Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Just Give him Music - at Ripley's

A quick day trip to Baltimore Inner Harbor to visit Ripley's Believe it or Not.

 Bripleys from Carrie Jenkins on Vimeo.

While the boys and their boys were looking at everything in sight, Brayden spent most of his time enjoying the kaleidoscope room - a room filled with lights, mirrors and loud music.  Then in another dance room that put your movement up on a screen.

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Brayden went a Bowlin' and He did like it, uh-huh

Why not try some bowling for Brayden?
The bowling alley in Leesburg is easier to accommodate Brayden.  They put up a little ramp to get up to bowling allies and gave Brayden a rack for him to push the ball.

Really not sure if he would be up for this.
And wouldn't you know it, he did great.  Watch his little hand give the ball a push, especially in the first clip.
 

Bbowling from Carrie Jenkins on Vimeo.

Brayden bowled an entire game, without complaint and trying to push it every time (and yes his brothers and some friends are bowling beside him).

See a lot of bowling in our future...

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Running a 5K with Brayden

I signed Brayden and I up for a 5K, Sept 28 in the local town of Purcellville.

Let me be clear, I loathe running.  I will do just about any workout to avoid actual running.  I get board with running, my mind wanders, then I realize how slow I am going, pick up the pace again and then process starts all over.

However, Brayden loves to be pushed around in his chairs.  It is probably one of his favorite things to do (and he will let you know if he wants to be pushed more...usually in a not-so-nice way).  Jeremy found out about this inaugural race and talked with me about it...why not have a new goal?!

So I signed Brayden up to be a Captain.  He will be pushed by three Angels, myself and two friends.  We will have lots of friends and even two more captains, signing up to race with us.  And you can run with us too!  Send me a message if you are interested.

In the meantime I have been trying to work on my running skills.  Running with Brayden, running without Brayden, trying to increase speed, trying to increase distance.  There is a huge difference when trying to push Brayden.

Him - totally relaxed, enjoying the ride, perhaps catching a nap
Me - totally freaking out, trying to catch my breath and almost hoping for someone I know to come by and give us a ride home.
We are going to do the race and I am determined to do it well...oh and have fun.

Monday, August 11, 2014

Who doesn't want a little goat?!

A day trip to Great Country Farms.  Brayden enjoying the fresh air, kids all around.  The boys running around the farm with friends.

And Brayden makes his own friends.

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Panic...it is time for the Dentist

Dentist and a haircut.  Two the worst things to do with Brayden.  Maybe he is used to all the doctors, test and needles because those do upset him but nothing like the dentist and haircut...those he puts up a fight.

So you can imagine how "excited" I get to take him to the dentist.

Time for a little cleaning, the tech gave him a taste of the toothpaste.  She let him toss around that taste in his mouth for a moment, enjoying it, before going in. 

He did better than I expected (and my bar is very low).  He did hold his head still, didn't kick.  There was a lot of fussing, as the tech realized and said "I think he may be cursing me out".  The fussing turned in to gagging but amazingly the gagging didn't turn in to vomiting.  He settled down on his own after she finished, which is a big boy accomplishment for him to settle himself down quickly.  She actually cleaned his teeth and got a decent look at them.

Then the dentist came in for a look, Brayden was not having it but did hold still.

He teeth look good, no problems, one of the few benefits of not eating or drinking anything by mouth.  Evidence of some grinding, probably due to the fact that some of his old seizures involved teeth grinding.  And he has a couple of new teeth coming in.

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

The Sweetness of Friendship

A surprise visitor came out to the country, all the way from the city, just to drop off a birthday gift for me.  Not only is it a bit of a drive, then not knowing if we would be home and loading in the kids for the ride.

The Pfaff family has become so close to our hearts.  A friendship truly given by God, given for support, unconditional love and lots of laughter.
Such a sweet birthday surprise, so we attempted a picture of all the boys...not bad for boys and two that are blind.