Chair Aerobics

When we go to Speech Therapy Luke often sits in a “cube chair” and he and his therapist work on several activities. They work on identifying pictures, singing songs, sign language and other games to work on Luke’s understanding of things like “up” and “down”.


Well the other day during therapy Luke decided he was tired of all the games the therapist was trying to do, so he decided to start his own game. Usually what happens during therapy is that his chair starts out by the wall, where there is a phone cord within reach…so when he start to reach for it the chair gets moved away from the wall. Well, this day he started to go for the phone cord, but then he changed his mind. Instead he decided to try some “chair aerobics”.

Luke would twist and hit the wall with one hand and then twist the other way and hit the wall with the other hand. It looked something like an aerobics move, I could just see an instructor saying…”twist and twist…and hit… and twist…and hit”. So funny to see. I think he was getting ready for a career as an aerobics instructor.

A home for my toys!

I have shared how Luke seemed to be looking for a new toy box, when he placed all his toys from his wagon into the warmer drawer under our oven. Well, it seems he continues to find just the right place for his toys. He still loads them all up in his wagon and pushes it sideways…which I think is because when it goes forward or backward to goes too fast for him to keep up, while crawling along anyway. So he continues pushing it sideways down the hall or into the kitchen.


Well among his “hunting” for the right place he has taken to putting his toys in some strange places. He has taken his whole wagon into the bathroom and proceeded to put all the toys into the bathtub. He has taken his wagon into his room where he started to place all his toys into the “Diaper Champ”, which was pretty funny because there is only so much space and he couldn’t fit all his toys in. If you don’t know what this is, it is like a diaper Genie, except you place a regular trash bag in and there is a place to put the diaper in the top, and then flip it over so the diaper drops inside without opening it up all the time. So Luke was putting these toys in where we usually put our dirty or wet diapers to flip them over into the trash bag. Luckily I caught him before flipping it over to put his toys inside with his dirty diapers!! Yes…he has learned how to do this. Which…is really great OT…so I can’t be too mad about that!!

Anyway, the other day I was unloading the dishwasher…and I’m sure you know where I am going with this. I was unloading in the usual order; utensils, bottom rack and then came the top rack. I picked up a couple glasses to put away and underneath were a Lego and a plastic triangle piece. I just laughed….the little guy snuck those in. He has tried putting some toys in the dishwasher while I’ve been loading it up…but I thought I caught them all. Obviously I need to watch a little more carefully. Sneaky little guy!!

Look at Me Go!!

A few weeks ago Luke tried something new at therapy and yesterday we did it again. In order to get Luke to rely on his own core muscles more, his PT put Luke in a harness attached to a mobile unit. It is the same unit that we had been using, without the harness, when walking on their treadmill at therapy. It has handle bars that go up and down. When I first saw him in it, it reminded me of what Luke might look like if he were rigged up in a parachute or something. (see video below to visualize)


When Luke uses his walker he is able to put some of his weight on his arms and able to then use his arms to help him keep balance and walk. With this mobile unit he is not putting his weight on anything but himself. He wears a harness with four straps attached. Luke’s PT has him hold on to the two straps in front to have a place for his hands.

He seems to really like this, in fact this second time doing it yesterday he walked faster with it. But, you could tell by the second lap around the building that he was wearing down. He started leaning into the harness, like he was using it to help keep him upright.

The first time we did this Luke was so tired that when the PT tried to get him to sit and then stand up…he would stand for 1 or 2 seconds and then squat back to a sitting position. He usually loved to stand up and throw a ball or something, but he was so tired he didn’t even want to stand!! This time he walked most of the time either with the mobile unit or a walker, like his new one we ordered. Which by the way, this new walker we are working with at therapy has a “disability” of its own…we haven’t figured it out yet, but the left rear wheel catches and lifts off the ground and the friction causes Luke to keep going to the left. So it actually takes a lot of muscle on Luke’s part to steer the thing on the right path. So after walking two laps with the mobile unit, two laps with the “disabled” walker and doing some cruising exercise, he was pretty tired last night!! He did so well yesterday though, he kept fighting through it all. Go Luke GO!!

No daddy, they go here!!

The other night I convinced my husband to give Luke a bath. And Luke tried something he has never done before…at least to me, his momma. To understand I have to back up a little. Luke has been showing some signs that he may be ready for potty training…I know…how do you train a boy who can’t communicate or walk?? Ask me in about 6 months when we actually start the “potty sitting time”…then maybe I’ll know enough to give some advice.


To start we are no longer changing diapers in his room, but in the bathroom…so that Luke might start associating the toilet and diapers. So because of this my husband took Luke’s diaper, PJ’s, towel and wash cloth to the bathroom with him the other night. I don’t remember what I was doing at the time, probably getting ready for our garage sale…but our baby girl was also in the bathroom. You also need to understand that this bathroom barely has enough room to turn around in.

So here was all this stuff and two little kids and my husband all in the bathroom. The actual bath seemed to go well, but when Luke was done all of a sudden I heard, “NO!! Luke!!!” and then I heard “come get your son, I’m not dealing with him.” So here momma came to the rescue and I asked what Luke had done that my husband didn’t want to deal with him anymore.

