Random Thoughts

Tomorrow is the first day of April and yesterday we had 3 inches of fresh snow fall. While I realize I live in Ohio, this year I am so ready for spring. And so is Gabriel!

Gabe was accepted into an intensive therapy program. Constraint Induced Movement Therapy starts Monday! It's 3 hours a day, 5 days a week for 3 weeks. We're excited, nervous and hopeful all at once. Gabe has no idea what's coming.

As Matt and I were discussing our 10 year high school reunions tonight, he felt compelled to mention that we're getting awfully close to 30. And while I am finally getting over my aversion to getting older, I'm not quite there yet. I think it has more to do with the fact that I'm not quite who I want to be yet and that there are a few things I want to accomplish before I turn 30 more than the actual being 30.

Matt and I are both on the same page of not having any desire to go to our high school reunions... and I think that's just peachy!

The Bead for Life party was a complete success! I have one more person coming to check them out and then I'll be shipping them back. Shipping them back with a check for over $1200! Many thanks to all my friends and family that purchased jewelry (or soap!) to help women in Uganda escape poverty.

Parenting is the hardest job I've ever had. I haven't had many jobs, but I'm fairly certain it's ranks right up there with president of the United States. Having to make decisions, hopefully the right decisions, for someone else is a huge responsibility. Sometimes educating yourself and prayer doesn't seem like enough.

We hit our March Madness goal! Once the freebies make their way to my house we'll draw for winners. Will we go old fashioned and write every one's name on a slip of paper and draw winners or will we do the modern thing and try out random.org. We shall see!

And if you're on twitter, Patricia Heaton has pledged to donate $10,000 to Reece's Rainbow then their (RR) twitter page reaches 10,000 followers! They have 5,410 followers right now, so if you're on twitter please consider following! In case you didn't know; Patricia Heaton plays Deborah on Everyone Loves Raymond (one of Matt's favorite shows).

Gabe knows where his nose is, and he also knows how to pick his nose. It must be a boy thing! And as you can see, Gabe's working on his balance and standing now!

Pleased as punch

That's how I felt when Gabe and I left the Cleveland Clinic this afternoon!

Gabriel had his 4-month follow-up neurology appointment today and Dr. F is "very pleased with his progress" since his last appointment. Scheduling conflicts caused Gabe's appointments to be almost 5 months apart and I was amazed to see how far Gabe has come since his last appointment.

5 months ago, Gabriel was not sitting up unassisted, could not go from lying down to sitting up by himself and didn't recognize his left hand at all. Gabriel couldn't army crawl, clap or take steps. Today, Gabe can do all of those things and more. Because of his phenomenal therapists, hard work at home and the grace of God; Gabe is cognitively on target and continues to grow and learn each and every day.

Of course, Dr F is concerned about Gabriel's left arm and hand as the rest of us and provided us with a few ideas to think about to help Gabe in that area. It was just so amazing to hear Dr F comment on how well Gabe is doing, how pleased he is with his progress and his expectations for Gabe. Expectations that Gabe can only achieve through lots and lots of hard work, but that he will be able to accomplish. Things like walking, using his left arm to provide him balance to stand and his left hand to assist him in day to day tasks.

Believe me, I'm not wearing rose colored glasses; I recognize the fact that Gabe has a lot of work to do before he can be considered developmentally on target. And truly, if Gabe were never to learn to walk, never use his left hand to hold open a door or jump and run like other children; that would be okay. We want Gabe to be all that he is meant to be, whatever that may be. But, to know that Gabe's doctor has great expectations for him is just plain old fantastic!

I'll admit, I was a bit worried before the appointment. Lately Gabe has begun to remember doctors offices and it's not something that he thinks of fondly. It usually takes a nurse getting to close or a doctor with a stethoscope for Gabe's bottom lip to pucker out and the sobbing to start. With all this behavior escalating (Gabe even hates when I sit on the exam table), my hopes were not high that Dr. F would get a good evaluation of him. Of course, I was worried for no reason at all and Gabe pulled out all the stops. After a few tears from hearing Dr. F tear the exam table paper, Gabe played bashful for a few minutes and then pulled out all the stops. Taking steps like a champ and saying "hi" "block" "mama" and "ball", Gabe showed Dr. F his stuff!

And I was one proud mama! Especially since Gabe said "mama" and he usually holds out on saying my favorite word!

Suffice it to say, when we left I was pleased as punch and Gabe, well he flirted with every lady we passed and then danced in his car seat the whole way home!

I thought these pictures of Gabe show just how far he's come; balancing and reaching to get his ball and clapping his hands.

I sure do love this little guy!

Inspired

On Wednesday, Gabriel and I headed west into Oberlin to have lunch with a very special person; his grandma S! After eating lunch and catching up on all things Gabe, we decided to check out a store that opened recently.

The store was called Inspired and it is a fair trade and eco-friendly store. Everything there, and I mean everything came from a fair trade organization and almost everything was eco-friendly, ie made from recycled or sustainable materials.

Gabe was gifted two very cool things.

This bib was made in Ghana and helps women work themselves and their family out of poverty. It's made from cotton and was dyed with, not dye, but berries. How cool is that?

(bad picture, but it reads "Toys with Integrity")

This cute little farm was hand-painted in Thailand using their renewable wood sources and non-toxic paint. It has 12 animals, a zoo entrance gate and 8 pieces of fence. And you can tell it's hand painted because of the little details and even a few smears :) Not mistakes, they give it character!

This store had the cutest fleece jacket that I now have my eye on and a wall hanging that would look great in our back room! And everything was fair trade. I love that there is a nifty place to shop where you know that the people behind the merchandise are making a living wage; enough to provide food and shelter for themselves and their family.

Good merchandise, good cause - I can't wait to go back!

The Small Things

At our house we celebrate the small things in life just as much as we celebrate the big things. Accomplishments like learning to open and close (and open and close) the refrigerator are embraced just as much as pulling up into a four point crawl position or using crayons. to make discreet marks. And milestones like being able to support and control the left side of your body to help you open the refrigerator garner just as much praise as standing without assistance.

If Gabriel has taught us anything (and, boy has he taught us a lot!), he's taught us that every day is a miracle and we should act accordingly! So today, we celebrate the milestone of being able to open the refrigerator door. And close the refrigerator door. And open the refrigerator door. And close... well you get the picture [SMILE].