Bikes, a Trophy, and Tears

As first-time kindergarten parents, we have had several new experiences this school year.  Recently, we were able to watch our kids participate in the "Bike Rodeo" at their school.  This is an event in which kids can bring their bikes to school, and then they compete in different challenges.  This year, the students had to ride in a straight line, ride their bike as slowly as possible, ride around cones, brake in a specific area, and have their bike inspected.  They were scored on each challenge.  

Our kids have been riding balance bikes for a couple of years, and even though they had long outgrown them, we just continued to let them ride them around.  A couple months ago, we decided it was time to get them "big kid bikes" so we went one weekend and picked them out.  R&R were excited to try out the big bikes, but after riding them for a few minutes, would always go back to their little balance bikes.  

The week of the Bike Rodeo we really encouraged the kids to ride their big bikes to practice, since they wouldn't be able to use their balance bikes in the event.  But every day, after riding for a few minutes on the big bikes, the kids would end up riding their balance bikes.  Let's just say that we did not have high expectations for the Bike Rodeo, but were thrilled that both Rhett and Rhys wanted to participate.

The morning of the Bike Rodeo came, and it was actually cool outside! 

All lined up and ready to go!  R&R were the last 2 kindergarten kids to compete.

First stop was to get the bike inspected.

Since our bikes were almost new, R&R did good on the inspection.  I think they had points taken off for using training wheels, and also for not having a flashing light.

Here is Rhett going around the cones.

 Rhett trying to brake as close to the block as possible, without knocking it down.

Rhett riding between the lines.  Do you see all the little heads at the bottom of the picture?  Those are the kids who were not participating and they were cheering on their friends.  It was SO cute!

Look at Rhys' face on this one!  This picture show the fun attitude she had the whole time.  I think she laughed through the whole event!

Rhys riding between the lines.

And of course Bryn was there to cheer on her big bro and sis (and to chew on a cup!)

The kids had a blast, and it was fun watching them.  

A week after the Bike Rodeo was over, I had run into HEB  to pick up a few things before going to pick up the kids from school.  The kids were having an awards ceremony for the 1st nine weeks of school that afternoon, and I had thought about going, but decided not to.  I knew the ceremony was going to be recognizing the kids with all As, perfect attendance, box top winners, etc. but I didn't really think I needed to be there for anything.

A few minutes later, I got a text from a friend saying "Rhett just won the Bike Rodeo for kindergarten!"

WHAT?!  She sent me a picture of him with his trophy.  Of course I thought he did great at the event, but we had no idea that he would win first place!  I was disappointed that I had not made it to the assembly, and I couldn't wait to pick him up from school that day!

As I stood in the HEB check-out line, tears just started running down my cheeks.

Yes, I was proud of Rhett and excited that he won.  But it wasn't just about winning.

You see, that trophy means more than just 1st place.

That trophy is a reminder of God's faithfulness. Of his goodness. And of answered prayer.

That trophy is a testament to who God is.

As many of you know, when Rhett was an infant, we did not know if he would ever walk, run, or ride a bicycle.  The unknowns were scary.  And even when we were told that he would be able to walk, run, and ride a bike, we weren't sure what that was going to look like.

And 5 years later, that boy was not only participating in the Bike Rodeo, he won 1st place!

God is so, so good.

And I know in my heart that even if Rhett were not able to walk, run, or ride a bike, God would still be faithful. He would still be good.  And He would still reveal himself to me, likely through my children.

So I stood there in HEB and let those tears fall, with a smile on my face.  Because He is so, so good to me.

Rhett Plays Soccer

This past spring we signed Rhett up for our neighborhood soccer program.  This was his first organized sport to play, and the first activity he participated in without Rhys.

Tim decided to help coach Rhett's team, and it was a fun season for both of them!

We noticed that Rhett seemed to love the weekly practice.  He enjoyed running drills, playing the games, etc.  Here is Rhett before his first practice.

 Tuesday night practice.

