At the age of 5 years 9 months, 2 weeks and 2 days my little boy has taken his first steps. I cannot even expressed into words how this made me feel. It is one of the happiest moments of my life. I have imagined and dreamed of those first steps so many times. There were so many times I wondered if my son would even walk. Today alone in our living room at 6:00pm he took 4 baby steps to me. I immediately broke down. We have worked so many years in PT and at times certain therapists would say after the age of 3 or 4 it is more unlikely they will walk. I never let those words sink in. I knew in my heart he would walk someday. I am overjoyed and so greatful this prayer has been answered. 

This is going to be a long update just as a warning :) 

Well Blayne has been in school for two and a half weeks now and doing great! I just remember last year he fought it and cried and got upset for about half the year. He LOVES it this year which is much easier on me. He also loves the bus thank goodness. I was really worried how he was going to do with that. Here are a few pictures from his first day

I stayed with him the first 3 days until his teachers and paras got to know him. I was right there so they could ask me what certain behaviors meant and letting them know what to do with him and what to watch for when he gets overwhelmed. He has gone for two full weeks without me now and is doing great. I ride there with him, get him in and ride back and then ride back to pick him up. It is getting to be routine and just this morning he climbed into his stroller all by himself and was waiting to go! I was so proud of him. 

 We have finally come to the point where it is time and we are both ready. Momma finally gets a break and some free time and it is good for him to have a break from me. I never thought we would get here so it is huge!

I must say it was heartbreaking for me as a mom to be there that first week. I always envisioned my little boy 'caught up' with his peers by his first day of Kindergarten and walking in with his little backpack on. He is in the special ed class for most of the day (still a hard pill to swallow) and has two other kids in there with him. They are both non-verbal and very involved. They are the sweetest things though. He goes down the hall to be with the regular Kindergarten class for some of the activities. This is going to be really good for him but to witness it as a mom almost brought me to tears. 

I saw all the little kids running around in the gym as my little boy sat in his handicap stroller and had a meltdown from all the noise. In library all the other kids sat quietly and listened to the video as Blayne is over in his own world singing and laughing. He is the smallest in his class and the only one that can't walk. The kids kept staring at him. Not in a bad way, I know they are young and just curious. I know as the year goes on they will get used to him and be nice to him. It was just a big punch to the stomach to actually watch it. I thought I was prepared but I so was not. So I just know he is in good hands with everyone there and they will do great things with him. 

On the eating business he will be off the bottle for a full month Monday! WOOHOO. This was a huge accomplishment. He hasn't gotten much better on the sippy cup but he is eating pureed meats and HE IS LEARNING HOW TO CHEW! Can you sense the excitement here?! A few weeks ago he figured out how to bite his teddy grahams in half with his front teeth. Before he would put it in his mouth and it would just sit on his tongue with his mouth open. Well the other day out of no where he bite it in half.

 This is big for two reasons, one he has never learned to chew and two he hates texture in his mouth. He still isn't sure what to do once he gets all the crumbs in his mouth but is slowly figuring out how to chew on the side and swallowing. He LOVES Oreos and graham crackers now. He is actually chewing and swallowing them. It is a huge mess and I hate that he is eating junk but this gives me hope that he will eventually accept table foods! 

For growth he has gained some weight. He is 37lbs 8oz and is 40 inches tall. He has grown a total of an inch and a half in two months on the growth hormones. In speech he is doing amazing. The other day we were in the doctors office and waiting forever and he said as clear as day "well lets go see if we can find her" and I said yes its taking forever and he said "yes I agree" I am so proud of him. He has come such a long way. One last thing to update on, he had a pre-screening for autism on Tuesday. We will get the official diagnosis in December if he does have it, which I am sure he is on the scale somewhere. I am anxious to see how he scores on it. Next post I promise will have some video clips of Blayne!

Wow! Where has the summer gone? It has flown by for us for sure. Here is a recap of what has been happening.



Blayne started growth hormone therapy on June 25th. It was really scary at first. When the first shipment arrived in the mail this is what greated me as I opened the box. The growth hormone cartridges are in the styrofom cooler with ice packs since it has to be kept cold. Needless to say it was pretty overwhelming when I saw everything at once.

but now it has just became a part of our routine. I don't like having to give him a shot every night though. He has done great with it and it hasn't been nearly as bad as I thought it would be. After I give it to him he always wants to do it so he pretends he is giving himself a shoert in his stomach (since I always use syringes for his g-tube) it is pretty cute.


Since starting the gh therapy everyone has seen HUGE changes in him. In the first 4 weeks on it he grew a full one INCH and an 1/8th. I didn't even know it was possible for him to grow that fast. I haven't measured him lately but I am sure he has shot up more. He has been making eye contact and talking more ever since as well. I can't wait to see the progress he makes as he continues on the therapy. At his eye appointment this summer she said this is the best she has ever seen him and can really tell that the shots are helping him. Our biggest hope and prayer is that this is the last thing he needs to start walking. He is SOOO close.

