Got any gum?

For weeks, Riley has been saying that he wants bubble gum but then appeased himself by chewing on green beans, grapes or cereal and saying it was gum - which I was very happy about.  Then yesterday, a friend gave him gum in a goodie bag and he pleaded to try it.  So I gave in and let him try it, supervised of course.  Here is what happened:

And then one minute later, this happened:

I think we'll wait a while to try again...

Safta & Zadie come to visit!

This past week, Safta and Zadie came to visit us!  The timing worked out well that they were able to come to Pittsburgh the week between camp and school where the boys were out of the JCC and had lots of free time to visit.

I am lucky that Chris was able to take the week off of work too, so he was in charge of the kids, the grandparents and the daily activities.  They filled the week with visits to the zoo, the Science Center, Mt. Washington, a ride on the Gateway Clipper and more.  I was able to spend time with the family after work and for dinner time and it was nice to be able to catch up with Linda and Claude.

Because Safta and Zadie know how much Riley likes convertibles - and since they weren't able to bring theirs with them, they upped their game and got Riley his own ride - a BMW at that!  He drives it in the driveway and he is learning cool tricks like 3-point-turns.  His car even has its own parking spot in the garage!

Riley was so happy with the visit and Asher was really excited to meet his grandparents.  Thanks for taking the time to visit us Safta and Zadie! We're already looking forward to our visit to Visalia in November!

It's helmet time!

Well, the day has finally arrived for Asher to get his helmet!  I have been waiting for this day with mixed emotions as there is no way to know for sure if we made the right decision to move forward with a helmet, but at the end of the day, I am telling myself that it is better to do small and temporary things now for long-term results.

Asher has a mild/moderate case of plagiocephaly (or flat head) and the helmet is a tool that we will be using to even out his head and make it perfect and round.  We have been doing other things to help prevent more flattening, like physical therapy and positioning, but they only help so that it doesn't get any worse.  The flay spot has been there since he was born because he always favored one side over the other, especially when sleeping.

I have been worried that he would be uncomfortable and hot but when he was fitted today, he didn't really seem to care that much that he had a new accessory.  We are easing into it with one-hour chunks, then two, four and eight, working our way up to wearing it 23 hours a day - all but bath time and cleaning time.  In theory, he will wear it for a few months, up until he is one.

I have a whole plan on how to decorate the helmet but it takes time and planning, so stay tuned for the final outcome.  In the meantime, take a look at that cute helmet headed kid who doesn't seem to have a care in the world!