VCFS clinic

A few weeks ago, Mom and I took a trip to the Amfam Children's Hospital in Madison. We were finally (!) going to the VCFS clinic our geneticist Dr Rice recommended awhile a go. This is for kids like me with 22q or kids with cleft lips. It's so we can see 6(!) specialists at once- Mom wishes that we can do all appointments like this. It's a 4 hour appointment and it worked out perfectly.

Arrived at 8am, we were first seen by Speech- of course, I felt this was the perfect time to be quiet and allow Mom and the Speech lady to chat. I don't think they were pleased by my silence, but I felt it was too early to chat. Hadn't had my coffee yet.

Then came Hearing- of course, I tested perfect in Hearing. I always do, ever since I was first born, I've been an excellent hear-er (?) however, now Mom is very sure that it's a selective hearing problem I have. I find it fun to see if she makes it to Chase Michael Lehman before I turn around.

Then I got to take a nap. Which was perfect bc it was my naptime, so Mom and the Social Worker got to have a nice chat. Despite the fact she had told my story numerous times before (I never get tired of hearing it) she got to go thru it again 6 times that day! The SW was very impressed with Mom- said something about deserving a cape. I think that's silly, she's just Mom dude. Speaking of Dude- you like my shirt???

After my nap, I met with the Plastic Surgeon. She was AWESOME!! The main reason we went to this clinic is because it is very common for kids with 22q to have submusosal cleft palletes. When I was 3 months old we went to the Ear Nose & Throat guy at Dean and he took a peek and said I was "ok." Good thing we got a second opinion bc the PS tipped me upside down and said "Yep, there it is!" This is important because something it has to be corrected by surgery. At this point we don't need surgery bc it hasn't affected my eating or breathing. Next is my talking, so we're going to start Speech therapy now to stop any bad habits from forming.

Then was the ENT (ears nose throat) guy, he was pretty funny, his student was pretty cute but she had no personality you guys. Anyways, same thing with him. Flipped me over, took a peek and yep, there it is.

And finally with the Speech dr- before I saw the student. She said the same thing. So now I'm doing speech therapy. But really it's blowing bubbles :) I don't complain.

It was a successful visit and we're happy we waded thru all the referral crap to get there.

Happy Birthday Mom :-)

Another random photo of me sleeping-Mom's got a ton of these.

Yesterday was Mom's birthday, I was too busy eating cake to post. So here's a belated "Happy Birthday!" We celebrated with G&G Lehman & GG&GG Kessenich.

It was a fun night, did I mention I got my own slice of cake????

Out Sick

This past weekend Mom had a bunch of plans for us. However, I felt that we really needed some one on one time. So I caught a quick case of pneumonia and thus spent the whole weekend hanging out with mom.

It was nothing serious & I am feeling back to my old self (antibiotics are wonderful!) but Friday morning I had a temp of 102.8 & Mom promptly took me to see Dr. Pagel. You know I was real sick bc I didn't try to flirt with her or Nurse Amy at all!

I don't think Mom was too bummed about the change in plans, see- she even got to break out her never-been-used Ergo carrier. It was fun to nap in there while she swayed back and forth for an hour. Sometimes it cracks me up the things I can get her to do :-)

Me: "Jump!"

Mom; "How high?"

A-hahahahaahhaahahaha!

Badgers Vs Indiana, Music Class, Uncle T

Sweet Music Class

Pregame at Gma's!

Destroying the Avenue

Reverse upper-cut to Uncle Tom, I was OVER the whole game experience.

February is starting off big for me. I've got a new Music Class with Mom and Gma L on Fridays, a little Badger B-ball action, and some QT with Uncle T!

This week we've got

1. Birth to Three- done with Physical Therapy (I don't know if you heard but I'm a walking All-Star) so now it's just playtime with some guidance to make sure I'm meeting my development goals.
2. Musica Class- Gma L was pretty impressed with my music skills last week, even more impressed with my cougar attracking skills. Forget the babies- give me the moms!! Someone should've warned Gma though- it was quite a work out.
3. Aljan- getting new braces for my feet. Mom thinks they're doing great, so she's been letting me get by without wearing the shoes. She got scolded, so now we're trying something more comfortable. Apparently Dr. Noonan doesn't care if she/I sleep at night.
4. A playdate with some new friends- more about that later
5. And then, I don't know how- but Mom's playing soccer now, so she's got a 9PM game, so I get to hang out with Cousin Heather!!!

(And by this week, I mean all on Friday, which is mom's day off) I know she thinks she can handle it all, so I've been really testing her with some sleepless nights and fever. She's looking a little worse for wear, but I'm with Gma K tonight, so she can rest up.

Munching on Aunt Michelle's Birthday Cake


Snow day with Gma L did not go as planned



It's been a busy winter for me, to be honest, I don't remember much of January. Mostly because I've been RUNNING AROUND! Yep, I've mastered walking (in my opinion) and now I'm running! Mom calls it wobbly-running, but whatev.
January was more doctor appointments and everything is still coming back great! My liver levels were a little high in November (which is to be expected) but went back down when we retested in February so that was nice!

Mom's hoping to get a more enjoyable snow experience for me. Apparently my first time in a sled was not fun bc of the "crunchy" snow. That's ok, I live in WI- there's plenty more to come!

Happy Birthday Grandma L

Happy Birthday to my Gma Lehman- she's the big 5-1 today!! that is 50 years older than me- WOW!!!!

Here's a couple throw back pictures for everyone to enjoy.

Another Angel gets her wings

Some of you may remember hearing about Zoe, she and her mom were our roommates at Children's Hospital. A million years ago.

Zoe passed away last night due to complications with pneumonia. She was almost two, weighed 12lbs and 12oz, had Trisomy 18, lived longer than most with that genetic condition, and touched a lot of people during her short life. Her dad had a blog for her:
http://batiansila.blogspot.com which is how I learned the news. The family is large (8 children) and strong in faith, they knew their time with Zoe was short, but it doesn't make it any easier I supopse. They are greatful for the time the had & are much stronger than I can possibly imagine being.

I went home at lunch to hug my little man and remember how truly lucky we are. He snotted all over me, threw his lunch on the floor, and blew me a kiss goodbye. I am blessed.