Diary of Hope

Warm Water Therapy Goodbye

2011-12-12T21:51:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned in my previous post, Caden received Warm Water Therapy once/week at Easter Seals with Erik for more than a year. We originally started him in the summer of 2010 but after a couple months, we took a break. At the time, Caden was having a really hard time adjusting to the water and to Erik. So, we decided to take a three-month break and come back to it again to see if things were better.

We started back up right around Thanksgiving that year. It got off to a little bit of a rocky start and I wasn't sure if Caden would “warm” up to being in the water or not. But after a few sessions, he seemed to settle in just fine and seemed to really enjoy it. I was very relieved because it meant I didn't have to get in the water with him anymore which was a huge relief to me!

Caden continued to receive warm water therapy up until the last week we lived in Sacramento. He really looked forward to it and would talk about it on days we weren't there. When we arrived at the pool, I had to hold him on my lap to keep him from running right into the water before Erik was ready for him. What a wonderful thing to see!

He has come so far and I am so grateful for all the opportunities he received when he needed them most. We can never say thank you enough to all the wonderful therapists in the early intervention program! They have changed our lives forever by giving Caden the help when he needed it most and when his brain was the most receptive and adaptable.

The pool where Caden had his water therapy

Just chillin' with a little help from the noodle (and I don't mean Erik!) ;)

Now he's riding the noodle like a horse

Getting ready to take some toys to another location to work

I love this picture of jumping in action! :)

Thank you for all the fun in the pool Erik!

PT Final Sessions

2011-12-12T21:50:00.000-08:00

December 12 was the end of the last of Caden's therapies: physical therapy. Caden started receiving PT when he was just about 6 months old at Bright Start Therapies with Miss Julia. Right after Caden turned two years old, Julia left Bright Start and we needed to find a new therapist. It was really tough for us because we really loved Julia and she had helped Caden progress so much. The fear of the unknown is what made me nervous. But, we got Erik at Easter Seals and he did a fantastic job with Caden!

For almost a year, Erik was Caden's PT and he helped him improve significantly during that time! We saw Erik twice/week because we had him once for regular PT in the clinic and then once for warm water therapy in the pool. I'll get into that in the next post though.

Caden handled the transition between therapists very well, and he did so well that he officially graduated out of the program! He would have aged out of the program on his third birthday, but since we moved a few weeks before that, he graduated at that time. Thankfully he is now “age-appropriate” in this area as well. This is so hard to believe since he only started walking about three weeks before he turned two years old! It's amazing how much changes in only one year!

Check out the video below. I tried to show you a variety of the things Caden worked on during his PT sessions. :)

Easter Seals where Caden had clinic and water PT

The door to the PT clinic

Working on the balance beam

Jumping in the spider jumper - so fun to watch!

Working on more balance on the balance board
while throwing bean bags into the container

Ready... Set... Jump! off the slide!

Thank you for all your energy and efforts, Erik!
We are so thankful for you!

Kelly

2011-12-12T19:40:00.000-08:00

Shortly before moving from Sacramento, I was able to meet a friend for lunch. Kelly is so incredible and such a blessing in my life. I first met her many years ago at the doctor's office many where I went for my yearly exam. She was my nurse practitioner. However, even from the first visit, we had a connection and started a friendship.

She became even more special to me when I was pregnant with Caden. We had our “big” 18-week ultrasound where we were told Caden wouldn't live due to so many abnormalities they could see in utero. When Kelly saw some of the reports come through from the perinatologist office after our appointment there, she called me immediately. It meant so much to me that she would take the time to call me when it wasn't directly her responsibility.

She asked me what the next step was and I told her we were getting a fetal echocardiogram. She asked if there was anything she could do for me, I told her I didn't think so, aside from praying for us. But when I mentioned that I would be going to the echo alone because Greg had some meetings he couldn't change, Kelly immediately said she would meet me at the cardiologist's office so she could be with me. It was on her day off and she was willing to spend that time with me at the doctor's office to help me through a very tough appointment. That is a true friend!

Over the last three years, she has continued to be a huge support for me. We don't get to see each other or talk to each other very often. But I know she is praying for us all the time. And, when we first brought Caden home from the hospital after spending 8 weeks there, she brought dinner to my house. She helped hold Caden and entertain Kyler so I could get some much-needed rest. It was such a blessing to me!

I was so glad when we were able to coordinate our very busy schedules and have lunch together before I moved away. I am going to miss her a lot but I know we will see each other again in the near future because she and her husband own some property in the Pacific Northwest where they spend time every year. I am looking forward to that already! Thank you Kelly for being such a blessing in my life!

Bayside Church Special Needs Kids Christmas Party

2011-12-11T14:25:00.000-08:00

On December 11, I took Kyler and Caden to the Bayside Church Special Needs Kids Christmas Party. It is an event put on by the Bayside Church. Throughout the year, the church has a respite program on the first Friday night of every month. During this night, they provide a staff of volunteers and therapists who are willing to watch these special needs kids (and their siblings) in order to give the parents a night off. It is a wonderful program and I am sad we were only able to take advantage of it a couple times. This is such a great ministry for families of kids with special needs!

They held a Christmas party that I thought the kids would enjoy and we were able to attend that. They provided appetizers and drinks, they had a photographer taking family pictures at no charge. They had Santa Claus for the kids that wanted to sit on his lap (neither or my boys would have anything to do with that!). And, they had a cookie-decorating table. That was where Kyler wanted to go!

Caden wasn't too impressed with being at the party for the most part. But Kyler enjoyed himself... mostly because he got to drink hot chocolate and decorate and eat cookies. :) But I am glad we went and got to enjoy the spirit of the holidays.

Caden was being goofy for the camera :)

Kyler enjoying decorating his cookies

The finished product: he LOVED the sprinkles!

Getting ready to devour the cookie

Grandpa & Grandma Cutting

2011-12-10T23:30:00.000-08:00

We have been so incredibly blessed to have my parents help during our move process. Preparing to move to another state, while my husband is already gone working in that state, was really hard. Especially when I have a child who is as high maintenance as Caden! I was so busy going from therapy to therapy with him that I could barely maintain our daily schedule, let alone make any headway in terms of packing and getting ready to move.

Thankfully my parents were willing to give us about 7 weeks of their time in all. They spent 5 weeks with us from the middle of October until Thanksgiving and then they went back home for a short time before I called them out of desperation to come back and help me again for another couple weeks. They were invaluable as we got ready to move. My mom helped with Caden's feedings, and getting him to/from therapy. My dad helped drive Kyler to/from school as well as doing lots of work in our yard and around our house. And, my dad even helped with feeding Caden also. I might say that is no easy task to do his feedings. So I am very grateful for the help!

And if that weren't enough, they drove one of our vehicles to Walla Walla packed with things we would need for a few weeks while we waited to get into our house. Because of this, we were able to fly up and not have to do the LONG drive with two small children! What a huge blessing!

Grandpa Charles feeding Caden breakfast

All dressed up and ready to go to church

My dad working hard trimming our tree in the backyard

Thank you Mom and Dad for all you have done for us! We are so grateful for your time and energy. We love you!

Drive-Thru Nativity

2011-12-10T21:42:00.000-08:00

The last few years, our family has made a tradition of going to one of the local churches to enjoy the drive-thru nativity they put on. This year my parents were in town and came along with us. Unfortunately Greg hadn't made it home from Walla Walla in time to join us. But we enjoyed it without him.

I dressed the kids in their pajamas and loaded them up in the car. The church provides a CD to listen to while you drive from scene to scene. They have actors and animals portraying various parts of Jesus' life. The CD explains each scene and then you drive on to the next one. The church has been doing this for many years and they get quite a turnout!

Tina

2011-12-09T21:22:00.000-08:00

Our last session with Tina, Caden's Child Developmental Specialist, was on December 9. Again, another reason to call for tears. Tina has been with Caden longer than any other therapist. She started working with him when he was only four months old! There was a two-month period of time since then when we had another specialist, but otherwise, he has had Tina for longer than he can remember! I know I keep saying this, but these people seriously become a part of our family.

Tina came to our house every week for awhile and then it was twice/month. When you spend that much time with someone you really get to know them and appreciate what they do. They do not go into the field of early intervention for the money! They do it because they love kids and they love helping them. It is truly amazing!

Tina's last session was very fun because Caden made a Christmas wreath with her help. I'm not sure I got a picture of the finished product, but I have pictures and videos of it in the making. :)

We miss you already Tina! Caden keeps telling me he “misses Tina.” :( If that doesn't break your heart, I don't know what does. He was very attached to all his therapists so it's hard for him to understand why he doesn't see them anymore. Even if we didn't move, his therapies would have ended on his birthday on January 9. So time was running out regardless of our move to Washington.

Thank you for everything Tina!

Stacking pegs

"Like my bling?"
"I use lacing string if you want to make your own..." :)

Making a Christmas wreath - so fun!

Scooping and pouring beans...
and then dumping them all out on the floor!

We love you Tina!

Goodbye Dr. Van Gundy :(

2011-12-08T13:19:00.000-08:00

December 8 was a very sad day. Caden had his final appointment with his pediatric cardiologist, Dr. Van Gundy. This man has been our kid's cardiologist since Kyler was less than two months old. He was amazing to us throughout my pregnancy with Caden. He personally performed every single one of my fetal echos. He supported us though one of the most challenging times of our lives as we struggled to decide where to deliver Caden and where he would have his heart repaired.

This man is responsible for saving Kyler's life during a heart catheterization. He ballooned open Kyler's pulmonary valve so it could work properly. Without this intervention, Dr. Van Gundy said Kyler would have died in less than a year. It's hard to even imagine because he showed no outward signs of anything being wrong. That's the way it goes with many congenital heart defects. If it wasn't for modern technology, Kyler probably would have died one day and we would have had no idea why. Thankfully there are people like Dr. Van Gundy who learn how to intervene and save these children's lives!

If it wasn't for the caring and compassion he showed us during our pregnancy with Caden, I don't know what we would have done. We had other specialists telling us Caden wouldn't survive and we should terminate the pregnancy. But Dr. Van Gundy said since we chose to not end the pregnancy, he would help us make the best choices possible by giving us as much information as he could. We felt he gave us some very unbiased recommendations on where we should deliver which is how we ended up at Stanford.

I cannot say enough good things about this man! To have to say goodbye to him was VERY hard! He has taken such good care of both my boys. And he has provided a safe place for me and Greg to ask questions and make important decisions. Knowing that I will have to find a new doctor is a little scary to me. I know both my boys are stable right now in terms of heart issues, but anyone we go to hasn't been with us since the beginning like Dr. Van Gundy has. I know it will be fine after I adjust. But this change is a tough one for me.

Thank you so much for everything you have done for Kyler and Caden!
We will miss you Dr. Van Gundy! Moving away is no fun...

1st Dental Cleaning

2011-12-08T12:59:00.000-08:00

December 7 was a big day in the life of Caden! He had his very first dental cleaning. He had an exam in September so I could assess how well he would handle having someone poking around in his mouth. He did so well that I decided to schedule a cleaning for him. This is a big deal for a child with so many oral aversion issues!

We are so lucky to have a good friend who is a pediatric dentist. He goes to our church and Caden has spent some time around him so he feels more comfortable with him than with some people. And we had already been to the dentist office recently so that was familiar as well. The deck was stacked in our favor and everything went off without a hitch.

Caden did phenomenal while getting his teeth cleaned. I think the biggest thing was that they didn't force him to be in the chair. They put a pillow on their lap and Caden sat on my lap and leaned back onto their pillow. He felt safe and comfortable with me holding him and the cleaning went so well. The Dr. Chris came to do another exam and that went well also. We will miss their office!

Opening wide to his cleaning!

Dr. Chris doing his exam

Caden is saying "cheeeeese" while Dr. Chris gives him a hug :)

Speech

2011-12-07T21:36:00.000-08:00

On December 7, after almost two years, Caden graduated from his speech and language therapy. He is now considered to be “age-appropriate” and even advanced in some areas. Over the past two years, Caden has had several speech therapists. He received speech therapy twice/week for most of that time. At the end, his last two therapists were Fernan and Karen. I am including a video of each of them with Caden during his last sessions so you can see how much fun he has with each of them.

Thank you so much not only to Fernan and Karen, but also to his other therapists, especially Jeni and Anita who were with him longer than most of the others. We can't thank you enough for all your efforts in getting him to be caught up in his speech. It is truly amazing the progress he made in the last couple months especially.

Karen and her husband, Dave, who own the clinic where Caden received PT for almost two years, and where he received all of his Speech and OT, became like family to us. Not only did Caden spend most of his three years of life going there, Kyler also received speech therapy there as well. So, for more than four years, we have been going to Bright Start Therapies. They truly fell in love with Caden and looked forward to seeing him every session. Dave probably saw Caden more than any other person besides his own family because for awhile we were going to Bright Start 4-5 days/week! I am so incredibly grateful for them and all they have done for our family, especially Caden. We miss you so much! It is very bittersweet. :(

The first video is his last session with Fernan on December 6.

This second video is his last session with Karen on December 7.

I love the engaging eye contact in this picture!

Thank you Fernan!

Caden looks so serious...

Caden with Dave, one of his favorite people in the world!

I love how Karen and Dave were like the
paparazzi with Caden, taking pictures like
crazy during his last speech session.
It shows me how much they love him!

Karen and Dave, thank you for everything!
Thank you for loving my boy so much and for giving
him the best possible start to his life.
We miss you! Caden keeps asking for "Dave, stickers!"

OT

2011-12-06T22:29:00.000-08:00

December 6 was a very sad day for us as Caden had his final session of Occupational Therapy with Monica. For just over two years, she has worked with Caden on his fine motor delays and sensory issues. We are so blessed to have her in our lives! She is in the field of pediatrics because of her passion for working with children and it shows! She truly loves what she does and Caden received the benefit of that.

Thank you so much Monica for everything you have done for Caden and me. You taught me so many ways to better help my son and I am so grateful to you. Thank you! You became a part of our family and we looked forward to every session with you. Caden continues to ask about Monica and it makes me so sad to tell him that we won't be going to therapy anymore. :(

Here are some pictures and a video montage of our last couple sessions.

On the bolster swing

So sweet!

Intern Betsy encouraging Caden to pull himself out while Monica squishes him

Caden doing a snowman art project working on fine motor skills

Thank you for everything Monica! We love you and miss you already!

Lifelong Friends

2011-12-06T21:18:00.000-08:00

On December 5, Kyler had to say goodbye to one of his lifelong friends, Ben. These boys have grown up together and have been part of a playgroup since they were just a few weeks old. It was hard to say goodbye, but we hope it will just be “see you later.” In the past couple years, we haven't been able to make it to playgroups on a regular basis, but whenever our boys would get together, they had so much fun and loved every minute of it!

We will miss you Ben, younger brother Jon, and mom Victoria also!

(L-R): Caden, Kyler, Jon, and Ben

Julia

2011-12-05T21:49:00.000-08:00

After we got down the mountain after our church retreat, we took a detour and visited Caden's former PT, Julia. She really wanted to see Caden again before we moved so she could see how much progress he had made. She was his PT from the time he was just a few months old until right after her turned 2. At that point, she took another job and we changed our PT services to Erik at Easter Seals.

