New Year's Day - A day for me to reflect on the past year and think about what I would like to achieve over the next 365 days. Thinking back over the past year makes me realize how quickly time escapes us, and how in just a blink of an eye things change.
Just this time last year, I had a 5 week old baby. Now I have a little boy that zooms trucks around on everything and went to lunch with me yesterday and ate broccoli and pizza. He's growing up in what seems like an instant. Over the past year, Alexander has had us all at the edge of our seats. Does he have CP, did the OB at birth change the course of his life forever, does he need a cranial helmet, is he delayed, is there an underlying genetic disorder, why does he have so many ear infections, is daycare going to work for him, will he require extra care, is he lip tied, why can't he drink from a sippy cup, are we taking him to the right doctors. Well, here is where we are at with all of that - Alexander does not have an neurological abnormalities, his delays remain unexplained in most part, but have also gotten to be much less severe. He does still have some noticeable differences in his right and left side, but nothing near as concerning as it was six months ago. He continues to work with Early Intervention, but I am no longer worried about his long term physical abilities. Around the same time we traveled to Mayo, Alexander was also placed in a cranial helmet to help reshape his head. He had front bossing on the right side and flattening in the back. There was some correction however, I made the decision to take him out of the helmet and hope that he doesn't hate me when his older because he doesn't have a perfectly symmetrical forehead. The drives back and forth to Bismarck (4 hours each way) were becoming unworkable with both kids and the winter weather. There are still some delays but now speech is more of a concern than gross motor. We opted out of additional genetic testing in favor of waiting to see if there is continued progress. A microarray was preformed when I was 11 weeks pregnant and that was normal. Anything beyond that is pretty technical and I just do not think it is necessary at this time. Over the past 7 months though, the ear infections have been almost completely constant. He has been on antibiotics so much that I can't even recall the number of times. He had an appointment with ENT yesterday and is scheduled to have tubes inserted in two weeks. He also had an appointment with a pediatric dentist yesterday to have his, newly discovered, lip tie corrected. I'm not sure how that was missed after multiple signs of it, but it was. I am hopeful that it will make a difference with him being able to drink from anything other than a bottle and possibly improve his speech. Daycare has been working great for him. We have loved his caretakers and he has had all of the socialization and learning opportunities that we had hoped for. I am not expecting any major changes in the path Alexander is currently on over the next year. I know he will keep working hard and making progress and we will continue advocating for his wellbeing. He is just a smiley baby and happy as can be.
Aubrey has had more of a consistent year. She is still thriving in school and loving to play outside all day every day in the Summer. This year she had a new caretaker for Summer and I think Aubrey was smitten. They were able to spend a lot of time in the pool and at the splash pad in between school and therapies. Aubrey continued to ride her favorite horse, Mac, over the summer and work with her great therapist. She also had her tonsils out and has not visited the doctor for a sinus infection/sore throat since then. Probably the most noticeable change in Aubrey this year is that she got a pretty extreme hair cut. Her long curly hair was so unruly and the older she got, the harder it was for me to maintain it over her protests. I'm not sure who is more satisfied with it, me or her. Aubrey got to take 3 trips to Minneapolis this year for various appointments, which means she got to spent a lot of time at Nickelodeon Universe. They have a fantastic program for special needs individuals and was a refreshing experience for Aubrey. No real waiting in lines for rides, which means she almost has zero frustration in the park. It has worked out so well each time. I am currently in the process of converting all of Aubrey's specialist to be doctors at Mayo. We were so impressed with the care that Alexander received and it does make a lot of sense to streamline all of her care and appointments. We were already traveling to St. Paul to see her neurologist a few times a year, so the travel is really no different, just less trips to Fargo. That should mean more time that she has to spend on rollercoasters each year, so it seems like a win, win to me.
Seth and I are doing well and made a little transition when we made the decision to rent a place in town to help with winter travel. We were able to get into one of the townhomes by the hospital and, honestly, I cannot believe it took five years for us to stay in town. It is so convenient and easy to get the kids to school in the mornings and the run errands in the evening or weekends. We are right across the street from the park so Aubrey is still able to spend time outside when it is warm enough. The plan will be to return to the farm in the Spring once seeding begins or at least split the time between the two places. It does work better for child care to have a place in town, but the farm is Aubrey's sanctuary and I could never take her away from that. I also expect Alexander will be driving a combine within a few years, so he will need to be around to see how things work. ;)
We were able to make two trips to Mississippi this year. One in the Summer for Drew's graduation and one the week before Christmas. Drew received his B.S. in Accounting and is now in Law School at Ole Miss. He is doing well and is planning and receiving his Masters of Taxation along with his J.D. Tyler moved to Williston at the end of last year and began working for ISCO in Williston, ND early this year. He is settled into his own place in Williston and is probably the happiest I have ever seen him. My mom is still enjoying her Northern Lights sightings and has made a life for herself here in Crosby. We see her almost every day and she cares for the kids a lot while I am working late or have to travel out of town for work. My dad and Marsha have been through a huge transitional year. As long as everything goes smoothly, they will soon go from foster parents to just parents. I am anxious for J.M. to be my official brother and a part of my immediate family instead of my extended step family. Also, the station that my dad had managed for 40 years also closed this year. Although I am a bit surprised at how well he has taken the change, he seems to be more relaxed and enjoying some time off. For the first time in my life, I actually went to lunch with my father in Holly Springs the last time we were there. He is definitely the hardest worker I know, but my goodness it was time for a break.
No matter what uncertainty may lie ahead with our family, I am happy to say that 2018 turned out to be a great year for us. We rang in the New Year with our two children sleeping soundly in their beds (at least at midnight they were), and watching The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Uneventful - the best kind of night we can have.
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