Merry Christmas

I hope everyone had a great Christmas, I sure did. We celebrated at my Grandma & Grandpa's last night and then we did our own Christmas today. Last night was crazy but I think that's how our Christmas' always are. I got to hang out with all my family and got a lot of cool gifts. My cousins, Luke & Drew kept me entertained all night. They were dancing and making silly face which was pretty funny. But the funniest thing was watching Drew strut around in his Spiderman costume. Apparently, he is going through some phase where he wants to wear his Halloween costume (Spiderman) everywhere, even to bed. So we had the company of Spiderman all night.
Anyways, I got a lot of cool gifts. Some included, a glow board, Handy Manny toolbox, a Micky Mouse Clubhouse movie, some books, and a Bumbo seat. But the best gift was from today. I got an awesome new big boy bed and it is not just any kind of bed, but it is a RACE CAR bed. It is pretty cool!!! I got new bedding for it also, it is all decked out in Transformers.
I think I did pretty good this year. I hope everyone else got everything they wished for and had a Merry Christmas. I will let you know later how the first night was in my big bed.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Feeling Better

I am starting to feel better. Although it has been a rough 48 hours. It all started at 6am yesterday and continued this morning by not being able to keep anything down, not even water. Which leads to getting dehydrated. So I ended up going to the doctor this morning and he suggested going to the hospital (outpatient) and getting some IV fluids. Which we did. I wasn't really to excited about the IV part because I have really small veins and they can never get it on the first try. But my nurse today was AWESOME!!! She did it in record time and on the first stick. It still hurt really bad and I cried but I guess it was worth it, because shortly after I started to perk up. My mom stayed with me until I goy my IV and then she had to go to work but dad and I hung out at the hospital until they said I was ready to go home. So I am home and in good spirits and back to my full smiles.

Sick/Snow Day

The weather around here hasn't been the greatest the last couple of days. We have been getting a mixture of rain/sleet/snow but today was the first day that my school decided to call off. It is a little slippery out there. So be careful if you are going out. It is actually a good thing that we got called off because I woke up this morning with the stomach bug. I have been throwing up and not feeling the greatest. The only thing that I have been able to keep down is water. Which at least I am keeping that down so I don't get dehydrated. I hope I start feeling a little better because I have my school Christmas party tomorrow if we even have school. I sure hope I don't miss it.

In Need

For the past couple of weeks, I have found out that my bed is starting to get kind of small. Right now I am still sleeping in my crib. I am hoping Santa will bring me a bigger bed for Christmas because I am in desperate need of one, as you can see from the pictures.

All Good

I had a scheduled doctors appointment in St Louis today. So mom, dad and I headed up to St Louis this morning. I got to see Dr. Smyth, who is my neurosurgeon to make sure my shunt is working a-okay. I have graduated to only seeing him once a year, so it has been awhile since I have seen him. He was pretty impressed by what I can do. He asked me how I was doing and if I have had any problems or signs of shunt malfunction. Mom told him I have occasional vomiting and irritability but no patterns of it actually being the shunt. We weren't for sure if the doc was going to want a CT scan done and after he saw me and talked to me, he decided I didn't need one and didn't want to expose me to the radiation if I didn't need it. So we were headed back home. Which is a record. Most of my appointments involve getting a scan done and extra waiting, but not today. It was all good.
Since I had my doctors appointment I did not go to school, which means I messed up my perfect attendence. But I am sure I was going to miss eventually.
I got to see Santa the other night. I did really good although the picture didn't turn out the best. But I was a big boy and didn't cry unlike the boy in front of me. I can't wait til Christmas :)

New sounds

I have learned 2 new sounds lately and I have been trying to perfect them in the last couple of weeks. They are both pretty funny sounding. The first one is when I stick my tongue out and spit or some people call it blowing raspberries. It sometimes gets kind of messy and wet because spit goes everywhere. The other one is a sound that I make in the back of my throat. I call it my quacking noise because it sort of sounds like a duck. I am pretty intense with it though. I can't just easily make the quacking sound, I have to squint my eyes and make every effort to get just this little sound out. I sometimes try and then nothing comes out. Mom and dad say I look hilarious. Below is a little clip of me blowing raspberries. I was doing it constantly until mom grabbed the camera and then I would only do it after she made the sound. She is still trying to get video of me quacking, so stay tuned for that later. Enjoy!!


