New Pictures

Elisabeth loves reading to her brother.
















James started going to the nursery at church. He's getting too squirmy and talkative to stay with us during service and Sunday school. He loves rolling around on the floor, and the workers always tell us how happy he is.
















If you look closely, you can see that James now has two lower teeth!
















Hanging out in the front yard.




















Playing in our bouncy castle.

John Is My Hero

Sometimes when things seem too crazy for me to handle, John comes home and helps me put it all into perspective.

One night, he read to me from John 9.
As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life."

Last night he told me about an interview with Steven Curtis Chapman he heard on the radio. Maria Sue, his daughter who was killed in a tragic accident a few months ago, drew a picture of a flower and the word "See" the morning of the accident. Only one petal of the flower was colored in, and Steven Curtis Chapman said, "We have six children - only one of them is whole now, we believe, in the arms of Jesus...She was saying, 'See? I'm good. I'm OK.'" John went on to remind me that one day James will be whole again. Oh, how I long for that day. I long for heaven.

Monthly Update Time!

On August 1, James had his nine month appointment. He weighed 15 lb 3 oz, and measured 26 in long. He grew about two inches since his last appointment so the GH is really working!

On the feeding front, we are trying all sorts of new foods. Check out James eating mango! We try to push as much protein as we can, though, at the suggestion of moms of other kids with PWS. He still fights drinking milk, but I've decided I'm okay with feeding him when he's asleep. As long as he's getting enough calories from solids and drinks some water with each meal and snack, I figure he should be okay.

James has had so much fun in therapy lately. One day, he got to play with blue jello. Another day, he finger painted with vanilla yogurt. Last Wednesday, the therapists stripped him down to his diaper and let him splash his arms in a little tub of water. He loved it! Needless to say, we always have to give him a bath after therapy! This coming Wednesday he will be starting outpatient PT in addition to the OT and Speech sessions to work on gross motor skills like sitting, crawling, and standing.

Great News!

We just received some great news from our insurance company. We were very concerned because Humana only authorized 20 sessions of therapy per year for each individual, and James used them up back in May. We had written a letter of appeal to Humana and had not heard back, so we planned to decrease James' therapy frequency from once a week to once every other week. John spoke to someone from Humana on his way home who said that there are two exceptions to the 20 sessions per year rule: 1) traumatic brain injury, and 2) a dependent child with developmental delay. That means James should not get denied and we can continue with weekly therapy. Praise God!

"But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me." Psalm 13:5-6

Galveston

As you can see, we had a great time in Galveston. James spent a lot of time sleeping on the beach (under the canopy, of course). The girls enjoyed digging in the sand and playing in the water. My new favorite picture of James is the one of him lying on his mat on the beach and grinning. He's so cute!

Bathtime, Haircut, and Sitting

James right out of the bathtub. Look at all those rolls on his arms!




















James right before his first haircut. The hairdresser was so nervous about cutting his hair, she dropped the clippers on the floor.




















James right after his first haircut. The hairdresser was impressed with how well he did.
















James poses with Daddy after his haircut.




















Look at me sitting up!

Finally, An Update!

I promise to post a longer update later, but we are still here, and James is doing well. He is prop sitting for short periods of time and rolling all over the place. He loves all kinds of fruit, but he really doesn't care for broccoli and cauliflower. He got his first haircut a few weeks ago, and he looks so much older with his little buzz cut! Last week we rented a beach house in Galveston for a few nights, and James loved the beach. Actually, he loved sleeping on the beach, because every time we took him out there, he fell asleep! It must have been the sounds of the ocean that relaxed him. We will upload all our recent pictures and post them very soon. Stay tuned!