No More Physical Therapy! And other things...

Guess what? Isaac is progressing so well in his motor skills that we no longer need a physical therapist! Mark will still be there for questions and anything like that, but I think Isaac will be just fine. Now we can focus more on speech therapy.

I feel like Isaac understands more and more. He is such a character.

I am also starting to worry about how much he rocks. He does it on his bum scoot, of course, and when he dances:) But that's how he puts himself to sleep. Is my child going to be that kid in the corner humming to himself, rocking back and forth? :( I hope not. But...I'll love him just the same:)

This kid loves music! He is pretty good at the maracas, drums, tambourine, and cymbals:) He always calms down when we play the guitar. That and the vacuum are a sure way to stop the craziness and crying.

These two sure get tuckered out when we go to Grandma Judy's house! Cuteness. Oh, and that was one of Grandma's treasures she found us in the back seat. Gotta love the new van!

Time at the park! He loves the wood chips and I'm so proud of him how well he walks on uneven ground. He is picking himself up so well now, too.

Isaac is starting to get into all kinds of things. It took him awhile, but now he is twice the trouble! Music, clothes, books, you name it. Let it begin!

And Millie turned three! But Isaac slept through it all. It's okay, it was a total GIRL party!

Isaac's Progress According To Kids On The Move

We were finally able to do the IFSP with a few KOTM service educators. I always felt like Isaac was about three months behind. I put him in the age category of 13 months. When I saw what they put him at I decided, on average, I was right.
It ended up being a good meeting. Nothing too surprising, though I wish he were doing better in his communication. I guess I know where to focus now. Now that he is walking I feel like we can look at other things and concentrate time and effort into communication.
We practice signing, we talk to him a lot, tell him what things are, etc. Some goals we set have to do with that, but we also did things like pointing and shape sorting/puzzles.

Here are the results.

Gross Motor: no significant delay, age Equiv. 15 months
Fine Motor: No significant delay, age equiv. 14 months
Cognitive: No significant delay: age Equiv. 14 mos
Receptive Communication: Delay is moderate, age equiv. 12 months
Expressive Communication: Delay is moderate, age equiv 12 months
Adaptive(dressing, feeding, etc.): Delay is not significant, age equiv. 17 months

AND....Drum Roll Please.....
Social or Emotional: No significant delay, Age Equiv. 19 months.

Yay! My little social butterfly. He teaches Amelia a lot:) They teach each other. I'm glad he is doing well socially because that is really what is going to help him and get him through life.

Big News-A Cure?

The other day I was looking at my National Fragile X App and saw a News Article. A lot of time I don't read these kinds of things. There is always some kind of research going on and often times I don't feel like it is going anywhere.

If fact, when I think of "finding a cure for Fragile X" as we all hope, I don't really feel it's possible. At least I didn't until I read the article. This could change everything.

It's weird to think Isaac was just his normal little self until he was fifty days in the womb. Then apparently everything changed. Once that certain protein was "shut off" he was now destined to have Fragile X Syndrome and change all of our mortal lives forever.

But I often wonder, "What if they do find a cure?" If he is old by then (which I'm sure will happen) will it really be able to change much? Can you really take someone with special needs and change everything? Is it the purpose?

If this study works and becomes available to the public it will be years and years before that happens. But hey, who needs a cure. We are pretty happy around here!

Babysitters, diaper changes, and laughs

When Millie was little she would not go to anyone. She was very shy. I had many things I was doing at the time, including callings, so she often was watched by others. She eventually grew out of that stage and does really well now.

I hope this is only a stage Isaac is going through. I feel like I need to warn babysitters. Sometimes we are limited to what we can do because not just anyone can watch this kid!

I am thankful for many people that have offered to be our "respite." There are so many in my ward willing to watch Isaac and Millie, despite dedicating all they've got to keep everyone sane:)

I'll never forget when I left my son with a neighbor. It was late, so I packed diapers and jammies. I wasn't really expecting him to be in them, however, when we got back. When we picked him up, sure enough he was in pjs and everything. Jeremy and I just laughed all the way home thinking That poor woman! How in the world did she do that!

The other day it took all three of my sister-in-laws to change his diaper. It is seriously an Olympic event. Sometimes I wonder how he is fully clothed each day when it's just me at home. It's a miracle!

That's my crazy little bud. Love him!

Teepees and Realizations

I know that Isaac is a very active boy. He always has been. But it just becomes a part of every day life. I don't know if I can say I'm used to it BUT...I guess I kind of am. He's pretty crazy sometimes.

However, when I am out and about or around other children similar in age, I really recognize just how crazy this boy is! Ha ha.

See that blur on the left? That's Isaac. My best friend's little girl just sat there the whole time. She was so calm the whole night. It was weird. Ha ha.

My sisters and Mom got a trampoline for Isaac. This helps him get some energy out. He can even get on and off himself! Whoot whoot!

This isn't the best video but it is the only thing I got!

I just hope his physical therapist lets him keep it. We have a Johnny Jumper that he would have loved (as many of you know) but I could never use it because the PT said it would interfere with him learning how to walk. I feel like he got jipped! ;)

Oh well, there are a lot of hyper kids. In fact we were laughing because I have a cousin who was way active as a child. He grew out of the stage and now he is normal-practically;) Although I never want to give Isaac medicine, I also want him to be able to focus enough to learn all he needs to. A battle I'm not looking forward to...

Guess What!!

Guess What?

ISAAC IS OFFICIALLY WALKING!

We are now working on helping him get up by himself so that he can get up and go wherever he is. The other day he actually got up on his own for the first time and started walking! It has been awesome. I feel like all of this is a little miracle.

We must take joy in every little footstep.

He has made so much progress over the last few months, I feel.

He has even stacked one block! That shows he is concentrating, staying focused, understanding, and gaining concepts. It's a big deal.

He is also doing better at shape sorting. His best toys for things like that is a big piggy bank with plastic money to put in and a caterpillar you put balls in its mouth. He is seriously a pro! It's amazing! It's moments like these I feel life is great and things are going to be okay:)