Happy 4th Birthday my Dear Dillon!
It is so hard to believe that it was 4 years ago that my life forever changed. It was four years ago I felt a love for another person like I never imagined and it was four years ago that I felt heart break like I never could have imagined. The last four years have been full! I have learned a lot, I have changed a lot, I have grown a lot. Dillon has given me some of my happiest moments as well as my hardest. He has taught me things I wouldn't have learned any other way. It is another year and another tear for me today. I am so happy, and still so sad. It is hard to see him turn four and not have him running around asking me for cake or to open his presents. It hard to see him and know all he can't do and all that he has to do that no four year old should ever have to go through.
This past year was an amazing year. He went to China! We have seen a little improvement in his eyes and ears. He coos to get me to keep singing to him sometimes. He coos to get a toy sometimes. He has followed a toy with lights a few times. I believe he is more aware of what is going on around him, he know us. He knows more than most give him credit for! I came into the room without making any sound the other day and got right in front of him. He opened his eyes, looked right at me and then cooed! He knew I was there!
This coming year he is facing a major, painful surgery on top of all his normal therapies and struggles. But I am hopeful this coming year will also bring some of our greatest accomplishments with Dillon. We hope to move next month into a home that is more handicap accessible and has a therapy room where we will be able to leave all Dillon's equipment up all the time. Then I am going to pray we can find people to help with his therapy again so we can work with him. (I need one person a day for 3 hours). With the progress the stem cells have helped make in Dillon's brain our therapy, if done on a regular basis, may help him in ways it couldn't before!
Daddy and Mommy bought Dillon 5 little neon tetra fish for his birthday. I have my reasons for why I bought him this even though I am sure most people not understand that gift. Dillon wasn't having a bad day, but just not a good day. So we decided to give him a little tylenol to help any pain he seemed to be in with his legs. We weren't sure we were going to be able to do what we wanted to with him today. But about an hour later he was doing MUCH better so we decided to go ahead with plans...boy am I glad we did! Miss Jessica (one of Dillon's nurses), JayDonn, Truett, and I took Dillon to Monkey Joe's. It is a place with blow up slides. You will see in the pictures below.
I wanted to do something for Dillon's birthday that he could DO. I thought this was the perfect thing! What 4 year old boy doesn't like slides? Dillon seemed to like it. He stayed calm and relaxed, he didn't cough but maybe 2 or 3 times. The only time he had seizures was after I took him down the big slide for the first time. After that he even went down the big slide by himself and was fine. Miss Jess and I are pretty good at reading Dillon and he was enjoying it. We asked him a few times if he wanted to go on the slide and told him to say AHHH if he does and he did! I am so happy we were able to do something with Dillon on his birthday! It makes my Mommy heart so happy! Tonight Jay helped me make some chocolate cupcakes and we sang to Dillon. He was even cooing during our song. Several times tonight I asked him if he wanted me to sing to him and he cooed! Then as soon as I was done he would coo again, so I sang again!
Over all it was a good day with Dillon. I don't know if he knew it was his birthday, but I do know he understood something special was happening with him today. He seemed to enjoy being the center of attention (typical 4 year old!)
Enjoy the pictures and thank you to everyone who wished him a Happy Birthday!
This past year was an amazing year. He went to China! We have seen a little improvement in his eyes and ears. He coos to get me to keep singing to him sometimes. He coos to get a toy sometimes. He has followed a toy with lights a few times. I believe he is more aware of what is going on around him, he know us. He knows more than most give him credit for! I came into the room without making any sound the other day and got right in front of him. He opened his eyes, looked right at me and then cooed! He knew I was there!
This coming year he is facing a major, painful surgery on top of all his normal therapies and struggles. But I am hopeful this coming year will also bring some of our greatest accomplishments with Dillon. We hope to move next month into a home that is more handicap accessible and has a therapy room where we will be able to leave all Dillon's equipment up all the time. Then I am going to pray we can find people to help with his therapy again so we can work with him. (I need one person a day for 3 hours). With the progress the stem cells have helped make in Dillon's brain our therapy, if done on a regular basis, may help him in ways it couldn't before!
Daddy and Mommy bought Dillon 5 little neon tetra fish for his birthday. I have my reasons for why I bought him this even though I am sure most people not understand that gift. Dillon wasn't having a bad day, but just not a good day. So we decided to give him a little tylenol to help any pain he seemed to be in with his legs. We weren't sure we were going to be able to do what we wanted to with him today. But about an hour later he was doing MUCH better so we decided to go ahead with plans...boy am I glad we did! Miss Jessica (one of Dillon's nurses), JayDonn, Truett, and I took Dillon to Monkey Joe's. It is a place with blow up slides. You will see in the pictures below.
I wanted to do something for Dillon's birthday that he could DO. I thought this was the perfect thing! What 4 year old boy doesn't like slides? Dillon seemed to like it. He stayed calm and relaxed, he didn't cough but maybe 2 or 3 times. The only time he had seizures was after I took him down the big slide for the first time. After that he even went down the big slide by himself and was fine. Miss Jess and I are pretty good at reading Dillon and he was enjoying it. We asked him a few times if he wanted to go on the slide and told him to say AHHH if he does and he did! I am so happy we were able to do something with Dillon on his birthday! It makes my Mommy heart so happy! Tonight Jay helped me make some chocolate cupcakes and we sang to Dillon. He was even cooing during our song. Several times tonight I asked him if he wanted me to sing to him and he cooed! Then as soon as I was done he would coo again, so I sang again!
Over all it was a good day with Dillon. I don't know if he knew it was his birthday, but I do know he understood something special was happening with him today. He seemed to enjoy being the center of attention (typical 4 year old!)
Enjoy the pictures and thank you to everyone who wished him a Happy Birthday!
4 comments:
Aww, happy birthday, Dillon!!! That was very sweet, Tiffany! I enjoyed all of the pictures, and I'm glad to see that Jay enjoyed Dillon's cupcakes for him. :)
We loved seeing all the pictures, videos, and the update. We especially enjoyed hearing Dillon coo when you sang Happy Birthday to him. Jay you will get to blow out more fire on the 29th on your birthday and see Mommy blow out lots of fire on her birthday next week. Love, Grandpa and Grandma K.
Wow, he's gotten so big! He has changed so much since I saw him last. He seems so much more responsive than he was 18 months ago...wow! You are doing such a good job with him, Tiffany. You can tell that he knows you and is so responsive to you and Josiah in the video...neat! :)
haha.How sweet,
Dillion is so lucky to have parents like you.
And Jay is so cute blarring something at the end~
Jason.
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