I know it's been a while.
Dustin is doing great.
He is walking probably 75% of the time now while still doing his Mowgli-Jungle Book crawl. He is getting very proficient at stairs also and we still don't have the gates up. Do you think "Child Services" will come take Dustin away...? To encourage his walking we walk up and down the driveway, in the cul-de-sac, and on the sidelines during Zach's soccer games. His walking is off a bit and Dustin's physical therapist has indicated that he has Clinodactyly, which is a very minor thing correctable with orthotics, so these have been ordered - no big deal.
With speech therapy, his signing is improving also as he definitely has "all done" and he tells us when he does not want to eat anymore. For now the two primary signs are "all done" and "more" both of which are focused within the context of eating. With the speech therapist we are working on signs and making sounds and words like baby, daddy, and cookie, as B, D, G, and K sounds right now are the easiest for him. Every once in a while you can hear him say "baby" or "gobble".
No update on vision therapy as he won't really start wearing glasses for long periods of time until he makes the connection between walking and seeing more clearly where he is walking. This may take a bit. He does continue to have vision therapy with a focus on tasks that require him to identify colors and things.
With feeding therapy, Dustin is beginning to make use of his growing set of teeth and his pincher grasp is getting somewhat better - overall he still needs to be hand fed...no big deal.
No particular update on developmental therapy - this continues...and we will be adding occupational therapy which is focused on "meaningful tasks". Not sure exactly how this differs from developmental therapy...we'll see.
Of note with this update is that we told Zach for the first time that his brother has DS. He said OK...of course Zach does not fully grasp what this is for multiple reasons , one of which is that the challenges Dustin face are less visible to Zach at this time.
Zach started 2nd grade which is of course helpful to Lisa (back in school)! So far so good one month in...Zach had a very busy summer with camps, including science camp! Zach is currently playing soccer and will start swimming right after that.
We had a great summer going to the pool, playing tennis (Rob), biking (Zach and Rob), going to Disneyworld (all) and the Blue Ridge Mountains (all).
Check out recent pictures here, here, and here.
Also, check out this really inspirational article about a dad and his 19 year old daughter Gillian who has DS.
Prayer Request: Please pray for an upcoming surgery that Dustin has to have to cap some teeth that are coming in decayed. They will have to put him under for this.
Thanks and love,
Rob and Lisa
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Walk the Walk, Talk the Talk
Sorry for no update in a while...
We're getting into the swing of spring, including Easter, yard work, church softball (Rob), soccer (Zach), Y-Guides Spring Outing weekend (Zach and Rob), and tennis (Rob). We also took sometime to visit Grandma Sandy in Las Vegas, including several days spent at Zion National Park. Checkout pictures here (baseball opening day and Spring Outing) and here (Zion).
Dustin is doing really well and our focus now is taking more steps walking and sign language - he now has a speech therapist (focused now on signing). Dustin now has feeding therapy (Mon), speech therapy (Tues), physical therapy (Weds), developmental therapy (Fri) and vision therapy (Fri). Whew - that's alot right! Thankfully everyone comes to our house except the feeding therapist as Lisa will go to Duke (about 20-25 min drive) for this. We are blessed to have all of this therapy available for Dustin!
Dustin has been taking 2-3 steps at a time for a few months now although he really prefers either the typical crawling motion or one best described as the "Mowgli"crawl from the Jungle Book movie. With either crawling motion he can really move! Of course he sees us walk and he really wants to walk too and continues to try and both increase his success and confidence. He's also getting into things so we have started the babyproofing. In the past week, his physical therapist has started working with him on stairs. We have to watch this one because we'll need to have all the gates up (can you say steeplechase) around the house before he reaches too much success on this one.
With signing, he is working on go, more, eat, and done. He is doing well with "more" but less so with the others...signing in the context of eating works best but other settings and situations are conducive. This is definitely a prayer request as we want to communicate with our little buddy!
All in all he is doing great! He is enjoying Spring as he can crawl around in the grass and enjoy his new swing which he really loves!
Zach is doing well and getting to the end of 1st grade - tennis starts next week and pretty soon it will be camp season! Zach is also very excited that we painted his room - he loves his new room.
Thanks for your prayers and love. Go Sox!
We're getting into the swing of spring, including Easter, yard work, church softball (Rob), soccer (Zach), Y-Guides Spring Outing weekend (Zach and Rob), and tennis (Rob). We also took sometime to visit Grandma Sandy in Las Vegas, including several days spent at Zion National Park. Checkout pictures here (baseball opening day and Spring Outing) and here (Zion).
Dustin is doing really well and our focus now is taking more steps walking and sign language - he now has a speech therapist (focused now on signing). Dustin now has feeding therapy (Mon), speech therapy (Tues), physical therapy (Weds), developmental therapy (Fri) and vision therapy (Fri). Whew - that's alot right! Thankfully everyone comes to our house except the feeding therapist as Lisa will go to Duke (about 20-25 min drive) for this. We are blessed to have all of this therapy available for Dustin!
Dustin has been taking 2-3 steps at a time for a few months now although he really prefers either the typical crawling motion or one best described as the "Mowgli"crawl from the Jungle Book movie. With either crawling motion he can really move! Of course he sees us walk and he really wants to walk too and continues to try and both increase his success and confidence. He's also getting into things so we have started the babyproofing. In the past week, his physical therapist has started working with him on stairs. We have to watch this one because we'll need to have all the gates up (can you say steeplechase) around the house before he reaches too much success on this one.
