2 Brothers Layne

Check this Kiddo out. He is standing with only a bit of support from the couch and Mommy's legs. Not long ago Jonah did not understand nor have the strength to stand on his own two legs. Isn't this a typical child's reaction to Mom when she is messing with his face? He cracks me up. Jonah was getting tired and wanted to sit down. Just taking a quick breather before we try for round number two. Round number two! Standing up tall for all to see! Oh No, the dogs think it must be time to play with all the cheering that's been going on. Jonah is wanting to bend down and pick up the blue ball that's behind my left heel. He is rather fond of playing ball with his puppy! I have three days to get Jonah and I ready to be apart for a few days. We are in pretty good shape, just a batch of laundry, some packing, and a few lists and instructions for Jonah. Can't wait to see Dave!

Today we had a nice change of pace. Mamaw needed one more shopping trip for wedding odds and ends and she invited Jonah and I to go along. We made sure to ask Gaga if he would mind sitting in the van with Jonah while Mamaw and I ran into a couple of stores. He said he didn't mind so we packed up the van with Jonah's paraphernalia and we were off. While we were in the first two stores Jonah got upset and Gaga was so kind as to burp Jonah's tummy to help him feel better... it worked like a charm! Way to go Gaga, and THANKS! This afternoon Jonah and I played some but mostly he wanted time to play with his toys on the floor and spend some time in his jumper. We seem to have the beginning stages of a good game of chase going. While Jonah was on the floor I got on my tummy and loudly approached him saying that I was going to get him. He smiled, looked right at me and rolled the other way. Then he looked up at me again and smiled in triumph. ...Too Cute! Maybe with time...

This darling little boy definitely loves the camera and he knows just what to do when Mommy puts it in his face. Today I was trying to capture his new found ability to scoot backward in his baby walker. The first video he is too busy playing movie star to show off... but the second one you get a glimpse. Jonah has had a pretty uneventful day. He decided to take 2 naps today! That was helpful in working on Wedding stuff. The goal is to get everything pretty well ready before I leave for Chicago on Thursday. So far we are right on track for making that happen!

Today Jonah has taken a huge leap forward by taking a few steps back. How? You may ask. Well we have been working on helping Jonah learn to putt around the house in his baby walker and today we had a breakthrough. If I position the toes of Jonah's shoes under his seat so that his knees are bent he will push his weight through his legs until his legs are straight and as a result he has moved a few inches backward. He has not yet connected the movement in his legs with the fact that it could get him from here to there. ...But that will come! My description may not make much sense so I'll attempt a video tomorrow. Here is a quick clip of Jonah's giggle. He loves it when Mommy makes funny noises.

This morning Jonah was a Toad for his physical therapist. All he would do for her is cry. After a good long nap he was much happier! This afternoon after working Jonah hard in the walker I put him on the floor to play with his toys while I folded the laundry. As I folded I noticed Jaxton (our yellow lab) was frantically searching for something. Finally he comes running to Jonah and throws him a miniature tennis ball. This is the only dog ball that Jonah can palm and throw so this is the one I always have Jax find when he wants to play with Jonah. Jonah smiled and rolled to his side. He grabbed the ball and threw it, as best as he can, to Jax. Jax grabbed it and threw it back to Jonah. They played this way for a few minutes until Mommy intervened. In physical therapy we are still working on strengthening Jonah's trunk while sitting so I went and got two big pillows to prop Jonah between. The video tells the rest of the story. They played like this for nearly 15 minutes. ...

This morning Jonah got his montly Synagist shot. This shot is given to preemies and to immunosuppressed babies to help guard them against RSV. This afternoon was Jonah's swallow study at PCMC. The test was ordered because our feeding therapist has suspected that Jonah was aspirating (inhaling into his lungs) his favorite thing... water. Water is the ONLY thing that Jonah will readily and willingly accept. We needed to see how well Jonah is able to swallow liquids, nectars, and stage 1 foods. They mix barium with water, nectar (the equivalent of the Juice you drain off canned peaches), and stage 1 bananas; then they load up a syringe with the substance and force feed it to Jonah. All the while they have a continuous x-ray that shows where the barium goes. The first part of the test was the barium water. He coughed and sputtered; what they called a classic aspiration reaction. When they did the nectar we watched Jonah silently aspirate. Both of these are not necessarily good...

