Back to the Grind

This week was the week that all of our activities geared back up. It is always exciting and exhausting to get back to the full schedule of all of our activities and appointments.

Maddy:  Maddy's schedule is pretty busy with therapy three times a week. In therapy she is working on jumping forward and off things in Physical Therapy as well as over all strengthening and endurance. In Occupational Therapy she is working hard on dressing and undressing, using scissors, holding a crayon correctly and strengthening those hands that do not like to work!

Maddy chooses a mix of blue and pink kinesio tape.

She cooks on Monday's at Taste Buds Kitchen which is owned by one of my best friends. Maddy loves to cook and especially to eat! She thinks it is even more fun when Edee teaches her class. Maddy was in RARE form on Monday since Eden was there, but enjoyed every minute.

 Stirring the dry ingredients

 Adding in the wet ingredients

 Mini Bundt Cakes

Getting ready to eat!

Wednesday we were back to Kindermusik. Maddy loves music and enjoyed a new teacher this week. She has been taking music since she was 2 months old so she was happy to be back after a few weeks off. 

Alex: Alex was BUSY this week! He was really excited to be back to some private Tae Kwon Do lessons thanks to the generosity of some family members. What an awesome Christmas gift to be able to get back to lessons. Kick Tiger Martial Arts is such a special place to us. It is a family run business and they definitely treat us like part of that family. The two sons who teach the classes have always treated Alex with so much patience, kindness and respect while pushing him to be the best he can be. It was so nice to see these two back together again!

Master Jaren and Alex hard at work

Alex also had his second violin lesson and first acting class.

His final activity for the week was to return to golf. He is in his third level of The First Tee. It is an incredible program that teaches 9 core values while teaching the game of golf. 

 It is such a joy to see him explore new adventures and find his passions...Plus it gets him off his video games for a while!

Between all of our fun we did have to fit in an "emergency" visit to deal with a malfunctioning port. Luckily, Alex's hematologist saved us a trip to the ER and set it up in the Infusion center. They even managed to set it up so we could start in the infusion center, leave so Alex could film an interview for the hospital and then come back to finish. While Alex was doing all of that, Maddy was able to work/play with a Child Life Specialist to try and make her frequent lab draws a little easier.

 Maddy and Amy taking blood from her Puppy

  I am constantly reminded of the incredible village that surrounds us and helps us on that journey. The staff at Cook Children's Hospital are a huge part of that village. Watching them rally around my children and love them and do everything to make this life a little easier is such a blessing. 

Ali