Reno Update

We are two weeks into our summer vacation, so I'm posting a family update.  The short version:  so far, so good!  The grandparents have been very generous about babysitting, so Kenny and I have been able to spend tons of alone time together, which is something that we rarely get to do in Virginia.  We have done activities ranging from the practical (car seat shopping) to the romantic (anniversary date) to the hipster (brunch).

Joshua is enjoying spending time with both grandparents and with his cousin Lewis.  We had some concerns about his shyness, but he quickly became comfortable with all the relatives here.  Lewis and Joshua enjoy throwing rocks together, Grandpa Keith and Joshua jam out to the ukelele, and Grandma Betty and Joshua run laps around the house together.  Joshua's speech and eating don't seem to be suffering from the break in therapy.  His speech continues to improve, probably from getting bombarded with new people and experiences.  His eating is about the same- he still eats a limited range of foods, limited volume, supplemented daily with tube feeds - but we haven't seen any eating setbacks since we've been on the road, so that's positive.  We are having some trouble with Joshua not wanting to share toys with Zoey, so if anyone has tips on how to work on sharing, I am all ears!

Zoey is at that end of baby / beginning of toddler stage where it seems like she is developing new skills and getting more interactive every day.  Since we arrived, she has learned to pull up to standing, do motions that sort of look like waving and blowing kisses, and start to make sounds that are more like words (like "ba" for ball).  It is really interesting to watch a typically developing baby grow, because these new skills come so fast and so easily.  You don't have to do anything except let them loose on the floor and they basically figure it out on their own!  Since Joshua had all the medical interventions at the beginning, he missed some early development, so we had to work really hard with weekly therapies and daily exercises to get him caught up to the point where he could do things like crawl and pull up to stand, so it's astounding to watch the difference.  Zoey is also at the stage where she will stick her finger in a light socket, pull dishes off the table, rip pages out of books, etc., so we are keeping a close eye on her.

We have about four weeks left in Reno, so we are looking forward to more family time, a trip to Tahoe, and whatever other unknown adventures await this month.