Gingerbread Trains

On Thursday, we made Gingerbread Trains with our friends Cason and Linden. Sarah was nice enough to bring the trains over assembled and ready to decorate. The kids had a lot of fun getting creative with the icing and different candies. Surprisingly, I think Brody and Cason made it the whole time without eating any of their candy. I can't say the same for Colby and Linden, though. I'm pretty sure the two of them ate more candy than they put on their cabooses. I am so happy that we did this with the Farleys again this year!

Cason and Linden's Gingerbread Train

Brody and Colby's "Choo-Choo"

Hendersonville Christmas Parade 2010

We went to the annual Hendersonville Christmas Parade on Sunday. It was very cold and snowing, which made it such a perfect day! We had a great time!!

Waiting for the Parade to start...

We watched the parade this year with Carleigh and Tucker. We all missed Mary Grace and Carolyne, but we are very proud of them for dancing in this year's parade with their dance companies.

I always love seeing the happiness and excitement in their faces!

The boys love seeing the floats, the bands, the clowns, and Santa, but I am pretty sure their favorite part is all the candy that is handed out!

Waving at one of the many floats...

Santa and Mrs. Claus smiled and waved right at the boys...they loved it!

No More Feeding Therapy

I haven't updated in a while on Colby's feeding therapy. We have had a crazy experience to say the least! During the first therapy session, his therapist shared a spoon with him...she ate from the spoon and then allowed him to eat from the spoon. I honestly thought that it was just an accident. I kept telling myself that she shared the spoon unintentionally, so I didn't say anything and let it go. Two days later, we took Colby to the pediatrician's office and were told he had Strep Throat.

Before his second therapy session, I warned his therapist that Colby was just getting over Strep Throat. I thought that would make her very conscious about whose spoon was whose. Well, I was wrong! Again, she shared a spoon with Colby. At this point, I am in complete shock and unable to say anything. I did not want to offend her, but I was seriously grossed out by a stranger sharing a spoon with my "cardiac kid" who does not need to get sick! His half heart cannot handle illness very well. As soon as we left that session, I called his cardiologist's office to get some advice. I had no idea how to handle this situation.

Mary Beth, our cardiologist's nurse, called me back the following Monday. By this time, Colby now had a stomach bug and was throwing up! So, after both sessions of spoon sharing, he gets sick! I guess it could be a coincidence, but it is not very likely, especially since Colby has not been sick a hand full of times his entire life!

Mary Beth spoke with a Speech Pathologist that does some feeding therapy for the cardiac patients while they are in the hospital. They were both shocked that spoons were being shared. The speech pathologist actually called the therapy center to discuss with the supervisor. Apparently, this is something that the majority of the therapists do. Gross! I cannot even express to you how upset this made me! I wasn't sure what we were going to do now, but I knew for sure we would not be returning to this center for feeding therapy!!

After the speech pathologist made some phone calls to other therapy centers, she suggested that we try a center in Mt. Juliet called Lyttle Fox. She also suggested that the therapist at Lyttle Fox evaluate Colby for an oral motor feeding problem. His former feeding therapist was focusing on a sensory approach, but that would not be helpful to him because he does not have any sensory issues. So, last Monday, we went to Lyttle Fox to meet with another feeding therapist. After spending a little time with Colby and speaking to me, the therapist basically said there was nothing she could really do for Colby because he has NO feeding issues. He doesn't have sensory issues with certain foods and he does not have any oral motor problems, such as chewing and swallowing.

As you can imagine, I left this appointment very happy but also very frustrated!! Why in the world was the other therapy center so adamant about him needing feeding therapy when he doesn't! Yes, he is small, yes he can be a picky eater, but yes, he is a TWO year old! I don't think I have met a 2 year old yet that isn't picky or stubborn at times.

Anyways, long story short...Colby does not need feeding therapy. The wonderful therapist at Lyttle Fox made some great suggestions about adding extra calories to his preferred foods, encouraged me to keep trying new foods with him, and basically made me feel so much better!

