Settling in . . .

Phew! We are finally catching our breath and settling into a new normal! I don't think I have shared our graduation photo from 4 Paws yet:

That was quite a day-- Abbott and Mike passed the public access test, we packed up the hotel, filled out gobs of paperwork, and visited with lots of special guests at graduation. Abbott's foster mom, Beth, and her boyfriend came to celebrate with us and the Miami University branch of the 4 Paws foster program came bearing goodie-bags for all the children. It was super-sweet and a wonderful capstone to two weeks of hard work and growth and community-building.

We were very fortunate to have Mike's mom with us for week two of training, and she and Abbott also hit it off!

Since we have come home, we have begun establishing some routines for Abbott and Silas. Abbott knows when it's mealtime and gets excited when he sees Si amble over to scoop the food into the dish. Si loves to help groom Abbott.

Abbott seems to like living with us-- especially the fenced back yard! He really gets galloping back there, which makes Si laugh and laugh! Abbott also seems to enjoy going to school with Si, and that feeling is mutual. Abbott has been wonderful riding the bus and staying on his "place" mat during class time. He is doing a great job learning to take commands from his school handler. Here are the boys waiting for the bus:

Here is Abbott on the bus-- he found a soft place to rest his head (Si's backpack!).

And here is Abbott meeting some friends at school:

As you can tell, Si is still not sold on sharing his dog. LOL! We are working on this. On the upside, he is finally starting to vocalize his feelings and stand up for himself. For many years, he has let curious friends pull his glasses off his face and take toys from his hands. So, even though we will certainly be working on sharing, the fact that his passion for his pup is spurring him to self-advocate is exciting!

Another exciting and unexpected benefit has been the way Abbott's presence relaxes Si. Si is a child who stays busy for all of his 12 to 13 waking hours. His attention span is short for his age and he jumps from activity to activity if he does not have one-to-one guidance and support. Even a new episode of his favorite 30-minute cartoon does not keep him in one place. So you can imagine  my shock when, the other day, Mike had left a History Channel program on and Si sat there, massaging Abbott's ear, watching it for 15 minutes. I actually checked Si's forehead for a temperature! Then something similar happened on the 4th of July. Si and Abbott went for a boat ride. Usually this means the adults on board are having to keep one hand on Si to keep him on the seat, on his bottom. But this time, Si and Abbott sat together, and were able to quietly ride for over 20 minutes!!

I don't know how to describe how this affects our lives-- but it does, big time. Just being able to glance at your child and know that you will not need to spring into action at any second; well, I could definitely get used to that!

Abbott also was a huge help at Si's dentist appointment this week. We go twice a year, so it is always kind of new and a little scary for Si. He does not like having to lay back so far on the chair. But Abbott came to the rescue. When he heard Si start to get upset, he put his chin up on the chair where Si could see him. I gave Si some treats to feed Abbott. Si fed him the treats, Abbott's tongue tickled Si's hand, Si giggled, and the scariness of the present situation dissipated for Silas. We used that tactic about three times, and it worked every time. Si also enjoyed talking about Abbott. I am still mastering my Si-wrangling, Abbott-handling, dog-question-answering while medical information-giving technique. To be honest, it was exhausting. But once I got us all safely buckled into the car afterwards, made sure I had not left any moving parts of our caravan at the dentist's, and looked at Si smiling in the back seat, I was able to realize how much better the appointment went for Si. And that is what it's all about! I am sure in a few months I will have a system down and won't even have to think about all the little details.

As of today, Si has been seizure-free for one year! We don't know what the next year will bring, but our hope and prayer is that we can go another year without a seizure. If so, we will be able to try to wean Si off of his seizure meds. To really simplify it, seizure medications calm the brain to stop the electrical misfires (seizures). Unfortunately, this also can dull the brain's ability to respond to stimuli and develop skills in a timely manner. This can cause developmental delays. Parents of children with epilepsy have a tough situation-- do you risk a seizure, which can cause brain damage? Or do you prevent them with medications that cause learning delays? For Silas, his seizures have always returned when his medication levels in his blood got low, so there was no way we could allow those seizures to continue. He needed medication to get them stopped. Our prayer is that whatever causes his seizures would subside, so that he gets the opportunity to live medication free. We are one more seizure-free year from testing that theory. Whatever happens, it is a wonderful, wonderful feeling to know we have Abbott by his side, keeping him safe!