Rhett had a huge crowd for his first game, since it also happened to be the day of R&R's birthday party!  We had fun with Bdad & Gram, Sugar, and Mike & Erin who all cheered Rhett on.  I am sad I didn't get a better picture of our group.  Here is Gram, Rhys and I at the game.

Team stretches...

Lots of running!

Had a great 1st game!

As the season went on, we realized that while he loved practices, he didn't really love the weekend games as much. We noticed he wasn't very aggressive during the games, so I asked him why he didn't want to kick the ball. He told me that all the kids wanted to kick the ball at the game, so he would let them have their turn.

He did make a lot of progress throughout the season.  Rhett was so proud of himself for earning a trophy at the end of the season.

Rhett with Coach Cesar and daddy after the final game.

My favorite coach and player!

Of course, Rhys had to get in on a picture, too.

I wouldn't say that Rhett loved playing soccer, but I am so glad that he gave it a try.  He learned so much, made new friends, and developed several skills.  He has decided that he wants to play again this fall, and he even convinced Rhys to join his team.  We are looking forward to seeing how he does this next season.

And so far....I love being a soccer mom!  :)

The Things They Say...

As we were driving home from church yesterday, Tim and I were laughing because Rhett did not stop talking the whole way home!  When Rhys had something to add, she would shout her thoughts so that she could be heard over Rhett's constant chatter.  It sounded something like this:

Rhett:  "Car, big car, bus, car"

Rhys:  "Mom, car!"

Rhett:  "Doggie, big doggie, car, doggie, ruff ruff, ruff ruff"

Rhys:  "Mooooommmm, big car!"

Rhett:  "Dada, Mama, big big car!"

Rhett:  "Outside, car, doggie, ruff ruff, eat, apples, cracker?"

Rhys:  "Moooommm!!! Cracker?"

And this continued for 30 more minutes.

About 8 months ago the twins were not talking AT ALL.  They were tested for speech therapy, qualified, and both started receiving weekly services.  We just love our current therapist, Kathleen, or "Lee" as Rhett calls her.  I don't think they will continue to have therapy for very much longer.

I have been really fascinated watching their language skills develop these past few months.  It seems like they are learning new words every day, and really starting to be able to put together a couple words at a time.  Sometimes it is cute because Rhys will sign some words, say some words, and act out some words all at the same time to try to get her point across.  

I wanted to make note of some of the cute things they say so I don't forget.  It is interesting to me that they use the same pronunciation for most words, even if it is wrong.  There are only a few words that they say differently.

The things we are hearing these days (at 2 years old):

"On-yo" - orange

"In-yo" - inside

"Beto" - Caleb

"Baby Anna" - Savannah

"Ry Ry" - Ryland

"Guger" - Sugar

"outsi" - outside

"oink" - the name Rhys has given her pig

"baa" - the name Rhys has given her sheep

animals

car

"coo coo" - choo choo trains

baby

table

books

bike

"wa-on" - wagon

"side" - slide (after this word is spoken it is always followed by a "wheeee")

shoes

socks

ready go

cracker

"froo" - fruit

apples

"nana" - banana

"neck-ace" - necklace

"bace-let" - bracelet

"tee" - tree

"wing" - swing

"dis" - this, also meaning anything they want at the moment (I think because we say "you want this?"

ball

"pay" - play

eat

milk

"wah wah" - water

up

ice

bowl

"bork" - fork

cookie - which may be a cookie or a cupcake

"bock" - block

"bish" - fish

dip - which may be hummus, ketchup, mustard, tomato sauce 

"nak" - snack
bubbles - cheerios
"mun-nuh" - monkey

They are also very much into labeling things that belong to people.  "dada cup, dada shoes, etc."  They label things that belong to each other and mama and dada.  Rhett is using mostly 2 word phrases, and occasionally 3 words together.  Rhys uses one word most of the time, but is starting to put 2 words together.

My favorite thing that Rhys says right now is "sick" which means sit.  I hear "Sick, Mom, sick" many times a day.

