2013

One year ago we were thrown into the world of special needs parenting, and we haven't looked back!  So here is the highlights of 2013!

*Isaiah had his first evaluation at the Center for Disabilities and Development in January.
*Isaiah started therapy with Iowa's early intervention services.
*Brandon changed the computer password to prevent me from staying up all hours of the night googling possible causes for Isaiah's delays :)
*I decided to take up running again as an outlet for my frustration and worry.
*Eli celebrated his 3rd birthday with a wonderful "mighty machine and onion" themed party.
*Isaiah started crawling at 16 months!
*Isaiah was diagnoses with Microcephaly, a secondary condition in which the brain/head is significantly smaller than average.  He also added a handful of other dx to his list.
*Noah kicked butt in Taekwondo and got a first place trophy to prove it.
*Isaiah started eating solid foods, and at 19 months we were able to take him off formula.
*At 18 months Isaiah started pulling up to stand!
*At 19-20 months Isaiah started taking a few cruising steps along furniture
*Noah learned to read!!!
*I ran a half  marathon...then a full marathon...and never felt better!
*Brandon worked his butt off, and I love him to pieces for it.
*Noah and Isaiah celebrated their 5th, and 2nd birthdays, star wars style
*we added private therapy to the list of things we make Isaiah do ;)
*Isaiah started walking!!!
*we took the most beautiful little baby girl in through Safe Families.  http://www.safe-families.org
*Isaiah went through testing up the wazoo, and we've decided that unless there is a medical need for more, we are done trying to find out what is going on with him, and just let it be.  This was incredibly difficult for me to let go of, but he deserves to be done.
*at 25.5 months, Isaiah's word count came to about 20!
*I came to terms with the fact Isaiah may never catch up...and it's going to be absolutely okay!

This year was filled with tears, joy, worry and hope.  2013 will always be a memorable year for our family.  While I don't like to admit this, it took me a good chunk of the year to come to terms with how life for the Mize household may look in the future, and let go of things I'll never be able to change or control.  But I'm a better mom for it, and a happier person because of it.  We have 3 unique boys, all with completely different strengths and weaknesses, and we wouldn't change a thing about them.