More Owen

Two videos of Owen playing by the pool and laughing in the tub. We plan on getting a video of Nate in his ceiling lift this weekend and then in his bath.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSqPeeawquY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fX9p16ePXCk

Pool Pics of Owen

Nate in the Pool (YouTube)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPYLnAznuuw

Videos of Owen

A couple of Owen playing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2EbhUt0aWU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyzpDXwV3F8

This is one of him in the tub.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLl7msENaFM

Nate's & His Feeding (YouTube Video)

This is how we give Nate medicines and feedings. As most of you know, Nate cannot swallow and that is why we have the feeding tube.

Here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1ud0hEDnVM&feature=related

Nate driving his Power Chair (You Tube video)

Nate's driving at the school. He uses his middle finger on a mini joystick to operate it. He's doing great, but still needs a lot of practice!


Here is the link:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJb3wIknyxA

Nate & The Cough Assist (You Tube Video)

Here is the You Tube link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXnLAQ-OuVs&feature=user

Nate & his VEST (You Tube Video)

Okay, so now we are going to be addicted to posting the kids on YouTube! We didn't realize how easy it is and I know for family and friends, who live out of town (many of whom have never been able to meet the boys in person), this is a gift to be able to see.

We are posting some of Nate's treatments that he does everyday. This is of Nate in his Vest that we use twice a day. It breaks everything up in his lungs and then we use the cough assist right after to get it all out. These two machines have been lifesavers and have helped keep Nate's lungs clear. He doesn't seem to mind either one - he's a tough little boy! He makes the cutest sounds while doing his vest (they aren't as loud in this video, but you can still hear them). The video also shows his room, which he loves.

Next post is of his cough assist and tonight we will post how we do his feedings and medications. And then we'll probably do one of him in his ceiling lift and portable lift. Then back to more fun stuff, like Nate in the pool and driving his chair. And we won't forget Owen either!

Here is the You Tube Link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETkzqlXoGvM

Nate in his slings ON YOUTUBE!

Many of you check up on Nathan & Owen and see only pictures of the boys and the "things" we talk about. Now, for the FIRST TIME EVER, we are posting a VIDEO of Nate in his slings!!!!

Like all SMA Type I kids, Nate has EXTREMELY limited movement with his arms and legs. The only time he can really freely move his arms & legs is when gravity is taken out of the equation (when he is in his slings or in water).

We have taken an aggressive approach with physical therapy and are convinced that this has helped him develop all of the movements you will see in this video and future videos as well. Every evening about 7PM, we put him in his slings to kick and turn on music for him to listen to. It is one of his favorite things to do (along with being in the water) because he can MOVE and he loves it! Because of the exercise he gets everyday either in the slings or in the water, he has developed some movement when he is sitting in his chair or laying down. He will move his legs back & forth, roll his arms and move his hands around. We shot this video of him tonight and we'll post others of him in the pool and driving his Power Chair.

Click on the link below to see Nate on You Tube. The video is just over 7 minutes long and and we hope you enjoy it...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZjMQHoi9yU

Click on "Watch in High Quality" to get a better video and turn the volume up so you can hear all of Nate's cute sounds!

Jen and Trey

Happy Fourth of July! (Part 2)

Here are pictures from Friday evening...

Watching from our driveway

Watching in the street with Mom & our neighbor, Mikey

Happy 4th, everyone!

Happy Fourth of July!!! (Part 1)

Here are pictures from the Parade this morning...

Nate and his nurses, Ollie & Jennie

The boys with Mom, Dad, Uncle Jeff & Aunt Bradette

The boys and their entourage...Mom, Dad, Uncle Jeff, Aunt Bradette, Ollie, Jennie, Tracy, Cassidy and Jake.

Nate after the parade

Owen after the parade

We'll be setting off firecrackers later tonight so come back tomorrow and see those pictures!

Happy 4th of July & God Bless America!!

Trey

A Whole Lot of Stuff

I know it's been awhile since we've posted, but it's been a long week. Our main night nurse, Jennie, took vacation (which she definitely deserved - she's the best and we don't know what we'd do without her!!!), so we had some nights of no nursing and some of new nurses filling in. Well, I'd much rather do it ourselves than have an incompetent nurse taking care of our Nathan! I won't bore everyone with all the details, but it was an exhausting week for both Trey and I and more so for Nathan. We definitely appreciate and value Miss Jennie even more than we did, if that is possible!

