Super Henry and Goodbyes

We went to the library and brought Henry's robot arms so that he could practice using them in the community, since he was doing so well with them at home. He willing put them on as we were looking at the movies. Then together we walked over to the drinking fountain for a refreshing drink. I guess I was taking too long, because Henry let go of me and started walking independently with his robot arms. I told him to wait and he looked over his shoulder and said "I can do it." And he did. He continued to walk around the library the rest of our time there. I was amazed.

I was so excited to tell Mike and our family, but I also couldn't wait to tell Ms. Karen (Henry's physical therapist). April is her last month working with us, since when Henry turns three he ages out of the early intervention program, meaning no more Ms. Karen. We are so sad to lose her, I feel like she is part of our family. But I guess Ms. Karen has done her job well, because Henry is up and walking. What a great going away gift.

Thanks for helping Henry each step of the way.

The Only Elephants We Support in This Town

At least I don't think they claim a political party. They are just here to party. Every March the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus comes to D.C., and the parade of elephants kicks off the opening of the circus by getting off the train and then parading downtown to the Verizon Center. This year we had to see it for ourselves.

The anticipation...

It always help to have a clown nose on when you are meeting circus elephants. It helps to make the elephants feel more at home, and keeps everyone entertained while waiting.

More waiting = Mom taking more pictures

The BIG elephant debut.

And Henry was happy seeing the elephants with all his loot.

Our life right now is the real circus.

Brothers

Megan sure is at school a lot these days, but luckily Henry has his new brother to play with. They really do have fun together, despite the less-than-enthusiastic faces you see here. Henry likes to slip on his "blue steel" gaze every time we pull out the camera, and Eli seems to think the camera is a torture device.

Eli may not be very mobile yet, but that doesn't stop Henry from driving his car in circles around him, and picking out a truck for Eli to play with.

Golden Birthday

It was Megan's Golden Birthday this year.

For those of you who don't know what a golden birthday is, it is a very special birthday that only happens once in life time. Your golden birthday happens when the day of your birth matches your age, so Megan's birthday is March 6th and she turned 6.

GOLDEN.

And we definitely celebrated it to the max.

Aunt Crystal and cousin Hazel came to visit just for the event (it was pretty convenient that it was the same time Mike was going to Africa). A party is always better with Aunt Crystal and Hazel Jane.

GOLDEN

We started out our golden birthday celebration with Dad before he left on his trip. He was very sad to miss the official birthday. We had Megan's favorite dinner of fish, baked potatoes, veggies, sourdough bread and strawberries with fruit dip, sang Happy Birthday and opened presents.

Megan has been wanting a "science kit" for a while and we found a great one that is perfect for a 6 year old scientist. It was an instant hit when Mike and Megan did the volcano experiment. Mike shook the bottle for maximum effect and it erupted everywhere, and I mean everywhere: ceiling, walls, spectators. Luckily most of it was cleaned up before Mom saw the devastation.

GOLDEN

The next golden birthday celebration was a Fancy Nancy Explorer Extraordinaire party, and it was extraordinary. We decorated the clubhouse, read Fancy Nancy Explorer Extraordinaire, and the girls passed tests to become an official member of the Explorer Extraordinaire Club. They made an explorer notebook, went outside to explore and record their findings of nature, dropped bugs in a jar, played "bug bug who has the bug" and hot spider, and lastly planted flower seeds. All of this earned them a magnifying glass, fancy gloves, and an official club membership. After all their exploring they went to the clubhouse for a fancy lunch of butterfly sandwiches, fruit kabobs, cheese and pickles, pink lemonade and fancy tarts as the finishing touch. It was divine.

And GOLDEN.

After this party we just keep on celebrating -- at school, at church, the real birthday date, spa day with Aunt Crystal, etc.

Like I said it was a GOLDEN Birthday.

We love you Megan, and you are a delight to have in our family. Happy Birthday.

P.S. None of this could have been possible without the help of Aunt Crystal. Thanks for EVERYTHING, we miss you. You are a Golden Aunt forever.

Quick Post from Zimbabwe

A Proud Moment

Henry did it.

Last February, Ms. Karen (Henry's physical therapist) gave Henry his walker. Watching Henry I have learned that the scripture is true: line upon line, precept upon precept. There is no skipping steps when it comes to learning to walk, especially when your muscles don't cooperate. When Henry was 22 months he started to slowly cruise round the couch, and then started to take steps while pushing toys around. We had a wide array of push/walker toys and Henry was unable to control them -- they would get away from him, and they just weren't doing the trick, so Ms. Karen finally brought in a real walker. As soon as she brought it in the house I knew it was a keeper. It was already a much better device than his toys, because from the first day Henry could stand and hold onto without it rolling away. He had some control. For the longest time it took the three of us (Henry, Ms. Karen, and I) working together to safely maneuver it. Henry definitely didn't love the new walker, but tolerated it during his PT sessions, and then it sat there like a piece of furniture during the week. I didn't know how to get him to want to use it, but Ms Karen kept telling us it would be great, he will be able to be independent, he will be able to walk around the house, play at the park with his friends, use it at church, and use it when he goes to preschool, he will be like his peers. I had hope of these visions, but was still a little skeptical on how this was really going to work.

And last Sunday, it happened. We took the walker to nursery at church, and Henry was independent, he wanted to use his walker. He is stronger, he has new braces for his legs. Mike was out of town and I had to teach our primary class, so we couldn't miss church. I knew I was going to have to pull out the stroller to get everyone inside, so I thought why not add the walker to this production. And I am glad that I did. We went downstairs to nursery, pulled out the walker, and Henry owned it. He walked right into nursery with his walker,and looked over his shoulder and said good bye. I was so proud. He did it. He was independent. I checked in on him and the teachers said that he had been using his walker the whole time. In the past we would take the walker with us places, and he would use it once and then abandon it, and the other kids would use it and honk the horn, and Henry could care less. But not this time, it was his. I was so proud. When it was time to pick him up, one of the teachers said Henry did great all day, but he had just barely been pushed down during bubbles. Henry came straight toward me using his walker with tears rolling down his face. I wanted to snatch him up right then, but I let him walk to me. I knew he was proud of his accomplishment too. I scooped him up and hugged him, and with tears in our eyes we shifted through the unsteady waves of people coming to collect their children, unaware of the great accomplishment that had just happened.

I am so proud.