Jonah is a big fan of using his toys, and people's fingers to help him teeth. It wasn't until today that he understood how sharp his little chompers are. This morning he was lying on the floor with his hands in his mouth when suddenly he sneezed a great sneeze! In the process he bit himself. He cried at the pain he had caused himself but was quickly calmed with some snuggling. This afternoon he did the very same thing. Jonah may not agree but it was really funny! I'm feeling a bit better today. I still have a fever, but it isn't as high as yesterday. I still have not developed any other symptoms of being sick...weird. Hopefully tomorrow the fever is gone and I'm feeling back to normal. I got a letter from Dave today. He is getting very excited for graduation. In a letter I asked him what he wanted to do while we are together. His reply was, "I don't care what we do just as long as I can hold your hand." ...If you were ever to ask him I...

So this morning I woke up feeling achy all over and I had a slight fever. I told Gaga and Mamaw that we would be fine and they went to church. While they were gone my condition deteriorated and not long before they arrived home I had placed Jonah in his jumper and I was lying on the floor on front of him wrapped in a blanket. That is where Gaga and Mamaw found us. They quickly sent me to bed and stepped in to watch Jonah. I don't mind too much being sick but there is always the worry that Jonah will pick it up and that could be catastrophic. I got a blessing this afternoon and as long as I take Tylenol I'm feeling pretty good. Thankfully Papa (Dave's Dad) will be able to come and play with Jonah while Mamaw goes to an appointment. We're really trying to minimize Jonah's exposure to me. I'm sure Mamaw would have very strong feelings about me leaving her a sick Jonah while I go to see Dave in Chicago. (Honestly, I don't think I could leave if he were...

I love the weekend! There are very few phone calls and no appointments. We were hoping for a phone call from Daddy today but no such luck! Instead we got two letters. Sounds like he is doing well. Dave tells us that his division has nominated him for an award, Recruit of the Year. I'm pretty impressed but not at all surprised. Jonah has had a great day. We've played hard and worked hard. Helping Jonah learn to eat is at a standstill... in fact we may be losing ground rather than gaining. He does NOT appreciate having anything except his hands and plastic in his mouth. ...That won't stop me from trying. Maybe someday he'll decide that it isn't so bad.

There is nothing quite like being a mommy of a labor intensive kiddo while having a migraine. Poor Jonah has not had much therapy today needless to say. We did get some playing in and while my muscle relaxer was working we danced to Mommy's Ipod. Tonight was Brittney's (my baby sister) bridal shower so Nana came over to watch Jonah. He was such a Toad! Poor guy had a terrible tummy ache. He felt much better after having 3 dirty diapers! Thanks Nana for looking after a an upset Jonah.

If you look closely you'll see that Jonah is cutting two teeth on the bottom. The one on his right has cut through but the one on the left is all blistered and sore. We had a meeting at Hill AF Base this morning to get Jonah qualified for the EFM Program. They were impressed with my medical knowledge and with all we've been through to get Jonah to this point. By the end of the interview they stated that Jonah definitely qualified for the EFMP and that as a result he would also qualify for 40 hours a week of nursing respite care. This is were pediatric home health care nurses come to our house to babysit Jonah so that I have a bit of time to get things done and Jonah has nearly free babysitting ($25.00 per month no matter how many hours we use) by someone who understand Jonah's medical needs. What a relief to know that when we relocate with the navy this benefit will follow us. That means that when family is unavailable I will still have the help I need to maintain my...