It turned out that Luke took his diaper and PJ’s and threw them into the tub..that still had the water in it from Luke’s bath. He was obviously trying to tell his daddy that they belonged there…after all he just got washed…why not those too?? I thought it was quite funny!!

In the past Luke had thrown other things in the water on me, like his ball and the foot stool I use for him in the bathroom to wash hands….but the diaper and clothes was a first. The diaper did dry out and I used it the next night…it wasn’t in the tub long enough to absorb too much water…we can’t waste $0.24 now can we?

Watch out Below!!

As you all know, Luke has been pulling up and cruising well the last couple of months. He pops up all over the place and he loves to get up to the couch and cruise along to find the remotes and other toys. Well the other day he brought his toys over to the couch in the wagon of his and started putting the toys up on the couch. Before he got them all on the couch he decided to stand up. Then he started putting all the toys he had thrown on the couch back into his wagon.


After he got all his toys back in his wagon, I think Luke was trying to get the toys back onto the couch…but somewhere along the line something went wrong with his plan. I don’t know if he was trying to bend over and get toys out of his wagon without going all the way back to the ground or if he was trying to go back to the floor and lost his balance. But, either way he fell and landed hard…and he didn’t land on the floor…no that would be too easy. He landed in his wagon!! So funny!!

The funniest part was that he couldn’t get out on his own. He tried and then started crying…like he was saying “momma, get me out!!” It cracked me up…and of course before I rescued him, I took a picture…which of course I have to share.

Singing Buddy

During Luke’s speech therapy, he and his therapist often sing songs together. Songs like “the wheels on the bus” and “itsy bitsy spider”. A couple weeks ago we brought in our own CD, the “party like a preschooler” CD by Go Fish. Which by the way are an awesome group, if you are looking for kid songs with positive themes and a Godly message…look no further. Go Fish take regular songs like “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and turn it into an upbeat and fun time!!


So we brought our CD in to share. And here we are partying along with the Go Fish Guys…and we start singing “If you’re happy”. You know the song…. “If you’re happy and you know it…clap your hands…clap clap…” and so on. Well in this version one verse says, “If you’re happy and you know it…shout Wooo Hooo….” So the second time Luke and his therapist sang through this, we hear a “Wooo Hoo” come through the wall. What was that?? Both Luke’s therapist and I looked at each other…and his therapist started laughing and said, “who could be over there?” Next door there is a conference room, so any number of people could be next door listening and “joining” in.

When we were leaving the therapist’s room that day, we stopped at the room next door. Who did we find? It was one of the doctors who sees patients at Easter Seals (the therapy facility we go to now). So we invited this good doctor to always join in whenever he wanted. He told us it was just too hard to resist we were having such a good time.

Who says therapy can’t be fun for everyone!!

No, my food!!

I have been so happy that Luke has been pulling up so well these last couple months, it is great to see. But along with his ability to pull up I lose some of my freedom. When he first started pulling up, I finally cleared off the end tables that held things that used to be too far to reach for the little man. Now he can reach those things easily. For example, just last night I left some water in a cup on the end table next tot the recliner. When I got back from giving baby girl her bath I found the cup on the floor and water all over the recliner!! I should have known better.


As I was saying, last week on top of moving stuff off the tables, I found myself fending off the little man just trying to eat my food. Usually I feed both kids and then I take my food into the living room and eat while they play. Well, not anymore!!

The other day I was sitting there, minding my own business, and trying to eat a sandwich. All of a sudden here comes Luke, cruising across the couch on a mission. His eyes were locked on my food. When he got close enough he went in for the kill. I laughed and said, “no, you already ate”…and then he kept trying to reach the food when I moved it. Then I said, “go get your own food.” Which of course I knew he couldn’t.

So began the game of “keep-away”. Only no matter where I moved my food, Luke was able to reach it. Silly little man. Is nothing safe??

Then I began eating at the kitchen table, and that worked for a couple days before Luke figured out how to pull up at the kitchen table!! Uuggghhhh. So now I have learned I must eat breakfast BEFORE he gets up and lunch has to often wait until he is down for his nap, around 2pm.

My baby girl has started pulling up as well, but thank the Lord at 9months old she is too short to reach my food!! I’m safe from her, for now anyway!!

Pinned!

I believe I have shared in the past how Luke loves to wrestle his monkey, Curious George, and how he also takes him all over the house by using his mouth by biting down on George’s nose. Poor George. Well now pay-back is starting. George has a friend who is getting retaliation, Luke’s baby sister.


The other day I heard both baby girl and Luke laughing so I went into the living room to investigate. What did I see? Our baby girl pushing down on Luke. It looked just like wrestling, “1-2-3-pinned!!” Of course they both thought this was so funny.

I got baby girl off of Luke and then what did she do? Well, she pushed him down again and laid on top of Luke. Once again it was like watching a wrestling match, except both opponents were laughing. Silly kids.

