Wednesday, January 9, 2013

He Likes What He HEARS!!!

I cannot believe that I failed to mention this wonderful and very exciting accomplishment. Getting Dallas to wear and to keep his cochlear devices ON, has been a challenge.  It has been a group effort and it has not been easy, but all the work has paid off.  For a solid year, there were days I would put his cochlears back on at least 100 times.  I would pull over while driving to put them back on.  Dallas pulled them off from Day 1 and our efforts were relentless to keep them on.  Many of you remember the goofy hats he wore all the time.....my eyes water as I write this because it is so wonderful to see Dallas enjoying what the cochlears do for him; allow him to hear. :)  The proof is in the video!  See for yourself.

Yeah Dallas, and a pat on the back to all who helped in the effort to make this happen! (A little side note for those who are unfamiliar with how the devices work...once the round magnetic piece is off his head, he hears nothing.)

http://youtu.be/q2R31p9mG-c

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

A very busy holiday season has come to an end!  We all made it through Christmas and the New Year without getting sick, so that in itself was wonderful.  Dallas participated a little more this year in the gift opening, so that was a lot of fun to see.

His personality gets bigger by the day.  Most of which is a good thing, except for when he gets mad because we are not understanding what he wants.  I have dreaded this since he was born, knowing that communication would be our biggest challenge.  He often gets to the point where he doesn't understand enough sign to tell us what he wants and also can't get any words out.  We are working hard to decipher which behaviors are typical of any 2-year old and which are happening due to a communication gap.  It's a balancing act and together with Dallas's school team, private therapists, and intervener, we seem to be keeping our heads above water.  My goal is to limit the amount of time that Dallas spends frustrated or confused.

His mobility has stayed mostly the same, but both school and private PT are seeing improvement in core strength.  This will help him stand and walk independently someday, so we just continue to work on building towards that end goal.

Dallas has had a great first half of the school year.  He really enjoys going there and his teachers continue to send us positive feedback.

As for his new brother, he has yet to really pay any attention to him.  He has crawled over to him and placed the nuk is his mouth though!!!  So, we know that Dallas knows Dawson exists!


In action, his new thing is to spin himself around on the carpet

Grabbed this hat and put it on!  Looks good bud!


Is that a smile??!!

Loves, Loves the iPad

Proud Big Sister

Favorite Christmas Present - Rock n' Roll Mickey!