Summer Approaches

When I saw that it had been three months since I updated this page, I knew I had to stop procrastinating. The short version is that AJ's biggest problem lately is his sister. She is very mobile and she loves AJ and his toys waaaaay to much for Aidan's liking sometimes. Its clear he really does love her too though, as long as she doesn't touch his cars... or his puzzle pieces... or her own toys... or the laundry. Ok, so he doesn't allow her to do much, but he's always happy to see her and he loves to make her laugh.

The other major "problem" in the champ's life is that I won't constantly supply him with keto chocolate fudge. :-) He is doing well with the diet, staying near his target numbers and not fighting with us (too much) about meals. We recently changed from our initial 4 small meals plan to three meals and two snacks. The transition has been tough because both he and Hannah were used to eating at certain times of the day. However, planning a slightly larger snack to have at school and having some calories allotted to give medicine at bedtime is going to pay off in the long run. The #1 meal by far is cheese, pepperoni, tomato paste & butter along with his chocolate for dessert. He's also really enjoyed the waffles and bacon meal, and he's done a hot dog in butter once or twice too.

School is going very well, and he still loves going. Just today he asked for "Miss Anne" all through breakfast and I had to explain that he goes to school T, W, Th. Our grasp on the days of the week are a bit tenuous though. "Yeah Daddy. Tuesday, drive a car. Go to School, Miss Anne. Do letters and chocolate fudge at school." Luckily, Sesame Street is like the neuralizer from Men in Black; just look at this flashy thingy and you will forget everything...

We have also stepped up his therapy sessions. We had a second IEP meeting with the folks at school and he's getting OT, PT and speech every week. The school year is almost over, but we have secured him a space in the summer session which is fantastic. At the meeting all of AJ's goals were set for the near future, so they can carry over into the summer. Since I keep throwing that phrase "OT, PT, and speech" around, here is what they are working on:

• Occupational Therapy - This is the fine motor stuff, and in school they focus largely on skills for the school setting like pre-writing, cutting paper, etc
• Physical Therapy - Gross motor stuff, particularly core strength. Gym class with some focused goals.
• Speech - Main focus is original speech. AJ has a great memory, and can appropriately use phrases he's internalized. "Oh my gracious! Like Jojo says." However, creating a thought from scratch - particularly in the form of a sentence - is still difficult.

We (and by we I mean the wonderfully diligent Mommy) also sought additional therapy, and we've started speech and OT thanks to Dr. Bean's prescription. Everyone that comes to play with us this summer will be acting as AJ's physical therapists. Make him walk on the beach sand, crawl through an obstacle course, or do a puzzle on his hands and knees instead of sitting. We even introduced him to wheelbarrow races!

As always, thank you for your love and support. It means a lot, no matter what form it comes in. So keep sending those texts, comments, cookies, cards, cookies, and cookies. :-)