Thankfully I have been able to keep in touch with Julia as she was such an important part of Caden's life. And, I consider her to be a true friend. We got to know each other fairly well during our many hours of therapy with Caden. It was really nice to be able to spend some time with her before moving.

Thank you Julia for all you did for Caden! We can't thank you enough!

Julia with Kyler, Nathan (her younger son), me and Caden

Julia with Evan (her older son) and Caden

Julia with Caden (and Evan peeking in on the side!) :)

Church Christmas Retreat

2011-12-04T21:40:00.000-08:00

December 3-4 was our church's annualChristmas retreat at Leoni Meadows. This is a 160-acres of beautifulland in the mountains outside of Placerville. It operates as asummer camp for kids during the summer, and used as a retreatlocation much of the rest of the year for various organizations, etc. It is so beautiful!

Greg was unable to go due to workresponsibilities in Walla Walla over the weekend. So I was reallyexcited when a good friend of mine agreed to come with me to helpwith my boys. I don't think I would have attempted an overnightexcursion on my own. I was really looking forward to the weekendsince we have been unable to attend the last three years due tochallenges with Caden. The first year we had to miss I was on bedrest with pre-term labor with Caden and couldn't risk it. The nextyear, Caden had recently been hospitalized for respiratory distressbrought on from being at elevation and we didn't want to risk havingthat happen again. And, last year I had responsibilities with theMended Little Hearts holiday party. So this was my last chancebefore we moved away and I didn't want to miss it!

My friend, Shonna, and I drove up onSaturday morning and got there just after noon. We got settled inour cabin, ate lunch, and headed out to do some exploring. We tookthe kids to the nature center where they got to do some “hands-on”learning with various things. Then, we met up with the rest of thegroup for a vespers that evening before dinner. After dinner, we allgathered together to play games in the main auditorium and have a lotof laughs. Then we migrated to the cafeteria for late-night snacksand more board games. There is lots of laughter and lots of fun onthese nights. :)

Love his new hat! Reindeer? Moose?

Not sure what Caden's silly face is about but it's awfully cute!

The kids all bundled up to go outside in the cold mountain air!

Sunday morning after breakfast, it wastime for the train ride! This camp has a small train that covers alot of ground. It takes almost an hour to take a round-trip aroundthe track. It is very fun, especially for the kids. Kyler was soexcited he could hardly stand it! Shonna and I were also in chargeof my friend's children, Brayden and Elizabeth. Kyler and Braydenare best friends and they were so excited to sit together on thetrain.

Kyler and Brayden ready for the train ride to start!

Caden and Mommy all bundled up ready for the cold ride

Elizabeth, Kyler, Brayden, Caden & Carey - Ready to go

Our friend Jon, along with Shonna and Elizabeth

Caden insisted on having his hat cover one eye and screamed if I tried to adjust it...

We got out to the halfway point on thetrack and everyone was allowed to get off the train and walk around abit. The boys were playing and having a great time. Then, as thekids were getting back on, Brayden somehow hit his ear on the metalon the back of one of the bench seats and split it open in 3 places. There were no sharp edges or anything that we can find so we are noreally sure how it happened. Brayden's ear was bleeding really badlyand Shonna thought he would need stitches. So instead of taking thetrain back, the conductor called someone to drive out and pickBrayden and Shonna up to drive them back to the lodge to his parentsso they could take him to the closest ER which was almost an houraway.

Kyler was so sad about Brayden gettinghurt that he was almost crying along in sympathy. :( And, both boyswere so sad that they didn't get to finish the train ride together. But, Brayden's parents drove him to the ER and he ended up needing 9stitches on his ear. He was so tough through the whole thing and wewere just glad he didn't get hurt more seriously!

This picture was taken right after Brayden's injury - just look at the sad look on poor Kyler's face :(

After the rest of us got back from thetrain ride, it was time for our big Christmas lunch before we headedhome. Our friends put a lot of work into this weekend, and thislunch, and it was too bad they couldn't be there to enjoy it with us. Especially since it was because they had to be in the ER. :( Butwe packed up some containers of food for them so they wouldn't missout entirely and when it was over, we took it to them at thehospital. All in all it was a great weekend. We just wish it didn'thave to end with an injury.

Caden tasting a candy cane for the first time and actually seeming to like it!

Huge thanks to Shonna for going with meso I could enjoy the retreat before we moved!

Christmas Program

2011-12-03T14:14:00.000-08:00

On Friday, December 2, Kyler's school had their Christmas program. The Kindergartener's part was right at the beginning. It was so cute and they did such a good job! There are only 6 kids in the Kindergarten class but only 5 of them participated. One of them was too scared to get up in front of everyone.

Greg was unable to be at the program, so I was really happy when one of the other Kindergarten moms said she would give me a copy of their video from that night. I really wanted Greg to be able to see how well Kyler did.

In the past, we have had problems getting Kyler to participate in these things. He will stand there and cry, throw a tantrum or just not do anything. This time around he recited the poem, he sang the song and did some of the hand motions. In my book, he did a fantastic job and I was so proud of him!

Enjoy the video!

Giving Thanks!

2011-11-26T20:38:00.001-08:00

This year on Thanksgiving, as always, I have many things to be thankful for! At the top of the list are my husband and my children. In addition to them, I am incredibly thankful for having a home to live in and food to eat. We are so blessed for Greg to have such an incredible new job. These things are only the tip of the iceburg.

For the holiday this year, we drove to Greg's parent's house in Medford, Oregon. Greg's sister and her family joined us there. It was a nice family weekend spent together. Kyler and Caden adore their baby cousin, Brody! They couldn't get enough of him. Sometimes too much; always in his face and overstimulating him. But I am glad they love him. It's very cute to see them together.

We got to enjoy the dedication of Brody at church on Sabbath. What a special occasion and yet another reason to be thankful.

We had a table overflowing with food, leaving enough leftovers to eat another full thanksgiving dinner for the next two days! Talk about abundance! I hope your thanksgiving was as wonderful as ours.

These are two of the napkin rings that Kyler made at school. Aren't they cute? :)

Thanksgiving Feast

2011-11-19T11:45:00.000-08:00

Friday, November 18, I got to help out in Kyler's classroom and attend the Thanksgiving Feast he and his classmates helped prepare for themselves and their parents. It was so much fun.

All the parents brought food items to the feast and the kids made all the decorations. After having chapel in the morning and a few “normal” school activities, we all headed into the community center room where some of the parents had gotten everything ready. It looked great!

The kids made placemats with turkeys on them, using their handprints in paint for tail feathers. They also made turkey centerpieces out of pinecones. The tail feathers were glued on and had things written on them that they were thankful for. And they made napkin rings that were absolutely adorable!

The day before all the kids had made an apple pie from scratch. They cored, peeled and cut all the apples, and made the crust. Kyler wouldn't eat any of it but I had some and it was delicious! They did a great job making it. :)

It was a very fun day and the kids did a great job with everything! Before we all ate, the kids performed a little Thanksgiving piece they had worked on followed by prayer.

Boring Heart?

2011-11-17T16:19:00.000-08:00

Thursday, November 17, Caden had anecho. At his regular cardiology appointment in October, his doctorhad some possible concerns about what might be going on. I talkedabout this in a previous post. The tech isn't allowed to tell usanything about what she sees, so we have to wait for a follow-up withDr. Van Gundy to find out if there truly is anything to be concernedabout or not.

But I have to say I was dreading theappointment because the last echo he had was really stressful. Hewouldn't hold still and was squirming around and crying and notbehaving at all. It made it really hard on me. But this timearound, I talked to him quite a bit about it all day before theappointment. I told him it wasn't going to hurt and that he just hadto hold still long enough for them to get good pictures of his heart. And I think what closed the deal for him was knowing he got asticker at the end if he did a good job! :) So easy to please, Itell you!

He was happy to lay down quietly on thetable while the echo tech did the ultrasound. He held perfectlystill and didn't talk or cry at all. When it was all done, he sat upand asked for his sticker. I love this kid! As long as heunderstands something isn't going to hurt him, he almost alwaysbehaves beautifully. And right now he has a big obsession withstickers and will do just about anything for them. Great to have asa bribery tool when necessary...

The funny part about the whole thing isthat apparently the time slot for his echo was double-booked. Theother child was a little girl who was probably 5-6 years old. Thetech came out and told us she was sorry for the inconvenience but shewanted to take the little girl first because she thought it would goreally fast since older kids are usually easier. Well, that didn'texactly go as she planned. The little girl screamed and cried duringthe whole thing and it took much longer than she anticipated. It wasfine for us to wait, it just made me laugh when Caden was such anangel. She told me she's never had a 2-year-old behave as well as hedid. :) That's my boy!

Feeding Himself???

2011-11-16T21:19:00.001-08:00

I can hardly even believe what I am writing! Tonight, November 16, for the first time in his entire life, Caden spoon-fed himself! It all came about following this conversation:

Caden: “Apple, Mommy. Apple.”
Me: “Do you want to eat an apple?”
Caden: “Yeah.”
Me: “Will you eat applesauce if I give it to you?”
Caden: “Yeah.”
Me: “Okay. Will you feed yourself if I get it for you?”
Caden: “Yeah.”
Me: “All right.”

So I get the applesauce out of fridge and sit him down in his booster seat with a spoon and small bowl. To my COMPLETE shock and joy, he actually dipped the spoon in the applesauce and put it in his mouth. There was no complaining or gagging. Nothing! Incredible!

In the past, he has asked me for various food items, but when I question him as to whether or not he will actually eat it, he always tells me “NO!” And at times he will wait until I get the food out for him before he says “no” and runs away. This time was different. When he took the first bite, I cheered so loud for him and he got a huge grin on his face. You could tell how proud he was. My parents were here as well and they were cheering also. He totally loved the response and kept going!

What a day! I can only hope and pray this is a turning point for him in regards to eating. I would love for him to start feeding himself but time will tell. At this moment I am just completely overjoyed with the small step he took in the right direction. I am such a proud mommy right now!!!

House Hunting

2011-11-10T15:28:00.001-08:00

When we came to Walla Walla this tolook for a place to live, I didn't realize how hard it was going tobe. This is a very unique community in terms of housing options. There is a lot available right now but it is a very diverse group ofhouses. From one street to the next the quality of houses varygreatly. You can have a very nice, high-end house and right next toit is a dilapidated house that is barely still standing.

The biggest problem we keepencountering is either finding a house we liked, but in a location wedidn't like or the lot was too small. Or, we found land we loved ina great location. But we just couldn't seem to find both a house andland that we liked at the same time. We really don't want to settlefor something we're not going to be happy with. So this has been abig stress.

Greg started his job last Friday somost of the house hunting has been up to me. I have seen probably 85homes in Walla Walla in the past week! It's exhausting! Lucky forGreg I narrowed the list down to 10 houses for him to look at. Fromthose 10 we easily cut the list in half. The remaining five housesare very different from each other with distinct pros and cons. I amnot sure what way we will end up going, but at least we have someoptions.

It has been a productive trip to WallaWalla and I am really glad I was able to come. It has been a funweek because we've gotten to see old friends and catch up with peoplewe haven't seen in many years. We are definitely looking forward tomoving back here.

We fly home tomorrow and then it's backto the busy daily routine at home. Greg will be home over theweekend and then he's back to Walla Walla to work during the week. It's going to be a very busy five-six weeks for us before we move! Hope we can get everything done that we need to in order to be ready.

Halloween

2011-10-31T09:40:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun on Halloween! I was able to borrow costumes from friends for both of the boys and they were absolutely adorable! Caden was a tiger and Kyler was a lamb. Soooo cute! :)

Cutest. Tiger. Ever!

Adorable Lamb!

After dinner, we took the kids to a Trunk or Treat at a local church near our house and went through their parking lot collecting treats for the boys. Most of them you had to participate in a game first; many of them involving throwing bean bags through the holes of a board. Kyler did a really good job with that and got his candy. And because Caden was so little, most people would just try to give him candy without having him throw the beanbags. But Caden really WANTED to throw the bean bags, so he did it every time. I'm not sure he got them through the holes or not, but he was close. And considering most of them were high up in the back of a truck or something, I would say my little man did a great job! Then they would give him his candy and he would try to throw that through the holes! Hilarious! :) But he loved taking the candy and putting it in his treat bag. It was so cute. He didn't want anyone else to put them in there but him. Mr. Independent!

See, he's even adorable from behind! :)

Here we are: Caden the Tiger, Carey the Mom, Greg the Doctor, and Kyler the Lamb

After that, we went home and did a little bit of trick or treating on our street with a few of our neighbors. We are pretty good friends with some of them and they got such a kick out of the boys' costumes. It was fun. By then it was getting quite late, so we took the boys home and got them in bed. They both had a great time! :) I would say it was a fun and safe Halloween.

Brayden's Birthday!

2011-10-30T09:17:00.000-07:00

October 30 is Kyler's best friend Brayden's birthday. He turned 7 and had his party at John's Incredible Pizza. Kyler was so excited to go to the party and play with his friend. All the kids had a blast. First they had pizza and cake. Then Brayden opened presents. Then it was off to play on all the rides and games. For those who haven't been there, it's kind of a glorified Chuck E Cheese's.

Kyler followed Brayden around everywhere and wanted to everything with him. He adores his friend and is really going to miss him when we move. I am so glad he was able to go to the party and celebrate his birthday with him.

Kyler and Brayden on the Frog Hopper

Can't you tell how much Kyler loves Brayden? He doesn't want to let go. He's not really that much shorter than his friend, but he is standing behind him and is not standing up straight. :)

Leatherby's!

2011-10-30T09:13:00.000-07:00

I wanted to celebrate Greg's big promotion with some friends, so on Saturday, October 29, we got together with about 30 people at Leatherby's Family Creamery. They are known for large portions of ice cream. In fact, our pastor uses them as an example in his sermons when he is trying to describe “abundance.”

I thought it was the perfect place to celebrate because of that. We are experiencing the abundance of many blessings in our lives right now! We had a fun time celebrating and visiting with friends. What a great evening. Thank you to everyone who came and for sharing in our joy. We are so grateful to friends like you who have supported us all along our journey. That will be the hardest part about moving: leaving such a great network of supportive friends behind. We will miss you all!

Look at the abundance of that serving!

The man of the hour!

In case you were wondering, we shared the banana split :)

Hawaii

2011-10-26T21:41:00.000-07:00

Originally I was supposed to fly over to Hawaii while Greg was here in order to deal with the house we are moving into as well as getting Kyler registered for school there, etc. However, things changed... So, that meant that when I flew to Hawaii, I got to have a nice relaxing vacation! I got here on the 21st and Greg and I will fly home together tomorrow, the 27th.

We are so blessed to have such wonderful family to help us out. My parents are at our house right now taking wonderful care of our boys. My mom has been working hard feeding Caden and getting him to/from his therapies. My dad has been getting Kyler to/from school and taking care of lots of other things around the house and yard for us. It is such a relief to know the kids are in good hands. And I am loving having the down time to rest and rejuvenate so I can be ready to hit the ground running when I get home.

