18 1/2 weeks....

not a fan of pictures of myself....but I hate that I didn't document my other pregnancies with bump pics....so I'm really trying to do it this time. also....just in case you didn't hear. We are having a BOY!! He's healthy strong and VERY active! And yes, we are beyond excited!!

And I just had to throw this picture in....isn't she adorable! LOVE HER!

this and that....

We have had a busy couple of weeks, with Thanksgiving, doctor appointments, therapy, and then Daniel turning 6! yes he turned 6....i'm still in denial (Daniels Birthday post coming soon)  But I did manage to take a few pictures......I can't find our camera battery, so I have had to manage with my phone camera for now. Hopefully it will pop up here soon, I really don't want to have to buy another one. But we hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving, we sure did, we have a lot to be Thankful for this year.

The other morning I woke up to find this....LOVE IT! Brielle grabbed the iPad for Daniel and layed in bed and played quietly together......oh I'm so lucky to have these 2! She has taken such good care of Daniel while he has been in his cast!!

Even after waiting for 5 hours for our car to get worked on, she is still happy and so adorable! (i'm a lucky mama!)

Seriously, the happiest, and I must say most handsome little boy ever!

15 1/2 weeks.....

kinda, sorta have a bump now.....



Daniel's Surgery

October 21, 2011 Daniel had surgery, again. Yep, 6 surgeries in less than 6 years! Can we say he is a superstar or what!?!? This little boy has been through so much, and despite all the challenges and trials he endures, he continues to prove to all of us just how strong he is!! Because lets face it, in my 29 years I haven't been through half of what this 5 year old has! But he continues to teach me everyday and each day I gain a greater knowledge of why the Lord has blessed me with this little angel!

This was the first time we got to see him after surgery....this part always breaks my heart.

The first hour in recovery was VERY rough, he woke up very aggresive, and we couldnt manage his pain so they baically  "overloaded" him with drugs in recovery, and so with that he basically slept the next 36 hours, but due to so many medications in his system, he has some trouble breathing at times (which scared the crap out of me) but when he did wake up Sunday morning, he was back to my little Daniel, happy and ready to eat!

The second night his oxygen kept dropping, and he would forget to breathe at times. Needless to say, I didn't sleep much!

Ready to go home....

We are very grateful that things went as planned, and for all the love and support and prayers! We certaintly felt them! Now we just hope the next 6 weeks go by fast so we can get this little boy walking again!!

random pictures from the last few months......

Well, here I am, I guess I'm lucky if I get one post in a month :) But I'm starting to think I want to get this up and going again, I was looking at the last year realized I have no documentation of what has been happening! And it makes me sad....I thought FB would be easier, and it is, but I don't have things documented like I would here. So with that. I'm hoping for now I can do weekly updates, and maybe that will get me to take more pics of the kiddos, and this pregnancy. But in no particular order here a few pictures from our happening. Enjoy.

Daniels Kindergarten Picture.....isn't he Handsome!!

Headed out for Trick or Treating!

my little Devil....

a soldier....just like his daddy!

13 weeks Pregnant.....

BIG DAY!

I can't believe the day finally came....my boy started Kindergarten!! Here Kindergarten is full day, so he catches the bus at 7:50 and does not get home until 2:30!!! But he LOVES it, he loves his teacher, he loves riding the bus, he leaves home happy and comes home happy!! So despite me having Daniel withdrawls and missing him while he's gone, I know he is happy, and learning!!! He has already learned so much and our communication has improved dramatically!

isn't he Handsome! and look how happy he is!!!

the pass two year Jason has been away on Daniels first day of school (pre-school) but we got lucky this year and Daddy got to send him off on his first big day of school!!

and off he goes.......

Utah Trip

Over Labor Day Weekend me and the kids hopped on plane and headed home for a visit! A much needed visit too! Never knew how much I would miss home, it was wonderful to spend time with my parents, see my Grandma, and visit some amzing friends! I have decided though....one week just isn't enough time for visits! Plus the fact that most of the time I was plagued with morning sickness and being tired ALL DAY.....(In case you missed the FB post....We are expecting!! We are beyond thrilled and I can't wait to get into my second trimester, in hopes I can feel a little bit "normal" again!) I once again didn't take many pictures. But I'm proud I took a few :) We had a WONDERFUL time and I can't wait for our next visit...not sure when that will be. But hopefully SOON!

my sassy little girl.....

Love these two!!

Daniel loves visiting Grandpa, because he knows he'll get all the soda he wants. :) I think since we have been home he is still going through withdrawls!

