Happy 4th!!

We had a nice day off from therapy.

We pretty much ate and hung out by the pool. Elijah helped us make ice which turned into a science experiment.  The boys and I made a cake to celebrate Joe's first week at camp and July 4th! Love you guys!! :) 

Wise Old Owl

The kids were wise old owls today.  There was a lot of tears as children were dropped off.  They knew their parents were leaving them.  Jonah was no exception. Leaving him is hard.  It takes nearly everything I've got to leave the building.  BUT... when we pick him up the therapists show me pictures and videos of all of the wonderful things he is doing each day.  Today it was a video of him catching a balloon.  He was also the first person today to isolate his right index finger with finger painting and she didn't have to do "Hand Over Hand" with him as much. So, even though the drop off is worse, his day was actually much better.  The final piece of evidence that we have that he is working hard is the pink streak in his hair.  Yes that's right. Jonah now has a pink spot in his hair.  While finger painting with red he chose to wipe his right hand in his hair.  (A few washes and it'll be gone but it makes me happy to see it.  It's physical evidence that our boy is improving each day.)

I'll post pics in a little bit when I get back to my phone.

Love you all!

Drop Off Day 2

Jonah did okay. He didn't cry a bit. He put his cast on and smiled. I think it was me that had a harder time leaving him today. Daniel literally pulled me out of the church saying we would be better walking around downtown than staring a Jonah while he refused to walk for his teachers. (He wanted to be carried and loved on, I think.) 

Daniel was right. We are having breakfast. And haven't stopped laughing. Take a look at the photo below and insert your own captions. 

Can you imagine the conversation that has surrounded this creamer? It's really scary at how little it takes to amuse us. Elijah has never so enjoyed his breakfast. 

So, we are just hanging around downtown while Joe is at camp. I'll update this post or add another after we pick him up.

 

Update:  

He did well. They said he cried on and off until snack... I think he missed us. After snack they said he walked more today and sat independently. That made me laugh a little. We all know how well he can sit! But if he gets the opportunity he would rather sit on someone. :-) I have faith in time he will show them all he is capable of. 

He did feed himself independently (right handed) with a spoon today! They are going to text me the pic and I will post it later. 

We celebrated the better day with a movie, Man of Steel. 

First Day Jitters

Jonah did well.

The drop off was hard. It was loud and he cried but when we peeked in later he was playing. They said he did well and only cried one time. He really enjoyed the singing center. His teachers/therapist were great. Four different adults talked to us about him before we left. His group leader called him smiley. :) He did cry a little when we picked him up but I think he was just overwhelmed. So all and all it was a great day. Daniel and I met lots of parents with kids with hemiplegia and stroke. I cried like a fool when we did our introductions it's hard to face everything. We had coffee after our meeting with other parents. It's nice to get the first day jitters over and to meet other families. 

Don't stop believing.

Tomorrow is really the first step in our journey. We drove by the church where he will have therapy tonight. It's in a nice area. 

His bags are packed. 

The GPS is set for directions. 

Lunch is made. 

Outfits are laid out. 

It's time. 

Prayers of peace, patience, persistence  & powerful healing for Joe and all of the other children at camp. 

We believe in our sweet Jonah and in the power of faith. Whatever the outcome of this therapy is I'm at peace with it. Of course, I want it to help Jonah improve and I believe that he will. But even if we don't master all of our set goals, Jonah is still learning, improving, smiling, laughing, persevering. I'm already proud of him. 

Love you all. 

Baaaa-Num... Baaaa-Num... (Think Jaws)

Yesterday was get settled in day. We needed it. We did take a little time to enjoy the pool. Don't worry that's not a shark.  It's batman in his swim gear. 

I'm not gonna lie...

When we first pulled off the turnpike and onto our street Daniel and I had a little bit of a panic. We were in what might be considered an up-and-coming area... With our building being the only completed example of up and coming. But, our building is very nice. As you can see from the pictures below, we are not roughing it.  It's very nice and feels safe. 

(You can always tell Elijah is happy when he strikes that pose. Joe didn't have time for pics he was eating breakfast. Daniel is showing my favorite thing in this apartment. The lobby always had fresh coffee... Always!!) 

We are also close to a train station that will (someday) take us right to NYC. I'm sorta itching to go but Daniel and the boys need a break from our Bemiss Family days if fun... So, it looks like it might be next week before that train takes us to the city. Which is just as well because if I don't work on the final read through of Rise and Shine this weekend it will not be ready in time. 

Love & Miss you all!  Don't forget to email us too so we know what's going on with you back home. :)