Over Due Update

Sorry that I've neglected the blog for a while and deprived you all of new pics of Bray-My. Here he is with a new walker -- he has a love/hate relationship with this thing. Sometimes he will walk behind it slowly, and other times he goes into frantic cry mode when it moves. Either way, Brayden Boy looks really cute in his Hawaiian shirt :)

Yesterday Bray started speech therapy and tomorrow he will start physical therapy. The speech therapy went very well yesterday, and the ST even gave us a sign language DVD to use b/c I told her that I wanted to teach Bray some signs. I've been using the sign for "eat" when I say the word for a while now, and sometimes I do Mother and Father. He hasn't tried to copy anything yet, but he definitely knows the word and sign for eat -- his raises his eyebrows to answer "Yes, yes, yes!!" The sign language has nothing to do with his hearing or speech, I just want to use it b/c I think that it will be helpful. I've read good things about the program "Signing Times" and now that is shown on KET, so DH & Bray are going to start watching it (if they remember and if they're awake!). PT is during the day, and I hope that I can make it most weeks. I would like to watch what the therapist does and ask questions myself, but DH has promised to tell me everything if I miss a session.

I know you're looking at the pic above and wondering why he's in PT, but he's been standing for months now. . . it's some of the "simple" stuff that he skipped and can't do that we need to work on so that he develops all the necessary skills - rolling in all directions, crawling, transitioning from one position to another, etc. I have no doubt that Brayden Mynor will master all of these things in no time :) He's an incredibly strong little guy and very, very smart, he has just faced some serious life issues that got him off track in some areas. . . hey, you deal with a complex heart defect, e-coli infection, language change, international relocation, and culture shock and you might not be too concerned about rolling to your right side or twisting your trunk either!!!