Week 62....Flowers and a Mother's Love

Ryan

Ryan's sunflower plant starting to bloom.

This is a picture of the sunflower that Ryan planted as a seed at PARC over a month ago.  We planted it outside of our kitchen window and we watch it grow.  It was this lanky, flimsy stem when he brought it home and now it is rooted firmly into the ground, standing strong.  We're looking forward to the day it fully flowers.


Here's a picture of Ryan and nonna playing a mini Foosball game.  His fine motor skills have certainly improved, as well as being able to accept losses while playing games. 

Ryan finished his school year at PARC on Friday and we couldn't be happier with the changes he's made this year.  The increase in muscle tone, the improvement in his speech, academic advancements, the frequency of social interactions, and the increase in his confidence are just some of these changes.  He's ready for kindergarten!  I'm so proud of his accomplishments and I love Ryan so much.  There's nothing I wouldn't do for him!

Julia

Julia with her flowers and trophy after her first dance recital.

Seeing her so happy and proud of herself, makes me proud.  I love Julia so much and there's nothing I wouldn't do for her.  Here is a link to the video of her performance of  On the Good Ship Lollipop

The entire show, including intermission, was three hours.  We brought the Ipad and ear plugs for Ryan and when he got bored with the show he went back and forth to the Ipad.  He wasn't bothering anyone, and it was sitting on his lap with the cover over it so that it wouldn't be a distraction to anyone around us.  A nasty old man behind us said something about him "watching TV" and I turned around and gave him a piece of my mind. Again, there's nothing I wouldn't do for my children.  It's unfortunate when you have to encounter selfish people who have clearly forgotten what it is like to have young children, and probably have no idea what it is like to raise a child with special needs.  Under the circumstances, Ryan did a great job sitting still in his seat for the entire show.  And when one class performed to the song, "Who Let the Dogs Out?", Ryan even sang along!

Baby

This is a picture of the violets sent to us from my brother and his family.  Violets are the birth flower for February. February, the month I was born, and also the month our baby was due.  We lost another baby this week.  We're not exactly sure what went wrong and when, but neither sonogram this week showed a heartbeat, and I was admitted into the hospital for a D and C.  

As a parent you try to give your kids the best of everything and protect them from harm.  Sometimes you succeed and sometimes you fail.  A friend shared this poem with me, and during this time of mourning it has helped me feel like less of a failure.

An angel from the book of life

Wrote down my babies birth.

And whispered as she closed the book...

"Too beautiful for Earth."

DC