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Brief Lainie Update

We had a consultation today with a Private Speech Therapist (well thru our local hospital group) and it went well. She said she has treated children with this problem (not biting or chewing) so she has the experience we are looking for. She actually recommended that we continue having Jessica come once a week but add in going to her office 1-2 times a week as well. Just like we suspected, she suggested that we need to "step up our game" so to speak and really try to nip this all in the bud now before she gets much older. The older she gets, the harder it is going to be to work with her b/c this is the age of them trying to gain some independence.

She did say that all the things she will do, eat, try, etc. are all good indications that she will get over this issue. She said we have done all the right things and what we are doing now is great, she just needs more intensive work on top of it. She gave me lots of suggestions for things to try now such as still feeding the baby food like we are doing but adding in the real item as well.. such as adding in mashed banana to her banana/strawberry babyfood or yougert. One for texture but also for the taste. And to only do that for like a week, then try something else next week, like adding in real sweet potato into her baby food.

She was really good with her and we liked her it is just going to have to be determined if I can get her there 2 times a week especially going into summer with the boys home. And weigh the cost of therapy this often vs. what I can do at home with her with the right direction.

The boys are offically roommates!!

Well after a month of Nikolas not sleeping in his own bed we decided it was time to talk to the boys and see if they wanted to offically become roommates. They thought it was a grand idea so it was set into motion. After taking some measurements, discussing options, and weighing what was best... We decided to move the boys into Nikolas' room. So we took out the queen bed and his dresser and moved in Alex's desk and the bunk beds. We actually took down some shelving in Nik's closet and moved his dresser into the closet. So then we had to add a book case to their room to handle the loads and loads of books they have between them and then we finished up by redecorating their desks with their personal items. They are so close that this seems like the best solution.

Now we will repaint Alex's room (it is the only room in the house we have not painted yet anyway). And it will become an offical guest room!! Woo Hoo!! I know those of you that do stay with us will enjoy not having to sleep among Nik's stuffed animals, dodge his desk and feel totally cramped like it used to be. Now you will have space and room to get coozy. We will even be putting a TV in there for added comfort!!

Now, in doing all this we have found that our kids have WAY TOO MUCH stuff!! So this week we will be going thru and trying to weed out the toys they no longer really play with or ones that just are getting to worn out.

Nikolas' Artwork, Lainie in the Gardens, Alex in his own Urgent Care

Well the last couple of weeks have been fun around here. We have been busy as usual doing all the normal things that life with 3 kids grants us.

Alex is the creative one and he likes to act out some of his ideas. The latest was an Urgent Care Ward on the bottom bunk of his bed. He and Nik were the patients in this little "play" but when it came time for bed, they decided it was a good place to sleep too.




Every spring our local library asks the preschools to send in great artwork for the Festival of Arts and they display it in the children's area of the library. Well one of Nik's projects got selected so we drove over there this past week to see it on display. He was very proud of himself. We saw that 3 of his classmates also got their work displayed too.






Then after we went to the library we went back to the Memorial Gardens. I took the kids there back in March but Lainie would not "pose" at all so I got no good pictures of her. Also since it has warmed up, I was able to put her in a cute dress. Well she still would not "pose" for me but I got a few nice pictures of her anyway.









Our other big news from last week is that Lainie ate some Spaghetti Noodles for me one night. Actually chewed and swallowed them. Her therapists had commented on Friday on how much better she thought her muscle tone looked. We were also pleased that she is able to make some sounds more clearly now as well. I am still torn about whether or not to seek a more experienced therapist especially now that we are starting to see some results. I have one more consultation this week and then we will decide. Right now I am leaning on giving Jessica more time to see if we continue to see improvement. If by her birthday she still is not eating, then I might seek someone more experienced.

Finally!! Nikolas rides his bike

Christmas 2006 we bought both boys new bikes. Alex had outgrown his and needed the next size up and Nikolas was in need of the smallest version to get himself started. Well he tried it like once that Christmas (he was about to turn 3 yrs old) but decided it was just too hard. The trike was easier. All last year I would try to get him on that bike and he would refuse, so it just sat there... Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago (April 2008). Kerry decided to clean out my garage (I call it that since he has his own one with all his stuff in it). I told him to put that trike in the attic in his garage and make it disappear. Well the next day, we all go out to play. I suggest Nik give his bike a try (he did not really ask "where is my trike"). Guess he figured out it was gone or something.

So we pull it out, put his helmet on and I try once again to explain to him to push the pedals forward and don't step back unless he wants to stop. That was always the sticky point with this bike, he would almost immediately put the brake on and then get frustrated. Well he took it for a spin around the driveway a few times and declared he could ride it but he was done.

The next day I pulled it out again and said, let's practice down in the street today. So off we go, helmet in hand. Lo and behold, he finally figured it out and I have not been able to get him off it since. He and Daddy even went for a long ride around the neighborhood today!! He is almost too big for it now but it is a great size for him to get comfortable with for now. We plan to pull Alex's first bike out and put the training wheels back on it and move Nikolas over to that one by the summer time. Then I guess we will maybe paint this one pink and save it for Lainie!

So here are some pictures of Nikolas (4 yr and 3 months old) finally riding a big boy bike!!

Lainie test results...

