Coach (Dad) Dana and Alexis pose after receiving the victorious hardware!!
I am so proud of Alexis, her team, and her coaches for a job well done! Congrats champs!
The 1st Place State Championship Team for ASA 10U - Go Rocket Fire!
Alayna is moving around the living room more - rolling and rolling and more rolling!
Alayna enjoying a piece of watermelon.
Alayna's first bite down into the watermelon! OH!
Alayna at the state tournament. Again, this swing has been a life-saver.
Grandma Billie feeding Alayna in the shade at the state tournament. I have a few updates to fill you in on regarding Alayna. First, she has been in such a better mood lately. Her bottom, last 2 teeth have finally popped completely through and she is handling therapy much better. It is so nice to have our smiley, happy Alayna back. The last month had been a rough one. Her PT from CTC has just begun discussing the possibility of Alayna getting a supine stander to help get her bearing some weight on her legs. She just doesn't tolerate standing at all. Even though she is far off from walking, this would hopefully get her used to standing. I can't wait until she uses her legs!! And we have also begun discussing the possibility of getting her some AFO's braces to support her ankles and put her in the proper standing position. Again, all of this is new to me and in the preliminary stages, so I will keep you posted.
Here is a link to see what a stander looks like. Now obviously Alayna's would be smaller, but they adjust. They look so "medical" and I hate that. http://www.rifton.com/products/standing/supinestanders/index.html
Here is a link to see what AFO's braces can look like:
I am also in the beginning stages of trying to find Alayna a new bath seat or chair. Eventually she will need something a little bigger than a baby bath tub that provides her enough support so that she enjoys having a bath and I can easily wash her curly hair. Oh, and at the same time keep water out of her tubes. Right now, the baby tub is fine, but it is something to think about. Who knows, maybe she'll surprise us and be able to sit in the tub ring I used for the other kids soon!
Over July 4th, we headed to Springfield, Illinois because our oldest daughter, Alexis, competed in the Illinois ASA state softball tournament. Her team, the Rocket Fire 10U, won the state championship and it was exciting! They all worked so hard and we are all so proud of every one of them. So, a few of the pictures above are a tiny tribute to Alexis and her team members. Alayna was great the entire time and loved the swing. Okay, two of the nights she woke up at 4am for a bottle, but that was okay. She went back to sleep. I had a lot of support and help from other parents and I wanted to say thanks to them too. Tammy helped me carry stuff to the car everyday with Alayna and Douglas and load them up and I couldn't have done that without her. Ken and especially Logan, thanks for tolerating Douglas and entertaining him. Again, thanks everyone because I had a blast and was so happy to be there with all of you!
Upcoming appointments in the next month are visits to the pediatrician for her 18-month check-up, to the Developmental Pediatrician, Dr. Morgan, in Peoria, and to the Department of Otolaryngology in Iowa City for a hearing test and tube check. I'll keep you posted on those as well. I'm working on getting her an Iowa City vision doctor and geneticist, so those are future appointments.
Sorry for such a short post, but not too much happening. We are just trying to relax when we can and enjoy the summer because it is flying by.
5 comments:
Congrats Lexi & the entire Rocket Fire team. How exciting!!!
And congrats to all of you for a great weekend spent away together. It's so great to hear that your happy Alayna is back!
As for the AFO's and stander....the photo of the large stander is very intimidating, but the smaller ones are really kind of cute. I have to admit that when Nate first got his stander I referred to it as the "Frankenstein stand", but we quickly came to love it as seeing the world from a different perspective really brought Nate so much joy! And the little AFO's are really adorable. They come with cute little straps and you can customize them to fit her cute little personality. There is actually a picture of Nate in his stander as well as a picture of him in his AFO's in the CarePage photo gallery.
Keep enjoying your summer and let's get together soon. I still have the stroller and photo certificate sitting here for you. Let me know the next time you're coming over to CTC and I will meet you over there.
Michelle
Congrats Lexi & the entire Rocket Fire team. How exciting!!!
And congrats to all of you for a great weekend spent away together. It's so great to hear that your happy Alayna is back!
As for the AFO's and stander....the photo of the large stander is very intimidating, but the smaller ones are really kind of cute. I have to admit that when Nate first got his stander I referred to it as the "Frankenstein stand", but we quickly came to love it as seeing the world from a different perspective really brought Nate so much joy! And the little AFO's are really adorable. They come with cute little straps and you can customize them to fit her cute little personality. There is actually a picture of Nate in his stander as well as a picture of him in his AFO's in the CarePage photo gallery.
Keep enjoying your summer and let's get together soon. I still have the stroller and photo certificate sitting here for you. Let me know the next time you're coming over to CTC and I will meet you over there.
Michelle
Sounds like you all had a great weekend away together. It is so nice to have that family time together.
I hear ya about the standing- I can't wait until Zoe bears some weight on those legs. We haven't looked at standers yet, we just do standing exercises every day.
As for bath seats- we just get into the bath with Zoe. It is too hard on our backs to lean over the tub with her. It is amazing all of the little things in our lives that are affected by 1P36- every activity has to be altered.
I am glad to hear that Alayna is back to her smiley self. It seems like all of our kids are usually so easy going and smiley so we really miss them when they are having a bad week/month.
Way to go Lexi and the Rocket Fire. Congrats on your state championship!! So glad to hear Alayna and your whole family was able to enjoy the tournament. Alayna looks great and growing and healthy :) That take a long swing we used with both our girls ( I got it as a shower gift from my Aunt Sandy) and we LOVED it!! Alayna loved it so much and so did Alexa. As far as the AFO's and stander, I can tell you from my PT days and working with some peds that had to use them, they are great for therapy and the kids seem to really like them because it gives them new found independance and freedom! I agree with Michelle, I think they are actually pretty cute cause the ones they will fit Alayna for will be tiny :) I'm glad you are enjoying your summer and 'shutting' down Angie! You and your family need that down time and just some quality relaxation! Nice job!! Everyone looks great. I hope to make it to your jewelry party so I'll see you then!
Take care,
Meg and her gang
Congrats to that Rocket Fire team....Rockridge has some exciting things to look forward to!!
Angie, I think I say this every time I read and write a message, but you always continue to inspire me. I love reading about Alayna's accomplishments and seeing how smiley she is and reading about how she is slowly but surely developing!
You are amazing and I give you all the credit in the world for being so patient and caring and loving. Again, I only hope in the future, I can be a mom like you!
I continue to pray for you and your family all the time! I love reading about Alayna and catching up on what is going on in the DeKeyrel household!
I miss you lots and sometime in the near future when I'm back in town, we will have to do lunch!!!
Keep smiling and enjoying that precious little girl!!
Kristin DePorter
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