All of the kids were rushing to Nathan, fighting over who got to play with him first. They wanted to show him their lego constructions. The wanted to help him build his own. Nathan was so happy. We were in his kindergarten class, where he is spending the afternoons in full-inclusion with 24 other 5 [...]

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Oh my heart!

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Cobra Starship was playing on the radio, when Izzy threw her head back and screamed, at the top of her lungs, “La la la la”.  She grabbed Nathan’s hand, who was standing up held in between Owen’s lap, and started dancing with him.  Her head gyrated, hips rolled, feet bouncing, eyes beaming as she danced [...]

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When it came time to wrap up all the gifts and get them ready for the kids, I felt so sad, so ashamed. There were about 20 gifts for Isabelle, and just 3 for Nathan. It broke my heart. It’s not that we have favorites. It’s just that Isabelle loves anything and everything, she is [...]

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To our friends and family, There are many we love that we weren’t able to see during the holidays, so I wanted to write an update about how we are all doing. Let’s start with the star of this blog, Mr. Nathan. Nathan’s had a very hard year. He has been sick innumerable times; before [...]

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Almost unreal to think that 4 months have passed since Gryffin decided to come into the world. Here’s a little story about him that I haven’t shared here. I had a feeling that Gryffin would be born early. At about 36 weeks I could almost feel him saying, “Mommy, I’m ready!”. But I know how [...]

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I confess I’ve become addicted to this smile: I also started hot yoga this week and love love love it. I’m so addicted to it! It’s excellent exercise, it’s spiritual, it detoxified, I lost 3 lbs this week doing it, and I feel like a million bucks at the end of the practice. It’s really [...]

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They say that once you have a dog, adding another is barely noticeable. You walk them at the same time, feed them at the same time, they keep each other company and entertain each other. Call me crazy but I thought having kids was a little bit like that. Instead I am finding out the [...]

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It was 8:23 and we were 8 minutes late for the bus. The day had started in chaos, with Isabelle refusing to shower and get ready to go to preschool and Nathan refusing to eat his breakfast. So I was late for the bus, and stressed. Then Gryffin woke up and started screaming at the [...]

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It seems like just yesterday that I was in the hospital about to give birth to Gryffin. Now he is 2 months old, about 12 pounds, triple chinned, chunky and cute as can be. In the last week or two he has fully woken up to the world. He is playing in his toy gym, [...]

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I had everything ready – the hospital bag was packed, charger and cell phone in the car, both boys ready, blog updated with prayer request, my mom had taken Isabelle to her house…all that was left was to put the boys in the car and drive to the hospital. Something told me to wait 10 [...]

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It was time for a little escape, so here I am…escaped. I am 10 steps from the ocean, chilling to the roar of the waves, working on the iPad, enjoying the littles. The view from the door of the trailer. The view from the couch of the trailer. The view from the bed as I [...]

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10 am this morning found us driving down to Mission Viejo about 1.5 hours away to see Nathan’s orthotist. He found that Nathan had outgrown all of his devices. He hd to adjust his DAFO’s, SWASH brace, and HART walker. He was astounded by how much Nathan has grown in the last year, and recommended [...]

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Today is Gryffin’s due date. Instead he is turning 3 weeks old. The last 3 weeks have been quite lovely. Knowing that he is my last baby has made me appreciate the experience so much more. Even the hourly wake-ups in the middle of the night to feed and change him have been quite enjoyable [...]

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I woke up Sunday morning excited. It was going to be a big day – the day of the pregnant belly shots! I’d looked forward to this day for weeks and was excited to finally capture the belly for posterity. My friend Angie came by and took the pictures. We hung out, chatted, I posed [...]

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I am at the hospital, Gryffin will be born in 8 hours, I went into labor so the doctor will do the C-section in the morning, please pray!

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Much is changing in our lives. Nathan is now 5 and starting part-time kindergarten. Izzy is becoming more independent every day. Gryffin will be here in 2 weeks! We’ve had some growing pains around here but I am happy to report that it feels like the dawn of a new era for our little family. [...]

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I know many of you feel Nathan and Belle deprived so I figure it’s time for an UPDATE! I’ll start with pictures that I am finally getting off my camera – yes, even pictures from our trip to Colombia that I still hadn’t processed. I know I know I am dreadfully behind on life these [...]

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I got back from the hospital last night, they were able to stop the preterm labor with a couple of shots and a mag drip, the kidney and bladder infections cleared, and my labs and numbers were so good that the doctor couldn’t justify keeping me another day. So we’re finally all home together in [...]

