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

                                                               Hot Springs

Sorry I haven't posted in a few weeks. We have been traveling and enjoying the rest of winter. Andrew is doing really well. He starts back with PT and OT next week. We have been on a little break from therapy while he is healing. He is so close to walking and I think therapy will give him the strength to let go of our hands and walk on his own. I hope I will be able to update this soon with a video of him walking.

We are going to Aspen to enjoy the rest of the ski season.  I will post some pictures of our trip when we get back. Until then I hope everyone has a great March!

Below is a picture from our trip to Leadville, Colorado. It is the highest incorporated city in the USA. It is 10,152 feet elevation above sea level.  It is truly God's Country. The picture doesn't even do it justice.

Happy Valentine's Day! 

I just wanted to update that Andrew is doing great. All the antibiotics are done and PICC line removed. He is walking along the furniture and so close to walking on his own! 

Thank you so much all for the emails! I try to answer back whenever I can. I'm making a book for Andrew when he is older and I always save all the emails so I can put them in there.  He will be able to see what a sweet fan club he has. 

Here are some pics we took over the weekend

Hi!

I hope everyone is having a good New Year so far! I can't believe January is pretty much over. My parents always told me time flies when you have kids and they were right. It definitely makes you slow down and be grateful. I can't believe my little bean is going to be two years old in a few months. Speaking of he has been doing really well. I think we get to take the PICC line out next week! So excited for this.  It is a lot of maintenance and it is hard for him to get around with all the equipment. Before his spinal surgery he could carry most of it in a backpack but now he is a little too sore to carry all that weight. I will post a pic below of some of his antibiotics. He has been such a great sport about all of it. My husband and I just have to trail after him holding the equipment so he can move around. He is back to crawling at warped speed and is now working on standing and walking again. The docs told us it could take 6 months to get back to this point but they don't realize who they are dealing with...Andrew doesn't let a major back surgery get in his way! My little guy teaches me so much about courage and strength everyday. As I mentioned before he had eye surgery a week before everything happened with his back. Unfortunately because of all the neurological stuff with his spine his eye surgery was made useless. So we are back to wearing glasses and in June possibly another eye surgery. The doc thinks the 2nd surgery will definitely do the trick.

Everything else has been going really well. We were trying to lay low after all his hospitalizations and surgery but the weather has been too beautiful. We have been having 65 degree days. Not the type of weather I thought we would be having in Colorado. The nice thing is Vail is just a short drive so we still get to ski. We went to Boulder last weekend and it is beautiful! I definitely recommend going there for anyone visiting Colorado.

I hope everyone is having a good week!

Being silly. He is in that stage of unbuttoning all of his outfits. 

Out to eat 

Already sitting up again

Some of his antibiotics that he has to carry around 

Hi!

I'm so sorry it has taken me so long to update this. Thank you so much for all the emails inquiring about how Andrew is doing. It has been such an insanely busy month. It was mostly spent in the hospital but even there it was so hectic. Definitely different then the NICU where Andrew mostly slept. Now I'm trying to keep a toddler entertained in a very small room while he is hooked up to many wires. I'm happy to report Andrew had his surgery last Friday so we are on the other side of it and he is healing. Very sore but healing. The surgery was intense. It was eight very long stressful hours. The hospital was great on updating us each hour to let us know how he was doing. Having your child undergo a serious surgery like this is the most gut wrenching thing. You would give anything to be able trade places with them and you feel like you have no control. The other surgeries he has had seem like nothing now. Thankfully my husband is my rock. He keeps me afloat and is strong for both of us. I know as Andrew gets older and things like this come up I will have to put on a very brave face for him so he doesn't get scared. Anyway on the bright side we are all home and enjoying every second of it. We also celebrated a very late Christmas since we were in the hospital over the holidays. I love Christmas so I just looked at the positive and we got to have an extended Christmas this year. I also had my family here which was beyond helpful.

I hope everyone had a great holiday and are having a great New Year so far! 

 Finally getting home to celebrate the holidays! 

His new scar. What a tough little guy! 

Hanging with Dad in the hospital 

At home recovering and being a couch potato