You know those days?

The ones when you feel really really good about your early intervention sessions? They don't always happen. At least for us, they don't. But today we found success and oh, how I LOVE those days!

Today we started out with physical therapy and wouldn't you know that our PT had Dylan vertical?!!



It felt so odd seeing him upright like that, as I am completely used to seeing him swiffering around the house. Seeing him standing like this...



...it brought tears to my eyes, it really did.



I understand that it may take some time before the little guy is able to do this independently, but oh how I LOVE to see progress!!

Then this afternoon: OT. I'm not quite sure I can express how conflicted I often feel about Dylan's feeding. Some days he does well, most days he does not. Today? It was a good day. A very good day.



His OT guided him with self feeding. Self feeding?!! Seriously?



Guided standing and guided self-feeding in one day.

It all makes me feel exactly like this:



You GO Dylan! I am so very proud of YOU.

A Little Boy...

and his Daddy. And his Daddy's hat.







Hiya Ma!



That's enough for me. Your turn now Daddy.

This...

...is spring in our back yard:



Enjoying the weather at 4:30 on a Wednesday evening.



The slide and swings, bubbles, long grass, the sandbox, sandals, dandelions...



Delicious fresh air. Ahhhh, we LOVE it!

Advocating for Adoption

Shortly after Dylan was born, I unsuspectingly came across Reece's Rainbow. Reece's Rainbow is an international orphan adoption ministry. Oh, I used to peek at it every now and then and wonder...

Time continued on and as things in our own lives began settling down, I became even more interested in visiting the site. Recently, I have also begun following others' journeys who have chosen this adoption path. Some are just beginning the process and others are in Eastern Europe right now bringing their Little Ones home.

Dylan's friends Joaquin and Bridget will soon be welcoming their newest sisters home. You may follow their journeys at Saving Sofia and Loving Alina. I have also discovered a blog called No Greater Joy Mom. I do not know Adeye, the woman who writes this blog, but I have found her story extremely...powerful. Take a look...

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While scrolling through the cuties on Reece's Rainbow one day, I came across Sergey. He immediately caught my attention because he looks like he could be Dylan's twin brother!! The other day I was looking at the site again and Cassidy caught sight of Sergey and said, "Hey! That looks like Dylie!".

I emailed Andrea and asked if I could be an advocate for Sergey. She said of course, so here I go. I'm not exactly sure what I can do to help this sweet boy, but my hope is that by getting his little face out there, someone may feel inspired to donate to his adoption or possibly even feel pulled to bring him home.

It's imperative that he is brought home. You see, orphans with a disability in Eastern Europe are transferred to mental institutions shortly after their third birthday. They are tied to their cribs and left to die. It's horrific. It's their reality.

We need to help, in any way that we can.

On Adeye's blog the other day, I read, "Every child deserves the loving arms of a mommy to hold them tight..."

"Every single child.".


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PT Stuff

Dylan is now sportin' some SMOs. Yep he is.


Pretty cool, eh?

Originally I wasn't sure whether or not we should get orthotics at all(as I had written about in this post), but after meeting with our orthopedist as well as our orthotist, and then talking a bit more about it with our PT, we have decided to give them a try. I know that Dylan is motivated to pull to stand, but still lacks the strength to do so. Hopefully, his SMOs will give him a little bit of extra stability and strength...we shall see.




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Recently, to his delight, Dylan's PT has begun bringing a scooter with her to our visits. It is hard work for him (especially when he is on his belly), but he totally loves it!

Here he is telling her to "GO!"!!



Weeee!



Oh...you know that Cassidy could not refuse some of the scooter action!



We LOVE our PT so much!!

Show me a sign.

Here are some of the signs that we've been working on lately with Dylan:



He is totally into it! And to be perfectly honest, we've learned all of these signs from watching the Baby Signing Times dvds. We are up to volume 4 now and just love them!!

Hm, I wonder if Rachel is looking for new faces for possible upcoming dvds...? : )


And this face?



Oh, I could NOT pass up an opportunity to show off "The Funny Face"!

And then you see it.

Time travels on so quickly, I feel like. And as it passes, I sometimes wonder whether or not I can see progress with Dylan. It's not that I am specifically looking for it or anything (ok, sometimes I am), but I guess it's more that usually I don't notice much difference on a daily basis. And I suppose when you are asked each week by Early Intervention what he is doing "new", you are frequently forced to think...and wonder. Progress...?



But something is happening, it must be.



All along, it must have been happening. Even when I could not see it, progress was being made. Little tiny bits of it, every single day.

Because recently, I can see it very clearly. A change. I can't quite put my finger on what exactly has occurred to trigger this sudden observation, though.

He seems older to me now. More mature. He's more aware and interactive, I think. His personality is totally beginning to blossom and his opinion is certainly being shared, and quite loudly, too.

Eh, maybe it's the hair cut, after all, I was fair warned by the hair dresser that he would no longer look like a baby after she buzzed it. Or maybe it's the fact that he is becoming more mobile. He tries to climb on me now when I sit next to him on the floor and is now an old pro at getting into and out of the sitting position. He doesn't just sit anymore. Maybe it's that he is beginning to sign now as a means of communicating with us. He does not hold back in letting us know what he wants - to play ball, read a book, drink his milk, eat, go outside...



Maybe the pieces are beginning to fit together. Maybe the progress is significant enough for me to see now.

Or maybe I just wasn't paying enough attention before to notice the small gains.



Progress, growth, strength, understanding.



My guess is that there are little bits and pieces working and coming together every single day, whether we can see them or not, they are there.

To know that and accept it is important, I think.

But when it does come together and we do see it...it's so amazing.

Another Ordinary Moment

It's funny. As times continues on, I find that I've been struggling a bit with what to write about here.

In the beginning, it wasn't like this. Oh, I used to easily pop out post upon post with various concerns, questions, uncertainties, struggles, fears.

But now. I don't know. More and more, day by day, minute by minute, our lives are filling up with ordinary moments.


Moments that I wonder whether or not are significant enough - or blog-worthy enough to post.


But they are! To me, they are!


They are because these ordinary moments are what make up our life, now. And within each ordinary moment is...something. Beauty, love, meaning, growth, purpose.

And that is significant. Sure, it may not be the most exciting thing in the world to read about Dylan's newest sign or what Cassidy said the other day, but it's our life.

And sometimes it's ordinary.

And I love it.

It was time.

Oh yes, it was time.

Er, maybe it was loooong past time...

Voila!

Little

Stud

Muffin!


If I do say so myself.