Daniel

Thought I would give a quick update on Daniel. He has been so fun this last month, as I feel his personality is really starting to shine. Favorite activities include eating, playing with CD's (a forbidden treasure), playing with the stereo (another no-no), looking at books (on his own timetable, not long enough for me to actually read anything more than one word per page), playing peek-a-boo, and playing with toys. It's funny how different he and Kathryn are, as I remember she was never really interested in toys. Daniel, on the other hand, will happily entertain himself with a few baskets of toys, and then quietly go upstairs and entertain himself with the DVD player or stereo until I notice that it's too quiet. (That does feel familiar!) He loves to wrestle, and likes to make us laugh. He's also starting to get his own little opinions and preferences, revealing a whole new side to his easy-going personality when his little preferences are crossed (which they often are). Thus the nickname "Anger Ball" in such moments. But on the whole, Daniel continues to be very sweet and happy.

Playing "peek-a-boo" with his bib. Either that or looking for crumbs. Either would be a regular occurrence.

I shouldn't love this picture, but I do. It's his "I'm not happy and I'm about to cry really loudly about it."

Very proud of himself for standing

Going to feed the ducks. I love his short little legs.

Many of you may know that we've been getting Daniel evaluated for some developmental delays, mainly physical and some speech delays. He's several months behind the "normal" range for his age with things like pulling up and walking, and he has hardly used his right hand for anything since he's been old enough to do anything with it (about 6 months). So we are seeing a physical therapist once a week to work on leg and trunk strength, and an occupational therapist once a week to work on his right hand mobility. We're looking into some possible causes for his delays, but for now all we can really do is work at being consistent with the stretches and exercises the therapists have given us each week. As little as 2 hours a week seems, it's been a surprising adjustment for me to plan around the two mornings home for therapy, as well as finding time and focus to do all the exercises with him I need to be doing. I'm very motivated, since I've seen what progress Daniel's made even in the short month we've been doing the therapy (pulling up, climbing stairs, backing down stairs, some cruising furniture, waving, pointing, walking with assistance). While some of these things may be coincidence, it's enough to make me realize how malleable kids are at this age. So the main challenge is trying to make these exercises part of our daily routine so I don't have to think about it so much. If you think of it, you can pray for me in this area. I continue to have no anxiety about any of these delays or implications, and I'm thankful for that.