Milestone Craze!

Alistair's Amazing Physiotherapist~ Lynn Bergman

She's getting him to put pressure through his feet and

touch the musical touch activated toy

He did so well last visit!

Mom getting Alistair to do something similar

Its astounding really. We went to Alberta on a road trip and truly it was a holiday in more ways than one. I mentally decided to take a break and chill out from all the physiotheraphy, speech theraphy, and calorie pushing that I tend to do on a daily basis. I wondered if I'd regret it in the long run as I was concerned he may back track a tad from the lack of consistancy. But it seems to have done the complete opposite! On the trip he decided it was time to feed himself a mum mum cracker (a quickly disolvable cracker) which is huge as he basically has only put a spoon in his mouth. He also decided he'd start grabbing his feet which has been an endless daily routine in trying to make him aware that they exisit. Now he has decided he can grab them with both hands! Anyhow after we got home he suddenly starts rolling over three times before we even get out of bed...........mind you its starting at 4 in the morning....but who's complaing? We can't believe it really...its just wonderful that he's at this stage. He seems so determined to no longer lie soley on his back. So thats making this mama and papa pretty proud. Its not limited to just the above though. He is also starting to eagerly drink from a glass, do some weight bearing through his feet, and interact with musical cause and effect toys. So just as I was coming to terms with a lack of progression my little man decides to surprise his ma prior to his first birthday. Needless to say this is quite the treat.

We have also started to wean him off his old anti-seizure med as the otherone is up to its max dose. So fingers crossed that is uneventfull. So far so good. Some nights he has a lot of extra movement but that was even prior to reducing his meds. It'll be so nice to be down to two rather than three meds. But whenever I think of complaining about having to give him anything I remember this mom and her 10 month old babe in the x-ray department at Children's. A month prior to that meeting she had been informed her daughter had Cystic Fibrosis and she was having to give her 31 yes THIRTY ONE meds A DAY! So if you ever get on the poor me band wagon ...think of that little darling having to scoof down all those meds EACH DAY.

Cheers Dears! Jules!

Success!

Well I definitely wasn't sure how this past week was going to go. Alistair and I have mainly just toodled off into town and he may have sat in the car seat for a max of 2 hrs at a time. So when I made the big decision that Alistair and I would jump in the car with Grandma and head to Chris and Sarah's wedding off in Calgary I was definitely curious how we were all going to make out. To be honest it really couldn't have been any easier for any of us! We just shoved the front seat right up to the glove box and one of us sat back and hung out with Alistair. Whenever we stopped for a pit stop we just pulled him out of the car seat and let him stretch out and roll around. It was perfect. So ya for us. Its actually really nice for me to know that he is transportable as it increases all the possibilites for us. I'm thinking I need to make a road trip sometime this summer back up to good ol' Ft St John and this just confirms that its dooable. Anyhow the wedding was lovely even though it decided to SNOW! Yeppers we were driving in slushy stuff with summer tires. Ahh yes not what we like to do but at least everyone seemed to be driving appropriately. The wedding was gorgeous and as usual when the Hedges Clan gets together we have a blast and really rip up the dance floor. I brought along Alistair's little tent and just snuck him over to the side and he slept soundly while the music was blarring, people were chatting, and kids were giggling. So yessiery there is a benefit to having a bambino with hearing loss! He did decide to wake about 11pm and hung out with all of us for 3 hrs. Alistair and I even got in a couple of dances!!! We didn't only get in a wedding though. I got to see my buddy Colleen for a short but sweet visit and then I hung out with my long lost sister Candace for a couple of days. She's very prego so we had a good time chinwaggin about all that mama stuff. I also got to wallow in her beautiful home and throw around some ideas for paint colors. We finished off with a nice night with my bro and then headed back home. Just for me to get on the road and see some mountains was incredibly therapeutic. It all must of did me some good as I came home and played my second soccer game ever and got a GOAL! I have to admitt it got me a tad excited last night! .......Well the world is gorgeously green here in PG. Its funny how we have to leave our home to return and appreciate how gorgeous the place really is. ........hey just a note for those of you that reply to my blog can you just put your name down as well as I get these lovely replies and don't have a clue who wrote them! Have a super duper day! : D

