New Wheels!

Clayton has many lessons to come in learning to drive a new power chair.  But in the meantime, he is now the proud owner and DRIVER of a new manual chair!  We've been wanting/needing this chair for quite sometime now and it is such a relief to finally see him in it!  He was two when he got his first chair, and both his body and condition have changed so much since then!  He was definitely too long for his old chair and he wanted and needed some control of his movement about his environment, even if it can't involve a power chair just yet.  As soon as he got in it, he was wanting to go "in the back."  Quite different, since he usually wants to go out front to watch for cars.  With this chair, he was ready to get in the grass!  He's mostly spent the afternoon and night going in circles (he rarely uses his left hand).  We're just letting him explore and figure out just how he'll compensate with that hand--we'll see if he gets motivated to use it more!  I'm loving how he looks in it and wouldn't trade it back for the old, but I've got a lot of adjustments to make in order to get into a new routine with this chair.  Loading and unloading it will be different for a while and we're going to try our best to use it at the house (we usually use his Special Tomato chair at home).  The more we use it, the more independence Clayton gains--and he is sooo craving independence!  And today, he definitely started that journey!

Dedication Video: Jackson

Here is the video that was shown at Jackson's dedication.  I've shared most of the pictures on this blog, but it's still sweet to see how much he's changed

Many, many thanks to Todd for putting this together for me!

Dedicated

Jackson's baby dedication was held this month at our church.  And I have to say that I love how our pastor does baby dedications.  He treats each family individually and each baby gets his own personal dedication service.  As with Shawn and Clayton's dedication, Brian and I both were presented with roses as symbols of our love as parents.  Brian received a red rose, symbolizing the sacrifice a father makes in providing for his family, as well as the sacrifice that Jesus made with His blood on the cross.  I received a white rose, symbolizing the pure love a mother has for her child, as well as the pure and unconditonal love that Jesus has for us.  Our pastor then prayed over us, and then said a special prayer over Jackson for the life he will lead.  It really is a beautiful ceremony, no matter how many times you've witnessed it! 

Thanks to Rhonda for the pics!

Play Clothes

I'm in new territory . . . I've got a child who gets his socks filthy, his shoes scuffed up, and has almost worn the knees out of a couple of his pants.  And Spray-n-Wash is now a regular part of my laundry routine.

It's a good thing.  :)

On Again/Off Again

I've been a bad blogger these last few days!  One minute Clayton is feeling good (as in picture above) and the next he is lethargic and doing his best to speak and/or stay awake.  He woke up a few nights ago burning with fever, but that's the only time he has done that--I don't know what's up actually.  He is very congested from all the spring blooms popping up, so I think the effort to breathe is just getting to his body.  He's even taken a nap these last three days--unheard of anymore for him!  I so hope his system adjusts soon because I just plain don't like it when he is not feeling well!

This is What Happens

when you miss your morning nap . . .

you end up falling asleep during lunch!

It's Coming Together

While the room isn't completely "finished," Clayton has officially moved into his own bedroom and space.  Brian painted this weekend, and the new adjustable bed came on Monday.  He is in heaven on that bed, but we are having to limit his time with the remote since he wold probably burn the motor up if we let him!  He still doesn't realize the remote is a tool, not a toy!  We're waiting on the rest of his furniture to get here and I have to organize the closet for him, but as soon as those are complete, he'll be the resident of a brand new room!

Just Ignore Him . . . And Maybe He'll Go Away

Jackson spends a lot of time hanging off of Clayton's tray.  And Clayton spends a lot of time doing his best to ignore him!

Clayton is really pretty much used to Jackson, but he is still not used to someone being in his personal space ALL. THE. TIME.  He gets really worried and bothered with Jackson climbing all over him and his stuff--but he's doing the best he can to get acclimated to having a little brother hanging around.  :)

The Hope of Heaven

I've been listening to this song for a few years now and it still give me chills and brings the tears . . .

