Happy Spring, Easter and Passover!

Images of Spring I took a few days ago. ( 50mm lens open to f/1.8 with a 4x close up filter on. )

Mama and Max napping ( I took this with my iphone just before Max woke up )

Max fell deeply in love with matzah on Passover this year. Look at him. He looks like he is yelling out for more. or saying " Don't you dare take away my matzah ! "

Spent Passover at David and Ann Asner's house. David taught Jerry how to play drums in High School! Ann and I met a few years ago on one of my visits to Salt Lake City and that is their son Aaron. It was fun to visit with them and celebrate Passover. The food was incredible but the entertainment of that family just being themselves - was what made it so much fun for all of us. They are warm, easy going, full of fun stories from their past and so loving.

I'm checking out books on decorating ideas for the new house ( Escrow closes May 11th - crossing fingers ) Max clearly has some ideas he wants to research for his bedroom.

Max visited the Pediatrician here. He is 25 pounds but we couldn't get his height - too wiggly. Blood test for thyroid function came back Normal. Dr. suggested we switch to Skim milk because Kids with Ds can tend to get overweight easily. Haven't made the switch yet. He is still on formula because we've had a hard time introducing him to lots of nutritious food. Now he is eating hotdogs, string cheese, graham crackers, teething crackers, wheat free cereal, yo baby yogurt, danables yogurt with a straw, cottage cheese, french fries, sweet potato fries, chips ( when we go to Mexican food ), Mexican rice ( when at restaurant ), All melons, bananas sometimes, grapes, apples, pears....I think that's it. He still has pureed baby food and that is where we are getting him to eat veggies hidden in fruits. he doesn't like bread, or melted cheese, or pasta, or any of the other foods you think toddlers may want....yet.

He has more sign language today than he did last week. he signs "baby" now which we saw him do very clearly for the first time today. He also signs house, flower, home, tree, stop. I'm sure there are more. I've written out the list of words a few weeks ago - I think he is up to about 40 signs now.

We hired a Physical Therapist named Michael Workman this past week. We will schedule him to start in a week or so. He is really amazing and we are really looking forward to getting started with him.

Marty ( Max's Grandma ) found one of the top Speech Therapists in the state of Utah and we are starting with her TOMORROW! Hooray!! Her name is Monica Ferguson. Tomorrow is a phone consultation and then we start one on one next week.

She has a recommendation for an Occupational Therapist as well so it looks like Max is hooked up!
He hasn't had any therapy since about January so it will be GREAT to get him back into the swing.
These are all therapists that we will pay for out of pocket as they are not offered through the state. We will also be seeing someone 3 times per month from DDI Vantage ( which is like the Regional Center in Los Angeles only you do have to pay a small fee for this which is strange ) who is called a " Child Development Specialist". Don't get me started on that one. Basically they give you the least expensive ( ie: least trained ) therapist first.

anyhow - we will keep the DDI Vantage therapist because I do like her and Max seemed comfortable with her and I am sure she has strengths that can benefit Max in some way. I'm just THRILLED that Max will have actual PT, OT and Speech from qualified and highly regarded therapists now. Sigh of relief for me. And thank you to all of you out there who gave us tips on where to find therapy! It has been a bit daunting for me to figure this part of Max's life out here in SLC.

In other news - the house we are buying is still moving forward! We had the inspection - and now we have to wait until May 11th - which is the Escrow Closing Date! ( knock on wood )

Jerry and I are looking at paint colors, and thinking about the things we want to do before we move in - like buy baby gates for the stairs! etc...

We are COUNTING THE DAYS!

We hope you had a lovely Passover or Easter or Both! This year we celebrated Easter with Grandma Marty, Aunty Sandy, Uncle Chris and 2 of their 3 kids, Sean and Tim. LOTS of yummy food! Tim made Crepes! Grandma Made "brunch" which is a baked dish with white bread, eggs, butter, cheese and bacon, fruit salad, bacon, Sausage...did I miss anything?

Max missed out on TWO Easter Egg Hunts because he was NAPPING through both of them this week so he still hasn't experienced that yet - but I'm sure there will be plenty of them in the years to come.

Much love,
*c