Hi, everyone! We're back after a bit of a posting delay. It's
been busy here...all three boys (that includes Dennis) have
been fighting colds. On top of that, our two night nurses and
one of our afternoon nurses got sick in the past two weeks,
so we've had our hands full. So what else is new?
First, Benton got orthotics! As you know, he's still struggling
with bearing weight on his legs, and as such, he has not made
much progress with walking. Lately, the doctors have noticed
how pronounced his navicular bone has become, and they all
feel we need to correct that before it gets too bad. We believe
Benton will walk someday, and we hope these orthotics move
him more quickly along that path.
Above is a shot of Benton's new orthotics. When most people
think of orthotics, they envision a hard piece of plastic that goes
underfoot inside a shoe. Benton's are just like that except each
extends around the heel and up the ankle. Below is a shot of
the orthotics in shoe. He's "standing" in his walker device here.
As for Iron, he's growing quickly and developing quite
a personality. Here he is with a BIG smile! He's sporting an
outfit from Grandma Wedra's friend Mel, and he's holding
a small stuffed owl that Grandma Wedra gave him when he
was just hours old.
And every now and then we find Iron standing on the
couch, looking out the window for other owls. (Okay, so
he really can't stand yet on his own, but he can keep the
stance for a few seconds after we pose him like that!)
I believe we shared before that Benton smiles and laughs
when Iron cries. I guess you could say Benton is pretty
happy lately...
Here the boys are behaving better with Grandma
Hills.
Of course Iron doesn't cry all the time. Look at this...
he's "handsome just like daddy". Mama agrees!
Back to Benton, many of you know he has very little
strength in his arms, and he normally avoids using
them. Check out this video -- he's grabbing onto a
wrought iron bar on our coffee table and pulling
himself toward it! Go B! (Sorry it's a tad dark.)
Last but not least, Iron is cooing more these days.
Here he is smiling and verging on giggling or
talking. Those are some cute coos!
