Apparently yes, two months CAN fly by this fast! I knew I was a little behind on my blog, but I was blown away to see my last post was pre-Halloween! Maybe that's a good sign... winter is nearly half over already.
But first let me back up a bit. Cole had a fantastic Halloween. He was thrilled to be Luigi from Super Mario. He wore that costume with so much pride and was even more thrilled when he saw a neighbor boy who was dressed as Mario! Cole got lots of practice wearing his costume. MAC had a Halloween party and he also wore it plenty around the house. Cole just couldn't get enough of himself, he was constantly checking himself out in the mirror. This was the first year Cole picked out his costume and wore it without hesitation. He did awesome while trick-or-treating. We pulled a trailer behind our 4-wheeler and had several of the neighborhood kids and family on it with us. Cole knew exactly what to do and loved running to the houses with his brother and friends.
November is always a time to reflect on our blessings. We got some great news from one of Cole's therapists. His Occupational Therapist informed us that starting in January, Cole would no longer need OT services! This is great news. It means Cole has mastered nearly every objective in his therapy plan. The only things left are tying his shoes and clipping his toe nails; two things that are extremely difficult for him. I think back to where he started years ago and there are so many things he's accomplished: tooth brushing, buckling, zipping, snapping, holding a pencil, typing, clipping his finger nails and so much more. We also had a very positive and encouraging meeting at MAC for Cole's 90 day plan update. He continues to blow through his objectives and challenge the therapists to pave a different road for his therapy. It's so rewarding to look over the report which shows pages and pages of mastered objectives. And I love how dedicated the MAC therapists are at researching, brainstorming and challenging themselves to come up with countless ways to challenge Cole and increase his skills. We are blessed.
December came and went in a flash. The boys loved all of the snow we got and had a blast playing outside. Cole was especially thrilled when Pat brought home a new snowmobile (new to us at least). I got part of Cole's reaction on video, but not all of it. He was over the moon and his grin went from ear to ear. Cole loves anything that goes fast and snowmobiles are no exception. Pat and the boys have had hours of fun riding the trails that are only a mile from our house. Pat's also taken them up to the ice fishing shack on Coon Lake. The highlight from that trip was when Pat got pulled over by the Sheriff. Pat didn't have all of the proper stickers on his snowmobile and got a warning ticket. Cole said to the guy, "Give him a ticket. We want a ticket!". He also asked to sit in his police car and go for a ride. Good times.
Christmas was very nice. Cole did exceptionally well at Pat's parent's house on Christmas Eve. He loved sledding outside with his cousins and showed so much patience and good manners when opening presents. Cole had fun when we hosted Christmas day at our house. He loved brunch and opening more presents. It was so exciting for him- everyone went in together and got him a refurbished iTouch! We got him a custom skin for the outside that is John Deere colors and has a picture of Cole on a tractor. He loves his iTouch. He takes it with him on the transportation van every day. Cole can listen to his favorite music (Leona Lewis, Kelly Clarkson, John Mellencamp and holiday tunes), and watch his favorite movies (Toy Story, Monsters Inc and Finding Nemo). He's done very well following the laminated directions on his backpack that remind him to put his iTouch in it's case after every car ride. Never did I imagine we could give him this responsibility! Although we have staff, drivers and us parents who make sure it's in the case before the van leaves.
Pat and I got to do something exciting. We got to travel to Dallas for a quick weekend trip. Pat's company has an office down there and we were fortunate to be invited to their holiday party. It was a lot of fun and really nice to breathe 60 degree air and soak in the sunshine. We spent some quality time with one of the other owners, ate at a true Texas BBQ and had fun shopping at a huge mall. We both loved the city and left wanting to go back again soon!
Cole had a few extra days off over the holidays. As good as he did on the actual holidays themselves, there were a few really tough days as well. Cole gets extremely thrown off when even the littlest thing changes in his routine. He acts out by being defiant, aggressive and non-compliant. It can make those extra days at home unbearable at times. The good thing is that now we know what to expect and we mentally prepare for these tough times.
January has been going well for us. Cole loved having his cousins Brady and Elle sleepover. Brady was first. Typically Brady will stay in Connor's room. On this particular night, Cole insisted Brady stay in his room. It's only fair, I suppose. It was really cute. Cole wanted Connor to sleep in his (Cole's) bed and Cole made a "sleeping bed" on the floor for him and Brady. He layered piles on blankets and placed two pillows at the top. Cole told Brady, "Cole's never slept in a sleeping bed. Lets catch some zzzz's." and when Pat told Cole he couldn't snuggle Brady, Cole turned to Brady and said, "Don't worry Brady, I won't bother you". Needless to say, when we checked on the boys ten minutes later, they were all sound asleep. The same thing happened the following night with cousin Elle. It's so nice to have Cole take part in activities that we used to only do when he was not around. :-)
Cole had the stomach flu twice in the past six weeks. The first time, it happened on the night of Pat's company holiday party. He was pretty sick that day and I ended up staying home while Pat went to the party. The second time was just yesterday. Cole threw up a few times in the morning, but then started firing on all cylinders. It was like any other day. Cole was so proud to tell Pat, ""Daddy, I threw up in the bucket all by myself!!!!" And when he asked me for muffins, I told him he couldn't and that his tummy might not like it. Cole then pointed to his belly and said, "Tummy, you want muffins???" I love how literal he can be at times.
I can't stop writing without some news about Connor. He's such a fantastic kid. He really is. Connor loves school, excels at it and has tons of friends. He still runs to me with a huge hug when I come in to visit him at lunch or volunteer in his class. He adores his teacher and loves to share what he's learning about. He's full of interesting facts, just like his dad. This winter, Connor is playing hockey and still competes in gymnastics. He had his first meet a few weeks ago. We knew Connor could hold his own, but he ended up placing in all six events and he took first place in the all-around, amongst 68 other gymnasts! We had so much fun staying in a hotel with his team and competing the next day. We are looking forward to traveling to Iowa in February for an out-of-state meet! Connor also has taken a liking to snowboarding. He's had a few lessons with Brittany's brother, Ross. Lucky for him, there are eight foot tall snow banks in our yard for him to practice on. At the last lesson, I was chatting with Ross and looked up to see my 7 year old riding on the chair lift by himself. That's our Connor.
Connor continues to be an incredible brother to Cole. I always tell him that God placed him in our family for a reason and there is no one who could be a better son and brother than he is. Connor is so proud of Cole and likes to involve him in his play dates. They love to play the Wii together, wrestle, color and play outside. It's wonderful to watch.
