July 2017 - and a little bit of June and August

As usual, July has flown by!

We wrapped up June at EYL Camp and you had such a great time playing with your "new friend Lane" (as you still call him). We also used that week leading up to AMC Awareness Day as a challenge week - each day we had different staff and volunteers participate in a challeneg related to your limitations with AMC. Once again, our EYL Family stepped up to the plate and were SO supportive of helping us out. Mr. Brent even made the camp shirts blue this year so that the group photo on June 30 could also serve as a #BlueforAMC photo!

Challenge #1: Say "Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita" three times as fast as you can

Challenge #2: Write "Arthrogryposis" without using your hands

Challenge #3: Go up and down the stairs without using your legs

Thank you to everyone who sent us a picture of your blue shirts / outfits to support AMC Awareness Day on June 30!

We had a little down time at the beginning of July so we stepped up our timetable and got our living room floor taken care of! It has been a huge plus to have smoother floors now that you're double casted and can't use your scooter - makes it easier for you to stay on the move!

Grandpa had a little pry bar for you to help!

Not a huge fan of the noise from the saw :)

We went to watch fireworks with Aunt C and the boys - you were NOT a fan of how loud they were...but eventually decided they were too pretty to not watch them.

Excuse the blue teeth - sugar cookie frosting :)

And then we had the big event of July: your first foot surgery! They had originally told us it would be a 2(ish) hour surgery; just when we were getting to the two hour mark and I was getting stuff ready to wait for the "all done" call, they called and said they needed another 1.5-2 hours!! Yikes!! But when Dr. B came in afterward he was very excited about the positioning he was able to get with your bones and the end result so I guess the extra time was worth it :)

Pre-Op meds made you super silly and sleepy!

Finally got to get out of bed... that's what you chose for breakfast (Fritos)

We were in the hospital overnight, went home the next day, spent some time with sisters, and have just been hanging out...NOT standing up... at least trying to remind you not to stand on it. If too much weight is put on the foot it can cause the pins to slip and the bones to shift enough that he woukd have to re-do the surgery. You've spent a lot of time reading books, playing babies and watching movies; especially the first few days when you were getting used to having two casts on!

Tuesday (Aug 1) we went back for your first cast change in the left foot and he said everything looked good for both feet. Second surgery will be sometime in the later part of September, which is later than we thought but glad it's not the first week of school!

Wednesday (Aug 2) you had your developmental check-up. He wants to continue following you (still) just so we have someone we can call on when it's time to start kindergarten if we get any push back about you being in regular ed classes instead of special ed (not that we're anticipating any) and to help write letters for any accommodations you might need - we're still not sure what adaptive / assistive technology or modifications you might need. He wants to see you back in February instead of another 12 months because they will be able to do an official cognitive exam - those are tailored for 4 years and above and even though you are still testing a 4+ year old level they can't administer the test yet.

That's about it for this round!