Brody loved all the Daddy time!
Brody finished out Christmas with way too many presents. Seriously, you family members are too generous! He was done with Christmas about 9pm Christmas Eve. We headed back to KY. Jordan really wants Brody to always wake up Christmas morning in our house (who can argue with Mr. Mom). So we decided to go ahead and start that this year. Good thing Santa didn't bring too many toys! Grandma and Papa Brown took care of all that! He was worn out after all the Christmases!
One of the many Christmas outfits
Mommy and Brody at Great Aunt Bobbie's house (make you feel old to be a GREAT Aunt?)
Worn out Christmas morning
Bunny puppet from Great Aunt Penny (you feel old too?)
On the 26th, we met with another opthamologist. His name is Dr. John Franklin. He is the partner of Dr. Craig Douglas, a pretty recognized doctor in the Louisville area. We originally had an appointment set with Dr. Douglas, but he had to cancel due to being sick. Um...can you say God intervening?!? We absolutely love Dr. Franklin! He is probably in his thirties (we were looking for someone to stick with Brody). He worked in St. Louis (an area densely populated with deaf children who have cochlear implants). Although he said he had never had a child with Usher Syndrome of any type, he has worked a lot with children with Retinitis Pigmentosa (the condition associated with Usher's that causes the vision loss). He agreed with most Dr. Fishman had said. Dr. Franklin agreed that Brody's eyes look good right now. However, he did notice that the vessels in Brody's eyes were a little thin which is an early sign of RP. It's also normal for a 6 month olds vessels to be a little thin, but he's looking more closely at them. Brody behaved wonderfully again through the whole appointment! He loved all the lights Dr. Franklin had...who would have thought?!?
The next night, we got together with my parents, grandmother, sister and brother-in-law, and the Rogers Family. They have a set of twin girls who have cochlear implants and an almost 3 year old. My mom wanted my dad, Jordan, and Dany (brother-in-law) to meet the twins. When most people think of a deaf person, they think of the deaf speech or automatically think of sign language. Now, I am a teacher of the deaf. My background is in the oral approach (speech). However, I believe that some sign can be beneficial for children who are deaf. Sure you can hear with hearing aids or cochlear implants, but what happens with a profound loss when those are taken off. They are back to not being able to hear again. Sign comes in handy for bath time or swimming or the beach or when you are across a noisy room and they wouldn't have been able to hear you with perfect hearing anyway. My mom signed with my sister and I and we turned out fine :) Brody will have speech as his top priority, but we have already introduced signs to him. Okay, stepping off my soapbox and back to the Rogers.
Brody loved the girls! It was great for the guys to hear how they talk and see how they function like any normal kid. Sure when the baby was crying, the tv was on, and people were talking it was hard for them to hear...but I couldn't hear very well either! If you don't know any kids who were implanted in their early years and who have had early intervention, you are missing out! More than half you wouldn't believe we're deaf! The advances in technologies!
We spent the rest of the week/weekend at home sick. :( Bad Mom Award goes to me for not dressing Brody all warm and sticking him in the snow for a picture! We can just hope for another snow and pretend that was the first snow...right?!
Hope everyone has an amazing new year! We're cuddled on the couch taking pictures of the dog. I know you are really jealous of our lives. Here's to 2013!
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