Bubbles, bubbles, bubbles

We brought home some bubbles from Quinn's Gymboree class. My goodness, they are the best. After a couple minutes, Quinn and his god brother Jack were in a bubble cave.

Easy, cheap and fun entertainment!

Denied!

We had hoped to have Quinn's brachial plexus surgery done by Dr. Nath in Houston. But our insurance company has denied that request. They did, however, quite generously offer us four good alternatives. If anyone knows anything about any of these BPI programs or the docs there I sure would appreciate it.

Dr. Peter Waters, Boston Children's Hospital
Dr. Scott Kozin, Shriners, Philadelphia
BPI team, Mayo Clinic, Rochester
BPI team, Cincinnati Children's Hospital

Thanks for any info you may have!

I knew this day was coming but...

Last week I had to go to New York for a board meeting of an organization I'm deeply involved with. The best part was I got to visit a family we traveled to China with and witness the amazing transformation of their beautiful daughter, who is so changed in 10 months it's just incredible. The worst part is we had to use the nanny service for the first time. Two half days, two different nannies. My goal was to have him in family care only for six months and we made to to 10, so I should be happy, but still.

Quinn, little soldier that he is, did well with both women. I was slightly panicked from afar and kept hoping everything was going okay.

Does this get easier? Will we ever think date night is a good idea??

Chinese food!

I'm learning to cook Chinese food, with a goal of having at least one Chinese meal a week. This was my first success: rice noodles with tofu and vegetables (and lots of rice vinegar). Quinn, a true Beijing noodle boy, dug right in!

Graduation day nears

Since arriving home, Quinn has been in various types of therapy for his various developmental delays. Now home 10 months, he is starting to catch up to his chronological age.

First to go was occupational therapy, when the state-provided therapist said she didn't feel like she was needed anymore. Now we're looking at the end of speech therapy and physical therapy. The speech therapist said Quinn is approaching normal for a late talker, and she may start cutting back from weekly to twice-monthly sessions. The physical therapist said Quinn's shoulder is as good as it's going to get without surgery (we're still waiting to hear what the insurance company is willing to pay for) and she's happy with his physical development except that he stands with his feet too far apart, making his ankles roll inward. So she's going away for a month, during which we're supposed to put him in a tight little skirt made of an ace bandage for a while each day to force his legs together. He loves putting on MaMa's shoes and sunglasses, let's see how he feels about skirts!