Two Little Brothers

I just love these two little guys. I could eat them both up--- literally I get caught gobbling up their ears and neck and underarms!

I look at both of these boys and think what miracle children they are. When they both first came home, riding on these little push cars seemed like a distant dream-- and now they both scoot around like they own the place. There is a third one that you will find Julia or Jonny riding around on too!

Dennis and Alex are like two peas in a pod. This morning they were up before the crack of dawn bugging their big brother Jonny as he tried to get a few more minutes of sleep before starting his day. No such luck-- but at least it wasn't me they were jumping on. :)

Dennis is developing such a character. He can be his brothers best friend or his worst enemy. One moment Dennis is bringing Alex his walker, the next he is hiding it from him. Alex is pretty patient with Dennis most of the time, but don't let that innocent look fool you. Alex holds his own pretty well!

My two boys are eating machines! With all the leftover Halloween candy, it is not surprising to find the two of them sitting behind the couch munching on it as fast as they could.

I find myself growing more attached to Alex, the more I take care of him. This is an answer to prayer since we did have a bit of a rough start. I am his Mom---- his biggest advocate, and I think he is slowly figuring that out. I am not just another caretaker, but the one who takes him to school, kisses him goodnight, disciplines him, makes him lunch, helps him go potty, tickles him whenever he asks for it, bathes him, helps him, and gets up with him in the middle of the night. And there is nothing that I would not do for him.

Which brings me to his current IEP and the lack of services he is receiving. As of today, I feel like there is some resistance by the school district to provide Alex with the services I believe he should get. Knowing all too well how IEPs work, I know to get everything in writing. So, I wrote this letter.

Dear School district,

I have enjoyed getting to know you and working with you for the past few months. The purpose of this letter is to specifically request that our son Alex Reed be evaluated by a Physical Therapist and reevaluated by an Occupational Therapist. Now that he has had time to acclimate to his new environment and we have had the chance to see just exactly what he is capable of, his current orthopedic impairments which he has yet to be classified as due to his Spina Bifida, do seem to be hindering his ability to get around in the classroom, field trips, and the ability to get to and from the parking lot. We would like to understand through the evaluation what is necessary to help him achieve independence and ease of mobility in simple areas such as going to the bathroom independently to wash his hands, playing on the outside equipment with the other children, and moving from station to station without crawling. As far as the Occupational Therapist evaluation, Alex appears to have difficulty grasping a pencil. We realize that there is a process for evaluating children, but we look forward to the time where we can meet as an IEP team and decide what is needed for Alex to appropriately reside in the least restrictive environment at school and to broaden his goals according to his ability, mobility, and safety. Please advise me of the timing of such evaluation at your earliest convenience.

Thank you,

Alex's Mommy (just kidding about the last part)

Here's to hoping that it will be enough to get Alex his PT. If not I have made a conscious decision to be thankful anyways because that is what I am ultimately called to do. Then I will simply press on and look into next steps.

Alex and Dennis are my little helpers. They not only make messes, but they help me clean them up too. Alex loves to smell his clothes and bedding and was very excited to have fluffy, clean sheets for his bed. Makes me stop and wonder if he does this because he rarely had clean, soft clothes to where back in the orphanage.

These two little boys have the sweetest smiles and most of the time they share nicely.

However, they fight over toys just as much--- and teaching them to get along is a job that I enjoy.

Silly me had to ask the doctor if sliding down the stairs on his bottom could cause harm to Alex's back. She smiles when I asked-- and reminded me to not be so overprotective.

I found out today that Alex has a Urinary related infection. At about the same time the doctor's office called with the results, Alex mentioned his right side (maybe his kidney) hurting him. They have started him on a higher course of antibiotics which means that I now stop the low daily dose until he is finished with the antibiotics to treat this infection. The cathing is going great---- I am nearly a pro, and he seems to be having less leakage in between which is wonderful.

And speaking of pee-pee---- drum roll please......

Dennis would like to show you his big boy underwear! After two full months-- Dennis has graduated to underwear (pull-ups at night)!