Ha, ha, ha! I frequently look at my sad blog and wonder what happened? The good news is that I gave Jeff the password so hopefully between the two of us, we can keep this going. Everytime Nolan says something genius, I think we should post it...and never do. Here's one for you. Tonight he was reading the Bed Bath and Beyond circular and says, "B-E-D, that says bed." Ok, where'd he learn that?
In April, Nolan was discharged from his PT and OT. They gave us a set of exercises to follow. We have found having an active lifestyle for Nolan is just as important. He's learned so many things at the playground like climbing a ladder, backing down a ladder, stepping out and balancing on one foot. Nolan really loved Miss Heather and Miss Claudina. They taught him so much. We will forever be grateful. Nolan is scheduled to have a re-evaluation soon to determine if and when he should return to therapy.
Nolan continues in speech therapy. We did unfortunately have a long break due to insurance issues. Also, his beloved therapist Sarah gave birth to a baby boy named Owen. That, of course, made Nolan very jealous. However, he is happy as ever and thriving in Miss Sarah's care again. She is an amazing speech therapist and will never know the impact she has had on Nolan's life. She gave us our chatterbox!
In April, Nolan started preschool at Beaumont. What a wonderful program they have. He is in a preschool with other speech impaired children. His classroom is staffed by a special education teacher and a speech therapist. Nolan has grown leaps and bounds emotionally, academically and socially. He is learning to share, resolve conflict, make friends and most importantly communicate. He gets very excited to go and learns so much in there. We just wanted him to learn to talk so the academic achievements are just icing on the cake. I didn't know the days of the week and months of the year until I was five, he had just turned three when he learned. They have him practicing his writing and learning about so many things. His team of experts there are great and seem to really care for the emotional well being of our little man.
Of course in May we celebrated Nolan's third birthday. This year he really "got it." We had a party at Hess Hathaway in Waterford. It was the most horrible day weather-wise, but we made the best of it. About 45 people even came! The kids played in the 48 degree weather, high winds and rain. We had to duct tape everything! We then went on a tour of farm animals with Farmer John. The kids (well I should say most kids) really loved this part. Then, we went on a thirty minute hay ride. Farmer John was really taking some of those hills kind of rough. Again it was a lot of fun enjoyed by *most*. When we returned to our gazebo, we had lunch and cake. Everyone was pretty much sick of the weather at this point and left. We went home and Nolan laid on the couch for the rest of the night. He was whipped. He was completely spoiled with wonderful friends and gifts.
Our summer has been full of trips to the zoo, Tigers games, playgrounds galore and daily swimming in our pool. I forgot how much I love summer. Nolan really brought that love back out in me.
I got a long weekend over Fourth of July. We had a great time and tried to do something every day. Nolan saw his first fireworks show with his friend Maya and her sister. He wasn't really interested. He kept asking, "What's happening?" Then, he found a curb to jump off of and did that for the rest of the show. Oh, our Nolan!
We are gearing up for our vacation to Grandma Pietchak's house. Nolan already has it planned...playing with my Little People houses from when I was a kid is his number one priority, then he wants to swim, fish, ride a horse and have Grandma buy him some new cars. Tonight I asked him if he was going to cook for Grandma, he said, "No! I don't cook. Grandma cook for Baby Nolan." It's funny because I've never heard him refer to himself as Baby Nolan.
I have met three great families with hemiplegic children and the moms and I are planning a big picnic in August to bring together families like ours in our area. We are so excited to do this and can't wait to meet everyone. We found a great park with a sprayscape. Jeff, Nolan and I visited a few weeks ago and Nolan loved it.
Well I hope to update more often..."we'll have to see" as Nolan says.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Spring Has Almost Sprung!
We are so excited for Spring and warm weather to come. The days just seem a whole lot easier with the sun out.
We planned on a nice Valentine's Day, but I seemed to be sick an aweful lot this past winter. A strange virus that inflamed my heart, a bout of diverticulitis, a double ear infection and sinus infection...I had my share. I have been feeling much better since I started taking vitamins again and trying to eat more locally-grown, organic foods. So...Valentine's Day was a bust, but Nolan worked very hard on his Valentines Day presents. We used the opportunity to work with his right hand. He was so proud to pick everything out and make them. He even asked to buy wrapping paper to wrap them. So sweet. We ended up celebrating Valentines Day at the end of February at Maggiano's. Nolan got a flatbread pizza, but filled up on salad and bread before it came.