In Search of the Ultimate Toy Box

I’ve mentioned before how Luke likes to put things in strange places…I have found his juice cup behind the couch, in the bath tub, and even in the warming drawer under the stove. I have also mentioned how he has started piling his toys in different areas of the house, behind the TV, by the front door, or even in the tub.


Well now he has combined those two things to find the “ultimate toy box”. The other day he loaded his wagon full of toys and then pushed/rolled it into the kitchen. (By the way, lately instead of rolling/pushing the wagon forward or backward to get where he is going….Luke has been pushing it sideways… ...perpendicular to his body). This is a funny site in of itself.

Anyway, once he got it in the kitchen, he pulled out the warming drawer under the stove and started putting his toys from the wagon into the drawer. When I caught him doing this, he was almost done and I asked him what he was doing and he said “aahh ahh” and looked at me in such a way I thought he was saying “well I found the perfect place for my toys mommy and sister will never find them here”. You see, Luke and his sister have started getting possessive about the toys they are playing with.

After he got all his toys in the drawer Luke went over to the utensils drawer, which he can barely reach when he gets up on his knees, and pulled it open. Then he started taking his toys from the warming drawer and putting them in the utensil drawer. At first the toys kept bouncing back at him, but he is a determined little guy and kept trying. Eventually he got a Lego, plastic strawberry and a toy cup in the drawer…before I cut him off from his little game.

It’s no wonder I have a hard time finding his toys when I put them all away at night. We are still missing several Lego’s and small plastic balls….which I’m sure we’ll find one day…probably when we move from this house and have to move all the BIG furniture.

What are these?

During Luke’s PT time we continue to work on his walking and balance. One thing the PT also focuses on with Luke is his ability to bend his legs and be able to walk stairs. He has come a long way with this. Back when we first started stairs, probably a year or so ago, Luke would lock out his knees….which you can imagine would make trying to walk up or down stairs pretty hard. He reminded me of watching one of those pirates in a movie who had a wooden or peg leg…so when they went up or down stairs they kind of swung their wooden leg and hopped along.


Anyway, we would have to force him to bend his knees. Now he has a lot more confidence in handling his own balance and weight and he will bend his knee, but he is still learning to plant his feet flat and hold on to a railing so he can do the stairs by himself.

Well last week to help him be more “aware” of his feet, Luke’s PT put some ankle weights on him. They were probably a pound each and reminded me of the 80’s wrist bands. The weights were bright orange, fuzzy, and formed an enclosed circle. We had to take Luke’s shoes and braces off in order for us to get them on his ankles.

Luke didn’t know what to think about them, they definitely got him to look down towards his feet though. By the time we got to the stairs to practice going up and down, he was pretty fed up with those weights. I don’t know if he was too tired or if he was just starting to develop some fashion sense. Either way the PT had to battle with Luke to get him to go up and down those stairs, not once but twice. He survived and I think was pretty happy to get those weights off when we were done.

New Bath Game

Usually in the bathtub Luke’s favorite game involves throwing. I would put him in the tub, and give him all his toys (sticky foam letters and numbers you put on the tub walls, and a ducky). Then I settle in with a book and sit on top of the toilet. Then Luke starts laughing and throws all his toys out of the tub at me. When all the toys are out, I put them all back in. We usually do this three times and then I tell him “all done toys, now we have to make you smell good”, and we wash up.


Well that was our usual game, for probably the last 6 months or so. Well the last time I gave him his “toys”, he decided he wanted to try something new. Just like in the living room where he has started piling all his toys in a corner somewhere, he thought hen should try it in the tub as well. So here was Luke trying to pile all his foam letters and numbers into a “corner” of the tub. It was pretty funny to watch. He actually got them all piled together , but once he sat and “admired” his work the foam letters started floating away from his “pile”. So then he would get the “run-a-way” letter and throw it back into the pile…and sure enough it or another letter would start to float away again.

When the letters kept floating away, Luke decided he would try another “corner”. So he put all the foam letter/numbers and the ducky from one end of the tub to the other. Of course he piled them all together again, and they eventually started floating away from him…again.

He went back and forth two times with his piles before I called an end to it. Silly little man.

That's NOT where that goes!

You know, for such a little guy Luke has definite opinions about where certain things go. When we are in the living room, he’ll place all his Lego’s in the Little Tykes kitchen or move all the Lego’s to a certain area of the room.


Well the other day he took that idea to a new level. I was cleaning up the kitchen, and when I went to check on Luke I didn’t hear anything. (That is never a good sign). So I called for him, “Luke…where are you?”….still no noise…which is definitely not a good sign. I finally found him in his room and I couldn’t help but laugh.

Luke had rearranged where things were supposed to go. He had a couple shirts on the floor, and a couple shirts hanging out of the plastic drawers I use to hold his diapers. Then, there was a diaper hanging out of one of his dresser drawers, where his pants go. There were wash clothes, which are normally also in the plastic drawers, that he put in the dresser drawer where his shirts go.

I thought that was all until I looked at his crib. On the crib was a book and some wash clothes as well. He obviously doesn’t like where I keep things and wants me to rearrange them. Silly little man.

I took a picture before I cleaned it all up.