Life at our house is never dull and it's been difficult to keep up with the daily responsibilities, let alone get much done to get ready to move. Thankfully my parents will be staying for a couple more weeks to help out. Hopefully that means I can make some headway on the long list of things to do!

In the meantime, I am thoroughly enjoying my quiet time in Hawaii while Greg finishes up his job here. I am blessed!

Reunited with my hubby after 2 weeks apart! :)

Beautiful Kailua Beach

Greg and I with our leis given to us by a friend at church

Ko Olina beach lagoon

Ahhh Paradise!

Even though it's the tourist thing to do, I had to have a Dole Whip at the Dole Pinapple Plantation

Such a beautiful flower at the Botanical Gardens in Kaneohe

Feeding Update

2011-10-24T20:39:00.000-07:00

I realized it's been a long time sinceI have given an update on Caden's feeding therapy. Things have beengoing really well. In fact, it has been two and a half months sincehe has received any food through his g-tube! The last feedingthrough his tube was on August 3. :) However, for about two moreweeks, he still received a few ounces of water through the tubeovernight. But as of the end of August, he has not had anythingthrough his tube!

It's hard to believe I am even sayingthat, to tell you the truth. :) But, that being said, it actuallymakes life more difficult at this point. Caden does NOT enjoy eatingby mouth. If it were up to him, he wouldn't eat at all. He refusesto feed himself and he will only eat pureed food. He gags/retches onanything with texture. It is quite a struggle. Every mealtime isvery stressful and involves a lot of focused attention. We can'tfeed him when the rest of us are eating because we can't do both atthe same time. It's exhausting!

We are currently working with ourfeeding therapist to try to teach him how to chew so we can advancethe kinds of foods he can eat. Right now he eats the foods that weeat but I have to puree them. So if we have enchilada casserole andbeans, I puree those things for him. I do this in large batches andfreeze them in 1 oz ice cube trays, as many people do for babies whenthey are first introduced to solid foods as an infant. However, ifyou look at my freezer, you will see that it is mostly filled withfood for Caden. There is very little in there for us because wedon't have room. He eats a much larger volume of food than a baby,so it involves a lot of work to make sure we have enough food forhim.

In addition, we have to keep track ofhis calorie intake each day because he isn't growing in height and wehave to provide documentation to every doctor who asks to prove thatwe are actually feeding him enough calories. Yet he still doesn'tgrow in height. He is very tiny and not on the growth charts. Forweight he is around the 20^th percentile though. Thismeans we have to make sure he does not get too heavy for his heightbecause that isn't healthy either. It is quite a balancing act.

Because we haven't used Caden's tubefor close to two months now, we have talked to several doctors to gettheir opinion on when they think we can have it removed. At thispoint, we are planning to wait until next spring to do so. Most ofthe doctors feel it is best to not remove it before cold/flu seasonin case we have to use it for any reason when he is sick. Inaddition, we will have to schedule a minor surgery to have it removedand closed. The pediatric surgeon we spoke with in Sacramentobelieves there is 0% chance that the hole will close on it's own. Caden has so much granulation tissue around the stoma anyway, that Ireally want to have it all cleaned out and sutured closed so it looksbetter anyway. So we will need to find a surgeon to do that inWashington after we get there.

We are ecstatic about how much progressCaden has made. But I ask that you continue to pray for his eatingto improve. That he is willing to feed himself and that his aversionto texture will improve. And that he will learn how to chew his foodso we can begin to feed him more table food instead of purees. Oncewe move, we will be on our own for feeding therapy so I am reallynervous about that. The guidance and training from our feedingtherapist has been invaluable and I don't know what we'll do withoutit.

Thank you all for your continuedprayers!

Moving

2011-10-23T18:27:00.000-07:00

I have some explaining to do... I havementioned in a couple previous posts that we are moving... InDecember we are moving our family to Walla Walla, Washington. Firstthough, let me back up and fill you in on what you have missed. It'sbeen a crazy few months!

After months of interviewing fordifferent positions within Adventist Health, the company my husbandworks for, a position became open in Hawaii on the island of Oahu. There is a hospital there owned by Adventist Health and Greg wasoffered the position of Director of Finance/Controller. After muchprayer, we accepted the job offer because we felt it was where Godwas leading us at the time.

So, Greg began his job in Hawaii at thebeginning of September, leaving me at home to take care of the boyson my own. Our plan was to move during Kyler's school break atChristmas. The primary reason for this had to do with Caden'stherapies and not wanting to lose them before we had to. When Cadenturns three years old in January he will lose the services he has inplace anyway, so we figured it made the most sense to wait to moveuntil right before then. That way he would only lose a couple weeksof therapy vs. several months. In addition, it was a logical timefor Kyler as well due to his school break.

So, for the majority of September, Gregwas working in Hawaii. He was scheduled to be home for about a weekand a half at the end of the month before heading back to Hawaii towork for most of October. Just before he flew back to Sacramento, hereceived a call from the Adventist Health Corporate Office offeringhim a VP of Finance/Chief Financial Officer (CFO) position at WallaWalla General Hospital (WWGH) in Washington state. WOW! We werethrown for a loop because we had finally made a decision to move toHawaii and were moving forward with that plan. This came completelyout of left field!

All that being said, the CFO positionwas what Greg has been working for all along and the only thingholding him up was needing hospital experience. So that was why wedecided to take the job in Hawaii, so he could get the necessaryexperience. However, this opportunity came up rather suddenly due tothe health of the current CFO at WWGH. He wanted to step down to alower role due to some health issues so this job opening becameavailable.

While Greg was in Sacramento, he hadmeetings with several people, including the CEO at WWGH. And weprayed about it some more. After much prayer, we again felt likethis was where God was leading us. It was an opportunity we couldn'tpass up. To give you some background, Walla Walla is where Greg andI went to college. It is where we met. I worked at WWGH for twoyears doing Marketing and Communication. We really enjoyed our timethere and the thought of moving back was very exciting. It is asmall town and we are looking forward to a slower pace of life. Inaddition, all of my side of the family will be within four hoursdriving distance. That will be wonderful!

Greg had to fly back to Hawaii to workfor most of October. His last day with the hospital there is October27. He will be home for a week and then he starts his new job atWWGH on November 4. Life changes quickly with us so sometimes it'shard to keep up! We are looking forward to our new adventure andeven more than that, we are looking forward to having our family backtogether again and not have to be separated by oceans or otherstates.

Bishop's Pumpkin Farm

2011-10-21T18:02:00.000-07:00

On October 20, we took another trip to the pumpkin patch. This time we went to Bishop's Pumpkin Farm in Wheatland. I love this pumpkin farm but I haven't been in a few years due to a busy schedule. But this year I made a date with a good friend of mine and her kids so we could all go together. It was a lot of fun and so worth the drive.

Kyler and Caden had so much fun with Brayden and Elizabeth. It was fun to watch them run around to look at everything. My parents came along because they are in town. It was fun to have them part of the outing as well. Caden seems to want to spend a lot of time with Grandpa Charles and it's really cute to watch.

I got as many pictures as the boys would allow... not that many! :) But there are some big smiles and happy faces, so I think they had a great time. I know I did!

So cute!

Ellie, Brayden and Kyler riding the school bus while Caden drives
(although he can barely see over the steering wheel!)

I like this kind of jail! :)

A brief moment when both boys are smiling at the same time

Brayden, Kyler, Elizabeth and Caden

Grandma Janie and Grandpa Charles with me and my boys

Me with my boys on the pumpkin wagon

Dr. Davies

2011-10-20T17:09:00.000-07:00

October 20 was bittersweet. Caden had his last appointment with his pediatric gastroenterologist in Sacramento. She has followed him since we brought Caden home from Stanford. She has always been good about getting us the supplies we needed and was supportive of us putting Caden on a blenderized diet through the g-tube. This was a huge thing for us because we did not want to give Caden formula, but a diet of real, whole foods. And, not all doctors support giving a child with a g-tube “real” food. Most advocate for formula because they know exactly how many calories the child is getting that way.

The reason this is our last appointment with her is because we are moving. It is difficult because we will have to find a whole new group of doctors to work with Caden. And, for GI especially, we need to find someone who will work with us on getting the g-tube removed when the time is right. More about that soon.

Last hug with Dr. Davies. Thanks for everything!

Cardio Update for Caden

2011-10-19T17:01:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, October 18, Caden had his regular 6-month cardiology follow-up appointment. This was the first time they didn't schedule him for an echo first. I questioned them on it but they said Dr. Van Gundy said he just needed an office visit. That was fine with me because getting Caden to remain still for an echo is very challenging!

On this visit they did an EKG and took his pulse-ox. Both of those were good. Caden was so cute with the EKG. I told him ahead of time they were going to put little stickers on him and attach the wires, making sure to tell him it wouldn't hurt. And he was so good and calm for the whole thing. Then when it was time to take the stickers off, I told him it would pull on his skin a little bit. He didn't complain too much, but he was very glad when they were all off him.

When Dr. Van Gundy came in, he asked a lot of questions about how Caden was doing and we chatted about several things. I have noticed lately how warm, and sometimes sweaty, Caden is. I know this can sometimes be related to heart issues, so I wanted to talk to the cardiologist about it. The temperatures outside have been cooling down, yet Caden still remains very warm. Now he has always run a little on the warm side but not running a fever. Just warm to the touch.

After discussing this with Dr. Van Gundy, he felt very strongly that Caden should have an echo to determine if there is a problem. In Caden's case, he does not feel it is an issue with his coarctation. He said it is more likely pulmonary hypertension, which he has a history of. This is the first time with either of the boys that there has ever been a concern when we have had a regular follow-up appointment. So it makes me a little nervous to say the least. His echo is scheduled for November 17 so please keep us in your prayers until we get more information.

Calmly waiting for the EKG to be over

Once it was done, he wanted to help pull those stickers off!

Field Trip

2011-10-18T16:35:00.000-07:00

I was really excited to go on Kyler's class field trip to Zittel Farms pumpkin patch on October 18. It was the first school trip I got to go on. I love that he has a small class and they can do lots of fun things. When we first got to the farm, the owner took the kids on a long hay ride all through the farm. The farm isn't very big so he did lots of looping in and around and back and forth and we managed to cover a lot of territory. The kids thought it was great fun!

Then we all got down and Mr. Zittel talked to the kids about horses, goats, and burros. From there we walked over to the chicken coop and got a tour with another person. She talked to the kids all about chickens and pigs. Then she took them and showed them a goat's mouth. We learned that sheep, goats and cows do not have any upper teeth. They only have bottom teeth. I never knew that so that was really interesting.

The kids got to play in a fun play area and then pick out a small pumpkin. They also got to see a goat at the top of a ramp use it's teeth to pull on a rope to pull a box of feed up the ramp to his mouth. It was hilarious to watch! He definitely knew what he was doing!

After that, the official tour was over, and the kids ran around and played while doing some more exploring. It was so much fun and I was so glad I got to go and take Caden with us.

The kids taking it all in on the hay ride

Back row: Caden, Kyler, Nate, ImmanuelFront row: Emily, Wesley, Simon, Jasmine

Seriously, that is the best smile I could get out of both of them!

Kyler wanted to do a silly face for one of the pictures - not sure if he's trying to be a pirate or what...

Group shot with the teacher - the sun was very bright!

Kyler with Mrs. Altman, his wonderful teacher

Fall Festival

2011-10-17T21:18:00.000-07:00

After soccer on October 16, we stayed at school for the Fall Festival. I bought Kyler a wristband so he could do all the bounce houses and games as much as he wanted to. And I got some other tickets for us to buy food. Kyler chose pizza while I had freshly made corn dogs. Caden was hilarious because he was loving the live band they had playing!

After eating first, Kyler was off and running to all the games/activities. Caden was happy to follow around and watch Kyler most of the time. However, there were a few times where he ran off so fast I didn't see which way he went. Thankfully there were some other parents there helping me keep an eye on him since I was on my own. :)

All in all it was a fun day. We were all pretty exhausted by the time we headed home.

My attempt at a picture with both boys smiling

Kyler paid a ticket to put himself in jail - I certainly wasn't going to complain

Kyler showing off the pumpkin he decorated

Gabriella

2011-10-16T20:18:00.000-07:00

October 15 is National Pregnancy, Stillbirth and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. People all over the world are asked to light a candle at 7:00 pm in remembrance of a child that lost their life all too soon. Several of my friends have lost children during pregnancy, were born stillborn, or died shortly after birth. It is such a tragic loss for these families and my heart breaks for each and every one of them.

I think part of the reason I feel so deeply for their loss is because Caden was not supposed to live either. He was not expected to live to be born. But he did. He was not expected to live more than a few minutes or hours. But he did. I often wonder why we were granted a miracle and so many other families were not. I know I can never answer these questions until I get to heaven. But what I do know is I am determined to NOT take my children for granted. They are a gift and I need to cherish every moment with them because you never know when that might be taken away.

On the 15th, I lit a candle in honor of all the children whose lives were cut short. But this year, it was especially in honor of Gabriella. She would have been 6 months old on October 2 if she had lived. But tragically she only lived for one hour. That hour was the most precious gift the family could have asked for. An hour I was lucky enough to be a part of. Being a part of her short life changed my life and perspective in so many ways and I pray I never forget what that day felt like.

If you know of anyone who has lost a child, please don't avoid the subject with them. That only hurts them worse. It makes them feel like their child never existed. They long to hear their child's name. Bringing it up will not hurt them more. They are already hurting so much and the pain of not talking about it is very difficult. Whatever you do, please do not act like it never happened. Talk to the parents. You do not have to have the “right” thing to say. In fact, just telling them you are sorry for their loss means the world. Just telling them you are praying for them gives them the strength to get through another day. It can be that simple. Just don't ignore it.

Women of Faith

2011-10-15T20:03:00.000-07:00

On October 14 and 15 I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the Women of Faith conference in Sacramento. Over the past 10 years, I have been able to attend 4 or 5 times. Every time I go, my cup is filled to overflowing with the love of Jesus. The music, the speakers, the friends. Everything about this event are inspiring.

I am so glad I got to attend this year. We are all hurting in some way or another and to be able to go to a place where that is acknowledged and you are not made to feel bad about it, is so refreshing. Most of us long for a place where we can be ourselves and not feel judged. That is pretty hard most of the time.

One of the speakers made me realize how important true, genuine friends are. I am so fortunate to have a few of these wonderful women in my life. I know they don't judge me, they accept me for my flaws, I don't have to pretend to be someone else when I am with them. Thank you from the bottom of my heart! I love you girls more than you know! xoxo

If you are not familiar with Women of Faith, please go to their website: http://www.womenoffaith.com/ and see if you can find a location near you. They tour all over the United States and it is so worth going if you can.

