THE MAGIC YEAR - YEAR 6

Mason has made SO many improvements this school year. I am so incredibly proud and blown away at how great he is doing!

First, let's talk about his speech ... he is actually communicating - he can be hard to understand - but he is actually making sentences, and putting concepts together , figuring out how to express himself, learning to listen and be patient . It's really incredible! He can ask for his toys, express if he is hungry or thirsty, if he would prefer this or that, what is bothering him, when he is tired and wants to sleep .

The most special part about Mason gains in speech is watching his personality bloom. He is such a jokester! If you ask him a question, he loves to say "nnno" and start laughing. He also loves to listen to stories and will crack up if you get really dramatic or animated. He loves to laugh!


A year ago, I didn't think that Mason would ever be actually forming sentences. I honestly thought Mason was going to stay where he was and that was kind of it .. so let's talk a little bit more about the other goals in progress that are absolutely amazing.

Mason is walking ! He needs to hold a hand for confidence and stability. But his walking has become so consistent that for the last 3 weeks I have left his wheel chair at school. I make him walk everywhere now. If we go to Target he walks from the parking lot to the store and then I put him in the cart, he walked to and from his pediatricians office, he walks to his classroom every day, but the most impressive walk he has done is to his neurologist who is up on the 4th floor in a pretty large building. His strength and endurance is building and now we just need to work on his confidence and balance. He can actually walk along the wall at home independently, but it is a struggle and not completely functional yet, but we are practicing!  One of my favorite days with the kids is a day we went to the beach and Mason, Lua, and myself walked down the beach together. I cried tears of joy because I just never ever thought Mason would be able to walk like that. Mason amazes me  EVERY SINGLE day!

One of my favorite parts about watching Mason grow and change is watching the love, compassion, helpfulness, and patience that Lua has with him.

Can't wait to see where he is at in another 6 months!

GO MASON GO!

TireSwingin'

Here is Mason on the tire swing with his friends at school. This is so big for Mason.  From a therapy perspective, he is holding with two hands and balancing on his own. From an emotional perspective, he is playing with other kids his age and they are all enjoying each other! Mason has come so far this school year, emotionally, educationally, and physically. It is really exciting seeing him grow into boyhood! 

Mason's riding a bike!

Mason has learned to ride the adapted tricycle at school, all by himself! I have so many hopes for Mason, and this is a big one! I have wanted this for Mason since he was two. We tried different trikes at home, tried adapting them ourselves, but Mas was never able to grasp the concept of pedaling, and his right leg would lock because of the cerebral palsy.
More than anything I want Mason to have some freedom, some type of independence, and to be able to enjoy typical activities with other kids. This is one big step in that direction!
There is an organization called OC Spokes that will actually build an adapted bike for kids with qualifying disabilities. I plan to get one for him! We will keep you posted :)

It's been awhile, here's a quick update!

Mason is doing really well right now, I feel like we are in a really stable, but good place with him.  His teachers and therapists have been incredible this year. He is now walking pretty consistently small distances holding hands, as long as he has his leg brace on. He is finally crawling and getting around from room to room and really getting around his classroom well! He is communicating much more and doing so well with being around other kids and his baby sister (who is incredible with Mas). They love each other so much, it's really amazing watching how they interact with each other and the amount of love between them. For awhile his sleeping patterns were REALLY off and hubby and I were having a pretty hard coping. Now he is sleeping from nine p.m. to seven a.m. pretty consistently. Thank goodness! Lets hope his sleep stays on this roll for awhile!

As of late, Mason has been obsessed with swinging in his swing outside, swimming(splashing) is his kiddie pool with baby sis, his pianos of course, and last but certainly not least, horseback riding. He has a new horse Oreo who is much taller and faster than Skippy. Skippy unfortunately has gotten too old to ride. Mason is loving how fast Oreo goes when they trot. The best part for me is how uncontrollably excited Mason is every single week the second he sits on Oreo. She brings so much joy to him, it's really incredible.

So, that's it. Life is really pretty sweet. :)

See Ya 2014

- HELLO -

!!!

2014 has been quite the year. Mason became a big brother and our whole family grew in ways we could never imagine. Mason had no visits to the ER, thank God, and no serious flus or colds. Health wise, this was Mason's best year yet! Sleep wise.. it has been one of the worst, aside from this last month which has been MUCH better, Mason was waking up at 1:00, 2:00, 3:00 am ready to be up for the day. We tried everything, doctors, prescription drugs, high doses of melatonin, low doses of melatonin, even stricter routine, keeping toys from him, letting him cry.. nothing worked. Then something flipped in Mason's body, faith took over, God heard our prayers, whatever it was, suddenly he started sleeping. Thank God.

