How To Play With a Floppy Kid

Caleb is a very difficult kid to hold, and it takes a lot of practice to get used to how floppy his body is. Jeff and I are so used to how to hold him and pick him up that we almost don't know how to hold typical kids anymore - we always try to hold their head and stuff. However, once you get used to how he feels in your hands and get comfortable with it, he's not quite as fragile as he looks. Jeff and Caleb "wrestle" very regularly. This is a fun pastime for both of them. Check it out.

Although I love Caleb's Doctors, I'm sick of seeing them (no pun intended)!

Caleb has a wonderful team of doctors that oversee his health. His pediatrician has always been wonderful, creating a healthy balance of respecting our opinions as well-educated parents who are the experts on Caleb with her being the expert in the medical field. His neurologist is a very caring doctor, and without her we would probably still be without a diagnosis. There are other doctors that come and go, but overall we have been very blessed with the medical professionals that have worked with us to better Caleb's quality of life.

However, I am totally sick of seeing them right now! We had Caleb's 3-year check-up a few months ago - normal, no big deal. Then a couple of weeks ago was his bout with pneumonia, which took us to the pediatrician 3 days in a row.

On Wednesday we had his appointment at the muscle-disease clinic down at Children's Hospital. This is an appointment that happens every six months or so and it's a whole team of specialists that take a look at him, monitoring things like his scoliosis, respiration, etc., or answering (or taking their best educated guess) any new questions we have. Being that it's a whole team, this appointment typically lasts 2 hours, at least.

So we went to that appointment, got some answers, some more information, as well as more questions popping up. That night, Caleb started to get a rash. We called the Dr. and she said it's probably hives. We gave him some Benedryl and it was pretty much gone in the morning. By the time I got home from work, he had a rash all over his legs and feet, and it was starting to pop up on his abdomen and arms. So this brought us to the pediatrician once again. When we arrived, the Dr. (whom is not our regular pediatrician) said, "Weren't you guys just here the other day?"

The diagnosis: hives. Cause: an allergic reaction to something he stuck in his mouth (we're not sure what). Prognosis: the rash can last a week or so; we need to keep giving him Benedryl (so sleepy boy), and as the rash heals, it will leave little marks that look like bruises (I can hear CPS knocking at our door right now). Luckily the rash isn't itchy and there's no fever or anything.

Hopefully we can stay away from the Doc for a while. Although, I'm still waiting for him to be healthy enough to get a flu shot. Aaaaaaaaaahhhh!

How Much Can One Family Spill?

Now that Caleb is learning to drink from an open cup, spills are a somewhat regular part of life around here. But last weekend, spilling took on a new meaning.

On Friday, Jeff refilled our 5-gal. water dispenser with a couple of 2.5-gal. containers that had gotten punctures in them. He left a little (probably about a half gallon) in one of them and left it on the counter. About an hour later, we were watching TV and I said, "What is that noise?" Jeff went to investigate, and water had been slowly dripping and was all over the counter and floor.

Saturday, I was getting Caleb some lunch, which was noodles. I accidentally hit the container against the counter, spilling the entire contents onto the kitchen floor. After cleaning that up, I sat down to eat with Caleb. I then knocked over my full cup of water, splashing water all over Caleb, the table, and the floor.

That evening, we all went to the movies. When we came home, we found that Bumblebee (a.k.a. "Spaz") had been up on the kitchen table investigating. What she found was a half-full cup of water, and thus knocked it over.

Perhaps this has been some metaphor for our lives. Maybe some kind of flood is coming (please let it be a flood of money :), or maybe it signifies that we are in the midst of cleansing our lives. I'm not really sure. I do know that we have washed more towels in the last few days than I think we have all month. I'll keep you posted if I figure out what all this signifies.

Totally Recommend It!

This weekend we took Caleb to see Madagascar 2. We loved the first one, so we figured it would be a good one. This one was even better! We were all rolling throughout the movie (although the beginning is a little sad). The lemur king was my favorite.

I definitely recommend seeing this movie, even if you don't have kids.

Halloween Festivities

We had a wonderful Halloween this year. Caleb got to be one of his biggest heroes - Lightening McQueen!

On Thursday Caleb's school had a costume parade. I wasn't able to get very good pictures because he was crying the whole time - it was hot, noisy, and I think just generally overwhelming for his first day back after being out sick the whole week.
He enjoyed doing the arts and crafts much more.

Here's Caleb with his buddy Hunter.

Celebrations seem to be so much more fun these days because Caleb is so much more aware of what is going on. I was a little concerned that he would get scared by some of the costumes, etc. But we took quite a few walks in the neighborhood in the last couple of weeks to prepare him for some of the decorations. This seemed to do the trick, and he was able to just enjoy Trick-or-Treating with all the other kids.

