Kindermusik

We've finally found a music therapist for Wade. Music is one of his great loves and, therefore, provides a perfect opportunity for teaching. Right now we are hosting a Kindermusik class at our house every week with some little friends, and then will continue on over the summer with one-on-one music therapy. Wade is absolutely delighted.






Wade had day surgery again in March to have the tubes replaced in both ears after fighting with congestion and fluid all winter. It didn't take long after surgery for me to tell a big difference in his ability to reproduce sounds accurately. We've been told that hearing through fluid on your ears is like hearing underwater.




Somehow, I don't think our other boys would have been so utterly happy with this much ear trouble. Wade's pleasant disposition can make it difficult for me to tell if something is wrong with him or not.
I often wonder how much people would be willing to pay for the gift of being so radiantly happy almost all the time!

Sleepytime

Funny Mama! She tucks me in bed when I'm not tired at all.







Maybe I'd better go convince her how alert I am. I'll just climb out of bed and walk over to the door and...(yawn) lie down and think about it for....a....while....zzzzzzz.

W is for Wade

We've been practicing matching words to pictures, using mostly names. One day a couple of months ago I walked into the living room to see Wade playing with the pictures and names. He had laid them out and had matched them correctly completely ON HIS OWN! I ran for the camera!!

School Days

Wade started a new era this fall when he graduated from the Babies Can't Wait program at age three.
He now gets an educator from the public school system who comes out once a week to work with him. He loves play time with Miss Motley.

We also enrolled him in a Bible play school two days a week where he is in a class of eight typical children who, we hope, will further inspire his verbal language skills. He gets speech, OT, and PT during the days he is there.
The second day of play school, he played hooky to attend college. We took him in for a clinical correlation with a class of first-year medical students who were studying Down Syndrome. It was an interesting day for us all.
This fall, we found a music therapist who is just getting established locally. He offered to come to our support group and do a free demo session with the children. That was a fun evening and Wade was happy to participate in the music!

Buddy Walk Augusta

Team Wade

Ladybug the Clown

It's hard to have a serious talk with a clown.

You know it's not an ordinary day when you get picked up by a dog.

What a large shirt for a small boy!

Oh well, he just walked without it. What fun!

Wall Art

I did it! I did it! I wrote beautiful 1's just like Mommy showed me.


Wait a minute. That wasn't the chalkboard.


Oops!

This and That

No more injections! Wade did not need the third set of injections….hurrah!
He will need to continue wearing the glove and will have periodic check-ups to make sure the scar tissue doesn't start to harden again.
He throws a ball over seven feet now (documented by the PT today) and continues to work on jumping.
Speech is coming slowly; he tries so hard that sometimes it can be quite funny. But every week I see improvement.
He is very proud to have jobs to do: setting the table, emptying trash, putting clothes away, climbing out of bed (with those flexible legs) and waking us all up in the morning.
Sometimes he even needs to multitask like the rest of us.

Comic Relief

As I am terribly busy with Important Things, I feel a tug on my skirt and hear someone say, "Mama."

I look down and suddenly discover that I am never too busy to laugh.

Teaching Wade to Jump

We've really been working on teaching Wade to jump. For a long time he refused to bend his knees. We've finally got him to bend them when he tries to jump. Watch how far he can get off the ground.

More Injections

Wade had more injections Tuesday which went well. The Doctor was pleased with how his hand looks so far and thought he might not need the third set. We will, however, have to schedule the injections anyway in six weeks and go in (at 6:00 in the morning, no food after midnight) as if he were going to have them. Then the doctor will evaluate after we get in there and hopefully send us back home.