Lainie had her follow up with the Pediatric GI doctor today.... He walked in and said I have "good news"... so I knew what that meant. It was good news but also bad news. All of her biopsies came back negative so she does NOT have reflux, allergeries, fungal infection or anything else. So after having a Barium Swallow done last fall and now at Endoscopy a few weeks ago, we can now say she does not have a MEDICAL reason for now biting, chewing and swallowing!! It is all behavioral. Just GREAT!! So his recommendation was to find the most experienced speech therapist who specializes in Oral Motor Issues, especially with chewing and swallowing.

So as much as I hate to take our new ST out of the equation, she just not have the experience we need. She is highly motivated and is really trying but I am torn. Lainie did really well with her today in her session, allowing her to actually get into her mouth and do stretches. She said all her facial muscles are really tight and we need to stretch them. She showed me exercises to do at home to help this.

So I guess next week I will start making some phone calls and see if I can find anyone who fits this description. I plan to call our Pediatrician too and see what she can help me do to find one.

Baby Brett Johnson

I hope that Pam (my best friend in the world) and Bo don't mind if I show off their new baby son, he is adorable so I don't think they will mind. We stopped by and visited them on our way to VA before Easter and I got to hold him! He was so tiny!! He was the same size as Alex was when he was born and it is so hard for me to remember him that little when I see this big 60 lb boy now.

Here is me getting to hold the little guy




And a few others I snapped while there. He is precious and we are so thrilled for Pam, Bo, Haley and Gracie that God gave them this little blessing!!

Alex wants Surgery on his nose...

Alex has been driving me insane this afternoon. For those of you who have not seen him up close and in person or have just never noticed, he has a very small white line across his nose. I don't know if you can even really see it in this picture above. Dr. Samuels (the Developmental Ped we see) noticed it when she first saw him and asked me if he had allergies. I said, yes he does. She said she could tell from where he is constantly pushing his nose and wiping it. Ah...that is how the little crease got there??? Okay then....

Fast forward to this afternoon. On the way to Alex's therapy session with Kim, he tells me he needs to have surgery on his nose to get rid of this line. He said he was being teased today at school. Now it is not that noticable so I can't believe some kid would tease him about that but who knows... he certainly was upset about it. Now he is insistent on having surgery to remove it. I tried explaining that no doctor would do surgery on his nose at this age but he is not having it. I might need to just take him and have a doctor tell him that if he continues this. Kim said she could not get him to talk about anything else tonight so they spent the whole session working on ways to get him to not obsess about his nose!! Hopefully he won't dwell on this tomorrow. He was wearing me out!!

Tiger Scouts, Bowling and Camping

Well right before the Spring Break, Alex's scout pack went bowling. I think the boys all learned it was not as easy as it looked but they had a great time. Alex really wants to go back again so we need to plan a family outing to the bowling alley sometime. We went to the cheapest one around here, which translation, means the oldest one. It probably has been there since the 50's or 60's. It is right next door to the Skating Rink which I think has been there just as long. But despite coming out reeking of all those years of smoke which just oozes from the building, we had fun. Here are a few pictures of Alex bowling (or trying to I should say). He did get a split twice so he was really proud of himself.








Also, this past weekend was suppose to be the big Spring Camping trip. Alex has been so looking forward to this trip because we missed the Fall one (we had just joined right before they went). So last weekend we took the kids out to get "real" sleeping bags (Nik had to have one too). And Alex and Nikolas spent all week "preparing" for to rough it. Alex slept in the sleeping bag on his floor of his room all week.

Then the weather took a turn and mother nature decided to give us Thunderstorms all weekend. Now since most of these boys are pretty new to this whole scout thing. The leaders decided to postpone the trip. What fun would it be for these boys to sit in their tents or shelters all weekend?? Now if they were BOY Scouts, they would have gone no matter what.

So to help Alex not be too upset, Kerry put the tent up in the playroom so he could still camp out (not quite the same thing but close enough). He has now slept in it for 3 nights!! We had movie night and the boys watched from the tent. Notice in both pictures ALL of the lovey bags and stuffed animals and blankets. These boys would be in big trouble if they had to vacate quickly. Alex was not too happy when we told him when he actually does go camping that he can only take one blankie and one stuffed animal. This was very hard for him to understand.

It has been a busy few weeks

Wow, can't believe it has been so long since my last entry!! The past few weeks have been a little busy between a long weekend in VA, doctor visits, house spring cleaning, and trying to be outside as much as possible when the weather is nice!! I also have finally updated the picture website, link listed up to the left of this screen under Winkflash. You can view all our latest pictures there.

Here is a little recap of the last few weeks:

Easter Weekend we went to VA and had a very wonderful visit with all of our family. They even surprised me with a little birthday cake and presents (Thanks again everyone for all my gifts!) The kids had a ball finding Easter eggs hidden at both grandparents houses and seeing what wonderful treasures the Easter Bunny had left behind. We played outside at both houses too, the boys had a great time playing in the creek at the Jacobs House and at the Baeder house they played bubbles and hide and seek. Here are few pictures from that weekend:













The kids had the whole week off so we brought Nannie (my Mom) back with us to visit for the week and to help me out. We also had a few doctor visits to take care of that week so her being here helped out tremendously so we did not have to take the whole crew to these places. While she was here we did get to the Memorial Gardens and took some pictures of the kids as the flowers and trees were all in bloom. Here is a sample of those pictures.






All and all it was a wonderful week and we enjoyed it.