Jonah has demonstrated a new skill for us today, we call it the screech and reach. You guessed it! He screams at the top if his lungs while reaching for a person, object, or position that he feels he needs. It has been a very teething day. I'm sure glad I have such a great support system to give me a breather when I need it. Jonah got a priesthood blessing from Gaga and Papa tonight and since then he has seemed much more comfortable. Hopefully he'll be able to sleep well tonight. We have two new arrivals here at the house. Mamaw was given to "bum" lambs to bottle feed. They were born this afternoon and their mom has "blue bag" (basically it's mastitis that never goes away). As such she does will not produce any milk to feed these little angels. Mamaw has worked many miracles over the years with these little lambs. I would have introduced Jonah to the babies tonight but they were both weak and tired so it will have to wait until tomorrow. We...

Jonah has had another low key day due to his darn teeth. He had two really long naps and went right to bed at 8:00 tonight. While awake he played hard and smiled a lot! I sure do appreciate Jonah's optimistic attitude and his bright cheery personality. No matter what is going on he can always find a reason to smile and laugh. He never ceases to amaze me. He is, and will always be one of my HEROs.

Poor Jonah has been pretty miserable cutting teeth. He is working on cutting 3 on top and two on bottom all at the same time. It's no wonder the tooth fairy pays so well for your baby teeth... they are wicked little things! If the truth be told the tooth fairy ought to be paying close to $10 a tooth to appropriately compensate these little ones for their pain and suffering. Oh wait, she'd be broke by the time Jonah is 8. I guess that's why she stuck with 25 cents when I was a kid. I found out today that I should be able to get tickets to see Dave's graduation ceremony, they call it Pass In Review (PIR). That should help ease Dave's anxiety over that problem. If you haven't noticed I've added some tickers off to the right hand side. One counts down to Jonah's 2nd birthday, one counts down to our 6th anniversary, and my personal favorite counts down to Dave's graduation from basic training! There are only 2 weeks and 4 days left until we can t...

Jonah is my Valentines date! He got all dressed up just for Mommy. This is the outfit we bought for the wedding. The whole set was on sale for $17.00. For the actual wedding he will have a bright yellow vest and red tie. Mamaw finished his vest last night and hopefully she'll have time to finish his tie tomorrow. The pants fit pretty well but the shirt is a bit tight around the neck. I guess that's what you get when you have no neck. Oh well he didn't complain. I have such a thoughtful husband and mother and father in law. Dave sent word to his family that they were to make sure I received a Valentine gift so my in-laws show up with a beautiful bouquet of flowers. What a wonderful surprise! Thanks Nana and Papa! This is Jonah's big laugh. He gets laughing so hard that no sound comes out! He has such a great sense of humor.

It has been a bit of an off day at our house. We got up this morning and Jonah and I sang Happy Birthday to Daddy. (No, Daddy couldn't hear but it's the thought that counts...Right?) So the rest of the day has been kinda lazy, Nana came over for a few hours to play with Jonah so that I could have a chance to get a couple things done. Jonah had other ideas. His nickname today is VELCRO-BOY. Jonah's tummy has bothered him and possibly his teeth and as a result he was a Momma's Boy. I don't mind a bit. It is nice to be needed. I've thought a lot about Dave today and wondered how things are going. I got another letter today that explained about his foot. He is not sure how it was injured it just started hurting while his Division was doing jumping jacks one morning. In this letter he said the bone scan was clean and he is now fit for full duty. I've been able to secure a flight and accommodations to see Dave on the day of his graduation. I may or ma...

Jonah has continued his trend of taking a 1-2 hour nap in his crib rather than in my arms. I've grown quite fond of having a few moments to myself each day. I sure can accomplish a whole lot more that way! This was the conclusion of today's morning nap. The following video was a few hours later after I had worked him pretty hard with his PT. Before I turned on the camera I asked him twice if he was sleepy and both times he adamantly shook his head to tell me no. Of course once the camera was on he did nothing of the sort. I got a quick phone call from Dave this evening. He needed some clarification on a letter he received today from his older brother and to remind me that I need to make a very important phone call tomorrow. I did find out that he is back to regular duty. His foot still hurts like crazy but he is glad to be back on track. He will be graduating on March 5th! We are so glad he won't have to spend an extra 2 months at basic. Dave said they had a test today...

