July 4th

Today was a day for BBQ and fireworks and we did both. We actually had a very quiet day at home. Rob cooked ribs out on the grill and Mom and Dad and Grandma came over and we stuffed our faces, as usual, and then the kids had fun with Daddy popping a few fireworks in the backyard. We didn't want to fight the crowds this year and go see any of the big shows. And as it turns out, we didn't have to. We walked outside tonight when we heard the big firework booms from the neighboring towns and we were able to see the fireworks from both Robertsdale and Summerdale. The kids were so excited to see that right there in our own neighborhood. :)

I need to talk a little bit about the issue with Ethan and his sensory problems. I did email his Kindergarten teacher and ask her if she noticed a problem with him in school. She said that she was very surprised to hear that he was having so much difficulty touching paper because he never indicated any kind of problem. In fact, she said that he was always so detail oriented with things that he was often one of the last ones finished when working on something. One thing that I started to think about was that maybe he has just been a little traumatized by everything that has happened this summer and it has just manifested through his sensory issues. He is always so sensitive and caring toward Emily and he was really affected when she had to go through two brain surgeries. Plus, as much as we try not to do it, he does kind of get tossed aside when we have to tend to her in the hospital. There is just no way to avoid it. He is with his Nana and Papa and loves it there, but there is still a feeling of being shuffled around. I decided to have a talk with Ethan today and I had an idea for him. Ethan used to make me pictures all the time. I went in his bedroom and closed the door so just he and I could talk. I told him that I noticed something today that kind of made me a little bit sad. I told him that I noticed that on our Art Wall in my bedroom (it is the one wall in the house that we designate for their pictures), all of the pictures that are hanging in there are from Emily. I noticed that we haven't received any pictures from Ethan in a very long time. I told him how much I used to love it when he would draw me the pictures of the movie characters that he was really into at the moment and I had an idea for him. I asked him if he would draw me something from Star Wars. He said that he couldn't touch the paper. I told him that I would tape the paper down to his desk so he wouldn't have to hold it down. We talked a little more about the feel of paper and he had a picture hanging up on his wall that he had colored last year and it was very detailed. I asked him what was different about paper this year that made it feel different for him than it did last year. I told him to feel the picture he did last year. I asked him how he was able to do it then. He told me that he actually didn't like the feeling of paper then either, but he just dealt with it. So, I finally convinced him how cool it would be to make me a Star Wars picture and I would stay with him the entire time he was drawing it. I even convinced him to use a PENCIL to draw with. He didn't finish the picture, but he made very good progress. We set up some of his Star Wars stuff for him to go by for his drawing, and he was concentrating hard. I am very proud of him for his effort. We will get through this problem of his together!!!

Something happened tonight that broke my heart into a million pieces. Emily realized that she has cerebral palsy (but without knowing it by name, of course). She walked over to me tonight and asked me why she is only able to stand on one foot. She told me that her left leg gets so tired because she can only stand on her left foot. She said that she can't stand on her right foot at all because it hurts her so bad. She wanted to know why she can't hop on that foot or skip on that foot and why she can't stand on that foot. I asked her what happens when she tries to stand on that foot. She tried to show me and as soon as she tried to put her weight on it, she immediately had to shift her weight off of it. I asked her where it hurt when she was standing on it. She said that it especially hurt in her heel and up the back of her leg. And then she asked again why she can't do it. I told her that we need to do exercises to be stretching out her legs and heel cords more. I asked her if she remembered the leg braces that she used to wear. She did. I told her that those were to stretch out heels and were to help her stand on both legs evenly. The thing is, I know that if we don't do something to make her quit compensating by standing more on that left leg, then she is going to have more problems down the road. It can lead to back problems, too. Emily is waaaayyyy over compensating for that right leg. She isn't able to bear any weight on it at all without it being painful to her. More things for me to add to my to do list!