Well, since it's been 3 months since my last post, I'd better get you all up to speed on what's been going on in the lives of the Lottermans
It's hard to believe that there are only three weeks left of school. It really has gone by fast, even if it didn't seem like it during the year!
Our boys continue to thrive. They are such a joy to Russ and I and we are so thankful that God has entrusted them to our care here on earth.
Bradyn continues to do VERY well in school, for which we are so thankful. Academics seem to come very easy to him, and he even enjoys homework!! He is a true boy, in that he is all about sports. Whatever sport is being played at that time of year, is the one he is most interested in. This time of year is of course the Detroit Tigers. He watches the gamecast on the computer every chance he gets, and if we're driving in the van, we must find it on the radio so he can listen. He is currently playing machine pitch baseball for Hudsonville Little League, and just loves it, as you can about imagine.
A few months ago, he was diagnosed with a disorder called Sensory Processing Disorder. This is the inability to process information taken in through the five senses in a way that makes it easy for him to function in daily life. He is at the mild end of the spectrum, but we have started seeing a therapist at Horizons Remediaton Center to help him with his eating, and some other problems we have noticed in the last 6 months or so. He had his first "official" session this past Wednesday. These consist of about 10 mins of rythmic movement therapy, which is almost like a massage accept we are moving his body in a rythmn to get help him experience different sensations. Next he has oral motor therapy, which consists of gripping a tongue depressor with JUST his lips for 10 seconds, blowing on a mini recorder, swabbing his mouth with an oral sponge (tiny ribbed sponge on a sucker stick) blowing bubbles, and making circles on his face with a dry washcloth. The third and longest part of the session is focused on his eating, or called Feeding Therapy. This is where the therapist is going to work with Bradyn to broaden his horizons in the food area, so maybe sometime in the future he can eat the same thing we eat at dinner time without becoming physically sick and throwing up. Things are going as well as can be expected in this area, though he still struggles with some things. The therapists keeps reinforcing the fact that it WILL NOT be an overnight transformation....bummer...but will take a lot of hard work. So we wait on God to give us the grace and patience we need to help Bradyn with his difficulties. We are so very thankful that God has provided the means by which we can get him some help, and for giving us such loving and supportive families. We are truly blessed beyond measure.
Austin is such a fun loving little boy and the entertainment in the family. He always has something funny to say, and has quite a wide vocabulary already. Some of the words he knows (and knows the meaning of) just amaze us. He is definitely ready for preschool this fall. He has a very good imagination and can pretend play very well. He gets along so-so with Bradyn, but part of that is due to the difficulties Bradyn is experiencing. Austin loves his little brother to death and is always talking to him and asking to hold him. Austin also love baseball, and is just tickled if Bradyn is in a good mood, and wants to play with him in the backyard. He already has his sight set on playing baseball like Bradyn, but we'll have to see about that.
Calvin is growing amazingly fast. He is not so much a tiny baby anymore. He is a very happy little guy, but tends to be quite the mamma's boy (not that I mind that) and is rather fussy if he has to stay home when mom goes away. He gets around very well, by army crawling, and EVERYTHING he finds on the floor instantly goes in his mouth. We vaccuum alot around here. He has, just in the last 2 weeks started sleeping throught the night, much to my relief!! So far he has taken the longest, I hope that doesn't mean anything for future children that we may have :)
Russ is doing well also. He is finished with tax season, and the final tally was about 50 clients,so he was very excited about that. He has been back working for Artistic Landscapes since the middle of March. He enjoys being back working, and doing what he loves again. They have been quite busy this spring, so that is a great feeling as well.
I suppose I should be finished now, we hope this finds you all doing well, and I hope my next post won't be so long in coming. I'll include some pictures of what we've been up to. God Bless!