Blowing Raspberries

Tis the season

I had a great thanksgiving and ate a lot of turkey and stuffing. It was sooo good! Now that Thanksgiving is over, it is time to get ready for Christmas and it is already looking like Christmas around the Demarest's house. We started putting lights up outside on Friday and finished decorating inside on Sunday. We put the tree up and all the fixings. The only bad thing is that the tree has kind of invaded my play area. But that is okay but I like to look at the lights. Now all we have to do is fill the space under the tree with all the presents. I sure hope Santa brings a lot of toys because there is a lot of space to fill.

Gooble Gooble

Well, Thanksgiving is just around the corner and then before you know it, it will be Christmas. Which I can't wait. I am hoping Santa brings me a lot of cool toys. But lets not get ahead of ourselves its not even Thanksgiving. Today at school, we celebrated and had a Thanksgiving party. We made these cool hats that looked like a turkey. I had to sport mine around and show mom and dad. I looked pretty good:) We also painted our hands and made turkeys. It was so much fun! I hope everyone has a great thanksgiving and eats a lot of turkey, I sure will.

Spoiled

This past weekend I got to spend some quality time with my Grandma. Mom and dad left for the weekend to go up north to the farm. Grandpa even went with them to go deer hunting. So it was just me and grandma all weekend. We didn't do a whole lot. But I did help her make some pumpkin pie. She had this huge pumpkin that she had to cook up and this pumpkin was HUGE, it was bigger than me I think. The rest of the time we just hung out and played. But I was sure happy to see mom and dad come home on Sunday. Dad and grandpa even shot some deer while they were gone. Dad shot a 9 pointer, it was pretty big. Good job dad, maybe I will be able to go with you when I get bigger.

Mom's Post

Mom asked me if it was okay to borrow my blog and I said it was okay. So here she is.....

Hi everyone. My name is Diane and I am the mother of this beautiful boy. He is the joy of my life and I treasure every moment with him. The reason why I am breaking into his blog is because I got a great idea from one of my other blog friends..Kristen. She did some Top 10 lists and encourages everyone to do one. So here we go.

What I am NOT crazy about:
1. Stupid drivers
2. People who stare
3. Clutter
4. Having to work and not stay home with Tyler
5. Thinking of what Tyler is going to have to face in life
6. People who comment to Tyler and say "Oh, he looks so tired/sleepy." And it is because he can't hold his head up and he is resting it on my shoulder.
7. Southeast Missouri's crazy weather (72 degrees one day and 32 the next)
8. Ice storms..although I like the snow
9. Slow internet
10. Cleaning the bathroom

Modern conveniences that I wouldn't want to live without:
1. High speed internet
2. My laptop
3. Digital Camera
4. Email/Internet
5. Cell phone
6. Dishwasher
7. Microwave
8. My Car
9. Washer/Dryer
10. Digital photo frame (I could live without this but they are pretty cool)

Things to see or do before I die:
1. Have more children
2. Go skiing
3. Go to Australia
4. See the Eiffel Tower
5. Travel to all the states
6. Participate in a Hydrocephalus walk
7. Find a better treatment for hydrocephalus or improve shunts
8. Learn another language
9. Swim with the dolphins
10. Be more green/environmental friendly

Things I would splurge on if funds were unlimited:
1. Build dream home
2. Have corrective eye surgery
3. A new wardrobe
4. Buy season tickets to Kansas City Chiefs games
5. A new car
6. Buy a condo in Colorado
7. Buy a condo in Myrtle Beach
8. Personal chef
9. Anything that Tyler wants
10. I guess the last thing would be for my husband. He says he should get something in return for marrying me, which would be a '68 Camaro (I said all he gets is me, and as you can see he married me anyways without the car)

The BEST feelings:
1. Being with Travis and Tyler
2. Seeing Tyler smile
3. Hearing Tyler laugh
4. Having good friends
5. Having family close
6. Watching Tyler achieve milestones
7. Knowing that it is not his shunt malfunctioning(I stole this one from Kadyn's mom)
8. The smell of fresh baked cookies
9. Knowing my house is clean, which isn't very often
10. Being a mom!