Here are a few of the wonderful women I attended the conference with this year. The group from our church was about 65 people. :)

Neurology

2011-10-14T16:33:00.000-07:00

On Friday, October 14, Caden had aroutine follow-up appointment with his neurologist. I am happy toreport it went very well. Dr. Asaikar is very good at what he doesand has a great reputation in the community. It is amazing to me howin only a few minutes of observing Caden, he can make incrediblyaccurate statements about how he is doing.

Most of Caden's life he has reallystruggled with anxiety, particularly in a clinical setting. It couldbe a doctor's office, hospital, etc. I'm sure it is the “whitecoat syndrome” due to all the medical stuff he has been putthrough. But as he has gotten older, I have been able to talk to himabout what is going to happen at the doctor's office and let him knowthey aren't going to hurt him, etc. Once he was around 2 years old,that made a HUGE difference for him.

I could tell him we were going to seethe GI doctor and she was going to look at his tube and listen to hischest and back to make sure he sounded okay but she wasn't going tohurt him. He would listen to me and say, “okay.” I could tellhim we were going to see the cardiologist and he was just going tolisten to his heart and lungs but it wouldn't hurt and Caden wouldsay, “okay.” But if I forgot to tell him where we were going orwhy, and we went into a doctor's office, he would visibly tense upand start clinging to me. It was amazing the difference.

So while we waited in the exam room forthe neurologist, Caden played happily and talked to me. When thedoctor came in he commented immediately about how Caden's anxietyseemed to have gone away because he was still calm and relaxed.

Then, he told me he wants to continueto see Caden on a yearly basis because he is “intrigued” by him. When I probed a little more to find out exactly what he meant bythat, he indicated that Caden is very advanced and he can't explainit. He said that based on all he has been through, he would notexpect Caden to be doing as well as he is. When I asked if hethought that was because of his therapies, he said no. He said itwas more than that. But he can't explain it. He said if we areunable to bring Caden back to see him every year that he at leastwants us to send a picture of him and a letter describing everythingthat he is doing so that he can continue to follow him. I guess he's figuring out what we've known all along: that Caden is VERY special!

Dr. Asaikar might not have anexplanation for how well Caden is doing, but I do: God. God is theonly way I can explain a lot of things when it comes to Caden. Butit's hard to explain that to a medical doctor because they arelooking at things from a different perspective. At any rate, I amthrilled with the good report and to know that Caden is actuallyadvanced in something. What a blessing! He truly is our miracle!

Rubio's Fundraiser

2011-10-06T19:53:00.000-07:00

On October 5, I took the kids to Rubio's for dinner to support Mended Little Hearts of Sacramento. We were holding a fundraiser there to help raise money and awareness for MLH. Unfortunately the weather was awful and the turnout wasn't so great. But we enjoyed the food and it got us out of the house so that was good. It is probably one of the last events I will do with MLH since we are moving. (Hmmm, I guess I need to make another post about that!)

I am very sad because I have been involved with MLH for awhile now and it makes me sad to leave. But I know the organization is in good hands with new leadership. However, I am sad to not be involved much anymore. I am so grateful for the opportunity we have had to be involved with this group of families supporting each other through some very tough times. I love being able to have my kids involved with other kids with heart defects so they don't feel “alone” and isolated. I want them to feel connected to other kids like themselves so hopefully I can find something like that where we are moving.

Kyler enjoying his burrito

Volunteering

2011-09-29T18:55:00.000-07:00

In September I got to volunteer in Kyler's classroom a couple times. It is very complicated for me to arrange that due to Caden's extremely hectic schedule, especially with his feedings. So I was really glad to be able to do it twice.

It is a lot of fun for me to see what kind of things they do in Kindergarten vs. what he did in preschool. Every day when I pick Kyler up from school, I always ask him what his three favorite things from the day were. This helps me get a better idea of what he likes.

Very often he tells me that math is his favorite thing. But there are some days when they don't do math. On Fridays, he almost always tells me that Chapel is one of his favorites. Every Friday, the whole school meets in the church for chapel where they sing, pray and have fellowship/worship time. It truly touches my heart that he loves that time.

And, if they had time to work on the computer that day, that is usually in the list of favorites for the day also. His school has an awesome computer learning program which allows the kids to work at their own pace on several different categories and work through different levels. The teacher can then review reports on how each child is doing and it helps her identify areas in which they might be struggling so she can work with them one-on-one in that area. It is very cool and I love it! Kyler was a little skeptical at first but as soon as he completed his first level and he could see his progress being measured he got really excited and motivated to keep doing more. :)

Have I mentioned how much I love his school and his teacher? If not, I will say it now. His school is phenomenal and his teacher is absolutely amazing! She really helped Kyler work through some behavior issues in the first few weeks of school and he is doing so much better now. She has a very special talent for working with these kids and I am so grateful to have Kyler in her class.

Kyler and two of his classmates focusing hard on the work at hand

Kyler and another student working on the computer learning program with a little help from their teacher

Playing "firemen" at recess with their teacher

Using cubes to measure length - Kyler loves this kind of thing!

Sunday Funday!

2011-09-26T17:47:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, September 25, we took the kids to a local park where they held their annual “Sunday Funday” event. It is put on by the city and they offer lots of free activities for kids and families. It was fun to do with the boys this year. The last time we went was two years ago and Caden was too little to do much of anything. But this year both kids had a blast!

I stood in line forever for them to do a jumping thing in a harness and bungee cords (I know, very technical term). But it was so worth it. Both the boys loved it. Kyler was able to do more actual jumping and get more air. But Caden thought his turn was great fun also.

The boys did a few other bouncey things while I waited in line for this jumping one. It was by far the longest line and the slowest line. They had such a great time doing all the activities and it was a very fun family day. :)

Kyler all harnessed up and ready to go

There's Kyler flying high in the sky!

Caden's turn to get harnessed up

He absolutely loved it although you can't really tell from this pic

Soccer

2011-09-24T13:56:00.000-07:00

In September, I signed Kyler up for an 8-week soccer program through his school. I wanted to get him involved in something active and challenge him to do something new. He was very concerned about it because he said he didn't know how to play soccer. I kept telling him that neither did half the other kids that were there and that was why they were playing... so they can learn how. But as I have mentioned before, Kyler is a bit of a perfectionist and is resistant to trying anything new.

The first day was more than a challenge! It was downright awful because Kyler refused to participate at all (this involved rolling around on the ground and kicking and screaming very loudly!). After that I wasn't sure I ever wanted to take him back. The next week I was unable to take him to the game due to a previous commitment, but thankfully he went with a friend of mine. I think that was the best thing I could have done. Without me there, he actually got out on the field and participated. That is really all I want from him. I want him to get out there and try his best.

So we have continued going every Wednesday night for practice and every Sunday morning for a game and it is going really well. He has really improved from the beginning and actually seems to enjoy it. I am so proud of him for overcoming his fears and just doing it. I hope I am teaching him some life lessons in the process.

Kyler kicking the ball in practice - he looks so adorable!

During the game, Kyler is ready to kick the ball down the field

He's taking his turn as goalie. Most of the time he does circles in the goal box and doesn't pay too much attention. :)

At the end of the game. Way to go Ky!

New Birthday

2011-09-22T19:23:00.000-07:00

An amazing thing happened as I wasdriving Kyler to school on Thursday, September 22. He had a smallAmerican flag he was playing with and I told him it reminded me ofthe song “There is a flag flying high in the castle of my heart”. He didn't know the song, so I sang it to him. Here are the words incase you haven't heard the song before:

There's a flag flying high in thecastle of my heart

In the castle of my heart

There's a flag flying high in thecastle of my heart

For the King is in residence there

Let it fly in the sky let the wholeworld know

Let the whole world know

Let it fly in the sky let the wholeworld know

That the King is in residence there

When I finished the song it prompted anamazing conversation with Kyler. I told him that Jesus is the Kingand he lives in our heart. He asked me what “residence” meant soI told him that is where someone lives. I also explained that incountries where they have kings/queens, they fly a flag at the placewhere the king/queen is staying so everyone knows they are there. That helped him understand the meaning of the song more.

So I told him that when we have Christin our heart, we need to fly our flag high so people know we areChristian and that we love God. We can do this by the way we act andhow we treat others. He asked me if I had Jesus in my heart and Itold him I did. Then he asked if Greg had Jesus in his heart and Itold him he did too. Then, he asked if he had Jesus in his heart. Iasked him if he had ever prayed and asked Jesus to come in his heartand he said he didn't remember. Then I asked if he wanted to do itright then and he said yes.

As I drove, we prayed together and heinvited Jesus to come live in his heart. It was the most incrediblemoment for me as a Mom! I cried the rest of the way to school I wasso happy. Knowing that Kyler loves Jesus and wants to have Him livewithin him means more to me than I can express. What a beautifulamazing day! Kyler has a new birthday for us to celebrate!

Fire Station

2011-09-21T13:41:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, September 20, Kyler'sKindergarten class took a field trip to the fire station. Unfortunately I was unable to go but another mom was kind enough togive me copies of her pictures. Kyler told me how much fun he had. He loved getting to spray water on the grass with the big hose and toget inside the driver's seat. By the looks of the pictures and thereport I got from Kyler, everyone had a great time! I love Kyler'sschool! :)

Kyler's class with the fireman (L-R): Jasmine (Wesley's little sister), Nate, Kyler, Wesley, Emily, Simon, and Immanuel

Listening to the fireman teach them something

The highlight for Kyler: getting to spray the big hose!

He looks so grown up in the cab of the huge fire truck

All the kids with their incredible teacher, Mrs. Altman!

Roller Skating

2011-09-17T00:08:00.000-07:00

On Friday, September 16, Kyler got to go roller skating with his whole school for the morning. Several times a year, the principal and the teachers take the kids to a roller skating rink instead of having school in the morning. For Kyler that meant no school for the day since he only has class in the morning. But I think the other kids come back and have a short day of classes before going home.

This was the first time Kyler ever went roller skating and he was a little nervous about it. I wasn't able to be there that day due to a doctor's appointment for Caden. But his teacher, Mrs. Altman, and a couple other moms made sure to give him extra attention and help build his confidence. Thanks to them, he was willing to get out there and try.

I am so proud of Kyler for doing his best. Sometimes he has a little difficulty trying new things because he wants to do them perfectly the first time and gets frustrated when he can't. So we have a lot of conversations about not needing to be perfect and just doing our best. But I do want him to at least participate and try things. I guess it's my way of pushing him a little to do things that are out of his comfort zone. The only way we learn how to do things is by practicing them.

Turns out he loved roller skating! He made it all the way around the rink a couple times holding onto the wall. It was a good morning and he really enjoyed himself. :) I'm just proud of him for trying!

Optometrist

2011-09-14T21:17:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, September 13, I took Kyler to the Optometrist. I wasn't overly concerned about his vision, but I figured it had been a couple years since he had his eyes checked and I wanted to get it done since he's now in Kindergarten and wanted to address any potential problems right away.

He had a bit of a hard time staying focused and paying attention to the questions being asked and identifying the letters and pictures. But in the end, the doctor managed to get good information. His eyes are great! So far he has not been afflicted by the far-sighted vision from me, or the near-sighted vision from Greg. I hope for Kyler's sake that his vision stays like it is but we'll see.

Dentist

2011-09-08T21:09:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, September 7, I took both the boys to the dental office. We are fortunate to have a friend from church who is a pediatric dentist. This makes the whole dental office experience much less scary because they see him at church and have been to his house.

Kyler has been a few times now and usually does really well, after all, he gets to watch a movie while the hygienist is cleaning his teeth. For him it doesn't get much better than that!

Caden on the other hand had never had a dental exam before. I have been putting it off for a long time due to all the oral aversion issues he has. The last thing I wanted to do was make his oral issues worse! So instead of scheduling a cleaning and exam, I just had him scheduled for an exam. I figured that would be a good place to start. That being said, he actually likes to have his teeth brushed but I didn't know how he would feel with someone other than me doing it.

During Kyler's turn, Caden stood by and watched everything that was going on. I talked to him about what they were doing to Kyler to help him feel more comfortable. Then when it came time for Caden's exam, Dr. Chris had me hold Caden on my lap and then lean him back onto a pillow he had on his lap. That way he had the security of being with me yet Dr. Chris could still see in his mouth.

I couldn't believe how well Caden did with the exam. He didn't cry, complain or clamp his mouth closed tight. He lay very still and opened his mouth wide so the dentist could look inside.

Overall both boys did great. I am very proud of both of them! :)

Kyler having his teeth cleaned

Caden watching everything going on around him

Dr. Chris checking Kyler's teeth

Caden with Dr. Chris after his exam (I couldn't take a picture of the exam because I was holding Caden) He was still smiling so I would call that a success!

Boys Campout

2011-09-04T20:19:00.000-07:00

On September 2-3, Greg took Kyler camping. They went with Greg's best friend, Ryan and his son, Brayden (Kyler's best friend). They had such a great time! I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have approved of the choices of food, lack of sleep, and lack of supervision, if I had been there. However, everyone came home alive and happy! I think it is good for the boys to have time away with the dads to do what boys do best and what we moms don't always allow! :)

The boys had a really hard time settling down to go to sleep that night because they were so wound up. But once they were asleep, things went fairly smoothly. In the morning, they were up early and ready to get going on a fun day of exploring and rafting down the river.

What great memories they made that weekend. :)

Brayden & Kyler getting ready for bed

Ryan enjoying a warm beverage while he makes breakfast

The boys enjoying the campsite

Ryan with Kyler & Brayden

Rafting down the river, I guess Brayden jumped in :)

Greg with the boys after rafting down the river

Blessing Food

2011-09-02T19:35:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of September, Caden started blessing his own food at the beginning of each meal. Prior to that, we would either do it entirely, or we could prompt him for each word and he would repeat after us. However, he started doing the whole thing on his own. It doesn't get much more adorable than this:

Dear Jesus, thank you for this food, Amen.

Park Play Date

2011-09-01T19:47:00.000-07:00

There are a couple friends who we have been getting together with since our older kids were just babies. Kyler and his friend Ben have been friends since they are less than 2 months old. Unfortunately due to busy schedules we don't get to see each other very often. But, when the boys get together they have a lot of fun!

We enjoyed getting together for a play date at the park on August 31. All four of the boys had so much fun.

Here they are from L-R: Caden (2), Jon (3), Kyler (5), and Ben (5)

Slip n Slide Fun

2011-08-29T18:22:00.000-07:00

On August 28, we had some fun in thebackyard with the boys. We set up the slip n slide and the kids hadso much fun. Kyler has had some practice with it now and is doingpretty well. The first times he tried it, he didn't quite get theidea of how it was supposed to work and he landed pretty hard. Buthe slowly got it figured out and managed to learn the run and slidetechnique.