Today was Jonah's IFSP (Individualized Family Service Plan). This is a document created by Jonah's team of therapists and Mommy that gives the team direction. All of his therapy sessions for the next 6 months will revolve around the goals that were set today. This process is one that I was thoroughly trained in in my special education degree at USU. I always thought it was a valuable process while I was learning it in school but today I have a new appreciation for being on the family's side. Our team is great! The first thing that was addressed was my goals for Jonah for the next 3-6 months. I listed 4 items. 1. I'd like to see Jonah consistently saying purposeful consonant vowel combination like MaMaMa and DaDaDa. 2. I want for Jonah to be able to stand at an object (like a couch). 3. I'd like to see Jonah using a pincer grasp when picking up small objects. and 4. I'd like to see him walking in a walker. Then over the next 30 minutes each therapist i...

Jonah got to eat Cool Whip 3 times today. I have committed myself to feeding Jonah something by mouth three times everyday. This is obviously not my favorite therapy to do with him because right now he does not enjoy it one little bit. It is quite a sight to behold. There is Jonah with a two-handed block in front of his mouth and Mommy is trying everything I can think of to help him relax and move his hands without forcing him to do so. It will do us no good if the feeding experience is a negative one so we take our time and try to be as silly as possible to keep the mood light. We are hoping that with time the consistency will win us back the ground we've lost over the last month. When I was learning how to move sheep as a kid my dad would tell us that "Slow is Fast", meaning if you move the sheep slowly you will make far more progress than if you attempt to move them move fast and in turn cause them to scatter. This seems to be the case with Jonah. The best prog...

The week before Dave left our feeding therapist was watching us give Jonah a drink of water since that seems to be his favorite, what he saw was that there was a good possibility that Jonah was aspirating. This was not what we wanted to hear. This was cause enough for us to shy away from feeding him anything by mouth until we could get some answers. So when we went to dysphasia (feeding) clinic a couple of weeks ago we voiced our therapist's concern to the team and they felt strongly that a swallow study should be conducted to see if Jonah can safely swallow liquids without aspirating. The swallow study was scheduled for Feb. 5th. The morning of the 5th I found out that Tricare flat out refused to cover the procedure. I was so upset. I called and rescheduled the study for the end of the month in hopes that I will be able to convince Tricare that this is something Jonah needs. So this week I've finally come to grips that we'd best continue trying to feed him purees...

Today Jonah was supposed to have his vision therapist come and visit but she called this morning and canceled. That meant that Jonah was appointment free!!! So we had the whole day to play and to help Mamaw with wedding projects. Our big project was 5 little vests, one for each of Brittney's nephews. Brittney's colors are Red and Yellow. Half the boys will be in red and half in yellow. We gave Jonah the choice of which color he wanted by putting the two pieces of fabric in front of him and then we asked which one he wanted he clearly looked at both, then looked at Mommy, and reached for the Yellow. Now the trick is finding a dress for Mom without leaving the house... Sure am grateful for online shopping!

Hooray for Grandmas! Nana (Grandma Layne) showed up at our house bright and early this morning at 8 am to watch Jonah while I worked on Brittney's (my baby sis) wedding flowers. Because of Nana's superb help I was able to get the bride's bouquet all done by 11 am. WOW! I've never done one that fast before. Then Jonah went down for a nap and Nana left. Over the course of the rest of the day I was able to complete the rest of the flowers (3 boutonnieres and 2 corsages). What a great relief to have that checked off my list. Poor Jonah! While Nana was playing with him I came down the stairs after my shower with my towel wrapped around my head. I stopped to talk with Jonah and he immediately lost all color in his face, stuck out his bottom lip, and CRIED! The towel terrified him. I quickly realized the problem and removed the towel. It took a few minutes for Jonah to realize it was gone. He had to reassure himself that Mommy's hair was still there by patting ...

