Christmas Vacation!!!

7 Months Old

He really likes his highchair. Although it is a Christmas present, we gave it to him a little early because he was ready for it.

Nick graduated!

I am getting better at capturing smiles, usually by the time the picture takes he has a startled look on his face, but I think I might have figured it out.

Vince is getting ready for his graduation too.

We wanted to wish everyone Merry Christmas a little early. We hope your holiday season is going well so far. Nick, Vince, and I have been enjoying our vacation. We all have two weeks off. Because Vince is not a fan of long car rides we will be staying home this year. The last trip up north ended with a 6 hour car ride when it normally takes 4 and a half because Vince was so upset. With that our parents will be coming down to us, which we are very thankful for. Everyone has been healthy here which has been great. Vince continues to work really hard at therapy and has been improving. He is working on sitting and almost has it. He can now catch himself when he starts to tip, but sometimes he has too much momentum and can't stop himself, but he loves it. We have also started working on 4 point which is just where we put him on his knees and hands and help get the feeling of crawling. He really hates this, but we know with time he will love it and before we know it he will be crawling and getting into everything. Vince is also getting something called a parapodium on New Years Eve. Because he is starting to bear weight on his legs they want to get him started right away with standing and it will help him with that. Once we get it we will be sure to post some pictures. Other than that we are just really looking forward to our first Christmas as a family of three. Again Merry Christmas to everyone.

Love,

Nick, Andrea, and Vince

December Already!

6th month professional pictures

This is really how the session went, the photographer did a very good job of getting some good shots.

Our first "real" family picture

Avocado's, he seemed to like these quite a bit.

Happy Thanksgiving! We are also starting to practice with a sippy cup.

Messy carrots

The count down to Christmas has begun. We cannot believe how fast time has gone, Vince is already 7 months old! Since the last post we have had quite a few appointments so I will start with those.

Vince got his 6th month shots which went well, he did not cry too hard, he saw Dr. Warder - his Neurosurgeon, the GI specialist - Dr. Atay, and had Myelo clinic. Overall everything went really good. His Neurosurgeon appointment went well, everything is looking how it should and we don't have to go back for 6 months. Dr. Atay liked what he saw and said he did not need to see Vince again for a whole year. Once we start potty training we will start seeing Dr. Atay more, he has worked with SB patients before and is confident Vince will be potty trained. Myelo Clinic was very busy but they were all very impressed with how he is doing. We saw a Nutritionist, Pediatrician, Neurologist, Social Worker, Urologist, Physical Therapist (she had another type of doctor with her but I cannot remember what type), and the clinic coordinator. We were there from about 8 until 12 and Vince did great, he missed a meal and a nap and did not fuss at all. For any of you who have seen Vince lately you know that he has some very cute chubby thighs going on so the Nutritionist was not worried at all. He passed all of the little tests that the Neurologist did, I think the Social Worker was there more for me and everything was good, the Urologist said his kidneys were steady so that means everything is still good there. In about 3 months we will have a more extensive test done to test his bladder and the capacity that is has. The physical therapists thought he was doing great. Because Vince is starting to bear weight on his legs they prescribed a device for him that will help him continue to gain strength while standing. He is being fitted for it on the 16th of this month. At this point they see him using all of the muscles in both of his leg and are not going to brace him yet. They want to see how he progresses first. They did say that his left leg is a little weaker than his right, but we knew that, they did say that they think it is not because of the muscle development but because of the nerves in his leg, which we had not heard before. This should not effect his ability to walk, but he may need a brace when he starts to walk for it and with physical therapy it will continue to get better. All in all it was a very good day.

Lets see what else. We have been working with food, he does not seem to really like it or really hate it, but he is not very sure about it. So far his favorite are pears. It is fun watching him as he tries something new. Vince also celebrated his first Thanksgiving. It was a great day we went to Aunt Kathy and Uncle Paul's house first and saw a lot of family. Vince and Emme played on the floor for a little while until she rolled on him and he did not like that very much. Later we went to the Jackson's house and had a great dinner there. Nick finished his MBA and we will be going to his graduation on the 13th. Overall we are having a lot of fun and getting in the Christmas spirit. Like I said in the beginning the count down has begun and this year Nick, Vince, and I will have a whole two weeks off together which we are really looking forward to.

Wow, sorry that was a lot of information. We will try to update more often so we don't overwhelm you in the future. We hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving and we hope you all have a great holiday season. Thank you for all of your love and support this year.

Love,

Nick, Andrea, and Vince