April showers?…

It’s been a cold spring… this morning we woke up to about three inches of snow.

The weather guessers on TV say it should be the last snow of the season. They also say we’re in for some major flooding as the snow pack melts.

I’m thinking it’s time to move back to a warmer state…

Easter 2011

I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I abandoned the Kiddo’s normal fruit and nuts basket this year. We did still have a few things of dried fruit, and crackers, but most of the basket was candy. The Bunny also brought him a couple books. Personally I think the bunny is a genius, the Kiddo has first thing in the morning medication which means he has to wait an hour before breakfast, and there’s no Easter treats until after that… it’s a long wait. A new book is the perfect way to help him pass the time.

The Mans niece had her birthday party on the Saturday before so as part of the event we colored eggs. The kids used a white crayon and he really had a good time drawing designs. My favorite (everybody's favorite) was a blue egg with an airplane doing loops. The story is that he can’t really hold the egg and see what he’s drawing, so he draws by touch (looking at a wall). His Aunt Jo did realize that’s what he was doing, she asked him what the picture was going to be and he cheerfully said an airplane, she thought oooookay. We died the egg, pulled it out, and yep there was a plane on it! She was shocked, I was a little impressed myself (and I’m USED to his antics by now).

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On Easter morning the Kiddo slept in. I was up when the man left for work at 7:45, I took the dog out for a long walk and then put her back in her crate (no egg eating allowed!). I then sat around waiting and waiting for the Kiddo to wake up. Finally at 9:30 I couldn’t wait anymore (his medication time was slipping past) so I went in to wake him up. He was so funny, he tried to hide under his covers and go back to sleep. I said that if he really wanted to go back to sleep that was okay but he needed his pill first, the time it took to take the pill was enough for his brain to start working because as soon as he’d swallowed it he said “did the bunny come??!!” and started crawling out of bed.

He had forgotten all about the egg hunt. He found his basket and that was all he cared about. But once he got started he was more enthusiastic about it.

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He found all the eggs, mostly crawling but he did have to walk a bit, that crafty bunny hid a few of them to high to reach without standing. By the time he found was done with that he only had about half an hour to kill before he could eat. This is about when he discovered the Bunny had brought him books. He read me one and then sat down to look through the other.

He spent a long time looking through his starwars book, it’s got every lego starwars set they ever made and he loves window shopping through it.

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And when he finally got to eat his candy the first thing he picked was the chocolate bunny… he’s been asking for one of those ever since Target put up it’s Easter decorations (of which there are two giant cardboard ‘chocolate bunnies’).

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**I spent three days trying to get a couple more videos to upload for this blog. I have one of him searching for eggs and another with him reading one of his books. Blogger apparently doesn't like either and I'm officially giving up because I feel like a slacker not having posted anything for so long. I hope everybody had a great relaxing Easter and that you manage to have a little more restraint then I did with your holiday related goodies. (mmmm)

Lets Rocket!!

I have mentioned before that the Kiddo has been in desperate need of new glasses. He’s had his ‘old’ glasses for at least two years, (if not longer) because his lens prescription hasn’t changed. As most of you know he has glasses more for eye protection then for help with seeing, this being the case he gets the the good stuff and fancy transition lenses. This means buying new glasses doesn’t happen unless it’s really really needed. But, as you can see (hopefully) from this picture, his frames are a little small, the ear and nose pieces leave dents when they are removed. He has begun to play with them (lifting them off his face), and I’ve had to start constantly nagging him to leave them alone.

Of course nagging the child has gotten old quick. The Man and I discussed it and decided to go ahead and buy him some new frames. We went through coastal contacts online because they have a great return policy and a really great price for frames AND lenses. Plus they have Astro Boy themed frames, the Kiddo was in love the minute he saw them…

Gunmetal gray on the outside, minty green on the inside, with Astro Boy flying through outer space. The measurements were right (we took him to quite a few stores and tried on several dozen glasses to make sure we knew what size would fit him).

They came in a little over a week, far quicker then I thought they would. The lenses are his current prescription and polycarbonate, but we skipped getting him transition. The way we figure it these glasses will get him through the next few months until his eye doctor appointment in July. Then once we know for sure if his eyes have changed or not we can go get new lenses put in. The cost of the frames plus lenses was less then his old frames alone; for 38 bucks the Kiddo is happy, and is finally leaving his glasses alone… Which makes ME happy because now he’ll actually keep his glass ON and that means protected eyes.

