Braces

no...not the kind that go on your teeth. The kind that help you walk.

Oh...HI. It's been awhile. 2 months to be exact. It's not like I haven't had a lot to share. My heart is actually pretty full--over flowing to be completely honest. Drowning me in some ways. Buuuut today...I am here to talk about the boys.

Braxton. This little guy has shown SUCH determination. The kid who would refuse to stand and only cruise the couch or any other piece of furniture he could get his hands on, is now walking!! i would now say he is a walker, only because when he walks and he falls down (cuz he does. A LOT), he chooses to get back on his feet vs. take the easy route and crawl. I like to thank Xander (well and OF COURSE God for answering so many prayers in this area) for pushing his twin brother to keep up. Xander is FAST--They are each other's shadow, so Braxton is forced to keep up. He gets so frustrated that he's not as fast, but he is doing his best.
He still "toe walks", which is not good. Mostly his right leg/foot. We've been waiting a month to get back into Physical therapy. Insurance hold ups. Ugghh... very frustrating. But yesterday Braxton got fitted for his braces. Yes, they look just like the ones the infamous Forest wore. Forest Gump that is. The tech. that was fitting him was almost certain the braces would correct his strides to make him walk "normal". This guy has been doing this for 30 years. I have some trust in his opinion/observations. Braxton should have them in two weeks. I know with his courage and determination he will be successful.

Xander. OH xander....my Tasmanian devil. He's my very own Energizer bunny.
He isn't speaking yet (besides using his unique jargon), but is signing between 20-30 words. He is definitely a visual learner, completely benefiting from ASL. It should only be days and he gets to get his hearing aids. I can't wait...his world will change for sure. I'm sure he will still prefer ASL to understand the world around him. At least for a while. We'll see which direction he takes--I predict him to be a kid that can code switch with ease; communicate in ASL and quickly use English when necessary. Xander has this charm about him--and knows exactly when to let it shine. After he smacks his brother in the face, or takes a toy and runs (literally runs) away, as I'm trying to discipline him, that smile...it stops me in my tracks. He's got skills...

Caden. I can't believe he will be 3 in October.... we are currently working on potty training. Even though I'm not spending all my energy teaching him the potty basics, he is doing quite well. (just a min ago he told me he needed to go pee pee). I'm proud of him. the goal is to be completely trained by August when he starts Preschool. He will go three days a week. We are still waiting for hearing aids. It's a longer process for him--I guess since he wasn't already in the system. He would probably do "fine" without them. However his speech is getting more mumbled...not crisp. He isn't able to articulate his words like I think he should. He will have a full assessment by the district and we'll see what the speech therapist thinks as far as speech needs/goals. His IFSP assessment shows that he is about a year a head in language, even with the hearing loss. ALl this to say, he will do fine outside of a signing environment. The twins will continue at CSDR in the fall though.

There you have it. The short (yes this was as short as I could make it) update on the three cutest carmona boys.

As for the rest.
TBC...