Before going Trick-or-Treating, some friends/neighbors had us over for dinner. Here's Caleb playing with Jayson.

We're ready to race!

Here's Caleb posing with the creative geniuses behind his costume, Randall and Jessica. Thank you both for making such an amazing costume!

Caleb even got to play with cars on his car!

Papa Mickey came to help us go Trick-or-Treating. Check out how Caleb is holding on to his bucket of treats for dear life. Next year... a hook on the side for the bucket

Last weekend Jeff and I went to the adult costume party in the neighborhood. We were the Spartan cheerleaders! Yes, we even had a cheer worked out.

We got third place in the costume contest - beat out by the tranny from Rocky Horror Picture show, and "Beerman" with his wife...Beer, of course!

Music to My Ears

Yesterday Jeff and I heard two words that were music to our ears - "Sounds clear." On Monday Caleb's pneumonia got worse, and he had junk throughout his lungs. He got an injection of a more aggressive antibiotic, which seemed to do the trick. He's still has some gunk in his lungs, but things are loosening up and he has some spots in his lungs that sound clear. He also continues to have a gnarly sounding cough, but it's productive.

Throughout all of this, Caleb has remained in good spirits, although somewhat ornery. Not sure if that's just him going stir crazy, or my lack of patience for the same reason. I've had my share of diarrhea, vomit (both side effects of an upset tummy from the antibiotics), snot and doctor's visits to last me a while...oh the joys of parenthood. Luckily no hospital visits this time around, and looks like he'll be better in time to go Trick-or-Treating for Halloween!

Below is a video of Caleb "running" in his walker, which is just one example of the many ways we have passed the time these last few days cooped up in the house.

Yet Another Cold!

Caleb has a cold...again. This time it's a little more concerning than annoying (although I'm still tired of the never-ending runny nose). He has a cough that began sounding a little "rattley" to us so we took him to the Doc today just to be on the safe side. A little bit got into his lungs, so he's on antibiotics now. Caleb is still in really good spirits and just as much of a ham as ever, so I know we caught it early. He does get tired a little more easily, and has even less of an appetite (which I'm desperately trying not to let stress me out). This is yet another reminder of how vigilant we need to be with his little body.

Caleb Utilizes All of His Resources

It has always amazed me how Caleb naturally utilizes the limited resources his body provides to their full potential. For instance, before he could hold his head up and look around freely, he would look with his eyes, making them rotate further than what is considered comfortable for the rest of the population.

Since his lower extremities are stronger than his upper body, he has always been quite resourceful with his feet and legs. For instance when he's in his black walker, if he drops something on the ground he will pick it up with his feet (given that it's not too heavy) and bring it up to his hands. When lying on the ground, he will sweep his leg and rake items towards him. Below is a video of how he makes his own little bookstand when lying on the floor. He has done this for over a year or so, but every time I see him do this, it's such a great reminder to utilize what we've been given, and to get creative with your resources.

The Man Cold

OK, this has nothing to do with Caleb, but I was rolling on the floor when I watched this one! Don't forget to pause the music to hear the video better.



And, of course, Jeff is nothing like this when he gets a cold ;)

Happy Birthday Grandma Lou Lou

Grandma Lou Lou decided to celebrate her 60th birthday at Boomers, playing with all her kids, grandkids, and some friends. It was such a great way to commemorate her silly, wacky, and fun-loving 60 years on this earth!


Caleb enjoyed playing some games.


Just before this picture was taken, the girl that was serving our group asked my mom how old she was because she wanted to know how many candles to put on the cake. My mom thought that the number 60 would be sufficient (like the "6" and the "0" candle). The girl looked at her with horror and wonder in her eyes and said, "60 individual candles?!" The compromise was 6 individual candles.

We all had fun playing with these pirate eye patches. Aaaaaargh!Not sure that they're supposed to be used while driving, Hayden.
The biggest hit of the day was the race cars.
Here comes Auntie Shana in her Pinto of a race-car...
And Jeff gets passed by Uncle Wayne and some kid we don't know...
Cousin Nathan with visions of driving the real thing in just 3 short years...

Grandma Lou Lou is approaching Auntie Shana from the inside...

and ends up taking the lead for the "victory" lap.

Although he couldn't ride, Caleb really enjoyed cheering on his family from the sidelines.On a sidenote, this is the NEW wheelchair! Sweet wheels, Bub! In the end, Shana's car was a dud, as she needed help even getting to the finish line. Not to mention, she was barely even tall enough to drive the car in the first place :)

My personal favorite was good ol' air hockey. It takes me back to my early college days.

Just check out the concentration.

Haha! Victory is mine!And the unsuspecting victim is Auntie Shana. Unfortunately I was no match for Grandma Lou Lou, who won the next round.

Thanks for a fun-filled day, Grandma. It was certainly a day to remember.