That was so much fun. I will turn it over to Tyler now.

Trick-or-Treat

I hope everyone had a great time treak-or-treatin. I sure did. I dressed up as a cowboy. The only thing I didn't like about my costume was my boots. I kept kicking them off. Although I think most of it was that they were a little big. I met up with my cousins and some of my other friends to go trick-or-treating. It was sooo much fun!!

Pumpkin Carving

We got to carve pumpkins tonight. And I have to say I did a pretty good job. We did 2 different kinds of pumpkins. The first one was the standard carved pumpkin that you see everywhere. I didn't really want to get my hands messy so dad did most of the work. Although I had my knife (which of course was my play, plastic knife) out and help that way. The second pumpkin was a little different. Mom bought these face pieces that you just poke into the pumpkin...much cleaner. They had several different eyes, ears, nose and mouth to pick from, so I picked out the ones I wanted and helped mom push them in. It looks pretty silly. It even has horns that you could add. Anyways it was a lot of fun and I can't wait until Friday.

P.S. There were so many good pictures I couldn't decide which ones, so I did them all.

Begg's Family Farm

I had a pretty busy day today. Mom, dad and I went to this farm that has a bunch of different activities this time of year, called Begg's Family Farm. It was a beautiful day for it too. The only bad thing was that mom forgot my hat so I was closing my eyes and covering my eyes with my arm almost the whole time (I'm very sensitive to the sunlight). They had a bunch of cool stuff to do. Some of the things I wasn't able to do but we made the best of it. We walked through a maze and almost got lost, looked at and fed some animals, swung on the swings, and slid down a HUGE slide. That was probably the best part of the trip besides the swings. This slide was so tall that mom and dad were scared to go down it with me. I guess they thought they might drop me or I hit my head. But after considering it for a long, long time. Mom finally got the guts to take me down. Then dad finally went down with me. Way to go mom! It was so much fun!
Anyways I better get to bed, I have a big week ahead of me. I think we might carve some pumpkins some time this week. I also have a Fall Party at school, and then of course Halloween is on Friday. I can't wait. I am dressing up as a cowboy.
FYI..When you look at the pictures, on the 1st and last slide, you can click on the smaller pictures and they will show up in the larger spot so you can see them better.

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Weekend

Beware this may be a long one. First of all, apparently mom and dad got a hold of my computer the other night after I went to bed. They decided to add a few things and change some things on my blog. But it actually looks pretty good, so I won't get too upset. But they should of asked me first. I hope you like it.

Sunday, was pretty busy. Mom and dad worked in the yard, while I supervised. I had a visitor that was trying to help also. The neighbors cat likes to hang out at our house a lot. When it sees us outside it always has to see what is going on. I thought it was just going to help me supervise but it decided it needed a front row seat and decided to climb up on me and sit in my lap. I took my bat and ball with me outside to keep me entertained and I tried to hit it with my bat but it didn't think that was very intimidating. Mom and dad had to shush it away a few times, but it just kept coming back for more. There was really only room for one of us to supervise. Click on the link below to see how the cat decided to invade my space. We finally went inside for some R&R and to watch some football. I don't know what to say about those Chiefs.

Later on, mom decided it would be a good idea for me to get in my stander. I have gotten off the hook for a long time and they have not been putting me in my stander. It has been kind of crazy around here. Although I have to stand when I am at school, so I still get some of my standing time in. So I haven't been completely off the hook. Since mom hasn't put me in my stander in awhile, she wasn't for sure how long I could handle it. Well I showed off and stayed standing for 45 minutes. That is an all time best. I probably could of gone longer but it was getting close to supper time. While I was in my stander, I had so much to say. I was very talkative and I even talked while mom video tape me. I usually freeze up when she pulls the camera out but not this time, you can see below how much I talked.

http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p=7334c84e670e972ff8f181&skin_id=701&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url

School Pic

Well I finally got my school pictures back and they turned out so good. I didn't know I looked so handsome. Mom thinks I look so grown up and that I am growing up way to fast.

