After what seemed to be a whirlwind of a Christmas, we happily return to Have Stroller, Will Travel with renewed energy, enthusiasm, and just a bit of drool.

Who needs Smaug when you have Valentine, Protector of the toy train?

Thanks to the generosity of our family, friends, and of course– Santa Claus, Alexander has quite literally come running into 2014 with his little arms full of toys, puzzles, and new clothing. He’s continuing to sprout up, and now he can fit into his 12 month clothing! (most importantly– his 12 month pants. For several months, his skinny waist forced us to put him in 6-9 month pants, which left him sporting a less than stylish capri-look)

After a fantastic and much needed break from all things medical over the holidays, we were back at the surgeon’s office in early January. We received some absolutely fantastic news– Alexander’s previous surgeries are continuing to heal well and are actually helping shrink his remaining cleft. We were expecting 2 to 3 surgeries this spring and summer in order to correct Alexander’s hard palate, but our surgeon gave us the thrilling news that he thinks everything can be done in a single surgery.  This is incredibly uncommon, especially considering the original severity of Alexander’s cleft! Needless to way, we were all thrilled after that appointment (well, Brian and I were), and the little man was soon appeased by a few Thomas the Train stickers.

We’re still somewhat shocked that Alexander’s next surgery, scheduled for Feb 12th, will be the last one until he’s probably preschool-age. This surgery will be fairly significant though, and he’ll spend a few nights in the hospital instead of just one night. Though we have the normal parental nervousness, all of our previous experiences with the clinic, hospital, and surgery team give us great comfort and hope! Please continue to keep us, especially Alexander, in your thoughts and prayers.

In the meantime, we have jumped headfirst into the world of Early Intervention (E. I. for short). E I is a state-funded program that offers therapeutic services for qualifying children. An earlier post, To Stack or Not To Stack, explains a little better how Alexander began this program.  At the surgeon’s suggestion, we started up Alexander’s therapy before his surgery so he can become comfortable with his speech/language therapist.

We had our first session at home this Tuesday, and it went spectacularly! Alexander was his bubbly self, and it almost seemed as though he was showing off. Without prompting, he demonstrated his rapidly increasing signing skills to us and successfully used an open cup and spoon without any help from me.  I was incredibly pleased that Alexander seemed to really take to his new friend and appeared to respond very well to her prompting.  Our therapist gave us some great feedback, and overall, we are thrilled to have her as a part of our team.

It’s simply amazing to watch our rapidly blossoming little boy. He adds a new sign to his vocabulary almost daily now, and he continues to be mesmerized by all things cooking and food-related. One of his favorite activities is “cooking” by combining various small toys in a bowl, stirring with a large spoon, and then offering samples to his stuffed animals and parents.  I’m quite grateful, and I’m sure Mr. Clam is too, that he hasn’t attempted any chowder recipes just yet.

As I wrap up this entry, I hear quiet roaring– there’s a little boy running around the living room with a small toy lion in his hand. Our little one is growing up!

Who is this big kid!?!