No more babies....

Well, it's official. The Giosa household no longer has any babies! Our little adventurous, curious, and crazy, but sweet little boy turned 1 last week. I can't believe how quickly the last year has flown; more so then when we just had Aiden. And yet, the marking of his first year coming to an end is bitter sweet because we're one step closer to his surgeries and his journey into limb lengthening.

We decided to have a small party for Jonathan with our family and close friends. We celebrated with them on JPs actual birthday. We went to a local restaurant and rented a room to celebrate with pizza and cake; both boys favorites.

It was a nice afternoon and we made the party to be more like a fundraiser.  Since we have so many toys and clothes from Aiden, we asked that those who wish to give gifts either donate to Jonathan's medical fund or our Save a Limb 2013 team. We were overwhelmed by the donations and feel so blessed to have such amazing people in our lives supporting us and our little guys!







Jonathan enjoyed the party mainly because of the food, - LOL! - but he did like seeing everyone and entertaining them as well. I'm not sure if his favorite part of the day was the balloons or the cake. He had his own little "smash" cake. When we put it in front of him, he gave us a look like, "Really? You're actually going to leave this in front of me? That never happens." I must say ,I was surprised just how delicate he was "digging" in initially. He was very calm and careful, which is not Jonathan at all, but of course the more everyone egged him on, he got in to it.

After the party, we had the grandparents and Keith's Aunt Carole & Uncle Tony (who won the prize for travel the furtherest coming from FL) over to watch JP open the gifts he got. Of course, Jonathan didn't have much interest in opening the presents and at this point was wiped out so Aiden took to it like it was his birthday. All in all it was a great day celebrating our happy little boy and we thank everyone who came to the party or sent their well wishes to him!

Jonathan is doing well developmentally, too. He's now drinking milk out of sippy cups (Yay! No more bottles!!), talking more and more each day (clearest words our Daddy, Elmo, [ba]nanna, and spoon), eating a big variety of food on his own, and cruising. He has started his Early Intervention therapy which is something that he is eligible for due to his birth defect. He has a very small delay with his physical ability, but for the most part is on par with most 1 year olds. A Physical Therapist comes every other week and works on building his core muscles, his leg muscles, and helps him adjust to his AFO (ankle-foot orthodic). She said that Jonathan is doing well and he enjoys his play time with her and Daddy. They utilize toys in his environment to help him. Here is a pic where he's sitting on his riding toy where they practice getting on and off and the other is sitting on a bouncy ball to help him push himself up to try to stand alone. We're starting to notice he's not putting his weight on tables or objects he's leaning against, which is good, and every now and then he lets go and stands on his own for a second. He recently started walking holding our hands, which is something he hasn't done since getting his AFO. So, little by little, he's getting ready to walk (and then we're really in trouble! Maybe I should stop encouraging this)!
We started a facebook page recently, too, to document Jonathan's journey. It also help others who are just discovering their child's FH diagnosis. We're hoping it will encourage others who are just starting out. We're already up to 60 likes!

If you have Facebook, go to https://www.facebook.com/MilesForJP and like it! https://www.facebook.com/MilesForJp  







And lastly: big brother Aiden is growing like crazy, as well. He's definitely coming out of his shell and becoming more independent and curious. We sometimes butt heads as he thinks he knows what's best, but I'm sure that's just parenting in general. He's doing very well in school, too! We got his "report card" and had his conference and the teachers told us he's a very smart boy who is the only one in class that knows his shapes, numbers to 20, ABCs, colors, and days of the week.

Aiden is definitely our learner, he's now into telling time and learning the months of the year. He also can sight read about 50-60 words, so some nights he reads me the bedtime story. We're currently working on cutting and writing letters. Today he wrote his 3 cousins' names and his Aunt June on his own. He just needing help writing a few letters.

Its hard to believe that he's wrapping up his first year of pre-school! Next year, he's going 3 days a week to Pre-K classes and I just signed him up for soccer this spring!

Aiden is very much like Keith; he looks like him, shares his personality, and shares his passion for music and cooking. He loves to go and play Keith's instruments (or his own green guitar) and knows the words to so many songs - if not makes them up! He definitely has a creative mind. We're enjoying watching him grow into an amazing boy!