Evan's 4 Year Check Up

We scheduled Evan's 4 year old check up on his actual birthday this year.  He was so fun in the office and had a great time playing with the equipment by checking his ears and the new nurse practitioner's ears. When Dr. Parra walked in the room he raised his hands and wanted her to pick him up.  She was thrilled.  We are monitoring him for some slight autistic tendencies such as hand flapping, humming, and a few other things. He enjoys people and noises don't bother him at all.  He eats all kinds of things, but he may be slightly on the spectrum. We will know more when we visit the doctor that specializes in behaviors. He knows a lot of words but does not use them often. We have started using the PECs system where he chooses a picture and gives it to us to indicate what he needs/wants.  This has been working very well.  He does not jump or run, yet, and his knees look more knock-kneed than 6 months ago when we started the SMO ankle braces.  We took him to an orthopedic specialist who recommended that we do nothing for at least a year to see if his knees self-correct.  If they do not, they can do a small procedure to correct his knees.  He's had strep throat several times this year, so we are going to a new pediatric ENT this year as well to see how his tonsils are holding up along with his moderate sleep apnea. Other than those few things, Evan is very healthy.  He still loves pickles and Alex.  He is funny and has his own way to do things and is not afraid to push you away if he doesn't want you around.  The same goes for food.  We are still working on keeping food & drink on the table and not thrown. Alex and Evan get along great and really feed off of each other. Evan is getting so tall now!

St. Patrick's Day 2016

This year I used shirts we already had for the boys to wear.  They each had on green, so I felt like my mission was accomplished!  Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Evan's 4th Birthday

I can't believe my little boy is 4 years old.  It was just a few months ago we were in the hospital having our first baby.  Evan is progressing slowly but steadily and enjoys his special needs preschool and his after school therapists.  He shows steady progress, when the mood suits him.  He is stubborn at times and definitely will not participate if it's not an activity that interests him.  Since last year's birthday melt down, we decided to have his party at home with just a few relatives. We ordered pizza and we made a salad.  I also had creative fruit & veggie dishes to match our Sesame Street theme.  Sugar does not agree with Evan so I opted to make him a cheesecake instead of a regular cake.  Of course, it did not look like a regular cheesecake.  I made it look like Elmo!  I made cake pops for everyone else at the party. We took our time with each birthday process and gave Evan lots of breaks between eating, opening presents, and eating dessert.  He usually played on his own and kept a mellow attitude the entire party!

Happy 4th birthday, Evan!