My favorite thing that Rhett says is "nofe" for nose and "tofe" for toes.  I also love that he calls Rhys, "Mees."  He also calls himself "Bubba."

The funniest thing of all is that they both started calling me "Mom."  Rhys does it more consistently than Rhett, but he will say Mom when he is really wanting my attention.  We are not sure where they got this from, since all of their friends still stay "mama" or "mommy."

I love listening to them talk to each other, too, although I usually have no idea what they are saying.  Rhys will say something to Rhett and he will laugh and laugh.  Too bad I don't get the joke!  :)   

Lots of blog posts to catch up on....stay tuned for posts on Easter, 2nd Birthday and more!

Big Boy Haircut

When Rhett woke up from his nap Thursday morning, he had some crazy nap hair!  We had talked about get his hair cut for several weeks, but couldn't bring ourselves to cut off those baby curls.  After we saw this, though, we knew it was time.

A side view...

Rhett showing the back of his long hair...

So we headed to Cool Cuts 4 Kids.  Here is the "before" picture.

We got inside and Rhett sat down in a little car.  He seemed to like it! (Notice he is holding his ball in his right hand.)

He was doing fine until the hairdresser sprayed water on his hair to comb it down.

But we got out the snacks and life was good again.

What a big boy!  I think he looks SO much older now!

Are you wondering what little Miss Rhys was up to during the hair cut?  She was having a blast sitting in a little car, watching a movie, and having a snack.  She was also enjoying looking at herself and smiling to herself in the mirror.

The "after" picture.

And a new view of the back.

Rhett showing off his new hair cut before bed last night. 

What a fun day!  Making memories...

Look Who's Walking!

Rhett has been bear crawling around the house for a couple weeks and I have been waiting for him to try taking some steps on his own.  He spent the morning pushing his shopping cart around and must have been feeling brave.  He took 5-6 steps several different times today.  Yay Rhett!  We are so proud of you!

I didn't get a great shot of this, but watch Rhys at the end of the video....she is clapping for Rhett.  

Where Is the Ball?

Rhett's new favorite game...which I have creatively named, "Where is the ball?"

Any time we ask where something is, Rhett will immediately put his hands up in the air and shrug his little shoulders.  His facial expressions are pretty cute too.  He does this all day long.  He will throw a ball, put his hands up and wait for us to say "where is the ball?" and then he chases it down.

This is one game I will never get tired of.

My Beautiful Teacher

As we drove home from Rhett's appointment in Austin today, I started thinking about just how far Rhett has come.  He has made so much progress and been through so much in his short 16 month life.

It all started with the twin pregnancy.  It can't be easy to be sharing a womb with someone else!  We knew early on in the pregnancy that Rhett was trapped low in my pelvis.  We had no idea that he was stuck in such a way that he couldn't move.  We also didn't know that his head was turned to the left, and that his little neck muscles on the right side were not developing.  Thankfully enough, though, we did not have any major complications and the twins were born at 37.5 weeks.  The twins did not have to spend any time in the NICU, and came home with me 4 days later.

Those first few weeks at home are a blur.  I remember nursing them.  A lot.  And I remember staring at them while they slept to make sure they were breathing.  A lot.  And the spit up.  Oh, the spit up.  And all the laundry, mostly due to the spit up.  Rhett was finally diagnosed with acid reflux at 4 months, and put on medication at 6 months.  But the amount of spit up we witnessed in those early weeks.....wow.

At the twins' one week appointment, our pediatrician noticed the tightness in Rhett's neck muscles and gave us some stretches to do with him.  And we did them, probably twice as much as we were told to.  Then at the two week appointment, there was no improvement, so we were given a few more positioning exercises to try.  At one month we started discussing therapy, and at 2.5 months we took Rhett to his first physical therapy evaluation.  Watching my baby scream while a therapist turned and twisted his little head gave me chills.  It was hard to fight back the tears appointment after appointment, week after week.  We continued on with slow progress.

