change is good. right?

change is good. change is good. change is good.
I think if I keep repeating that, it will mean it will all turn out the way we need it to. I am hopeful.
But still, so much change at once is a big leap from our comfort zone.

Our comfort zone has consisted of 3-4 therapy sessions a week at children's therapy center. It sometimes meant traveling 40+ minutes for 30 minutes of therapy. It meant he was getting the best care and we continued to see big improvements. But with that it meant we had to sacrifice our time as a family in the evenings. To rush to get him from daycare to get him to therapy in time. To then rush home get dinner and ready for bed. It has been a crazy balance but we know for the last 4 years it has been the best we can provide for Owen.

A new medical building has opened within a mile and a half from our house. Jason happened to be scheduled to "work" there one week. He took a look at the clinic list and saw they had a pediatric therapy center in the building. A month ago I was trying to figure out how to get Owen's school schedule to match his therapy schedule. It was going to a pretty tight week to make it work. I called the new clinic to find out what their schedule looked like. They had 0 openings but were taking names for their waiting list. They asked what services we needed. I laughed and said all. They chuckled back. I was not optimistic that they would have any openings that would fit within our needed times. So I was just prepared to make the situation we are in work.

And then I received a call today. A call that made my head spin with the change that would ensue. The new clinic "capable kids" has an opening. And they can fit our needs into 1 days worth of sessions. I have already toured their facility. It is amazing. It is new. It has the best opportunities for us to watch Owen's sessions. My biggest concern now is will the therapists be able to meet our expectations. They have some really high standards to live up. I had to make a decision today or his spot would have been gone.

In less than a week and a half Owen will be in a new school for a full day and he will have a whole new set of therapists helping guide him, support him and strengthen him.

Next week is going to be a rough week as we say goodbye. Goodbye to our second home for the last 4 years. It isn't just an adjustment for Owen. It will be an adjustment for all of us. Owen's ST, OT and PT therapists have not just been helping Owen, they have also helped us as a family. Always there to brainstorm ideas. Always there to talk through behavior challenges and give recommendations. There to recognize Olivia's big accomplishments and be supportive of family that has a dad that travels frequently. It goes beyond a medical clinic to a family. A family we are going to miss big time. They have promised they will still be a part of our lives, and I promise them I am going to hold them to it!
Rachel, Christine, Ruth & Anne, thank you for all that you have done for us. Thank you for loving Owen and helping him be the best he can be.

A blurry line

Therapeutic activity. Recreational activity.

When you have a child with special needs you pay attention to activities differently. You even think of toys differently. It isn't just about what they play but how they play and what they are learning from it. I guess since Owen was our first, it is ingrained in the way we think.
So it is strange for us to enroll the kids in things that are meant purely for recreation. Like dance, T-ball,  swimming and gymnastics. Most parents sign up their kids because their child has an interest in the activity. We pick things that help them grow. To help them learn.
It feels a little backwards sometimes and maybe we aren't giving Owen enough "fun" things. But today I was proven wrong. Even though I may not be looking at it as fun, he always makes everything he does fun.

He had training day 2 of gymnastics today. His first day he was hesitant. He was distracted and had to be reminded over and over what activity they were focusing on. One week later and it was a whole new experience. He saw his coach arrive and started jumping up and down. Looked at me and waved goodbye and away he went. He followed her EVERY direction. He payed close attention to each activity.
I sat behind the half wall watching him work. And I caught myself a few times with tears in my eyes. I was so proud of how he was doing. He was jumping like the coach. He was tumbling like the coach was asking him to. He was going from station to station without a fight.
There are so many times that I watch him struggle with things because they are hard for him, because he is tired, because he just doesn't understand. But today it was easy. Today it was like he had been there for years and had been practicing.
You never know when a tuesday gymnastics session can remind you how lucky we are to have Owen. A reminder of what is important. A reminder that there will be things in his life that will be easy, we just have to be patient and find what that will be.

What do you do for fun?

We go to local fairs.

For the food. Yay POUTINE!

For the animals. For the rides. For the pure enjoyment of spending the day together.

Jason & Auntie Erin spent Thursday at the Carver county fair last week. I was pretty jealous to miss out on the fun but some people have to work ;)

We wrap up our baseball season with a picnic with our friends.

Each child received a medal/trophy. Owen LOVES it. And I LOVE this league.

(that is Owen's coach in the picture)

We go to the ZOOOOOO.

Como zoo is fantastic. The animals they have are quite a variety and it is nice that it is so different from the MN Zoo. It has taken a few years but both kids are really enjoying the zoos now. Owen likes to watch the animals. Olivia likes to say hi to them. This time their favorite was the Buffalo. I know weird.
We also spent quite a bit of time with the "reindeer" as Owen tried to look for Christmas (aka. Santa).

We go to Como Town.

Rides. Rides. Rides. My kids are ride junkies. They managed a new one all on their own this time. Tea cups. Anyone else notice the therapy Owen is getting out of this ride? Upper body strengthening!

