Didn't realize how long it has been

Wow, I didn't realize how many weeks I let go by without an update. I am not sure where August has gone. I finally spent a few weeks to deal with a lot of my feelings and grief that I hadn't dealt with yet. I put aside things around the house, which I am still paying for (and I am SO sorry if I am delinquent on a thank you note to you!) and took time for myself. I think I spent the first several months in action mode after we knew Josh's diagnosis and I needed to deal with all my feelings I brushed aside during that time. I've had my angry, sad, and just plain tired days. I needed that time, and I'm sure these times will come and go, but I'm getting back into being a bit more productive again.

We have been seeing marked improvements in Josh, as have his therapists. Josh's speech is improving in clarity and he's picking up more and more phrases. He is doing a great job with puzzles now as well as picking up the idea of matching, sorting and grouping. I have also been able to get some parent training while Josh is in his ABA therapy. It has been helpful and I've gotten some great pointers on dealing with behaviors that are difficult for our family. We have already seen improvements with sharing toys, playing with Emma, reducing biting (a sensory issue, stim rather than behavioral so my tactics weren't helping), and getting to bed without 20 trips around the house guessing which ball he says he wants to sleep with (his pronunciation for baseball, basketball, soccer ball, and bouncy ball are almost indistinguishable).

Josh had an issue with ingrown toenails on both of his big toes. We did all we could to treat them without antibiotics, but were unsuccessful. He ended up having to take a round of antibiotics, accompanied by an anti-fungal since he'd likely have his yeast overgrowth issue come back in his digestive system. He finished them, then broke out in hives all over his body. It took me awhile, and with input from our local nutritionist, figured out he did not tolerate the sulfate-based antibiotics well. Anyway, his toes have cleared up for now, and hopefully we have dodged the need for surgery to correct his wide nails until he gets older and won't need sedation.

He recently had his 1-year evaluation with ECI (Early Childhood Intervention). It was 1 year ago when we first had him evaluated because we were concerned about his speech delays and head banging. Then, ECI said his speech delay was about 3 months behind. We thought it to be more by most standards, but it was three months by state standards. Now, his speech is about a year behind, but his cognitive language is only a few months behind. It's greatly helped because he knows his colors, shapes and letters.

Josh has an amazing memory (as does Emma) and attention to details. It was so easy to teach him his letters and he's pointing out letters and shapes everywhere we go. He points out the "triangle" every time we see a yield sign in the car. I remember when Emma was two, I was amazed by her memory and sense of where we were at. She would point out where different places were located as we drove through town. She knew EVERYONE's names. Josh has started to do the same. When we drive down the main road out of our neighborhood, he points to our friends' neighborhood, says, "That way. Jennifer and Nate." He points toward their street. As we drive by the road that we used to take to daycare he says the name of our former daycare. Yesterday, when I took him to his ABA therapy, a car pulled up next to us and Josh started saying, "Hi Jake!" I talked with his mom. Jake isn't the child who goes to Josh's therapy center, but a sibling! I was amazed. It just gives me more confidence that he knows so much that is going on, even though we struggle with communication and socialization skills. If we can keep progressing like this, I know we'll be more and more amazed by all that he has inside of him. I know he's a smart and loving boy and I hope he recovers fully someday so that everyone can instantly see what we see.

I had my first phone appointment with the Thoughtful House nutritionist. She was great and gave us some adjustments for his diet and has ordered lab work to check his metabolic levels. I'll be interested to get those results and see how they compare to the initial labs we had done in March. She also gave me some great suggestions for hiding more vegetables in foods for him. I've turned it into a game with Emma, since she's liked a lot of these new recipes as well. She's the taste tester to let me know if the food tastes good or not, then I have her guess the hidden vegetables.

So, now that I'm getting our house and life back under control again (relatively), my blog plan is to blog more often and write less each time. I let my ideas pile up, then figure I don't have enough time to write about them. Emma will also be back in school, so I can get updates done during nap time, I hope. I have tons of Emma stories to share about our summer home together, as well as updates on Kate as her little personality is showing more and more each day. Emma's off to first grade on Monday and is excited about going back to school. I am going to miss her. She is great company going to Josh's therapies and has been a real trooper going all around with us with relatively little complaining. She's given us themes for our weeks, created adventures and games for us to play, helped me with Josh's therapy exercises and provided some good laughs. So, I've loved having her around and I'm sure having her back in school will be easier in some ways and harder in others.

To end on a funny note, Josh's occupational therapist had to explain part of his therapy to me in case it was replicated at home. Josh was completing a farm puzzle, one that we have at home as well. She said he started making the animal sounds for the farm animals and she encouraged it. He got to the goat and stopped. I told her he probably stopped because I was never sure what a goat says when we did the puzzle at home. She didn't either, so she said she told him, "Goats are always eating. Chomp. Chomp. Chomp." Josh repeated back, "Hump. Hump. Hump." We got a good laugh.

Blessings,
Bonnie