Fun updates and bragging on my kids

Lauren got her cast put on Thursday June 14th. Since a giant cast is old hat for her, she's doing really well! She's even walking on it, which terrified me but her orthopedic surgeon said it's totally ok. Greg's going to buy a cast shoe tomorrow so she doesn't completely damage the cast by walking.

We went up north as a family (extended family! Almost 40 of us gather yearly for a week long vacation known as Wancha Week (my maiden name is Wancha). It's pretty much amazing. It's Saturday-Saturday. We had Lauren stay until Monday and then Greg's parents took her through Friday. We left Friday night to go back home so we could wake up in our own beds. I missed Lauren so much! We had planned to stay 2 nights in our camper, but went home after just one so we could go to church in the morning.

Lauren usually doesn't stay the whole time because she gets people'd out pretty quickly and doesn't really tolerate it, and she's really freaking hard sometimes. Generally we worry about elopement but we didn't have to this time (silver lining to a broken leg) Generally that means Greg and I also leave and my parents and my twin sister are watching Ryan for the rest of the trip. This year, Greg's parents offered to take Lauren so we could spend some time with Ryan and my extended family.  It was so great! Ryan chose to spend time with us, even going grocery shopping with us to spend time together. He swam for hours at a time in the lake. He even went tubing behind the boat!!! This is something he would've never been able to due last year due to his anxiety. We are so proud of him

Ryan had his usually funny Ryan-isms

My aunt: Ryan, are you digging to China?
Ryan: I'm pretty sure that's a myth (totally deadpan)

My other aunt: Ryan, come help me with this (shining a flashlight on a raccoon)
Ryan: I'm not sure I'm comfortable with this!

(Ryan's half birthday was while we were on the trip)
Ryan: Ahhh, now this is how you spend a half birthday!

We were really just reminded of what a completely amazing kid we have. He was polite, he played really well with all of the other kids (my niece, nephews, and cousins' kids). He played a domino game with extended family members and I wasn't even present. He later played with one of my aunts just the two of them. He swam a ton, was really fearless. He is basically the best kid ever and I'm guilty of forgetting that a lot. He's been pretty hyperactive and wild in the evenings sometimes since we started PANDAS treatment. We'd waaayyyy rather have that than his anxiety and resulting behavior issues he had before! It's always a reminder to us of how far he's come. Even my sister noticed (she takes him a lot of places along with her boys when it's something Lauren can't do right now) a significant decrease in his social anxiety. He has been introducing himself to other kids on the playground!!!

Lauren has been a blast. She is so sweet. Since Sunday she keeps telling me "Mommy, you're so kind". It leads me to believe they must've talked about kindness at church this week. She's been super lick-y and now licks faces when she's happy. It's so gross and we're trying to break her of it! But of course it's also totally adorable. Tonight she tried to out-stubborn me by refusing to put on pajamas and demanding to watch YouTube. So instead she didn't get rocked at bedtime, nobody laid with her, and daddy did bed time. She's obsessed with me so this is the ultimate punishment for her. She told me at bedtime when I got a hug, "I promise tomorrow I will listen". And you know what? She will! This only happens once in a great while, but she remembers and really does correct her behavior. She needs tons of positive reinforcement for things to sink in, so tomorrow I will thank her for being so sweet and listening. She had a speech therapy evaluation today to get some therapy over the summer. We usually do a comprehensive program over the summer but she aged out. So she will be getting speech and OT. Our speech goals for her are articulation (though a friend we saw in the lobby today said she understood everything Lauren said, which made me so happy) and reciprocal conversation skills. Truly I never expected her to speak so well and especially not at this age. It's truly nothing we did, it's just the luck of the draw and we came out pretty dang good. The trade-off is her fine motor skills, which are really poor and why we'll do some occupational therapy. And her gross motor skills weren't great before surgery due to her foot and resulting gait issue. And they weren't great after surgery because she only walked for like 2 weeks before breaking her leg. So we'll probably try for some physical therapy once her cast comes off (She was actually supposed to start PT this week, too but the broken leg stopped that).

I've been having some weird health issues that are a little bit GI, a little bit neurological, and some significant unintended weight loss. Greg has been so amazing with all of this and not getting frustrated (at least outwardly) when I'm unable to do normal things an adult has to do. I'm so thankful he's my other half. I'm having bloodwork done tomorrow to get started on the right track for a plan to get healthy! I'd appreciate prayers if you can spare them.

I don't currently have a Facebook as I've deactivated it for the forseeable future. I still have Facebook Messanger on my phone and am always available by email (jackieweldon.jw@gmail.com).