Nolan has been so great in his therapy. He's been wearing his night brace consistently and it is really helping to keep his heel cord stretched where it needs to be. The therapists are quite impressed with the progress he has made since starting at the new clinic in December. They recently decided that they would like to release Nolan from therapy for six months to work at home and see how he does. I am quite nervous about the prospect of this; however, when you look at what he's done so far, it's simply amazing in my eyes. But then again, I am his mother. Ha, ha. Nolan will meeting with "Dr. Brewski" as he calls him, it's Dr. Dabrowski, his amazing physiatrist in two weeks and he will evaluate him and make the final decision. I am planning on him being ok with it. I am sure that Jeff and Nolan will enjoy all of the free time they will gain by not having all those weekly appointments. We took Nolan to tour the pool at the Troy Rec Center which will become our new fitness home and he fell over backwards...literally. He is thrilled because there are slides. Nolan has always liked water, but now he tries to swim and dive in the tub which has become quite dangerous. I have to watch him very carefully. Nolan will dearly miss Miss Heather and Miss Claudina at the DMC. They have been so good to him and so good to us. They are wonderful at what they do. He talks about them constantly. He lights up when he sees them. Nolan is still waiting to get back into speech therapy. His therapist, Miss Sarah, again who he loves dearly, had her baby boy early and had to unexpectedly leave. She will return soon and hopefully Nolan can get back on her schedule.
Nolan will be starting pre-school on April 13. He will be going to Beaumont's pre-school for children with speech difficulties. We feel so blessed to be a part of this program. I think that, coupled with more therapy, we will have Nolan well on his way. His class is all boys which should be interesting. I am sure that Nolan will do great and I can't wait for him to experience this.
Nolan's language is coming along quite well. I always want to post when he says something cute or funny, but I swear I'd be posting all day. He LOVES to be read to and I think that this has helped him tremendously. Nolan loves all of his books and usually has his books picked out for nap and bedtime and we must read them in order. He has most of his books memorized which is so cute to listen to him read them. Jeff's trying to post them on You Tube. Nolan has a set of verb flashcards that he adores and it's so cute to hear what he thinks the people in the pictures are doing. He is so literal that his answers are just hilarious.
We've been to the zoo already since the new year and have been trying out new parks. We walk a lot and love to find new places for Nolan to explore. Anywhere he can run is ok by him. We have a very physically active boy which I am so thankful for. We've been to a few gatherings with families from a parenting board I am on. I am so thankful for their friendships and wisdom. Nolan is doing quite well with his peers and I've even heard him try to talk to others which is huge for him. He had a great time with a group of boys of all ages playing. I love to see him interact with others. We have an outing planned tomorrow with a group of families who all have a child with hemiplegia like Nolan. I am so happy to have found them for support. There's nothing like finding a family like your own.
One of my new endeavors is that I've started cooking dried beans and am always looking for recipes. They seem to go over well with Jeff and Nolan. We are also considering making a small garden this summer to get our vegetables from. We'll see if I can talk Jeff into managing one more thing in our household.
Nolan's birthday is right around the corner. We haven't decided what we're doing quite yet, but we're excited to celebrate as is Nolan. I am sure it will fun whatever we do.
We planned on a nice Valentine's Day, but I seemed to be sick an aweful lot this past winter. A strange virus that inflamed my heart, a bout of diverticulitis, a double ear infection and sinus infection...I had my share. I have been feeling much better since I started taking vitamins again and trying to eat more locally-grown, organic foods. So...Valentine's Day was a bust, but Nolan worked very hard on his Valentines Day presents. We used the opportunity to work with his right hand. He was so proud to pick everything out and make them. He even asked to buy wrapping paper to wrap them. So sweet. We ended up celebrating Valentines Day at the end of February at Maggiano's. Nolan got a flatbread pizza, but filled up on salad and bread before it came.
