End of Summer

I can't believe it's September! I have no idea where this summer went. Let alone this year! Dominic will be TWO at the end of September. Wild. Anyway, we are starting to get back into our fall routine in the Dunlap house. Mitchell starts school on Wednesday and then soccer on Thursday. I can't believe how old he is getting, or that I'm in the "back to school" phase of my life. We've got a busy calendar these next few months between school, PT, OT, Early On, play groups, Bible study, and soccer. Dominic's Early On OT really wanted him to do this intensive speech playgroup, but I honestly didn't feel like we had the time or energy for it this fall. Plus, it's a playgroup. I've talked with all three of his therapists and none of them feel he should be evaluated for speech therapy at this point, so why does he need an intense speech "playgroup"? We see friends all the time and he is already attending a "playgroup" at Campus Early Childhood once a week! Sometimes I think he just needs to be a kid and play. He has been shuffled around between appointments most of his life. He is FINALLY at a point where he is healthy, thriving, and happy. I hate to add even more appointment to his schedule when it's not really necessary. So, even though I am the queen of "feeling guilty for not doing enough," I said no. And I'm happy about it. Dominic will have all his appointments while Mitchell is at school, but I'm also really hoping for some quality one-on-one time with Dominic. The kid is hilarious and we really don't spend enough time just playing together.

End of summer backyard campout

He loves his new gait trainer

Zoo trip

Playdate at the park

All ready for soccer!

Goofing around 

Cheering for Mom at the Naperville Triathlon

Pizza and ice cream at National Night Out

So besides getting back into our fall routine, we will be celebrating a big birthday for Dominic at the end of this month. We also have our one year follow-up appointments scheduled with. Dr. Chugani and Dr. Sood; as well as an MRI. I'm actually really excited to see what they have to say. We are seeing Dr. Arndt here in Grand Rapids on Tuesday as well. I'm hoping we will reduce or eliminate the Keppra altogether, but we'll see. I guess there's no rush. I got an email from a mother in the Hemispherectomy support group who's son had surgery 10 years ago and recently started having seizures again. It's amazing that Dominic has been seizure-free for a year, but I know we're not out of the woods yet. I'm not against keeping him on an anti-epileptic if it will reduce his chances of returning seizures. We'll see what all the docs have to say in the upcoming months.

Dominic has made some great progress this past month. No, he's not walking yet. But he has gained a lot of confidence and walks all around the coffee table; goes between the couch and the table and back. He has stood for a few seconds on his own before he realized he wasn't holding on. It won't be long before he walks! He just doesn't have great balance being Hemiplegic. But he is motivated and anxious to chase after his big brother :o)

He has made some gains in his speech as well. No, he STILL won't say Mama, but he seems to add a new word or two each day. His most recent new words are "cookie", "keys", and "sock". He even attempted to say "bye bye, Sarah" to his OT today. But nooooooo, won't say "mama"! I'm only the one who grew you, birthed you, cared for you, held you, and nursed you! I'm not bitter, don't worry. I know the day he says it for real though, it will melt my heart.

So, in addition to our busy fall schedule, we decided to spice it up with a little constraint therapy. Sarah and I discussed it today and she's planning on casting Dominic at the end of September. She feels he has gained enough mobility that he's ready for it. So, she will cast his left hand/arm (his good one) for 3-8 weeks! She said they have had a lot of success with other kiddos. I'm more worried about the fact that he won't be able to suck his thumb. I'm thinking it's going to be a rough several weeks. But, if it means he'll gain a lot of fine motor skills in his right hand, I'm all for it. He has just been such a stinker at therapy lately because he knows he can do everything with his left hand, so why should he bother with the right? Sarah assured me she would warn me the day before so I could have a few glasses of wine to prepare myself for the hell that will ensue. I'm really hoping and praying that because Dominic has such a great demeanor that he will get over it in a couple days. But we'll see, he is almost two after all!

We head to Naperville this weekend for a R&R and a Jurgensen family reunion! I'm so excited to see family I haven't seen since last year and relax by the pool. Our last farewell to summer!