Special Needs Kid

This is me and Michael today.

The girls are at school and Spencer is sitting next to us finishing up a game on the Nabi.  It's a snowy April day.  I love the snow, even in April.

Yesterday, Michael astounded us by spending most of the day crawling with his arms extended.  For Michael this is nothing short of extraordinary.  We wonder and hope that maybe one day he will walk.

He's able to stand stable for longer periods of time, long enough for me to snap a picture of the boys waving goodbye to daddy in the front window, our daily morning ritual.

We enjoyed a weekend of General Conference for our church.  We set up a "tent" for the kids and had all sorts of games, activities and treats while we watched the beautiful inspirational messages from the worldwide broadcast on television.  Our kids love this weekend and are always disappointed in only comes every 6 months.

Mikey found a balloon to bounce around and play with

The kids having a relaxing morning

Although Michael is making progress, his needs are still sky-high and each day presents numerous challenges.  He is still on anti-nausea medicine everyday and even with that will vomit every once in a while, like last night at dinner.  He eats poorly and we have to spoon feed him at least a couple of times a day to make sure he gets adequate calories and nutrition.  Several times a day he becomes exhausted or doesn't feel well and needs to rest in our arms.  He is prone to accidents and falls, especially as his interest in things around him increases.  We have to keep a hawk's eye on that little guy.  And as I mentioned last post, communicating with him is very difficult.  His physical challenges make it seem like he is a special-needs 12-month-old, rather than a 21-month-old.  Nevertheless, despite it all, we feel so blessed everyday we have with him.