Some not so fun happenings....and thankfully no pictures to go along with it.
Olivia had a terrible virus on Friday night and Saturday. She was throwing up for over 5 hours and finally got a break around 2am with some relief. I have never seen her sick like that. But she handled it so well. She was brave and very understanding. Saturday morning she woke up with a 104 temp and spent the remainder of the day on the couch. Finally by Sunday she was doing better.
It is interesting how those experiences can teach new concepts. When she was laying on the couch, I asked her a few times if she needed anything. Her response were things that were very random. "my red scissors", "my Dora purse", "my hair cut". I don't think she understood why I was asking her. But now she keeps asking me if I need anything. So sweet.

end of an era. beginning a new.

Kindergarten has brought some unexpected challenges for our schedule. Since we chose a full day program, it means school starts in the morning and doesn't end until 4pm. So we can't fit in our Friday AM PT sessions with Rachel anymore. She felt confident that he is in a good place for the school year so for now we will be taking a break. I am afraid of trying to fit in too many activities after school. So since he still needs to keep his speech and OT after school 2 days a week, a 3rd day for PT just isn't in the cards.

Rachel has been working with Owen since before he could walk. She has a great way of working through his temperament, his stubbornness and his charm. I remember when we had been going to Gillette's the therapists there just didn't know the trick. They needed to keep Owen having fun or he would charm his way out of it and not get anything done.

Not many people get to see what PT for kids is like. So I brought my camera in for one of his recent sessions to share. You would be amazed to understand what each of these activities are actually doing for Owen. The best part is they are so much fun until he gets tired.

This is a really hard one for Owen. Standing on one leg before stepping on the launcher. I may have to invest in something like this at home so we can keep practicing.

Rachel - You got my little man to walk. You have made him stronger. You have put up with many of his fits with Love. You are and always will be part of our family. Thanks for all you have done.

*****

We will never be able to replace private PT. But we are still looking for ways to improve on strength and endurance. We have decided on gymnastics...

I have done my research. We toured different places to see which environment and which coaches we thought would be a good fit. They also had to fit into our weekend schedule and within a good driving distance. A lot of qualifactions to pass for sure!

It is stressful making these decisions. I know we can leave at anytime but the investment of time and energy to find the right fit is what makes it hard. Tonight I am relieved to say that I am soooo happy with what we picked.

We opted to do some private sessions for Owen to get him acclimated with the concepts and enviornment. The coach was FANTASTIC. She has expereince working with another child with DS. So she knew perfectly how to handle him and she did it all in stride. These things make my heart swell to meet people like this. I wanted to hug her after she worked just 30 minutes with him. But held back because I don't want to scare her off ;)

The best part for our family, Olivia will also be joining Owen in the gym so she will finally get to come from behind the window of watching Owen play and get to do her own playing.

If anyone south of the river is looking for a SN program. They said they would offer one if they had enough interest. It is the IGM in burnsville, let me know!

The joys of summer

Summer is almost over and we have been soaking up every minute of it. Even with the oppressive heat. We still manage to make great use of each weekend.

A weekend visit from Grandma Peggy and Grandpa PJ was full of all sorts of fun.

Water fights, deck dance parties and cousins galore.

At first glance of PJ, you would not expect him to have the skills to re-attach a fairy wing.

My garden has been meeting my expectations this year. We had a few slugs try to come attack but a glass full of beer in the ground and it did the trick.

Our first tomato of the season!

Family time galore.

Sweet Stella was baptized and the cousins were very patient for the ceremony.

A few trips to the movie theater for Cars 2 and Winnie the Pooh.  

A seasoned spectator of baseball.

Is it me or does she look so grown up here?

Play dates with buddies.

Princess (and a few princes) birthday parties



Along with all the planned activities we are also trying to prepare for the fall and all the new adventures it will bring. We are hopeful the adjustments to new routines will be easy. And the choices we make are the right ones. Owen will take a break from private physical therapy so we have been searching for ways to keep working on endurance and gross motor development. Olivia is ready for school even if she isn't old enough for our school systems program so she decided to enroll her in a Montessori preschool for one day a week.

Before the new routines begin we still have some fun up our sleeves to surprise the kids.

MVP

The most valuable players on this team are all of them. We wrapped up our regular season last weekend with another tie game. Always a tie. This week instead of having one of the other little league teams from Lakeville Baseball be the buddies, the kids got the chance to play with the real Elko Express team.

They interacted so well with the kids. One of my favorite parts about this league is seeing this kind of impact.

I remember the first few days after we brought Owen home from the hospital, I was folding his onsies and putting them in his dresser. I got to the ones that said Future Quarterback, MVP, All Star...And it made me cry. I didn't think Owen would ever get a chance to be those things. It made me sad thinking about the future of what opportunities he wouldn't have. I just wish I could go back and tell myself about all the opportunities he would have. And how much more proud we would be of these little moments.

The moments of him stepping up to the plate on his own to swing at the ball.

The moments of him running across home plate. And seeing his buddy cheer him on.

The moments of making great friendships.

The moments of seeing him touch people's hearts that would have least expected it.

It isn't just about baseball. It is about the moments. The opportunities. The growth we have seen in just a few weeks. He will always be our MVP.

Beating the Heat

This weather has led us to two options. Stay inside or Find a Pool.

And like everything when we have a pool. It also means GREAT physical therapy. From climbing the ladder to get to the diving board to treading water kicking legs.

I am just thankful Owen has no idea how hard he is working!

It is even more fun when cousins are there too!

And this little monster is my little princess turned fish.

 In just a few swims she is now on her own. paddling back and forth in the pool.

SOMEONE is ready for swim lessons!!!