Fred is a pseudonym, not his real name. Fred lives in China, and is available for adoption. His hands look similar to Katie's hands, and his toes are a little different, too. That's it. Otherwise, he's a healthy, normal, funny, talented little boy.
I dare you to watch this video of him singing and DANCING and not grin.
Wouldn't this boy make a lovely addition to someone's family? Could it be yours?
Fred was born in 2008, and if you would like to view his file, please join our agency's Waiting Child Yahoo Group. His file is listed in the files section of the group, along with 2 additional videos, and some baby pictures of him.
If you only click one thing today, make it be the video instead of our TMB button. You really do need to see how cute Fred is in person. But if you've already clicked the video, feel free to click here, too. Thanks!
We had a neighborhood "thing" here the other night. Fire apparatus, police vehicles, food, discussion of neighborhood issues... Honestly, I don't think we'd have gone if it wasn't literally right outside our door. But we wandered across the street and I took some pictures.
Looking at the pictures later, I realized something.
(2001? 2002?)
I have
a whole bunch
2004
of pictures of cute kids
on or in front of fire vehicles. It's like a family theme or something.
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1) I totally forgot to mention that the neurologist's office called to tell me some of Luke's bloodwork came back funky. His something-something-something level was off, which can affect his heart and liver. So they're sending the info to his PCP, who should contact me. I predict additional testing of some sort. Yippee.
2) Mean Mama found a way to enforce Tummy Time. This special Boppy Tummy Time Pillow I got him for his birthday keeps him from instantly flipping back onto his back. He hates it most of the time. Isn't that the way with us, when something is good for us?? Maybe that's just me...
3) Is she not stinkin' adorable?? Brianna got her to fake sleep for this picture.
See? Awake and feisty. She adores "BeeYana" and she and Hannah are starting to play together more, too.
4) Seriously? I walked into the playroom and burst out laughing. No one 'fessed up to putting the poodle skirt from the dress up bucket on Luke. I love having toddlers and teenagers.
5) Katie's cast doesn't slow her down any. I found her up on the chair, cooking away at the play kitchen. I have a feeling she's going to be able to wear this Chez Ami/Patsy Aiken Designs, Inc swing top next summer, too. She's a pretty tiny little thing!
Okay, so you know how cool the Little Passports program is, right? After all, we used them in our homeschool last year, and I was forever talking about what we got in our packages for each country.
In fact, I loved them so much, I became an affiliate for them. So when you click through a banner here on my site and order from Little Passports, I get a tiny kickback from them.
When I got an email this morning telling me about the back to school stuff they are currently offering, I knew I had to share it with you.
Click on the School Supplies bar at the top of the LP landing page. Aren't they cute? I love the idea of writing notes on the chalkboard inside the lunch box. --Of course that would be for those Good Moms. You know, the ones who never ever say things like, "Yikes, you're leaving for school in 3 minutes and I haven't packed your lunch yet!" Not that I did that this morning or anything. Nope. Not me. :whistling: Don't know what you're talking about. Hey, she took a lunch to school, and that's what counts, right?
That, my friends who have NOT seen an autopsy, is a Stryker saw. The first time they hacked into Katie's cast with that thing, I was sure we were seconds away from an arterial spurt. I still don't know what kind of magic makes it cut through fiberglass and plaster and not slice up my kid.
Here's Luke, checking out the stuff in Mr Rick's room upstairs. Mr Rick has been Hannah's prosthetist for 2+ years, and now we get to work with him for Katie, too. We went up to see him prior to cast change so we could try on the new socket he made for Katie's other leg.
Katie was so thrilled to be there. Not.
Back downstairs. There's that saw again.
This is a video of Katie's cast being cut off. My videographer is 11, so there is a bit of a shake to it at times, but it's interesting if you've never seen it done.
There's also a much longer vid of the new cast being put on, but I need to edit out a couple spots, and I'm not sure anyone would be interested in what is essentially a lot of wrapping, and a bit of crying as the PA and cast tech push her foot into position through the wet plaster of the under-cast.
After the new purple cast went on, we went back upstairs to try on the socket with a foot attached.
Mr Rick is going to talk to the doc and see if they can do a weight bearing cast the time after next so she can start "playing" with the idea of walking.
We see her hand surgeon next Thursday and her foot surgeon on Friday. We should get some answers and direction with those two visits. In a perfect world, the two docs would coordinate, and we'd have both surgeries on the same day. We'll see how it all shakes down, though.
Mr Rick said her prosthetic should be ready the week after those appointments. This is vastly different from Hannah's situation, where we had to wait and wait after her surgery for everything to heal up before they could make the mold for her prosthetic. (Surgery in February, new leg in June.) Katie's leg will be ready and waiting when she comes out of her last cast, thank you, God!
And that's what cast change day is like. For us, anyway.
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I feel like someone handed me a tangled mess of yarn, ribbons, and string and said, "This is a fabulous work of art, some assembly required. Oh, and there's no directions, sorry 'bout that."
I took Luke here for a speech evaluation. Actually, I thought we were going to get more of a general eval, and some help with feeding therapy, but "there's no physician referral for feeding assessment or feeding therapy in the system." Sigh.
Paul may not appreciate it, but I'm thinking I've figured out why God made me so stubborn and forceful. I absolutely could not navigate this labyrinth system of "help" without an iron backbone. I honestly wonder how parents with mental or financial challenges get their special kids the services they need.
So Luke had a speech assessment.
This is the therapist trying to get him to look at the pictures she's holding. Yeah, not so much.
Luke's scores ranged from the 0-3 month level to the 12 month level. She said his abilities were "splintered" meaning that he didn't master all of the things on the 0-3 month level, but he could do some things on the 3-9 month level and even a couple of the 12 month milestones.
The therapist is going to make a recommendation for a feeding assessment in her report, which I should get a copy of in about 2 weeks. (Hmm, I've heard that before. We should be getting the report from MIND Institute soon, shouldn't we?)
The therapist feels that the key to unlocking Luke's speech (of which there is none) is "getting into his mouth." Babies normally explore their world with their mouth. Luke doesn't put anything into his mouth except his hands. So we're going to try a Mesh Feeder and see what he thinks of that.
She said he'll probably benefit from one of these: Z-Vibe Oral Stimulator but not to buy one until he's actually IN therapy. Also, she disagreed with the MIND Institute's assertion that he does NOT have sensory issues. She feels the tapping things with the back of his fingertips IS a sensory thing.
I have a feeling this won't be the last time professionals disagree about what's best for him. In fact, I've been hoping that we get an actual diagnosis for him, but I've come to realize we may end up with PDD-NOS, the "catch all" dx for, "Yup, there's something not right, but hanged if we know what it is."
Luke's next evaluation (a joint endeavor with Alta Regional and SCOE) is next week. Can't wait to hear what they have to say.
If you only click one thing today, make it be the video instead of our TMB button. You really do need to see how cute Fred is in person. But if you've already clicked the video, feel free to click here, too. Thanks!
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I got him for his birthday keeps him from instantly flipping back onto his back. He hates it most of the time. Isn't that the way with us, when something is good for us?? Maybe that's just me...
and see what he thinks of that. 
but not to buy one until he's actually IN therapy. Also, she disagreed with the MIND Institute's assertion that he does NOT have sensory issues. She feels the tapping things with the back of his fingertips IS a sensory thing. 
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