Is this fun or what??!!

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Old habits die hard

So Ben use to have an old habit of nose picking when he was one. He got tired of it after a few weeks and hasn't been picking since... UNTIL yesterday. He is back at again!! At least he is mainly doing it in the privacy of his own home

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Ben is working so hard to crawl

This past week, Ben has been spending a lot of time laying on his belly, just hanging out. He has also been curling up into a ball and trying to push up. I think he is getting so close to crawling - just isn't strong enough yet. If I try to help him push up, he just rolls over and quits... if I let him go, he will work on it for a while. That is how Ben is with everything though. He will only do it if it is on his terms! He's such a little rascal.

New Bath Seat

I ordered Ben a new bath seat that sits him more upright. Even thought he can sit upright on the floor, he still hasn't mastered the tub (his trach, poor balance and tightness in his hamstrings make it very challenging). Ben's old bath seat was a special therapy seat that reminded me a chaise lounge. Ben enjoyed it, but he really wasn't submerged in the water and I felt like it wasn't helping to eventually transition him into the tub one day without any kind of seat since he would be use to leaning back so far. Ben is learning to like his new seat and he even splashed around with his hands yesterday (that was a first for Ben since his hands never reached the water in his old bath chair and his has a lot of sensory issues with his hands).

Common Grounds Park Fundraiser a Success

I had the opportunity to go to the Common Grounds Park fundraiser last Thursday (thanks for the ticket mom) with my brother, mom and Leslie (the mom of another local CHARGEr I've become friends with). The event was a HUGE success and couldn't have been put on any better. The room was packed and it was heartwarming to see so many people in one room supporting a park for special needs children. The speaker, Dick Vogt, was incredibly moving and inspirational. I felt honored to be in his presence and meet him. Thank you to everyone who spread the word about this park and those who were so generous to send donations and/or buy tickets. Your money is truly going to a very worthwhile cause.

On a side note, please pray for one of my good friends who's water broke this past weekend. She is only 22 weeks pregnant with twins.

Ben met his cousin Elle for the first time

So we took Ben over to my brother and sister-in-law's to meet his cousin for the first time. Ben isn't around babies very often, so I figured he might not be too interested in Elle. We laid Ben next to her on the floor and he looked at her for a few minutes. She was looking at Ben too and seemed to be smiling. Ben wasn't as happy! After a few minutes of staring at each other, Ben started crying. Maybe he knows that he has to share the spot-light now and isn't too excited about it.

"I don't know about her"

My sweet niece - 3 weeks old

In honor of the US Open, Elle supported her tennis attire

Good news regarding Ben's urinary track reflux

This past week, Ben had his follow-up testing to see how his urinary track reflux looked after the deflux injections. We met with his Urologist to discuss the results on Friday. His doctor said that his kidneys were still small, but they looked good (not swollen or anything). He also said that his left side showed no reflux at all and his right side showed Grade 2 reflux (Ben use to have Grade 4 on both sides - so that's a great improvement). And, he said that even though the radiologist reading the results gave his right side a Grade 2, he personally didn't think it looked like a Grade 2 to him... he thought it seemed less than that. I was thrilled to hear this news. With Ben, we are usually always receiving bad news, so I've kind-of started expecting the worst - but hoping for the best whenever Ben has appointments.

The plan is to follow-up again with an ultrasound to look at his kidneys and do some blood work. If all is ok with that, no need to see the doctor until 1 year from now. The week before that 1-year appointment, we will have another kidney ultrasound, blood work and a VCUG (the test that shows reflux). I am hopeful that by then, Ben's reflux will be even less. At that time, we will decide whether to do another injection and address his undescended testes, or just address the testes if the reflux is completely gone. Some good news was nice to receive! We needed it.