Mason's Improvements in 2014:

*improved speech and simple communication

*no longer eating Gerber baby foods (now homemade purees) 

*using a hard sippy cup

*pulling himself to stand

*plays with toys intentionally (i.e. playing with a car on the ground and saying vroom)

*drink from open cup(in the bath tub)

*tolerance in social environments has improved

Goals for 2015:

*mobility

*self feeding

*eating table food(not purees)

*drink from open cup with meals

*more independence 

*use the potty

*be more tolerant of sissy

*interact with other kids better

Happy Happy Holidays!

If I could describe this holiday season in one word: PERFECT . For Mason, holiday get togethers are very stressful. Last Christmas he stayed in a room by himself because the noise and the excitement was all too much and my husband, father-in-law,  and I took turns hanging out with him while the rest of the family got their eat, drink and be merry on amongst the kids running and playing and having a good time.  I cried hard that night. I hated that Mason couldn't be amongst everyone playing. 

This Christmas I offered to host all fifteen of us .. that includes six kids under seven. I told myself if Mason needed to be in his room because he was overwhelmed I had to be okay with it. I am trying to take my wants out of what Mason does. He is HAPPY playing on his own. I am the one with the issue. So with that being said, Mason had an amazing Christmas amongst everyone playing with the other kids inside and outside, sitting by the tree participating in gift opening, and watching a family movie with everyone. He did have a little moment of stress and overwhelmingness where he needed his quiet time for a little while in his room to regroup. He had it and was fine after. The best part of it was not that he was just tolerating the excitement of Christmas, but he was enjoying it just like everybody else!

Having Mason enjoy the holiday along with everyone else was the ultimate gift of the season!

So, it's been just about a year since my last post here on Mason's blog. I plan to consistently keep his blog running again, so let's get caught up to what Mason's been up to lately. My last post was on Mason's up coming IEP, so I will start there. We declined all offers from the school district and chose to keep Mason at Blind Children's Learning Center. At the time we had no idea how we could afford to keep him there, but decided that was best for Mason, so we would figure it out. Luckily we are very blessed with a support system who also wants what is best for Mason, and the money for his tuition was donated. Thanks God!

So, on the topic of school, Mason is doing really well! He loves school! When we decided to keep him at BCLC, we knew we would be making a sacrifice in services, but figured being in a setting designed for the blind with teachers experienced with ONH, would make up for the lack of services, and so far so good.. Mason is soaring right now!

What has Mason been up to?
 His language is blooming right now. He has a small vocabulary, but is very motivated to communicate. He says small words that are relevant to his day to day routine such as; eat(papa in portuguese), bye bye, baba, water, swing, music, cuzzi(jacuzzi), bath, up, down, piano, sisst, etc. Mostly, Mason is understanding SO much! This has been a really amazing improvement.

Mason has started pulling himself on furniture.. or anything really, he is standing up on everything! This is hige progress! At school he uses a walker sometimes, but really doesn't care for it much. He also has his leg braces, but really does so much more when he's not wearing them.

As far as his eating goes.. unfortunately there is not too much progress in that area. Mason still has a hard time tolerating textures beyond Gerber, but it is a work in progress. He will eat oatmeal and smashed banana, I try to give him real food whenever I can such as yogurt or applesauce.

Last but not least, Mason has been sleeping through the night!! Hallelujah!

This is pretty much where Mason is at these days. :)

5th MRI

Mason underwent his 5th MRI last Tuesday, and we are happy to say, everything is well! Brain is growing fine the cyst is there and unchanged, so nothing really to speak of. Thank you God , what was once our biggest worry with Mason is now nothing really worth mentioning, and we are thankful every day.

at the neurosurgeon..no big deal

Hello 2013!

It is practically May and we have made no updates for 2013..apparantly I have been slacking big time on the blogging. Our computer died and we were using just an iPad which is a little frustrating to do things like 'blog' on.

So I will begin with Mason's progress. Every year in January we take note of the goals Mason met and the goals we have for him for the year.

Goals met 2012:

*Improved communication- Mason will give a kiss on command, find his belly button, when it is time to eat, we say "lets eat" and he will take his pacifier from his mouth and wait, same goes for drinking.

*Mason is able to sit himself up from laying down, and he now goes on all fours and on both hands and both feet(like he's doing yoga, downward dog)

*Mason uses a real sippy cup now, but is very picky about which one.

*Enjoys ice cream. This was a big deal, it's a sensory thing with the coldness, but Mason would cry when I would try to give him ice cream. Now, he LOVES it!

*the right side is getting stronger and more functional every day, slowly but surely.

* Improved light perception.They are now seeing a definite reaction to light with both eyes.

I will also mention that every 6 months Mason is evaluated at school for his progress. They grade him based on a 'months level' (6m, 9m, 18m, etc.) Mason improved in every area by at least 3 months, taking him to the next level bracket !