Caden didn't quite understand the runand slide technique. But we also didn't want him sliding on histummy because we were afraid it would rip the g-tube out. So, Gregfigured out a way to have Caden sitting down, and he pulled him alongthe first part of the slide part and then threw/pushed him the restof the way. It was hilarious! Caden had so much fun and didn't wantto stop. He kept jumping up and running back to the beginning to doit over and over again. What fun memories! :)

Just look at the sheer joy on his face! :)

Cardiology Update

2011-08-24T14:20:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, August 18, Kyler had his annual cardiology echocardiogram to make sure his pulmonary valve is doing what it is supposed to do and isn't getting worse. They check every year to make sure his valve is growing with him as he gets bigger. If it stops growing, they could have to do another heart catheterization to balloon open the valve again (like they did at 3 months old). Or, if things get really bad, it could eventually mean a valve replacement. But that is worst case scenario and I don't think we'll come to that. So far, every year, things have looked fantastic!

This year was no different. On the 23rd, we had our follow up appointment with Dr. Van Gundy to get the results of the echo. He said everything looks great. He doesn't have any concerns for Kyler right now and said he has no restrictions on activities or anything else. He is just like your typical healthy kid. What a blessing to hear things like that! I honestly don't worry about Kyler's heart too much and I think I almost forget he has a heart defect because he has always seemed so healthy and he never required heart surgery like Caden. So from that perspective, Kyler's issues seems “minor”. But anytime your child has a heart defect, there is always that chance that things can go horribly wrong. So, I am always relieved when we leave the cardiologist's office with a good report. Looks like Kyler' is good to go for another year. Praise God!

1st Day of Kindergarten

2011-08-17T13:59:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, August 17, Kyler had has 1st day of Kindergarten. I can't believe my firstborn is old enough to be in Kindergarten!!! I still remember the day he was born like it was yesterday. I suppose all moms feel that way about the birth of their children. It is truly amazing how fast time flies by!!!

I really struggled with where to send him. We knew he would be attending either Sacramento Adventist Academy (SAA) or Orangvale Adventist School. SAA is about 5 minutes from our house and Orangevale is about 20-25 minutes away. I have to say that is really the only thing that was holding me back from wholeheartedly choosing Orangevale. I have many friends whose children have had the Kindergarten teacher there and have such glowing things to say about her. Mrs. Altman truly is an amazing teacher! So, that is what my heart was telling me all along. But I felt like with Caden's busy schedule of therapies, I really should consider SAA because it was so close and it would be much easier to get Kyler to/from school. In the end, we chose Orangevale because we felt it was where he would get the most individual attention and the best start to his school years.

So, on the 17th, Greg and I both went with him to his first day. Our biggest challenge that morning was getting him out of bed early enough for him to get there on time. They start at 8:15 so he has to be up by 7 in order to allow us enough time to get there in the morning. That is an early start for a boy I had to wake up at 8 am the last two years for preschool at 9! But once we got Kyler to school he was so excited to see a chair with his name on it! He couldn't believe he had his very own chair and cubby and mailbox. It was so much fun to see the joy in his eyes.

He really loves his teacher and his classmates. And one of the other reasons I love the school is because there are only 7 kids in his class. The first week they only had 6 but one more boy started the 2nd week. And, out of 7 kids, there are 6 boys!!! I know that the small class size will allow Kyler to get the individual attention he needs to succeed in his first year of school.

Mrs. Altman is such a wonderful teacher. We are so blessed to have her for Kyler. The drive has added a lot more scheduling problems to my life but it is worth it and I am making it work. I know this is the right place when Kyler comes home singing Bible songs and telling me the stories he learned from the Bible. It makes me cry tears of joy when I see what a wonderful school this is and the positive Christian foundation it is giving my son. We are blessed!

My big boy on his 1st day of school!

His teacher, Mrs. Altman

His very own chair, one of the things that made him most excited!

Kyler with his 5 classmates and his teacher

Rivercats

2011-08-16T13:46:00.000-07:00

As soon as we got home from our camping trip, Kyler and Greg took a shower and headed off to the Sacramento Rivercats game (minor league baseball). Greg got tickets through his work and they sat with some other people from the office. Kyler had a good time, but his favorite part was when he found another little friend from church sitting in the grass “seats”. They ended up spending the rest of the time there so the boys could play. It was a fun evening of father/son bonding time.

Camping

2011-08-15T13:23:00.000-07:00

The weekend of August 12-15, we took the boys camping with Greg's parents. We went to Fish Lake in southern Oregon, about 45 minutes outside of Medford. This was Caden's 1st real camping experience. He spent 1 night at Lake Tahoe when he was about 9 months old, but this was 3 nights and he definitely got more of the camping experience. Although this time the boys slept in the trailer with Greg's parents and were in the tent by ourselves. I have to say that was a nice way for us to camp. :)

It was really nice to have the trailer because we had a fridge for Caden's food and electricity for his nebulizer so we could give him his required breathing treatments. And, not having them in the tent with us meant that we actually got some sleep at night!

Caden had an incredible time! He LOVES to be outside so was thrilled that he could play in the dirt all he wanted. We spent some time in the lake also. Caden didn't seem to be too phased by the cold water. Kyler on the other hand, did not like it much at all. They both had fun playing near the shore, especially with the swim noodles.

I stayed at camp during Caden's naps in the afternoon and Kyler went on hikes with Greg and Grandma. Kyler also went fishing with Grandpa although they didn't catch anything. I think Kyler's favorite part of the weekend was eating marshmallows. He didn't want to roast them or make s'mores. But he wanted plain marshmallows. To each their own! It was a fun weekend and I think the boys made some great memories with their Grandma Mary & Grandpa Dan.

Hanging by the campfire Friday night

Silly boy wearing a bucket "hat"!

Our tent home for the weekend

The boys loved their own personal chairs

Caden decked out in swimming clothes, life jacket & hat

Greg taking the boys to the lake again

The McCulloch men hanging by the morning fire

Kyler loved to be on fire pit duty

Ky fishing with Grandpa Dan

I'm ready to eat my s'more! mmmmm....

Gathered around the fire one last time

Thank you Grandpa and Grandma for a wonderful time!

Sunsplash

2011-08-09T12:41:00.000-07:00

On Monday, August 8, we attended the annual company picnic at Sunsplash with Greg's work. Last year we missed it because we were out of town and Kyler was so disappointed. The year before (2009), he wasn't quite tall enough for many of the water slides so he didn't get to do much. But last year he would have been able to do them if we had gone. So any time we drove by the water park, he would ask when we were going to go. Once it was about a month away, he started the daily countdown of when we got to go because he was so excited. :)

When we got there Kyler and Greg took off right away to go on the water slides. He was SOOO happy! Apparently they went down almost everything he could do at his height. He wasn't scared of any of them. And, I think it helped that we had just been doing swimming lessons and he was finally “water safe”. He's not the best swimmer, but I know he can get to the side of the pool safely now and since he had that confidence that really helped.

Caden wouldn't go in the water with me at all. But as soon as Greg and Kyler came back, he wanted to go play in the water with them. So he floated along the lazy river, played in the wave pool, had fun in the kiddie water play area, and even went down a few small slides with Greg. He had a blast!

After dinner, we played a round of mini golf with the kids. I wouldn't say it was ideal timing (it was HOT, late, and Caden hadn't gotten a nap), but they still had fun. Kyler had some really good shots, including a hole in one! Caden spent most of his time playing with a spare golf ball and didn't really play golf but he still seemed to enjoy himself. I would say it was a very successful family outing and a fun time was had by all!

All ready to play in the water

Getting ready to play mini golf - they sure look excited!

Great shot Ky!

Waiting for our turn at the next hole

See I played golf too...

At the end of golf and we all survived! :)

Congenital Heart Walk

2011-08-07T12:26:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, August 6, I participated in the Congenital Heart Walk in Oakland, CA. Kyler and Caden came with me as well. Greg had another commitment so he couldn't make it. There were a couple other Mended Little Hearts of Sacramento families that made the drive to the bay area to participate also.

This is the first year I have done this walk. Last year we did the American Heart Association (AHA) Heart Walk in Sacramento. I enjoyed doing that walk but it is much larger and mostly focused on heart disease and stroke. Very little attention actually goes to pediatric congenital heart defect research and technology advancement. So when I found out about the Congenital Heart Walk in Oakland, I decided this is where I wanted to focus my fund-raising efforts.

It is a MUCH smaller scale than the AHA walk but that was okay with me. I'm not exactly sure how many people walked, but maybe 75-100??? One of the fun things for me was 2 of my cousins coming to walk with me. I haven't seen Hannah in about 2 years and I haven't seen her sister Emily in probably 10 years or more. I actually can't remember. But it was so fun to catch up with them on our 5K walk. Thank you both so much for coming to walk with me!

It was pretty cool because I ended up being the number 1 individual fundraiser for the walk. There was a team that raised more money than I did, but I raised the most by any 1 person. :) I am so excited to raise that money for such a good cause, especially because times are tough for everyone these days. I had some very generous people donate larger sums of money to help make this happen. What a blessing!

With our Mended Little Hearts of Sacramento Group

The two reasons I walk!

Me and the boys with cousins, Hannah and Emily

Aquatics Center

2011-08-04T16:41:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, August 4, I took both the boys to the Roseville Aquatics Center. The Placer County Warmline sponsored an event for families with children with disabilities. It was a fun time for the boys to splash and play in the water. Unfortunately, even though the sun was shining brightly, it was a little cool that day, especially with the wind. So Kyler didn't spend much time in the water because he was too cold. Caden, on the other hand, didn't seem too phased by the cold water after he adjusted to the environment.

Caden all ready for fun in the sun!

Kyler shivering from the cold... :)

Swimming Lessons

2011-07-26T17:58:00.000-07:00

In July we did a month of private swimming lessons for Kyler. He was begging for them and we finally had the time to do it. He really does much better in a one-on-one environment and not in group lessons. In a group setting, he just messes around and doesn't listen to the teacher, making it hard to really learn anything. But in the private lesson, he is the only one and the teacher's complete focus is on him.

Over the 4 weeks, he progressed pretty well. I feel like his capability is better than his confidence. He is scared he can't swim, but when he actually listens and does what the teacher tells him, he does a great job. So it's just a matter of building up his confidence so he will advance and do well. But for the first time in his life, I actually feel like he is “water safe”. The last session of the month, they had him come fully clothed, including shoes, and had him swim like that. They said they hoped it would help him know what it felt like if he ever fell in the water or was pushed in the water on accident. And if he knew what it felt like, he wouldn't panic and would just swim to the edge. He did a great job that day and I am so proud of him! I took him to Jamba Juice afterward to celebrate.

Back float

Torpedo arms up...

Safety day - getting ready to jump in with his clothes and shoes on

San Francisco Girl's Weekend

2011-07-25T17:51:00.000-07:00

The weekend of July 22-24 a group of my friends from high school were meeting in San Francisco for a girls weekend. Because I was in the delivery room with my sister-in-law that weekend, I didn't make it to San Francisco until late Saturday night. But I made it and had so much fun with the girls (there were 9 of us after I got there!)

We had a hotel in Union Square, took the trolley down to Fisherman's Wharf (all the times I've been to SF, and I've never ridden the trolley), and had brunch on Sunday at a fun bistro. I haven't seen some of the girls since high school. Others I have seen and talked to more recently but it was great to get everyone together in one place at one time. Good memories.

Me and my friend Shelley riding the trolley

Our ride to Fisherman's Wharf

All the girls:
Back row (l-r) Christianne, Kim, Debbie, Me, Shelley, Heidi
Front row (l-r) Jenn, Allison, Laura

Brody

2011-07-23T17:44:00.000-07:00

On July 23, I was honored to be at the birth of my nephew, Brody David. This is Greg's sister Natalie's baby. He weighed 9lb, 2 oz and was 21.5 inches long! He is absolutely adorable and we are so happy for Natalie and her husband, Bret for their new addition. :)

Natalie holding Brody

I'm the proud Auntie!

Kyler holding Brody - he absolutely LOVES him!

Sweet boy all dressed and ready to go home :)

Tahoe Getaway

2011-07-10T17:36:00.000-07:00

The weekend of July 8-10, I got to have a girls weekend getaway with one of my best friends. We both live in the Sacramento area and have kids so having time together with uninterrupted conversation sounded like heaven! So, we scheduled a weekend to get away, just the 2 of us. Thankfully our husbands were both willing to take over at home for the weekend so we could do this. :)

We had the most wonderful, relaxing weekend. We stayed up late talking, slept in late, cooked food in the kitchenette at our condo, went on a beautiful hike, and watched movies. We had such an incredible time, we would really like to make it a regular event, but we'll see if we are able to make that happen.

I am so blessed to have a wonderful, genuine friend like Suzanne in my life. I treasure her and value her so much because friends like her don't come along very often. What great memories we shared together that weekend!

Suzanne and I on our short hike around Squaw Valley

MLH Bounce Event

2011-07-08T17:26:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, July 7, Mended Little Hearts, held an event for our group at Bounce U, a facility that has large inflatables for kids to jump in and play on. They were so great to donate the space to us for a 2-hour time slot so the kids in our group could come and bounce!

It was so much fun and the kids had a blast! We all had a great time. A couple of the pictures are blurry but that is because the kids were in constant motion I couldn't get a decent picture. But, that means they were having fun! ;)

Kyler going down the big slide

Caden trying to collect all the balls, no surprise there...

The whole MLH group of kids that came

The boys in their inflatable throne

4th of July

2011-07-04T17:16:00.000-07:00

For the 4th of July this year, we went to a friend's house for an afternoon of BBQ, games for the kids, and fun fellowship. As it got a little later, we all headed down to watch the local parade. This is the 1st year we have gone to a parade since Kyler was born. It was super hot, but the boys still seemed to have a really good time.

Caden was so cute waving and saying “hi” to everyone that went by. It really was fun. We opted out of fireworks because Caden didn't get a nap that day and was melting down. Hopefully next year we will get to do fireworks with them because I think they will both enjoy it. All in all, it was a very fun holiday spent with friends.

Waiting for the parade to start

Greg and Kyler with their flags and party poppers

The boys being silly together

I took a picture of the Shriners since Caden receives Orthopedic care at Shriner's Hospital in Sacramento :)

Toward the end of the parade, Caden was zoning out he was so tired!

4th of July is such a fun family holiday

Panda Mania!

2011-07-01T17:05:00.000-07:00

The week after we got back from vacation, our church held Vacation Bible School. Last year we were gone when they did it so we were really looking forward to this year. Our church goes all out for VBS every year. The whole church is completely covered in decorations of whatever the theme is. This year it was Panda Mania!

Kyler had a fantastic week. We had to work through some behavior issues (probably a response to us returning from vacation) but once that was resolved, he had fun. He was in a crew with a couple of his best buddies and they had a blast. What a fun way for kids to learn more about God!

Kyler with his best buddy, Brayden, and crew leader, Zack

Kyler with our fearless Pastor Walt! We love him!

Mediterranean Cruise

2011-06-26T16:23:00.000-07:00

On June 8, Greg and I flew to Italy to begin our vacation and meet up with my family to go on a 12-day cruise of the Mediterranean. We were supposed to fly into Florence, Italy and spend a couple days there before taking the train to Venice to meet up with the rest of my family. Due to wind conditions our plane was re-routed to Bologna and we were bussed to Florence. That was the beginning of our adventure. We had a wonderful time in Florence and enjoyed meeting up with my family in Venice when we arrived there. This purpose of this cruise was to celebrate my parent's 50th wedding anniversary which is coming up on September 3. My parents, both of my sisters and their families all went on the trip.