At 4 months Rhett was in weekly therapy and we were spending hours a day working with him at home.  We were also really starting to see his face change, with one cheek looking fuller and his eyes and ears not aligned anymore.  It was difficult to find a balance between therapy with Rhett, and giving Rhys the attention she needed and deserved.  While my friends were going to play dates and the zoo with their babies, I was making appointments to see specialists or at home listening to my baby cry as I stretched and did his therapy with him.

At 5 months we got Rhett fitted for his first DocBand.  The helmet was going to help with the facial asymmetry and plagiocephaly (flat spot), but it was not going to take away the physical therapy or other issues that we were noticing.  It was at this age that we noticed Rhett was not doing the things that Rhys was doing.  He was not reaching for things, holding things, chewing on things.  He didn't move his arms much at all.  We were worried.....was it related to his head shape?  Was it something else?  Fear became such a part of my day as I watched and waited for appointments to help explain what was going on.

At 6 months, we had a follow up appointment with our pediatrician.  I will never forget that visit.  She started out by saying that she thought Rhett might have Cerebral Palsy.  I don't remember anything she said after that.  I was numb.  My mind was racing.  What would we do?  What would life be like?  Why was this happening?  Would Rhett walk?  Would he use his hands?  Would he throw a ball?  Would he be in a wheelchair?  I was consumed with fear of the unknown.  We made an appointment with a neurologist to confirm, but we were going to have to wait 3.5 months to get in to the pediatric neurologist.  And 3.5 months is a LONG time to wait when it is about your baby.

I started educating myself as much as I could and doing every single type of therapy they told me to.  Any little thing I could do, I did it.....we did it, and we started seeing improvement.  Month by month we saw progress as we waited for the appointments.

Then we saw the neurologist, and our minds were put at ease.  Rhett was given a diagnosis, but it was not CP.  He was diagnosed with Developmental Dyspraxia.  We left that appointment feeling relieved and thankful, but still a little uncertain as to all the challenges Rhett would face.  Rhett continues to make progress, but every little thing has been HARD for him.  Learning to sit.....hard.  Learning to roll over.....hard.  Learning to crawl.....hard.  He works so hard each and every day.  I'm so thankful that God blessed him with a strong will and great determination.

If I knew then what I know now, would it have been easier?  Probably.  But part of the journey is waiting, and growing, and relying on God through the tough times.  We feel so blessed at how well Rhett is doing now.  As I continue to take Rhett to appointments, I see other families facing much more than we have had to deal with.  But this has been our journey, and for us, it has been a struggle.

I read somewhere that parents of special needs children lose the illusion of control early.  Parents of typical children often are fooled into thinking they are in control of those little lives, that this action will beget this action, that they are in charge.  I know we felt that way with both the twins.  The article said that the illusion is shattered in early teenage years but especially in the beginning the illusion is there.  For kids with special needs there is no illusion.  You are thrust into a world of unknowns, a world that we knew nothing about but were part of just the same.  I always thought that if I did things a certain way, that things would turn out okay, that life would go the way I wanted, and that I would be in control.  So not true.

My little boy has taught me so much.  I know that this has all been a blessing, though not one I would have ever asked for.  I've learned that our marriage is strong, that God gave Tim qualities that I would need through this process.  I learned that family and friends can be and are a source of strength and encouragement on the hard days.  I learned that I am not in control.  Rhett has taught me that each day is a new beginning, a new day to start again.  I have learned that I serve a mighty and faithful God, who  will never give me more than I can handle.  I learned that my faith is strong, even though I sometimes am weak.  I have learned that God is big enough, his grace is sufficient.  

Even though Rhett is no longer wearing his helmet, we are not "finished" yet.  He still has Dyspraxia and always will.  I have just been thinking a lot about where we have been and where we are going.  There are still so many unknowns right now, and we don't know what struggles Rhett will soon face.  I know that it will be okay though, and I don't need to have all the answers.  I sometimes want them, and struggle to find them, but I have peace in my heart.

Thank you, Rhett, my beautiful teacher, my beautiful baby boy.