July 4th

Happy July 4th weekend! I hope everyone had a good one. We took a trip to New Mexico it was so much fun. Below are some pics.

I realized I have been just been posting pics of what we are up to and not really saying much about how Andrew is doing. Andrew now says three words-hi, dog and dad. He started to see a speech therapist last week so I'm hoping his vocabulary will expand soon. He is still walking along the furniture but not taking steps on his own. He was fitted for braces last week and will start wearing those a few hours a day. We are hoping it will give him the confidence to walk on his own. The doctors see no reason why he can't. He has full leg function and movement. They think he just needs to get the hang of it. Everything health wise has been good (knock on wood). I definitely don't take anything for granted. After we took that big trip to Hawaii I was holding my breath hoping he would be fine. Last summer when we travelled he would get run down and sick but after his spinal surgery in January he seems to be doing a lot better (again knock on wood). It is crazy having a two year old. He developed a personality overnight. He is funny, kind and loves animals. He has his typical two year old moments but overall we really lucked out when God chose us to be his parents.

Happy 4th of July 

The Rio Grande Gorge Bridge 

The Sandia Tram 

The beautiful New Mexico scenery 

One of the oldest churches in the United States 

My Little Cowboy!

I had to share these pictures with you. We signed Andrew up for horseback riding lessons. He loved it!! Next lesson I'm going to try to take a video and post it here. It was so funny. He was supposed to start on a miniature pony named Rosie. Well poor Rosie didn't stand a chance. Andrew hopped on like he was John Wayne so his instructor moved him to a bigger horse named Sally. By the time he made it around the track once he was already giving her flank a kick to get her to go. He did so well!

When he was outside riding he had to wear a helmet. 

Happy Father's Day!

I wanted to say happy father's day to all the fathers out there!

My dad was a fantastic example to me growing up on what makes a man great. I know he is just a phone call away and he is always there for me. When I was in Philly on bed rest after having fetal surgery he drove 6 hrs to sit by bedside when my husband had to leave for 2 hrs for his job. That is just the type of dad he is and I am really lucky!!

My husband is also a great man, husband, and father. All the things that happened to our son was always manageable because I had him. I remember one awful time in the NICU where they didn't think our son would make it. My husband was away in training for his job in Texas and he jumped on the red eye and was back with us as soon he possibly could. As soon as I saw him walk through Andrew's hospital door I fell asleep. That may sound strange but I was so exhausted from staying up and worrying all night. When I saw him I knew he would take on all the worry for me and be there by Andrew's side just as I would. He always keeps us going and is strong for me when I can't be strong. Aside from my son he is the best thing that has ever happened to me. Again I am so lucky!!

Happy Birthday to our sweet boy!

Hi!

This last week we have been celebrating Andrew's birthday. I can't believe he is two. His birthday always makes me reflect back on everything. My husband and I just spend the day hugging and kissing him. We are both so grateful he is here and doing well. He is truly our little miracle. Below are some pics of his bday celebration!

I hope everyone is having a great summer so far!

Back from Hawaii!

Hello,

We are finally back from Hawaii. We got in last night. It was such an amazing trip! Andrew did so well on the long plane ride. He read his books and slept. We were so proud of him. During the trip we went to Oahu and Maui. We also had Andrew baptized on the beach. While we were in the NICU I used to daydream  about taking Andrew there and getting him Baptized. To have it finally happen was amazing. It was more beautiful than any daydream I had. Below are some pics of our trip (sorry for the amount but it was Hawaii so  it was hard to choose just a few.

Baptism 

The Minister's at Andrew's Baptism

Hiking 

Beach 

Oh yeah matching Aloha shirts....cheesy but so cute!!! 

Watching the dolphins 

Hi,

Sorry it took me a few weeks to update. Things have been so busy. We had some doc appts for Andrew and they went great. According to the MRI his back has healed really well. Basically with all the appointments they looked at every part of his body and everything looks really good. With this little guy I never take anything for granted so it was a relief to get such positive news.

Below is a pic of Andrew on Easter. Sorry it is so late.

I will update this at the end of May because we are taking a family vacation to Hawaii for the next few weeks. So excited!!!! We are going to Oahu and then Maui for a bit. We are also finally doing Andrew's baptism. My family is coming and it will be on the beach so it will be a really special time. I'm sure I will post lots of pictures of our trip when we get back.

I hope everyone has a good April and May!!

                                                      Our Little Easter Bunny

Hi,

We are back from our little whirlwind trip. We went to Vail, Aspen, Frisco and Glenwood Springs. We wanted to take advantage of the ski season before spring comes. It was the first time we went to Aspen and it was beautiful! Vail is really nice but the slopes in Aspen are definitely more my speed. I  like the ones that are really long and you can ski forever. Vail the hills seem shorter and steeper but still so beautiful there. Glenwood Springs have these ancient hot springs that the Native Americans used to use to heal people. We sat in it for ages. It was so relaxing and I think after Andrew's surgery it probably was healing for him too. The water was about 94 degrees and I could smell the minerals. There was snow all around us so it was amazing. Definitely a fun trip. My mom came with us so it made the trip even better. Andrew is a great traveller which makes life much easier.

Andrew has been doing really well. He started back to OT and PT. We have another MRI next week to make sure everything still looks good. I will update this when we get the results.

                                                              Aspen, Colorado

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