Can he hear yet?

I went to my sisters house to get Jason's picture taken. She is our family photographer, she does a GREAT job. And of course, Jason is a hard subject and I figure if anyone will work hard to get a good picture, it's his own Aunt.

While I was getting him ready to go outside, my 5 year old niece Maren asked, "Mel, can Jason hear yet?"

I think a lot of people would probably think she was being weird or rude. But my sweet Maren, really just loves her cousins. She wants what she feels is best for everyone. I told her, he can hear ok in most circumstances. I also told her that I'm really not sure what Jason can, and can't hear so we are getting his hearing tested.

I finally told Jason it was time to go play outside. Maren looked at Jason, and then looked at me very seriously and said, "He can hear you." With a curt little nod she followed him outside.

Gotta love the five year old mind!!!

Bitter-Sweet

I had one of those moments today. I'm so grateful for the place and the time that we live in. Our kids have enough issues that we have so many more advantages then we would have 100 years ago. We knew right away that Jason was possibly going to have hearing problems.

However, denial is a cruel thing!! I think we as parents have been pretty darn good with dealing with the concerns and challenges that our kids have brought us, but again I was choked up and had mixed emotions this afternoon.

Jason woke up from his nap cranky and wanting Mama. I got him out of his crib, grabbed his hearing aid and he fell back to sleep in my bed for another hour. I put his Aid on my bed side table this time and then I sat on the floor and watched a little TV waiting for the boy to wake up. Almost as soon as he woke up, he rolled off my bed with his hearing aid in hand. He brought it over to me and put it in my hands.

The progress that I see is so exciting, but yet it breaks my heart. Don't we all hope that something will just make the problem go away? Maybe, just maybe it's his ear infections and filled ears. Maybe, he will grow out of it.........maybe all will just miraculously fall into place and everything will be well........

As you all know, this isn't how life works. I'd love to be able to fix this problem, but I guess that is what the hearing aid does for Jason. It fixes the problem.

Jason's Progress

I took the kids to the park yesterday for the Hill Family Reunion. Jason was playing on the playground and I was helping him hang from a bar and noticed that his aid was coming out. I had my hands full so I wasn't going to fix it for a minute. As soon as I put him on the ground it fell out. He looked at it, and tried to put it back in. Which I was so excited about but didn't want to make a fuss, just in case he got the wrong idea. Then he looked at it again, looked at me, and tried to put it back in again. So I asked him if he wanted his hearing aid back in and he turned his back to me and tilted his head so I could put it back. Not that it is always going to be this way, but YAY!!!!!!!!!!