Yesterday, Brendan got lucky. There was enough rain, a few accidents on the freeways, and some construction that all combined to make traffic a nightmare in the morning. We could not make it all the way to the hospital downtown in time for his appointment, so it was rescheduled. We spent a ton of time in the car for nothing, but at least there was this beautiful rainbow to see!

Then Brendan had speech therapy. His therapist was excited about a new puppet that helps a child visualize tongue positions to make sounds. (He is working on K’s and G’s as well as L’s). I must have made the same look when I saw this thing. 🙂

It was actually cute and useful.

Today, we took Gramma to the Wildlife World Zoo way out on the west side of town. They have added some really cool new features and exhibits. Penguins!

They have had some large aquariums for several years, but much of these buildings were closed for renovations.

Trevor was in love with the sting ray petting tank. He got to feed them some shrimp too.

Brendan really touched the sting rays!

Next stop, Lory feeding time! We were in a big aviary with about 50 of these little parrots flying everywhere. The zookeeper provides some rules and a bucket of apples and then it is a free-for-all. Some people had 15 parrots on their arms and head at one time. The boys were super excited!

Brendan’s little transitions glasses are working so well for him, they look cute too!

After parrots, there was the regular petting zoo.

Tortoise petting too!

A little time on the big playground, and we were ready to head out.

Trevor missed school today, but it was good to have an entire day with no appointments!

The boys’ checkup went fine this morning, but four immunizations means one in each limb. Trevor went to school this afternoon and seems to be doing just fine.
Brendan bucked like an undefeated bronco and his shots didn’t go in so easily. His little legs are so super sore, he couldn’t even stand up tonight.

When I dropped off Trevor, I picked up his first ever school pictures! The school and photographer was kind enough to let Brendan come in to get a picture too. These expressions are exactly the reason I have developed my studio at home for taking the boys’ portraits! My picture purchase included a copyright release for online use, so here they are!

Brendan suffered through Day 1 of “doctors week”. Today he had his endoscopy at the ENT’s office. It was just as horrific to Brendan as I imagined it would be, and three people had to hold him down. It was over quickly.

The good bad news is that the doctor could not find anything wrong. He scoped through his nose and down his throat and looked as his vocal cords. The doctor said that they looked beautiful. He removed the trach and ran the scope through the stoma and looked in his upper airway. It looked great too. There is no explanation as to why Brendan has so much difficulty without the trach in.

So going forward, Brendan’s ENT is going to have to consult with other doctors. He will present Brendan’s case at his next conference. He will consult with the cardiologists. Brendan’s next appointment isn’t until January 4th. So we are back in “wait and see” mode.

Brendan’s reward for his tortures today – his new transforming remote control batbot. He has already told BatBot that it is his best friend.

Trevor spent the afternoon with Gramma playing toys and baking real cakes. It was nice for Bill to be able to come with me for this appointment. Doctors week continues with the boys’ four-year wellness checkup with their pediatrician and FOUR immunizations!! The boys will be mad at me. Wednesday is a GI follow up.

Where did November come from?