Today, was pretty relaxing. Mom and I went out to eat with one of our friends, Amy. I did very well. I am starting to like eating out. Before I wasn't for sure about everything and I never ate well. Mom usually had to feed me once we got back home because I was to busy looking around when we were at the restaurant. But now just give me the food. After we got home, we just hung out and relaxed. Nothing to exciting, just how I like it.

Combine Ride

Well, I went to the farm this weekend and I decided to help Grandpa out while I was there. He was shelling corn and to shell corn you have to use this big machine called a combine. So off we went. Mom wasn't for sure how I was going to do because it gets kind of noisy. So she went along also; Grandma went along too (somebody had to take the pictures). Surprisingly enough I enjoyed it. The noice did not bother me. We took one trip around the field and I started getting a little bored, so I decided to get off. There's not much going on except to watch the corn go into the combine. It gets a little repetitios. But I still had fun. Maybe I will try it again another time. I want to thank grandpa for letting me go along.

Playdate

I had a very exciting playdate today. After I got home from school, I had one of my friends come over. His name is Keller and he lives up the street from me. Even though he lives so close, I don't get to see him that much, but I think after today, I am going to try and make it a point to see him more often. It was a lot of fun! And while Keller and I were playing, mom got to spend time with Keller's mom, Brooke, and talk about a bunch of stuff. Which she said, she really enjoyed. Anyways we had a great time and hope to do it again.

Parent-Teacher conference

Mom and dad had a parent-teachers conference last week with Ms. Sarah. I wasn't for sure if it was going to be good or bad, because I haven't been on my best behavior last week. I think the week before got my whole schedule out of whack. I ended up taking a 15 minute nap on Tuesday and a 40 minute nap on Wednesday. I was exhausted. I really tried to stay awake but I just couldn't help it. Although the teacher told mom and dad that they didn't try very hard to wake me back up because they felt sorry for me. I already have them wrapped around my little finger...haha! But mom and dad told them to not do that anymore and wake me up. Always work, work, work with mom and dad. Ms. Sarah also had to brag on me and say that when I am awake, I work really hard. She also said that the therapists are seeing a little progress. So I guess I am not going to be getting kicked out of school. At least not yet.

Craziness

I am sorry it has been awhile, it's been a little busy around here. I have so much to tell everybody. First of all, I got to go on my first field trip a couple weeks ago. My class and all the other preschool classes got to go to the fair. It was a lot of fun! Mom decided to go along for the ride. But she made sure she didn't get in the way of me having fun with all of my friends. I told her I was a big boy and she didn't need to go but she didn't listen. I guess it wasn't that bad, some of the other moms went along too. I got to see a lot of animals and play a few games. But the best thing was riding the school bus. It was very exciting!! I can't wait to go on another field trip.
I got to see my cousins, Ollie, Tori and Eli, last week again. They sure are silly. I wasn't for sure about Eli. He makes some weird noices and I got a little jealous when he was laying on my blanket and playing with my toys. But I didn't get to upset about it, I just gave him the stink eye look.

I also got to stay at my Grandma and Grandpa Mirly's this week, while mom and dad were out of town. So I got extra spoiled. I thought this week was going to be bck to normal but I was wrong. Ms Becky, my babysitter, is going to be out the beginning of this week unexpectedly. So I have to go to the babysitter across the street. She seems really nice. Hopefully by Thursday, everything will be back to normal.

In Trouble

Hi everyone! Well I kind of got in trouble today. I have found a liking to chewing on my shirt sleeve. I don't know why I like it, but I do. I have been drowling a lot and chewing on anything I can find lately. I think I may have a molar that is trying to come in, mom doesn't want to check because she thinks I may chomp her finger off. Anyways, back too today. Mom was doing laundry and I was laying on the floor minding my own business. After she got down folding laundry, she finally came to play with me and to her surprise she found something else. As I said before, I like to chew on my sleeve. So that is what I was doing and guess what, I chewed right through my shirt. And not just a little hole but several holes. I didn't think it was that big of a deal, but mom said I ruined my shirt. The good thing is that it was only a PJ shirt. You can tell from the pictures that my shirt took a beating.