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We’re now staying at my aunt’s condo at the beach, and this is the view from here. [simage=2392,max,n,center,][simage=2391,max,n,center,][simage=2393,max,n,center,][simage=2394,max,n,center,][simage=2395,max,n,center,][simage=2396,max,n,center,][simage=2397,max,n,center,][simage=2398,max,n,center,][simage=2399,max,n,center,][simage=2400,max,n,center,][simage=2401,max,n,center,][simage=2402,max,n,center,][simage=2403,max,n,center,][simage=2404,max,n,center,][simage=2405,max,n,center,][simage=2406,max,n,center,][simage=2407,max,n,center,][simage=2408,max,n,center,][simage=2409,max,n,center,][simage=2410,max,n,center,][simage=2411,max,n,center,][simage=2412,max,n,center,][simage=2413,max,n,center,][simage=2414,max,n,center,][simage=2415,max,n,center,][simage=2390,max,n,center,][simage=2389,max,n,center,][simage=2388,max,n,center,][simage=2387,max,n,center,][simage=2386,max,n,center,][simage=2385,max,n,center,][simage=2384,max,n,center,][simage=2383,max,n,center,]

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Taken from the balcony of the apartment where we are staying: Time for a nap! My grandma and some of her endless parade of visitors. My grandma (88) and her brother (84) I don’t think I like the taste of salt water very much! This is kinda fun though No more salt water in my [...]

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We had an easy trip to Colombia, the kids were both wonderful and beautifully behaved. We’ve already had 2 days of fun in the sun and we are all loving it! We’ve spent the afternoons at the beach. Izzy has no fear of the ocean so we are on constant suicide watch. Nathan LOVES the [...]

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We are off to Colombia tomorrow morning. Less than 12 hours from now we should be in the air. I have no idea if/when I will be able to update. Rest assured that we will be chilling happily at the beach, tanning, swimming, sipping coconut water and eating fresh fish. We will be there for [...]

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Aaahhh…what a couple of days camping can do for your soul! And here are some pictures of our last 3 days, starting Friday morning: Does he really have to go to school? Where are you taking my brother? Mommy can I go too? Even Lola comes out to say goodbye to Nathan every morning Lola [...]

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Nathan is fully back to himself, and has regained what he’d lost. His teacher is thrilled to see him “back”, as am I and everyone that knows him. Which is funny because a couple of months ago I felt that where he was, was not enough. I wanted him to be stronger, more head control, [...]

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* It was dark and we’d just gotten home from dinner and the store. I had my phone in one hand and a used cup in the other. I was watching Izzy and tossed the cup into our large outside trash can. I walked inside and noticed that I was still holding the cup. Yep, [...]

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Arriving at Catalina Island with Belle and my grandma. It’s so lively here!

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Better safe than sorry, so we’re at the local emergency room.

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There are little things about life with Nathan that keep things interesting. Little things that I would’ve never in a million years imagined having to do but nowadays are second nature. Little things that have become inside jokes to us because if only people knew… [simage=2270,max,n,center,] So here are a few of them… [simage=2271,max,n,center,] * [...]

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…watching your boys hanging together doing the things boy like best.

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…getting to live with this happy superman.

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We went RV camping near San Diego this past weekend. We all desperately needed some R&R and that’s what we got! I forgot that I had the camera so I only took a few pictures right when we were about to leave, and the kids were both asleep in the car. Oh well, at least [...]

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Combining CME with Whole Body Vibration Isabelle walking (sorry for the bad quality I’ve had a hard time catching her while having the camera etc) Nathan during his home CME therapy Belle cheerleads for Nathan during CME Pictures of Isabelle walking (sorry they are not clear I still do not know how to catch motion [...]

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Nathan has pneumonia with an awful ear infectioon. Belle has a nasty croup which she had all last week and is still lingering. The doc was on the fence about sending Nathan to the hospital, but decided to give him a day to see how he progresses. She gave him a shot of rocephin, a [...]

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In July, Owen and I were finally going to get married at my dream church. We were going to go on a honeymoon, probably to Hawaii, and party ourselves to oblivion (kid-free). I was going to lose weight. I heard about Cinch from Catey, and was ready to start the diet. I had already purchased [...]

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Waddya think?

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Every night before I go to bed, I lie in bed with my iphone or Nathan’s ipad and I visit my Google Reader subscription. I open the page with joy, excited to check in on the world of so many families whose lives I follow. Sometimes I am met with amazing news, other times I [...]

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