Thank you, Lord, for the Hope of Heaven!

Another Test Drive!

Clayton got to test drive another power chair today and it was so much better than the last one!  That first chair he drove was so big since it was a sit-to-stand, but this one today was a Permobil Koala and it's so perfect size-wize for him!  He can't stand in it, but it just seems so much more appropriate for him . . . he gets to drive it again in a couple of weeks (needs lots of lessons so we can figure out if he needs a joystick or some other kind of switch).  Also, Brian didn't get to come today, so he'll want to see him in it before we make a final decision.  Here are a few videos from today.  Hope you don't get sick watching them, as I was filming, dealing with Jackson and during the second one even got a phone call I had to answer!  But you'll get the general idea of how his driving went even if it does make you nauseous!!!

I must say that we're feeling a lot better after seeing this one.  The sit-to-stand was so big, it was just too OVERWHELMING!  It made us sick thinking of having that giant in the house, but seeing this one today got me excited once again about the possibilities a power chair will bring Clayton!

Lovin' the Weather!

These past few days have been so liberating!  We've been out and about, visiting parks and walking trails, cruising through town with our windows down, sunroof open, and radio blasting (in the minivan no less!).  It seems this winter has been longer than most and I'm going to do my best to NOT complain about the HOT Arkansas weather when it rolls into town, because I think I've decided I'm definitely not a full-time cold weather girl!

He's Loose!

We've had beautiful weather these past few days, so I took Jackson's walker outside for the first time. As soon as we got on the street (can't just hang out on the driveway like normal folks since it's steep), he took off down the road! This is literally like the third pic I took and he was trucking it--didn't even look back to see if we were following! He did finally stop when some rocks got his attention. Just like a boy to stop and inspect the rocks.

He was all over the place for a solid thirty minutes--you can see he's flying so fast here, his hair can't even keep up!

It pooped him out big time. He came inside and took the longest nap he's taken in a while--maybe I should try this more often now that the weather's cooperating!!

Flashback Friday

Today would have been Brian's mom's 54th birthday (I think I got the number right?) . . . So it's only appropriate to flash way back to Brian's high school graduation and this picture of him with his parents. Brian graduated in 1995 and this is also the year that Wanette began her battle with cancer. I was blessed to have the time to get to know her well before she became seriously ill. I will consider it a privilege to tell my boys all about their other Granny someday . . . and I take comfort knowing she spends each day in Heaven with my Shawn.

We love and miss you, Wanette!

Nine Months

Jackson is nine months old today! Can you believe it?! I sure can't! He is changing and growing so quickly. It's simply amazing watching him explore the world around him. He has six teeth and is drooling like crazy--I'm sure another will be popping out anytime. He is crawling everywhere and pulling up on everything. The coffee table, window sills, and dishwasher are his favorite places to scope everything out. In fact, we're seeing a lot more of his little booty these days since he's teeter tottering around the coffee table:
He is so tiny, it's crazy to think he's close to walking! He's also trying his best to say something to us. His sounds are getting more like words and he waves his hands, practicing saying bye-bye we're thinking! He is doing better on the sleeping, but he has to sleep with his bottle to make it through the night. I'm willing to let him since it means a better night for the rest of the family!

Thank You, Momma

Clayton is so sweet. (You knew that already, right??) In the past, he has randomly thanked me for this and that, but these days he seems to be thanking me for the things that he knows he can't do on his own. It just melts my Momma heart.

I hook up his feeding tube. Thank you, Momma.

I change his diaper. Thank you, Momma.

I'm washing his hair. Thank you, Momma.

I push him to another room upon his request. Thank you, Momma.

I put on his night splints. Thank you, Momma.

I put on his glasses or his hand splint. Thank you, Momma.

All I can do in these moments (to keep from crying, that is) is immediately shower him with kisses and tell him how much I love him! There just aren't enough words!!