Bye, Bye Bottle

Two weeks ago we woke up and decided no more bottle for Aaron. We've tried the sippy cup before but he absolutely refused to take it. This day was different; we were determined. When Aaron woke up, it was the first thing we offered him. This was something we hadn't done before. We usually would try it in the middle of the day and at that point he had already had his mouth on a bottle. But, this worked like a charm and he hasn't looked back since. We are still working on getting him to hold the handles but that'll come with time.

All table foods. No more bottles. Our little boy is growing up!

SAHD

About a month and a half ago, Clayton decided to start staying home with Aaron. Since he accumulated all the hours he needed to get his electrical license, he wasn't as eager to be driving over an hour each way to work everyday.

Clayton being a stay at home dad was one of the best decisions we've made for Aaron. Although he's been sleeping through the night since last September, he never had a predictable bedtime or feeding routine. He was always thrown off when we would pick him up from my parents' house and bring him home. He'd just want to hang out with us since he wasn't with us all day. Now, he was in the same environment all day and could just focus on a routine. Within a few days, he was consistently sleeping and waking up at the same time. Even if we were out of the house (at dinner, a weekend trip to NJ, etc), he'd still stick to his schedule. And, there were so many improvements in his therapy. He no longer had to fight wanting to play with his cousins during therapy at my parents' house. He was home and all was quite. Aaron could focus and he did!

Clayton also took the time to start some home projects. He installed an over the stove microwave/hood (we had a regular hood and counter microwave which took up too much room). In addition, he painted a wall in Aaron's room chalkboard black (for vision therapy) and hid all the wires from the wall mounted TV to the wii/dvd player/satellite receiver/stereo system behind the wall so it's all neat. Clayton also got a gym membership and started taking Aaron to the pool 2-3 times a week. Most importantly, he passed his licensing exam and officially became a licensed electrician!

Clayton stayed home up until last week when he got a call for a job 5-10 minutes away. It's a company that does residential solar installation. Clayton's never done residential professionally or solar installation so he couldn't pass it up. Besides, this was the shortest commute he's ever had. So, now I'm staying home with Aaron for a bit while I find something closer. God will work something out, he always does.

Ready to Ride

Look out, Lance Armstrong!

Cerebral Palsy

Aaron was diagnosed with CP back in June. This was by far one of the hardest appointments we've ever had. The diagnosis itself wasn't completely unexpected yet it was so overwhelming to hear. There was something about those words coming from a doctors mouth that was so foreboding.

The day was exhausting, too. We had two doctors appointments a couple hours apart so I pretty spent the whole time between them crying in the car and texting family to let them know the latest news. No one, including me, really know what to say. And, what was said didn't seem to be helping. Clayton didn't even go to work that day. We just hung out as a family.

I don't remember praying as passionately as I did that night since the day Aaron was born. I needed help and motivation to feel like I could get through life. I don't even remember falling asleep but I did.

The next morning, Aaron was up before I was. When I went to get him from his room, he was laying there playing and he smiled right up at me when I appeared at his crib. Nothing was different than every other morning he woke up. He ate the same, laughed the same, slept the same. Nothing was different. His diagnosis from the day before lost all meaning. It was just a label. A way for the doctors to put him in a category they could understand and treat. For me, it is something more localized to pray about.

Since then, and as always, Aaron continues to get better and stronger every day. He is able to sit up by himself for very long periods of time. Usually he just topples over when he is laughing too much from playing! His left hand and lower half have been feeling more and more relaxed. And he has almost completely switched over to chunky, crunchy, tasty table food (he's even been crying for actual food when you try to give him a bottle or just pureed baby food). And we can only thank God for these huge advances that he's made in such a short amount of time.