Goodbye July

Once again, another one of my favorite summer months has come to an end. My lack of blogging truly is an indication of how busy summers can be. What happened to the carefree days of summer anyway?

The boys and I have enjoyed the pool several times, a Bee's game, 3 baseball games a week, fireworks, a race or two and lots of Popsicles.

We've seen a change in Crew this past month. His moods are all over the place... giggling from deep within one minute and a full blown tantrum the next. That boy is one passionate kid! I see an adorable boy who only wants one thing... to DO and BE what the other boys are. Like I've said before it takes the whole family and then some to be his legs and arms, his voice. We are all exhausted by noon day and then there are still so many hours to go...

The nights are out of control. He is up 4 or 5 times a night now climbing out of his bed and fumbling around in the dark. He screams and cries and then we go through the whole calming routine to get him to sleep again only to have him wake up as I gently "try" to sneak back to my room. I can get by with 6 hours of sleep but 4 or 5 is really pushing it.

With his passion comes a drive that we haven't seen before. Crew is trying to get up (vertical) all the time now. I can proudly say that Crew officially learned to "pull to stand" this month. He has done it multiple times. The first time it happened I was making dinner. He was in one of his bad moods and I was doing my best to ignore him. Finally, I turned around and there he was standing up!!! One hand was gripped tightly to the arm rest, the rest of his body in flex mode and he was screaming! Startled, I said something like, "Oh, Crew look at you standing up, Look how big you are" as I quickly rushed to his aid. Instantly he started to giggle and then he beamed, so proud!

What will August bring?

Another First

Crew has never been able to sit up in his bed which means he lays there until I pick him up. Four years is a long time to work on one skill and he has been working very hard. Today was very exciting when I opened his door to find him like this. It is hard to see from the picture but he is kneeling. I'm a proud momma today!

My first HALF

Saturday's Top of Utah Half Marathon was an awesome experience I hope to never forget.

The day before the race I seriously thought I was getting the flu. My stomach was sort of pulsing, I felt achy and lightheaded and my throat was even sore. Looking back I think I must have just been a basket of nerves or a hypochondriac. LOL. I really wanted to enjoy the experience and that night I prayed for the umpteenth time that my body and mind would be strong.

On Saturday morning, I woke up at 4 AM to get ready and my ride came at 4:45. There were five of us girls and even though I was the fifth wheel I enjoyed having some company to keep myself from getting too nervous. I was feeling more calm come race day which was a huge blessing.

We got on the buses in Providence and rode up to Hyrum. There were 4 long lines of porta potties and we all got in line. It was fun to watch all the runners get ready to race and to see what kind of running apparel they had. My favorite was the woman in her 70's that sported a green running skirt and matching tank... she was awesome!

Finally, my neighbor said "It's time to go to the starting line", and I freaked out. I said "Doesn't it start at 7:30" and she said, "No, 7:00!" Okay, I was really sweating it now because I had told all my family that it started at 7:30 and I wouldn't be getting to the finish line until after 9:30. My DH, who works at night, was planning on picking the babysitter up at 8:15 and then driving the 1/2 hour to the finish line just in time to see me finish. We grabbed her cell phone and tried to call and wake him up but duh no cell phone reception that far up the canyon.

Well, it was time to start and I kept telling myself not to worry about the family and just run. After the starting gun went off it was shoulder to shoulder for at least the first mile. The five of us ran kind of in a clump and then after about a mile I lost the other four runners. Two were in front of me and two were behind (I think). The weather was beautiful (overcast) and the slight downhill course was perfect. I really didn't mind running alone. I'm a people watcher and so I just ran and watched those around me, absorbing the energy of the race and the excitement of it all!

My GPS watch is addicting and I kept checking my time. I was running faster than my regular pace and kept telling myself I should slow down but I felt really good and was having too much fun. At the first water station (Mile 3) I grabbed a cup of water and took a couple sips and was off. Just before the Mile 6 water station I got my GU out (that I had safety pinned to the inside of my shorts) and sucked it down just before they handed me a cup of Gatorade. I'm not usually a Gatorade drinker but decided to take the advice of some other runners and give it a try.

At about 6 1/2 miles I started worrying about the family again because my parents and brother/SIL were suppose to be waiting for me as I came out of the canyon. I had given them the wrong info also. I figured they wouldn't be there in time but still found myself scanning the faces of the spectators as we left the canyon, hoping to see them. They weren't there. Bummer.

At about mile 8, my feet started hurting. I started counting the miles in my head and worried that I had started out too fast and began doubting myself. When I reached the Mile 9 Aid Station I walked through it with my Gatorade and orange and then I was off! I think choosing to walk through the aid station really helped me because about a mile later there was a hill and I was able to keep going. My legs felt quite fatigued by mile 11 but another packet of GU and some water and I was able to keep going. I was running along with a pack of runners when all of a sudden I hear someone yell, "GO MEL" and I look behind me to see my mom jumping out of a car and running after me with a "Go Mel" poster. I was really excited to finally see someone I knew and the runners around me started laughing... it was enough to give me the extra boost I needed. Finally, as I was running down the final stretch and the road was packed with spectators I saw my sister there cheering me on. I was really happy about that too because I had no idea she was coming. Surprisingly, I did have some juice left in me for that final stretch. I crossed the finish line with a time of 1:55. Not bad!