Since I last posted, we've been busy with our boys! Nate has been practicing driving his power chair at the school gym and doing great! He's doing much better and it's nice to have a big place for him to drive and not having to worry about the weather. After this week, we will go twice a week in July and then when school starts again, we'll probably go back to once a week.

We had Uncle Papa, Aunt Jenny, Michelle and her two kids, Charlie and Evelyn, over for pizza and play time, which was a good time had by all. Nate and Owen have been in the pool some, but the weather has been crazy for this time a year. Like every third day, we have sun, then rain, storms, and more rain! We've been putting the portable lift to good use and I've enjoyed holding Nathan in the living room and I know he loves it also. It's so nice to be close to him and love on him! Trey took off last Thursday and Friday and we took Nate to the Air and Space Museum, which also has a planetarium. It was really neat and he enjoyed it. (Trey might have enjoyed it more since he got to sit in the cockpit of a military plane!).

Last weekend, Aunt Amy (Trey's sister), came for a visit and we really enjoyed her company. She helped a lot with the boys! We had a fun filled weekend!

We're looking forward to the 4th and shooting off fireworks with Nathan. We will be going to the neighborhood parade again this year and decorating the boys strollers. Uncle Jeff and Aunt Bradette will be joining us. I'll be sure to post pics!

Also, Trey and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary on June 23rd. We actually were able to go OUT! Nurse Jennie came early and took care of Nathan and we had a sitter for Owen. It had been since last year's annivesary that we had been out to dinner. Sad, I know, but that's the way it is. Luckily, Trey and I are on the same page and Nathan's care comes first. Usually, your marriage is first, but our situation is different and we sometimes have to put our marriage and each other on the back burner for the sake of Nathan. We don't have a "typical" marriage, but the bond we share, and all that we have gone through has made us closer. Sure, we would love to be able to just hire sitters, go out to eat, go on vacations, etc., etc., but having a child as special as Nathan and being able to share that experience together is so worth more than any dinner out or vacation on the beach. All the sacrifices have been worth it, when we see how well Nate is doing and how happy he is. I'm so blessed that I married a man so strong and so devoted to us. And we Thank God that he gave us both the strength to rise to the occasion and accept what life has given us with open arms! I love you Trey!

Jennifer

p.s. Enjoy the pics of Aunt Amy's visit!

Father's Day

We had a great weekend! Grandpa, Grandma Judy, Uncle Jeff and Aunt Bradette came over Saturday for pool time and steaks. Nate had a blast in the pool with everyone, as did Owen. Sunday, Trey held Nate and they both loved it! Then Nate spent some time relaxing in the recliner watching Spongebob. The portable lift has worked great getting him out in the living room.

Father's Day - what can I say about Trey as a father? Too many ways to describe what a wonderful father he is. I can't thank him enough for all he does, in supporting the family, helping with household chores, but most of all how he is with the boys. He is the most helpful, caring, thoughtful and loving husband and father EVER! I don't know how I would live without him - he is my rock! Thank you Trey for EVERYTHING! The love and devotion you have for our family is much appreciated and I think the world of you!

Jennifer

Busy Nathan

The last couple of weeks, Nate has been a busy boy! As you can see from previous posts, we had Pop and Grandma Annie in town for a visit and we have been practicing in the portable lift. Also Grandpa (my dad) and Grandma Judy came over (which they do every other Tuesday) and we all went in the pool. Nate loved watching Grandpa and Owen play! We also had another play date with my friend, Michelle, and her two kids and Stephanie (one of Nate's old nurses) stopped by to see him with her little boy. We all played in the living room and went outside to swing. It was so fun!! But the biggest day of all, was Nate's first trip to the movies! We took him to see Kung Fu Panda and were a little apprehensive about him sitting for two hours and wondering how he would handle the noise. But, he ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT! He laughed, made sounds and smiled throughout the whole movie! It was such a treat and is definitely something we will do more of, especially during the hot summer days.

Thanks for checking in!

Jennifer

I'm Holding Nate Again!