I found this cute vest in the bottom of Jonah's drawer. I figured we'd better get some pictures before it no longer fits. He is such a good sport to sit and pose for Mommy. It has been a pretty peaceful day. It's kinda sad when the second best part about weekends are the fact that I don't have to answer my cell phone every few minutes about insurance, prescriptions, pre-authorizations, appointments, etc. Of course the best part about weekends is the chance that David might call. No such luck today though. His division must not have been able to keep their mouths shut this week... Bummer!

We are playing hide-n-seek! Jonah thought it was so much fun. He did a little bit better with his sitting today but overall he has been more irritable than normal. He is cutting his second molar on top and it looks like one of his eye teeth on bottom. POOR GUY! As long as I remember to keep Tylenol in his system things are better. Today was supposed to be a big day for Jonah. He was supposed to have a swallow study done along with some blood work at PCMC. Unfortunately our new insurance denied our pediatrician's pre-authorization and refused to pay for the procedure. AHHHHH! I hope that someday navigating Tricare doesn't feel like repeatedly hitting my head on a brick wall! I rescheduled the swallow study for the end of the month in hopes we can somehow change their minds. As for the blood work I figured that was a waste of gas to go all the way to Salt Lake to have his finger poked. Heck, for all I know Tricare will want to pre-authorize the blood work too! It was ...

I admit that I have gone very easy on Jonah since he hurt his leg. If you were to ask my why I'd probably tell you that I'm giving his leg time to heal but deep down the reason is that I've felt really guilty for allowing the accident to happen in the first place. Yet, today I decided that the leg was well and it was time to get back to work. It seems that I have my work cut out for me! Jonah has regressed quite a bit over the last week. Today he was either unable or unwilling to sit independently for any amount of time. His standing is nearly non-existent. It seems I've done Jonah another injustice by being a major slacker! No worries we'll regain the lost ground soon enough!

Today has been one of our more productive days. I actually beat Jonah awake this morning and was all showered before he started to cry for me to get him out of bed! (That hasn't happened in a long time!) Then Jonah was awake early enough to have a bath before his 8:00 feeding, another thing that hasn't happened in a while. So with us both all fresh and ready for the day we got a lot of playing done. Then he actually took an hour and a half nap in his bed! I wasn't quite sure what to do with myself for that long! It was wonderful!

May I begin today's blog with a HUGE shout out to Mamaw! I'd have never managed to keep my sanity today if she hadn't been here. Mom, thanks for all you do for me and my angelic son. We count you amongst our most cherished blessings! Now, here is the explanation... From 8:30 this morning until 4:00 this afternoon I was on the phone with one person or another. There was one phone call with Tricare's mail order pharmacy that took over 2 hours! Had it not been for Mamaw Jonah would have been VERY neglected today. All of the phone calls were necessary but somehow they all fell into my lap on the very same day. Yikes! I hope we don't have a repeat of this any time soon. I got another letter from Dave today. He says that time is now flying by. He sounded far more up-beat than the last letter. He says he can feel the prayers that are being said in his behalf and he is very grateful for such great friends and family! There was no mention as to the status of hi...

It must be my lucky day today! Jonah had an appointment to get his vision and his hearing tested today in Ogden. On the way there I got a phone call from a nurse with Tricare (the military insurance). She said that she had received a referral to become Jonah's case manager. I was THRILLED!!! What a case manager does is she becomes the sole person I talk to with any question I may have about Tricare. I no longer have to tell Jonah's story a thousand times and try to get the stranger on the other end to understand the complications we are dealing with. She spoke with me for over 30 minutes getting a detailed history and asking what our current needs are. I had quite a list of things that I needed to find out about and she was happy to relieve me of that burden! HOORAY!!! I am no longer alone in jumping through all the hoops Tricare has in place. Our visit with the Ophthalmologist was completely opposite of my anticipation. At our last visit in October we were told that...