Gavin update

Ok, so it's been a while. I have not done any updates on Gavin, so I wanted to share with you the latest and greatest with him.

He is now 15 months and is as stubborn as his older brother! He has made so many improvements. Visually Impaired babies are typicall delayed with gross motor development. He is not walking or crawling YET - but he is on his way. He is standing well on his own, and is crusing when in his crib. I honestly don't think he will crawl, and will just walk, but his physical therapist is still trying to get him to crawl, and I'm so proud of him. He works so hard when he's with her, even though he is fighting her the entire time!

His vocabulary is astonishing! Not only does he repeat every single word you say, it is pretty clear. He can recite about 10 animal noises, ex: What does the cow say? etc. When he hears the door, he says "bye bye", and so on. So many things are clicking in his head, and it's such a different view to see how his little mind is operating based solely on sound, feeling, etc...

Speaking of sound, I have never seen a baby/child react to music, song or melody like he does. If he needs to be soothed, and in a complete moment of a dire fit, all you have to do is start humming or singing. It is dead silence at the drop of a hat. He has his own MP3 player, in a hard case that he can hold, and it is an extension of his body pretty much. I try not to let it drown out the everyday noises in the house, because that is how he learns and takes in everything, but for the most part, a huge part of the day music is involved. He loves to sing, and will sing word for word the song "How to save a Life" by The Fray for about 45 second intervals. To say he loves that song is an understatement.

He still gets regular visits from his Early Intervention teacher, Occupational Therapist, Physical Therapist, Vision Impairment teacher and soon his O&M Specialist (Orientation and Mobility). They do home visits, and I'm so proud of him. They often expose him to new experiences, and he responds fairly well to them. They work with him for about 45 min to an hour at a time depending on how the session is going. Some weeks are harder than others for him.

The eye pressing is still the most challenging, and remains unchanged. He does it quite a bit, even still. I know this will be a constant challenge. He likes to rip his poopy diaper off during nap time and play with it in his crib (yeah, this is a fun one). He is so darn sneaky with it too, he does it so quietly. I know instantly when I open his door and get that gut-wrenching whiff, was has taken place besides sleeping. UGH!

I need to upload some pics, and once I get my pictures transfered, I will do some photo updates from the past few months. My laptop is still getting fixed, so please still bare with me with the layout of the blog, and lack of photos.