15 Months Old!

Liam is 1 and 1/4 years old! We couldn't be more proud of our demanding, curious, determined little boy!

He is currently 25lbs and 34 inches tall. He says dada, mama, no, halo, whoa, wow, kyler, and me. He knows more signs than words now too! He does the sign for all done, hurt, me, hi, bye, eat, more, dirty, diaper, no and we're working on yes!

With the help of his OT, he has learned to climb up chairs and any other objects in his way! He has learned how to put things in small containers and how to make the sound of a toy car vrooming. He now "drawers", and has even drawn on our bathroom door with a crayon. (I couldn't be mad when its definitely an OT thing!

He still falls a lot, has his weak days, but therapy is doing wonders. He amazes us every day!

His favorite activities are playing outside, going down slides, playing with cars, touching dad's xbox, reading books, and proving people wrong about his diagnosis.

And that's the life of a Leebug.

Happy Halloween!

I apologize for not updating, life's been crazy lately.

We just moved, and are barely settled into our new house. Liam has been adjusting to the new home a little roughly, but we're hoping he settles down soon!

His therapies we had to put back on hold until we switched counties have been restablished! Yay! Hooooorah!

Liam had his first real Halloween! He did great! He didn't exactly get the concept of "Trick-or-treat!" Or saying thank you, but he did appreciate the candy! (So do his parents!)

Happy Halloween! Enjoy the photobomb.

I realize I haven't been posting as many updates about Liam.

But do you know what it's like to chase after a toddler? He's exhausting.

Well, we are about a week and two days away from his first birthday. He is learning new things everyday, and continuing to beat any odds that were once against him. Yesterday, with me being sick, he learned how to blow his nose, or copy it at least. My mom taught him a weird dance move where he thrusts himself forward. It's slightly awkward...but cute.

I let him watch TV for the first time ever, not that he was incredibly interested in it in the first place. But he watched Yo Gabba Gabba and fell in love with it. He doesn't watch it for too long, just a few minutes here and there and then stops to dance with a song.

Oh, and good news, we got the approval from DDD (Dept of Developmental Disabilities) and we are going to start the rigorous therapy again! I'm excited for speech therapy the most probably. I always fear that the weakness on his right side is going to affect his mouth. Because that's not something I can necessarily see.

He's trying new foods, learning new ways to say words (although he never says them quite right) and hitting skills left and right. Within the past week he learned how to toss a ball. Not the over the ear throw, but the under throw. It's really cool, he will just chase the ball around the house!

He weighs about 23-24lbs now but is slimming down thanks to learning how to run. We're still dealing with him falling a lot, especially when his muscles are weak and he's tired, but we taught him to not cry when he falls and to clap his hands or do the sign for safe. This way we know, when he really gets hurt, he will actually cry. Someone actually told me I was wrong for doing that, teaching him at such a young age that he should not cry every time he gets hurt. (Some wacko woman on a board...something about teaching him not to feel anything) But she's crazy, and we kind of had to teach him that with how much he falls. I mean, if we didn't he'd be crying every 20 minutes.

And I can't stand crying or whining when it's not real, and Liam's also learned that. We need to nip that in the butt ASAP!

Well, I apologize for the lack of updates and I hope I can get better at it. But we have a first birthday coming up, and a really busy week!

And that, is the life of a leebug.

11 Months Old!

Liam sure has been busy! This little guy has managed to swim in both the Atlantic and the Pacific ocean within six months. I think that's pretty cool. He also swam in Indian Lake, crawled in front of where George Washington once lived, and touched a dinosaur bone at the American Museum of Natural History. This kid isn't even a year old, and has already done and seen so much.

Stat wise he is still 30 inches, his head is about 20in around, and he weighs 23lbs. He is eating more people food, less formula and we are slowly introducing almond milk to him.

He is doing amazing. Toddling around, walking and communicating more effectively with us. He now points, and learned to say the "Guh" sound. He also says "Duh Duh" for dog, "At" for cat, and thank you. We haven't gotten him yet to get better with his fine motor skills, but I'm so thrilled with all of the changes he's making and all of the wondrous growing he's been doing...that I'm ecstatic. He also, cut his fifth tooth!

We are though, on our fifth ear infection. So next week we are off to the Ears Nose and Throat Pediatric Specialist to decide the route for the ear tubes. His ears aren't draining properly and my poor child has had so many ear infections, it is unbelievable. This current one he is fighting is from May! Yes, May. 5 rounds of antibiotics with 10 days each of them...and my poor needs to be pumped full of probiotics.

