Juliette popcorn party

 Juliette had a popcorn party with her stuffed animals this morning. So cute!

Luca's art work

Luca did some nature art the other day...here it is:

 

Luca has a keen eye for shapes, symmetry, design and color. It was fun to have him work on this project all himself and then come get me in the house to show me his finished work. He said, "please close your eyes mom, I have something to show you. I can hold your hand so you don't trip as you walk with your eyes shut."
 I do believe his time at the playgarden this year has contributed to his nature art skills.

Easter

John and I both worked on Sat and Sunday of Easter weekend. Thankfully, Cozy Nan was here to save the day and spend some special time with Luca and Juliette! We had a little egg hunt during the afternoon, when I got home. It was a lot of fun watching the kids walk around the backyard. 

Disabling Segregation

Luca is FIVE!!!!

                                  

Luca is having a fabulous birthday! He slept in, had whipped cream and waffles, and went to the pool to meet friends! The sun was out and we had a little picnic afterwards! It has been such a special day and feel like such a celebration! The last few months/weeks have been long with all this casting and so this was just a breath of fresh air. It was also great to be swimming with the kids, one of Luca's favorite things in the world to do! What a blast!

Luca is walking!

My last blog post was practically outdated less than 24 hours after I wrote it. Luca was up and walking all over the house on Thursday! He is walking really well now! It is such a wonderful experience to have him back on his feet. Thurs. morning he woke up and on of the first things he said to Juliette was "do you want to play chase?"
His short leg cast comes off on Monday afternoon! We are thrilled to almost be done with this casting period and have Luca on his feet! Celebration!!!

On his FEET!

Luca is back on his feet, literally. He is slowly working on walking again! He can get from the bathroom to his room occasionally and has a few times gone from the living room to his room. Progress has been slow, but he is definitely making some! He is still using the wheelchair at school and at home if he needs to really get anywhere. His foot hurts when he stands or walks on it although it seems to be improving as the days go by. He is eager to walk, but often he starts and needs to sit down again quickly. Luca has also been much more patience with himself and this progress than I could have imagined he would be.
Then, yesterday I came home to him jumping one legged on the trampoline, so you can tell he is pushing the limits like usual.
Only 5 more days till his cast comes off. I am not as excited about the walking part as I use to be just because I realize that all might take some more time, but at least he will be able to take a proper bath!!! And we don't have to worry about the cast getting wet or dirty and all that.
He has also picked out space themed AFO's and Luca is very excited about picking those up on Monday!
Pictures of Luca to come....

Here are a few cute ones of Juliette I took this week! She is quite a book worm these days! She will spend 30 mins. or more sometimes just going through a pile of books on her own. "I read all myself" she says. It is so precious and welcomed. She has gotten to spend some special time with Cozy Nana and she sure loves that lady!

Luca's new cast

Luca got his long leg cast taken off yesterday. He was thrilled to get it off. His new cast is white and blue and goes to below the knee. It looks so tiny compared to the last cast. Luca's leg is quite weak and he is not walking independently yet. He needs someone to spot him anytime he is on his feet (literally arms around him every step). We still have the wheel chair and he has been using it at school and some of the time at the house. Luca is determined, of course, to walk and very internally motivated. We are hoping that he will get more stable soon. I should have realized that it would be so hard for him to walk but I didn't.  We are thankful that his new cast is much lighter and Luca can bend his knee and stand more easily. We were also able to give him a bath holding his leg up while he lays in the bathtub. First bath in 6 weeks. He looks and smells good!!

This evening I said, "Luca please look up so I can take a picture of you to put on the blog with your new cast." Luca said, "no, don't take a picture. If people want to see my new cast they have to come visit me." I think this kid likes visitors:) I took the picture anyway for all of those of you who won't see us in the next two weeks. Thank you to all of you who have come over these last many weeks! He will be excited to show off his cast when he sees you next.

Luca also loved April Fool's Day. I am thankful he didn't learn about it till this evening and was joking from then till bedtime. He said "I don't want this day to end! I love the jokes!" Our neighbor Jake got him with, "Our neighborhood is out of hot water" This was just before Luca had to take his first bath....panic....April Fools! I think we will have to watch out next year...I have a feeling he is not going to forget this funny day!

Here are a few pictures of Juliette looking at books, how she starts every day. And then after bath. Below are the pictures of Luca's new cast!