Daddy's turn

Greetings everyone. I’m taking my turn at blogging, hopefully it won’t be a let down compared to Brandy’s writing.

Brandy is incredibly busy getting Ben’s new schedule rolling on top of getting geared up for her fall shows with Brandy Originals.

Ben’s busy fall schedule includes two schools (2nd year at LEAPS and starting pre-K3 at 1st Presbyterian), gymnastics, speech, lots of 1-1 therapy and nightly wrestling with dad! In addition we are continuing work with Dr. Jepson & Krisgsman at the Thoughtful House in Austin plus testing some new therapies with our friends at CARD. The chemistry experiment on Ben continues with on the biomedical front and our little guy continues to make amazing progress. He has strung several really good weeks of behavior, attention and FUN together. Today we rode bikes, shot off model rockets spent some time at both of dad’s favorite stores Home Depot and Lowe’s. Carrying on lots of conversations along the way. There is no doubt to me that Brandy’s never ending efforts with doctors, schools, therapists and parent groups is one of the critical reasons Ben is where he is. Thanks to my parents, we’re able to also enjoy date nights and are able to continue to grow our relationship.

To catch everyone up on our latest family happenings… We just got back from a great vacation to Orlando, FL with my parents and brother and sister-in-law. Ben’s first trip to see “Mickey the Mouse” was very successful. We’re very thankful to the folks at Disney World for their efforts to accommodate kids with special needs; it made the day amazing for all of us. Ben’s favorite ride was Dumbo (where he got to control the height of his flying Dumbo), but he also loved going down the 52’ drop on Splash Mountain. We also enjoyed a fun weekend at Lake Eufaula where Paw-Paw tried to knock dad and Ben off a new tube behind the boat. The only success was making Brandy and Nana sick from all the turns. Day 2 was a different story as the ladies and Ben stayed on shore, needless to day I drank half the lake. Brandy later told me that Dan would get on the walkie-talkie and say “watch this” about 10 seconds before a significant crash.

Ben’s become hilarious and very mischievous. I love it – a little bit like his old man! He is a ton of fun to be around. He and I play lots of chase, have tickle fights nightly, wrestle and other guy stuff. But we also hit golf balls, play legos, trains and catch (sort-of).

I hope the change of pace was good for you all. I’ve enjoyed this so I may have to do it in another 6 months. Ohh – I’ve included one of my more recent favorite pictures with the little guy.

Take care,
Ryan