Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Inspired by 100

It's been awhile. I have started countless posts about nothing and never finish them. However, I have recently been inspired back to blog-dom by a 100-item post which I will now forever refer to as the mother of all blog posts . Jenn's creative list reminded me of all I am thankful for and the fact that Brady's seizure counter hit 100 the other day.



100!




I have to admit that I check my own blog almost every day around 5:00 pm to watch the ticker roll over. I reached a point where I didn't think 10 days seizure free would be possible. I love being proven wrong. In fact, I have been proven wrong a lot lately by this one...



It took awhile but Brady now says "yeah" on a regular basis. He also makes a very dinstict "rmmm-rmmm-rmmmmmm" sound when he sees, hears, or thinks about cars, trucks, planes, school buses, etc. This boy was in heaven watching airport activity from his window seat a few weeks ago.




I have always had confidence that Brady would walk but I have been pretty skeptical on the whole speech issue. It's not that I'm trying to limit him in any way, but his numerous speech evaluations have been pretty tough to swallow so I have attempted to manage my own expectations for Brady in order to plan ahead appropriately. Either way there are a number of communication options out there, and currently we are working on three.


Sign - I love sign language. It's amazing what people can do with this tool and it has proven invaluable in Brady's life up to this point. Hands down, Signing Time is the best resource for babies and kids that we have come across. A recent press release on their website stated they will no longer be airing on PBS so fill up your DVRs, people. And if you have any interest in sign whatsoever, I would strongly recommend purchasing some of their products. The Signing Time folks have produced two more Baby Signing Time DVDs which are geared to babies in particular (and worked great for us as Brady's developmental delays put him in this category for longer than usual). I have been asked to review the new DVDs on our blog which will occur within the next week. Two posts in one month - stop the madness!

PECS - Picture Exchange Communication is new to us. We had to get on board because this is what Brady's pre-school class uses (along with some sign). Brady has learned to pick the appropriate picture and give it to his teacher in order to get something he wants. I though there was NO WAY this would work (even told his teacher this before school started) and, of course, Brady now struts into class each morning and grabs the card for circle time. This system is a lot work to implement so I will post more about it once we become more proficient at home.

Speech - we continue to work on speech through weekly speech therapy. It has been a tough, very slow process but Brady babbles a little more each month. I was reading through Nate's notes from the 1P36 conference in Boston and one of the speakers reminded parents to be patient and that speech may come later down the road. I hope this is the case. If not, we have the other options to fall back on.
We missed the 1P36 conference and I'm really grateful to the other families who have posted information so we can stay informed with what's going on. We are hoping to be there next year - the candidate cities are SLC & Indianapolis which are both closer options for us.

13 comments:

Unknown said...

Finally! I thought you guys had fallen off the planet or something! Yay, for Brady! It's so exciting to see that he reached the 100 mark with no seizures. Congratulations guys! It's so great to hear that he is proving you wrong in a lot of areas. Thinking of you guys always. We got to get together again sometime.

Nate said...

Yay, Brady! I'm sure next 100 days will be just as great. That's awesome he's starting to talk too! I look forward to having Whit tell me "Yeah." With my luck she'll probably learn "No" first. ;-)

Petersen Kids said...

What an inspirational post. Well, your whole blog is very inspiring. You are so blessed to have Brady, and he is so lucky to have parents like you and Troy. I get that not only from what I read, but from talking to Jenn. Congrats on all Brady has accomplished.

jenn said...

Welcome back! I'm just pleased as punch that I helped inspire your return. I look forward to your upcoming DVD rewiew. :)

Don't you just love when your child completely surprises you and proves you wrong about something? It's hard not to underestimate them sometimes and so sweet when they do something you didn't think they could. Way to go, Brady!

I can't believe that Troy went to school with Brooke. Such a small world! It's always so interesting to find out how we all seem to be connected somehow. Too funny.

Angie said...

It's good to read a new post! I've fallen behind compared to normal also. It's hard and you need more time in the day. I want to get some of those Signing Time DVD's for Alayna for Christmas. I've heard nothing but positives about them and if she'll pick up on a few things on her own that would be fantastic. I like the PEC communication too. That is a ways down the road for us, but it is something to remember. We hope to be at next year's conference too. Take care and glad to hear school is going well for Brady!

Shay said...

wow! sounds like you have a lot of things to be excited about! Seizure free is AWESOME!

Tonya said...

YAY for Brady. What a great post about his great progress! 110 days without a seizure!! That is so, so great. Congratulations.

Anonymous said...

I am so proud of Brady's awesome progress.A standing ovation goes to you Kajsa and Troy also! I love this blog. Grandma

Grandma said...

Hi,

This is really grandpa. I like you a lot Brady.

{jane} said...

Kajsa, I'm so happy you posted! {all smiles here}

overcoming challenges is the best. way to go on 100+ days of no seizures, Brady! That is awesome. I'm glad Jenn's "100" post inspired you, geesh, it had to inspire everyone in some way, it was incredible!

we love you all, hope to see you sometime through the upcoming Holiday season!

*Troy, Amy Pett is moving to Phoenix...

Unknown said...

I am so happy for you guys. We are working on the same three for speech. I love signing times! Josh not so much, but it has taught me alot. I still fear the seizures. It will be 2.5 years on October 18. Hopefully none of us will have to experience those again. Brady is definitly all boy. The first time Josh was on a plane he fell in love. When I re-did his room I had him pick the theme needless to say it is all planes.lol I really am so happy for all of you.

alli may said...

i admire you and troy both so much for all that you go through on a daily basis to be such wonderful parents to such a wonderful kid! congrats on 100!

Sara said...

What a fantastic feeling to watch that counter roll-over! And sooo exciting to be making progress in the right direction! 100 days is wonderful! Welcome back to the blogging loop... I am glad to keep in touch (and still hope to SEE you next time you are around!) :)