Big Boy (tear!)

I know a little boy who is going to be 2 years old soon (2 weeks - eek!)
So Nick wants to show you what he got!

And when I see him on Katheryn's bed and how much he loves it, we knew that it was time.
The time for the Big Boy Bed.

You know, the one where they have a little more freedom. You can't just pull up the side rail and walk away, tell them to sleep but know that he won't climb out of bed. Nope, Kyle and I thought it was time to give Nick a little bit more freedom. To show him that he could climb out of bed if he wants to. A little independence.

Sometimes I feel like I'm the only mom who wants my kid to get into trouble. Yes climb out of bed in the middle of the night, yes grab that toy you want, yes hit your sister back (oops did I just write that).

So the Big Boy Bed is kind of major.

Katheryn thinks the bed is great! She gets to climb into bed with him, she gets to bounce on the bed with him. And he gets to bounce on the bed with her!

We came up with the best idea! How to let Nick enjoy his new bed, but still give him the freedom to get in and out with his limited mobility?
2 levels of bed. The top mattress is a twin/single. Which gives Nick lots of room. Then the foundation or boxspring is a double/full. So Nick's bed has a step! A built in step.

We actually had to order the mattress and boxspring separately so when we had the mattress we just put it right down. But we got the boxspring all set up - it looks great!

We are working on getting him to back down the step (with the plain mattress he was going down face first). And I'm hoping that the conductive education and working with the plinth (the wooden table) he is getting comfortable pushing down like that.

So far, so good. Nick has been sleeping well in it. We even let him sleep in extra the first morning so that he could wake up and get himself out of bed!
He's such a big boy! (tear)

A Face of spina bifida

Guess who was featured on Cassie's blog as a face of spina bifida!

http://themclellands.blogspot.com/2011/10/faces-of-spina-bifida-meet-brianna-and.html

Cassie asked us to write about what we wished we knew when we got the diagnosis.

I wrote about Happiness!
Something I've learned alot about!

Please take a moment to read about the other faces of spina bifida!

Falling Together

On a nice fall day, sometimes it's nice to just have a swing by the lake.

And some days there isn't anything better than having a good swing.

Maybe finding some treasure.

And learning something new.

 Going for a walk on the beach

 And having time to take it all in.

Some family time - even if none of the kids want to smile for the picture!

A great meal

(even if mom and dad forgot to bring the hi-chair!)

And a quick jump in the pile of leave is a definite must!

And ending the night with some moon watching.

And we'll miss the cottage until next year!

And be thankful to a great dinner with family.



Sweet Music

Making their own music.
Playing together.

A soft touch, and some sweet music.

Picture Perfect

In the middle of this past week of sadness, there was some bright spots, and (if I do say so myself) some beauty.

We got our pictures from Alana this week, in the middle of the madness. (check out Alana's blog to read what she thought too).

It was so hard to pick out some favorites. They are ALL favorites. I can't even say a first, second or third favorite!!!

So I'm loaded them all up on an album. (But I guess I am posting some favorites if you don't want to go through all 40 pictures)

It's hard to put to words how much these photos mean to us.

They are beautiful, but more than that! They are us!

It is forever, it is happiness and laughter all bottled up in print (or pixels)

I couldn't wait to put them around my blog, and now I'm just thinking of where to put them all around the house.

I just wish there were more of Katheryn. But I completely know that what Katheryn doesn't want to do, she doesn't do. So when she's 16 years old and asking why we have all these pictures with Nick and not with her - well, she liked to be with Alana, where the action was.

And she flat out refused to come and join us in the pictures. (hmmm, I wonder if I can photoshop her in this one?)

And when we did coax her out, she had on her 'I'm not happy' face!

The kids LOVED the chair! It was such a good prop!

Maybe too good of a prop!

And of course we got him in the walker! Alana was able to colour Rosie to more of a red-rose. Perfect!

AND, my most favorite picture (yes I do have a first). I couldn't wait to see how this turned out. I wanted it for my header for my blog. I kept my summer pictures up until we got this one! And then it wouldn't let me change the picture all week (I had to upgrade to add more photos).

(And I do want full credit for our coordinating outfits). You know how much time and effort I had to put into these outfits! I thought about it all summer, and we even  had alternate outfits depending on the weather.

So THANK YOU Alana, THANK YOU Helping Hearts!!!!! We had a fantastic experience and will have these pictures in our lives for a long, long time.