Saturday, July 14, 2007
Whacha Doin' Sis?
The door to the bathroom in the motel we stayed in wouldn't latch. Wyatt took advantage and kept barging in on Taryn while she was in the shower.Wyatt With His Sissy
It didn't take very long for Wyatt to start signing Sissy. They have your typical love-hate / brother-sister relationship.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Pics from around CO Springs
These pics were taken in late May. There isn't as much snow on the mountains in the background now. This place is so beautiful! I love it!
Martin Update
I can't believe its been so long in between posts! Since I last posted, we have built a patio in our back yard and Eric deployed for almost a month to Ca to train for Iraq. Taryn arrived about 3 weeks ago as well. We've been busy, busy, busy!
Wyatt went in for his MRI a few weeks ago to see if his brain was in tact - and it is - which is fabulous news. We are still waiting for the blood work to come back to see if his growth gene is mutated or if his hormones are low. We also had out annual apt with the cleft team in Denver last week. They were happy with Wyatt's progress and his palate repair. All in all, nothing much came up except for the fact that Wyatt drools excessively due to his underdeveloped chin - something that should take care of itself in time.
Wyatt went in for his MRI a few weeks ago to see if his brain was in tact - and it is - which is fabulous news. We are still waiting for the blood work to come back to see if his growth gene is mutated or if his hormones are low. We also had out annual apt with the cleft team in Denver last week. They were happy with Wyatt's progress and his palate repair. All in all, nothing much came up except for the fact that Wyatt drools excessively due to his underdeveloped chin - something that should take care of itself in time.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Eat Dirt!
Wyatt: Mummy, this dirt is really good.Mummy: No Wyatt! Don't eat the dirt!
Wyatt: Why not? I reaaaally like it.
Mummy: Stop! Yucky! Don't!
Wyatt: What's your problem lady?
CICC Conference
We had a really lovely time at Glenwood Springs. It took about 4 hours each way to get there. We found ourselves daydreaming about retiring up there - its sooo beautiful. Eric took Wyatt swiming in the hot springs pool while I was in the conference and then later that afternoon we went for a hike to the old cemetary to see where Doc Holiday was buried. It was quite a hike, but the view from the top was worth it.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Glenwood Springs
This is where we are going for the CICC conference tommorrow! I am so excited - especially since Early Intervention is payinf for our gas, meals and lodging! WOW!
Hot Springs Lodge, Glenwood Springs
Hot Springs Lodge, Glenwood Springs
Monday, April 23, 2007
End of My First Semester at School
Here are some of my cakes. The first one looks lopsided in the pic - but I swear its my photography and not the cake! It was carrot cake with cream cheese and a pistachio crust with fresh pink daisies.I really like how the fondant heart cake turned out. It was also for a baby shower. I think next time I'll do different shapes, like teddy bear and a star etc.
The electric guitar was for a friend's son. I learned my lesson with coloring butercream with bright colors - everyone's mouth turned blue! I won't do that again. No one seemed to mind, but blue teeth aren't really attractive.
I love the skate board cake - it turned out really well.
The last one was my first attempt at fondant. I learned my lesson with the piping - colored butercream stains white fondant - so don't mess up! I figured out amethod where I printed out the wirting on the computer and then pinpricked though the writing on the "stencil"
and then piped over the holes.
CleftAdvocate and Volunteer Work
As you know I am a Pathfinder for CleftAdvocate. That means that I am listed on the website as a resource to other parents in Colorado. I was very excited to become a pathefinder last Aug 2006. Per my earlier post, had my first speaking engagement at Early Intervention in October 2006. The Director was very supportive of my cause and asked me to return to speak in Jan 2007. With Wyatt's birthday, his surgery and the holidays, I decided to lay low until the new year.
So in Jan, I spoke to 25 speech and occupational therapists. From this meeting I was asked to sit on a Parent Advisory Committee for the new Children's Hospital being built in town. We meet once a month with the Managing Director of the hospital regarding ways to educate staff and parents on "family based" care. This term means that the Drs should involve parents in decisions, rather than simply informing them on how they (the Dr) will be proceeding.
Being on the committee got me an audience with the local cleft team. The Managing Director gave the name and number of the person to contact and told me to tell them that she had referred me. It worked. I have an appointment with them in May to discuss how I can be an asset to them and to learn how their clinic works since I only have exereince with the team in Denver.
