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JONAH'S HEALTH HISTORY

Friday, February 20, 2026

VERY GOOD FUNCLES AND LOOKING FORWARD TO SPRING!





Definition of Funcle: like a regular uncle only more fun.

Doesn't that sound like our dynamic duo?

Seriously, the boys are really good uncles to their nephew, especially Ben.  Ben knows how to talk and play with Baby J.  He is very appropriate with his volume level and is very gentle and careful with the baby.   

Jonah struggles in these areas, but his love for the baby is still strong!  This past week, Jonah really enjoyed Baby J because we were able to have the baby on my lap at the piano and Jonah playing his guitar.  Jonah's dream of Baby J being a member of our family band is coming true!

I love these photos.  Baby J is army-crawling now so he is getting into people's space.  The boys were watching their after school show, and the little guy came over to visit them.  I love how Ben interacts with him so sweetly.  A side of Ben we don't always see.

In regards to looking forward to the spring, we have some cool things happening.

1. Water park hotel night as our spring break!  The boys are so excited to spend the night away.  My hope is to relax in the lazy river...

2. Job Olympics: the boys will be participating for the first time both for themselves, and I believe the first time for our school district.  We are very excited for them to be able to have this opportunity.  Our school district is amazing!!!!

Click HERE for news story about Job Olympics

Monday, January 12, 2026

IT'S BEEN A WHILE!


No news is good news is the theory, and that's actually been our reality.  

I haven't posted for quite a bit because things have been running relatively smoothly with the boys.  School is going great, and they are healthy!  

Ben's dental surgery happened on 1-5, and it went very smoothly.  The mystery is somewhat solved as to why Ben all of a sudden got infection in his gums when he's always had great dental checkups.  The dentist thinks the 3 baby teeth that were refusing to come out were causing a great place for bacteria to build up.  Now that these 3 teeth have been pulled, she is very hopeful Ben's gums will get back to their usual healthy again.  That was a relief to hear.

Special Olympics basketball starts up this week.  A big commitment each week but well worth the opportunity for the boys to exercise and have fun with their friends.





Thursday, December 4, 2025

IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS


In the inside

And the outside!

We had a great Thanksgiving weekend: 
good food and great fun.

We are all decorated for Christmas, and we have a good 6 inches of snow.  Our past few Decembers have been brown.  Hopefully, this December continues to stay white.

The boys have hit their groove in school after a bit of a shaky start.  They are working hard (most of the time), and their behavior is quite appropriate at school (most of the time).

Ben and Jonah continue to love being uncles to their nephew.  And thankfully, Baby J loves his uncles!  He is very entertained watching and listening to them.  He gives them many smiles and often babbles to them.  
It's very sweet to watch.

Jonah is going to start occupational therapy outside of school.  School did not want to add OT back onto his plan so we decided we would pursue the help privately.  We are working on the goals of safety with life and job skills and how to interact safely with babies and children.  Jonah loves to show affection to Baby J, but he is not always able to grade his strength when giving hugs or touches.  We are very excited for this additional help for Jonah.

The boys start Special Olympics Basketball skills in February.  We are grateful for this time off since football and bowling/Esports are done, but we are excited for them to be able to have a winter activity.

The boys continue to be super healthy except for Ben's dental issues which will hopefully be fixed with January's surgery.  

They are strong and smart young boys- so much to be thankful for!



 

Friday, November 7, 2025

HEALTHY HEART CHECK!

Ben had is 3 year heart echocardiogram and visit with cardiologist today.  Everything continues to look great from his repair done at 18 mths old.  

The cardiologist also has no concerns for Ben’s upcoming dental surgery regarding the anesthesia.

Ben was nervous for the appointment, but he did great!!!

Friday, October 31, 2025

IT'S FALL Y'ALL

 


Annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch

Lots of excitement for our Milwaukee Brewers

Final camping trip of the year at Calumet County Park

Campsite right on the water

Great way to end our camping season!







SCHOOL DAYS

Here's what freshman year looks like so far!  The boys are focusing on academic, social, life, and job skills.

Before we get into the school day photos, I have to brag about Ben.  The boys are in the concert choir at school.  The other evening they were in the performance "Rockets on Broadway".  This involved singing and DANCING for two numbers.  Jonah, for all his love of music and dancing, actually gets stage fright and just stands there barely participating.  But Ben, to our great surprise because this doesn't really fit his personality, was up on stage singing and doing all the choreography!  Why didn't I video this you might ask?  Because I was so shocked it was happening that I barely got a photo of it.  I was so happy and proud of Ben to see him working hard and putting forth so much effort.  It was a really fun night!

Now the school stuff:



Cleaning the Fitness Center


Doing laundry for the Fitness Center


Learning to make their own lunches




 

FALL SPORTS

Fall has been busy for these two guys.  

They are two of the neatest people!
 

For fall activities for the boys, Ben participates in Special Olympics bowling.  

This is his second year of bowling.  We saw great improvement from last year.  

He is learning to keep the ball down the middle of the lane.  He is also almost completely independent while at bowling: he pays for his game, puts on his own shoes, and knows when it's his turn to bowl.  He acts very appropriate while bowling: he sits quietly as he waits for his teammates to bowl, he politely communicates to someone if they are blocking his way to get to the lane, and he even has some conversations with his teammates.  

We are so proud of him!!!!  

Ben also continues to be on the Esports team at school, but I don't have any photos of him- I don't want to be that kind of mom :)

Right down the middle


Jonah is on the junior varsity football team.  He attended one practice each week, suited up for home varsity games to cheer on his team, "played" in the home junior varsity games on Monday nights, and joined his team at then end of game and say "good game" to the opposing team.  

His participation in a game is just like last year for 7th/8th grade football.  At the beginning of half time, one more "play" is run with Jonah getting a handoff and taking it in for a "score".  Somehow, the way is always completely clear for him to get thru :). 
 
We are very thankful for the willingness and cooperation of our coaches and players, the opposing team, and the officials for letting this happen for our guy.  

We can't say enough about our coaches and how open they have been to include Jonah on the team.    

My observation of Jonah being able to play football these past few years is that joy and happiness is not just experienced by Jonah and our family.  I have had coaches, parents, fans, officials, and Jonah's teammates tell us that it is so cool to come alongside Jonah and help him play football.  We are very impressed by the kindness shown by Jonah's teammates.  These guys have helped Jonah with his helmet, shown him how a water bottle works, guide him on what to do during the national anthem, play catch with him on the sidelines, run drills with him, and one of them may even have helped him with a runny nose.  And of course, many of the guys have danced on the sidelines with Jonah!  

It's pretty neat to see inclusion at it's best!

It's hard work sitting on the bench.


Jonah photo bombs the Homecoming Court presentation

Watching his team play during the first half

Coaches giving final instructions to Jonah before the half time play

The way is clear to the end zone

Celebrating and dancing in the end zone 
with his teammates