YUMMY Italian Gelato!

Me and Greg in front of the Duomo in Florence

Getting ready to take the train to Venice :)

We had a wonderful time and enjoyed spending some time in the following ports:

Venice, Italy

A quaint canal in Venice

Greg on the colorful island of Burano (outside of Venice)

This was probably one of my favorite places on the whole trip!

A view of San Marco Catheral from the ship as we were leaving port

Getting ready to go to dinner with Greg and my sister, Cheryl, and her husband, Kent

Dubrovnik, Croatia

The beautiful port city of Dubrovnik

Corfu, Greece

Such beautiful bouganvillia at a monastery in Corfu

Me and my sisters walking through an arbor at the Achilleon Palace

Olympia, Greece

Posing in front of some of the ruins in Olympia

Greg getting ready to run the length of the ancient olympic stadium :)

On the beach in Olympia

Athens, Greece

In Athens

Greg & I with the Acropolis in the background

That really is Jodie Foster there! She was at the Acropolis touring with her family. (My nephew asked her if she was Jodie Foster and she said "yes")

The Parthenon

Mykonos, Greece

The picturesque town of Mykonos

Me posing with the windmills on Mykonos

Beautiful sandy beaches

Kusadasi/Ephesus, Turkey

Posing by the "Nike" relief

Greg in front of the Library restoration in Ephesus

The tomb of St. John the Baptist

My whole family in front of the House of the Virgin Mary in Ephesus

Greg wearing the hat of an ice cream salesman in Turkey :)

Rhodes, Greece

The view from the acropolis at Lindos, Rhodes

The girls in my family: Mom, Shelly, Cheryl, Me in Old Town Rhodes

My knight in shining armor in Medieval Old Town Rhodes :)

Santorini, Greece

The beautiful island of Santorini!

Me at Black Beach

Greg at Red Beach

Naples/Pompeii/Herculaneum, Italy

Greg in Herculaneum, pretending to cook at one of their "food courts"

In Pompeii at the ruins made by the Mt. Vesuvius (in background) eruption

Me with my pizza in Naples, the birthplace of pizza!

Rome, Italy

Greg and I in front of the Spanish Steppes in Rome

Greg in front of the Vatican

In front of Trevi Fountain

Eating gelato one last time before leaving Italy... mmm mmm good!

We only had 1 day at sea and the rest of the days we were at a new port. It was an incredible trip filled with lots of sight-seeing. It was not exactly the “relaxing” kind of vacation. But not having to take care of my children and especially maintaining Caden's busy schedule with feedings, therapies, etc. So, in that sense, it was very relaxing. But we were up early every day in order to maximize our time in each port.

Communication with the kids was difficult due to the time difference. But we did manage to communicate via email with our friends and family who were taking care of them. In addition, we were able to do FaceTime with them on several occasions which was really fun for both us and the kids.

We were gone for a total of 16 days and by the time we were in Rome, we were ready to be home! The flights home were uneventful but it really felt like we were never going to land in Sacramento it was taking so long. But, we finally got home and were able to love on our boys. :)

It was a truly a wonderful trip but we were very glad to be home. It's nice to have a vacation where you are ready to come home when the trip is over. It seems like often we have to come home before we are really ready. This time I was more than ready to be home and definitely needed a vacation to recover from my vacation. However, I didn't have that luxury... ;) A million thanks to our family and friends who took great care of our boys while we were gone. We couldn't have done it without you!

Slacker

2011-06-08T16:20:00.000-07:00

I know I have been a complete blogger slacker... My last entry was before our vacation to the Mediterranean in June and life has been a little crazy since then... I am sorry to anyone who has been looking for updates on Caden or our family in the last couple months. I have finally had time to go through all my pictures and I will be trying to post a series of blogs to get up to date. We've had a lot going on. Thanks for checking in and hopefully I'll have more to post soon.

Dreamnight at the Sacramento Zoo

2011-06-05T23:57:00.000-07:00

On Friday, June 3, Greg and I took the boys to Dreamnight at the Sacramento Zoo. This is a free event put on for families with children with disabilities. We had it on our calendar for the prior month, but the weather was iffy that day so we weren't sure if we would go or not. But in the end, we decided it was good for us to all go so we could spend some quality time together as a family before Greg and I leave on our trip.

It was such a fun event! There were different groups there handing out stuffed animals, hats, ice cream, Chipotle was giving out chips/guacamole. They really went all out to make sure it was a fun time for these kids. What a great thing! And, what is really cool is that it didn't even seem to phase Kyler that there were lots of kids in wheelchairs, or had other equipment. I love being in settings like this where he is exposed to so many things. It helps him be more accepting of the differences between all of us.

Kyler begged to ride the carousel which we have never done there before. So we got 2 tickets so he and Caden could both go. Obviously Caden couldn't go by himself so Greg went also. Both the kids really loved it and laughed most of the time. We had a really good time and are so glad we went.

Kyler showing his "wing span"

My little kangaroos!

I know this is a little blurry but it's so cute I had to put it in!

"Hello!"

Kyler with "Rusty" the Lion, and Caden with "Leo" the Leopard :)

On the carousel - don't let Caden's expression fool you... he had a great time!

Me with my boys and a giraffe in the background

The boys being goofy on the caboose of the train as we were getting ready to leave (Greg was the photographer here) ;)

Last Day of Preschool

2011-06-04T23:35:00.000-07:00

Friday, June 3 was Kyler's last day of preschool. Like I just mentioned in a recent post, we are so sad to be leaving this school. The teachers have been such great influences in Kyler's life and we are grateful for all of them! You can see God's love shining through each of them. They love what they do and it shows.

As teacher thank-you gifts, I found these printable “flash cards” online and printed a set for each of his 6 teachers. In addition, I wrote a special thank you card for each one and baked a mini loaf of pumpkin bread.

It was a very teary day for both me and Kyler. He cried in the car on the way to school. He cried when I took him inside and handed him off to the teachers. He cried again when I came to pick him up. (This from a boy who didn't shed a tear the 1st day of preschool when he was 3 years old!) He truly loves this school, his teachers and the friends he has made there. I also cried when I said goodbye to all the teachers. I was the very last parent to leave. I guess I wanted to savor every last moment. :)

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to Miss Diane, Miss Sharon, Miss Sherry, Miss Nicole, Miss Debbie, and Miss Shellee! We love you and miss you already!

The flash cards I printed for them - I thought they were so cute! (T is for Thoughtful, E is for Engaging, A is for Attentive, C is for Creative, H is for Helpful, E is for Encouraging, R is for Resourceful)

All wrapped up in pretty bows (thank you card and flash cards)

Miss Diane

Miss Nicole

Miss Sharon

Miss Shellee

Miss Sherry

Miss Debbie

We love you and will miss you!

Gymnastics

2011-06-03T08:21:00.000-07:00

I have finally found something Kyler is really excited about! Gymnastics! I signed both the boys up for a class sponsored by the Placer County WarmLine. It was set up for children with disabilities and their preschool-aged siblings. That fit our family perfectly. They offered 3, 4-week sessions. We were unable to participate in the 1st session, but I signed them up for the 2nd session. Little did I know how much Kyler would adore it!

Because he loved it so much and Caden was having a great time, I was able to sign them up for 3rd session as well. So they will get 8 weeks of classes. They have finished 6 weeks and have 2 more to go, but I won't be here for those as we will be gone. Thankfully our friends and Greg's mom will be taking them to those so they don't miss out.

It has been really fun to see Kyler super excited about this. He really listens and pays attention to what the teacher shows them to do and tries to everything just like he is shown. Every day he is asking me (or telling me) how many more days until gymnastics. He even gets some clothes out to wear the night before so he is all ready to go in the morning. Super cute!

I also think this has been really good for Caden. It has helped him increase his confidence. He has gained strength and stability where he was lacking. It is amazing how well he is doing. His PT even noticed he was doing better and I am sure it is because of participating in gymnastics.

What a great opportunity provided to us by the WarmLine! Thanks to them for offering such a wonderful opportunity for Caden, and also Kyler.

Sierra Railway

2011-05-31T23:16:00.000-07:00

Over Memorial Day weekend, we took a quick trip over to Sonora in “gold country”. It was a short get-away but we had a lot of fun. The highlight of the weekend was when we took Kyler to ride the Sierra Railway in Jamestown. It is part of a state park and he LOVED it! To say my son is obsessed with trains is an understatement! It was Caden's 1st ride on a train and he enjoyed it as well but not to the same degree as Kyler. We had a fun time and came home Sunday night. We did some work at home on Monday and then it was back to our regular routine on Tuesday.

Waiting to board the train

Waiting for the train to leave the station

The boys were having so much fun as we steamed down the track

The big steam engine

Kyler in front of the Round House - he has now decided he needs a Round House for his Thomas the Train set :)

Caden did really well navigating the uneven ground

Preschool Graduation!

2011-05-28T20:24:00.000-07:00

I can hardly believe that my little boy graduated from preschool this year. I can't believe he is old enough to go into Kindergarten next year. I know I have said this before, but we are going to miss Christ Community Preschool so much! His teachers there are amazing and have done such a great job with him. He is not the easiest kid in the class and has his challenges. But they have handled him with such love. I can really see God's love shown through them in their interactions with the kids.

On Friday, May 27, they had a small graduation ceremony at a local park. They made the kids cute little mortar board caps with tassels and everything. So cute! The only challenge was getting them to stay on their heads! The teacher for each group of kids presented them with a diploma and a hug. Kyler's group teacher is Miss Sharon and we have absolutely loved her! In addition, he also got to have Miss Shellee as his group teacher a couple times/month. So we enjoyed that as she was one of his teachers in the 3's class last year. What a fun day. :)

My little graduate :)

Teachers Miss Shellee & Miss Sharon with Kyler's group (L-R): Evan, Kyler, Landyce, Logan, Ian, Alix & Hannah

Miss Sharon giving Kyler his diploma

There he is with his diploma

I am so proud of my boy!

All Decked Out

2011-05-24T11:18:00.000-07:00

Greg's parents came down for a long weekend from May 19-22. During this time, I did some training with Greg's mom on how to do Caden's oral feedings, learn his general routine, etc. in order to prepare for our trip when she will be watching him for 2 weeks. While we did the training, Greg's dad helped pull out our old deck, which was riddled with dry rot, and build a new one.

I am so excited about our new deck. We have more usable deck space as they added another board on either end. And, there was one section by the house where the previous deck had a large opening in it. The new deck covers that area. So the square footage increased quite a bit. It looks so good!

Kyler was quite the helper too. He used the crowbar to help pull off the old boards. He helped bring in the new boards. He made sure the drill batteries were charged up. He handed screws to Greg or his dad whenever they needed them. And overall, he “supervised” all the work being done. :) He was really cute about the whole thing!

It was a huge job, but they all worked really hard and the result is fantastic. I love it and so do the boys. Unfortunately it has been raining a lot since it got finished so we haven't been able to use it much. Hopefully after we get back from our trip the weather will be nicer and we can sit outside and enjoy. Thank you to Greg and his dad for doing such a great job!

Kyler wielding a crowbar and actually doing a pretty good job with it!

Greg placing new supports for a stronger deck.

Getting everything ready for the new deck boards.

The deck is coming right along.

The boys standing out on the new deck.

Greg putting the stairs on the side.

Greg and his dad standing by the finished product, sealed and all! Great job guys!

Baby Shower

2011-05-23T09:01:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, May 22, I attended my sister-in-law, Natalie's, baby shower. She is due July 19 and is having a boy. I am really excited to meet my new nephew this summer. Congratulations Natalie! We are very excited for you and Bret! :)

Open House

2011-05-13T19:17:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, May 12, we went to open house at Kyler's preschool. It was really fun for us to see all the work the kids have done throughout the year. The teachers at Christ Community Preschool do an amazing job putting everything together.

They measured the kids at the beginning of the year and again at the end of the year and Kyler grew 2 inches! He also gained 3 pounds from September to May. :) When asked what he wanted to be when he grew up, he said, “An ice cream truck driver and a train engineer.” Gotta love that! :)

I know I mentioned this already, but we truly love this school and love the wonderful teachers there. They have been instrumental in Kyler's life. We love you Miss Sharon, Miss Sherry, Miss Shellee, Miss Nicole, Miss Debbie & Miss Diane!

Kyler with Miss Sharon, his snack group teacher :)

Bright Start Love

2011-05-12T20:53:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday I was really touched when I took Caden to speech therapy. To give you a little background, we have gone to Bright Start Therapies for therapy for many years, starting in 2007. Kyler received speech therapy there from 18 months – 3 years old, finishing right after Caden came home from the hospital at 2 months old. Then we started at Bright Start with Caden for PT when he was only 5 months old, so there was only a break of about 3 months that we weren't going there for therapy for one child or the other. So I would say we have gotten to know the owners/staff there quite well.

The owner of the clinic is Caden's speech therapist and her husband runs the clinic. Over the years we have gotten to know them pretty well and Caden immediately took to Dave. He loved him from the very beginning, even as a little baby. As Caden has gotten older, it becomes more and more obvious how much he adores him. In fact, one of his first two-word phrases was “Hi Day-Day.” He calls Dave, “Day.”

In therapy on Tuesday, Karen told me Dave had come home one night talking about Caden and how he was his “little buddy.” Dave said how much he loves him and enjoys seeing him every week. Karen said she felt the same way. She told me what a joy Caden was to work with and how she looked forward to every session with him because he is such a sweetheart. She said Caden was one of those kids who have had a profound impact on her and she knows she will never forget him. She is also VERY happy with the progress he is making and said she expects him to make HUGE gains in his speech and language in the next few months. In fact, she even ventured to say he will “probably” be age-appropriate by the time he turns 3!

Hearing her tell me all that made me cry to know how special my little man is. I mean, I know he is special, but to have other people recognize it and acknowledge it is something else. He is truly a sweet spirit and we are so blessed to have him in our lives. I mentioned something about Karen on facebook and what she had said about Caden. One of my friends responded with this: “Sounds like a God kiss for you Carey. I think the most beautiful thing to experience on this planet just may be someone loving not you, but your child.” I was very touched by this comment and it made me cry also. I think she is right. Somehow it is so special when someone loves your child almost as much as you do. Someone who can see how special they are and love them for it. So, if you have someone in your life like that, let them know. It could be just what they need to hear.

Tell me you don't love that face! He is so adorable!

Dr. Van Gundy

2011-05-11T20:31:00.000-07:00

At our monthly Mended Little Heart support group meeting on May 9, we were lucky enough to have Dr. Jeff Van Gundy come do a presentation. He is my boys' cardiologist and his specialty is Interventional Cardiology. He doesn't do a lot of speaking engagements so I was really excited when he said “yes” when I asked him. He did a great job showing us parents exactly what goes on during a heart catheterization.

The very first repair he showed was a child with pulmonary valve stenosis which is Kyler's defect. Dr. Van Gundy is the one who did his cath to balloon open his pulmonary valve when he was just 3 months old. It was really cool to see how it works and how he did it.

