of 6 to 12 weeks of casting.

What does it mean to have his feet fixed since he can not walk or stand?  It may give him the chance to stand in the support of a stander someday so that he can be upright at times.  It also means that he will be able to finally wear shoes that will actually fit and stay on his feet (sometimes we try to cram his little feet in shoes, but usually they just fall off).  Being a shoe lover, this brings me great excitement!

18 months!

This is almost a month behind now, but our little man is 18 months old already!  

Isaac had his 18 month check up with his pediatrician Friday.  Overall, he is doing great, but he did not gain any weight since his last checkup in a month.  His growth chart is a bit at a plateau and he is very small for his age in both weight and height.  He has become a very picky eater and we are a little concerned. We just want to know we are doing everything we can to help him reach his maximum growing potential.  This is an area that I hope and pray to see much improvement in and one we will continue to work on.  

On another note, I must add that he really has been surprising us lately with great milestones.  Just today he rolled for the first time ever from his back to his tummy on the floor without any support!  He then proceeded to push himself up on his hands and knees.  He tried so hard to sit up from that position but his little legs got in the way.  He has no feeling from his waist down and his legs are very floppy so we help him to move his legs around to get into a sitting position.  He must watch us do this because he touched his leg like he knew he needed to pull it around. If he would have had the strength to lift his leg with his arms he would have accomplished getting into a sit on his own! 

  His vocabulary is growing and he is very loud.  He has changed from calling his big brother from "bubba" to "Babe" (Gabe).  He knows what the dog, cow, duck, frog, and cat say.  His favorite word is no and is not afraid to use it.... alot!   He knows his family and calls us, mom, dad, Bapaw (for Papa), Mimi (for Grammy), Pap Pap (for Pap Pap) and Mum (for Grandmummy).  

I look forward to seeing what changes and growth will occur in the next six months!  If you are looking for a specific prayer for Isaac, he could use some extra prayers that he has improved feeding and growth.  

     

follow your heart into the new year

Lately, I have been obsessed with these bistro mugs from (www.theuniverseknows.com.  You should check them out!)   Perhaps I should say I am more obsessed with the simple yet thoughtful sayings on them.  This is just one of my three mugs from my new little collection.  

Santa brought this mug to me this year!  So, to Santa, I say, this is my new 2013 motto! Thank you for the idea!

I am not normally one to write down new years resolutions.  I have some in mind and I always feel a strong sense of renewal, but I don't like to write them down and dare I ever tell them to anyone, let alone the internet!  But this year, I feel compelled to share.  I think it gives me a little more responsibility if I share, but also, it only make sense to share.  It's the purpose of my resolution.  

...follow my heart.

We all have purposes and missions in life.  Some of these missions are clear to us and some a bit fuzzy. It takes courage and guidance to better understand them.  Hindsight always gives clarity to some of these purposes.  Today, I was sitting here thinking about why I may have changed majors in college from architecture to teaching.  I had always, since I was about  8 years old wanted to be an architect.  Ever since I saw the most awesome, grand staircase and wanted to learn how to design a house with an awesome staircase like it.  My dad gave me a drawing sheet of drafting paper and my first drafting scale and taught me how to draw to scale. On Saturday nights when most kids were out having fun, I would spend hours at my desk, drawing my dream homes.  (All of which included beautiful grand staircases).  I was hooked and ever since then, I knew I wanted to be an architect.  Architecture classes at Ohio State were intense and bit out there for me, but that wasn't what tore me away from the career.  I knew as I sat in class something was missing in it for me.  I wasn't sure what, but I knew if I chose architecture, I may have felt like I needed more.  After some thought, I realized I needed a profession that I got to be involved in working with children and shaping their lives in positive ways.  I had always babysat and helped out at things like Safety Town in the summers and I always loved it.  I felt like I was making a difference and it felt right.  

So, when I changed majors to early childhood education, I was a bit sad, but I knew in my heart it was the right thing for me to do.  Teaching may have been even more challenging than architecture.  You can stay up drafting and forcing yourself to design, but you can't make 20 tiny, intelligent and spunky 5 year olds to listen to you.  You can do your best to inspire and teach, but ultimately you can't make someone learn.  That is up to each person young or old.   Nonetheless, I did grow to love teaching and ultimately I knew I was fulfilling something that I felt strongly about; helping each child know they are special and unique.  I liked finding each child's unique characteristics and qualities and I loved trying my best to help them use their talents.  It was fun to see how each child brought life to our little classroom community.  

I have not thought much about this for awhile, but recently it dawned on me that perhaps God graced me with a child with a physical disability and a typical child for a reason.  I see that the differences between them are more about differences in their spirits rather than their physical differences.  This year I have decided to follow my heart and do what I can to help this cause.  I am not sure how this will play out or what it will look like, but I will follow my heart in helping children be accepted for their spirits.  I will continue my mission of helping children know they are unique and special.

I realize this might seem like an inappropriate place to share these personal thoughts but they are inspired by Isaac and his attitude. His journey helps me to have a stronger sense that ALL children NEED to know their importance.

 Isaac sees the world without worry or embarrassment that he is "differently abled" than most.  I want him to always feel this way.  I want him to be strong in his sense of self and know that he is one of a kind.  I would like others to see as Isaac sees....without limits .  Likewise, I have another child whom does not have special needs but is just as special as his brother.  Gabe sees his brother without judgement or fear.  He does not see his wheels as a hindrance but just as a part of his brother.  I hope that I can do my best to help others know as Gabriel knows....without judgement.

 

Let's let the greatness of each child shine!