This right here, folks, is a tibia fracture. Lauren fractured her leg today at school. And yes, it was the left leg, the one she just had surgery on and just started bearing weight with. She's in a lot of pain, she's getting a walking cast tomorrow (thank God, I can remove it to bathe her). She can't stand or walk. She's allowed to bear weight when she's able, so that's good. But it took WEEKS after her cast came off post-op to convince her it was safe. She is snuggled next to me in my bed right now, because nothing earns you a night with mom more than a broken leg. She just told me, Mommy, I so scared at the doctor." That breaks my heart! Please pray she heals quickly and that her pain gets better.

Worth it

The kids only have one week left of school!!! YAY! I say that with only the tiniest bit of sarcasm. I worry that the summer will be full of screen time, but I know our summer babysitter is going to do great things with them. And Lauren will be getting PT, OT, and Speech therapy this summer. It will be busy and I'm sure it will fly by!

The day after school lets out we leave for our annual Wancha Week up north with my dad's side of the family. Around 30 or so of us go up north for a week. It's full of fun, boating, swimming, playing outside, and getting dirty. (No swimming for me, my finger is not healed.) It's Ryan's favorite time of the whole year. Myself, my sisters, and our cousins had kids right around the same time so there are tons of kids to play with. It's when Ryan is his happiest and we always look forward to it. Generally, Lauren can't tolerate a whole week so Greg and I leave early with her and Ryan stays back under the watchful eye of my entire family. This year we're going to see how long she can make it, but Greg's parents have offered to let us drop Lauren off to them (they're also up north, just about 2 hours from where we will be) if it's too much for her. Lauren loves her family, but gets pretty easily overwhelmed. When it becomes not at all fun for Greg and I, we generally call it quits. It becomes easier at home to keep her happy and entertained. And of course there's always the fear of elopement when we're not in place we've Lauren-proofed. But we're hopeful we can stay longer this time! Last year I think we made it 2 nights out of 7, so if we get 2 or 3 nights we'll call it a win! Sometimes it's extremely discouraging because it's times like that, when we have to leave a really fun family function, that we see just how different our parenting journey is than other families. My extended family is amazing, so understanding, and they are all willing to love Lauren on her terms (which often means at a distance!). We never feel judged for the times we can't stay at a function. Sometimes my life feels like it's all special needs all the time (since I work for a developmental pediatrician), but I also feel like God has called me to this life. The best things are worth both the mountains and the valleys.

The kids both had Field Day this week! This was my first week back to work, (I love my coworkers for making it as easy and gentle on my hand as possible!) and Greg's now on midnights so he's sleeping during the day. So my mom went to both kids' field day! They were on different days at different schools, and she was there for both of them. We love how much our families love our kids.

Ryan and one of his best friends

Lauren and her best friend in the whole world (other than mommy)

Today we officially joined our church! We spent several years at a couple different churches and it just never felt right to take the next step to become members. I know I've written before about the special needs ministry at our church. Today was celebration Sunday and was a review of great things that happened in the church. And to open service, the group for teenagers with developmental disabilities sang a song for the congregation. It warms my heart to think of Lauren, 10 years from now, having friends she can relate to and share life with in the church. It's what I dream of for both of my kids, really.

And last, but certainly not least, Ryan was student of the month!!! He was surprised at an assembly at school this past Monday. The character trait this month was kindness, so this was especially close to my heart. If I teach my children nothing else, I want them to know how important it is to be kind to others. You don't have to agree with anything a person does to show them kindness. The principal called later in the prior week to tell us, and it was such a hard secret to keep!! All the kids come walking into the gym looking for their parents, because they know if they see their parents, they are getting an award. Ryan's mouth dropped open! It was awesome. Ryan is really a child that craves recognition and praise, so we knew it would be really meaningful for him to be chosen. Later that week I surprised him with a frame for his award and a t-shirt that says "Best Kid Ever". He was so happy! I was so thankful that even after more than two weeks off of work, they let me come in late on my first day back so I wouldn't miss the assembly.

Another not fun update

My hand still hurts, but I'm back at work. It's nice to be back and my amazing coworkers are really letting me take it easy and do things I'm able.

Lauren had her follow up with the orthopedic surgeon today. I was concerned about her gait. She has a really wide stance and her left foot is turned out quite a bit. It turns out this won't likely get a whole lot better. We're going to start physical therapy ASAP. Surgery could correct the turning out of her foot, but he doesn't recommend it now and we wouldn't do it anyway. I'm feeling pretty discouraged! Lauren, however, has been doing pretty awesome. We ditched the wheelchair at school. She's still using it for community outings. We should be getting a new adaptive stroller, just awaiting insurance approval and then for it to be ordered and come in. I can't wait! Her current adaptive stroller we got right before she turned 3, so it's really small for her. The foot plates are so high up, even on the lowest setting, that I feel like her knees reach her ears!