New Big Boy Rooms

While at the beach in October, Colby slept in a big bed. He did great and loved every minute of it. so instead of putting him back into his crib when we got home, we decided to go ahead and make this big transition. I have to admit this was pretty tough for me. As I watched Jason take the crib completely apart to convert it, I cried! All I could think was that our last baby is now out of his crib. This was the last "baby" thing in our house, and it is now gone. No more babies! Over the course of two weeks, Colby moved to a big boy bed, started using more and more words, had his first dentist appointment, and then gave up his pacis without a fuss. This was a lot for me to take in and get adjusted to!

We always planned to put Brody back into his old room once we converted the crib to a big bed. So, this meant a lot of unexpected work for Jason! Fortunately, my mom and dad were nice enough to help. They took apart Brody's bunk bed and moved into the other room after taking apart the crib and getting it out of the way. Of course, we couldn't move Brody into a room that was painted baby colors, so a new coat of paint was needed. My dad knocked that out in one day so Brody only had to miss one nap in his bed. Thanks Gacky!!!

After the beds were moved and the paint was done, the rooms were almost complete...all but the valance in Brody's room. It had to be replaced, because it was made specifically for the nursery bedding. We really did not want to spend too much on replacing it, since Christmas is so close. So, after a few weeks of looking at different options, my creative and incredibly talented husband went to work and made the valance! It looks awesome! Jason amazes me daily with all of his many hidden talents!

Both boys are very happy in their new big boy rooms!

No more crib...it is now a full size bed!

Colby was so excited he couldn't even wait for them to put the mattress on. He was already getting it ready for his nap.

Brody supervising Gacky and Poogie as they install Colby's safety rails...Brody is always a great helper!

The boys trying out Colby's new "big boy" bed. We didn't even have bedding yet!

Now it is a big boy room with bedding and all! It is decorated with trains and tractors...2 of Colby's favorite things.

Brody's bunk bed fits so much better in this bedroom, and he loves his brown walls!

Check out that valance! I still can't believe Jason made it!

Our Holiday Weekend

I LOVE long weekends with no school for Brody and no work for Jason! We always have so much fun spending time together! Getting back to our regular routines today was definitely tough.



On Wednesday, Jason got all of our Christmas boxes out of the attic and put up the tree. Brody did a great job helping me decorate it while Jason was at work. He was so surprised when he got home that afternoon.

On Friday night, we went to dinner with the Schimmels and watched the tree lighting at the Streets of Indian Lake. It was very cold, so we didn't stay long. I'm glad we were there long enough to get this cute picture of Remi and the boys, though.

On Saturday night, we took the boys to their first Hockey Game. We had a great time, but I unfortunately didn't get great pictures. I forgot my camera, so I had to resort to my cell phone.

On Sunday, we hung the stockings and finished putting out the rest of the decorations, and Jason got the lights up outside. The boys loved waking up after nap and seeing it all finished!

Thanksgiving Day 2010

Thanksgiving Day could not have been more perfect! We started by going over to Jeremy and Tammy's house for breakfast and to play with Emilee and Kylee. We then went over to Granny Shug's house for an outstanding lunch and a great time visiting with my side of the family. Our day ended with Jeremy and Tammy and the girls coming over for an unexpected visit...the power unfortunately went out at their house. Brody and Colby had a blast playing with their cousins all day long, and I absolutely love seeing them have so much fun together. I hope that they are close friends for life!

Granny Shug putting her amazing cornbread muffins in the oven

Brody and Darbye...both 4 going on fourteen!

Me and my sister

Jeanine and her 2 girls, Harper and Darbye

Colby's new favorite drink...Diet Coke

Colby had to check out the toy sales with Jason

Colby loves his Gacky!

One crazy group!

Kylee, Emilee, and the boys

We had such a great Thanksgiving, and we have so much to be thankful for! I don't even know where to begin with listing all of the things that we are thankful for, not only on Thanksgiving but every single day of the year. We have been blessed beyond belief, and I am so thankful to God for everything in our lives...the good and the bad. It may sound funny to be thankful for bad things, but since Colby's diagnosis and over the last 2 years, I know without a doubt in my mind that everything happens for a reason and is part of God's awesome plan for our lives!

Thanksgiving at Nenny and Pa's House

Last Saturday, we celebrated Thanksgiving with Jason's extended family at Nenny and Pa's house. We always look forward to seeing everyone at this Thanksgiving get together. I think there were around 50 or more people! The boys had a great time playing outside with the kids, and Jason and I had a great time visiting with the grown ups.