Highlights From the Week

We had a pretty eventful week in the Jordan household. Last Monday we were honored to be invited to the Grapevine Elks Lodge. Wade's speech therapist at Cook Children's has worked so hard to get funding in order to purchase some iPads for the clinic. The Elks Lodge came through with flying colors, and now Wade and other kiddos have access to the iPad and the communication app, proloquo2go, during therapy. Wade's super speech therapist invited us to go with her and another therapist to the Elks Lodge to express our appreciation for their generosity. Wade was a huge inspiration for Sandra to work so hard to get the iPads. We are so thankful that we have such a wonderful group of therapists at Cook's. We expressed our interest in the iPad, and Sandra took it and ran! It's so helpful that she knows how the iPad works so that we can use ours at home and follow up in therapy. We're able to bounce ideas off of each other and figure out what works best for Wade.

Wade was able to tell the Elk members Monday night "thank you" with his iPad. I heard a woman across the room say, "He's using his head!" I am so thankful that Wade was/is able to show others how innovative people with disabilities can be. Since he can't use his hands well, he uses his favorite modality--his head and mouth!


On Wednesday night, Wade decided he needed to get up at about 2:00AM and stay up until about 4:30AM. Unfortunately, Thursday morning was therapy morning, so I had to wake him up and head off to therapy. Surprisingly, he did really well. Afterward, I couldn't handle the thought of going home and listening to his crankiness that I was sure was going to follow, so we opted to meet some friends at the Fort Worth Zoo. This was Wade's first trip to the zoo, and I think he really enjoyed himself. When we approached an animal he really seemed to like, he would start kicking his legs and smile. We were only there for a couple of hours, but I ended up getting a zoo membership so we can go back anytime.




Friday, we headed out to get Wade a big boy bed!!! I have been mulling it over in my mind for quite a few months, but we just kept putting it off for one reason or another. We opted for a daybed so that it is closed in on three sides. Then, I picked up a bed rail from Babies R Us to attach to the open side. I think it's going to work out really well. Curtis and I put it together Friday night, and the new mattress was delivered on Saturday. Saturday night when I took Wade into his room to show him, his eyes lit up and he grinned so big. When I laid him down on his back, he just giggled and giggled. I took that as a sign that he loved it.
A little bit later our neighbors came over to check it out. Wade's friend Mallie climbed up with him and they had a great time cuddling and laughing together.




On Sunday after church, the same neighbors came over for hamburgers and pool time. Wade and Mallie had a great time splashing around. Later on, after naps, Wade and I headed to their house. This is where I witnessed Wade learning how to play pretend! Mallie was serving us all "tea", and we all pretended to drink. When she held the cup up to Wade's mouth, he shook his head "no" and closed his mouth. We just kept talking about how we were drinking our pretend tea and how good it was. "Yum, yum," I would say. Before too long, Wade was opening his mouth and "drinking" from the cup. It was soooo cute! Of course I didn't have my camera!




All in all, it was a pretty fabulous week. But the real beauty in all of these events is the wonderful people we have in our lives. We are so truly blessed to be working with some of the best therapists around. They all encourage Wade and teach him to overcome his obstacles. And I am so truly thankful that I have friends that include us on outings and play dates. To be honest, sometimes it is difficult to see these kids a little younger than Wade playing and talking. But then I see the smile on his face and glimmer in his eyes and thank God that we have such a network of supportive friends. It makes my heart smile when I hear the other kiddos calling his name and see them get so excited when they see him. These children do not yet know about disabilities and discrimination. Their innocence is beautiful and gives me such hope for the future.