Lookin good Kid.

two weeks later... mouse steps

Two weeks after his cast came off the Kiddo finally takes some mouse steps, up till this point we had managed to get maybe one or two steps out of him. A visit to his cousins house, a half dozen people cheering him on, and he walked a couple feet. We came home and I asked him to do it again for a video. This is the video,

The thought of falling terrifies him, taking that first step was a hurdle, taking the second (weight on his "bad" leg) was a bigger one. Now he knows he can do it, but he still has to talk himself into the first step. Still he's done it, and now we're moving on to the next stage, the long process of getting strength back into those muscles! I am really proud of our Kiddo... he has come a long way in two weeks :)

Show and tell

The Kiddo had show and tell this week. It’s the first one his teacher has let the kids do since the start of the year. He was really excited and picked his GI Joe to take. He had to say three complete sentences about his ‘object’.. this is what he said:

1) Rico (the GI Joe’s name) is a soldier.

2) Rico is in the Army and my daddy is in the Navy.

3) Rico was my moms when she was little.

When I went to pick him up from class his teacher, Mrs. S, said to me “um the Kiddo said that his toy soldier was yours when you were little?” I said yes he was, though little would be early 20's. She said “Oh, that explains so much”. What!!?? I’m hoping it explains good things and not bad ones.

This weekend is a long one for him, he’s got a few days off from school for spring break. Tuesday will be his next day back in class. I hope he’s moving around a little better by then, he still can’t stand up without heal pain. I’ve been having him do some floor exercises (leg lifts, pushing against a wall, etc) but the walking is important too, little bits at a time. I think I will ask the Man to call the doctor today about the heal pain, I’d like to confirm that it’s normal to still have it (it’s been two weeks).

Endo Visit

Last Friday we took the Kiddo to his every three month Endocrinologist visit. There really isn’t all that much to tell, all the blood work (done a month prior) came back normal so all his medications stay at the same dosage. They had not received the bone density x-ray yet so there isn’t anything to report with that. I will say though that with the medication levels in his system normal I’m fairly certain that the x-ray is just a back up to the stated “everything's on track carry on” assessment.

Our doctor (or his nurse that is) does not have any sense. My mom commented on one of last weeks posts that she hoped they would be smart enough to measure the Kiddo by laying him down and marking off his height that way. They didn’t, he even had to stand to get weighed!! We took off his shoes and got him standing on the scale, then tried to get him to let go and balance for a second. He managed, but only barely. We did the same thing with his height, he stood the best he could and she quickly marked it off. I’m pretty sure his feet were flat (I checked the best I could while holding him up) so I think the measurement is close to accurate.

The last weight and height stats we have were done three months ago on January 7th.

January 7, 2011 ................ 41.25” ................... 38.4lbs

April 15, 2011 ................... 41.75” .................... 38.6lbs

I am pleased with the half an inch of growth, and very happy with only a tiny weight gain. I was concerned that with him sitting on his butt for two months in the spica cast he might gain a little tummy. Good job Kiddo! I’ll be interested to see where he stands at his next appointment at the end of July. For now there are no more doctor visits until June when we have his eye doctor appointment and his dentist appointment.

I’m itching for that eye doctor appointment to happen, his current glasses are to small (they leave pressure marks on his nose and ears) and while I’m not enthusiastic about buying new ones I WILL be happy to see him more comfortable (and playing with them less).

clouds and stars

End of the week

For those of you wondering we went with pose number one (for the Kiddo's spring pictures). Yes he already had a picture this year, and yes it's kind of silly to spend another ten bucks, but the Kiddo changes so much because of his growth hormone shots that I thought it would be worth it.

There were only two kids in his class getting pictures done (heh) so I was able to take him down to the gym myself. We sat him on the 'rocks' and the photographer put him into position, she said smile and he griiiiiined. She let me see the proof, I am really happy with it! Somehow she managed to catch him midway to cheesy grin, so he has a perfect smile. I am looking forward to getting this set of pictures quite a bit.

Today is his Endocrinologist visit. I don't know if we'll be able to get him to stand strait enough for an accurate height measurement but I can tell you for a fact that he has grown over the last few months. How do I know? Before he broke his leg his 4t pants fit perfectly, down over the tops of his shoes. I put them on the other day and they are high water, when he sits he's got a half inch gap between the top of his socks and his cuff.


Needless to say I made a quick Target trip and bought him a new pair of 5t jeans.

Pushing limits ..

I mentioned a few posts ago that we were going to try to get the Kiddo some smaller wheels. We went and picked them up Monday afternoon.

He loves them! It is so much easier for him to move around (he can even push himself now). We ended up with a size 14 instead of a 12 so he still needs a pillow at his back but other then that he fits in it fairly comfortably.

