Barreling Into Our Lives

I believe that most of our readers are familiar with Bryce's tumultuous beginnings and most of you also know that there are a hand full of organizations that I credit with helping us to get through the hardest time in our lives. One such organization is Hand to Hold, a local Austin non-profit that works solely with the parents of preemies by providing resources, peer mentoring and community to a group that tend to otherwise feel thrust out into a world of doctors, therapists and special needs all alone.

Well, this month we are the highlight family for Hand to Hold's website. Please take a second to refresh yourself on the story that brought you to us all those months ago and consider supporting this amazing organization:

Barreling Into Our Lives

Wait a minute!

What happened to my little baby!?

New Year, New Bryce

With 2010 soundly behind us I now have the ability to look back at a full year of having Bryce home with us. We were busy, busy, busy trying to help him be all that he can be (to knock off the army).

We had 52 straight weeks of physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, dietician counseling, doctor visits and specialist check ups. We also had some real moments of panic and some very real moments of awe. We learned that just because there is a tried and true way to teach a CP preemie how to do new things there also may be an equally effective alternative. We've spend a lot of time pushing, pushing, pushing only to be left frustrated and defeated. But then a week later see the fruits of our labor come into a full bloom.

And so, as this new year begins we begin anew with our efforts to afford Bryce every opportunity we possibly can to be the best Bryce he can be. We have the support of our tireless family, some wonderful organizations (Hand to Hold, March of Dimes, Graham's Foundation) and the best therapists we could possibly ask for to help us navigate this winding road.

What on the itinerary for 2011, you ask? Well, crawling. And sitting. And words. And eventually, hopefully walking.

In 2010 we witnessed Bryce progress from essentially being a newborn on oxygen with serious feeding issues, who just so happened to actually be 6 months old, to being developmentally a 6 month old who rolls, babbles, mimics and loves to make you laugh. It's not as much change as a "normally developing" baby would make in a year but it's truly remarkable for Bryce.

Unfortunately, for Bryce we now know how much he is capable of. And so our immediate goal is to put almost, kind of sitting and rolling as a means of transportation behind us to focus on a Bryce who sits at will for extended periods of time and uses crawling as his means of getting where he wants when he wants.

And we're off to a great start already. My dad and I are working on an "anti-rolling device" that will make rolling impossible for Bryce while on the floor. He mostly hates it but as you can see from the videos from yesterday with the prototype, he's taking "baby steps" already.

Just One Good Push



Progress

We thank you all for continuing to stick by us as 2010 flew by and 2011 begins. May you all have a wonderful, productive and rewarding new year!

Preemie Power Video

I know we've been MIA and I'm so sorry for that! This time of the year is always busy and we're hosting an open house for Christmas weekend so it's even busier than usual. BUT I'm not complaining because I love Christmas and all the family and friends that gather around.

In an effort to tide you over I thought I'd offer this wonderful video. It's a recap of the Preemie Power Photo Contest in which Bryce (aka the Amazing Bryce-anator) was named one of the winners.

The short video brought a smile to my face and I hope it will do the same for each of you!



Thanks for continuing to support us! And check in on us! And we'll be back in full blogging force before you know it!

Much love and happy holidays to you all!

It's that time of year

I just love this time of year! I have many fond Christmas memories from my childhood and I never knew how much it would mean to me to begin to build memories like those with my own family. I feel especially blessed this year to have Bryce to share the season with. And this year we're beginning a holiday tradition of opening our home for Christmas weekend to ALL of our friends and family. I'm so looking forward to a house full of family, friends, food and laughter - what more can you ask for for Christmas?!

One of my fondest Christmas memories from childhood is our annual trip out to Elgin, TX to the Elgin Christmas Tree Farm. This year, on our way home from a great Thanksgiving trip to Louisiana and then Houston, we made our little family's first annual trip to the very same farm from my childhood. So much of it was just as I remembered, from the hay rides to the hot chocolate and eventually, after much searching, walking and deliberating, to the discovery of the "perfect" tree.

We opted to carry Bryce (poor decision?) so he could be a part of the action. He really seemed to appreciate it, despite the wind and chill, as you can see here.

And after a long, long hunt - we finally found it!

And so Caleb went right to working cutting it down for us.

And Bryce and I snapped a quick picture with our tree before Caleb hauled it back to the farm entrance so they could shake out the loose needles, bag it and measure it. At 8' 6" it fits perfectly in our living room and it may be a little crooked and have a couple bare spots but the memory is just perfect.

So now the endeavor to get the tree decorated, the outside lights up and the indoors festively adorned has begun. I'm determined to take it slow and enjoy every second.

In the meantime, I also had the opportunity to get our Christmas cards ordered today. We ordered them from shutterfly, who have some great designs at pretty reasonable prices. I can't wait for them to arrive - not only so I can turn them around and get them right back out - but so I can see them too! Here's a sneak preview:

With Love Chartreuse Christmas 5x7 folded card

Make a statement with custom Christmas cards at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

I am forever indebted to Candi (Candi Coated Photography) for the adorable pictures on the cards. She did an amazing job of capturing our family despite unruly wind and a cast of clowns. If Candi hasn't taken a picture of you and your family yet you're missing an opportunity to capture a moment in time perfectly. You can check out Candi Coated Photography on Facebook too! Thank you, Miss Candi - we love you!!