Evan's SMOs (Ankle Braces)

Evan has started to show signs of some weak ankles lately. The weak ankles affect his knees, giving him a knocked-knee appearance.  His ankles have started rotating downward toward the ground, pushing his feet out wide. This pressure then travels up the legs and causes his knees to move inward towards each other. His physical therapist recommend SMOs (Supra-Malleolar Orthosis).  These are a special type of ankle brace that will keep his ankle in place, and therefore, correct his knees as well. They will also give him support for physical activities such as jumping and descending stairs.

I took before pictures of Evan's legs so we can mark his progress.

He did great during his first fitting today & walked around with no problems.

We should start to see results in 3 - 4 months.  

Alex's Learning Curve at 20 months old

Over the last week or so Alex has picked up on some key learnings.  He can identify the numbers 2, 8, and 9; the colors orange, blue, and green; and the letters E and O.  He repeats everything and says two-three word sentences (i.e. Bye, bye, mommy!).  He knows everyones' names and asks where they are all the time.  If you ask him where they are, he says "house" or "bye bye."  If you don't reply back when he tells you hi or bye, he just repeats it louder and louder until you answer.  It's amazing to see him grasping the English language so rapidly. He will answer questions with a no or a "uh huh" for yes. When I ask him to bring me something, he runs to find it and brings it to me right away.

He loves watching youtube videos on the iPad or scrolling through pictures on my iPhone. The fabulous things about Alex now speaking is that Evan is mimicking him a lot & speaking more as well.  Evan will respond to commands if his attention is not diverted to something else, but Alex is much more of a people pleaser and responds almost every time. They love on each other all the time and are usually right near the other one.  Evan has started showing some signs of jealousy, especially if Alex gets a drink and Evan does not. It's so cute that they pay attention to what the other one is doing whether playing or eating.

Both boys are growing taller by the minute!