Happy Thanksgiving

As Thanksgiving approaches this Thursday, we want to take time out to wish everyone a wonderful (and safe) Thanksgiving. We have so many things to be thankful for : Family, Friends, Jobs, Health...to just name a few. But most of all, we are thankful for a loving God who gave us His only son. Without Jesus, we would have nothing to be truly thankful for. 

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours 

Tristan's Hand 18 months old

The Christmas Season....

Tristan seeing the Christmas Tree 2011

Tristan's First Christmas 2010

I know that we said we would post a home movie of Tristan eating next....and I assure you, it is coming, but tonight we started to put our Christmas tree up. It is not completely decorated yet, but it's  beginning to look like Christmas.  


Amazing the difference in a child in one year. I see Tristan in the Exersaucer and I can barely remember that little guy.  So much growing and learning with a child this age. I am so thankful for all the pictures and videos we have of him. I love seeing the world through his eyes: the wonderment of everything around him. 

Let's Eat!

This past Monday night we arrived home from Texas around 10 p.m. By the time we got everything brought into the house and Tristan ready for bed it was around 11:30 p.m. Our night was short as we had an appointment lined up for the Oral Feeding Program. After two months of waiting there was finally an opening. The appointment was at 9 a.m. and with an over an hour drive down south, we left at 7:15 a.m. This was just an hour evaluation to decide what kind of plan is needed. Taylor, the therapist was very nice and knowledgable. We were given lots of "do this, not that" and instructed to praise when Tristan puts anything close to his mouth and turn away from him when he attempts to push the spoon away. We were given a list of oral stimulation toys to buy and approx 50 pages of ready material. She originally wanted us to come back twice a week but when she realized we were from Port Saint Lucie, she changed it to once a week due to the distance. 


Tuesday evening, Tristan started picking up small Gerber puffs and putting them in his mouth to eat. Even as recent as 4 months ago, we took these puffs and broke them into 3 pieces and placed them in his mouth. Something as small and dissolvable as the broken puff made Tristan gag. Tuesday evening he picked them up whole all by himself and ate them. Each puff took 1-2 minutes for him to gum it, but it was a HUGE step. 


Wednesday evening he ate two Gerber noodles (look like cheese puffs) from our hands. We put it to his mouth and he would bit off a piece and gum it. Tristan still does not understand the concept of chewing. We are busy practicing that with chew toys and stimulation exercises. 


Tonight, Tristan sat at the dinner table (in his high chair) for approx. 35-40 minutes and smashed and ate a baked potato. He only got about 1/10 of the potato in his mouth but he did it all by himself AND he did not gag or vomit. Once again, A BIG BIG change. We are so ecstatic! Baby steps but positive baby steps. We know a child sitting in his high chair eating fist full of pizza, pasta, and p,b&j is FAR off......but we can at least see there is hope.


Here's to hoping Tristan has turned a corner!


Next blog will be a picture of Tristan with a mouth full of food (we hope).

God Bless Texas

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Get your own

We just got home from a trip to Texas to visit Gene's side of the family. This was the first time some of Aunts, Uncles and cousins got to met Tristan. It was a busy but fun filled time which included a Missouri vs Texas A&M football game (Hooray for Mizzou) and Gene  got to preach at his home congregation and participate in the new building/church dedication service. Tristan dressed up as a Chick-Fil-A cow in honor of his Aunt Kathleen. All in all it was a wonder trip and we are so glad we got to see so many loved ones.

Playing in Granny Johnson's kitchen

(notice how Tristan crawls and his talented behind-the-back throw)