Trip to the Omaha Zoo

When my parents from Florida, were here in Sioux Falls, visiting a few weeks ago, we all took a weekend trip to Omaha, to visit the incredible Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium.

aquarium

Mr Boy didn't mind the dark aquarium because it reminded him of Curious George's Cave Episode. 

He kept yelling, "cave! George! cave! flashlight!"

Inside the largest indoor desert in the world

Some penguins are barely visible behind us.

Eating out with the grandparents at Famous Dave's

Playing in the sprinkler in our yard as the grandparents slave away picking weeds.

Today we drove 11 hours to Denver to visit Dave's family.  We woke at 3:30am and drove like crazy till we got here at 1:30 (1 hour time difference).  I prepared for weeks for this trip, thinking of all the ways we could keep Mr Boy entertained and happy for the long drive. I brought all kinds of things just in case and planned on letting him out to run around for an hour... but in the end, he just sat in his car seat, chatting and holding his monkey for most of the trip, content to keep on driving. We were very impressed with his car-trip skills. We will be here 10 days, hanging out with family and friends, and even go camping with the whole family while here. We've been watching a "Curious George goes Camping" video to get Mr Boy pumped up. If Curious George can do it, he can to. :) Will update when we get back!

What "eating" with a G-tube looks like

I am a very curious person. I am not curious in the same way Curious George is curious - I know this because I have been a frequent student of his cartoons recently, thanks to Mr Boy.  Curious George goes after all possible ways to satisfy his curiosity, whereas I often choose to keep my questions to myself. Well, if I were you, I'd be wondering what it looks like to feed Mr Boy through his feeding tube. I'd also choose not to ask me such a thing for fear of offending me (which is silly, because you would not offend me, but lets be honest, sometimes we are silly). So, in order to satisfy any of your lingering curiosities, and since I figure this is something he wouldn't mind you seeing, I'll show you.  Whether you care of not, here it is. :) 

Mr Boy licks all the salt off his crackers before placing them in his discard pile, during his "snack"

The boy can lick through a sleeve of crackers in minutes.

Licking the flavor off cheetos, crackers, and cookies during "lunch"

I lay him down to push the food I blended up, into his G-tube.

Using a syringe to push the blended meal directly into Mr Boy's stomach. 

I give him one of these 20 times a day on average, to give both water and food.

He is typically very patient with me as it only takes a few seconds. 

Sometimes if I make certain meltable foods into small enough peices (such as a mini 3Musketeer bar), Mr Boy will actually swallow them, but there's about a 75% chance it's coming back out of his mouth. Mr Boy is chewing some things now, which is a great improvement the past few months since he used to just hold things in his mouth without actually moving his teeth. Now he chews things up before gently taking them out and putting them back on the table.

Mr Boy's Blended Diet Recipe:

I pick one item from each bold category, depending on what I have on hand

 -Veggies-1 jar baby veggie, or 1/2 cup of veggie blend, or 1/4-1/2 cup sautéed zucchini, or 1 cup 

         broccoli, or 1/4-1/2 cup peas, or handful fresh carrots, or 1/4 cup cooked sweet potato, or 1/4 cup corn

-Fruit -1 cup berries or fruit mix, or 1 apple, or 1 pear, etc

-Meat/protein- 1 jar of baby meat, or 1/2 cup tofu, or 1/4 cup canned tuna, or 1/4 cup canned salmon, or 1/4      
         cup canned chicken, or 1/4 cup cooked chicken/meat

-Milk -9oz of 2% milk 

-Additional Dairy- 3/4 cup flavored yogurt, or 1/4 cup 2% cottage cheese, or 1/4 cup whole milk ricotta cheese

-Oils/Calories -1 TBSP canola oil, or olive oil, or flax oil, or coconut oil

-Additional Oil/Calories -1/4 avocado

-Additional Protein -1 heaping TBSP peanut butter, or 1/4 cup peanuts, or 1/4 cup almonds, or 1/4 cup walnuts, or 1/8 cup sunflower seeds

-Grain -1/4 cup baby rice cereal, or 1/4 cup brown rice, or 1/4 cup cooked barley, or 1/2 

         cup oat meal, or 1/2 packet cream of wheat, or 3 TBSP wheat germ 

-Juice -3 oz - prune juice 

-Extra calories -1 packet carnation instant breakfast essentials. 

-Children's Vitamin D supplement - (1ml of D-Visol)
-Spices- to help with digestion- ginger, cloves, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg
-Optional add-ins when they are on hand: 

-1 hard boiled egg 

-leafy vegetables -spinach, kale, salad mix

Plays well with others

Kassy's parents visiting Sioux Falls

Mr Boy has always been nervous around other kids, but lately he has been blossoming and been getting more and more comfortable. Last weekend we had a lovely dinner with our friends Scott and Marie Aseltine, and their 1 1/5 year old niece Camilla. They have been together on other occasions, but Mr Boy always gives her the stink eye and steers clear of her. This time was totally different. He played near her happily, like it was no big deal.  But this was a HUGE deal. We were so encouraged by their shenanigans. He let Camilla tickle him and shortly after the scene in this video, she was practically tackling him with tickles while he lay on the floor. It was fabulous craziness. Praise the Lord!