Is it February already?! We've kicked the year off and have some fun pictures to share. It started with the Blizzard of 2016. We got 30" of snow between Friday night and Sunday and didn't see a plow until Wednesday. Unfortunately my Saturday flight to Amsterdam for work was cancelled. And although I was able to get a flight out Monday, we had to haul my luggage up the street and have a friend pick me up since we hadn't been plowed out. The kids were out of school Friday and the entire following week. Then had a two hour delay the following Monday and Tuesday due to ice conditions. 
And although we had a lot of fun in the snow, it was tough to get through since it was so high. Cole is only 41" tall and Reagan is 48" but it's still tough to walk through when it's well above your waist. We were able to build a snow woman and do some sledding though.
After the snow started to melt, we had a GI appointment with Dr Descanctis as a follow up. She was not happy that we are still having weeks where he will have 2-3 days without a stool (yup, I have a chart). So she wants us to be more aggressive when we have a day without and wants us to start a strict "sitting" policy three times each day to build routine. It's tough to get him to sit very long, but we'll do our best.
We also had another appointment with the low vision doctor, Dr. Mojallal. Since the integration of the magnifier at school (the loupe) and the Vision Assist app at home, Cole often asks me to magnify things. Generally it's small toys where he wants to see the detail, like a Spiderman figure's face. Unfortunately the doctor said he isn't quite ready for most of the solutions that are available given his young age/ability. He is hopeful that he'll be ready perhaps by the start of the next school year. His suggestion was to purchase a CCTV for home use. I emailed the Department of the Blind to see if they have any we could borrow, but they don't. The device for school was approved, so it's possible he could bring that home, but I am worried about it traveling in a backpack on the bus (even in a case). We will research alternatives and then decide what makes the most sense. It's possible we could consider a document camera with an iPad but we need to do a little more research. It breaks my heart when Cole comes to me and asks me to make something bigger, but I am hopeful over time that we will be able to have the right tools. This morning he wanted to talk through solutions for how he could get to Saturn and skate on the rings so I am very optimistic that his creative nature will be a huge asset as he gets older.
In addition to the doctors appointments, both kids had their Tae Kwon Do belt tests this month. Reagan is very excited to be a Super Blue belt. She started January of last year and has progressed through white, yellow, orange, green, purple, and blue. Next, she will need to progress through brown, super brown, red, bo-black then black belt. She still enjoys going and it is SUCH good exercise for her! Master Choi even commented on how impressed he is that she is now able to fully extend her left arm straight. This was not possible when she started a year ago. I am hopeful she will continue for another year and try to achieve her black belt but time will tell!
Cole has also been at Tae Kwon Do in the cubs class since last January. He has progressed through all the cubs belts: white, yellow, green, blue, red and is now a black belt! I remember many times last year leaving class in tears disappointed that he struggled so much to pay attention, sit when asked and follow instructions like the other kids his age. Words can not explain how proud I am of his accomplishment today. It took a lot of patience, persistence and dedication for him to accomplish this level. We have seen such amazing progress in this little man and I'm so proud to be his mama. Although he could have moved to the older class in October when he turned 5, we chose to keep him in cubs and let him finish through black belt. This week he started with the big kids and although the new structure will be an adjustment, he did very well. He will keep his black belt until his next belt test and will then start at yellow (skipping white).
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