It's Coming Up!

In the past few weeks, I've really been thinking a lot about Cayden's OI. This is probably because I just scheduled our 1 year return visit to Shriner's in Montreal for July 5th, and that Cayden's 1 year, "break-free" anniversary is quickly approaching! At first I didn't want to bring much attention to the fact that he's approaching 1 year without a break, I didn't want to jinx him or anything, but with more thought I've decided I really want to celebrate it. And I will celebrate every year that he goes without breaking, if it happens in the future. I want to have a "Break-Free" celebration. And I look at this in two ways....yes, Cayden has been "Break-Free" for this period of time, and that is awesome! But also that we can "Break Free" of the thoughts and fears that this will absolutely consume his life, and define him. Because it won't. Of course it will be something that he, and we as a family, will deal with for the rest of his life, but it will not consume us. We live everyday cautiously and concerned, but I'd love a day to celebrate how far we've come. So we will celebrate. God-willing, our 1 year, "Break-Free" this year will be on March 16th!

I have also been receiving emails from the Yahoo online 'parents of children with OI' support group. There are really some amazing stories of some phenomenal children out there living with OI. Every case is different - different types, different severity- but one thing seems to remain a constant in all of the stories I've read. The hearts, personalities and determination of this children are amazing. And my Cayden is no different. And I love him for that.

I came across some information that I didn't know existed in the last 2 years. There is actually an international awareness day for OI! And you can be sure that I'll be celebrating that one too on a yearly basis!! (Looks like I'll be doing lots of celebrating with my special little guy over the years!)

It's known as "Wishbone Day"- even the name makes me smile :-)

Celebrate with me on May 6th, 2011

Wear Yellow, and think about or read about someone special with OI that day...because they can do anything they set their minds to do, even if some people say that they can't!

This is a great video of kids with OI, beating the odds, and doing what kids do! :-)

Six Months!

My Mya is six months old!!

She's still such a little peanut...but she's definitely growing (even her hair...a little!)!

I"ll admit that somehow, Mya has gotten a little spoiled. She needs to be able to see someone at ALL times...and the moment you walk out of the room (if even for a second) she screams her little bald head off! What am I going to do with her?!

Mya also seems to be a little more lazy than Cayden ever was! She makes no effort yet to hold her own bottle, only rolls over after getting mad about being on her belly, and is not really attempting at moving or sitting up yet. She will sit for about a minute if I place her in the sitting position, so I know she's got the strength to do it, just not the will to do it I guess! All in her own time! She's gonna be special...I know that for sure!

She is very observant - she takes it all in, and smiles at almost everything she sees. She loves to watch people, especially her big brother. There's an obsession there that I hope remains for a really long time!

How could you not adore that face?! The last six months have flown by, but they've been great. Now that Mya is here, I couldn't imagine what life would be without her. I am REALLY looking forward to what the future holds for my little family!

A Day at the Museum

This weekend, we decided to have some good family time. Everything we would decide to do, we'd do together. Friday, I played with the kids all day! We made train tracks, we colored, we watched shows, we danced in the family room to music! It was lots of fun. And when Daddy got home from work, the fun continued. We had "Pizza and movies" Friday! It was a nice treat, and lots of fun!

The kiddos play so well together...It really just consists of Cayden "showing" Mya how to play as she watches her big brother in amazement. She's obsessed...and I love it!

We all slept in today (Saturday), and when we woke up, we decided it would be a great day to take a family field trip to the History Museum (or as Cayden calls it, the "Dino Aseum!") So we packed up and headed out for an adventure!

Cyle and I haven't been here before (well I have, but it's been years!) and seeing as how Cayden was just there a few weeks ago with MeMe and Papa, he was an excellent tour guide! He literally pulled Cyle, as I pushed Mya in the stroller, right to the "Big, Big DINO'S!!"

He proceeded to run from one exhibit to the next, yelling out the proper names of all the dinosaurs. He's brilliant, I'm sure of it!

His next obvious favorite was the Coyotes! He'd scream "Look Daddy!! COYOTES! A-WHOOOO!"

Mya was a great little trooper! She didn't have much to say, but those big eyes were wandering from animal to animal as well!

This HUGE rhino was really the only thing that made Cayden a little bit nervous. He liked it, but just didn't want to get too close. I don't blame him!

We had some fun in the gift shop too!

Who is that scary Triceratops?!

