A Randall's Ramblings: April 2010

Friday, April 9, 2010

Fishies!!

Caden LOVES fish. He loves to watch "Finding Nemo" and he makes fishy faces when he does. So with Branden and mine's combined parental genius, we got us some season pass tickets to the Aquarium. We took him today. After we ditched the stroller (he was FREAKING OUT because of the gobs of people and how dark it was) and just had B hold him, he had a ball. He got to touch the manta rays in their pool (drenched his sleeves, didn't care). He squealed and put his face right up to the glass with the coral tank. Made fishy faces and giggled at the ginormous fish in another tank, and had penguins right up in his face next to the glass. We had so much fun. And he crashed HARD on the drive home. This and the zoo passes we got last month are probably going to wind up being the best investments we have ever made.

Lemme in, lemme in!!

These last 3 were in a little boat prop they had in one of the hallways. My little safari dude:

Nugget overboard!

About Caden

Caden is a ridiculously happy little 3 year old. He's also our hero. He was born with two orthopedic abnormalities. Bilateral clubfoot, or congenital talipes equinovarus, and two forms of Arthrogryposis, a condition in which the joints of the extremities never fully develop in utero, never flex or 'exercise', leading to contractures of those joints (if you look closely at some of the pictures of him as an infant and even now, his wrists bend down, he never makes a fist, and the knuckles areas of his fingers are completely smooth because he doesn't have those joints). The clubfeet were a surprise, they were never detected on ultrasound because of the way he was positioned breech the entire 9 months. The Arthrogryposis was diagnosed about a year later. And in late September of 2011, he was given a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder. He is currently in the nighttime bracing phase of his clubfoot treatment, in regular physical therapy for the joint contractures in his hips and legs, and full leg braces at night to keep him stretched, and while his autism is considered on the mild end of the spectrum, he has just graduated from Early Intervention (which he's been in since he was 6 weeks old) and will start a new preschool soon. He's had casts, surgery, more casts, blisters, a plethora of braces for his feet, ankles and legs, therapists and specialists and long car rides to Salt Lake City and yet through it all he stays happy. He just adapts to whatever is thrown at him and simply goes on with his life in the way he wants regardless of what he has done to him. He's a trooper, our little Tough Guy, a true gift from our Heavenly Father, and we wouldn't have him any other way.

A Randall's Ramblings

Friday, April 9, 2010

Fishies!!

People who give a hoot

Family 'n' Friends