I am completely amazed at the things they are starting to do via catheterizations. The better the technology gets, the more repairs will be able to be done in a cath instead of having open heart surgery. That is very exciting!

Dr. Van Gundy did a great job and was willing to answer a lot of questions after his presentation. It was a great meeting and we are hopeful he will be willing to get more involved with our group in the future!

Volunteering

2011-05-10T23:17:00.000-07:00

On Monday, May 9, I volunteered in Kyler's preschool classroom for the last time this school year. I was really excited to be there because I love seeing Kyler in his element. He really loves this school and I am so sad the year is coming to an end. On the way to school Kyler was actually crying because he said how much he is going to miss his friends there. Next year he will be at a new school and will make all new friends. I didn't realize how hard this would be. :(

One of Kyler's favorite things to do during free play at school is to build train tracks, or anything else for that matter. He just likes to build things. He almost never does crafts, but he loves to build. So I had to get a picture of him with one of the creations he made that morning.

The day started off well and I was having a great time. But unfortunately, Kyler decided during his group time that he didn't want to participate and was being very rude and disrespectful to the teachers and to me. It was really sad for me to see that. I asked him if he would be acting like that if I wasn't there and he told me, “no.” So the bad attitude was just because I was there. :( That is the way the day ended. I told Kyler in the car on the way home that I was really sad that he acted that way. It was a hard way to end the year for me in terms of my volunteering in the classroom. I know he acts much better for the teachers when I'm not there though and every other time I've helped, he has done very well. Maybe this is his way of expressing his own feelings of sadness that he is going to a new school next year and won't be with the same friends or teachers.

Mother's Day

2011-05-09T22:27:00.000-07:00

My Mother's Day was pretty quiet this year. Caden decided he wanted to party on Saturday night so he was awake from about 1 – 5 am. That meant neither Greg or I got much sleep. But Greg was kind enough to let me sleep in after that. I think the best part of my day was Greg taking over all oral feedings for Caden. These can be very stressful and I do the vast majority of them, since I am the one home with him most of the time. So to have an entire day off was pretty nice. Then, we went to John's Incredible Pizza for an early dinner with the kids. We ended the day by having a small fire in our backyard at Kyler's request. Our patio furniture has a small fire pit in the middle of the table. We never used it before and Kyler was begging to test it out. It was pretty low-key day and I didn't have any cooking or feeding responsibilities which made it very relaxing. Kyler even cut me some roses from our back yard to enjoy. I sure do love my boys and am so lucky to be their mom. :)

My adorable littlest man

Here's my beautiful roses Kyler cut from our yard and my two handsome boys who gave me the best title in the world: Mom! :)

Kyler and Greg enjoying our little fire

1st Sleepover

2011-05-08T20:12:00.000-07:00

On Friday, May 6, Kyler had a friend over for his 1st sleepover. We invited the children of some of our dearest friends over to spend the night. Brayden is 6 and Elizabeth (Ellie) is 3. It was a lot of fun and the kids had a blast. I do have to say there is a reason I didn't have 4 kids! But, that being said, they all did really well. Brayden and Kyler are like brothers; they love each other and they fight with each other.

On Saturday morning, we had pancakes and strawberries for breakfast and then we packed the kids up and drove to church. It was so awesome because they sang Bible songs all the way there. There is nothing sweeter than listening to children sing songs about Jesus!

Overall it was a fun time and we loved being able to give our friends a night off. They lost their baby daughter only a few weeks ago and really needed some time to reconnect. I would love to do it again sometime.

Mother's Day Sing

2011-05-07T21:16:00.000-07:00

On Friday, May 6, Kyler's preschool class held a special performance for Mother's Day. They sang several songs they had prepared for the occasion. It was so adorable! I was so proud of Kyler because he actually participated and sang every song. In case you don't remember, when his class performed for the Christmas program, he refused to sing anything and sat down and pouted the whole time. This time was so different and I was impressed!

All the kids did such a great job. I could hear Kyler's voice singing LOUDLY above the rest. At least this was an occasion he could do that for a good cause. Even his teachers commented to me afterward how well Kyler did. Everyone was so proud of him. :) He even made me a pretty flower pin to wear with his picture in the middle. That is pretty amazing also since he never wants to make any of the crafts at school.

The teachers at this school do such an amazing job with all the kids and many thanks go to them for putting this all together! We LOVE Christ Community Preschool and will greatly miss them next year.

Reflecting

2011-05-03T19:57:00.000-07:00

There are times in a person's life when they look around and see how blessed they are to have what they have. I have been through one of those times recently. Some of our closest friends were pregnant with a baby girl and were so excited about it! This was their third child and the baby they wanted to complete their family. Unfortunately, at their 20-week ultrasound, they were told there were some serious problems with her and they needed to do an amnio. The amnio results showed that their precious daughter had Trisomy 13, a chromosome defect where there are 3 copies of the 13th chromosome instead of only 2. This is accompanied by multiple organ issues. In her case, it was affecting her brain, her heart, and her kidneys from what they could tell from ultrasounds.

They made the incredibly difficult decision to carry on with the pregnancy and pray for a miracle of God's healing. They named her Gabriella, which means “God is my strength.” They were told she would not survive to term and would likely pass away in utero before being born. This is one of the most difficult things you can hear about the precious baby you are carrying.

Up until they received their amnio results, our journeys were very similar. We were also told that Caden would not live and that he likely had Trisomy 13 or Trisomy 18 (he ended up having neither). But our amnio results showed very different things than theirs. That is where their journey took a different path. We still didn't know what Caden's outcome would be due to the heart, diaphragm and lung defects he had, but at least we knew he didn't have a chromosomal issue as well. He had a chance.

We didn't know if Gabriella would be healed or not. Ultimately that was not the case. However, we also prayed for her to be born alive so our friends could spend some time with her and be able to say goodbye. This prayer was answered! Our friend went into labor at 34 weeks and Gabriella was born alive! They got to spend an incredible hour showering her with love. Their two older children got to meet and hold her as well. They were able to get some amazing photos of her and their family as well, which they will always treasure.

I was and still am completely heartbroken for them. I think part of why my heart hurts so much for them is because this was supposed to be us. This was supposed to be Caden's outcome. I don't know why things turned out they way they did for us. I don't know why they had to suffer such a tragic loss and we didn't. I don't have the answers. But I do know that my heart hurts and I wish I could take their pain away. I also know their faith in God is what is sustaining them through this loss. The hope and faith that they will get to see her again and hold her in heaven is what helps them get through each day. They have handled this situation with such amazing grace and strength that I believe only comes from above. I could only hope to have handled everything with the same grace as them if we had lost Caden.

I am writing this because I want you to take a look around and recognize all you have to be thankful for. Life is too short so please remember to tell the people around you that you love them. Don't take your children or family for granted. No matter how bad things look, you can always find something to be thankful for. I am so thankful for my wonderful husband and my two handsome boys. And I am even more thankful for a heavenly Father who loves us more than we can possibly imagine and gives us the chance to live eternal life with him in Heaven. It gives me hope that this world is not all there is. There is so much more and all we have to do is accept Jesus Christ into our hearts. I eagerly look forward to that day when Jesus comes again and my friends (and anyone else who has lost a child or other loved one) is able to be reunited with them. What a wonderful and glorious day that will be!

Feeding Update

2011-05-02T17:39:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I have given an update on Caden's feeding therapy so I think now is a good time to do that! This process has been much slower than I had hoped. But in the last month, he has taken huge leaps and strides to move things along. I am now starting to see a faint light at the end of the tunnel when I used to only see darkness.

As of Friday, April 29, Caden is officially taking in more calories by mouth than through the g-tube! I wondered if we would ever reach this milestone. To give you an idea of what his schedule is like, here it is:

Breakfast – 4.5 oz oral puree + 2 oz liquid; 2 oz tube
Lunch – 4.5 oz oral puree + 2 oz liquid; 2 oz tube
Afternoon – 4.5 oz oral puree + 2 oz liquid; 4 oz tube
Dinner – 4.5 oz oral puree + 2 oz liquid; 2 oz tube
Night (after he's in bed) – 4 oz tube

TOTAL: 18 oz oral puree (not counting liquids), 14 oz tube!

This is so incredible, I can hardly even believe it! We have a few more sessions with our feeding therapist in the next month and we are hoping to advance him more. Currently everything he eats has to be pureed. He doesn't handle texture well as he starts gagging and retching. But we are taking baby steps forward. For example, we used to have to puree applesauce to get rid of its texture. But Caden has progressed enough that we don't have to puree the applesauce anymore (woo hoo!). And, with yogurt, we don't avoid the small pieces of fruit in them anymore. He eats those and we are trying to increase texture in other small ways as well.

In addition, Caden drinks 2 oz of liquid at every feeding. This is a difficult thing for him to manage but he improves every day. He drinks from a small medicine cup and learns how to coordinate opening and closing his mouth and when to swallow, etc. Things that come naturally for most kids.

It is so great to see this progress. We are hopeful that in the next few months he will no longer need the tube feedings at all. But even when we stop using the tube, the doctors will probably want us to leave it in place for a few more months to make sure he continues to grow and gain weight without it before they remove it. And, even when the g-tube is gone, Caden still has a LONG way to go before he is “age-appropriate” with what he eats. If you look at a typical 2-year-old, they are not just eating purees. He will still have to learn to tolerate texture and then work up to being able to chew foods, etc. So, the journey is far from over. But we are thrilled with how far he has come. Way to go Caden, we are proud of you!

Neurology

2011-04-30T14:30:00.000-07:00

On Friday, April 29, I took Caden to see the neurologist for a follow-up appointment. We hadn't seen him since Caden had his MRI back in November. The main reason for doing the MRI was for his spine so the ortho docs could determine whether or not he needed surgery. But because we were doing the MRI anyway, Caden's neurologist wanted them to do the brain at the same time. He wasn't overly concerned about anything, but he did want the information.

When he walked into the exam room and took a look at Caden he couldn't stop talking about how great he looked! He kept saying over and over how impressed he was with Caden's progress and how well he was doing. Then he took us into another room and pulled up the MRI on the computer there and went over everything with us. Actually there wasn't that much to show, since everything looked so good!

The doctor told us that the majority of people have something in/on their brain that looks “off” if you do an MRI. It might not mean anything, but most people have something that shows up. But Caden didn't have ANYTHING wrong. There wasn't even a little spot! I have to say that was one of the most amazing moments of being Caden's mom. They told us during my pregnancy that even if Caden lived, he would be neurologically a vegetable because his brain did not develop properly. So to have a neurologist look at the MRI and tell us how great everything is was incredible! He told us there is no reason at all to limit our expectations for him. He said there is nothing to indicate he will have any cognitive issues that would cause us any concern.

I cannot even tell you how amazing that news was! In fact, after we finished up, I was at the counter scheduling a follow-up appointment and Caden was walking around the office. His neurologist started talking to the other doctor he shares the office with and was giving him a brief health history of all the physical issues Caden has going on. And then he started bragging about him and how well he was doing. He wasn't saying it for my benefit either because I was on the other side of the room in the middle of something else. So it was pretty cool to hear him bragging on my son to the other doctor. I've gotta say, it gave me such warm fuzzies inside.

I left the office feeling so good about things and so happy for Caden's outlook. What a blessing and miracle from God!

Easter Videos

2011-04-26T20:30:00.000-07:00

I had to post this video I put together of the kids on Easter. They were so funny! Kyler was so excited he could hardly stand it! Caden was trying to figure out what the point of it all was. But they were both so adorable, you have to watch them to see. :)

Easter Part 2

2011-04-25T14:54:00.000-07:00

Like I previously mentioned, we enjoyed the “secular” part of Easter this year as well. Kyler and I colored eggs on Friday. I didn't even attempt for Caden to help me because that would have been a disaster! He might be 2, but in many ways, he is less than 2. I figure we'll try to include him more next year as things might be much easier for him then.

All ready with our eggs!

Such a silly boy!

Caden was running around being funny while we were coloring eggs

Kyler holding the last 2 eggs to dye

There he is with the finished eggs :)

On Easter Sunday morning, Greg and Kyler went to Power Balance Pavilion (formerly Arco Arena) to volunteer for an event put on by a local Sunday church. There were about 40 people from our church who volunteered to help with childcare for their event. Greg's job was to help with a craft table. He had to monitor kids using glitter glue and other fun things in very strong winds outside. There were lots of fun activities for the kids, including jump houses. Kyler had a blast.

Then, in the afternoon, after Caden's nap, the boys did a small egg hunt in our backyard. Caden didn't quite get the idea of putting the eggs into his basket, but he did find one of them all on his own. He picked it up and then promptly threw it back where he found it. :) Then Greg helped him find a couple more.

Kyler on the other hand, ran around like a crazy person from one spot to another. There was no rhyme or reason to the direction he was running, except that he was just wound up! It was pretty funny to watch. He found all but three eggs which Caden found.

Before I could even sit Caden down next to Kyler to get a picture of them with their egg-filled baskets, Kyler had all his eggs open and all over the ground. He was pretty happy with his work!

The boys with their Easter baskets

After the egg hunt - see all Kyler's open eggs?!

I love these kids!

I would say it was a good Easter. We had a lot of fun this year and I suspect as the kids get older, we will enjoy it more and more as they begin to recognize the significance of the occasion.

The Real Easter

2011-04-23T23:26:00.001-07:00

This year I have tried to do more with Kyler in terms of helping him understand the true meaning of Easter. It's not all about the Easter bunny, hunting for eggs and eating candy. It is really about Jesus, our Lord & Savior who died for us.

I used the “Resurrection Eggs” with him over the last 12 days. We read a little from the Bible and the booklet that comes with the eggs, before opening each egg and discovering what is inside. Here is what they have inside:

Egg #1 – donkey to identify the donkey Jesus rode into Jerusalem.
Egg #2 – silver coins to symbolize the 30 pieces of silver Judas received to betray Jesus.
Egg #3 – cup for the wine symbolizing Jesus' blood.
Egg #4 – praying hands showing Jesus going to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane before being arrested.
Egg #5 – whip symbolizing the beating Jesus received.
Egg #6 – crown of thorns which the soldiers placed on Jesus' head.
Egg #7 – cross made of three nails representing the cross Jesus was nailed to.
Egg #8 – die in it showing how the solders played a game to decide who would take Jesus' clothes.
Egg #9 – spear showing how one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side while he hung on the cross.
Egg #10 – linen cloth symbolizing the linens Jesus' body was wrapped in when he was placed in the tomb.
Egg #11 – stone to show how the tomb was sealed shut.
Egg #12 – EMPTY demonstrating how Jesus rose from the tomb leaving it empty!

The Resurrection Eggs

In addition to doing the Resurrection Eggs, Kyler and I made Easter story cookies the night before Easter. It is a very fun way to teach young children about the real meaning of the Easter weekend. I will include the recipe and notes/Bible texts here in case anyone wants to use them next year. Kyler was really excited about it and it really seemed to help him “get” it. Then, on Easter morning, we were able to open the oven and find the hollow cookies! Kyler was so excited to take the seal off the tomb and see how they turned out. When we broke them open you could see they were hollow inside with some rocks (pecans). Such a great illustration of the empty tomb.

