Dear All,

So sorry for the long awaited update.  This past month has flown by.  Daniel and I both had colds that lasted over three weeks.  I lost my voice again…for 6 or 7 days!  Justin loves it when I cannot talk…ha ha!  Please check out all of the pages as we have added some to the fundraising hero page and pictures and videos in other places.  We try to get all of our pictures on the website so that you can see Daniel as he grows....he is now 35 3/4 inches long and 24 1/2 lbs.  He looks so much like a little boy instead of a baby. 

Despite getting over a cold, Daniel is doing well.  He has been very vocal lately and very, very playful.  The other day he said Abbee very clearly.  Until now he could only say Ab.  He says Dada, Mama, Abbee, movie, what, and hi.  He is working on Grannie, Grandma and Grandpa.  He is also waving hello and goodbye.

As Daniel gets older (already 21 months) we are starting to see that he can understand what we are saying.  It is amazing!  The first time I noticed this was in his “pool”.  We often sit him up (holding him under his chin and neck).  One night he was moving his arms like he was clapping and then moving them out.  We finally figured out that he was playing “patty cake”.  I have been playing “patty cake” with him since birth.  He always laughs and giggles when we play.  In the water he actually moves his arms on his own.  He always wants to jump to the end when you are “throwing it in the pan”  It is his favorite part.  By the way, Daniel has his own version…..we play “patty cake pizza man” because Daddy loves pizza so much!  We learned that Daniel’s friend Salvadore (he is 1 year old) plays “patty cake”  making tortillas.  Daniel loves all of the versions and laughed when Salvadores mother did it in Spanish.

We have recently purchased a neck brace and a floatie for the pool.  Daniel loves the floatie and understands us when we ask him to swim to us.  The other night he practiced swimming back and forth between us.  It was so wonderful!  We will try to get a video of this to post of the website.

We took Daniel to the Shriner’s Hospital last week.  This was our first visit.  The pediatric orthopedist told us that Daniel’s x-rays looked great.  He does not have signs of scoliosis and does not need to be checked again for another year.  We also spent some time with the physical therapy department talking about sizing Daniel for a stander.  They are going to try to order it for us.  If they cannot order it from there with our insurance we are just going to get the order sent to our regular medical equipment company.  Justin and I both feel that the stander will be great for Daniel.  He loves being upright and with the stander he will get another perspective of life. 

Grannie Annie will be coming out next weekend.  We are not sure how long she will get to stay….she tells me that she will stay until Justin gets tired of having a mother-in-law in the house.  I am so glad she is coming because it will be an extra person for Daniel to play with.  This will give me some time to get things done around the house without feeling like I am parking him in front of a movie.

Grandpa Lou and Grandma Joyce will be coming out for Daniel’s birthday!  He will love that.  Hopefully we will have a regular birthday this year.  Daniel loves his friends at the hospital but does not want to spend another birthday there.

We will post again soon!  I promise not to wait so long in between.  Now that summer is here we will be able to spend more time out which always means more pictures.  If anyone has any pictures from the fundraiser at Governor’s Comedy Club please email them to us so we can post them!

Special thanks to MJ and Brenda for the beautiful blanket.  MJ is a remarkable young lady with SMA.  Everyone loving calls her the “SMA Queen”.  She has a wonderful website if you get time to look it up.  Just google MJ and SMA and you will find it. 

Special prayers to Owen’s family as they finally get discharged tomorrow from the hospital.  They will be staying in SLC until they can get Owen home.  Please pray that they find a way to get him all the way home soon. 

Special prayers continue for our friend, Nevada State Trooper Nicholas Pearl, as he continues to recover from his auto accident. We hope you keep getting better.

All of our love and tons of kisses,

Connie