Practicing the Wheelchair at School

Caleb's teacher, Miss Kristin, took some really cute pictures and video of him practicing the power chair at school. I can't figure out how to embed them, so just click on the link below and it should take you to the photo album. Once you're there, just click on the first picture to enlarge it. As you go through the album the ones that are videos (the last 4) will just start.

http://picasaweb.google.com/kw92008/2009_04_19?authkey=Gv1sRgCJCArOnw44Ka6QE#

Our Easter Celebration

Better late than never, right? We had a wonderful Easter celebration at Cousins David and Ania's house. There was an Easter Egg hunt, fantastic food, music, and even an art project! It was a great time with great company!

Another Trip to the ER

Caleb is fine, but yesterday afternoon while Caleb was playing in his walker, he fell and hit his head (right around 4:00). Maria was home with him at the time, and I was on my way home, just minutes away. From her description, his head hit the wood floor so hard that it bounced, but he never lost consciousness. It did sound like he was a little confused for almost a minute immediately after the fall. When I arrived shortly after, he was awake, crying and definitely upset. He was somewhat lethargic, but I was able to get him more alert and back to his normal mood and cognitive state by playing the Wii (this thing has come in REALLY handy in many ways). Everything was looking fine, but at about 6:30 he started vomiting. He threw up 6-7 times between 6:30 and 8:00. At that point, it was definitely looking like a concussion, so we decided to pack him up and take him to the Emergency Room.

They got us in really quickly and he was being examined by the Dr. about 30 minutes after we first arrived. When the Doc was initially examining him, he wouldn't wake up, even when she was shining the light in his eyes and sticking the tongue depressor in his mouth. He finally woke up, and was, of course, ticked. When she was examining his abdomen and stuff he was yelling and screaming at all of us. He finally calmed down enough to tell her that his head hurt and his tummy, too. After some off-the-wall suspicions from the resident, the attending physician finally came in and we decided to go ahead with a head CT scan. Long story short, everything was negative and we left the ER around 12:30.

Caleb was such a trooper throughout the duration, besides being ticked initially. He was soon back to his normal, happy self. Around 10:00 he was saying he was hungry, so we got him some crackers. Some of them were broken so we figured out what kinds of things they looked like - for instance one was like a car and another like a horse's head with tiny ears. He then picked up one little piece and said, "Look mommy, it's like a little tiny slide!" Then he ran his finger down the front of the cracker and said in a teeny voice, "Wee." During the CT scan he got a little nervous and didn't want to go into the machine, but when the bed started moving slowly out, he started calming down. On the way out of the hospital (keep in mind it's about 12:30 am now), as I was paying the co-pay, he said, "Mommy, what are we doing?" I told him we were leaving, to which he responded, "I don't want to leave. I love it here." The lady behind the counter looked at him and said, "Well, that's a new one!"

It was a long night, but well worth it to know for sure that everthing was OK. Caleb's doing great now, and is totally back to normal...Probably wondering why everyone keeps asking him about his head.

Now I need to start working on the tons of other FUN posts that I'm behind on.

Goofing Around in the Walker(s)

Every once in a while Caleb comes up with something really funny when he's in his walker. Here's a taste of the fun we have.

Don't forget to pause the music on the right to hear the videos better.

Top 10

Yesterday was Caleb & Co.'s 1 year blogoversary. In honor of this blog being around for a year, I wanted to present my top 10 favorite posts, although in no particular order. Just click on the words below to be taken to that post.

1. Singing Lullibies
2. Caleb Singing ("I've Been Working on the Rainbow")
3. Caleb's First Steps
4. Caleb's Yoga Routine
5. Caleb Walking in Water
6. Having Fun in His Walker
7. Playing at the Park
8. The New Walker (even though we returned it)
9. Caleb Reading
10. MDA Telethon

Thanks for sharing enjoying these with me. If you have any other personal faves, just leave it in the comments.

Just Practicing

No, this isn't his chair...yet. We were just trying him out in it at Physical Therapy today. We've tried him in a power chair on and off, but this was his first time trying this one out. We were all amazed at how well he did! He picked up on the controls no problem, and even some of the other functions of the chair. He loves being able to "drive" his chair. We're going to get him his own power chair ASAP!!!

Talking Silly

Those who know me best know that I have a tendency to talk "silly" in my sleep, and at one point was even a borderline sleep-walker. The earliest account of this phenomenon goes back to childhood, when sleeping over at my grandma's house, my sister told me that I started bouncing on the bed and talked about licking peanut butter off of a frog. When I got my first job at Baskin-Robbins I found myself trying to scoop ice cream for customers out of my floor fan. In college I waited tables to make some money and I often tried to get drinks from the "bar" in my bedroom, which was really my dresser. My roommate in college, who is also my closest friend since first grade, got to hear some pretty interesting things coming out of my mouth when I would start talking silly in my sleep. One morning after studying really hard (a.k.a. "cramming") for a geography final, she said to me, "You're gonna do great on your final today!" When I asked her why, she said that when she got home I started talking to her about the Industrialization of Nations...if only I could've remembered it while I was awake!

The reason I'm sharing this little tid-bit with you is because apparently Caleb has inherited this sleeping trait. I've been on high-alert mode because he has been waking up coughing in the middle of the night since his cold started, so I've been waking up very easily. Last night I heard him suddenly call out, "Look at the cat! Run away!" Then he was silent. A couple of minutes later he yelled, "Oh, bubbles!" At least it sounds like he's having happy dreams.

Update on Caleb's Cold

Well, this round is going to have to remain a tie. Although Caleb's cold never actually turned into pneumonia (thank goodness), he also couldn't get over it on his own. We started him on antibiotics yesterday, and what an amazing improvement already! We're keeping our fingers crossed that this was the last sickness for the season and we won't have to find out who wins the tie-breaker. Thanks for all your good thoughts that were sent his way.

Caleb - 2; Pneumonia - 2: Who Will Win the Tie-Breaker?

So far this Cold & Flu season Caleb has gotten 4 colds. 2 of them he licked on his own, and 2 turned into pneumonia. Unfortunately he has another cold, which means he's on number 5. He's finally over the fever part - it spiked at 103 last Sunday. But he's got this gnarly cough that just won't go away. Sometimes I listen to his lungs and they sound pretty junky, but then I'll listen a little later and they sound crystal clear. This really could go either way.

Please send healing thoughts his way. Thanks a bunch!