Pop Goes the Ayden

Ayden's walking prowess continues to improve. His balance is a lot better. The difference between walking with his orthotics and without is getting smaller and smaller. As you see below, he has absolutely no problem pushing around his popper toy. He seems to really enjoy it. Sometimes he will even carry it, rather than push it. I've even seen him guide another of his push toys (the red, blue, and yellow truck you see in the beginning of the video) with one hand while he carries the popper in the other. He's definitely starting to master the walking.

Ayden's First Impression

Watch this:

Then watch this:

Mr. Helpful's Finishing Touch

As you have read in other posts, one of Ayden's personality traits is that he likes to be helpful. I think this desire stems from four reasons: 1) He wants to participate in whatever we are doing; 2) helping us is part of his routine, and he loves routines; 3) many tasks appeal to his developing fine motor skills; and 4) he cares about us and wants to show us by being helpful.

We have mentioned that our home has been a very busy place. We have had to make a lot of changes to accommodate two little boys. Before we moved Ayden to his new dragon room, Bryan painted the room green. Of course, Ayden wanted to be where Daddy was... and then he wanted to do what Daddy was doing. As it turns out, Ayden is a pretty good painter!

Sometimes we hesitate to allow Ayden to help because it seems as though the process will take so much longer; however, I have discovered that Ayden picks up skills fairly quickly, and if we will teach him what to do, the tasks at hand are actually endearing and sometimes fun. This past weekend, Ayden attached felt to the bottom of our kitchen chairs. The only two things Bryan did to assist Ayden was pull the stickers off the felt and handle the bulky chairs.

Below are some activities Ayden demonstrates his helpfulness:

• Cleaning surfaces, his hands, and his face- Give this kid a wipe, and his first instinct is to clean!
• Turning off the lights- Ayden knows when we need the lights to be turned off, and he will often point to them as indication that he wishes to be the one to do it.
• Closing doors/drawers- Sometimes this skill is actually annoying, as Ayden occasionally-- okay, often-- closes doors and drawers before we need them closed, or he will shut a door on our rear end while we are working on something. However, if we ask him to close something, he happily obliges.
• Closing wipe warmer or handing the wipe container- As part of his diaper changing duties, he is responsible for the wipe containers.
• Buckling/Unbuckling from the carseat and stroller- I actually thing this is more about his love for occupational skills than actually assisting us, but I'm glad he wishes to learn.
• Putting cap on his tube flush water- His daddy made him part of his tube feeding process by allowing him to screw on the cap to his flush water.
• Putting blocks/books/toys away- If one asks Ayden to clean up, he does so with little or no complaint. Lately, he has even initiated cleanup on his own.
• Putting shoes and clothes on- He really wants to help with these activities, so we have been working to teach him.
• Putting dirty clothes in the hamper and folding (organizing) clean clothes- Dealing with dirty clothes, I believe, is just about feeling like a big boy. Organizing his clothes... well, I think he might have picked that up from me.
• Helping me get up- One of the most precious things that occurs throughout the day is Ayden's desire to help me stand up from the floor or the furniture. He reaches for my hand and pulls with a GRUNT!
• Encouraging me- I have had a more difficult time physically with this pregnancy. Ayden picks up on when I'm not feeling well. He will reach out to give me hugs, he'll make kissy noises at me, or he'll pat me. He's really a sweet child! 
• Blending purees- Ayden recently helped his daddy blend purees.

Good News!

Don't you love it when you get to hear good news?!?!? Everyone can appreciate life's blessings, but when you add in a significant amount of life's struggles, the blessings fill you up and give you a kick start to keep going. Bryan and I have been indulging in some good news lately.

1. Last week was our final fetal ECHO, and the baby's heart continues to look "boring." We are so grateful for this normalcy! Once the baby is born, he will have an ECHO in the first week of life. No one is expecting to see anything troubling, but, given the fact that we have one son with heart complications, we are all erring on the side of cautious.

2. Ayden weighed 27 pounds at feeding therapy this week! He has gained three pounds since he began eating by mouth in November. Due to his speedy weight gain, we are eliminating his final pump tube feed. However, this does not mean that Ayden is done with the tube. While he eats wonderfully, he still does not drink enough to stay hydrated. Until he can consume 24-30 ounces of fluid per day, he will continue to adorn the feeding tube.

3. My best friend, Elise, and her family feel called by the Lord to adopt an orphan domestically. They have completed the paperwork and home studies and are in the process of raising the money for the adoption. I know that they will bless this little one and that he/she will also bless them... as well as us. We are all looking forward to meeting this precious baby and feel as though the child could not go to a more perfect home. So... let's bring this baby home! You can go to the Glasser family website at http://www.fourplusoneisfive.blogspot.com . There you will find multiple ways you can help with prayer,  fundraising, etc. The first event is a comedy show, Laughs for Life, at Grace Chapel in Lieper's Fork. You won't want to miss it! For more information, go to http://www.tinyurl.com/glasseradoption.

The Man in the Bowler Hat

I have always loved Rene Magritte's painting, The Son of Man. Initially, your eyes see the unexpected, the bright green apple hovering in front of the man's face. Once you get past the apple, you see other things, such as the setting (he appears to be at a wall overlooking the sea) or the fact that his elbow seems to face forward. Inevitably, though, I am drawn to that bowler hat and the character of the man's peeking eyes. (This bowler hat image and the accompanying mysteriousness are fantastically played upon in the film, Thomas Crown Affair.)

 

I suppose I am intrigued by a man wearing a hat. For as far back as I can remember, Bryan has worn one, usually a ball cap facing backward. Sometimes he will show off something different, such as an ivy cap while playing golf or a fedora when hanging out with friends. I can't imagine Bryan any other way; I adore him for his hat wearing.

Bryan has been known to influence others to accessorize with a hat: I'll never forget a very young Alex mimicking his Uncle Bryan with a rearfacing lid. And, of course, our own little one has a fascination with hats (and other accessories, such as sunglasses) as well. Ayden has been known to sport some pretty fantastic hats, even while living in the hospital, and, naturally, he receives an abundance of attention for his extra cuteness while adorned. Many marvel at how well he wears accessories, how willing he is to keep them on for an extended period of time. He enjoys putting them on, adjusting them, trying on new items, etc. Below are some January photos of Ayden in some of his new favorite hats.

"Walk This Way" (Again)

A few notable things from this video:

-- Ayden has really improved in a short amount of time (he can even turn!). He no longer needs us to get him started. We are so proud of him.

-- This is now his favorite thing to do. He will walk back and forth to the point that he sounds like he is going to dry heave.

-- The only thing keeping him from taking off whenever he wants to is he doesn't yet have the strength to stand up without help (either from a person or an inanimate object).

-- He solves this problem by bear crawling to someone/thing he can use to stand up.

-- He always has his arms up when he walks. This is surely for balance, but it makes him look like he's doing an impression of Frankenstein's Monster.

-- Stealth is obviously not a priority for him. Walking must also involve talking saying a bunch of unintelligible things.

-- I showed him this video. He talked to his video self. And waved. And said "hi." And laughed when his video self fell down.