Watch me walk

We've had a couple of good days (and a couple of bad ones mixed in, but I'll start with the good ones).

We met with Dr. Arnold for Michael's eyes and he said that his eyes are "excellent" under the circumstances.   He explained it with an analogy he's used many times:  for most people, holding our eyes center isn't something we even have to think about, our brain just does it.  For Michael -  after his second brain surgery - it's like asking him to carry a 35 pound backpack, an impossibility for a baby.  The eye surgery couldn't take the backpack off, but it could make the backpack a 2 pound backpack instead of 35, something that he can do.  Hence after the surgery his eyes are so much better.  But when Michael is sick or tired or just doesn't want to carry that 2 pound backpack, his eyes (particularly his right) will drift in a bit.  That's normal. His vision is great under the circumstances - he can see distances and detail so much better.  And we will be following those eyes closely to see if anything else can be done in the future to help.

He's army crawling around the house and has a huge fascination for going up and down stairs (which we have to help him with, of course).  Since his eyes have improved, he's throwing a fit if he sees someone eating something that he's not eating.  I can't tell you how happy it makes me to see him throw a fit over something like that!

 Also, he got new "magic boots" or leg braces (called AFO's for ankle foot orthosis).  These ones are red instead of blue with bears on them and hinge at the ankle so they feel more natural to walk in.  No more feeling like he was trying to walk in ski-boots with the old ones.  We call them "magic boots" because what he is capable of doing physically is astounding when he has them on.  Since putting his new ones on, he has been lifting up his legs and walking!  It's been amazing.

For some reason he thinks Honey Nut Cheerios are the best treat during his therapy sessions.

Here I go!

Now I'm steppin' with style.

We have funny exchanges with people in public sometimes:

Nice lady:  "Oh, that little guy of yours looks SOOO tired!  I had two kids of my own and I know that look when their eyes and face droop and they just want to nod off."
Us:  "Actually, he looks like this all of the time."
Nice lady:  ".....!"
(we usually explain why)

We haven't been sure if Michael will ever be able to walk on his own and still aren't sure.  But while waiting for our eye doctor appointment, Michael wanted to walk around the waiting room even without his "magic boots" on.  While taking him around I was just about in tears watching this amazing miracle happen, when a nice elderly couple said, "Are you sure you want him to learn to walk so young??"  I replied, "Well, he's almost 19 months old and has had brain cancer for the past year.  Watching him pick up his legs and try to walk today is truly a miracle for this kid." 

Later a new tech took us back to the exam room for Michael's eye appointment.  She wrote down my concerns and then got out a light to check his eyes - I thought to check for range of motion.  But after several seconds she says:
Tech:  "Buddy, come on, aren't you going to blink at this light?"
Me:  "He actually can't blink"
Tech:  "What?!  What do you mean he can't blink?" (waving the light in his eyes)
Me:  "He can't blink.  He can't use his facial muscles and can't blink or smile" (what I wanted to say was "Stop!  You are hurting him!  Put that thing away!")
Tech:  (she quickly puts away the light and leaves the room)

Tim and another mom are watching Sarah's basketball game, while Michael and the other little baby are both practicing standing and interacting with each other.  The other baby was probably 5 or 6 months old.
Mom (to her little baby):  "Look, you have a friend!  What a cute little baby."  (to Tim) "How old is he?"
Tim:  "18 months"
Mom:  (gets an alarmed look on her face and quickly moves away before Tim can explain)

It gives me and Tim a good chuckle when things like this happen. 

Other more "normal" random things going on around here:

A few nights ago a horrible burning smell started coming from our dishwasher.  It took a couple more nights of running it and our house being filled with nasty smoke to discover that the wiring was melting inside of it!!  We are so lucky it didn't catch fire (found out that it's been a problem with our model!).  So we got the awesomeness of buying a new dishwasher although we won't have it up and running for at least another week.  It's been a great opportunity to teach the kids how to hand-wash dishes, a lost skill if you ask me.

Spencer has a totally horrible infected toe.  He's on anti-biotics now and we get to wrap that baby up twice a day.  He's had to be a pretty brave kid for awhile and we will find out in two weeks if he'll need some more minor work on it.  (last year it was healing those darn scabs on his face, this year it's the toe).  He spends his days riding his green bike around and around and around the house.

He also thinks he has to insert his play keys into his bike so it will go

Whitney has already decided her Valentine this year will be dad.  She made him a big fancy Valentine and gave it to him last week.  She's also counting down the days to her half-birthday.  For some reason, this is a super big deal to a 5-year-old.  It probably helps Tim in her book that they share the same half-birthday.  She's been struggling with fatigue and concentration issues for quite sometime.  After wondering if she was just becoming lazy, we are now looking into medical causes and have a couple of strategies in place we are giving a try.

Sarah thinks she's got a half-crush on a boy and made him a very fancy Valentine the other day too.  She wanted to give it to him in secret, but realized she couldn't, so she just gave it to him.  Thankfully, he was pleased, so the world is still turning for her.

We also are cracking down on routines, responsibilities, and asking the kids to step up around here.  We've had way too much whining, screaming, and fit-throwing when we ask them to do the simplest of things and we are far overdue for some changes around here.  Tim and I are crossing our fingers that our new charts and rewards will work for a long season instead of a brief one.

Tim still remains the ever popular parent around here.

Just TWO days and we discover if we're having a boy or a girl.  Stay tuned...