Catch up!

Wow, I haven't posted in a while! It sure has been busy around here. 

Here's what's new with Owen...

• We unlocked the front wheels on his walker to see how he'd do. He was getting so frustrated not being able to turn by himself. (so was mommy). He does pretty good. Goes forward for the most part, only it's more of a wobbly zig zag most of the time. He has finally figured out he can turn where he wants to go.

We now take the walker to church every Sunday and Wednesday. He walks from the foyer all they way to his class. Then afterwards he walks from his class all the way to the van. I think his favorite part is walking in the parking lot. for some reason he thinks that is really cool.

Check out the video of him at church with the wheels unlocked for the first time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPwyE453KCI

• Owen's new AFOs (ankle foot orthotics / braces) came last week. Well actually they came a week before but the company had forgotten the upper strap. Carrie was pretty disappointed. Said she's never had to send any back before. They did put the blue camo ribbon on that we sent! They are so adorable. Of course they were like an inch and a half too long, but we had them shortened. Carrie ordered them with a "toe protecting" side. So Owen is happy to be crawling and standing outside again! It has taken him a little while to get used to the longer soles, but we are so glad they are here! Check out the pictures of his new shoes!

• my sister Mindy married Tim Conrad last weekend! Liam, Kate and I were all in the wedding. Eric was an usher. So Owen hung out with Grandpa Potter during the ceremony. The kids all did a great job. L & K fell asleep in the front pew and missed their big exit, but we made it through with no tears or breakdowns!

• Carrie and I had been discussing getting Owen a push walker, instead of the one he has. But we decided to just unlock the rear wheels of the walker he has so it could go either way. Haven't tried it out yet with him. But yesterday I got him to try to use the blue push toy in the house to see how he'd do.... He LOVED it! He caught on after only a few minutes and figured out how to make it turn and everything. He didn't want to stop. I think this will be easier to use to get around the house with than his kaye walker. His spina bifida buddy, Bin, uses a push toy exactly like this a lot too. So now I plan on taking both the kaye walker and the push toy to spina bifida clinic Sept 9. That should be quite a sight!

Check out the video of him using the push toy. This is the coolest video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLGaS8yesTc

• Owen has also been getting better at cruising furniture and walls. Yesterday I even saw him try to let go of a chair and balance. It didn't work, but he tried! I see him doing stuff like this and I can hardly believe my eyes. I can totally see him being an independent walker one day.

• Eating wise Owen is doing great. Still working on increasing the number of foods he likes, but I think that's pretty age-appropriate. He's drinking like a champ and as far as I can tell is maintaining his weight. We go to the pediatrician next week.

• Prayer Requests:

- Speech - Owen is 18 mo and still only using about 3 words and a few signs. He is making some efforts to imitate, but it is frustrating. I need to be more disciplined about reading and working with him.

- Moving/ the House hunt - Yes, we're going to move! But just to North Fort Wayne in an effort to get Owen into the best school situation possible and in time for Liam to start Kindergarten next fall. Trick is we'd like to find a ranch with a basement in the Huntertown or Cedar Canyon Elementary areas of NWACS. Those are the two schools with special ed programs. Any of the other NWACS would be fine too, but Owen would likely have to be bussed to Huntertown or Cedar Canyon for certain things. If we have a choice in the matter, I'd like to avoid that. Of course things could change in 4 years, but it's worth a shot while we're moving. So we are preparing to sell our home and looking for the perfect new house. We want to have all the bedrooms on the first floor so Owen won't HAVE to use stairs to get to his own bedroom. We do want a basement though, as he WILL need to learn to deal with stairs. Plus I can't imagine living without a basement (bit of a tornado frady cat.) So please pray for us as we get this house ready... that nothing else major will break (as has been our luck) and that it will sell in a timely manor. Also that we'd find the perfect home for us.

- Clinic Visit - Owen has spina bifida clinic Tue, Sept 9. I have lots of questions and am anxious for this visit.

Here is one more video of Owen. I was trying to get him to jabber on camera because he will hardly make a peep for Julie his speech therapist. Pretty cute.

Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnzT9SNqqBo