I haven't heard back yet about the DDD referral. So he hasn't started his speech or OT or PT yet. But he will soon. I'm thinking about putting him in ISR swim lessons, to teach him how to float and breathe in water in the event that he was to fall in. I want him to be prepared, as well as myself. I'm hoping if we can get him in for the swim lessons it'll help him on his bad muscle days.

We have three weeks until his first birthday! I'd started preparing and am sending out his invitations on Monday! I handmade them and they are super cute!

Until next time, when I can get a picture update. (When I pick them up from Walmart)... that is the life of a Leebug.

T-O-D-D-L-E-R

My baby is officially a toddler.
He toddles.
He walks, he climbs, he beats odds every minute of the day.

I am constantly amazed by him and the things he does. I have been slacking on his massages 3 times a day, and only do it twice, and sometimes once, and even then he does well. It's a lot for me to handle when I have a busy day, and he won't sit down anymore for his massages. At night it's easier, because he'll drink a bottle, but in the morning he's so excited to be awake and stuff - he just runs around.

But if I don't massage or stretch him, he has a bad muscle day. He will walk funny, fall constantly, and just have a few issues. The day's I do them, he walks almost perfect.

We had an appt with a neurosurgeon the other day, and since his brain is growing with his skull, and we won't do another MRI for another 7 months, we do not feel the need to put him in a helmet. His neurologist doesn't even want to see him until October, which is great. We just will keep doing what we are doing!

His referral for DDD for OT/PT and speech has yet to go through. Normally, I'd be picky and pushy and make it got through asap, but we're NYC bound next week and so until we're back, I don't mind. He is also getting a swallow study when he gets back. We are going to be investigating further his swallowing since he spits things out and chokes a lot. It's scary when he eats! But I'm hoping with speech therapy things will be easier for him. And when things are easier for Liam, it's easier for me too.

His referral for DDD takes a burden off of my shoulders. It means that we no longer pay out of pocket for his therapies, which is great considering we never have that money. It's bad enough that we have to pay so much for all the other medical things, but it's definitely a relief for everything else to be handled!

I am grateful that we have state programs for children with special needs. Because a year ago I never forsaw us needing one. It's funny, how much can change in a year. Imagine where we will be next year?

I get this image of Liam flying at that point, but it could very well go the other way too. But, prayers and positive thoughts will help us!

And that is the life of a leebug, wish us luck for our cross country trip!

Busy Life

Life has been busy with a ten month old. We're overwhelmed by the time and energy this crazy boy takes!!!

Liam is doing amazing. he started to walk recently, and he does this cute shuffle like crazy across the floor, and has a personality that is just the sweetest and most ornery...ever.

Let's see..his tricks. He blows kisses, he knows where his head is, he loves to feed the dog. He knows how to fill up a cup of water, adores playing the piano, and will dance to absolutely any kind of beat. He hasn't bee sleeping well but makes up for it with his little quirks and the silly things he does.

He is going back into therapy for some weakness we're seeing. But besides an appt with a neurosurgeon to look at the shape of his head, and the eye doctor, he's doctor free for a month! Unless his ear infection doesn't clear up. (Which 3 medications have yet been able to get rid of it so far).  We're looking forward to taking Liam back home to see family and enjoy a week of his first summer!

He is 22lbs and 30 inches tall. With four teeth and a gorgeous smile!!

I can't believe he's going to be eleven months old soon. My heart is swelling with joy for this little boy! Tonight, I worked on his birthday invitations and I am excited!!! His first birthday is going to be a hard and long day for us, but the biggest milestone for all three of us!

10 Months Old!

 Liam is ten months old. Seriously! Ten months! That is 305 days, 7,320 hours, 439,200 minutes. I am grateful for every second he has been alive, and am even more astounding by the growth he has experienced in just ten short months.

He waves hello and goodbye, he knows the signs for "all done" and "more'. He loves to dance and clap his hands, and play with his toys. His has an obsession with paper, he likes the way it rips into tiny pieces, and his favorite new menace is to play with the water cooler and splash in the puddles he makes. (We did put a gate up but he still manages to get it somehow).

And get this, a day before he turned ten month's old, he started walking! He's still a bit wobbly and all that, but he can take about 10 steps without falling! He still looks a little drunk though when he walks, but it's a cute kind of drunk!

He weighs 22lbs and seven ounces, and is 30 inches tall, a full 12 lbs heavier and 8 inches taller than he was at birth. He continues to be the light to our lives! And we are elated with how well his development goes. He will though, be returning back to his therapies because of weakness we are seeing. Regardless of it he still does his everyday thing.

I'll upload pictures once I can find my darn cord!!