It's the little things...

Last night Brendan and his 5 year old sister had a wrestling match. It was really funny to watch. Brendan worked really hard and had a blast. He didn't want it to end and kept yelling one more time, one more time! He even took his sister down a few times. While this may seem like nothing for many kids it is huge for Brendan. It took a lot of effort but he really enjoyed it. Once again therapy and play rolled into one! I still get sad from time to time when I think about his struggle in life but that is only when he is not in front of me because when he is he doesn't let you feel sad. He is ALWAYS happy, smiling, laughing and just enjoying life. He cracks me up daily. The wheelchair has become part of him. It is his legs and he is fine with that, at least that is what it seems. He wheels around this house like a pro. I hardly yell at him for wheeling into walls anymore. Brendan is going to be Bounty Hunter for Halloween. He has been batman for 4 years so I really happy he wanted to be something else. We had to be creative and make his costume which was actually kind of fun. It may seem like an odd costume for a child but he absolutely loves that show. He know the lingo and probably every episode by heart. He doesn't watch much television but has two favorite shows, ICarly and Bounty Hunter. It is great to see him progressing in little ways. His pretend play has really progressed this past year. He can even entertain himself in his room with his tool bench. This has been a goal for so many years and he has finally met it! He achieves so many things and although they may take months or years while it only takes days for other kids his age he does it which makes one proud mama! Brendan is an inspiration, he truly is!

My boys and My girls

I love being able to say 'my boys' now. We have always referred to Chloe and Makayla as 'the girls' and since I always pictured myself having 3 boys it is nice to finally say 'my boys'. What I love most about Brendan is his lack of self pity. He does not have a jealous bone in his body. He loved watching Makayla meet all her milestones over the past 5 years and now he already loves watching Drew smile, talk, and just be a baby. He has nothing but love for his siblings and it makes you feel like you are doing something right. I enjoy listening and watching all of our children interact with each other. We have a very close family even though we aren't all 100% blood related. The kids would never think of each other anything but brothers and sisters and I love that. Chloe has started gymnastics and is amazing at it! She was the best in her class and she just started. She has self taught herself cartwheels, one handed cartwheels, round offs, and the splits. She practices all the time and has really perfected her skills in mere months. We were able to view her class last week and we are amazed. The teacher wants to move her up a level already. Now we just need to afford it but how can you not try when you find a natural talent in your child. We need to enroll Makayla in dance class because this child has danced since she was an infant. She can't even help herself. If music comes on that child is dancing and she has moves! She can feel the beat and dance to all kinds of music and we love watching her. Time for some coffee and get these kids ready to head to the shop! Our consignment shop is going well and I think we are finally going to take Sunday's off! If you ever want to check out pictures of what we have ( we can ship items!) check out our facebook page www.facebook.com/tivertontots. I have shipped two items already to children with special needs. Everyday baby gear that can make our lives easier.

Brendan is always progressing! Drew is 7 weeks already!

Brendan never stops progressing and for that I am forever thankful. He is really growing up on me. He will be the big 10 NEXT MONTH and I see a major difference from last year. He has been paying a lot more attention to movies. We have 'family fun Friday movie night' and a year ago Brendan would talk through the whole movie and not even watch it. Last weekend we watched Garfield and he was quiet and was watching the t.v. the entire movie! I was shocked. He recently told me he saw Diary of a Wimpy Kid and it was funny and we should watch it. Who is this child?! He is growing so much and is so heavy. I lost some of my muscles from not lifting him during my pregnancy and for a few weeks afterwards. I can barely move him now. Just getting him from his bed to his wheelchair takes effort. He outgrew all his size 6 pants over the summer so I think he had a growth spurt. I love watching him grow up but it also scares me because I never thought I would already be at the point of wondering how much longer I will be able to lift him. I knew this day would come but I didn't think it would come so soon. This is where being 5'1" is not a good thing. Does anyone else worry about this? Maybe we will just always be able to lift them from shear determination? Drew is already 7 weeks old...where did the time go? The days do not stop. We are busy busy busy. The house is very hectic but Drew fits right in. He likes the craziness all around him. Working has been difficult with him. He doesn't sleep as much as I thought he would and has been crying a lot. We bought some gas drops and he had a great day at work yesterday so maybe that was the issue. It is a bit strange having a boy that is developing normally. He is smiling, cooing, making eye contact and is a great addition to our loving family.