I also got in trouble on Thursday when I got home from school. While I am at school, I also get therapy. During speech therapy, I decided to take a little cat nap. Dad says that I can't be taking naps while I am at school, but I just couldn't help it. I was exhausted. I'll try better this week.

Assignment

All has been going well around here. I have adapted to school very well. Well enough that I don't even take naps again at Ms. Becky's. I even had an assignment already. I had to make an "All about Me" poster. I had to put things that I liked and things about me on this poster board. Mom and dad helped me. They cut out letters of my name and drew pictures that I colored in. I also put a picture of me playing the drum and a picture of me swinging because those are 2 of my most favorite things. Some of the other things I put on it were, a picture of my family, pics of me swimming, and stickers of Mickey and Goofy, because I love watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. And the numbers 1,2,3 because I love games that involve anticipation. So when you count 1,2,3, I know that something good always follows. I think I did a pretty good job on it, even though we don't get graded on it.
Another new thing that I have been working on is holding my own bottle. It is kind of hard to get my hand around the bottle because of my adducted thumbs, but I figured out another way to do it. Mom uses the Playtex drop-in bottles. So I found out that if I hold the bottle at the end and push it against my mouth, it works just as well. I still haven't perfected it and I don't hold it for very long, but I am working on it. I am also working on drinking out of a regular cup like a big boy and I have been doing very well with that. So I am sure once I learn to hold my bottle, I will be moving on to another source of drinking device. Mom is really wanting to get rid of the bottle, which we are pretty close. I usually only take one right before bedtime. Anyways, I better get to bed it is a school night.

1st Day of School

My first day of school was Tuesday. Mom and Dad dropped me off at 8:00 and said see ya later. Well not really. But I was a big boy and was excited to see my new classmates. It took awhile for mom to leave, she had to talk to the therapist and tell them what I have done over the summer since they haven't seen me since my IEP meeting in May. But once she was done updating everyone she left me. I think she was a little sad because I am growing up too fast. But neither of us shed any tears. Way to go mom! At 11:00, dad came to pick me up and then took me to Ms. Becky's. I had so much fun on my first day. We got to make handprints and then got to go outside and play. I get a snack while I am there also. I got to eat chocolate pudding and I got it everywhere. I wasn't the cleanest eater. I have my own personal aide, Ms. Lisa, that helps me while I'm at school. She is very nice. I can't wait to go back tomorrow and see what we will do. Here is our project that we did.

2 New Cousins

So many things have been going on lately that I have not had time to update. To start things off, our St Louis trip and trip to the zoo got cancelled last weekend. Dad had to make an unplanned trip, which left me and mom at home. But mom didn't feel like staying at home so we decided to go up to St Louis anyways and visit my Aunt Jen. We just hung out and played with my new cousin Daisy (she is Aunt Jen and Uncle Jason's new puppy). I thought she was sooo funny. She kept chasing mom around the house and chewing on mom's pants. Every time someone told her no or to stop, I thought it was the funniest thing in the world. I was really good the whole time I was there. Here are some funny pics of us two.

I got another cousin this week too. This one is an actual person though. His name is Elijah Alexander. I can't wait to see him.

One more week and I will be going to school. I can't wait. I still have to go to the store and get all of my school supplies. The only thing I have so far is a book bag. I can't wait to meet all of my classmates and make some new friends. The only sad thing about starting school is that all of my therapists that I have now, I won't be seeing me anymore. I love working with them. They have helped me in so many ways, I can't even count them. Hopefully my new therapist will be just as good. They have some big shoes to fill though.

Pics of Birthday

I want to thank everyone who came to celebrate with me and for my birthday presents. I appreciate them all.

Happy Birthday

I can't believe I am already 3 years old. Today has been pretty relaxing. I am all worn out from my big birthday party yesterday. I had a lot of fun and had all of my friends over. We all went swimming and ate a lot. I really enjoyed swimming and watching everybody jump off the diving board. My friend Keller even came. I think I scared him a little bit. Mom tried to take a picture of us together but he didn't want me to sit by him. I was a little wet from swimming so I don't blame him...sorry Keller :( I got to eat my ice cream cake and open up all of my presents. By this time I was worn out and hot. So I really wasn't into it by this time. By the time everybody left I was ready to hit the sack. I even slept in this morning until 9:00. What's a good birthday if you can't sleep in. Later on today, I get to go to another birthday party. I should be all rested up and ready to go by then.

