Being Mom
Submitted by kim on Thu, 07/10/2014 - 18:48 in Lessons for Mom
One of the teen boys walked through the living room at eleven on his way to bed and stopped. "Where's your phone?" he asked, "You need to blog about this. You need a photo."
He grabbed my smart phone before I could protest. I cringed. Not a photo now, I thought. No make up. An old sweater. The shorts. (Dear Lord, no pictures in shorts!) The callous on my right ankle from sitting cross-legged on the floor for hours a day playing with a toddler. This mess around me.
A year ago I did not know this late night mess in my living room was part of being Nathaniel's mom.
Busy Tuesday and a Bit of Communication
Submitted by kim on Wed, 07/09/2014 - 13:03 in Nathaniel's Story
Yesterday was action packed. Nathaniel started the day with occupational therapy before breakfast. We painted! Since Nathaniel started walking he has not had much interest in fine motor activities. He just wants to walk. But he also loves going for walks and therefore loves his Kid Kart stroller. This week I have been adding fine motor activities into his day by using the Kid Kart and tray either before or after our morning walk. Painting went well. He started with the brush and then went to hands; very age appropriate. He had lots of smiles and paint everywhere.
Notice the blue foam around his g-button in the second photo. Nathaniel has grown and the g-button is exactly at the tray level. His g-button has been leaking lately so I am trying to protect it as much as possible. I not sure this system is going to work; he might just need to grow a little more and get his tummy above the tray. Apologies for the slightly blurring photos. Painting was a fast moving activity!
A Boom-Free Fourth
Submitted by kim on Fri, 07/04/2014 - 19:09 in Lessons for Mom, Nathaniel's Story
We woke up July 4th morning with no plans. All week we have been asking each other, "What are we going to do for the Fourth?" No one had an answer. Traditionally, our family enjoys going to a local municipality park that hosts a band and then fireworks. We sit close to both. We knew those plans would not work.
Although he has not received a formal diagnoses, Nathaniel appears to have some sensory processing difficulties. It has taken him months to get used to congregational singing at church and if we change were we sit, the new acoustics can send him into a panic. There is no way he could handle our annual front row Fourth outing. But a large red, white and blue clad crowd does offer the opportunity for exposure and hopefully desensitizing. We decided to do our crowd event in the morning by attending a parade.
A Year of Knowing Nathaniel
Submitted by kim on Thu, 07/03/2014 - 02:02 in Nathaniel's Story
We met Nathaniel a year ago this morning.
I do not remember now what I knew about tracheotomies before last summer. Probably that they were used as emergency airways. Maybe some faint recollections of ink illustrations in a Red Cross First Aid Manual. Before Nathaniel I did not know that babies received tracheotomies or that a baby could leave a hospital with one or that a baby could breath for a year and a half through a 3.5 mm tube.
A Week of Backpacks and Parks
Submitted by kim on Thu, 06/12/2014 - 15:11 in Character Building, Nathaniel's Story
It has been a week of backpacks and parks here!
Josiah left for National Youth Leadership Training on Sunday. The camp is held annually in southern Missouri. We are thankful for the opportunities our boys have to learn about servant leadership through Boy Scouts.
