Great Report

Well we had an appointment for Evan at the Children's Hospital. We haven't had a PT/OT appointment for a while and oh was it good to see our friends "Andewa" (Angela) and Tami. It was such a wonderful appointment and I am feeling so good right now! Evan is doing REALLY well and has even gotten a little stronger in his arms and torso. There were some moves that he started doing that I pointed out to them and some new moves that they pointed out to me. We developed some new therapy skills for me to use at home.

I just keep replaying their faces of excitement and joy as they watched Evan raise his arm higher than they have ever seen and hurl the solid ball farther than they have ever seen him throw.

I am feeling like all of our hard work is paying off. I am feeling like all of the difficult moments that Evan and I go through sometimes (painful stretching, difficult physical "encouragement") are all paying off. Most of all the pride that I am feeling for my little man is oozing from me!!! I just want everyone to know how absolutely amazing my dear sweet Evan is!

I can't even imagine how Monday is going to feel when we pick up his wheel chair and ........ cough assist machine. Yes folks you read that correctly. The long awaited arrival of two essential pieces of equipment are coming on Monday!!!!!!

How wonderful is our life??!!!

I was running errands today. One of our stops was at the Dollar Store. When we are at the Dollar Store I usually let Evan wander in his chair. It is a pretty small store and he really enjoys the exploration. Today he speeds up to me holding up some AA batteries screaming with delight:

"Mama, Mama ... look look look. Batteries for my wheel chair. You buy them for me and my wheel chair! Here put them in the cart."

I wish I could write his inflection down on paper, but he was just sooooo cute and I just burst out laughing in the store! :-)

Evan-ism: "Gummy Gums" = "Gummy candy that are not the fruit snacks he recognizes"

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Landon now has 5 teeth. He got a front tooth yesterday and another one today (he was NOT a happy camper today). It is crazy that all of his teeth are coming in at the same time.

Landon is FINALLY sleeping!! He has been sleeping almost a week now. It is amazing what a good set of ear plugs can do for a tired Mama and a stubborn baby. Landon is happier now that he is sleeping and an unexpected result of sleeping at night is that Landon is now even napping better during the day.

All I have to say is "hallelujah!!!!"

The disappearance of Chelsea King has really disturbed me and I can't stop thinking about it. There are too many similarities to my family and it is eerie. She is even from the same area that I grew up in. It reminds me that the world is not always safe and we really need to be on our guard. My heart aches for her family and I hope that they will be able to get some closure soon. No parent should have to endure something like this.

ding ding ding ... nailed it!!!!

Out of curiosity I took a quiz on oprah.com called "who are you striving to be". The quiz asks you questions about yourself and your reactions to different situations and then puts you into a category. The result was terrifyingly accurate about me! Seriously I am a little freaked out! I don't think I could have described myself better. For your own entertainment ... I copied and pasted my results ... let me know what you think.

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YOU ARE STRIVING TO BE CREATIVE You are an artist: You came out of the womb with a paintbrush in your hand. Or maybe it was a flute or a castanet or a fountain pen to go with your poet's imagination. The point is, you're an original, and you know it. Even if you don't have a singular gift, you're drawn to the arts—anything creative, for that matter—and you have a unique way of looking at the world. Your need for depth and authenticity in relationships can lead to both great joy and profound sorrow, depending on whether others reciprocate. You don't care so much about adapting to group or societal expectations; your independence and sharp intuition propel you on your own path.What to watch out for: When fear of conformity overrides your creativity, you can assume the role of "outsider" or "orphan" and end up feeling alienated. You may even go so far as refusing to vote or pay taxes. This lone-wolf stance might be a defense against feeling vulnerable. Try to be aware that blaming others for your banishment, or pushing away those who want to get close, only makes things worse. Also, dramatizing your emotions can interfere with your creativity.Looking ahead: As long as you genuinely express yourself, you feel like the person you were meant to be. How you do it is irrelevant. A chef or architect can be as much of an artist as a painter or sculptor. Many advertising and public relations executives are also highly imaginative. Beyond work, there are opportunities everywhere you look to coax out your inner artist: Design your own jewelry line, create an innovative blog, dream up a comic strip. Relationships are another avenue for self-expression.

