Somewhat better....

We are doing somewhat better today finally.  So we have been having a little fun.  Thought I would share this cute video of Braden. 

Stomach bug... blah!!!

So the last two weeks have not been fun.  Grayson got a stomach bug and now Braden has it.  So we have had a lot of messes, some weight loss, lack of eating etc... We have been making the best of it and thankfully we have an extra week now before school starts.

I was able to talk to Braden's new teacher today and was so thankful that she called and wanted to introduce herself.  She has a meet and greet next Wed. and we may not be able to go unless Braden is eating normal again over the weekend we won't take the risk.  So school will officially start Aug. 6th for B.

Today has been a good bit better at least this morning.  I have made a few new games for the kids out of learning bean bags.  Grayson now knows his abc's and the abc song so here's a video showing off his skills. :-)  Along with a few pics of Braden playing with the numbers board.

Resistance as usual..

Guess it's not so bad

Potty training update...

Our potty training was interrupted by Lil G getting a stomach bug.  The poor baby still isn't all better just yet and I sure hope the rest of us do not get it.  Not all of my potty training supplies came in until today.  Not sure if the plastic pants will help B feel less comfortable in wet pants.  We shall see...  We have attempted a few more days to raise awareness but I am not going all out till he at least knows how to potty.  It's useless if he doesn't grasp the entire concept.  We have a few potty books. One is Elmo and the other is about being a Big Boy.  Which Braden takes interest in anything that has to do with being Big. :-)  So he especially likes the Big Boy potty book. 

Lately, our boys are obsessed with Thomas the Train.  They absolutely love watching this show and they fight over the only two trains Thomas and Percy that we own. lol  I found a DVD with 20 videos and they have been watching it almost every day.  Grayson goes around singing the title song.  Braden is extremely interested in books now too.  It's awesome because every night we have story time and he gets so excited.  I always say "Story time Story time" and G will repeat.  I had found a Thomas the train book that is level 1 reading and Braden made me read it 3 times last nite. :-)  They are also into Toy Story and Mr. Potato head.  I would love to find a bunch of Mr. Potato head parts but they really don't seem to have that much out there.

We found out this week that Braden's preschool teacher will not be his teacher this year.  Kinda surprised how quickly that happened and I'm not sure if they will have someone in the next week or not.  I was feeling panicked about it because I signed Braden up to ride the bus.  So I asked if the teacher's aides would stay the same and they said YES.  I am so thankful because Holly and Wendi know Braden and understand all his needs.  Not to mention they are familiar and will make the transition much easier on him.  He also has a friend from summer services that will be in his class this year.  It's so great because this little boy and Braden really get along well.  He will also have some other friends that attended last school year with him.  It's going to be a huge transition going from the afternoon class to morning.  I am going to have to get up soooo early.  Which is not going to be fun especially if Braden still has to make up calories at night with tube feeds.  Right now he is doing great eating but that's with lots of help from Mommy.  I am hoping I can keep it up and I really hope he will eat some at school like last Spring. 

Grayson will be starting his Mother's day out program soon as well.  I cannot believe how fast this has snuck up on us.  I think I may cry.  But I am thrilled with the place and still cannot believe we got him in so easily.  Timing is everything and boy did we have good timing.  We know he is going to love it.  I expect he will be talking non stop by the end of it all.  He is doing great with his TEIS teacher and is already talking so much more than he was....

Well it's almost 9 pm and the boys are always in bed by now so I must sign off... Sorry no pics this time but I will do my best to get some for next time.

Potty training

So we are attempting to potty train Braden and much to my surprise I actually found the most useful information on youtube.  It's funny how when you google potty training alot of what you get is Potty train your child in 1 day or 3 days.  Bahahaha.... that's not REAL at all.  I found this video from a woman with 4 boys.  I was so pleased to find it because it's REAL help.  It's true all kids are different.  Especially when we are talking about Braden.  This woman had one child trained in 48 hours and one took 7 months.  So there you go... real help and a much better feeling of knowing it's not just because Braden has delays.  Typical children can take a LONG time too. :-)  So for all you Mom's with boys that haven't started this journey I would like to share this video because this is what we are going to do and we will do whatever it takes.  Most of the items she uses such as plastic pants for going out and training pants can be found on amazon.  I have had NO luck in stores finding this stuff. :-(  Which stinks... I might also add that I am using trash bags over the couch cushions and a blanket on top so that we can reduce accident clean ups.  I am also using disposable table clothes taped to the floor with towels to help with that as well.  With that said I am not doing the upstairs and I am only doing the areas Braden is most comfortable in.   You can't drape the whole house but you can minimize the areas to clean.  Since Braden is not a heavy drinker :-)  it's not going to be as easy as pumping him up with fluids.  I don't want to tube because I think that will just complicate things even more. 

We haven't been up to much with all this rain we've been stuck indoors.  Grayson is talking up a storm and sings songs that we barely understand but we know what they are by the tune. :-)  Here are some new pics.  Enjoy!!!

Hips

Today we saw Dr. Mencio and he said what he usually says "B's hips look great".  Which is always awesome to hear and puts a smile on our faces.  Next best thing to those words are NO MORE brace.  I know Braden will be happy not to have to wear it anymore as it can't be comfortable to sleep in.  We all love how Braden keeps progressing forward and we are just so happy we are in this happy place. 

Since we were at Vandy today we also had a height and weight check.  Their scale has Braden at 34 lbs 8 ozs and he is still 37 1/2 inches tall.  So know growth in height since end of Feb.. but that's really no biggy.  We know he's not going to be tall. :-)  Which puts him in the 20th percentile.  Higher than his brother who is currently in the 13th.  So that is GREAT and I believe he would be this size regardless of his preemie status.  Afterall G was born full term and he's a little dude too. 

Braden will start T-ball end of August.  He is going to be with other special needs kiddos so no rough schedule just one game per week.  Which is much preferred at this age.  I do well just not to loose one of the kids in a wide open environment by myself.  Braden loves people and wants to greet everyone and Grayson just wants to be free and run like the wind. :-)  It's gonna be a little crazy at first... but we will figure it all out.  Hopefully there will be others there in the same boat and we can help each other out with the siblings.

I apologize I still haven't taken any recent pics.. well some on my phone but they don't come out great on here.  Here is a video of Grayson counting to 10 in not so great english.. :-)