And so the streak continues!  I thought I would do a guest post tonight to give Brad a little break.  Need to warn you my writing is definitely not as good and I had no idea how difficult this is!

To keep the streak alive today I decided to change it up and rode my bike.  Brad was nice enough to set it up with the trainer last night so it was all ready to go.  It worked out perfectly because it rained here all day and wasn't a nice night for a run or walk.  As I was riding I was thinking to myself about the last time I had actually been on my bike.  I couldn't believe it was almost 2 years ago-right after I had done the Ironman.  It is crazy how much things have changed since then.

Noah was up very early this morning- 5 AM to be exact- and he was rearing to go.  Brad got up and did his exercises with him and then it was off to work/daycare.  Noah had a busy day at daycare playing with all his little friends and then physical therapy with Sandy this afternoon.  Currently he sees Sandy 2 days a week for physical therapy.  She has been working a lot with him on increasing his awareness of his right side and he seems to be noticing it more and more each day.  Yesterday as I was putting him to bed he was just holding his right hand out in front of him and staring at it.  He would move it slightly and then grab it with his left hand to check it out.  He even reached for my shirt a few times which made me smile.  I love watching him discover new things and always wonder what is going through his little head with each new discovery. These moments remind me that although he has had a stroke he is still a little boy who needs time to explore the world around him and we need to give him time to "let him be."

Since getting Noah's diagnosis 6 weeks ago I think it has been hard to not always try and encourage him to use his right side.  I find myself constantly putting toys in his right hand and helping him reach for things with his right arm.  I have dove in to trying to schedule all of his PT and OT appointments and find time for his daily stretches and exercises with us.  I have made it my mission to make sure he gets the services he needs and as much help as he can.  It is important-don't get me wrong- that we do these things for him but there also needs to be balance.  It's hard because when you find out your child has had a stroke you feel so helpless and want to cling to anything you can have control over.  I guess that's what I have started to do and I need to remind myself every now and then to take a step back.  Noah needs time to just be Noah and I need to make sure he gets it.  Looking forward to tomorrow and Mommy and Noah day!