Mowat-Wilson Meet-Up 2011

It's so fun to see Logan doing new things everyday.  The anticipation of what he's going to do next makes me so excited.  I don't want to say that any of our 19 months with him have been "boring" : )  With 5 surgeries and numerous hospital stays, I can hardly call that uneventful.  However, it seems like he's been doing the same things for so long...sitting in one place and slapping at toys.  To see him wanting to move now and realize that he can get to where he wants to go is truly exhilarating.  I shared his walking video a couple of weeks ago, but tonight he decided that "log rolling" was his preferred mode of transportation.  Logan has never rolled more than a half turn (exclusively from front to back until a few weeks ago).  Tonight, I was on the floor with him and Olin was laying on the couch.  He rolled front to back, then immediately back to front, making a complete rotation.  Simultaneously, Olin and I looked at each other with that "Did you see that?" expression on our faces.  We gave Logan lots of cheers and then set him in position to try it again.  Once he realizes he's succeeding at something, he seems to know that he should do it again.  I felt like I was watching Sparky the Dog.  He started rolling across the entire carpet in our family room.  When he'd reach a dead end, Olin would bring him back to start.  The video is long...I tried to edit, but couldn't decide what didn't make the cut.  I love him so much!



We had an incredible experience on Saturday that was hopefully just the beginning of many more meetings with our MWS family.  Technology is an amazing thing...while I have resisted aspects of it (I still have a flip phone with no internet access and my email account still ends in yahoo.com), it brought together a wonderful group of people this weekend.  Through facebook, Olin has befriended many of the MWS families in Georgia.  One of the moms organized a gathering at Perimeter Mall on Saturday so that we could all meet up.  We planned to just meet in the food court...seemed like a safe place to meet a bunch of strangers : )  Anyways, it turned out to be so awesome.  Including us, there were five families.  Our Logan was the youngest.  Then there was 4 year-old Alex, 6 year-old Andrew, 10 year-old Emily, and 13 year-old Logan.  Crazy, isn't it, to have two Logans in GA with MWS? 

  

Big Logan and Little Logan



Oh, there were all so cute...so happy.  It's a little uncanny how much they all resemble each other.  They all have the same little mouth and smile.  You can't help but smile when you see them.  It was a little crazy in the food court...we had like five tables pushed together and about 20 people altogether.  The kids did really great....thank goodness for Chick-fil-a chicken nuggets!  It was just so interesting to see what each child was accomplishing at each stage in their life.  Some of the kids were walking really well, some signing.  It was just really encouraging to see them doing so well and accomplishing so much. 



Emily, Andrew, Alex, Logan, and Logan



  



I admit I was a little apprehensive to meet these families.  Of course, I was excited to be able to speak with moms who totally understand what we've been through.  At the same time, I was a little nervous to get a peek into the future.  When we left though (after about two hours), I think Olin and I were actually a lot less scared of the road ahead.  All of the children had experienced seizures at some point...about 90% of MWS kids do.  So, while we aren't "prepared" for that scenario, we understand the liklihood of the situation and feel we'll be able to handle it if we have to.  I know it sounds cliche, but the love for these beautiful kids was palpable on Saturday.  They have changed the lives of each and every one of us for the better.   We definitely are planning some more "play-dates" in the future...most likely in the comfort of someone's house!  As much as it hurt when we received Logan's diagnosiss for MWS, it was a blessing because we now have a connection to a group of supportive and amazing people.  

Seeing Old Friends and Making New Ones

What up!

It was a fun weekend full of old friends and new ones.  On Friday night, we went to El Azteca to see some folks from out of town.  Even though it was super loud, Logan did awesome "burning the midnight oil" until at least 10:00!  He definitely takes after his daddy being able to stay up so late. 

On Saturday, we invited some "special" friends over for a BBQ : )  Last year, an assistant at my school told me about a teacher at her former school that had a little boy about Logan's age who also had special needs.  She thought that we would get along great and one morning brought in the yearbook to show me her picture. I immediately recongized the girl's picture, and said "I know her!"  Believe it or not, she is the older sister of a boy I "went out with" (isn't that what we called it?) in middle school.  She and I emailed back and forth towards the end of the school year, and it was true...we definitely had a lot in common.  Fast forward to August, and Olin and I finally invited the whole family over for hot dogs and hamburgers.  I was so looking forward to hearing more about her sweet little boy and just talking to someone who had experienced similar things in the last year!

We had a great time with our new friends.  Logan and the other little guy will likely be in the same class at Alpharetta Elementary in a year and a half.  While they have very different medical backgrounds, it was so neat to see them facing each other on the floor just like any other normal kids.  I so enjoyed sharing mommy stories with someone I knew passed no judgement on me.  I also loved her and her husband's positive attitude and outlook about what God has given them.  They are the type of "glass half-full" people you want to surround yourself with...they just roll with the punches.  I really hope this was the first of many more get togethers with them...they are big Georgia fans so maybe some tailgating is in the future : )

Finally, we helped host a baby shower on Sunday afternoon for one of Olin's co-workers.  While I don't have a desire to be pregnant any time soon, I still love "mommies to be" and baby showers!  What is cuter than little pink or blue baby clothes, booties, and blankets?  I can get stuck walking up and down the aisles of Babies R Us for hours just picking things up and saying "How cute is that!!!"  Unfortunately, Logan missed his morning nap and wasn't 100% happy to be partying again, but he still made some new friends.  In particular, the eight-year old son of the family also hosting, took a liking to Logan.  He was so curious to learn more about Logan and be near him throughout the entire afternoon.  While Logan drank his bottle and watched the Braves game, this little boy laid right next to him and just touched his arms and face.  It was the sweetest thing to see this "rough and tough" boy be so kind and gentle with Logan.  Those moments make me so happy.  To that boy, Logan is just a sweet baby...not a baby with special needs.  It was awesome.

Future Best Legs???

On a totally different note, Logan has his first speech therapy visit tomorrow morning followed by physical therapy at his daycare.  We are going to show his teachers how to put on his ankle braces and what exercises they can do to work with him during the day.  So far, they have been very receptive to the idea of the therapist visiting.  

Tonight was sort of ground breaking though.  I won't shout it from the roof yet, but Logan actually got on all fours and into crawling position all by himself tonight.  He's been starting to get his butt up off of the ground more, but this was the first time he's gotten his butt up and pushed up on his arms at the same time.  It was amazing to see.  He also rolled from his back to his stomach which I know he can do, but usually chooses not to.  Maybe he'll start using rolling as a way of moving from place to place.  I would be fine with that!  Moving is moving...whatever the means!  I am so excited to see what comes next.  He seems so close to doing so many new things!  Stay tuned : )

Jack is such a good cousin to Logan...can't believe he's already 4 years old!

Very unusual for Eddie to let mommy hold Logan...I had to get it on film!