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Mrs. S practically danced for joy when she saw that he fits under the desk at school so that he no longer needs to use the special laptop computer table. Before (with the large wheel chair) he was set to the side, he couldn’t really see the board and wasn’t able to “sit” around the rug with the other kids. Smaller wheels means he can now be in the middle and actually feels like he’s part of the class again.

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We have two rules for the chair. At school he is never allowed to get out of it, and he is never allowed to push himself. Out of school he can push himself but he is not allowed to try to get out without help. That isn’t really a problem though because we are leaving the chair in the car, he shouldn’t ever need it in the house and we want keep him trying to move around by himself.

The Man had the great idea of buying a child sized soccer ball. He thought it would inspire the Kiddo to move his leg more frequently, and help with his at home version of physical therapy. The kiddo LOVES soccer, I wish he had been physically ready to join a team this year, it would have helped with his social skills as well as his coordination. Maybe next year.

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He has bruised the bottom of his feet by being so motivated to stand and move. The doctor said that heel pain is completely normal but that if it doesn’t go away or gets worse then we should call on Monday for a follow up xray. So far the pain seems to be worse but it’s hard to tell (the kiddo wont admit to any pain at all). To help with it I have been trying to keep him crawling (rather then walking), and of course he gets daily warm baths to ease the muscles. A little couch cuddle time doesn’t hurt either…

oooh oooh pick me

Two years ago when the Kiddo was 4 he had his fist bone density x-ray. We lugged him to the hospital and finally convinced him to hold still long enough for a picture to be taken of his hand. He didn’t understand what we were doing, but thought the lady operating the machine was nice.

Last year right about the same time, 5 years old and mid April, he had his hand x-rayed again. Same lady, same “hold still already yet jeez” conversation. Same explanation that we were taking a picture of the bones in his hand so we could see how old THEY are compared to how old he is.

This year, like clockwork, we went in again. Six years old, mid April, another bone density x-ray. But this time we got smart, we finally realized that we could request a copy of the x-ray image! The Kiddo loves them, he thinks the picture of his 4 year old hand is so tiny and cute. I have to say I agree.

Yeah the kiddo has some medical issues, but hey if he didn’t we would get to have little x-ray pictures of his hand. How’s that for a silver lining :)

Aaaaand it’s off!

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The first picture is the one taken back at the start of February, eight days after he broke his leg. The second picture is what the Kiddo’s leg looked like on Friday. It still looks broken to ME but then I don’t have years of schooling or a fancy piece of paper telling me what to look for. It does look quite a bit better then it did so I’m happy. The doctor said he thought it looked great. He also said the Kiddo’s cast was one of the cleanest he’s ever seen. I wonder if he says that to everybody?

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The actual cast removal went smoothly. The Kiddo is a pretty smart one, he listened when the doc explained how the saw could cut the cast but not him, and how loud it was going to be. So he spent the removal watching the assistant work and asking questions. The first picture is him waiting his turn. The cast was really thick around his thigh because they’d had to redo it when they put it on, it took forever for her to get it cut all the way through. She used a nut cracker type thing to pry it apart, then lifted the front piece off. After that it was a matter of cutting through the padding, and getting him dressed. The orthopedic surgeon came in again to check his leg movement and said he looked great. We are supposed to let him try to do what he wants with it, no physical therapy should be needed just patience and time. The Kiddo was ecstatic to have it off.

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Of course the Kiddo is his fathers son, he is stubborn and has a very high pain tolerance. That being the case he tried crawling almost as soon as we got home. Once he realized he could crawl, he figured he’d try standing as well. He was wobbly but kept telling us proudly about how he could “balance”. So of course, the next thing to try was walking. Which he did. And then kept on trying to do until bed time.

When it was finally bed time I decided that I would do a sleepover with him. I thought it might be wise to keep an eye on him with his gung ho attitude and the leg pain I was sure would set in sometime in the middle of the night. As we settled under the covers to go to sleep he stretched as big as he could, and then rolled over to his stomach. He said “aaaaaah, NOW my wings can grow”. I suppose laying on your back for two months would kind of hinder wing growth.

That first night he startled himself awake several times. Saturday he did not want to walk nearly as much, I can only imagine how stiff and sore his muscles were. Every time I tried to have him stand to balance he told me the bottoms of his heels hurt. I’m not sure what’s up about that (we are waiting to hear back from the doctor to see if that’s normal or not). Sunday was more of the same, some crawling and absolutely NO walking. I’m actually relieved, the walking was scary I knew he wasn’t ready for that yet (most kids don't even TRY until much later).

