A few updates

The MRI results came back and everything is normal. Nothing came up that was abnormal in either his brain or spine. That is a big relief but it still leaves us wondering why his leg was giving out and why he was having headaches. However; his leg is no longer giving out and although on occasion he does seem to have a headache, it’s almost rare now and is probably allergy related. This week, Ryan gets the night splint for his left leg. Hopefully, it won't effect his sleep too much. Last week was his first session of physical therapy and my mom said he had a great time. At the therapy center, they have a big room they call the gym which has toys & equipment galore. For his first session, the therapist had Ryan work on going up and down stairs. Ryan has trouble walking down stairs but I think it’s more of fear, rather than not being able to. He can walk down stairs holding on to my hand, but not by himself. So, the therapist will be working on that among other things such as his mild toe walking, getting him to learn how to jump, strengthening his left leg & helping him learn how to use his legs to ride a “ride on” toy. For the latter, he can ride on his ride Mickey Mouse car, but he only pushes himself backwards. As much as we’ve attempted to teach him to use his feet to go forward, he can’t (or gets frustrated and won’t). I’m sure with the therapist’s techniques; he will be able to master it.

We’ve begun getting Ryan’s room together for the transition to a toddler room. This weekend, Dean installed a ceiling fan with a light and while he was in the attic, he went ahead and installed one in the spare bedroom as well. I’m still on the search for bedding though..It’s hard for me to make a decision but I think with Dean’s help we’ll order something this weekend. I believe we will be waiting until Thanksgiving weekend to make the transition. This will give us 3 nights to make the transition without having to get up for work the next morning. I’ve heard at least the first night is very hard but I expect the other several nights may be just as hard.

Ryan went back to preschool last week after being out the week before because he was sick again. If you remember, the weekend after his first day at preschool, he got sick with a cold (he only goes one day a week). That lasted for two weeks. We sent him back to preschool and then he got sick again. This time it only lasted about 5 days. I decided to start giving him probiotics once a day since I had read that it helps build up the immune system. Also, I am being diligent about giving him his multi-vitamin and at least 4-8 oz. of orange juice for kids that has added vitamins. We sent him back to preschool last Thursday and so far, so good….no signs of sickness (knock on wood!).

We’re hoping for good weather for the upcoming weekend. We want to take Ryan to the Fall Harvest Fair which has a petting zoo, kiddie rides & a pumpkin patch. We took him last year and he had a great time so I know this year he will have even more fun since he’s a year older. This past weekend we had to break out some old toys. It was cold & raining all weekend and every couple months or so, we dig out a tote that has toys that we’ve put away. Even though they are old toys, they are somewhat new to him since he hasn’t played with them in a few months. This is wonderful, as it keeps him entertained for a few hours with something other than his cars. For some reason sometimes he gets bored playing with his hot wheels/matchbox cars, which is hard to believe since he has so many of them!