Thanksgiving 2008

Year end Up-date!

Devin is doing very well. As you can see from the following pictures, the Orthopedic has kept Devin restrained in some way throughout his first year of life. We were given the O.K. to have Devin wear the ILFELD Splint only at night shortly after Devin’s 1st Birthday and he continues to do so. He has been crawling around the house at Mack speed ever since. In addition to the crawling, he goes up on his knees to reach for things and is doing more standing on his own.
We go in to see the Orthopedic at the beginning of January. It is likely that they will replace his Ankle Foot Orthotics with something that includes the knee as his feet stay turned inward as he stands. He corrects the right one better than the left and we attempt to put them into correct position if possible.

We have gotten to know quite a few families who have children with Spina Bifida and many of them have gone through surgeries and broken bones after 1 year of age in an attempt to correct hip problems. All of a sudden these devices do not look so bad. The only 2 surgeries that Devin has gone through so far are the initial 2, one to close up his back and one to put a shunt in for the Hydrocephalus. We have been blessed and hope that Devin’s health continues with the successes we have seen so far!

Devin continues to be our little “Smilie Guy”. Peek-a-boo is one of his favorite things to do and we often catch him playing it with strangers. He loves to cuddle and be close to others. As long as Cooper and Allie are around, he finds things to explore and keep himself busy. He uses some words and some sign language to communicate his immediate needs. I have been trying to post something monthly, but it is getting harder and less eventful (which is a good thing!).

The Holiday Train comes to Winona!

Halloween Football Fun

Standing Tall

Devin stands with Dad supporting his knees and hips.

Although Devin does get into the standing position very successfully, he does not stay in it for very long. This is the reason for the stander that you see in these pictures. Standing helps strengthen his bones. The PT informed us that the goal is 2 hours of standing a day. He tolerates about 25-45 minutes of standing right now (depending on his mood) and we can do this a couple times a day. The hope is that he will tolerate it for longer periods over time.

Devin follows Dad to the door as he leaves for work

(you can see our van in the distant street)!

Enjoying the season!

Devin's PT came to visit last week and we began the process of standing. I will try to post a picture of this process soon. Essentially, we set him on a stool next to the chair and help him to stand. The first time we did this he was not sure about it, but he does seem to enjoy it the more we do it. It also seems to have encouraged him to do more "tall kneeling". When the PT comes next week, she is planning to bring a "stander" for him. This device will encourage him to stand and support him in the area we currently do with our hands. Little by little he will become stronger so that he does not need the support.


Although you can mostly see yellow and green in this picture, many of the maples have already turned a vibrant red and dropped their leaves and the sumac (which my mother always looked to for the changing of seasons) are a beautiful red.

Don't Blink!

Fall colors in Winona are changing quickly. This picture was taken a couple of days ago and already the scene has changed!

Another ball lover!

Double fisting it, while asleep!

Taco Johns NU

Filzen Entry in the German American Parade

Here are pictures from the Oktober Fest Parade in New Ulm - Families that originated in Germany march in the parade with the year they immigrated to New Ulm. You can see the Filzen family came in 1871. I felt pretty bad that I was taking pictures and not on the float - Tim Nelson gave me a strand of beads they were handing out with a tag saying "Filzen Family 1871" on them. The two pictures with the horses is Scott Filzen, this was the homecoming parade last night - it was a cheerleading float, and his daughter Abbey is a cheerleader.

New Railing!

Here are pictures of the new railing that was added to our steps. There was something missing, and the railing was it!