Of course, we did the traditional coloring of eggs and Easter egg hunt as well but I'll do another post with that.

Kyler with the supplies: pecans, zipper bag, wooden spoon, vinegar, egg whites, salt, and sugar

Kyler really got into the beating of the pecans - just check out his face!

Pouring in the egg whites while I read part of the story to Kyler

In the mixer getting whipped up

1 tray of cookies ready for the "tomb"

Kyler putting the tape seal on the tomb

Kyler removing the seal from the tomb

You can see the inside of the hollow, rocky tomb

The tomb cracked open with nothing inside

Easter Story Cookies
To be made the evening before Easter

You need:
1 cup whole pecans
zipper baggie
wooden spoon
1 tsp vinegar
3 egg whites
pinch salt
1 cup sugar
tape
Bible

Preheat oven to 300 degrees (this is important – don't wait until you're half done with the recipe)

Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested, He was beaten by the Roman soldiers. Read John 19:1-3

Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 tsp vinegar into mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross, He was given vinegar to drink. Read John 19:28-30

Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life. Read John 10:10-11

Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sins. Read Luke 23:27

So far, the ingredients are not very appetizing. Add 1 cup sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know and belong to Him. Read Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16

Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12-15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3

Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid. Read Matthew 27:57-60

Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF.

Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door. Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed. Read Matthew 27:65-66

GO TO BED! Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed. Read John 16:20 and 22

On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the first Easter, Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. Read Matthew 28:1-9

Garden

2011-04-18T22:17:00.000-07:00

This year Greg planted a winter garden with a couple kinds of spinach, a couple kinds of swiss chard, kale and beets. We have been getting a lot of good spinach and chard. Not too sure about the kale. And we haven't harvested any beets yet. But it's been great to have fresh greens any time. Then, on April 3, Greg planted tomatoes. We have A LOT of tomato plants again this year. If you need any tomatoes in a couple months, let me know. I'm sure we'll have plenty to share!

Kyler sitting with his pinwheel with our winter garden

Here are all the new tomato plants Greg planted (I think there are more than 20 even if you can't see them all!)

Table Mountain

2011-04-16T16:29:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, April 9, some friends of ours were going to hike around on Table Mountain up in Oroville. So Greg decided to take both the boys with him and go do it also. I was really sick that day so he was going to give me a break from childcare for the day. He left just after noon and didn't get home until around 8:30 that night. I have to tell you that was a really nice, relaxing afternoon by myself. I was able to rest a lot and give my body the down time it needed. And the boys had a wonderful time also.

They drove up there and started hiking. I guess in total they walked more than 6 miles which is pretty amazing for Kyler. Greg carried Caden on his back in the backpack and that worked really well. The kids were slathered in sunscreen and Caden had a hat on to protect his sensitive skin. I guess he was happy as a clam just riding in the backpack. Even when they would stop for a break, he sometimes wanted to remain sitting in it.

I have never been to Table Mountain but I guess there are some pretty steep inclines and some very high drop-offs. Kyler has no fear of any of this, so I was thankful for our friends on the trip who were able to help keep an eye on him and make sure he didn't throw himself over the edge. After all, Greg was less maneuverable with Caden on his back. But he did very well and made it safely up and down without incident. He also did really well walking all that way without too much complaining. Greg said the wildflowers were beautiful also. From the pictures it looks like they had a fun time.

Getting ready to go on a long walk

Look at the gorgeous wildflowers

Kyler scooting down the steep embankment with our friends watching over him carefully

Greg with Caden on his back, peeking out from under his hat!

Caden out of the pack at one of the stops

Kyler sitting very close to the edge!

Greg with Caden leaning very close to the edge :/ Yikes! It was probably good I wasn't there!

Pinwheels

2011-04-14T16:04:00.000-07:00

Lately Kyler has been really excited about pinwheels. He had one that he took in the front yard and stuck in the ground. Then he would just sit and watch the wind spin it around. It was really cute. Unfortunately he left it out there and our neighbor's yard people came to mow her lawn and they ended up running over it and shredding it. Kyler was more than devastated by this event and cried a good many tears over it. So, I told him we could go to the store so he could buy another one with his money. A couple days later, we drove to the 99 cent store so he could look for a pinwheel. He found two that he couldn't live without so he bought them both. He won't even leave them outside now, even in the back yard, especially if it is going to rain because he doesn't want them to get wet. It's pretty funny. But he is happy and that's what matters. And, it's always good for him to learn how to take care of his belongings.

Field Trip

2011-04-13T15:35:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, April 6, Kyler's preschool class took a field trip to the Folsom Zoo and Animal Sanctuary. It was a fun trip and I got to bring Caden along as well. The class broke up into small groups of 4 or 5 kids along with their family members and went along with different docents to learn more about the zoo. Kyler's group included three of his favorite friends from school: Ian, Brenden, and Evan. Despite our group being all boys, they did a really good job listening and learning about the various animals at the zoo and animal sanctuary. I learned new information as well. I had no idea that a female peacock is actually called a “peahen” and a baby is called a “peachick.” Who knew??? :)

I think Kyler's favorite part of the trip was when he got to ride the train. (Big shock, right?!) He had gotten his money ready at home so he would be able to pay for his ticket. After the ride was over, he told me he really wished he could have ridden it twice. I told him he hadn't brought enough money to do that. It costs $2 per ride so I asked him if he wanted to ride it twice, how much money would he have needed to bring. Before I could even finish my question, he answered, “$4.” I'm telling you, he is good with numbers!

Overall, he had a great time and enjoyed learning about the animals and playing with his friends. Caden enjoyed it too. He was happy to sit in his stroller most of the time which made it easier on me.

Getting to pet one of the rabbits

It was fun to see the pretty bobcat

A peacock on top of one of the enclosures

The docent was trying to tell the boys something about raccoons

Caden chillin' in the stroller

The boys learning about bear paws

Me and Kyler on the train

Comin' round the bend :)

Forts

2011-04-12T13:45:00.000-07:00

It seems like the majority of the time, there are forts built all around my house, especially in the living room. Kyler loves building forts! Sometimes he will leave them up for days until I finally take it down or it falls down. While I love his imagination and creative thinking, there can be a down side. Caden often doesn't see forts the same way as Kyler and will pull them down, much to Kyler's great frustration. And, there are times, when I have no place to sit as I am not allowed to touch any part of one of the blankets used in one of his elaborate creations. But overall, I love the fort building. It offers hours of creative, free play for Kyler (and Caden, when he is cooperating). I guess that's one of the things that happens when you don't allow much TV time. :)

And, apparently the red panda stuffed animal in the background did something very bad to deserve a hanging. ;)

Light Weight

2011-04-11T18:43:00.000-07:00

I haven't talked about this much on the blog but Caden is very small. He was on the small side when he was born, although not extremely tiny. But he had a pretty rocky start and didn't get much of a chance to eat or put on any weight early on. He was pretty much the same size at 2 months old as he was the day he was born if that tells you anything. But even at the age of 2, most people are very surprised when I tell them how old he is. He definitely looks more like a 12-month-old than a 27-month-old.

In January of last year when we transitioned Caden to a blenderized diet (BD) of whole foods vs. the canned infant formula the doctor prescribed, there was a lot of concern that he wouldn't be able to gain weight. I proved them wrong very quickly as Caden did phenomenally on BD. All his doctors and therapists the dietitians we were working with all noticed HUGE improvements in his appearance and his growth. He was doing amazing! But he was still small. However, doctors weren't overly concerned as long as he was following his own growth curve and was consistent.

Fast forward to February of this year... Early in February we had our regular 6-month check up with Dr. Van Gundy, Caden's cardiologist. He noticed that Caden hadn't gained much weight or grown much in height since last fall. He was concerned but said he wanted us to continue to monitor it and hopefully it would turn around soon. He wanted us to follow up with him in another 6 weeks or so to see if he was gaining weight.

Then we saw the GI doctor the week after that and she was VERY concerned about not only his weight, but his weight-to-height ratio because that is the real number she was concerned with. He had been 30th percentile for weight-to-height when we saw her in October, but at this visit he was down to 17th percentile and she didn't like that trend. She was worried that if he kept falling off that curve, things could get serious.

So, she recommended we add a zinc supplement to his diet. We are mostly vegan and Caden is entirely vegan and her opinion is that all vegetarians are zinc deficient. She said she has seen kids grow simply by adding zinc into their diet. I was certainly willing to try that because the alternative is they would start pushing us to put him back on formula (not that I would agree to it, but it would be a battle and I didn't really want to have to fight) or add in BeneCalorie or something like that. So we set up a follow up with her for 2 months to see where he was at by then.

In the meantime, we continued to get bi-weekly weight checks at the cardiologist's office to monitor his weight for our intensive feeding therapy program. We knew we needed to see some positive results in order to satisfy doctors so we added a little bit of volume to his tube feedings. And, at the same time, the feeding therapist was able to increase his volume orally so his overall intake and calorie consumption increased.

The GI doc had prescribed a very specific form of zinc and we couldn't find it to save our lives. So we ended up calling her office and asking if another kind would be okay. By the time she approved that and we finally started it, that was only 3 weeks ago and only 1 week before we saw the cardiologist for our follow up.

I have to give you the statistics here:
Weight on 2/8/11: 22 lb, 0 oz
Weight on 3/1/11: 22 lb, 12 oz
Weight on 3/22/11: 22 lb, 9 oz
Started zinc on 3/22/11
Weight on 3/31/11 (9 days later!): 24 lb, 3 oz!!!

Is it possible that after taking zinc for only 1 week that his weight would increase by over a pound and a half??? Or is it pure coincidence? After all, we made the other volume/calorie increases much earlier and he had only gained a net total of 9 oz in 7 weeks! Then in 1 week, he gains that much!!! It's crazy but I'm thrilled.

I love this pic of Caden and Dr. Van Gundy looking at each other. So sweet!

When the cardiologist saw the weight, he basically said he wasn't concerned anymore as Caden was back on the growth curve (6th percentile for weight). :) And if he maintained that he would be fine with it.

We just had our follow-up with the GI doc this week and she was thrilled to say the least! She couldn't believe how much better he was doing. His weight-to-height ratio is back up to 39th percentile and she is really happy about that.

Yay, no more doctors breathing down our necks. But if you could all keep praying for Caden to continue to gain weight and do well that would be great. The hard part right now is if we have to maintain or even increase the amount of food he gets via his tube, he will not be interested in eating more orally and we will never get him off the g-tube. It feels like we are stuck in a catch 22 situation and can't win. We have to get him to gain weight and currently that means he has to have both forms of meals. For now, things are good and for that I am praising God.

Mr. B

2011-03-21T18:22:00.000-07:00

Immediately after Kyler's birthday, I met up with some classmates from high school who live in Northern CA and we carpooled down to Southern CA to attend the memorial service for one of our teachers. Mr. B was one of those people who made an impression on everyone around him. He was a true inspiration to the students and had a unique teaching style that made him special and made kids want to learn.

I left my house at 4:45 am on Saturday, with a friend who lives in Sacramento, to drive to Fairfield and meet up with two more friends who live in the Napa Valley. Then we drove south to Pleasanton to pick up another friend who lives in San Francisco. From there, we drove straight through to Loma Linda. I am the first to admit I am not crazy about my alma mater. In fact, since my parents moved away, I have had very little interest in going back down to visit. In fact, the last time I really spent any time down there was almost 5 years ago! But I was glad to be able to go down for this occasion.

We arrived in Loma Linda Saturday afternoon and got ready for the memorial. The service was in the school gym because they were expecting a lot of people, and there certainly were a lot of people. The service was humorous and sad all at the same time.

After the service, I spent the night with one of my “oldest” friends. We have been friends since Kindergarten and don't get to see each other very often. :( But we loved every minute we spent together chatting and staying up way too late! It was so much fun catching up with her on life.

The trip itself was a whirlwind because we got there Saturday afternoon, and then on Sunday, we all met up for brunch before getting back on the road to drive home. We weren't even there 24 hours. The weather was AWFUL with torrential rains at lower elevations and sleet/snow through the passes. We BARELY made it over the Grapevine before they closed it down. In fact, we think they were preparing to shut it down just as we drove by so it could have been a matter of minutes! We were very grateful to get through when we did. I got home around 8:30 Sunday night. Those were 2 very long days! And, leading up to them was our trip to New Orleans and Kyler's birthday party. It was a VERY full week!

Having brunch at Mimi's before driving back home.
L-R: Shirley, Vanessa, Laura, Debbie, Kim, Shelley, Carey

We got to say hello/goodbye to Jamie, Mr. B's daughter and one of our classmates, as we were leaving Mimi's because she was there to eat with her family.

My friends rented a van to drive down in, and we affectionately called it the "orange beast." This is the crew we drove down with (L-R): Debbie, Shirley, Carey, Vanessa, Kim

Part of our old high school gang (L-R): Laura, Debbie, Shelley, Carey, Vanessa, Kim

This was taken through the windshield as we drove over the grapevine. Lots of snow!

5 Years Old!

2011-03-20T14:13:00.000-07:00

As of Friday, March 18, I have a 5-year-old! I can't believe where the time went. I swear he was just born a few weeks ago. I must have blinked because he is all grown up. There are so many incredible, sweet, wonderful things about Kyler. However, sometimes those strengths can also be challenging. He is very bright and tends to ask tough questions and doesn't accept easy answers. He will keep pushing until he is satisfied with the answer. But it is great that he is inquisitive and truly wants to understand something.

We had scheduled a birthday party for him at a park with the train just like we did last year. However the weather just would not cooperate for us. We held out as long as we could, hoping things would clear up. But the day before, we had to cancel the train party. We moved the party to an indoor play place which was less than ideal. However, Kyler still turned 5 and still had fun with his friends. That was the important part.

Kyler and I had been planning for a couple months what kind of cupcakes he wanted. He picked lions. So he helped me shop for what we needed, pick out the kind of cake, etc. And he helped me make them. It was so much fun. I am not a creative person, but I copied the idea from a cupcake book I borrowed from a friend and they were really easy. They took FOREVER to put together, but it wasn't hard at all; just time-consuming. I am really happy with how they turned out and they were a big hit with the kids!

He was VERY excited about turning 5. He started counting down the days until his birthday immediately after Caden's birthday (January 9). The morning of his birthday, as soon as he woke up, he came running out of his room and shouted, “I'M FIVE!!!” I would say he is very happy about that. :)

Kyler helping pull the licorice apart to get ready to assemble the lions.

More supplies: cheerios for ears, red hots for noses, and blue M&Ms for eyes. It was Kyler's idea to put them in color-coordinated bowls!

The first finished cupcake

Thank goodness I was only making 24! They were a ton of work, but very cute.

Kyler spelled this out on our fridge the morning of his birthday. :)

Present time: he loves legos

At home with the family after the party.

Happy birthday to my big 5-year-old. We love you!