Alex got his mission call

My baby brother got his mission call yesterday and he will be spending the next two years in the Chile, Santiago West mission!!! I am so thrilled for him and grateful that I was able to be part of the experience via the phone. The best part is that .........

I TOTALLY CALLED IT!!!!

I got to watch the video of him opening the call this morning and he just looked stunned and relieved to finally know. While everyone else was screaming around him he just sat on the couch smiling and staring at the paper.

Justin thinks the call is totally awesome because his Grandpa Palmer was the first mission president in Chile.

Congratulations Alex, we are going to miss you, but you will have a glorious mission! I know it!!!

what my boys are up to!

Sorry if my "kid" updates get a little old. I use my blog as a journal and I don't live near my family, and I really want to remember the details of their childhood ... sooooooo, here it goes (again)

:-)

Evan:

-Evan was in the other room snuggling with Justin. I called from the other room and asked him what he was doing. His reply ... "I'm nugging with Daddy"

-It was time for him to go to sleep and Evan says "I don't want to got to sleep, I want to go swimming with Daddy"

-While we were all getting better the last thing to happen was pretty bad gas. I went to get Evan from his nap and he says: "I tooted again. It was a BERRY big tooted!"

-We were watching mens figure skating together. I told him that the one we wanted to win was named Evan. The conversation went like this:
Me: His name is Evan like yours
Evan: Evan like me???
Me: Go Evan!
Evan: Go Evan Palmer!!!
(silly boy)

-Evan: I tooted
Me: eewww gross!
Evan: No, it's not gross! Tooting is nice.
Me: It's nice??
Evan: Yes, tooting is nice for my bum!!

-I think that my periodic dramatics might be rubbing off on Evan. I was bouncing him on my knee and he got a little nervous and says: "Stop Mama ... I will die!!"

-you know the strings at the top of pants or shorts?? Well Justin was going to the bathroom and Evan saw the string on his pants and he says: "Is that a ribbon for your penis??"



Landon

-This little boy is such a delight right now!! He does so many things that surprise me. Landon hugs. For the last month he has been full on hugging us! It melts my heart and surprises me because I do not remember Evan doing that this early. I just love his little baby squeezes around my neck.

-Landon also kisses! He will snuggle in and then open mouth kiss you over and over. Soo cute!

-I love that Landon still oozes baby smell. I don't ever want that to go away, but until then I am trying to just soak it up!!!

-When I say Landon is delightful, he really is!! He just smiles and giggles and snuggles all the time. He just wants to be with us and loves to be on top of his big brother (although Evan is not so much a fan of this. We have taught Evan to call for help instead of hitting the baby. All day I hear "Mama, help me! Landon's getting me!!") He is wonderful!

-I am moving out of Justin's bed for the next little while. We are going to start sleep training again and until he sleeps longer I will be sleeping in the basement so I can actually get some sleep. I am dreading it ... wish us luck.

Why I work out

I love to exercise, but as my friends in Florida can attest this was not always the case. Shortly after I graduated from my masters program I had a revelation that I was skinny, but not healthy. I decided that I really wanted to be healthy. I started small. First I just ate less (3 pieces of pizza instead of 5) and since I had a full size track in my backyard (literally) I would run 1 mile 3 days a week. Slowly I started eat healthier and began to up my mileage. 6 months later I didn't hate running anymore. 6 months after that I really enjoyed running.

Now I enjoy working out in a gym as well (still prefer to be outside, but I live in Canada). I exercise so that I can be healthy for Justin, Evan, and Landon. I want to be around to take care of them and that means taking care of me. I want to have enough energy to play with my kids. I want them to have a good example to look to of proper eating and exercising. Once Evan was diagnosed with SMA I had an extra incentive. I need to be strong enough to carry him around, I need to be strong enough to carry his equipment around. He may be small, but he will grow and so will his equipment.

I don't exercise to look good, but it is definitely a bonus result of working out and constant heavy lifting at home (Evan and his stuff). I can now say that I am a physically strong person, it is kind of cool!

Thank you Evan for my new back, shoulders, and arms!