We got Nate's portable lift and were able to get him in the living room and I got to hold him!!! Actually, the day before we received the lift, I decided I wanted to try and pick him up and hold him like I used to (on his stomach), so we tried it. We brought the rocker/recliner next to his bed and I picked him up and was able to do it. But it was much easier to use the lift and hold him in the living room facing out and he can see what's going on in the room. Either way, I get to LOVE on him! It has been over a year since I held him and I have missed it so much. He definitely has grown in height and weight, and his head is much bigger too! Trey will get his turn very soon and we look forward to doing it more often.

A Visit from Pop and Grandma Annie

We all had a great time and the boys loved seeing Pop and Grandma Annie!

Nate Zooming Around

In my last post, I mentioned we haven't been able to get Nate in his power chair that much due to the weather. Well, we took advantage of the moderately hot weather this afternoon after we had major storms this morning, and got him out driving. Within 30 minutes, he was beet red (from the heat, not sunburn - we always use a ton of sunscreen on our redhead!). But, he really enjoyed it! So enjoy a few pics!

Jennifer

A Basic Update

Summer has arrived! And Nate has been doing great! Unfortunately, there have been numerous storms in the last month, so pool time has been limited. We took Nate to the mall last week and he loved it! I think he liked the glass elevator the best. He got a lot of attention from people, mostly children. It's interesting to see how children react to him. We've gotten everything from "He's wearing a vacuum on his face", "Was he shot?", (you can't help but laugh at comments like those) and the most basic "What happened to him?". It's easy to answer, especially to kids. We just say "He's a normal little boy, he was just born with weaker muscles than you that's all." To which most of the time, the kids say "Oh". Sometimes, the kids are a little more interested and want more details about his equipment, etc. and I just explain everything in very simple terms. We also had a lady and her two girls come join us for lunch because her girls wanted to meet Nathan. I always prefer it when people ask, instead of just staring, because I'm so proud of him! I love to share his story because he is such a special child.


Nate hasn't been driving his power chair that much lately. It's either storming or way too hot. But, we are going to try to take him to the school gym for the six weeks during summer school, so he can "go to town" in his chair. That way I won't have to stand right beside him and correct him all the time. He will have a better chance to just do what he wants and go whichever way he wants - which is mostly in circles (he thinks that is so funny!).


Owen had his 9 month check up last week. He's 26 1/2 pounds and 30 1/2 inches long. Needless to say, HE'S HUGE! Everything looked good and he got a good report. Obviously, he's one healthy little boy! He's crawling like crazy and standing, but not on his own quite yet. We've entirely babyproofed his room and put a gate in the doorway. He has lots of toys to play with in there, but what does he do, crawl to the gate and look out and cry! Oh well, at least he's safe in there when we are doing things with Nate.


I've been wanting to take Nate to the movies. Hopefully, in the next week or two, we can take him to the Kung Fu Panda movie. I don't know if he'll like it, because when he's in his kid kart, he wants to be MOVING, either in the car, or walking. But, if he's not happy, we'll just leave.


Enjoy of few pics of Owen - one of his big blue eyes, him trying to get to Roxy at the back door, and looking through the bars of his cell (poor little guy!).


Thanks for checking in!


Jennifer

Nate hits the pool!

One cool Pool Dude!



Owen keeps an eye on Nate...

Jen came up with a GREAT "MacGyverism" last night that allowed us to get Nate in the pool today. As I mentioned in my last post, we were going to wait until the portable lift was delivered before getting Nate into the pool. Last night, she came up with the idea to put his bath chair on the floor in his bathroom and use his regular ceiling lift to lower him into it. Then we would carry the bath chair to the edge of the pool, put on his BiPAP then get him into the pool like we normally would.

What a GREAT idea...It worked perfectly and as you can see from the pictures, he loved being in the water!

Trey

The pool is OPEN...

We fired up the pool heater last night and got Owen in for the first time this afternoon. I am pleased to say that he took to it like a pro...being in it did not bother him at all!

We'll be getting Nate in pretty soon too. The Portable Lift has been approved and will be ordered on Monday! He is just too big for us to carry to the Bath Chair in the pool so we have to go with a lift. We should have it within the next 1 to 2 weeks and then Big Brother will join Owen!

Expect more pool pics then!