It is amazing it is already 2009! Seems like the tail end of last year flew by! We had a great holiday season; hope you and your loved ones did as well. Below are some highlights of our last couple of months and updates on Finn.
In December, Finn discovered chocolate. Both he and his sister had their own advent calendars. Each day they would open a little door and find a piece of chocolate. It didn’t take long before Finn started asking for his first thing every morning! I thought the poor little boy would go through withdrawal when it was all over, but he has done fine. While we are not a big fan of candy and sweets around here, we loved that he had an interest in this; it all seemed very “normal.”
As for Santa, Finn was not a big fan. The first time we tried to get him to sit on Santa’s lap at the mall was a disaster! We even have the tragic photos to prove it. His daddy is now referring to it as “Santa Trauma.” We did later ride the Santa Train (a 30 minute ride on a real train to visit Santa at a train depot) and he did a bit better. We had told him that after seeing Santa we would have cookies, and he seemed to think that was a good idea, since he is all about “cook, cook, cook” (his way of saying cookie). He also ate way too many gingerbread cookies this year, which made for real fun diaper changes. Not!!! No more gingerbread for Finn for a LONG time.
Enough about food . . . Finn had a blast on Christmas morning with family around and lots of wonderful toys. He got a train set, a play kitchen, a toy car garage, and a Diego talking phone, among many other wonderful things. He really liked the large stuffed turtle that his Farmor gave him too and he had us all in stitches when he tried to “ride” it. It was one of the moments you’ll always remember. It was hard to say goodbye to family and he still looks around for “Tutu” and “Pa” when we mention their names. It is hard to comprehend how far away they live. Finn also thoroughly enjoyed the snow, which we got our fair share of around here. While I don’t think he’ll ever be the daredevil his sister is—she could not get enough of the sled and was continually trying to figure out how to make it go faster—he certainly enjoyed himself. He liked crawling around in it, and grabbing it between his mittens and tossing it in the air. He was also a fond admirer of the snowman we built in the backyard, and regularly pointed it out to us or waved “hi” to it. I think he was the saddest of all when it melted.
Finn had three big appointments at Children’s Hospital at the end of the month of December. The ophthalmologist (eye doctor) said that while the intermittent strabismus (eye crossing) and occasional nystagmus (eye darting) were still present, that overall Finn’s eyes looked great! And he felt that his acuity was good, and normal. Of course we were very happy to hear that. I so much want Finn to be able to read. (Thanks again, Mom, for coming with me to the appointment. I guess that no matter what age you are, it is always good to have your mom with you for important doctor’s appointments). The following day we meet with an Occupational Therapist (kind of like a physical therapist) at Children’s again to have Finn go through the Bayley Developmental Evaluation Test, again. (Ah, what a way to spend New Year’s Eve with my husband! So romantic!). Anyway, Finn did GREAT on the test. No, not only great—he ROCKED! I was so proud of him I thought my heart would float out of my chest! (Boy, the day he first walks, I think my heart will ascend to another solar system). In terms of his cognitive, fine motor, and receptive language, he was totally average. Gotta love being average! His expressive communication was at the low end of average, but still we were happy with that. His gross motor score was equivalent to that of an 11 month old, but we knew that going in that it would be very low. Importantly, I asked the OT if she thought he would walk and she said she thought he would. That was music to my ears of course. Anyway, later we met with our Developmental Pediatrician there, and he also had a lot of good, encouraging things to say. No one knows when Finn will walk, and it may still be a while, but we continue to expect that it will happen. His big challenge is to develop more “truck” strength (basically his torso). The plan is to continue to meet with therapists here in our home and we are constantly brainstorming ways to challenge him and help him learn the skills he needs.
Much love and blessings to all of you! May 2009 be a year of wonder, awareness, and happiness for all! Oh, and new pictures are in the Gallery > Winter 2008/2009. ENJOY!
