Lots has been happening in the Lance house! We did some remodeling in our kitchen, had a laundry room put in on the second floor, added a fence, painted the family room, removed flooring in the family room, had carpet put in to the family room, and bought some new furniture. We have SO much more to do, but at least the kitchen and family room are almost done. We still have to lay the rest of the kitchen floor (had to take it up after removing half the island) and paint the cabinets (we're painting them a vintage white/cream, and pairing them with some black/bronze fixtures). We also need to get a new fixture to go over the island and also pick out a kitchen table. But for those curious, here is the before and after so far...
Before
After
Last week we finally replaced our family room floor with some amazingly soft carpet, and the kids are loving it. After the installer left and Elias came into the room, the first thing he did was throw himself on the floor and roll around. Before we had some wood laminate that extended all the way from the kitchen through the family room. Call me crazy, but I'm probably one of the only people out there that would prefer carpet in my family room than wood. Its just better for us right now. It was impossible for Gavin to move on that floor.
Speaking of Gavin, that little chunk is now 7 1/2 months old and SO darn heavy!! He's over 20 lbs now, and is just one solid little boy! He went through a couple weeks of just whining a lot (pretty sure it was all teething related), but he's yet to pop a tooth, and they don't feel right at the edge of his gums yet either. But ever since we got the carpet and he's figured out how to move around to where he wants to go, he's back to his pleasent, cheerful self. He's eating a jar of baby food every day now, and still taking 6oz of formula every 4-5 hours or so. He's sleeping like a champ, from 9pm-8:30am. He is such a smiley kiddo its almost unreal! No kidding, every where we go, I'm stopped by people who want to talk and smile with Gavin, because he just busts out the biggest smile whenever anyone smiles and talks to him. We can already tell he's gonna be a hit with the ladies...
In January we had an appointment at Shriners for both Gavin and Elias. Lets start with Gavin...
Gavin's checkup for his feet went fantastic! His feet at still corrected and holding steady! He got a new pair of ponsetti boots to wear at night to ensure they stay corrected, but other than that, his feet are done! Dr. Z looked at his hands again, and see's a lot of improvement since his last visit in September! The splints that were made for his hands back in September just didn't work for him. He kept finding ways to slide out of them, plus the fact that for September and October he was still being swaddled, and when we'd wrap him up, the splints would dig into his belly. So he never wore them. I wasn't too worried about it thought because he exercised his hands on his own all the time. He was constantly opening and closing them to grab something, and we could see his fingers were continually getting looser and looser. So Dr. Z said his on his right hand, his fingers are pretty loose and with therapy, they should loosen up even more, and at this point it doesn't look like he'll need any corrective surgery for that hand. Hooray! Then on the left hand, his fingers are also looking much better, but there's still some tightness in the tendons on his thumb and middle finger. He thinks he'll probably need some sort of fusion near his thumb to bring it out to the correct position (similar to Elias' situation), but that wouldn't happen for probably another year. Despite hit setback with his fingers though, he's adapting very well and learning how to grab and hold onto things better and better. Its just a matter of spreading his fingers open wide enough somethings to hold onto bigger objects, such as a ball or a bottle. But even just in the past few days, he's realized if he keeps his hands steady and together while holding something, he won't drop it. Its amazing how kids adapt!
First time in a high chair.
Elias' appointment at Shriner's was a little more difficult. Like I've written before, his left foot is just really stubborn and resistant to correction. He has no plantar flexion (can't flex his foot downwards). And the inside of his foot just really wants to turn upwards (causing him to walk on the outside of his foot). So, it was determined that he needed another series of castings to try and get the foot flat and down. Over the past 4 weeks, he's had 3 casts. Each time he gets one its an absolutely terrifying experience for him. He is SO scared of the saw that cuts it off, he cries so hard that he breaks a ton of capillaries on his face. At least he looks cute with freckles :)
Daddy drawing drums so Elias can drum with his pencils in the waiting room.
Going about life as usual...climbing on everything!
Patiently waiting and play in the waiting room.
But this past Monday when we went for a cast change, Dr. VB looked at his foot and gave us the best news...
His foot is corrected!!!!!
We were so thrilled. We were sent over to O&P for Elias to be measured for 2 new braces, and then back to the doctor for another cast. Even though his foot is corrected, he has to stay in a cast until his braces come in, that way we don't lose any progress. BUT that's okay, because the equally awesome news we got was that he can now wear a walking cast!!! Thank you Lord! He learned to walk on his old casts, but it he couldn't walk like that for very long beacause it was such an awkward angle and it sure looked uncomfortable to us! Here's a video of him walking on his non-walking cast...
He's basically been confined to the family room and our house the past month since he was so restricted, but now that he can walk, you better believe we're taking lots of trips to those indoor playgrounds at the mall. He deserves it :) Here's a few snapshots from the past month and a half. Some pre-cast and some while he was casted.
He LOVES drums.
We should start saving for sound proofing the basement....
Elias is running away. Callie wants what Elias has. Kevin knows what Callie is about to do.
Our next seminarian?! Maybe we should conquer preschool first :)
They like each other...most of the time. Unless Gavin wants Elias' goldfish.
Bedtime fun with daddy is a highlight of our day.
In other news, Kevin's job is going great. He's been keeping busy with lots of fundraisers and retreats. Callie completed a 6 week obedience course and passed! She did really well, and we learned some really great strategies to help us with her. We're looking at signing her up for another course, and we're hoping that once shes listening really well, Kevin can maybe take some agility classes with her.
We've been enjoying seeing our family so much more, and the kids getting to know all their grandparents, great grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. One of the best things was the other night when saying prayers with Elias, we said "And thank you for..." and he listed every single family member. All of them.
Celebrating Pap-Pap's birthday!
Gavin Richard is named after his Great-Pap, Donald Richard.
