Liberty Swing

Today I took Evan to Kloss park to try out the new Wheelchair swing which they call The Liberty Swing. I had to go to the community to get a key which unlocks the seat belt and the ramp that holds the swing stationary. It was interesting because everyone at the park was certainly curious about what we were doing. But Evan's smile says it all. And I would ask him "Evan do you want down or do you want more and he would always sign more. He loved it and I loved that my son was able to experience swinging. We have tried the baby swings but Evan is just too big and last time it took two people to get him out in addition to taking his orthotics and shoes off. I tried to push him on the regular swing but he just cannot hold on with two hands and almost fell off. So I am really glad that we can take advantage of this option. There is not doubt that I will be sharing this with as many other special needs families that I can. I was in tears watching Evan smile and laugh as he swung on the swing. It was the best part of the day.

Notice that he has a grip on his train, he had that all day. But check out that smile.

First Day of School

Today was a big day for Cynthia who started 10th grade at Franklin High School and Gabriel who is now a 1st grader at Franklin Elementary. Here are the traditional first day of school pictures. Gabriel is happy to have his friend Rodger back to start school with.

Evan's New AFO's

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Evan got a new pair of AFO's today. We were really excited about this because his last pair were getting way too small for him and had been causing bruising.





Also this new pair has horses on the straps so Evan is really excited about that. So for Evan's first pair of orthotics he had to wear a size 12.5XW shoe because they are so bulky and had the slip guard and padding on them since he was not really walking when we first got them casted. His second pair were a lot less bulky and he was able to wear a size 11.5XW to start with but he was wearing them with a 12XW since his feet had grown and the 11.5 XW were looking very worn out. (i was excited that he actually wore out a pair of shoes). So I figured either the 12 or 12.5XW should fit with the new orthotics. Well they did not so I was not thrilled since there was really not money in the budget to buy a new pair of shoes until next friday.

Well, God was certainly blessing us today, because after doing the final adjustments the orthotist walks in with 3 boxes of shoes and not just any shoes these specific types of shoes that are made for orthotics called Answer 2 and he says that he is now giving away a pair of shoes with every pair of new orthotics and if we wanted additional pairs they are $35. Rudy and I were so thrilled the answer to our problem was solved. We are so blessed. So needless to say we will be going to Hangar orthotics for as long as we can.

I also have to give thanks that we have insurance, and medi-cal and also the Alta California regional center to cover the cost of these orthotics because I signed the bill today which stated the cost as being $1300. And I know of other states where there is not this type of coverage. So in spite of all of the not so fun stuff we get to endure on this journey with Evan, there are great moments as well and today was one of them.

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom

On July 31, we went to Six Flags with Grandma Barbara & Celeste. The kids had tons of fun and Evan was even able to ride a few rides. Celeste and Auntie road the water ride and we sure got soaked. The Thomas Town was good but it took three tries for us to be able to ride the train because they were having mechanical difficulties that day.

Teaching

Here is Cynthia teaching Gabriel the finer skills of doing the dishes. I know that Cynthia is eager to pass on this chore to her younger brother, probably in a year or so but in the meantime Gabe helps clear the table, vacuum the floor and load and unload the dishwasher.

Sleeping Angels

I just had to take some pics of my boys sleeping, it is a favorite time of day

Evan and Connor

Evan has a new friend in Connor who is a younger brother of Gabriel's friend Nicholas. Here are Evan and Connor spinning on our computer chair, they are having tons of fun.

DynaVox

Evan has done very well in his development but speech is a big area where he is very behind, we have been working on signing but their is frustration with both Rudy and I as parents and Evan as the child who cannot get his needs or wants across to us. We have decided to get a DynaVox communication device for Evan, this is basically a personal computer for him that has a program for communication, it has pictures and scenes that he can choose from. He has done a great job in learning to choose and navigate up to 2 screens. Hopefully we will get Evan's device sometime in September so he will have a chance to work with it before he starts preschool in November. These pictures are of Evan and his speech therapist Jane and the DynaVox rep Jamie.

Boys of Summer

Here are some pictures taken at a swim party with Gabriel's school friend Nicholas, Dylan and Yousef. They have had a lot of fun playing together this summer.

Family Wedding May 2007

Gabriel was a ring bearer in Jay and Genessa's wedding. Genessa is Rudy's cousin.

Easter 2007

Here are some pictures of Easter-coloring eggs, egg hunt and Evan on the brink of taking his first independent steps.