Nolan has been so great in his therapy. He's been wearing his night brace consistently and it is really helping to keep his heel cord stretched where it needs to be. The therapists are quite impressed with the progress he has made since starting at the new clinic in December. They recently decided that they would like to release Nolan from therapy for six months to work at home and see how he does. I am quite nervous about the prospect of this; however, when you look at what he's done so far, it's simply amazing in my eyes. But then again, I am his mother. Ha, ha. Nolan will meeting with "Dr. Brewski" as he calls him, it's Dr. Dabrowski, his amazing physiatrist in two weeks and he will evaluate him and make the final decision. I am planning on him being ok with it. I am sure that Jeff and Nolan will enjoy all of the free time they will gain by not having all those weekly appointments. We took Nolan to tour the pool at the Troy Rec Center which will become our new fitness home and he fell over backwards...literally. He is thrilled because there are slides. Nolan has always liked water, but now he tries to swim and dive in the tub which has become quite dangerous. I have to watch him very carefully. Nolan will dearly miss Miss Heather and Miss Claudina at the DMC. They have been so good to him and so good to us. They are wonderful at what they do. He talks about them constantly. He lights up when he sees them. Nolan is still waiting to get back into speech therapy. His therapist, Miss Sarah, again who he loves dearly, had her baby boy early and had to unexpectedly leave. She will return soon and hopefully Nolan can get back on her schedule.
Nolan will be starting pre-school on April 13. He will be going to Beaumont's pre-school for children with speech difficulties. We feel so blessed to be a part of this program. I think that, coupled with more therapy, we will have Nolan well on his way. His class is all boys which should be interesting. I am sure that Nolan will do great and I can't wait for him to experience this.
Nolan's language is coming along quite well. I always want to post when he says something cute or funny, but I swear I'd be posting all day. He LOVES to be read to and I think that this has helped him tremendously. Nolan loves all of his books and usually has his books picked out for nap and bedtime and we must read them in order. He has most of his books memorized which is so cute to listen to him read them. Jeff's trying to post them on You Tube. Nolan has a set of verb flashcards that he adores and it's so cute to hear what he thinks the people in the pictures are doing. He is so literal that his answers are just hilarious.
We've been to the zoo already since the new year and have been trying out new parks. We walk a lot and love to find new places for Nolan to explore. Anywhere he can run is ok by him. We have a very physically active boy which I am so thankful for. We've been to a few gatherings with families from a parenting board I am on. I am so thankful for their friendships and wisdom. Nolan is doing quite well with his peers and I've even heard him try to talk to others which is huge for him. He had a great time with a group of boys of all ages playing. I love to see him interact with others. We have an outing planned tomorrow with a group of families who all have a child with hemiplegia like Nolan. I am so happy to have found them for support. There's nothing like finding a family like your own.
One of my new endeavors is that I've started cooking dried beans and am always looking for recipes. They seem to go over well with Jeff and Nolan. We are also considering making a small garden this summer to get our vegetables from. We'll see if I can talk Jeff into managing one more thing in our household.
Nolan's birthday is right around the corner. We haven't decided what we're doing quite yet, but we're excited to celebrate as is Nolan. I am sure it will fun whatever we do.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Slacker!
Dang...am I a slacker or what? I keep thinking of all of these wonderful things I want to post, but never do.
Gosh, where did we leave off...
We had a great Thanksgiving home alone. We like it that way for the most part. We had our now traditional dinner at Maggiano's. Then, we spent the weekend preparing the house for Christmas. Jeff did our wonderful outdoor light display. And Nolan was so excited to see sleeping Baby Jesus on our planter.
Nolan started therapy in December and that has certainly kept Jeff and him busy during the week. Jeff is able to take him to his appointments in the morning, spend time together, then head off to work and daycare. Nolan's therapists are just wonderful to him and us. I really think it helps when there is a good trust established between patient and provider. Nolan seems to be adapting well to his new schedule and Jeff is doing a great job coordinating everything.
Jeff started a new job in December working part-time for now, hopefully full-time soon. He is home with Nolan and I on Monday and Tuesday nights now and we love it! I love eating dinner as a family.
