Weekned Getaway

We needed a getaway from our home away from home so we headed to see Shannon and the family for the weekend. It was SO fun! We made it to Cody's baseball game, did a little shopping, lunch out with the adults, shooting (yes, I shot a gun for the first time), church, and relaxation. These cousins just love each other!!! Shannon soaked in some love from Maylee, Rylee and Justin could not get enough of the little peanut, Carter loved playing with his cousins and helping with the animals, Drew loved playing and snuggling with his cousins, Maylee got her nail painted complete with one foot with sparkles and one without per her request, and Cater was obsessed with the hard-boiled eggs (lovingly named Bob and later Betty) his nice Aunt Shannon made for him over and over again cracked egg after cracked egg (Uncle Ehan took care of the egg while they napped and Carter even made a nest for it at the baseball game)

 

Therapy Day 5

Friday went great. Drew is loving his "spiderman" tape. I was able to sneak in for the last couple minutes. He has made some progress already. Drew has been able to walk upstairs without holding onto a rail using alternating feet, but going downstairs he always had to hold the rail and would use a "step-to" gait pattern. On Friday therapist told me he could go down the stairs without holding the rail using alternating feet. I watched and HE DID IT! Then he continued to do it throughout the weekend. Amazing - super excited for the next two weeks and to see what else Drew will be able to do. Love you Andrew!!!

The BIG Candy Store

In my prep for Utah I was searching for fun things to do and I came across a candy/toy store that we had to visit. Carter was super excited about the "big candy store" and was talking about it for days. It was so fun! They were more excited about the toys than the candy which is fine by me!

Yee-Haww!!!!!

 

Carter picked a new Honeybee Tree game and Drew had his heart set on a marshmallow shooter bow. We grabbed a couple too many other gifts and finished up. It was a fun stop!

Therapy Day 4

Drew turned into spiderman today! They applied Kinesio tape. I am still trying to understand everything, but I think this will help with spasticity, posture, gait, etc. It should stay on for 3-6 days depending on activity level and skin type. Drew thinks he is pretty cool and shoots webs at everyone he sees! I had a great talk with the main PT at the end of therapy. I was very impressed. He is very smart and I know he is doing everything he can to help Drew. He talked about his "tough love" and he is not being mean, but wants to help Drew. I completed understand and support this. He said something that really hit me and actually made me cry...."I would rather him cry for 30 minutes to an hour than to cry the rest of his life." He wants him to be more independent. We are hoping and praying for some great results and are so grateful for this opportunity. Drew is so positive and is doing incredible!

Hooked

Bry took Carter to buy fishing gear on Tuesday while Drew was napping. They were all a little excited about the new gear so they tried out some casting in the backyard. It was so cute!! Bry took them fishing on Wednesday while Maylee was napping so I could work. They didn't catch anything, but it sounded like they had a lot of fun!

Therapy Day 3

Day three went great! Drew got a good night's sleep and ate a good breakfast...and I am sure that his new super hero shirt helped just a little. He was excited to go. I stuck around for a bit of stretching and he was sad to see me go, but that didn't last long. When Bry picked him up he said Drew didn't want to leave!!! Yay! Bry had to bride him with fishing this afternoon to get him to come home. I am so glad he enjoyed today! I know he works hard and a lot is required, but he is an amazing kiddo and he never ceases to amaze me. **the picture is a bit blurry - he was a little wiggly!

Therapy Day 2

He survived his first full day! I was politely asked to leave in the beginning. I knew he would do better without me there, but goodness it was hard to leave him there for four hours. Bry picked up him today and the therapists said he did great. He was tried, but hung in there. I asked him if he cried and he said yes and that he doesn't like the suit, but he liked the monkey cage! I sure enjoyed our snuggle time this afternoon until he fell asleep. Sweet boy slept for a much needed 2 1/2 hours. He is excited to wear his new super hero shirt tomorrow!

The Aquarium

I love the aquarium and the kiddos have never been so we headed to enjoy some fishy beauty! Shannon and the kids met us there. I love how much these cousins ADORE each other. Minus a potty accident by Maylee, Carter getting knocked down by "a kid" when we were not around, and Drew's inevitable ability to continuously "explore" on his own it was a fabulous trip! I have to say the baby seahorses were one of my favorites!

Therapy Day 1

Today was Drew's first day of therapy. He was a bit apprehensive on the drive there and took a while to warm up to the therapists.

 

  
He had his initial evaluation where they took measurements and obtained a baseline of where his skills are at. We talked about goals and expectations. Lots of paperwork and chatting about the little man. He did great and got more comfortable as the time went on. He finally opened up when the male student therapist started talking about super heroes. Drew was excited to try his hero suit on......

 All went well until he had to go into a kneel in the suit. He was not thrilled. At least they got it fitted and ready for tomorrow. Hopefully he will feel better tomorrow with some more comfortable pants. He is such a brave little guy and we are so proud of him. He was rewarded with a trip to the aquarium today with his cousins - SUPER fun!

 

The First Leg

I prepped and prepped and prepped...physically, mentally, and emotionally. I stressed, wrote lists, procrastinated, and we counted down the days until the day of our big summer adventure. We had one week of down time between Drew getting out of school and our departure. Thursday I packed and loaded the van which was only made possible by my wonderful sister Shelley. We picked up Bry from work around 3 and headed to Cali. It was a long ride. Andrew is still my dream traveler. Carter is my "are we there yet" and Maylee is my tiny bladder child. I keep a potty seat and turkey oven bags in the van. Lifesaver! I makes for a lot less stops!

Our Cali weekend was filled with lots of fun. We had so much fun at Brett and Krist's house eating pizza, swimming, and riding the quad! The boys had a BLAST. Carter was super excited about the clothes he got from his cousin Nicholas.

Of course there was plenty of time to love on Grammy and Poppie. Maylee went to my mom and dad right away. SO sweet. 

Saturday we made it to the beach. I was super excited to take the kids. It was a little chilly, but still fun nonetheless. There was a zip line there and we let the kids try it before we got to playing in the sand. I didn't get pictures, but goodness I wish I had. Drew went down on his own (I think my heart stopped for 10 seconds while he went down). He made it almost to the end, but right before he made it to Poppie waiting at the bottom he dropped and face planted into the sand. He popped right up and with his cute little sand covered face he said "I'm okay!" Love this kid! Carter didn't want to go; I swear the child is a mini me when it comes to these things. Maylee wanted to go and with some encouragement from Grammy and crazy thinking from me I took her. I held her in one hand and gripped the rope knot around in the crook of my arm and week took off. I slipped a bit in the beginning, but held tight and we made it to the bottom. Maylee loved it.
 

They loved the water, the sand, and the breeze....Ahhh the beach - I love it!

Saturday night we went to the Beach Boys Concert with Bob, Dianna, Josh, and Caitlin. It was SO fun. They put on a great 3 hour concert. We danced and froze. I didn't realize it would be outside and like 50° so I was a bit chilly in my short sleeves. Grammy and Poppie watched the kids while we were gone. The little stinkers were playing on the elliptical and Carter Cakes got his finger stuck. It was all a bit traumatic, but now we have this sweet picture post injury so I'd say it turned out okay!

The ride home from the concert was less than pleasurable. My lack of sleep and extreme exhaustion caught up with me and I got sick...in the car....yuck. Sunday morning we headed out about 9, made a pit stop so the kids could see Grandma and we were on our way to Utah. The kids did MUCH better on this leg of the trip than the drive to Cali. Thank goodness. I was tired.