Original Blog Post: June 13, 2010- Update On Both Boys

Two weeks ago Damek earned his yellow belt in karate.  It has been a lot of fun watching him in class.  Mostly he just wants to play with the other kids.  Listening to the teacher has been a work in progress, especially since Daddy is his teacher.  His memory is just amazing.  He has the ability to hear something in class once and then reproduce it perfectly at home a few days later.  He definitely didn't get that from his Mama.  Here's a couple pictures and some video of his belt test.

                      Celebratory spinning after getting their new belts.

                                               The new class of yellow belts.
 
                                                                    Damek working hard.
Mr. Caedmon had his appointment with the orthopedist last week.  Part of the appointment was getting x-rays of his hips to check on development and whether they are still in place.  We were so happy to learn that his hips are just perfect and no sign of either one coming out of its socket.  We are praying for the continued health of his hips, hip surgery for an 18 month old just seems wrong somehow.
We received a bit of bad news in that his lower legs are not twisting into the correct position.  The doctor will continue to have him wear twisters as long as they are strong enough to do something but it's looking like he will need surgery to break his lower legs and reset them into the correct place.  They normally try to wait to do this surgery until the child is somewhere in the 5-10 year old range because if they do it too soon they often have to redo the surgery.  Obviously we would love for Caedmon not to have to have this surgery.  We are praying for his legs to come round right on their own.
However, Caedmon just continues to be mobile and active.  Last week at church he found a toy shopping cart and proceeded to pull himself up to stand on it and walk half way across the room with a huge smile on his face.  I couldn't believe it!  I told his PT about it and she encouraged us to talk to his orthopedist about ordering him a reverse walker/gait trainer.  The paperwork has been sent in and he should be getting evaluated and fitted for one in the next two weeks.  We know he is going to be thrilled to be able to chase his brother around outside!  We can't wait!
I'm including a longish video of Caedmon in the tub.  He's making so many sounds and words, we don't always know what he's saying but it's enjoyable to hear him communicate.  He loves to make the sound of a truck or boat or airplane and his absolute favorite thing right now is to pretend to talk on a phone.