2011 in Review

What a year it has been!

I think this has been the most life-changing and exciting year yet. We have...

• Welcomed the birth of our daughter

• Built a house

• Moved

• Travis changed jobs

• We attended our 3rd Hydro Walk

• Became IRL (In Real Life) friends with some more Hydro families

• Tyler started 1st grade

• Tyler had eye surgery

Those are the big highlights of the year in addition to the regular day to day stuff. Tyler continues to go to therapy and is getting stronger every day. His biggest achievement is voluntarily putting weight through his legs. He will stand with a walker for 2-3 minutes with you balancing him at the waist (I will eventually finish my post about this). He is also getting much better about lifting his head while laying on his belly.

After all of that, I am ready for a laid-back and relaxing 2012. I'm not sure how that will happen with 2 kids but that's what makes it exciting.

Wishing everyone a
Happy
and
Healthy
New Year!

Christmas 2011

Tree
Family Skip-Bo
Kenna's 1st Christmas
Presents Nerf-gun battles
Friends Abundance of Food
Over-night guests Wii playing
Movie watching Fun
Scrabble
Laughter

Girlfriends

I was wondering when this day would come, but I really didn't think it would be this soon. Tyler has been coming home from school with several notes from girls. The notes usually have hearts all over them with Tyler's name in the middle. They are so precious. The kids in his class adore Tyler, but especially the girls. His teacher always tells me the kids argue who gets to push Tyler's wheelchair to recess and then they all take turns pushing him around the playground and that Tyler has a smile on his face the entire time.

But when I saw this one, I cracked up laughing. I love kids imaginations.

A band-aid with Tyler's name on it, that fixed a broken heart.

Aren't boys and girls at this age, still suppose to think that they have cooties?

The Weekend

This past weekend, Travis and my dad went deer hunting. So while they were away, the kids and I spent the weekend at my moms. Most of our time was spent baking Christmas cookies with several breaks for snuggle time.

Making Cut-out cookies

Taking a break for some snuggle time

Here's the finished product of a few cookies we made.
Chocolate Gooey Butter cookies
Cut-out cookiesOreo balls & chocolate-covered pretzels

Sharing Toys

Tyler is doing much better with his sister. He is realizing that she is not going anywhere. Her cries don't seem to bother him too bad, unless she is screaming at the top of her lungs. =)

One of the next issues I think we have to deal with having 2 children is SHARING. Tyler LOVES to play with Kenna's portable swing. He will scoot his way over to her swing and will swing it back and forth. I think he could do this for hours.

And even sometimes he gets a little carried away.

No one was injured during this event.

1 month

When did he get so big?

Due to my recent c-section, I was out of commission for awhile, in the regards of caring for Tyler. I still haven't been cleared to lift him. But this past week, I have slowly and carefully been lifting him. Travis and my mom have been wonderful in helping out. Travis has been taking him to school, giving him baths and so much more. My mom has picked him up from school several days and been taking him to therapy. So the first few times I picked Tyler up he felt like he grew and gained so much. Has he? Or is it that I'm around a 5-6 pounder, called Kenna, all day that makes him feel bigger.