Summer Milestones

It has been so great to be home this summer. I feel that I have been able to really learn from Marek's therapists and in return push Marek as much as possible. He hasn't had a relaxing summer that is for sure. He has the same therapy schedule as before with a few changes. He is graduating out of vision therapy since his therapist feels that his vision is not inhibiting his development at this time. She will evaluate him again in 6 months to see where he is at. She said that sometimes when kiddos start to walk they need help using their different planes of vision. We are sad to see Ms. Becky leave us for now but that only means things are going well. Since we are stopping vision his speech therapist would like to start seeing him more which we agree would be very helpful since we are starting to hear more and more sounds each week. He has dada, baba, papa and my favorite MAMA!!! He has also learned the sign "eat" and has stopped using the "more" sign since he now TELLS US that he wants "MO". You better believe that we never deny him "MO" when he asks for it, even if that means a whole bag of Gold Fish. Marek has also been doing swim lessons which has turned him into quite the water baby, or should I say toddler since he will be TWO next week! He is kicking in the water, trying to blow bubbles in the water and has learned to "jump" in from a sitting position after we count to three. It has been a pretty warm summer in St. Louis so I am glad he likes the water because some days that is the only place I want to be.

Marek's Thank You Bash was a blast. We were so excited to see so many of you there and be able to spend time with you and to thank you for all of your support. Although Marek had a rough night, we know that he enjoyed seeing each and every one of you as well. God has truly blessed us with an amazing village that is constantly praying and cheering for our little warrior and it has paid off. I know we have said it many times, but THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!

The weekend of the party we got to share some exciting news with our family and friends, Marek is going to be a big brother! I truly believe that he has so much to offer his new brother/sister and we can't wait for the two of them to meet in December! There are tons of emotions that come with finding out you are expecting a little one after going through all that we have with Marek. We waited for all the genetic tests to come back normal before we even let the thought of expanding our family enter our minds. Even with all the normal tests though, we know that there is always a chance that something could come back. At this point it is a thought I try to keep from popping up in my mind while I try to enjoy being pregnant without fear taking over.

Marek saw his neurologist in the beginning of June. This is the last time we will meet with this neurologist since he is transferring hospitals. We will not be seeing the Epileptologist only from here on out. We met with him after meeting with Marek's neurologist. He has scheduled a MRI scan for Marek the beginning of August to see if we can finally see any correlation between what the PET scan showed and any physical malformations in Marek's brain. We had to wait until he was 2 because until a child is 2 their brain is still "mush" (yes this is the term the doctor used) and it is hard to pin point malformations. Marek will have to be sedated for the MRI which always scares us, but he is such a trooper I have to believe that he will be just fine.

We have continued to come up to Fort Wayne every month. Ryan was able to spend a week with us last month. I was so happy he could make the trip because I wanted him to meet his ABM therapist, Jon, and see first hand just how great Marek does during his sessions. We turned our therapy trip into a mini vacation which included strawberry picking, ice cream stops and park visits. It was nice to get away as just the three of us, even if it was only to Fort Wayne. My mom was able to make the trip with us in May and again this month. It has been so nice having some "adult" company and lots of help during our summer trips. Thanks Mom!!

Marek reached a HUGE milestone during the last few days...................he is now CRAWLING!! We have waited so long for him to finally be able to do this and I still have to pinch myself every time he gets up on all fours and takes off to where he wants to go. My heart is so full right now it is ready to burst.

We hope that everyone is enjoying their summers and are staying cool.