A little play time

On Tuesdays and Thursdays Charlie has occupational therapy downtown.  Walker is not in school on those days and is always stuck accompanying Charlie to his appointments.  Luckily, there's a little play area for siblings and clients to run off some steam.  Now that the weather has cooled off, Walker can play without scorching himself on the plastic play structure.  Yay!  Here are some shots of Mr. W from this week's play time.

It's Autumn in Dallas

And just like that, summer slipped away and it was suddenly fall.  This afternoon, we went to the Arboretum for some Autumnal cheer and a look at their incredible collection of pumpkins and gourds. We all enjoyed the cool air, which Walker described as "crisp".  But mostly, we enjoyed a sweet time together as a foursome.

Walker measuring the big pumpkins in square huggage.

As usual, Walker picked the shoes.

Charlie isn't so sure about the precarious perch on the hay bale.

Walker says, "Don't worry. I've got him!"

This guy posed for his Halloween shot.

Jack and Walker looking at the map.

We parked remotely and took a bus to the Arboretum. Here is Charlie in his own seat!

Cheetos

Yesterday afternoon we heard a loud knock at the door.  A Fed Ex Delivery truck was pulling away and we noticed a HUGE box on the porch.  I picked it up, thinking it must be heavy and almost through it through the air due to it's light weight. It was addressed to the Greenman Family from Uncle Gil...

After Charlie's Cheeto munching last Friday, everyone has been sending us Cheeto photos and parephenalia, but I think Uncle Gil's jumbo six pack of puffy Cheetos take the cake.  Charlie approves!

Oktoberfest

This weekend, the Greenman Four attended our local Lake Highlands Oktoberfest.  The temps had dropped from 87 the day before to 51.  We were in heaven.  Walker even busted out his heavy duty Bears sweatshirt from Uncle Joel.  Go Bears.  Here are some fun shots from the day:

Mama had some harvest ale to warm up.

Walker's treat of choice, Cotton Candy.

I was so excited to return home and see that my broccoli plants are finally producing!

October is off to a great start.

Walker has been a little under the weather - a little fever, a weird full body rash and some lethargy. At first we thought it might be West Nile, because of the sheer number of mosquito bites hes had in the past few months. But today, he seemed so much better.  So we headed to the pumpkin patch to select our first two pumpkins of the season!

Today was also an incredible day for Charlie.  He kicked off the morning by pulling himself up onto his knees with one arm up along side the coffee table.  He reached out to grab a little something he wanted and then carefully and with complete control lowered his bottom back to the floor.  It was astonishing.

Then during our STEPS program (feeding therapy) at the Callier Center, we had another break through.  We've spent the last three weeks doing a ton of lip, tongue and cheek stretches along with some sensory work in hopes of awakening Charlie to the sensations in his mouth. He doesn't use his hands to eat because he has a sensory aversion. He doesn't chew because he doesn't have muscular control, especially on the right. He doesn't use his tongue because he has very little lateral movement. He doesn't swallow because he can't feel the food in his mouth, and we're pretty sure he can't taste much of it either.  He's low tone with very little sensory input.  And even when he has a sensation of food, his neurological wires are crossed and he doesn't know what to do with the information. So, he's been on purees and mashed, easily manageable foods.

But today, all of that changed:

Here he is starting off with a Popsicle. The cold temps allow him to feel his mouth.

And now, here he is eating Cheetos (yes, Cheetos!)
and feeding himself for the first time EVER! 

And a few days ago, I caught this amazing moment on video...

Katherine, our service coordinator, introduced a system of making choices where Charlie looks at a photo to communicate his desires.  We're starting small with words like eat, drink, bed, hug, read and play.  And we're hoping to expand as he comes to understand the meaning of the photos.  This video was taken only moments after introducing eat and drink:

School Pictures for Walker

It's that time of year again!