NOW I CAN - Day 2

I am thouroughly shocked at how good Talen did today. I thought for sure that he would scream the majority of the time. I think he had maybe three little crying fits that lasted for 5 minutes or less and that was it. He did soooo good!!! The first hour was spent stretching and working his muscles. The second and third hours he had the neuro suit on. He worked for an hour, then we took a little break while I gave him his bottle. Then it was back to work and he did great. He sat all by himself for 1 minute. They had positioned him leaning back on his hands and the suit helped with his head. However, in that 1 minute, he was unassisted except for the one or two times when he yawned and it threw his positioning off balance. He was so tired, but kept up the hard work!! After they took off the suit, he spent the last hour in the monkey cage. He didn't like it much at first, but Sergio said that he did really good. He said that most kids hate the monkey cage the first couple times. The best part of the whole day was at the very end. They let him relax while they put these bean bag type pads on him. They allow him to feel pressure on his body and it helps to increase his respiratory strength. While he was laying there, Sergio started to work on his verbal skills. He kept showing Talen how to say "Up" while they played with a little panda bear. I don't know what it is about Sergio, but Talen does almost everything he tells him to. Sergio would tell Talen that if he wanted to see the panda, he had to say "Up" and then he would repeat it a couple times so that Talen knew what he was supposed to say. Well, it wasn't exactly "Up", but Talen was sure trying. It sounded like more of a little grunt, but he was trying. I have tried a million times to get him to say something and Sergio finally got a response. They repeated it over and over again. You could tell that Talen knew exactly what he was supposed to be doing. I am so proud!! I just know that this is what Talen needs. I know that Sergio and Nicole will be able to do things for Talen that he has been needing for a long, long time. I am so greatful for the opportunity to be here!!!! We are truly blessed to have such great friends and family that have helped us get here. THANK YOU ALL!!!

NOW I CAN - Day 1

Today was Talen's first day of Physical Therapy at Now I Can. The first day is short because they use it as an evaluation and goal setting day. We got there, had another tour of the facility, and filled out the final paperwork. Sergio and Nicole fit Talen in the Neuro-suit. (I forgot to take my camera in, but I will take pictures of the suit tomorrow.) Talen did so good!!! He didn't even cry until they put the hat part on. They worked his neck muscles a bit, which he absolutely hated. After stretching and working his muscles, they took the suit off. Betsy arrived and she did the official evaluation and set the goals. The main goal is going to be head control and an increase of core strength. They decided it would be a good idea to use Kinesio tape on him. And, oh my goodness, did they put tape on him!! When we left, we were joking that he had so much blue tape on him he looked like a smurf. (The kinesio tape helps pull his muscles so that he uses them correctly without restricting his movement like braces would do.)

Kennedy Lost her 1st Tooth

Kennedy's tooth has been loose for a long time, but she would never let us touch it. I finally convinced her to let me have a look. It really only took one or two wiggles and it fell right out. I don't think she even realized that it was actually out for the first couple seconds because it didn't hurt at all. She was so excited to have it out that she called Grandma Cindy & Papa Dallan, Grandma Robin, and Cathy. Guess it is time for the tooth fairy to make a visit to our house!

September 2009

Four days after the fund raiser, Kennedy had her tonsils and adenoids removed. Her recovery was pretty smooth and it took about a week for her to heal. I was glad that it wasn't any longer because Talen, myself, and my neighbor Jenny left for another trip to Primary's exactly one week after Kennedy's surgery. Talen had a routine trip to the Nutritional clinic and then a visit with Dr. Sakonju (Neurologist). Dr. Sakonju didn't have a whole lot of new information, but she agreed that he was doing well off the medicine, so we are just going to leave him as is for now. We are to schedule a follow up in 6 months. After the doctors, we headed up to Idaho for my mom's scrapbook conference were we spend the weekend relaxing and trying to get some scrapbooking accomplished.

Kennedy turns 6!!

For Kennedy's 'real' birthday we had friends and family come over for cake and ice cream. I thought we had done really good with her present this year. We got her an easel with markers and crayons because she just loves to draw. Well, she loved it, until she opened the present from Grandma Robin. She gave KiKi a motorized scooter. I don't think we saw her again until it was too dark to be riding outside. Kennedy also recieved toys and movies. What a spoiled little girl!!! She better realize how much she is loved!!!

KiKi's Friend Party

Last year's friend "movie" birthday party was such a hit, we decided to do it again. Kennedy chose to invite Jentel Wilson, Katelyn Leavitt, Kennedi Hill, and Eden Carlson to come to the party. We definetly got a better movie this year. We saw "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs." The girls absolutly loved it! After the movie we went back to our house where they had cupcakes and opened presents.

Happy 3rd Birthday Talen

My little boy is now 3. I can't believe it!!! We celebrated by having friends and family come over for cake and ice cream. I tried my hand at cake decorating and didn't do too bad if I say so myself. Lately Talen has been into Cookie Monster so I made a Cookie Monster cake. He got lots of presents including: clothes, movies, clothes, new bed sheets, clothes, a DVD Player and case for the car, and more clothes.