Sheri, followed me to get some water and we walked around for a couple of minutes. I explained the time mix up and we started looking to see if Carl and the boys made it. I turned around and there was Carl at the finish line waiting for me to come in. I grabbed him and he hugged me. I asked him how long he had been there and we figured he made it just 3 minutes after I had finished. Darn it!

It's okay... I was so happy with my time and the family support that I got over it. My brother and his wife took us back to their house and cooked a huge breakfast for everyone.

Today, two days later I am a little sore and my very tender feet are recovering nicely. I will be ready to hit the road again tomorrow. The HALF is definitely my type of race and it won't be the last. Anyone want to join me next time?

Big Boy Tricycle

Crew tried out the Rifton Rustler tricycle for the first time and LOVED it! He is making great progress with the pedaling... we will work on steering it later;)

Seriously, I am thrilled with how well he is doing on it and hearing him giggle with each push of the pedal is enough to convince me that we will do whatever it takes to get him one.

Every kid deserves a bike, Yes?

Transitions

Crew came along on our quest in finding the perfect tree to plant behind our water feature. He really seemed to enjoy walking around the local nursery.

I'd love to say he is making great progress with his walker but the last couple of weeks have been rough. He is really tight in his right hip which makes it difficult for him to stand tall and straight. Last Friday, I talked to his PT about it and he showed me some stretches to do on the ball. Since then, I've been working and stretching him at home with our new therapy ball. Yesterday he was able to sit on the ball with minimal support for 10 minutes.

Aside from walking...something very exciting happened with Crew this weekend! Crew is not a "roller" and we've been working for ages on getting him to roll from his back to his front and transition up to quadriped. Well... while we were playing our little therapy game to encourage rolling side-to-side he successfully completed his goal. It was so exciting to watch! I called in his brothers and dad and he did it a second time. We were all so excited for him...

I cannot express appropriately how HUGE this is. Imagine the difference this will make in his life. Also, it is just another step to other transitions in the future. He has been working so hard. I hope to get it on video soon so you can all see how hard he works to accomplish this simple transition.

Meeting Santa

Don't ask me why this three year old little boy hasn't met Santa before now. Come to think of it we haven't even really talked to him about it. This is the first year Crew will be more interested in his new toys than the wrapping paper and bows. Well... at least that is what we are hoping for;)

Santa made a visit to the preschool yesterday. They said Crew was fine sitting on Santa's lap but he wouldn't stop staring at Santa. Well, I can't really blame the kid.

Straight to the H-E-A-R-T

A blog post by Billie about her little chatterbox, Eden, has been playing through my mind today. Eden recieved her cochlear implant almost two years ago. Eden is an adorable little girl who has overcome many obstacles including the ability to communicate with her family. Today, Billie posted a sweet video of Eden speaking in her cute little voice saying, "I love you".

"I love you" is an expression we all need to hear. As the mother of a non-verbal child I'm not quite sure when or if I came to accept the fact that I may never hear those words. Because Crew does have some hearing, he is not a candidate for a cochlear implant. Crew shows his love in a million different ways.... with a smile, his hugs and quick forgiveness. Have I ever doubted his love for me? Of course not!

However, the hope and possibility that I may hear those precious words escape his mouth one day has been on my mind today. As I put Crew to bed tonight I looked at him and said, "I love you". We gazed at each other, I repeated the words, "I love you" six or seven times and just as I was about to turn away he distinctly crossed both hands over his heart and I knew without a doubt what he was saying, "I love you too"!

We have worked and worked on teaching him sign but I can honestly say that this "I love you" sign he learned from watching his Signing Time video. My heart is smiling now!

Summer Fun

I recruited some help;)

Proud kiddo! Proud mom:)

My Big Big Boy!

Getting out of Bed

Approximately four months ago, we took down the crib and replaced it with a toddler bed. The toddler bed is your typical low to the ground bed designed for little tikes to access on their own. At the time of the change, Crew was doing nothing more than sleeping on his back with very little movement. Often times, I would get up in the night to rotate him from side to side because he wouldn't roll or move on his own. The shape of his head has always been a worry to me and so I was trying to prevent flat spots resulting from laying in one position.

Hence, we started him in the "Big Boy" bed. Our PT, Tressa, taught us the techniques needed to teach Crew the basics of getting in and out of bed on his own. Over the past 4 months, we've gone through the motions many times but progress is slow. It's always SLOW:(

Apparantly, his latest milestone achieved was a crucial stepping stone in attaining another one of our goals. Night before last S came running into my room laughing, "Mom, Crew's out of bed!" Together, we run back in the room to find Crew up in crawling position on the other side of the room from the bed. S tells how he was reading his book and out of the corner of his eye he sees something moving across the room. He looks over and Crew is out of his bed crawling around. We were so happy! However, I'm seriously bummed that nobody saw how he did it but I guess it doesn't really matter. It seems that these transitions and FIRSTS are happening without an audience which tells me something about Crew's personality. The song from Rachel Colemans Signing Time video, "Crew will do what Crew will do when Crew is ready to do it" rings true!