Goals for 2013:

*Mobility- walking. We have a walker for Mason we have been practicing with, we would love to see him use it, even with with assistance out and about in the world. Right now he will tolerate it for about the distance of our living room.

*improved speech and communication

*continue to improve and strengthen the right side

*drink from an open cup or straw

*self feeding

*swim in the pool with floaties alone

*pull to stand, cruise furniture

FIRST DENTIST! CHECK OUT THOSE PEARLY WHITES!

Mason's teething were looking awfully yucky, and I was really worried about what might be going on in that little mouth of his. Thank goodness everything is perfect! No cavities, perfect gums, all he needed was a little cleaning!  I love the dentist we found, Dr. Mike. He has pictures of his grandkids on the website..because he just loves them that much, such a sweet guy! Thanks Dr. Mike for doing such an awesome job on Mason's teeth, and for being such a jolly dentist! Even though Mas screamed at the top of his lungs through the entire cleaning, afterwards he was happy as can be, and the experience wasn't that bad.

SPEECH :)

MAS IS DOING SO WELL IN SPEECH THERAPY! HE IS REALLY STARTING TO UNDERSTAND SO MUCH AND EVEN SAYING A FEW LITTLE THINGS!

 

MASON SAYING 'BYEBYE' !!

Thanks God!

Thank you God for your blessings! ♥ Through all the good, the scary, and most unsure of times, we have never and will never lose our faith. Six6 months ago we were told Mason would most likely undergo brain surgery in 2012. Today was a day we have been waiting for it seems like forever. After reviewing Mason's most current MRI, his neurosurgeon told us it is no longer necessary for him to have brain surgery!!! We couldn't be more stoked with this news!! Thank you for everyone who has been praying for Mason and our lil fam bam, all those prayers have really paid off!!! 

Believe <3

Mason's MRI and surgery

  I try to remind myself this quote everyday^

Mason had his 4th brain MRI last Friday, and he did so great for it! He had no problem with the anesthesia and was back to his normal self within a couple of hours. He is getting pretty good at these MRI's. What a change from the first couple he had, and not to mention what a relief! We will find out the results on Thursday afternoon, and off of those results, his neurosurgeon, Dr. Louden, will decide if he thinks it is necessary for Mason to undergo brain surgery.

Mason also saw his endocrinologist(hormone specialist) recently, and we received a phone call a couple days ago where she informed us she would like to do more testing because one of his hormone levels is low. It is his cortisol, which is the stress hormone, and it contributes to many things the body does such as eating, sleeping, getting better when your sick. Sometime this month we will know more about that.

Every day is getting better and better

Mason learned how to sit himself up from laying down..and now he's obsessed! It is so stinkin cute! It started in the bathtub..he would lay on his tummy and one day he just flipped and sat himself up. For a month the bathtub was the only place it would happen. Then slowly he struggled to do it on the carpet..and now, he is a sitting machine!! He gets so stoked , we are so proud of our little binx! He is also copy catting kisses now, he is such a sweetheart! I love him so much! Teaching Mason is a much longer and slower process than most kids, but it makes the reward of achievement that much more amazing!I am so proud of every micro step Mason has taken to get where he is today. He's an amazing little boy.

Busy Life of Us

Here we are again at another 6 month mark. This means a month of follow up appointments with Mason's team of doctors, blood work and exams, evaluations to see his progress, and of course that oh so dreaded brain MRI, in addition to our already crazy, busy life. But anyway, it's all for the good of our amazing little man. As busy as the 6 month mark is, I do actually enjoy all the reports and evals. It's great to reflect back on our last goals and to see how much progress Mason has made.

We will have Mason's MRI on April 27th, and meet with his neurosurgeon most likely 2 weeks after. We have been waiting for this to aaproach to see the status of the cyst on Mason's brain, then we will determine whether brain surgery is necessary. Praying strong that the will have disappeared, and we will see an end to having these MRI's every 6 months. Either way, everything is in God's hands, and all we can do is pray that no matter what happens it will have a positive impact on Mason's life.

That is up and coming, we will keep you posted on Mason's progress :)

Bye Bye February

Thank you February for everything, but I have to say I won't miss you and I am very ready for March. I was so incredibly sick,then the hubby, then Mason was sick then I was sick again. The worst part of it all was Mason being sick, and our less than glamorous week long stay at Children's Hospital of Orange County. We took Mason to the ER at CHOC Sunday night, because he was vomiting, spiking fevers, and not eating. We went for what we thought would be just a couple hour ordeal. Mason ended up with RSV, a respiratory virus, that really took him down. He slept for 3 days straight, day and night, didn't eat or drink anything, continued having high fevers of 103, and on top of it all his oxygen levels kept dropping really low, to about 78%. Finally after a week, he had a bottle.