Christmas was so wonderful this year. We went to Houghton Lake on Christmas Eve to spend time with my family. Nolan was immediately drawn into my old Fisher Price Little People house, school, hospital, etc. We couldn't peel him away from them. The dogs got to go with us. We all stayed in hotel which I think Nolan liked, the dogs not so much. Nolan went to his first Mass with Grandma and I on Christmas morning. He only made when one peep when his Hot Wheel fell under the pew in front of us. He was amazed at all of the Jesus' in one spot! We got to use the pool at the hotel which Nolan called, "The beach with the horse." We're not sure where he got that from, but after being there he called it the blue rectangle. He's so literal, we can't get over it. Everything is accurately described with a color and shape. We left on Sunday and headed back home. We were sad to leave. There something special about Christmas at home.
Before we recovered from Christmas, it was time to head to Grandma and Grandpa D's house to celebrate with them and the family. Nolan was in heaven as Grandma has a huge play house that we couldn't peel Nolan away from. Nolan was spoiled by his grandparents...again...and we got to enjoy the day with the family.
The first week of January brought a lot of great news. Nolan had all of his follow up appointments. His physiatrist has graduated him from appointments every 8 weeks to every 16 weeks. His ophthalmologist moved him from every 6 weeks to every 6 months. His neurologist had already moved him from every quarter to once a year.
Then today, we found out that Nolan was accepted into a special pre-school at his rehab clinic for speech-impaired children. The biggest blessing is that we received a scholarship for the majority of tuition. We feel so blessed that he will have this opportunity. His therapist believes that if he can go for three semesters that he can go to mainstream kindergarten and not need services.
Gosh, where did we leave off...
We had a great Thanksgiving home alone. We like it that way for the most part. We had our now traditional dinner at Maggiano's. Then, we spent the weekend preparing the house for Christmas. Jeff did our wonderful outdoor light display. And Nolan was so excited to see sleeping Baby Jesus on our planter.
Nolan started therapy in December and that has certainly kept Jeff and him busy during the week. Jeff is able to take him to his appointments in the morning, spend time together, then head off to work and daycare. Nolan's therapists are just wonderful to him and us. I really think it helps when there is a good trust established between patient and provider. Nolan seems to be adapting well to his new schedule and Jeff is doing a great job coordinating everything.
Jeff started a new job in December working part-time for now, hopefully full-time soon. He is home with Nolan and I on Monday and Tuesday nights now and we love it! I love eating dinner as a family.
Christmas was so wonderful this year. We went to Houghton Lake on Christmas Eve to spend time with my family. Nolan was immediately drawn into my old Fisher Price Little People house, school, hospital, etc. We couldn't peel him away from them. The dogs got to go with us. We all stayed in hotel which I think Nolan liked, the dogs not so much. Nolan went to his first Mass with Grandma and I on Christmas morning. He only made when one peep when his Hot Wheel fell under the pew in front of us. He was amazed at all of the Jesus' in one spot! We got to use the pool at the hotel which Nolan called, "The beach with the horse." We're not sure where he got that from, but after being there he called it the blue rectangle. He's so literal, we can't get over it. Everything is accurately described with a color and shape. We left on Sunday and headed back home. We were sad to leave. There something special about Christmas at home.
Before we recovered from Christmas, it was time to head to Grandma and Grandpa D's house to celebrate with them and the family. Nolan was in heaven as Grandma has a huge play house that we couldn't peel Nolan away from. Nolan was spoiled by his grandparents...again...and we got to enjoy the day with the family.
The first week of January brought a lot of great news. Nolan had all of his follow up appointments. His physiatrist has graduated him from appointments every 8 weeks to every 16 weeks. His ophthalmologist moved him from every 6 weeks to every 6 months. His neurologist had already moved him from every quarter to once a year.
Then today, we found out that Nolan was accepted into a special pre-school at his rehab clinic for speech-impaired children. The biggest blessing is that we received a scholarship for the majority of tuition. We feel so blessed that he will have this opportunity. His therapist believes that if he can go for three semesters that he can go to mainstream kindergarten and not need services.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)