JB had his occupational therapy evaluation last night.
Probably 4 times during my conversation with the therapist after evaluation she said 'I found it interesting.....'. She too just sees quirky things with him. Gaps that no one can completely identify.

She said his fine motor skills are pretty good but his core muscles are weak. This was indicated by when he would get on all fours he would not hold his back up straight, but it would sag, or he would sit back on his feet instead of holding the pose. He does not like to cross his midline. When he was standing at the white board, he would draw something with his right hand on the right side of the board. However, when she asked him to draw something more towards his left shoulder, instead of reaching across his body, he would put the marker in the left hand. She noticed this several times. One time she had 3 small blocks and she put two on the floor with a small space in between then put the 3rd on top. He immediately called it a bridge. She then took it apart and asked him to do it and he could not. He knew what it looked like but could not figure out how to build it. When she asked him to build a tall tower, he consistently would build it long and not high. Just quirky things.

Then just before we left she did a reflex test. She had him on all fours and when she manipulated his head to look left, his left elbow bent. When she manipulated his head to the right, his right elbow bent (or maybe it was the opposite elbow). Either way, she called this asymmetrical tonic neck reflex. When I googled ATNR it said this is a reflex that infants have and it should disappear with a few months of birth (when they turn their head one way, their hand follows)...if it does not, it could indicate developmental delays. Well, someone has seen it at 3.5 years and guess what, he has some delays.

At one point she brought the crayons out and had him draw. She said it was interesting (again) how his whole demeanor changed. She asked if he liked playing with blocks and he said yes and then when she asked if he liked to color, he said no. She watched him color and he does not have the basics down yet...he won't put his elbow on the table and he won't bring his hand in close. She strongly recommended that they quit working with him on writing letters at school and just focus on the broad strokes. She said he is finding it very ackward to draw and therefore is really developing a dislike for it - not a good thing at 3 years old.

She said that based on his evaluation at 27 months, she found it very interesting (again) that he had continued to follow the developmental curve but he was still at the very same spot he was back then - at the very, very bottom of the normal range. She did say that had she started him in therapy back at 27 months, she did not think they would have made much progress because there were some skill sets he needed to develop.

She felt with the midline issue, the weak core muscles and the ATNR, that he needs to be in therapy once a week. So we add a 4th therapy to our schedule!
She did comment on how well his speech is coming along.

Twice a year I measure the boys. B and Jbird have both grown 1.5 inches in the last 6 months and JB has grown 2.25 inches. B seems to have leveled off on the weight gain and had not gained anything in the last year. I still am waiting for his growth spurt!

This is the last weekend for skiing. Last weekend went very well. Jbird had told me he was not going to ski because the instructors were going to take them on the big lift and he did not want to go on the big lift. However, when I talked with instructors afterward, they told me he was the one asking to go on the big lift. He did great. I went up with him after his lesson. I was following him and he brought us down a gentle sloping, winding trail. It is actually the road in the summer months and it was beautiful. There was no one else on the trail and it wound around trees and over a creek. B is doing better too, gaining more confidence. I think JR is going to take them this weekend because I need to work.

A few pictures from a recent ice cream outing. Can't wait until it is warm enough to ride bikes for ice cream.