Sunday, August 9, 2009

Weekly Update -- 3 - 9 August 2009

Yay, I'm 135 weeks old today!

Masinja had speech again this week. He cooperated for the most part. His therapist is working on getting him to immitate actions and sounds. She is pretty confident that if we can get him to immiate things then he will be able to correctly pronounce the few sounds that he is having the most difficulty with right now. He didn't have much of a problem immitating the actions such as clapping his hands and stomping his feet, but he would not immiate the sounds at all. She tried to get him to say buh, buh, buh; puh, puh, puh; and mmmmmm but he just wouldn't do it. I told her that I could pretty much guarantee that he would be saying those sounds all the way home. He didn't do that exactly but as we were getting into the car I said all three sounds and asked him to repeat me, and sure enough he did it without hesitation! He is just one stubborn little boy.

That's all for now.

Peace,
T.M.M.

Weekly Update -- 27 July - 2 August 2009

Yay, I'm 134 weeks old today!

Masinja went for the second half of his speech evaluation this week. It went much better this time, thank goodness! I scheduled the appointment for 11 o'clock which made a huge difference. He got to play with some toys again but this time when the speech therapist asked him to identify the pictures in the book he cooperated much better. It might have something to do with the fact that I bribed him with Kix :O) Anyway, the funniest part was when the speech therapist flipped to a picture of a clown. Before she could even ask Masinja what it was he pointed to it and said, "Mommy!" She and I started to laugh hysterically. It took a few minutes before we could proceed with the rest of the evaluation.

Masinja got to go to a Japanse restaurant this week. T.M. and I, along with Masinja, went to Kobe to celebrate our 11 year wedding anniversary. It is a hibatchi restaurant so you get to watch them cook right in front of you. Masinja had a blast! His favorite part was when they lit the grill. He kept watching for the fires. Each time a chef would light a grill he would grin from ear to ear and giggle like crazy. I hope that's not a sign :o)

That's all for now.

Peace,
T.M.M.

Weekly Update -- 20 - 26 July 2009

Yay, I'm 133 weeks old today!

Masinja went for a speech evaluation this week. It didn't go very well because the appointment was at one o'clock which is right in the middle of nap time. He didn't really cooperate at all with the speech therapist. She gave him some toys to play with and asked T.M. and I a series of questions. Once we finished that portion, she showed Masinja some pictures in a book and tried to get him to tell her what was in each picture. Masinja was more interested in playing with the toys :o) He pretty much threw three temper tantrums in the span of ten minutes! We have to take him back next week to finish the evaluation. Hopefully that portion will go much better.

Masinja went to the ophthalmologist for a checkup this week. He had to have his eyes dilated this time because he didn't have it done last time. The doctor basically did so in order to check Masinja's prescription. He was pleasantly surprised and so were T.M. and I. Even though Masinja has grown quite a bit in the last 6 months, his vision hasn't changed at all. It hasn't improved, but it hasn't gotten worse either!

Masinja had his 19th ECI session this week. We discussed his speech evaluation and talked about some strategies to use at home to help improve his language skills.

That's all for now.

Peace,
T.M.M.

Weekly Update -- 13 - 19 July 2009

Yay, I'm 132 weeks old today!

Masinja had another eventful week this week. We left Shreveport on Tuesday and drove to Tennesse to visit his Aunt Jenn, Uncle Kenny, and cousins Grace and Josh. We were supposed to leave on Monday but I got sick Sunday night so we had to stay in Shreveport an extra day. We had a great visit though. It had been six months since they had all come to visit us and Jenn, Kenny and the kids were anxious to see Masinja. I guess they were excited to see T.M. and I too :o) Our first day in town we got to go and watch Grace's dance class. It was pretty neat because we haven't been able to attend any of her recitals. She is a great dancer and I can't wait to see her dance again. Masinja had a good time because he was surrounded by pretty girls! The next day we all went to the Aquarium in Chattanooga. It was pretty cool because most of the exhibits contained fish that were native to Tennessee. Masinja's favorite part was the sting rays. There were all sorts of them and he thought they were neat. Our last day in town we spent relaxing at the house in preparation for our long drive home. It took us 17 hours to drive back to Nebraska. Masinja was trooper for the entire ride though.

That's all for now.

Peace,
T.M.M.

Weekly Update -- 6 - 12 July 2009

Yay, I'm 131 weeks old today!

Masinja had a pretty eventful week this week. We went to Shreveport for a visit. It has been a year and a half since we moved from there and we really wanted to go back and see everyone. It took us about 13 hours to get there but it was well worth the trip. We stayed with Masinja's Grandma Martha and he got to see his Aunt CC and his Uncle Robert almost every day. Our first full night in town we went to see Masinja's Mommy Tammy. Masinja had a blast and I'm pretty sure his Mommy Tammy did as well. She was his favorite nurse from the NICU and she's pretty fond of him too! The next day we took Masinja to the NICU so all of the nurses could see how big he has gotten. They were all pretty impressed with him and just amazed at how far he has come. Neither one of the doctors were there at that time so we went back that afternoon so Masinja's doctor, Dr. M, could see him. Unfortunately, by the time we got back there Masinja was passed out! He slept for most of the visit but he woke up toward the end and Dr. M got to see him in action. She was just as amazed as everyone else with how smart he is and how well he is doing. We went back to the NICU a few days later so that the nurses on the other shift could see him too. He had every one of those nurses wrapped around his little finger :o)

We also got to visit with our church family at St. Matthias several times while we were in town. Vacation Bible School was going on that week so we went a few nights and got to catch up with a lot of people. We got to spend extra time with Masinja's Aunt CC and Uncle Robert and Grandma Martha and Kori too because they were all conducting VBS. Masinja had a great time playing with all the kids. The highlight of VBS for him though was the "train" ride. The theme was St. Matthias Express so each night the kids would all get into a wagon that was pulled by a four wheeler and ride the "train" to VBS. Masinja absolutely loved riding the "train." He would laugh hysterically while going over the bumps and just grin from ear to ear while the ride lasted. It was a different story entirely when the "train" stopped though. As soon as the "train" came to a stop he would start to throw a temper tantrum!

We tried to see as many people as we could while we were in town but there just never seemed to be enough time in the day. Maybe the next time we go for a visit we'll be able to stay longer and see more people :o)

Masinja and his Mommy Tammy

Masinja and his Aunt CC and Uncle Robert

That's all for now.

Peace,
T.M.M.

Weekly Update 29 June - 5 July 2009

Yay, I'm 130 weeks old today!

Masinja had a pretty uneventful week this week. We didn't take him to see any fireworks for the the 4th of July because we figured he wouldn't like the loud noise. We did get a good picture of him in his 4th of July outfit though :o)

4th of July Outfit

That's all for now.

Peace,
T.M.M.