No News Is Good News.

It's been many months since I've posted anything, which is so nice! It is a good reason to rejoice when we have nothing to report. We've been busy enjoying a somewhat "normal" season, without many new medical changes. 

But I don't have to think too hard to come up with a few cool things that have been happening in the life of Mr Boy. For one thing, he turned 3!

Since birth, Mr Boy has been in the Birth to 3 program, which has sent therapists (speech, physical, and occupational) to our house every week to work with Mr Boy. As the name suggests, it goes till age 3 and then they re-evaluate you to see if you still need services. If so, you go to a special preschool with therapy. After re-evaluation, they concluded that Mr Boy no longer needs services. This means that Mr Boy is no longer considered, "Developmentally Disabled." Praise the Lord! This basically means that while he still has medical needs, those needs no longer affect his regular development (speech, gross motor, fine motor).

Since Mr Boy was premature and has spent 5 months of his short life in the hospital, it was expected that he would not develop as quickly as his peers. He was spending his time surviving, not developing. So speech, growth, walking, etc would come a little later than most. Not to mention Mr. Boy's leg/foot bones and spine are not like everyone else's so not only should he be delayed due to his time in the hospital, we didn't know if he'd ever be able to walk properly. But here we are, Mr Boy almost 3 years old and he's already considered "Average" with his peers, caught up on every level, speech, gross motor, fine motor etc. It blows my mind.  Having to overcome all those obstacles and still being up to par, makes him way ahead of the game, in my book.

Every parent thinks their own kid is a genius. You can see a kid pick his nose and think, "Ew..." but I can bet the parent is thinking, "He has such comedic timing... !" Or a kid can build a block tower and the parents are thinking, "He's going to be an Engineer!" It's only natural to see your own kid through genius-colored-glasses. And we are no exception. But really... we've decided Mr Boy is a genius. Seriously though.  :)

From September

We started going to Kindermusik. You know those silly toddler music classes that are designed to make parents look ridiculous, dancing and hopping up and down around the room in circles trying to get their toddlers to participate, while they pay exorbitant amounts of money, per class, for something they could easily do themselves at home? Yeah, that's the one. I think of it as paying money so my kid can socially interact with other kids his age.  It's akin to buying friends. It is not beneath me.

Mr Boy playing back in September

Mr Boy has trouble in social interactions with kids his age because kids are unpredictable. He's not as much awkward, as fearful. He likes to fully understand, control and predict the actions of everyone around him so he know's he's safe. He's had so many horrible things done to him in the hospital, you can't blame him for being a little defensive. He's finally great with adults, because they are predictable, but he can't predict what other kids his age will do and doesn't like it when they get close or touch him. They could bump his tube and that hurts. They could bump into him and knock him over.  He is also hypersensitive to some sensory stuff, and kids seem to set that off. Adults don't do that stuff, and he's figured that out, but kids... those peeps be crazy.

Despite that, he's already made lots of progress with Kindermusik. The first class we spent in the hall. He cried most of the time. The second class we were able to sit in the doorway, and now, Mr Boy even joins in the dances when we all run and jump around in a circle like crazy people. It is so amazing to watch.

"Helping" me decorate his Birthday cake (notice the finger pokes and large piece missing)

Mr Boy had a very minor/quick surgery a few weeks ago, and it went very well. Compared to his other surgeries, this one was a breeze... at least for me! All he can remember is that he got a stuffed animal, so he recalls the hospital visit as "fun." Whew... that was the goal! We don't need any more bad memories!

Dr Eeg and Mr Boy, who is clearly hyped up on Versed. We demanded it be ready for us as soon as we got to the hospital, so Mr Boy wouldn't have to be terrified for long. Thankfully that worked.

Last week Mr Boy graduated from 2 orthopedic foot braces (SMO'S) to just one! We thought he would need them both forever, but they think that after a tendon transfer and Achilles heel lengthening surgery on his previously clubbed foot within the next year, Mr Boy will be able to just use orthopedic inserts (like the green one below) for both feet!

Before

Now

These are just some of the things that have been happening the past several months in the Phillips' house! We are praising the Lord for such a nice season of growth and health!