4 Generations....Love these woman SO MUCH! They are such an amazing example to me!

My Grandma....one amazing woman!!

This is one thing I regret about this trip....not spending more time with this girl! Viv and I have been friends for what seems like forever!! She has just had her baby girl, and my trip was short, so I didn't see her as much as I wanted too. But I'm glad I got this afternoon with her and meet her precious Kendell! Love you Viv and can't wait for our next visit!!

My dad took us to the alpine slide....the kids LOVED it!!!

Brielle wanted to see the animals.....so we headed to the zoo, but once we got there, she got scared and wanted to stay in stroller (go figure) although she did love the little monkeys and birds...ha ha!

Knowledge is POWER!

Yesterday July 25, 2011 we received the best and worst news of our lives. Daniel has been diagnosed with Autism

Now I say this is great news, because we now have something to work with. We now can set a treatment plan, and focus our attention where is needs to be focused right now. I also said its bad news because the reality of it is, he has Autism. No one ever wants to hear something like that about there child. I always knew something was off with Daniel Developmentally and Socially. But we have seen a few different Neurologist, that always told us no, no, don't worry, its not Autism. But these fears and concerns kept eating at me, so I decided to get a second opinion. So we got our referral and headed to Phoenix Children's Hospital, the doctor walked in, watched Daniel interact with me, Jason, and his sister and also his cousin who was there with us, then continued to perform a few tests with Daniel, then after quite a few questions with us, we were told..... its Autism. He wasn't hesitant at all, actually very confident to tell us this news. Which I'm okay with, I'm glad he was'nt second guessing his diagnosis, I'm glad he was straight forward with us (in 5 1/2 years we have yet to have had a doctor who has been like that with us), we talked for quite awhile and he let us know that they are many different forms of Autism, and that Daniel obviously doesn't fit into the Most Severe cases, but he doesn't fit in the mild cases either, he said he was right about in the middle. Daniel can interact with people, he does make eye contact, which I believe it why many doctor's steered away from this diagnosis, but those doctors also only saw Daniel in a doctors office, not in social setting, not at home, but one on one with me, Daniel and the doctor. So maybe it was blessing that we all decided to go to this visit, because the doctor was able to see how Daniel is socially, and he saw that it was off. But Knowledge is Power and I'm ready to face this with Daniel, and we will do everything we possibly can to help him and give him the best life possible!! So now its time to research and educate myself!

Daniel....

I have been questioning doing this post for months, but considering this is my journal, and although I don't post nearly as much as I would like, I still want to document this.

 When we have our doctors appointments in Phoenix we typically go up the night before, we stay in a hotel, we relax, we spoil Daniel and that way the next day goes a lot smoother. Otherwise we would be driving 3 hrs up there,  have our appointment and then drive 3 hrs home, not fun with a 5 year old and a 2 year old. On this particular visit i'm so grateful we did this, because The night before Daniel got his casts off, he was in a lot of pain, we couldn't move his right foot without him crying and he just wasnt being himself. So when Daniel wasn't being his happy go lucky self, I knew it was serious. No matter what we did to try to make him happy, he just wasn't having it,  So we decided to take him to the ER at Phoenix Childrens Hospital. Well, I'm glad I followed my motherly instinct and took him in, turns out the pin in his right foot had come out early and was jabbing his foot in the cast, which was causing all the pain, plus because of the pin coming out early, his foot had become infected. So they decided we would not wait until the next day and they took the casts off that night, But once the casts were off and the pin was out all the way, he was back to his happy self. After waiting for what seemed like forever the orhopedic surgeon on call that night they wrapped his foot up,and sent us back to our hotel for the night, we were told to keep our appointment with our Doctor for the next day. The next morning we met with Daniels surgeon, all of the bandages came off, x-rays were taken of each foot, and after a long talk, and instuctions for the next few months we were sent home. Once we got to the car I thought phew...the surgery is over with, the casts are off, the hard part is over! Boy was I wrong! The next two months were some of the most trying and stressful months of my life. Daniel was very hesitant to start walking again, he wouldn't stand, he wouldn't even attempt it, but each day we continued to urge him to put some weight on his feet, then finally after weeks of trying and lots of Physical Therapy, he finally gained the confidence and slowly started to bear weight on his feet then each day he would do a little more, and by the end of the 2nd month he was up and walking and ready to take on the world!  Now here we are 6 months post op, and he is running, starting to jump and even attempting stairs!! Needless to say I'm a very proud mom!!

as Daniel sat there the pin just pushed itself out

The left foot was perfect!

this is how they were wrapped after our ER visit

ready to go home....now is the hard part. Learning to walking again!!