Disneyland

October 26, 2008

We took Aiden to Disneyland for the first time last Sunday and he LOVED it!!! We were able to get him on 7 or 8 rides and he loved them all. He was laughing and squealing and just having a blast. He was mesmerized by it all. I think if we would have gone pre-surgery, he wouldn't have enjoyed it as much.

Halloween Treats

Yesterday, we received a goodie bag from the Hemispherectomy Foundation. It had cool Halloween stickers and candy. Most of the candy melted because it was 103 degrees here yesterday. There was also a pair of Oogly-googly glasses and here Aiden is wearing them.

Thank you Hemispherectomy Foundation!!!

Big boys carry their own backpacks.

October 21, 2008

Today, I thought we'd see if Aiden wouldn't mind carrying his own backpack to help mom out a bit. Since he's such a big boy now and walking everywhere, it sounded like a good idea. The backpack is very light. There are no books inside, just his lunch. For some reason it threw his balance off, big-time!!! He kept swaying back and forth like he was going to tip over; and then he did. Boom, down on his bum. He got up with a little help and made it to the car with the backpack on! It was so cute and he was so proud of himself. Mom was too!

Mr. Pumpkin

October 20, 2008

It's finally starting to cool down in California after a very long, hot summer. The holidays are also just around the corner and it's very exciting. Yesterday, we took Aiden to the pumpkin patch and got some great shots of him.

Progress report: Aiden's mood is 90% better than it was a month ago. He is so much happier and it seems as if there is no more pain at all. He tolerates going out and being around people and isn't so afraid anymore. The last article published in the newspaper talked about how Aiden didn't like to be tickled anymore. Well, now he laughs that great Aiden laugh when we tickle him. The doctors were right; he just needed time to heal.

Aiden is walking everywhere! He'd rather walk than crawl and he's getting so much better at it. And he just loves to be outside. So much so that we decided to buy annual passes to Disneyland so Aiden can practice even more walking and enjoy all the sights and fun stuff at Disneyland whenever we want! We are going to take Aiden this coming Sunday and it will be his first time! We are so excited to take him!

Before his surgery, Aiden only ate baby food because he has texture, flavor and chewing issues. He didn't like anything homemade because it has too much flavor. Well, a few weeks ago, we were having lunch together. Aiden was feeding himself his pureed food and I was having soup. He took my spoon and fed himself a bite of my soup and went back for more. He ended up eating 1/4 of soup and took some bites of cracker. Later we went to Costco and he tried yogurt and a berry smoothie. He loved it. Now each meal consists of at least some "real" food and with practice and therapy I know he will chew one day!

Although Aiden still can't say any words, he tries to imitate the sounds he hears. So, if you say banana, he says "hu-hu-hu", or momma is "nan-nan" and uh oh is "uh ah". This is pretty cool because before the surgery all he said was "da-da-da-da-da" to everything. I'm looking forward to when we can take him off Topamax because that drug is a language inhibitor.

I have always felt with Aiden that every little accomplishment is worth celebrating. So even though these things come naturally to most kids, it takes hard work and much practice for Aiden to reach these milestones. I am so proud of him!

"Buddy Booby's Birthmark"

October 13, 2008

Today, Aiden and I received a gift from Donna and Evan Ducker, authors of the book "Buddy Booby's Birthmark". They came across Aiden's website and were so touched by his story that they wanted to send us a copy. Evan has a port wine stain birthmark, similar to Aiden's. He and his mom Donna wanted to write this book so that other kids with birthmarks would have a character to relate to. The book also sends a message about how a person's personality should define them, not their appearance.

There is a special section in the book called "The Birth of Buddy". It talks about the author's personal experience with her son having a port wine stain. I cried my eyes out when I read it because I could relate to the insensitive remarks Donna and Even endured about his birthmark. It just breaks my heart when people are so hurtful to those who are different. Thankfully, it's been a while since someone has been down-right mean about Aiden's birthmark. Occasionally, people will look at him curiously and I'll offer to explain and usually, I'll get a hug or a kind remark about how cute he is. I'm finding out more that there are really good and caring people in this world.

Kids and adults could learn a very valuable lesson from this book. It would also be great for schools and doctors offices. Maybe the more people that know about birthmarks and their associated conditions, the less likely they'll be to judge. We can only hope. To order a copy of this book go to http://www.buddyboobysbirthmark.com/.