Lots of updates!

Here are our long overdue updates that are going on in our household right now! Be prepared, it's a long one!

* Moving *

We are moving so things have been a little bit overwhelming for the past few months, but most especially, the past few weeks. Colin has been a trooper and we have really tried to make sure we spend enough time with him and do a lot of the packing work after he goes to bed. We have also had friends and family spending time with him as well while we do some things. While I am excited to begin the next part of our life in our new home, I am sad because there has been so much that has happened here! Chris and I got married, we found out I was pregnant, Colin was born, and we found out about DS while sitting in our living room as well as so many other highs and lows. It's just time to move on and take those memories and store them in their special box...

* IFSP Meeting *

We had Colin's 1 year IFSP (Individualized Family Service Plan) meeting last week. We are always nervous when it comes to discussing the things Colin can and can't do, however, since we have grown so much since the 1st meeting AND we have a great team of therapists/coordinators, it's actually OK! The difference between this meeting and the follow up visits at the ITAP program is that Colin's accomplishments over the past year are celebrated (especially when you can check off most of the goals that we had set forth for the year) and then emphasis is placed on a new set of goals for the upcoming 6 months to 1 year as opposed to highlighting Colin's weaknesses with less emphasis on the things he CAN do. We were proud to see how far Colin has come (as well as Mommy and Daddy!) and look forward to working on our new set of goals.

Colin's weeks will now look like this:

* DI (Developmental Intervention): 1x per week
* PT (Physical Therapy): 2x per week

* ST (Speech Therapy): 1x per week

There was a little bit of stress involved because we are now responsible for a copay per hour of therapy. It was a lot higher than we had expected and planned for so it caused for some concern with the new house and some other things going on at the same time. As always, we will figure it out, it's always just a little overwhelming when you get hit with it.

* Physical Therapy Update *

We have been working on lots of things with Colin that include going from sitting to tummy, side-lying to sitting, hands and knees, propping, kneeling against the couch, pulling-pushing, standing (mostly, just trying to get him to bear weight on his legs) and army crawling. Colin has been working really hard and it's showing, just in baby steps (hey, it's better than nothing!).

Last week, Miss Kathy spent a lot of time working on getting Colin to bear weight on his legs while up against the couch. She was trying to get him to use his hands and arms to prop on the couch while doing so. It was really difficult for Colin and he did a LOT of complaining, however, the result was the ultimate reward! She had her hands placed just so on his legs that after a little bit of groaning/crying, he extended his back so that he was standing straight up all on his own! It was so exciting! Daddy got teary-eyed, Mommy got teary-eyed, and then Miss Kathy got teary-eyed, and then Colin was just flat out crying because he was so exhausted. What a great session!

(Suggestion: you might want to pause the music at the very bottom of the page to hear the videos better)

In this 1st video Colin was kind of getting the idea of standing with Miss Kathy's help in pushing his body against hers for support.

The 2nd video is the BIG moment...you can even hear my gasp (I still get teary-eyed watching it)

* Developmental Therapy Update *

We had a fun session with Colin today as he is really starting to pick up the concept of cause and effect. He is also starting to make some new sounds, just not consistently, so I look forward to meeting with the speech therapist for some new things to work on (Miss Darlene has been great though!). It has been fun watching Colin explore his toys and play with them in a different way!

* May Grandparent Birthdays *

I will admit, I have been slacking in this department due to everything that is going on! Three of Colin's 4 grandparents have birthdays in May!

1st was Colin's Grandpa (Chris' Dad) on May 16th!

Dear Grandpa,

I love you very much!! I always have fun playing with you!

xoxoxoxox
Love,
Colin

2nd was Colin's Nana (my mom) on May 20th (I was basically born on her birthday since I was born at midnight...but she got to pick which day she wanted for me and I ended up with my own birthday!)

Dear Nana,

Thanks for being such a great Nana. I love you SO much!
Love,
Colin
xoxoxoxoxoxo

3rd will be Colin's Gammy's birthday (Chris' mom) on May 30th

Hi Gammy!

I love you and can't wait to see you again soon! Thanks for loving me! Love,
Colin
xoxoxoxoxo

* Aunt Kimmy's College Graduation *

Last week Aunt Kimmy graduated from college! She worked really hard while she was there and even had some challenges and set-backs along the way. She perservered and we were honored to be a part of her special day! Congratulations Aunt Kimmy!

Colin dressed very nicely for the big day and was such a good boy during the ceremony despite the fact that it was his lunch time!

He loves his Aunt Kimmy and told me that he was so proud of her!

It's always nice to have us all together, especially now that Uncle Timmy lives in North Carolina!
My parents now have 4 college graduates!

* School Picnic *
Colin had his 1st school picnic on Saturday and he had so much fun playing with his friends! We sat with Tommy and Allison and I got to have adult conversations with their mommy's and daddy's (usually it's conversations at school with their kids...lol). Colin and Tommy were having fun on the swings! It was a beautiful day and reminded me how much I love Colin's school!

* End Note *
I thought I would end with something fun. We just dug this out (it was Daddy's "toy") and Colin loves it!