Our newest change is regarding his bottle. That was our biggest goal for the summer and last week I realized we are almost out of time and still haven't gotten much farther with it. School starts for him this coming Wednesday and I refuse to send him to kindergarten still drinking a bottle. This is day 4 of going cold turkey of no bottle. It has been hard but I finally just had to break down and put my foot down. He is either going to drink from a cup and/or eat food or he will get tube feedings. He can't drink a bottle the rest of his life. Each day he has been asking for it less and slowly giving in to the sippy cup. I have to hold it and tilt it for him but he will get there. I think back to how long it took to get him onto the bottle so I just need to be patient. He has been getting more tube feedings until he decides to drink a cup.

I have HUGE news on the eating side though. Two days ago I tried to give him pureed chicken I made for him. Back when we were doing feeding therapy he LOVED to eat pureed chicken and beef but got to the point he was even refusing that. Well he was hesitant at first but then loved it. He was asking to eat and for chicken and even helping put the spoon in his mouth. This is such a big thing for him. Later that evening he asked for it again and ate about 15 or 20 bites of it. He has been showing a bigger interest in eating since taking the bottle away. It is a huge step in the right direction.

Kindergarten starts Wednesday. We are both ready for him to go back to school. Just yesterday we drove by his old one and I really didn't think he was paying attention and he said 'go to school'. I got him all enrolled and his school supplies so he is ready! He will be going from 10 to 1 mon-fri. He will be riding this bus this year which I was hesitant of at first but we now have a plan in place. The school will pay me to ride with him and be his monitor for the first 6 weeks then from there we can all decide if he still needs someone to ride with him and if so they will get a monitor from school to ride with him. He will be riding in this special needs adaptive stroller so he will be nice and safe and no one will have to lift him, which scared me.

I am slowly getting my photography business going. Right now I am just doing free work to get a portfolio together. I know it just takes time and patience but I am really ready to get it going.

Just last weekend we took a camping trip to the mountains with the whole family. It was lots of fun and Blayne really enjoyed the beautiful scenery, outdoors and Colorado weather. Lots of pictures and video to come.

That is all I can think of for now. I hope everyone else had a great summer.

A lot has happen since my last post. The results are in and his growth hormone levels are low and I am so excited. Not that I wanted them to be low but that there is finally an answer to why he isn't growing. She said anything under 10 is low and his levels where 6.9 and 3.4. He hasn't grown for a total for almost 3 of his 5 1/2 years. Insurance approved the shots very quickly. Now I am just waiting for them to ship the medicine and from someone to come to our apartment to show me how to administer the shots. I HATE that it is a shot everyday but if he needs it he needs it. I have mixed emotions because it will help build muscle mass and I have had many therapists, doctors and nursesher tell me once he gets started on his hormone therapy that they think he will start walking. However if he doesn't start walking and starts growing really fast I have no idea how I am going to be able to lift and carry him. I am already having back problems but we FINALLY got a one floor apartment so no more steps!! I just have this gut feeling that this is going to get him walking because he is SO close. So I am very excited!



We did finally get all moved. It is always a job but I love our new place. It is so nice to wake up and be on a one floor. Blayne really likes our new place too and there is more room for his walker in here. I got things unpacked, put away and organized. I am going to admit it, I really do have too much stuff. I am determined to simplify my life. I am trying my hardest to get rid of things we don't use or need and just live simply. It is a slow work in progress but coming along.



I went to Texas over memorial weekend and got to meet a long time 'internet' friend. I will blog more on this later but I had the time of my life and memories I will never forget. I also did a crash course in photography and learned SOO much. I have found my new passion and calling and I am so excited to get my photography business started. I have been wanting to do this forever and it is finally coming together. Again..more on this later and stay tuned for a photography blog :)

I also have some video clips I am going to be posting so you can see Blayne in action. I can't believe my little boy is 5 1/2. He is out of school and will be starting Kindergarten in the fall. We visited his new school and we both really liked it. I think he will do great there next year. He may ride the bus so that is a bit scary. My 'baby' isn't a baby anymore. Where has the time gone?

Sad news, I will not be getting married in August. I am not going into detail but my boyfriend has some family issues come up so we are putting our wedding plans on hold until it is all figured out. It is funny how you have your life planned and are going along and then God smacks you in the face and says 'I have something else for you'. I just trust everything happens for a reason and things will work itself out. Jason and I are still doing great relationship wise and are still very happy just putting the wedding on hold. We are hoping to get married sometime next spring or summer now.

Well, I still have lots more to talk about but I am going to save it for another day. Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer so far!