With signing, he is working on go, more, eat, and done. He is doing well with "more" but less so with the others...signing in the context of eating works best but other settings and situations are conducive. This is definitely a prayer request as we want to communicate with our little buddy!
All in all he is doing great! He is enjoying Spring as he can crawl around in the grass and enjoy his new swing which he really loves!
Zach is doing well and getting to the end of 1st grade - tennis starts next week and pretty soon it will be camp season! Zach is also very excited that we painted his room - he loves his new room.
Thanks for your prayers and love. Go Sox!
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Run For a Prize That Lasts Forever
Today is my birthday. I am thankful for my God for He is great - there is no greater birthday present than Him. Of course I am thankful for Lisa and for Zach and Dustin.
Sorry it has been a bit without an update on Dustin.
Recently, I have spent time with other families that have a son almost exactly the same age as Dustin - who is almost 20 months old. Boys Dustin's age are both walking and talking and for a fleeting moment I pause for what should be. I fall into that trap which makes me compare Dustin to other kids. In other words, I am running a race, in Paul's words "for a crown that will not last". I am thankful that these moments are few and brief.
To say that Dustin is a joy, a blessing beyond imagination, is an understatement. His spirit is powerful and our days are filled with glimpses into his soul. He has an amazing smile and an infectious laugh. He loves his mommy and daddy, his big bro Zach, and even his brother Burdick the cat (and Burdick is very tolerant of the love he receives that is often not very gentle!).
The progress with Dustin is noticeable - he is eating more solid foods every day, he has learned how to wave and clap, and he loves to dance to all kinds of music - especially Barry White! A few days ago, he even wore his glasses for nearly 5 minutes!
Right now, Dustin is standing - proudly! Dustin will talk, he will walk, and of course he will run - to our chagrin many times he will run the other direction very quickly. For this we are sure.
With or without Dustin, our charge is to run for a prize that will last forever, and to stay close to Him as he is the One who will be the"lamp unto our feet". Our prayer is that we do this with even greater vigor than we might otherwise do.
Many of you might have already read this story, or seen this video - but I am reminded of the British track star Derek Redmond, who in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, felt compelled to finish his 400m race, despite an injury mid-race that instantly ended his Olympic medal bid. It reminds me of Paul's charge for us to run the race for the crown that will last.
Run the race and let God work out the outcome - for we know that if we let Him use us, the outcome will be great.
Thank you for all of your love and prayers - God works!
Sorry it has been a bit without an update on Dustin.
Recently, I have spent time with other families that have a son almost exactly the same age as Dustin - who is almost 20 months old. Boys Dustin's age are both walking and talking and for a fleeting moment I pause for what should be. I fall into that trap which makes me compare Dustin to other kids. In other words, I am running a race, in Paul's words "for a crown that will not last". I am thankful that these moments are few and brief.
To say that Dustin is a joy, a blessing beyond imagination, is an understatement. His spirit is powerful and our days are filled with glimpses into his soul. He has an amazing smile and an infectious laugh. He loves his mommy and daddy, his big bro Zach, and even his brother Burdick the cat (and Burdick is very tolerant of the love he receives that is often not very gentle!).
The progress with Dustin is noticeable - he is eating more solid foods every day, he has learned how to wave and clap, and he loves to dance to all kinds of music - especially Barry White! A few days ago, he even wore his glasses for nearly 5 minutes!
Right now, Dustin is standing - proudly! Dustin will talk, he will walk, and of course he will run - to our chagrin many times he will run the other direction very quickly. For this we are sure.
With or without Dustin, our charge is to run for a prize that will last forever, and to stay close to Him as he is the One who will be the"lamp unto our feet". Our prayer is that we do this with even greater vigor than we might otherwise do.
Many of you might have already read this story, or seen this video - but I am reminded of the British track star Derek Redmond, who in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, felt compelled to finish his 400m race, despite an injury mid-race that instantly ended his Olympic medal bid. It reminds me of Paul's charge for us to run the race for the crown that will last.
Run the race and let God work out the outcome - for we know that if we let Him use us, the outcome will be great.
Thank you for all of your love and prayers - God works!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Dustin Got His Goggles!
Hi all and happy new year to everyone.
Other than a sinus infection that got a hold of both Dustin and Lisa, we are all doing well.
Dustin is making progress with standing up on his own as he can now do this for 3-4 seconds at a time. He loves to try as he is very determined and is very proud of himself and his progress. Big bro Zach is very encouraging and loves to play with Big D (now 18 lbs!).
The big news is that Dustin got his goggles/glasses yesterday and we are asking for prayer that he will cooperate to keep them on! He is near sighted with 20-80 vision and it is important that he get used to these as better vision will help in any of number things related to his development - including an ability to better communicate using sign language.
Check out the picture of Professor Dustin and thanks for your prayers!
We love you!
Other than a sinus infection that got a hold of both Dustin and Lisa, we are all doing well.
Dustin is making progress with standing up on his own as he can now do this for 3-4 seconds at a time. He loves to try as he is very determined and is very proud of himself and his progress. Big bro Zach is very encouraging and loves to play with Big D (now 18 lbs!).
The big news is that Dustin got his goggles/glasses yesterday and we are asking for prayer that he will cooperate to keep them on! He is near sighted with 20-80 vision and it is important that he get used to these as better vision will help in any of number things related to his development - including an ability to better communicate using sign language.
Check out the picture of Professor Dustin and thanks for your prayers!
We love you!
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