Tyler Talk #1

Mommy: "Tyler, what do you want for Christmas?"

Tyler: "Um... a birthday"

Mommy: "How old do you want to be?"

Tyler: "Two" (he'll turn two in January)

Mommy: "I'm going to have a birthday next month. How old am I going to be?"

Tyler: "Too old" (yep)

Caleb's Four

Happy fourth birthday to Caleb!

He has had a full month of birthday celebrations! It started off with a weekend trip to Texas to spend time with my parents and brothers and to see the animals at the Fort Worth Zoo.

The following weekend, we celebrated his birthday with some friends. The plan was to have his party at a brand-new play gym that a friend was opening, but construction delays pushed back their grand opening and forced the party to be cancelled. So instead, we texted everyone and moved the party to our backyard. The kids had a blast on the inflatables that we rented/borrowed.

And then this past weekend, Brad's extended family came up for a little family party (we love entertaining at our new house!). Caleb had the best time being the center of attention and surrounded by so many people he loves. 

He has his annual well-check next week, but I tried to get some "unofficial" growth stats at home a couple days ago. He weighs about 28 pounds and is 34 inches tall. I think he grew about two pounds over the last year and grew a couple inches. 

Tyler - 21 Months

Weight: 26.0 lbs

Length: 34 inches

Clothing size: 24 month shirts, 18 month pants

Shoe size: Size 6

Diaper size: Size 4

Eating: Tyler loves milk, cheese and grapes. One thing I have to make a note of here, because I want to remember it... sometimes he calls grapes "G-Bs". I have no idea why, but it is so adorable 

Sleeping: Tyler goes to bed at 8:00pm and wakes up around 7:00am. If we're in the car, he often will fall asleep for a brief morning nap around 10:00-11:00am. He also usually takes a good nap after lunch. 

His days: Tyler goes to Mother's Day Out three days each week. He also tags along to Caleb's weekly PT, OT and speech therapy sessions

Busy Weekend

What a busy weekend we had! Early Thursday morning, Brad and three of his friends left for a guys' weekend. They went up to Minnesota to watch the Ryder Cup and to play golf at a couple courses in Minnesota and Iowa.

I solo-parented Thursday/Friday, and then my parents arrived to our house Friday evening. The boys were thrilled to see their grandparents, and we were excited to have our first overnight guests in the new house. 

We headed to downtown OKC bright and early Saturday morning for the Down Syndrome Festival and 5k. I walked the 5k and pushed the boys in the Bob Duallie stroller. The boys got out of the stroller toward the end and ran across the finish line... so adorable!. We had a great time at the festival and loved seeing so many family/friends there!

Following the festival, we headed down to Lawton, OK and spent some time at the Museum of the Great Plains. We get free admission there with an Oklahoma museum pass that we have, so we were excited to check it out for our first time. After the museum, we went to an early dinner and then my parents took the boys to their house in Wichita Falls, TX (about 40 minutes away). I checked into a hotel room in Lawton and enjoyed a super quiet night's sleep.

I woke up early Sunday morning and ran the Spirit of Survival Half Marathon. It was my fourth half marathon in 2016 and my seventh ever. Miles 0-10 felt great, but then my right calf cramped at about mile 10. I struggled the rest of the way in. My parents and the boys drove back up to Lawton that morning and were there to cheer me across the finish line. Hearing Caleb and Tyler yell "Go Mommy!" might just be one of my most favorite things! Caleb was excited to get his hands on my finisher's medal, and Tyler was eager to get his hands on my post-race snacks. 

I hurried back to the hotel for a shower, and then we all went to an early lunch. The boys and I returned back to OKC Sunday afternoon, and Brad arrived home from his trip Sunday evening. And now another busy week has begun! 

Fourth Time's a Charm?

Caleb's hearing is something we've monitored closely ever since he failed that newborn hearing screening while in the NICU. We've learned that the hearing loss he deals with is mainly the result of fluid that has collected in his ears. He has teeny-tiny ear canals that don't drain well, and he needs tubes to keep that fluid cleared out.  I started noticing that Caleb was having trouble hearing in June, and it had been about eight months since he had a set of tubes put in. He already had an appointment scheduled with the ENT in July, so we waited until then to have things checked out. He was hearing conversation well, but he seemed to have a hard time hearing me if I was across the room or yard. When we went to the audiologist and ENT in July, they confirmed that both tubes had come out and agreed that he needed a new set. We all hope and expect that he won't need to have tubes forever, but he still needs them for now. The first available date to do the procedure at our preferred hospital was in mid-August (Caleb's second day of school). 

His procedure wasn't scheduled to begin until after lunch, so he was able to go to pre-k that morning. I just picked him up before snack time, so that he wouldn't be tempted to eat or drink... no food or fluid before the procedure. 

We had a little extra time before Caleb needed to check in at the surgery center, so we stopped by the NICU where he spent his first ten days. We spent a few minutes visiting with two of our favorite NICU nurses and poked our heads in for a quick peek at the renovated unit. Caleb and I then met Brad at the outpatient surgery unit and got all checked in. Pre-op was super easy and quick, as was the actual procedure. Caleb never wakes up particularly happy from anesthesia, but he calmed down once he had his Kindle and could watch "dinosaurs" (Land Before Time). 

Six weeks later... I took Caleb to the audiologist and the ENT's PA yesterday for his follow-up. While I know Caleb is hearing better than before, his hearing test showed that his hearing isn't quite as good as we'd like for it to be. We're going to give him ear drops for the next week to try to clear out any "gunk" that might be in his ears, and we'll return to the audiologist in December. 

September 2016 Life Update

Posting things here has definitely fallen by the wayside over the last few months. We had a great, relaxing summer. We didn't do much aside from enjoying every minute of our new home and neighborhood. Trips to the pool and playground, having friends over for dinners and play dates, and countless evenings spent in our backyard. The section of the neighborhood where we built is slowly filling in. We got some new neighbors across the cul-de-sac a few weeks ago, and our next door neighbors are hopefully moving in a couple weeks.

Caleb and Tyler started a new school year about a month ago. Caleb is attending pre-k at a nearby elementary school. He's in a fantastic inclusive classroom with the best teacher and aides. There are 15-16 kids (I can't remember exactly) in his class, and four of those students have some sort of special need. The teacher has told us that things are going really well. Caleb is learning from his typically-developing peers, and they're doing a great job of including him in their activities.

Tyler is attending the same MDO that we've been at since Caleb was a baby. He's the youngest in his classroom, but he's doing great keeping up with the "big" kids. I'm still working part-time while he's at MDO... and because of that schedule, we take Caleb there for the afternoons on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. He's pretty much only there for nap time and play time, but he enjoys it and it allows me to continue working. 

We have lots of fun things coming up in the weeks ahead, so I'll try my best to get back here more often and fill you in and what's going on. 

Potty Training Advice?

We've been really casual about Caleb's potty training for the last several months, and the time is coming to get serious about it. My plan is to focus hard on it while Caleb's out of school for fall break next month. Please share any advice or product recommendations! I've read lots of articles and blogs, but I still really have no clue what we're about to get ourselves into!