I will post some of my birthday pictures later. But here is a little something that mom put together - just click on the picture.

The Past 3 Years

Crazy Week

What a week so far. I am getting ready for the big day on Saturday. Well more like mom and dad are. They have been busy getting the house cleaned and the pool ready for my birthday party. I also had an eye doctors appointment today. My appointment went okay, I go back in a year. I also have been missing all of my friends at Ms Becky's. They went on vacation, so I have been going to Grandma Vickie's this week. I have been having a lot of fun there. Uncle Dale got a new dog that I enjoy playing with. It likes to steal my socks.
To add to all this excitement, dad got free Cardinal tickets for Thursday nights game and they have decided to take me along. I hope I enjoy it. Hopefully it doesn't get to loud. But if it does at least the tickets were free and we aren't out anything except a tank of gas.

Visitors and Hand Splints

So much has been going on since I last updated. Let's see where to start. First I got to meet someone new last week and he only lives like 2 blocks from me. His name is Keller and he also has hydrocephalus and is the same age as me. So we will be going to school together and everything. I really didn't have much to say when he was here, I was a little shy, but I am sure I will warm up to him after awhile. He sure was funny. I even invited him to my birthday party and to come swimming sometime. We will have a lot of fun together!
Another thing that happened last week, is that I finally got my new hand splints. I guess I wasn't to thrilled about them but I guess they will benefit me in the long run. They are much better than my old ones. They hold my thumb and index finger out. So they really stretch my hand out. When I have them on I call them my guns. It looks like I am shooting at someone, the way they have my hand positioned.
We had more company on Sunday, Ms Becky, Dylan and Taylor (my babysitter and 2 kids - who are my best friends) came over and went swimming. We had a blast!! I got to show Dylan & Taylor all of my cool toys.
This week has been kind of slow. Of course the regular therapies. I did really good today in PT. I only lifted my head once when I was on my belly, but I held it for a long time. I even turned it side to side, which is something I have never done before and is very hard. Other than that nothing to amazing has happened.

4th of July

I hope everyone enjoyed their 4th of July. Mine was pretty relaxing. Grandma and grandpa came over and we barbequed for lunch and hung out. I wanted to go swimming but it was too cold. I even showed them how I sit up all by myself. Later on we went over to my cousins house and watched them and the neighbors set off fireworks. I wasn't for sure how I would handle it but I did great. I loved watching all the fireworks light up and I didn't even get scared when they popped. I jumped a few times but never got upset. I even got to participate with the sparklers. I wasn't too sure of them though. Mom let me hold one and swing it around, but I preferred to just sit back and watch. It was a lot of fun and can't wait until next year.

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Amazing

Guess what I can do all by myself? I can sit up all by myself with nobody even helping me. Except when my mom has to put her hands in front of mine so they don't slip, because I have to put my hands on the floor to balance myself, so I don't tip over. But I don't count that. I can't do it for very long, but I can do it. Yesterday in therapy, I sat up 3 different times with no help by anyone for about 10-15 seconds. Who knew I could do that. I even surprised myself. I can also sit up with somebody just holding me around the waist for several minutes. I did it for almost 5 minutes last night without losing head control. As my mom would saying AMAZING!!! I can tell mom and dad our so proud of me!

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All Better

I have been a little under the weather since last week. On Monday, I found out that I got pink eye and then Tuesday night I started getting a fever. The fever lasted until Thursday, so mom decided to take me to the doctor to make sure I was alright. Well they were not for sure what I had either. They knew I had pink eye but said you usually don't run a fever with that, so the doctor decided to run a strep test on me because I had all the signs and symptoms. Well that came back negative but the doc decided to give me the shot anyways. That night I really started to feel better. My fever broke and I finally got an appetite back (it didn't hurt to swallow). My eye started to look better by Friday and I decided to party it up on Saturday. We went over to a friends house and there were all sorts of people and kids to play with. It was a lot of fun!! I am also excited that I get to go back to Ms Becky's tomorrow and see all my friends since I missed out on going last week.

Pool Time

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