Much More Enjoyable

I cannot believe how much more enjoyable tub time is now.........opposed to the NICU. I HATED giving John a bath in the NICU (it made me extremely nervous to have his leads off).........baths were given every 3 days but I could usually stretch it out to about 5 days.....or until one of his primaries were working:)

Anyhow, we had a great weekend and are looking forward to a very relaxing week.........most therapies are canceled (M, T, W) and we are definitely looking forward to a week with no doctors or therapists.........don't get me wrong, we love all of them but it's nice to have a week off from EVERYTHING!

Other Tidbits:

• I spoke with the nutritionist in Tucson and we will be starting the Blenderized diet shortly (as soon as we get our Vita Mix in the mail)......even though our GI doctor is not supportive of it. I have debated back and fourth about this and finally came to the conclusion that I am his mother and for once I am going to do what I feel is best for him. For the last 18 months I have been told what and how much to feed my child........and yet he STILL vomits daily. So, wish us luck on this new journey.
• We should be getting John's headphones (for Therapeutic listening) in the next few weeks so we can use them at home and not just when we are at Speech. He'll wear them (and listen to special music) for 20 minutes 2x a day.

Fun In The Tub

Need I say more?

These Boots Were Made For Walking...

John doesn't seem to mind his boots (braces) that much. However, it is hard for him to crawl and pull to stand in them because he can't bend his ankles and he gets red marks on the back of his thighs from the boots rubbing on him.........good thing he only has to wear them for 30 minutes a day (for right now!)

Anyhow, he looks as cute as ever in them (he looks cute in anything) and they really help him stand better.

Have I mentioned lately how proud I am of him?

Mommy can we please go swimming!

Break time....this is hard work!

Fun at Speech!

John did awesome at speech today! Surprisingly, he didn't mind the headphones (used for therapeutic listening) which he looked absolutely adorable in. We also discovered today that he likes chocolate!!!!!!!!!!! I brought a chocolate pudding in...........I am willing to try ANYTHING.........and he loved it. Well, he loved playing in it:)

*We drove home from Speech in just a diaper today:)

Bumps and Bruises....

.....make a sad Mommy:( I know I need to get used to it but he's my baby and I don't like to see him cry. Anyhow, he has a big ole bruise on his forehead, a scrape on the top of his nose, and one on the tip of his nose.........AND, he fell HARD today. He was standing at the couch and fell straight back on his back and head.....my poor little man!

And yet he still continues to smile.......AMAZING!

Other news:

• John's PT brought his ankle braces today. He'll wear them for 30 minutes every day and we'll increase the time gradually.


• March of Dimes called to ask if they could submit John's pictures (birth & current) for a contest..........MOD's national office is making a bus (I think it's a city bus) covered with micro preemie pictures and then they will tour the nation (hopefully they'll make it to AZ.) I'll let you know if his pictures are chosen!

Rewind

John's development has really taken off and we couldn't be more excited for him. So, I am going to rewind to last Thursday and start there.......

During PT on Thursday morning John did AWESOME with his sitting. We placed his toys on a tray in front of him and he was able to play with them while sitting all by himself (for a few seconds.)

I also expressed my concerns about his weak ankles and maybe getting some leg/ankle braces for him. His PT mentioned some sort of shoe that will keep his feet pointing out opposed to rolling in..........similar to putting your child's shoes on the wrong foot. She thinks that this might be all he needs. So, we are going to try them out.

What a big boy sitting all by himself!

On Friday, John played with bubbles during OT and absolutely loved it.....as you can tell by the picture:)

After OT we headed to ST where he did wonderfully.........for the first time, he closed his lips around a water bottle and took a sip:)

We then came back home to take a nap........which was not successful so around 2:00pm we left the house for our first play date with the twins, Kaden and Krysten!!!

The twins were so affectionate with John.........they would touch his face and give him kisses on the lips.......too cute!!! At one point, Krysten came over and held John's hand!

Thanks Angela for having us over!!!

We were exhausted after our busy day on Friday...........so exhausted that John went to bed at 5:30pm and didn't wake up until 6:30am the next morning.

Anyhow, he was very excited Saturday morning when he woke up because he got to play with his new toy that Daddy bought him:)

John and his Hummer!

After playing all day with Dad on Saturday, Grams and Grandpa picked John up for a sleepover so Mommy could have a girls night out with Michelle and Daddy could go to the baseball game.

Thanks Mom and Dad! Now, do you really have to leave for Washington next week..............for the REST of the summer. What are we going to do without you?

John and Grandpa being silly.......AND, having tons of fun!

We ended our weekend with a day at the ballpark and John's first D-backs game in a suite! I think he enjoyed it as much as we did:)

My 2 favorite boys!

John had a blast crawling all over the floor and the chairs. Yes, you heard that right, I let him crawl on the floor at the baseball game (only in the suite.) Of course he went right into the tub the minute we got home:)

So, needless to say we had a GREAT weekend and look forward to a GREAT week!

John in Action!

Grandpa caught John in action as he pulled himself to stand at their coffee table!

Doesn't he look like such a big boy?

Anyhow, we have had a great few days......John has really taken off. I'll update more later.........we are off to the D-backs game right now!!!