Wow, again it’s been a long while since we’ve updated our blog. So much has happened since our last post in November.
Since we last posted, you can imagine the chaos our lives have taken on. The boys are doing great and still fight and try to “one up” each other on everything from how tall they are to who has the better photo album to look at.
We had a wonderful Christmas and New Year surrounded by family and friends. Sean and I competed in the Plattsburgh Half Marathon in April and we both surpassed our goals. It will be a traditional event for us as long as they keep it going. We never thought we’d say it but it’s really a lot of fun and makes you feel great to accomplish something like that.
Our winter was definitely a snow-filled one! We enjoyed a lot of sledding this winter and Matthew even got to try his hand at some snowboarding. He got an inexpensive one for Christmas but it was enough to find out that it was something he really liked. So maybe next year he can have a better one and maybe take some lessons.
Spring was filled with marathon training in snow, sleet, rain and the horrible wind. After the marathon we continued our fund-raising efforts for the March of Dimes March for Babies. We did a huge raffle and our regular fund-raising and surpassed our team goal this year. It’s always a great event and being on the committee has it’s challenges but it’s well worth it to see such a successful event completed.
The end of the school year was an exciting one for the boys. They both did well on their report cards and progress notes show Andrew and Matthew have improved a lot this year. We had a rough start with Matthew but as soon as he got into the routine of 2nd grade, he adjusted quite well. Andrew made many gains this year at school but still falls well below average. We’re all working very hard to keep him in the regular classroom. Physically, Andrew has progressed quite nicely this year. Since having his heel cord lengthening surgery last September, his walking and strength have improved tremendously! Although we are seeing some difficulties with his other leg (toeing in and toe walking) his abilities have greatly improved. He’s been doing a great job at Aquatic therapy & it’s helped him to improve on his reciprocal motions and coordinating his right arm-left leg alternations. He still has a long way to go in increasing his strength.
Andrew recently has gone back to Medicine Horse where he receives Hippotherapy and Equine Assisted Therapy. We’re so very excited about this! He’s had almost a month of sessions and we’re already seeing some major differences. Those horses work him hard but he’s able to maintain stamina throughout his sessions and has been able to increase his riding time at each session. We’ll be adding 2x a week sessions soon. He’s also got a tutor for the summer that he sees two days a week and he really seems to enjoy it. Unfortunately Andrew’s CSE (committee on Special Education) didn’t agree to summer services due to Andrew’s lack of regression. Even though that lack of regression is because we increased therapy over school breaks, etc. But we’ve overcome our disappointment for now and we decided to continue to help him throughout the summer as much as we can with our own means. So this makes for a very busy summer. Thankfully again, we have Arihanna to nanny the boys for the summer and do homework time daily as well as making sure they get to their camps, therapy, special events, etc. We don’t know what we’d do without her!
Andrew also joined a baseball team this summer and did really well. He was able to run the bases as well as some of the other players did, brought in some runs & even had a few hits himself. He’s taken a liking to running and competes in the fun runs at our park on a weekly basis. He’s really done quite well and as compared to last year, he’s doubled his race speed and distance! Last year he could barely complete the 1/4 mile and this year he’s able to complete the 1/2 mile (although exhausting) he finishes within the middle of the pack. That and swimming were the two greatest sports recommended by his Neurosurgeon. So we thought we’d give it a try and he’s liking both of them.
Matthew has had an extremely busy spring and summer! He too joined a baseball team but was quite disappointed when we found out that he would not be able to play baseball but would have to play t-ball since he was 2 days from the age cutoff! He played really well and even though he hated the concept of “t-ball” he understood when we explained that this would be an advantage when he’s older. So to make up for it we allowed him the chance to go to baseball camp. He absolutely loved this. He did learn a lot and was proud to come home each day and tell us what he learned. Matthew has also continued to love his running. All spring he competed in fun runs and continues this summer at a different park. He’s won ever race except one. Unfortunately the one he lost was one during the week of baseball camp which really tired him out. He was sad and disappointed but I think it was something that needed to happen. Matthew was getting too confident with winning and he needed to see that even the best athletes have a bad race or game sometimes. He also attended soccer camp this summer to help him improve his soccer for this coming fall. Another sport he thoroughly enjoys.
As a family we’ve done lots of camping and have two more trips planned already. We purchased a pop-up camper this spring and we’re getting good use out of it. The boys really enjoy camping as much as we do. It’s nice to have that uninterrupted family time together without all the technological distractions in life. We took a hiking trip this year too. Our first ever as a family. We hiked up Rattlesnake which is a smaller mountain but still has some great views that helped the boys understand why we went through all the work of climbing the mountain. They got to experience the joy of their first climb when they reached the summit. This may be a new family day activity. We were all so impressed by Andrew’s ability to climb. He had a difficult time navigating the tree stumps and stones that were buried on the trails and ended up needing to be carried for a good portion since he was at one point crying out of frustration and skinned knees. But when we came face to face with huge boulders and trees, Andrew was able to get down on his hands and knees and climb up that way with no problem. His upper body strength helps him out a lot in this area. Soon enough he was smiling ear to ear when he accomplished this goal and marveled at the wonder of the mountains from the top. They loved to look down on the lake and see how tiny the boats looked.
We made a trip to Lake George this year and brought the boys camping and to the Six Flags Great Escape park to reward them for all their hard work this year at school and in their sports. They got to ride their first real upside-down roller coaster and they loved it!
Sean and I have even had the chance to take some time to ourselves here and there. We went to a few concerts and out to some dinners alone and with friends. We’ve had the chance to reconnect with some old friends we haven’t seen in years. We’re looking forward to our 10 year anniversary this September and planning a trip to Las Vegas to celebrate. We plan to renew our vows... maybe even by Elvis!
This summer’s weather has been so cooperative with all our outdoor adventures and we only wish it could never end.
Hopefully we can get some pictures added of all our great experiences so you can share a smile with us!
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