I spoke at the hospital's pediatric rehabilitation center to another 20 private occupational and speech therapists in Jan/Feb. So far, in 3 months, I have been contacted by 5 families. Really, my main hope was that my packets with the cleftAdvocate information would be distributed so that parents could go to the website for support. To personally touch the lives of people in my own community is way beyond anything I could have hoped for.
Recently I was asked to sit on the Local Interagency Committe of Colorado (LICC). This committee has reps from each of the local (city/county) agencies so that all of the different organizations are on the same page. I attend my first meeting next month.
From this the state paid for me to attend an overnight Parent Leadership Retreat with other parents doing outreach in their communities. We came from all over Colorado. We learned about leadership, and then we focused in on our own missions and set up goals to accomplish them. It was a powerful experience. We meet again in May to give each other an update on our progress. Can you believe that we are so lucky that the state actaully provided this training for us?
This week I am being sent to Glenwood Springs for a meeting on the state level. Eric and Wyatt are coming with me as Glenwood Springs is a hot springs resort in the ski country. We thought it would be a nice getaway before Eric leaves for his 6 weeks training California. I am so excited.
So anyway, its been amazing. I'm loving every minute of it.
So in Jan, I spoke to 25 speech and occupational therapists. From this meeting I was asked to sit on a Parent Advisory Committee for the new Children's Hospital being built in town. We meet once a month with the Managing Director of the hospital regarding ways to educate staff and parents on "family based" care. This term means that the Drs should involve parents in decisions, rather than simply informing them on how they (the Dr) will be proceeding.
Being on the committee got me an audience with the local cleft team. The Managing Director gave the name and number of the person to contact and told me to tell them that she had referred me. It worked. I have an appointment with them in May to discuss how I can be an asset to them and to learn how their clinic works since I only have exereince with the team in Denver.
I spoke at the hospital's pediatric rehabilitation center to another 20 private occupational and speech therapists in Jan/Feb. So far, in 3 months, I have been contacted by 5 families. Really, my main hope was that my packets with the cleftAdvocate information would be distributed so that parents could go to the website for support. To personally touch the lives of people in my own community is way beyond anything I could have hoped for.
Recently I was asked to sit on the Local Interagency Committe of Colorado (LICC). This committee has reps from each of the local (city/county) agencies so that all of the different organizations are on the same page. I attend my first meeting next month.
From this the state paid for me to attend an overnight Parent Leadership Retreat with other parents doing outreach in their communities. We came from all over Colorado. We learned about leadership, and then we focused in on our own missions and set up goals to accomplish them. It was a powerful experience. We meet again in May to give each other an update on our progress. Can you believe that we are so lucky that the state actaully provided this training for us?
This week I am being sent to Glenwood Springs for a meeting on the state level. Eric and Wyatt are coming with me as Glenwood Springs is a hot springs resort in the ski country. We thought it would be a nice getaway before Eric leaves for his 6 weeks training California. I am so excited.
So anyway, its been amazing. I'm loving every minute of it.
Signing Book and Computer
Here are the boys down In the basement, or as I like to call it - "Eric's man cave". Note the fashionable use of the Raiders blanket as a window treatment! Anyway, the first pic is of Wyatt signing "book" and the other is of him signing "computer".
Budda Belly
I see a lot of Eric's features in this pic.
We call him Budda belly all the time. The Dr actaully commented on it last week. Tonight I actually started to wonder if its normal... I can't help it. With everything else, I think you just get a little more paranoid than the average mom...
Baked Bean!
Words Wyatt says:
Mama, (won't say daddy - only signs "daddy"), bye-bye (he also blows kisses - thanks to our friend Sandy), please (sounds like "peace" he mostly says this when I say he can't have something - he's learned that trick quickly), fish (sounds like "pish"), car (he says it like an Australian - he he), ball (sounds like "bo"), cheese (sounds like chis), Ella (a little girl at daycare), LaLa (one of the teletubbies) and tonight he said... baked bean! Hilarious! It happens to be one of his favorite things to eat right now. He won't eat meat, so I've been giving him beans. He actually giggled the other night after farting - Eric laughed and I cried :-) His speech therapist says he has a wonderful sense of humor.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Wyatt's Signs - We're up to 35!
I am so proud and amazed that Wyatt is signing - its incredible to think that he signs and that Eric and I tought him! Here's a list of things he signs:
Signs Used Regularly
Daddy, Drink, Milk, Please, Book, Again, Ball, Cheese, Avacado, Fish (he does this for goldfish crackers and crackers in general now), Hot, Cold, Cat, Baby, Bird, Dog, Car ride, Tired/Bedtime, Teletubbies (he made this one up), Elephant, Boat, Bath, Computer, Shoes, Chair, Table, Frog, Pig, Yummy.