Today is Monday and he is skipping school. We are trying to get his extra large wheelchair traded for a smaller one that will fit him. I know the big one wont work for him in school and don’t think it’s fair to ask Mrs. S to try to lug him from place to place, and so I think one more day of missed class is probably the best option. We should be able to go switch the wheels this afternoon and then tomorrow he’ll be able to show them off to his friends. Meanwhile it’s computer games, reading, and playing with the dog (something he hasn’t been able to do since the cast went on). He even got out of bed himself this morning (crawled down and into my bedroom) instead of waiting for me to go get him. I’m proud him for how much he’s willing to do, he really is an amazing Kiddo.

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(Good morning mom!) … (Look I can jump.. well bounce a little anyway)

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(Playing fetch.. it’s been two months since they’ve played, they both loved it)

aaaaachoo!!

One more day to go and then ... it's the weekend!! Oh wait, that's not it. One more day to go and then the Kiddo's lower body is finally FREE. He is over the moon excited, I am nervous. I'll be doing this doctor trip myself (the Man has to work) and I've read a bit about spica cast recoveries, they aren't fun, and can take awhile longer then "normal". I think the Kiddo is motivated enough to work hard to get his muscles back into shape though so we're staying positive and waiting to see how it goes.

That is the good news. The bad news is that the Kiddo has a cold. It was bound to happen, after all for the last two months he's been sleeping with the window directly above his pillow open a bit. That is eight weeks of cold winter air blowing on his head.

Of course if my mom had suggested this sooner he might not be sick...















This is why the Kiddo loves his grannie so much, she thinks outside the box and comes up with crazy fun ideas. He was SO excited to get to wear a beenie to sleep, and it was still on his head the next morning (albeit a little skewed).

Spring Pictures?–Survey says….

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The Kiddo’s cast comes off just in time for spring pictures. I didn’t even know they DID spring pictures, back in my day I think they only did one set of school pictures per year. Of course we have the option to skip them, but then the small package IS only 10 bucks…

They have poses to choose from for this set of pictures (last set it was backgrounds). I’m leaning towards pose two. The Man likes five, but it is really similar to the start of the year picture that was taken so I don’t know. What are your thoughts?

And since I’m asking for thoughts… the Kiddo has to memorize a nursery rhyme for a mini class/parents presentation. He’ll recite it June 1st so we have plenty of time but I thought we’d get a head start on it anyway. He can dress up and bring props if he wants (which could be fun). Suggestions?

Ready… Set…

Four days until the Kiddos cast comes off. To be honest I’m a little scared, I don’t enjoy being on call 24/7 but by now I’m used to it. When that cast comes off he’s expecting to run and jump and play just like he did before. It’s going take a few weeks to build back up the strength in his leg and he doesn’t hear me when I try to explain that to him.

On my end I’ve already finished most of my school work for the week. My individual paper that’s due next Monday is finished, and all of my daily contribution posts are saved in a draft folder as well (the online classroom is a forum type format and we are required to post two "150 word comments” on four separate days). All that is left to do for this week is to turn in the work, and do another group paper. I have planned within my group to have the paper finished prior to Friday, so the weekend should be clear.

To help get ready for the event (Friday at 10:30am) I’ve packed a bag with the Kiddo’s jeans, underwear, socks and shoes, and put it in the car. Eight weeks of dressing his lower half in nothing but adult size small cut off sweats and I don’t think I’d remember to take “normal” cloths otherwise.

I’ve also purchased some special lotion. Three years ago when the Kiddos eczema was really bad I started researching what we could do to help make things better. I read a lot of different things about baths with bleach (uh really?… not gonna happen with a six year old) and I read about different types of lotions that were supposed to help. There was one that had amazing reviews no matter where I looked. But it was pricy, and I couldn’t quite bring myself to spend 30 bucks on 8.4 oz of lotion. I mean really?

Then the Kiddo broke his leg, the giant torture machine of a cast went on, and he stopped taking showers. His skin freaked out… his non broken leg was so dry it flaked, and his feet were beyond mentioning. I tried normal lotion, and then I tried the slightly more expensive “for extra dry skin” store bought stuff. I’d put it on in the morning and by mid day his leg would be flaky again. So I caved, I called my sister (she can be a pretty good enabler sometimes) and I purchased the little pot of lotion.

It’s amazing stuff, a little goes a long way (thank goodness) and his legs stay moisturized for days (rather then hours). I still feel a little guilty spending so much on lotion, I never would have for myself, but I am also very pleased with how well it works for him. I think it will last long enough to be worth the cost, and it has kept him from itching to death because of dry skin.

(click the picture to link to the amazon listing)