President

Yepperooozy this mama did it again! Last night I went to the end of the month PG Deaf and Hard of Hearing Society meeting and by the time the night was over I became the President of the society! The lady that was doing it had put in 3 years of her time and she was ready for a change. No one else seemed to want to step up to the plate and the society does have a small turn out so ......I am now a president! It shall definitely be an interesting challenge. One drawing factor is that even though there are few members there seems to be a lot of passion involved. During our meeting it became obvious that our finances are stretched due to numerous funding applications that have come our way. The society tries to financially support families in some way when they have large expenses. For instance, one family whose daughter has a cochlear implant has been recently notified that she will need surgery to put in a newer version of the cochlear implant. They have no choice as the parts and pieces for the version she has now will no longer be made. So this unexpected bill for the year is a pricey $8000.00. Now thats a hard hit as far as I'm concerned. The other bills for other families are $5000 and 2 others looking at $3000 a piece. So although the BC Early Hearing Program is wonderful and supportive for the first 3 years after that the families are on their own to come up with these funds. Normal air conduction hearing aids are aproximately $3000 if I'm not mistaken and they need to be replaced every 3-5 years. So pricey stuff. Anyhow, that will just be one aspect that needs to be addressed. The other is I'm going to try and get a grant from the government so that we can implement a support/social networking group for the parents and kids of deaf and hard of hearing kids. Obviously the idea has just been brewing for the past 24 hrs but its fun to think about. .....Well Grandma, Alistair and I are off on a road trip to AB. Unfortuately, if you can believe it there is a snow fall warning over there! But that won't dampen our spirits as we are heading over for my cousins wedding. Plus I'll get to catch up with a couple of buddies too. So tomorrow as the sun rises we will be hitting the road as this will be a first for Alistair. I just can't wait to see some Rocky Mtns! Its my first road trip since I booted it up North from Vancouver to be with my son in the NICU in PG. I dare say it will be a tad more relaxing.....K Peps until next time! Have a great one! : D

Getting Involved

Well I have officially played my first game of soccer ever! Wosh was that ever an experience and a half and BLOODY FUN! Yeppers I'm hooked. I haven't played any type of team sport since grade 8 so I was a little nervous how I'd do. But my team mates on "Universal Restorations" (our team name) were awesome. They asked me which position I wanted to play. I laughed and said I didn't have a clue. All I wanted was for them to give me orders and I'd obey! Well it worked pretty darn good. They did just that. They started off with putting me in the center defense position and then I was placed in the center forward. Holy smokes batman that is one heck of a lot of running in an hour and a half. But hey I actually think I got the hang of the basics. Plus there were a couple of other girls on the other team in defense who looked as solid as bricks. I was warned " don't get in there way because if that ball hits your head you'll go down!" Well of course I had to get in there way or that just wouldn't have been any fun! I was actually quite impressed with myself with my running capabilities. I could acutally give those girls a run for their money and make them kick the ball off side or at least challenge them. It was good stuff! What an adrenal rush though! Whoooo I got some advice at Sport Mart from this young kid who sold me all my gear. He looked no more than 15 and I nearly choked when he told me he had been playing 10 years! Anyhow he said, the main thing is when your running for the ball against several other people you have decide if your going for it or giving it up cause its the people that can't make up their minds that get hurt! Well I decided when i got on the field I wanted to make darn sure I wasn't considered a wall flower so for the ball I went! From the pic you can see I did get banged up a bit but it was all good. Now I just can't wait until Tuesday for our next game!Before the game Mom, Alistair and I went and was part of the "Silent Walk" here in PG. This was to raise awareness and funds for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Childrens Society in PG. Its such an interesting and inspiring world to be part of. I'm talking about the deaf and hard of hearing. There was a couple of girls around my age up from Vancouver. One was profoundly deaf and could only sign to communicate and the other could sign and translate for her. But it just made me desperately want to learn sign so I could communicate with her! Anyhow they belong to a couple of societies (can't remember the name at the moment) which advocate for deaf children in a school or public setting. So if the lack of hearing is getting in the way of a child become part of a class, sports team, event etc... they will intervene by educating staff and supporting the child so that they can meet their wishes. Anyhow all together the Children's Deaf Society in PG raised $2500 for that event which will help send kids and their families in the Northern Communities to a fun weekend adventure camp in September.

