Ben wants to spend his time swinging!

Ben has been loving his swing lately... so much so that he doesn't want to get off. Since Ben knows the sign for "up", we usually sign "up" and Ben puts his hands up and does the sign too (up is the only sign Ben does and really seems to know). Ben has figured out that just because we sign and say "up", doesn't mean he has to do it back - actually if he DOESN'T sign "up", he gets to continue doing what he was doing before. When he is on his swing, he won't sign up to us no matter how many times we ask (and often it is because he needs to go inside for a quick trach suction). If we pick him up to take him inside before he is ready, he throws a fit until he is put back in his swing - and by fit I mean doing this whole body kick/buck that he has seemed to master lately. I am just so thrilled that Ben knows what he wants, has figured out how to communicate that to us and knows enough to get really mad if he doesn't get his way. It shows some great thinking on his part!

Pudding... YUM or FUN?!?

Even though we have been instructed from ENT not to do any tastes by mouth with Ben (because he aspirates and his airway is damaged from that), I decided to give it a shot today. At our last pediatrician appointment, we discussed how kids that don't eat or have tastes of food lose the desire to eat completely and their taste buds start to dull over time. In addition, I just didn't feel confident that Ben would learn to coordinate his swallow and breathing if he isn't even tested (how do you learn to ride a bike if you never even try - even if you fall you still learn from that, right?!) And, since his airway is already damaged, can it get worse? Plus, we have the luxury of a trach and we know the minute food starts to go into his airway because it makes his secretions we suction tinged that color and we can stop the tastes immediately and suction him really well. The doctor saw where I was coming from and agreed with me. He said I could do extremely small tastes (like the size of a few peas). The first time I tried to give Ben tastes, he didn't want anything to do with it. I think he forgot what it was like to sample food. All he kept on doing was knocking the spoon out of my hand anytime I got close to his mouth. The second time I tried was this afternoon. On the menu was chocolate pudding - very small bites of chocolate pudding. Right from the get go, he seemed more interested this time. The pictures below document Ben's pudding journey quite well. He had more fun playing than tasting, but he did taste a little. I was thrilled. Oh, and nobody tell ENT!


Hmm, interesting. Tastes pretty good, but feels like something I can have fun with!

OK, let's tip this over and start the party.

Better than finger paint because I can taste it too!

OOoooh, this is MUCH better if I just dunk my whole hand in... why didn't I think of that earlier.
I think I'm going to need a bath.

Beautiful Day for a Marathon

We couldn't have asked for a better day for the Columbus Marathon. It was sunny and between 50 and 60 degrees the entire morning. Mike was able to jog the entire race (26 miles) and did so with a smile! We saw him run by at the 14 mile mark and he gave Ben a high five. Although Ben didn't enjoy being in the car for 90 minutes (we found out that one hour is the amount of time he will patiently sit in his car seat), he really got a kick out of the runners once we got there. The first few minutes we were there, Ben was cracking up at the people jogging by. Even when Ben was done laughing, he couldn't take his eyes off of the runners. He loved it! I was glad we were able to be a part of this event.


Ben's front row seat in his car watching the runners go past. We also brought his stroller along to hold his equipment and just in case he didn't want to sit in his car any longer.

Ben and I waiting for daddy.

Ben and Grandma Deb still waiting for daddy.

Here he is!!!

and there he goes!

Sorry it has been so long since I've posted.

Hi everyone. We really don't have anything new to report. We have all been healthy and Ben doesn't have anything new happening in his medical or developmental world. The marathon Mike has been training for so hard is finally here this weekend. It is in Columbus on Sunday and my mom and I are planning on taking Ben to cheer Mike on at the 14 mile marker. Unfortunately, we can't stay for the entire race because Ben doesn't tolerate sitting still in his stroller for long - he wants to spend his time and energy rolling on the ground. Ben gets very grumpy if he doesn't get his way too and that makes for a long hour and a half trip back to Cincinnati. So we are playing it safe and planning the trip around Ben's nap and not spending too much time with Ben in the stroller. If only he slept in his car seat, we wouldn't have to beat it home so fast! Ben is excited though and ready to show his support.

We are also anxiously awaiting Halloween this year. I can't wait to put Ben in his cow costume. This will be the first year we take him trick-or-treating. We plan on going to just a few houses because Ben really won't be eating the candy and I definitely don't need it! I have a chicken hat to wear too so we are going to be a group of farm animals! Ben tried on my hat (yes, it fit him too) and decided he wanted to stick with the cow costume - more his style.