School Time

Today has been a better day, not great but we did manage to get an entire school session in.  We had to do it in several parts but a little at a time worked and Junior really enjoyed it. 

He is currently learning about the sun and stars and todays focus was the stars.
He learned how stars are made, that they are not all white like they appear from earth and lots more
fun "star" facts.   He used his water yo-yo to paint colored stars while learning that the color of a star lets you know how old the star is, its temperature, and age.

 While learning how stars are created we made a nebulae jar to show the clouds of dust and gas.
He may have had just a little fun making this.
  
 
Then we made galaxy slime as a fun sensory activity.  He was worn out by the time we finished this so hasn't played with it yet but I know he will have a great time with it. 
  

Goofy guy saw his fall tube pads and decided that they did not need to wait until fall to be worn.  He was all decked out in spiderwebs.

School and Allergies

This past week was not the greatest.  Bad air equals bad allergies/asthma for Junior so I had a sleepy congested guy much of the time.

Here is my sleeping guy during stander time and while up in his chair. 

 The Olympics did bring out some smiles, he has loved the Olympics and is quite sad that they are now over.
 
 
Being silly with Abby, she used the app on her phone to make him a swimmer since that is his favorite things in the Olympics.

We got started on his new school unit but had to do a little here and there as he was up to it. He is currently learning about the sun and stars and next up is the moon followed by each planet.   

  

So hard to believe that Junior has now had his trach for 2 years.  Such a blessing and allows Junior to get the most out of life. 

Praying that this week brings better air and a little dude who isn't struggling with his asthma.  Just under 3 weeks until this amazing guy turns 18, wow, hard to believe. 

Jelly Belly Factory

Yesterday we spent a few hours at the Jelly Belly Factory.  This is one of our yearly outings and something the kids love.  We met friends and it was lots of fun.
 

 

 

 
Junior's foot rest makes a perfect spot for a rest.

 

 The Jelly Belly gallery, each pic is made out of jelly bellys. (lol see I am there, I was just behind the camera most the time.)

 
 
The traditional picture in front of the jelly belly car.

 

 Mr. Happy yesterday afternoon before the exhaustion from his busy day hit.  Little goof was soooo excited that the Olympics were on when we got home.  This boy is totally into the games and gets upset when they aren't on.  He literally wakes up in the morning wanting me to turn them on. 

Dentists, Olympics, and Catching Up

Way too long since my last post.  Junior is feeling oh so much better and his asthma has calmed down.  He saw his doctor late last week to be sure things were improving and he did great.

Here he is ready to move from the car to his chair and so happy to be home from the doctor. 

Sleepy guy was super excited that Abigail arrived home from her week in Oregon.

 Monday he had a dentist appointment and totally rocked it.  He did amazingly and even smiled at the dentist a couple times instead of hollering at him. 
 
After the dentist appointment we spent some time with friends and it was so nice to visit.  Junior loved seeing his buddy.  She wasn't feeling well though and needed to sleep most the time.
 

We have quickly discovered that Junior loves the Olympics.  This week he has been totally into watching them.  His favorite is swimming with volleyball and gymnastics coming in close behind. 

 
After watching some of the gymnastics we had fun pulling out these old pics of my dad to look at.  He was a gymnast in college.

 

Watching swimming today. 

 

Asthma

The air quality continues to be bad which means asthma struggles for Junior.  Yesterday morning it got exceptionally bad so we were doing lots of treatments and had to give a dose of prednisone to get control.  We chatted with his Pulmonologist and will see her tomorrow to be sure we are at a good spot, going into the weekend, and don't need to make any adjustments.
Today has been better and now I just have a very tired guy.  Loved seeing a few smiles and even a tiny laugh when I told him he really didn't have to work this hard to avoid starting school.

This pic is from yesterday when things finally calmed down and he was able to rest.

 A little smile today.
 

This past Saturday Abby and a couple friends came by for a visit before they headed to Oregon for the week. Junior loved having company but wasn't pleased that they were then going out of town. 

 

The plan had been to start school this week but Junior's asthma made that impossible.  Everything is ready so hopefully by this coming Tuesday he will be feeling better and we can get started. 
Here are a couple space/sensory activities ready for him.  I had so much fun hunting down activities to use with our space unit and I know Junior is going to really like it. 

Seizure and Asthma

Sunday night Junior had a seizure and it has been a rough week.  Air quality is very bad so he has been struggling with his asthma. Lots of extra treatments, oxygen, vent time, and of course I Love Lucy have been our week.  Yesterday was a bit better and hopefully today will continue that trend. 

My computer crashed a few days ago and we didn't get it back up and running until late last night, that would explain the lack of posts this week.  

Please keep Junior in your prayers. 

Keeping Busy

Junior has been quite a busy guy lately.

Ready for a morning walk.

Visiting the new Walmart in town for the first time.  

 

 A little basketball fun.

Helping Abby cook dinner

Goofing around.

Yesterday Junior had a Shriner's appointment to get his new brace fitted.  He did great at the appointment and then we spent the rest of the day at the Zoo.

Junior watching his very favorite animal the giraffe.

 

 

 Sorting clothes and picking out the next week worth of outfits.  Junior loves to choose what he is going to wear each day. 

 A few pics from today.  Junior painting and then doing the intro to his new school unit on space.

Since the med adjustment nearly two weeks ago the change has been quite amazing.  Junior's energy level has slowly improved and this week he has been on the go every single day.  Usually one busy day meas at least a day of recovery before he is ready for more.  Even after an outing he took a quick nap and then was ready for more activities something that is not at all his typical.  Such a huge blessing.    He is keeping me super busy and I am so happy about it.  Today Abby is here so after some arts/crafts and some school he is hanging out with her playing with his toys and watching tv. I am working on putting together activities to have on hand so I can keep up with this new level of energy.  Also working on putting together things for his new Space unit in school.  Do you have a great idea we can use with our space unit?  We would love suggestions.