Heres a cute video of Alistair being giggly in his Vegas Onzie! Thanks NANA

Happy Belated Mothers Day!

Well all I can say is that I had no idea whatsoever what motherhood was about or entailed until I become one myself! Wow! Hats off to all of you! Now I really understand what it means when you say I'm "JUST a stay at home mom!" Just my foot! I've truly never been so busy in my life! And honestly if I took away Alistair's medical issues I'd still be darn busy! Even when he's down for a sleep I'm running around with my head cut off (well not quite ...that would likely be very unproductive!!) trying to clean up the mess we/he made, get in some laundry, prep his next meal, do the dishes, vacumn, plan supper, get business stuff organized, get his meds sorted, organize all Alistairs appointments with Jason and mine........blah blah blah....or perhaps whaw whaw whaw! Anyhow, its the greatest responsibility I've ever had! It still at times shocks me to think I'm someones Mom. Actually, when I got up in the morning Jason had this lively bouquet and card for me and I just started to well up with tears as I read the card....Wow I'm a Mom! (Some of you are likely saying No S#*T Sherlock) But seriously its quite something to wake up on Mothers Day and be one of THEM even though I have been a mom for the past 10months!....So ya it was a great day. Jason made Mom and I french toast for breakfast and then I cuddled my little man all day. I think the poor little gaffer is teething as he suddenly was a little Niagra Falls at the mouth and he just wanted to cuddle and suck on my chin! Actually, it was lovely as he suddenly fell asleep on my shoulder. This is huge as he doesn't even put his head on my shoulder! ......it was a wonderful Mothers Day gift.

These were taken after I left him momentarily in the chair with his spoon to return to a modern art show of carrots a la face! I guess he can put that down as his first facial.

I have meant to add these photos of Jason's deck from the latest home show here at the end of April. We really lucked out and got a prime spot that was 20 X 30 feet for half the cost. So if you remember the pictures I posted of the deck in the last home show, it was a mini version of this one. Jason added to it to attract a little more attention and show off some more of his talent. It was well worth it. This show attracts 20,000 visitors annually and we were situated right where they bought the tickets! So yes it was a definite bonus for us. Plus on top of it Jason was able to get rid of this particular deck right after the show. So double bonus! Needless to say Jason is now working like a mad man and has his brother and another good worker helping him.

Well if you are twiddling your thumbs this weekend and are looking for something to do the Prince George Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children's Society is putting on a "Silent Walk" and bbq in Ft George Park at 11am this Sunday. Its a fundraiser to send deaf and hard of hearing children to an Adventure Day Camp out at Ness Lake this summer. So if you want to come for a walk, support the society, and or buy a hot dog ...come on out! Cheers Julie

More Pics and Videos

Alistair getting some good giggles
Alistair lovin his regular showers with his Dad

AND a couple fun videos of Alistair being active!

PICS!!~ Vancouver

I meant to post these ages ago! This is how Alistair and I traveled about Vancouver when we were down. It worked so slick, especially now with the Canada Line in place. We got dropped off a few blocks from the Hospial. Nice way to see the area too!
My buddy Kim and her son Grady met us at JJ Bean for coffee one morning. We had quite the "interesting" little lady taken our pic so we got some good giggles. I think Grady and Alistair we're trying to ignore her....

This was definitely one of the bonuses of heading down. So gorgeous. The whole city smelt so sweet while we were there.


Alistair snoozen as he gets his ABR (auditory brain stem response test)