Guest Contributor

Now that the house is done, I've decided to mix it up a bit with the posts. Soon enough, there will be a new baby in the picture and I'm sure that you will all insist on regular updates on my new Sack of Sugar. I better take advantage of the lull in Cloud Family excitement and allow a budding documentary maker a place to showcase his talents.

Julian has been in a few posts, both incidentally and as part of the post. He and his family are a part of our heart family. You know, the folks that may not have been born into your family, but you choose to add because they are just so wonderful. I "interned" as a granny with him and his older brother and refined my grandmothering skills on them, with pretty good results. He is hysterically funny, completely charming and incredibly smart (remember, I am an unbiased non-family member and completely objective). He also happens to be profoundly deaf and a Type 1 diabetic. He handles both with aplomb and his parents have done an incredible job teaching and modeling that he doesn't have disabilities, only differences. He has bilateral cochlear implants (the first at 4 and the other about a year later) and wears an insulin pump. He is oral for the most part, but uses an interpreter at school, where he is in 3rd grade, and in noisy environments. He also signs when he wants to ask me for something and he doesn't want his mom to hear. :)

The video is one he did about his bicycle. He doesn't like to be videotaped but enjoys making these short documentaries about what interests him. There is another about his "herman" crabs that I'll post later. If you don't mind, please post a comment here about what you think. He would really get a kick out of it. Thanks and enjoy the show.