Time for more animal fun. It made me smile to see just how fascinated Cayden was with each new species we came across. He walked from one animal to the next, independently, and studied them!

On the way out, near the exit, was the tunnel to the Planetarium. Cayden has a slight obsession with tunnels, so we HAD to walk through it! When we got to the end of the tunnel, he wasn't interested in what was on the other side, just turned around and wanted to go back out through the tunnel again!

It was a great trip - lots to see and learn! All of the walking and learning must have been hard work...this is what I found when I turned around in the car...just 5 minutes into the drive home! :-)

Big plans for tomorrow too! Daddy and Cayden are finishing up some final projects around the house so we can officially put it on the market...and Mommy and Mya are going grocery shopping! Can't beat a good family weekend!!

Fun in 2011

Here are some random captures from 2011!

Aunt Joy and Mason came over one day for a play date! Cayden loves to be a "Big Boy" and show others how to do things :-) He quickly showed Mason all of his favorite toys and shared well.

Deep conversation! Yes...they can occur between a 2 year old and a 9 month old!

Moving on...Mya at bath time! We have done away with the baby bath, she's so much happier splashing away like a big girl!

Loves those feet!

Every year (okay, well the last 2 years) Daddy and Cayden go out on the back deck after the first big snow and make Mama a snow "creature." Cayden absolutely loves this little guy - the same as last year, a mound of snow with little chunks from the pine tree for eyes and nose, tree twigs for arms and a smile, and a bucket hat! He get so excited to show me (waiting inside of course!) - he bangs on the glass door yelling "Mommy! Frosty!!"

Miss Mya loves her Bouncer! I remember Cayden loving to play in as well, but never got as crazy as this little girl likes to get! She squeals the loudest she can and jumps like a baby rabbit!

I think someone might end up with cheeks like her brother! :-)

Mama got Zumba Fitness videos for Christmas, and Cayden has been hard at work to get a good jump start on his New Years Resolution: "Grow Big Like Daddy!!"

He lays on the floor, and "lifts weights" using my Zumba shake sticks! They weigh next to nothing, but he sure thinks he's working hard!!

I think it's going to be a good year!

:-)

Daddy's Happy Birthday!!

Friday, February 4th, was as Cayden would put it..."Daddy's Happy Birthday!!" While Cyle was at work, and Miss Mya was napping, Cayden and I really put our heads together to come up with the perfect thing to do for Daddy's birthday. I said, "Cayden, why don't we draw Daddy a picture?!" He loved the idea! So I got paper, and some crayons and asked my little Chump what he wanted to put on the picture. His immediate response was "Brachiosaurus!!" So he sat smiling and giggling as I placed a Long Neck at the bottom of the page. I asked him what he wanted next..."CAMO!!" It was so adorable to me that he knows just what his daddy loves, and wanted to incorporate all of it. So I got some camouflage colors and did some camo. "What next Cayden?" He answered, "Our best friend Buddy!!" So I did my best to draw Buddy the T-Rex! Cayden just watched, smiling...very happy with his picture. He then helped me write "Happy Birthday Daddy!" He wanted to put it right on the fridge! Instead, I sent it to Cyle, as a picture message on his phone...a birthday note from his favorite boy:

His immediate response melted my heart...

" :-) I love that boy. :-) It's because of him that I'm the person I am today. :-)"

And it's so true. These two are the best of buddies, and I LOVE watching them together every day.

After Cyle got home from work that day, we headed out to spend the weekend in Van Wert, and MeMe was keeping the kids for the weekend! We just wanted to take some time for ourselves and enjoy a nice weekend and have some fun! Later that night, we received this video from Cayden...

This melted my heart too...and Cyle's. We spent the rest of the weekend talking about our kids, relaxing, having fun, talking about our kids, drinking, shooting guns, coyote hunting with the guys, and talking some more about our kids. It really made me realize what's important in our lives :-) We are lucky.

Over the weekend I also really took in the environment, and really started to take notice of the place that I will soon call Home. We talked about plans for the house, changes to be made and work to be done. We spent a lot of time outside, and I realized how much I like the land, and never really realized the beauty of it. I found myself staring out the windows, during the snow storm and thinking to myself how I LOVE that the property is really surrounded by trees. It will be nice to be enveloped in this once we're here. I decided to try to get some good photos from around the house...

Our Dozer.

And Dallas.

And the great outdoors...

It was a great "Daddy's Happy Birthday" weekend!