Swim therapy
Thursday, January 07, 2010
I haven't mentioned yet that Elijah started swim therapy a few weeks ago. I wanted to wait a few weeks to see how things went before I made any comments about it. Well, we are three sessions in and we are pulling him out.
The first session went ok. The second session brought a few tears. The third session was awful. I sat at the edge of the pool and cried as Elijah screamed MOMMY! MOMMY! MOMMY! as if someone was trying to cut off his fingers. Ok, I know when my little boy is uncomfortable (see: most PT sessions) and I know when he is terrified. During this swim session, he was 100% terrified. His teacher kept pushing and pushing him to stand and walk and float alone in the water and no matter how upset he got, she just kept pushing. I was ready to dive into the pool, clothes on and all, and rescue my scared little boy. It was heart-wrenching.
At the end of the session he grabbed me around the neck and would not let go. He kept saying HOME! BYE SWIMMING POOL! I felt terrible for just sitting and watching all of the trauma, so I hugged him tight and told him I loved him about a million times. Never again. It isn't worth it.
So now we will be doing regular PT every week like we were before. Bye bye swim therapy!
Posted by The Portas 6:03 PM 2 comments Links to this post
Labels: swim therapy
Snow!
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
I don't know if he will remember this, but my dad told me about a vivid dream he had about Elijah a couple months before he was born. He told me that he woke up from the dream knowing three things about our little boy: 1. He would be chubby, 2. He would be extremely stubborn/strong-willed, and 3. He would adore snow.
At the time, I thought "Ha!" about number one. We were having a baby with serious heart defects! We had done our research, so we knew that heart babies typically were not described as being "chubby." Despite the odds, Elijah was always a chubby baby, so that part of my dad's dream was surprisingly right.
Regarding number two, well, we all know that "strong-willed" is one of the main words used to describe Elijah. :)
And number three, the love for snow, I have wondered about since my dad told me about the dream. It was confirmed Christmas weekend that that was right on, too!
I think it's pretty cool that his dream was so accurate.
Elijah certainly did adore being in the snow. He didn't want to move around at all, which wasn't a huge surprise, but he did NOT want to go back inside.
I went inside after a while and I could hear Elijah yelling, "MAMA INSIDE!" I opened the door to say hello and he said, "Shut da door, Mama! Mama in!" He saw his fun little snowy world as being "in." I thought it was cute that he wanted me to come "inside" to the outside.
And how cute is it that this snowsuit was Dan's snowsuit as a little munchkin?
And this was his unhappy face upon learning that it was time to go inside.
Posted by The Portas 5:10 PM 6 comments Links to this post
New walking legs
Monday, January 04, 2010
Are you getting tired of our videos yet? I can't help but post the new silly walking Elijah was doing tonight. And doesn't Dan look like a mountain man? He is shaving/cutting off the hair next Sunday! I CAN'T WAIT!!
This past weekend was so different from the previous weekend. Elijah was a very well-behaved little boy and the majority of our time together was pleasant and fun (although bitterly cold when forced to walk into the outdoors). Maybe all the walking distracted him?
The first two days of walking were exciting for him, but after a few falls on the tile he has become a little bit more hesitant to zoom around the house. As with everything, we are letting him do this at his own pace (with a little gentle coaxing) so he doesn't get overwhelmed and frustrated. He gets nervous about walking if we are anywhere but our home, which is just fine for now. His confidence will increase as his skills get better.
I have been an emotional pregnant wreck lately, so every little thing makes me cry and one of the things I cannot stop crying about is Elijah's new walking skills. Over the past almost-three years, I have wondered many times if we would ever see this day. OUR LITTLE BOY IS WALKING!!! AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING! THANK YOU, GOD!
I will be out of town for work meetings for two days and one night this week, so I have been soaking up all the Elijah time that I possibly can. Not like I don't always do that anyway. Mommy-Elijah time is the best. (I am now officially "Mommy" and no longer "Mama.")
We got to listen to the baby's heartbeat again today. What a comforting sound. I just started feeling some punches and kicks coming from in there, too! Next Thursday I will get a Level 2 ultrasound and at the end of January I will go back for a fetal echocardiogram. We are excited to get a glimpse of Elijah's little sibling! I have had a very strong feeling we will be having another boy, but we will find out for sure next week.
Elijah's cough/cold is finally nearly gone. We're hoping this is the new trend for the new year. I hope you all are having a great start to your new year! Thank you so much for checking in on us!
Posted by The Portas 6:07 PM 6 comments Links to this post
Labels: cough, photos, sickness, walking, weekend
More walking!!
Sunday, January 03, 2010
We knew Elijah would just decide to walk one day and never look back. Look at the little show-off, patting his tummy while walking. :)
I LOVE IT! I still cannot believe it as I see him zooming around the house.
Posted by The Portas 6:35 AM 11 comments Links to this post
WOW!!! There absolutely could not be a better way to start the year.
Saturday, January 02, 2010
WE ARE WALKING!!!!!
This is what has been going on in our house since yesterday. What an amazing way to start 2010! We have very patiently waited almost THREE YEARS for this moment and Elijah has worked sooo very hard to get to this point. I cannot even begin to explain the feelings I have right now.
I'm so proud of my amazing little boy.
Posted by The Portas 12:16 PM 9 comments Links to this post
Goodbye 2009. You were a great year.
Friday, January 01, 2010
I'm a little bit sad to say goodbye to 2009. It was a really really good year for us. 2010 will bring some major changes for our family, and I feel partly afraid but mostly excited about it all.
Happy New Year to you all! (Turn up your volume and enjoy our 2009 slide show!)
Posted by The Portas 10:41 AM 5 comments Links to this post
Labels: holidays, new year, video
Potty chair
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Don't tell Elijah I'm posting these photos on the internet!
We haven't made much progress lately with potty training, but I feel good that we've gotten the process started.
I'm not sure why he was wearing boots as part of his potty attire, but he could not look any cuter, in my opinion. 
Although we're not necessarily making progress with potty training, progress IS being made in other areas.
Elijah had a VERY exciting physical therapy session last night (once the initial standard drama ended). He initiated independent walking repeatedly and took up to TWELVE steps completely on his own each time. He is getting so so so so close!
Things I have heard E say in the past few days:
"Let's go find Daddy!"
"Let's go look!"
"Here comes Daddy!"
I'm so proud of our little talker and almost-walker!!
Posted by The Portas 5:02 PM 2 comments Links to this post
Labels: photos, potty training, speech, walking
