Typical Toddler

I haven't had too much to post about lately but I do have a few new pics of Dominic. He's progressing nicely. Still no crawling or walking, but he is moving all around. He can go from sitting to lying down to flipping over onto his belly and pushing back up to sitting. He can even get up to all fours on his own! He doesn't stay there long, but he's figured out how to do it! He loves to give kisses, and by kisses I mean he devours your whole face and covers you in slobber. But it's sweet. He babbles all the time too. He does say "Dada" now and while I don't think he's actually trying to say "I did it", he says it ALL THE TIME. So, he's trying to say something and it comes out sounding exactly like "I did it". It's hilarious.

His Kissy face

I didn't have the video camera, but here is a series of photos taken within about 2 minutes to catch how much this kid is moving!

Up on all fours on his own!

He's really turning into a typical toddler (well, except for actually "toddling" around). But we've gone out to dinner a few times over the past few weeks and he's grabbing menus and tossing them off the table. Grabbing and eating crayons. He sneaks the salt shaker a starts shaking salt everywhere. He even figured out how to get a box of candy hearts open on his own! I've realized I really need to keep my eye on him all the time. He might not be walking or crawling everywhere, but he's moving and is just as curious as any other 17 month old.

My little valentine

It's really fun to see Dominic and Mitchell interact these days. Because Dominic is stronger and more mobile, Mitchell has a lot more fun with him. He loves to tickle him and sort of wrestle around with him. And Dominic thinks Mitchell is the funnest thing ever. It's really sweet. I was worried for so long that Mitchell would resent Dominic for all the attention he got the past year, especially with his surgery. But he doesn't at all and actually adores him. I'm sure they'll fight as they get older, but for now they're very fond of each other.

Brothers :o)

We're all still battling colds around here. It seems like we all have colds for the entire winter season. I'm ready for Spring! Excited we're almost into March! Since we were all a little under the weather after a busy weekend visiting family, I decided we were going to have a pajama party day. We're staying in pajamas all day and we made a big bed on the living room floor out of pillows. We're just watching movies, reading books and relaxing all day. Sounds good to me!

Pajama party!

Mover and Shaker

We've had a busy few weeks! Between a couple illnesses and busy therapy schedules, we are as crazy as usual. We've also grieved the loss of my grandmother and Mike, Dominic and I flew to Kansas last weekend for the funeral. Mitchell had fun with his cousins and Aunt and Uncle. It was very hard but the service was beautiful and a wonderful tribute to the amazing woman my grandmother was. It was also very nice to spend some time with my mom's side of the family.

Waiting for our plane

Mike and Dominic at the funeral

Some of the Blow family

The four Blow Sissies ( with cousin Steph filling in for Aunt Nancy)

Dominic is doing great! He's making some great progress with his walking and is taking steps on his own (holding my hands, of course) all the time! He's moving around a lot in his gait trainer and enjoying being on his feet. He's also getting really good and moving himself around. No, he's not crawling, but he probably won't. He does however turn himself around both sitting and on his tummy. I wouldn't be surprised if he started scooting around soon. He's also babbling all the time and has a few words - ba ba (bottle), cheese, hi and bye-bye. No Mama or Dadda yet, he's making progress!



Here is a video of Dominic at physical therapy working on walking/stepping. Yes, that is an ankle weight around his waist. He seems to be looking for a little more input from the ground, hence the reason he likes to jump a lot. The weight gives him a little more of that input and the knee immobilizers keep him from jumping up and down. These are some of the best steps he's taken! But he's not afraid to let Robin know when he's had enough for the day :o)



He's still really fighting the constraint therapy, so his OT has decided to back off a little with that. Instead, we're focusing more on bilateral use. So, rolling and throwing a ball, shaking maracas in both hands at once, clapping etc. His right hand seems to follow his left when he's not thinking about it and when we don't take away the left. He'll hold his bottle with both hands, but try to get him to just use the right and he flips out. So, the ultimate goal is to have him use his right hand as a "helper" to the left and he's doing pretty well with it so far. He's got great shoulder and upper arm strength on his right side, though, and he's amazing at upward facing dog! Sometimes I make him practice yoga with me :o)

In other good news, Dominic is DONE with Clonazepam! After 4 1/2 months of weaning him off, he is officially DONE with it. He is now down to just one seizure medication (Keppra) which he will be on at least until August, possibly longer. Aside from the Keppra, the only other medication Dominic is on is Bicitra for his kidney stones. It's hard to believe a year ago he was on 11 meds, including steroid injections!

Life is still crazy and stressful but it's encouraging to see Dominic continue to progress. He is a happy little guy and continues to bring us joy everyday!