Signs Used When Prompted
Signs Used Regularly
Daddy, Drink, Milk, Please, Book, Again, Ball, Cheese, Avacado, Fish (he does this for goldfish crackers and crackers in general now), Hot, Cold, Cat, Baby, Bird, Dog, Car ride, Tired/Bedtime, Teletubbies (he made this one up), Elephant, Boat, Bath, Computer, Shoes, Chair, Table, Frog, Pig, Yummy.
Signs Used When Prompted
More (he favours "again"), Thank you, Cracker, Monkey, Lettuce, Cookie (his speech therapist's name is Cookie!).
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Things that Make You Go Hmmm
We went to the Opthalmologist yesterday and she reported that Wyatt's astigmatism has gotten worse. I was kind of surprised as I haven't noticed his eyes crossing or him not being able to see things. I was so sure that she was going to tell me it had cleared up and that she'd see us in 6 months.
Instead, she said she also noticed that Wyatt has small optic nerves. (I sat there calmly and thought to myself "What the hell does that mean?") Well it means Wyatt has to get an MRI (brain scan). She wants to see if Wyatt's cleft extends into his brain - which is called a midline abnormality. She was surprised that no-one has ordered one yet. OMG! I just about freaked!
I did some reading and talked to some other moms and as far as I can tell, the middle of the brain is the hormone section. Which is why the eye Dr suspects an issue. Lack of hormones can cause lack of growth - including the optic nerve. She was also going off of the geneticist's concern that Wyatt isn't on the growth charts - perhaps he's missing growth hormones...hmmm
So I got my act together today and went to the Dr to get my referral to get my skeltal x-ray done, called the genetics lab to get the authorization for the blood work on Wyatt done, called teh hospital to make sure the MRI was scheduled.
This is a new problem I don't want to deal with. All I want to know is WHY does he have what he has! That's it - don't tell me you've found something. You know? But I suppose it would make sense if he had a midline cleft that he has midline abnomalities - no one warned me though. I hate being taken off gurd.
Anyway, I'll keep you updated.
Instead, she said she also noticed that Wyatt has small optic nerves. (I sat there calmly and thought to myself "What the hell does that mean?") Well it means Wyatt has to get an MRI (brain scan). She wants to see if Wyatt's cleft extends into his brain - which is called a midline abnormality. She was surprised that no-one has ordered one yet. OMG! I just about freaked!
I did some reading and talked to some other moms and as far as I can tell, the middle of the brain is the hormone section. Which is why the eye Dr suspects an issue. Lack of hormones can cause lack of growth - including the optic nerve. She was also going off of the geneticist's concern that Wyatt isn't on the growth charts - perhaps he's missing growth hormones...hmmm
So I got my act together today and went to the Dr to get my referral to get my skeltal x-ray done, called the genetics lab to get the authorization for the blood work on Wyatt done, called teh hospital to make sure the MRI was scheduled.
This is a new problem I don't want to deal with. All I want to know is WHY does he have what he has! That's it - don't tell me you've found something. You know? But I suppose it would make sense if he had a midline cleft that he has midline abnomalities - no one warned me though. I hate being taken off gurd.
Anyway, I'll keep you updated.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
A Day At The Park
A few days it ago it got up to 55F and everyone in Colorado Springs burst out of their doors to enjoy the warmth! LOL! Wyatt and I went for a walk to our neighborhood park to play. The first pic is the view of Pikes Peak from the front of our house. Its so beautiful! Note the remnants of snow on the ground!
Wyatt's Highchair Has Been Replaced Finally!
Many of you know that Wyatt is skilled at getting out of the restraints on his highchair. Last week was the final straw for me. He stood up, sat on the side of his chair and then did a backflip/bellyflop onto the floor! It doesn't matter what I do - he gets loose and he won't stay seated. Its a never ending frustration! The first pic shows how he prefers to sit, when I can get him to sit - its a sideways lounge - he's too cool to sit the proper way! Pain in my ass! Isn't the look on his face a cheeky one! He's saying "go one - try to get me to sit properly."
The second pic is of him in his new booster chair. He can't wiggle out oft he restraint - ha ha ha! I've beat him! Note that he took an entire bag of gold fish crackers and shook it until every last one was on the floor - just imagine me trying to get the pack from him and him wiggling and twisting and turning to make sure he emptied it before I could take it away. I'm sure it was his retaliation. He's a maniac! But you've got to love it!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)