But, like everything that happens, there is always a bright side, a blessing in disguise. As you may know, Mason sleeps terribly at night, wakes up anywhere from5-15 times a night. I have brought this up to his pediatrician on numerous occasions, and always have the same response, that's motherhood. I know there is something not right. Sure enough, he most likely has sleep apnea, and he has enlarged adenoids, making it very difficult for him to breathe at night. While in the hospital, Mas had two x-rays done, and saw many respiratory doctors and specialists, who all agreed on Mason doing a sleep study when he is feeling better, and also undergoing a surgery to have his adenoids removed. Although the hospital stay was intense, at least we got some questions answered about his horrible sleep patterns.

This whole month has had me completely exhausted, and unmotivated to do anything. But, now with March just around the corner, I am feeling great and ready for all the new challenges life has waiting for me.

2012: Goals

Our Goals for Mason this year:
*Mobility: Crawling or walking
*Improved Speech
*China!!
*Continue to improve the strength of his right side
*Eating solids
*Eating birthday cake on 2nd bday :)
*Transitioning between laying down and sitting
*using a hard sippy cup

Goals met for 2011:
*sitting on his own
*rolling over
*improved light perception: tracking light
*right side getting stronger
*eating more variety of baby food
*putting toys and objects in mouth
*babbling: ma , da , ba , va
*using a soft sippy cup

New Glasses!

Mason saw his opthamologist about a month ago and she informed us that his light perception had improved and she would like to prescribe him glasses. I am so happy that his vision is showing some improvement on its own! It's not guaranteed that they will make a difference, but it definitely can't hurt, and you never know! So, he got his glasses a week before Christmas, and the only difference I can see is that his eyes don't seem so lost with them on. Mason also doesn't mind them at all, he never tries to take them off, and he wears them pretty much the entire day. Not to mention how stinkin' cute he is with those glasses!

BUSY BUSY BEES!

Life has been busy as usual! Mason as been making so many improvements, things that may seem small, but actually are so HUGE! *He finally said MAMA!! and bababa. *He is almost sitting himself up, we have been working on this for like 6 months. On the couch he can sit himself, but not on the floor yet. *He is starting to use his right hand more and more, before he wouldn't use his right hand at all, now he will pass things back and forth. * He is putting things in his mouth more and more, still not eating solid foods, only baby food, but hopefully with him putting more things in his mouth he will start liking crackers and things. All these little things show that he is really progressing, slowly but surely, we are making progress, and that means we are that much closer to crawling..and walking!
It's funny, these are all things that I never thought about, you assume they just happen. But, having a baby that needs so much more effort and attention in his development, has made me really appreciate all these little things! I swear the day he starts crawling, we are throwing a party!!

We are now receiving 2 days of physical therapy, 2 days of occupational therapy, and 2 days of infant stim(sensory and vision therapy) plus we will start going to Mommy and Me play group at the Blind Center on Fridays

Aside from driving Mason to all his therapy sessions,I am still works 3 days a week, the hubby is working 50 hours, and we have our new house to take care of, always have some projects going on, yard work, house work, and things of the sort. Sometimes I don't know how we do it all, and sometimes, I would just love to sleep the day away..and then I realize just how blessed we are that we have each other, and that we have created this amazing life together to raise Mason and any other future additions :)
As of now, that's the life of us <3

MASON AND HIS LIGHT PERCEPTION :)

FINDING OUT MASON HAS LIGHT PERCEPTION IS ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL!!! THIS MEANS THAT HE IS NOT IN THE DARK..HE KNOWS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN NIGHT AND DAY, LIGHT AND DARK, HE CAN SEE SHADOWS, AND THERE IS SOMETHING THERE TO WORK WITH AND STIMULATE!! THE BEST PART OF THIS ALL IS THAT I KNEW IT THE WHOLE TIME!! EVERY DOCTOR WE SAW SAID THE SAME THING: HE HAS NO REACTION TO LIGHT HE DOESN'T SEE ANYTHING, AND I WOULD GO HOME AND SAY THE SAME THING EVERY TIME, "I JUST DON'T BELIEVE IT, I SPEND EVERYDAY WITH THIS KID, I KNOW THERE IS SOMETHING THERE, I HAVE SEEN HIM REACT TO THINGS.  

I JUST LOVE WHEN YOU REALLY STICK TO YOUR GUT FEELING ABOUT SOMETHING, NO MATTER WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING, AND THEN YOU END UP BEING RIGHT :)  

CAN'T WAIT TO TAKE MASON AROUND TO ALL THE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS THIS YEAR, HIM AND HIS LIGHT PERCEPTION ;)