Showing posts with label Birthday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Birthday. Show all posts
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Timmy's 8th Birthday Party
It's hard to believe that Timmy is EIGHT!!! We had his birthday party at school again this year so that all of his friends could attend. The party theme this year was "Pirates." Even the cake had pirate ships and dragons on it! We brought in Timmy's sailboat swing, a big Giga ball This is a huge ball in which kids/adults can get into and roll around. And a treasure chest pinata, filled with chocolate gold coins and skittles.. All of the kids including the adult kids had sooo much fun. They all found the Giga ball to be the most fun!
I believe this was Timmy's most favorite of all of his birthday parties. Why do I say this? Because Timmy actually ate a entire piece of birthday cake! Yes, it was a small piece. But in past years he only would accept a couple of bites before he had had enough.
Enjoy the slideshow of his birthday party pictures!
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Happy 1st Birthday Nathaniel!!!
HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY!!!
It's hard to believe that a year has come and gone. We have had a lot of laughter. And shared a few tears. You have come a long way physically, cognitively, and socially.
*You have learned how to play Pat-A-Cake and Peek-A-BOO.
*You love music and dancing.
*Your two favorite games are placing objects into a container and taking them out. And crawling after a ball that you roll across the floor.
*Your favorite foods are steak, baked potato with sour cream, applesauce, cheese sandwiches, squash, carrots and ANYTHING that brother Timmy is eating or anyone else for that matter.
*You absolutely LOVE bath time and swimming in the pool. But I have to say, you are the first and only baby that I know who insists on taking their washcloth into the swimming pool.
*You can pull yourself to stand and stand without holding onto something for a short period of time.
*You have learned how to climb onto the furniture and find climbing onto and getting down from a fun game.
*At your WIC appointment on Friday (July 22nd) you weighed 20lbs 1oz and you were 28 1/2in. tall.
It's hard to believe that a year has come and gone. We have had a lot of laughter. And shared a few tears. You have come a long way physically, cognitively, and socially.
*You have learned how to play Pat-A-Cake and Peek-A-BOO.
*You love music and dancing.
*Your two favorite games are placing objects into a container and taking them out. And crawling after a ball that you roll across the floor.
*Your favorite foods are steak, baked potato with sour cream, applesauce, cheese sandwiches, squash, carrots and ANYTHING that brother Timmy is eating or anyone else for that matter.
*You absolutely LOVE bath time and swimming in the pool. But I have to say, you are the first and only baby that I know who insists on taking their washcloth into the swimming pool.
*You can pull yourself to stand and stand without holding onto something for a short period of time.
*You have learned how to climb onto the furniture and find climbing onto and getting down from a fun game.
*At your WIC appointment on Friday (July 22nd) you weighed 20lbs 1oz and you were 28 1/2in. tall.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Happy 15th Birthday !
Happy 15th birthday Zachary!!!!
You have grown into a very Loving, Caring Polite, Dependable, Helpful boy. (Well, you are a teenager, so these characteristics only occur when you want them to be shown to others.)
There are a couple of events leading up to your birth that are vivid in my mind.
My OB/GYN decided that being the ultrasound showed that you weighed over 8lbs, that it was time to induce my pregnancy at 37+ weeks gestation.
I was admitted to the hospital on Jan. 24th, so that an amniocentesis could be preformed to check your lung maturity before my induction. The test results came back positive that your lungs were definately mature.
Ray, Ray and your older brother, Linwood (Jr.) came up to visit. Many, many years ago, a pack of Energizer batteries had a bright green sticker which informed customers of the battery test strip provided on the packaging, whcih indicated that the package of batteries were indeed fresh.
With this pointer finger of his left hand in his mouth, Jr. poked his little right hand, which held the sticker, through the bed rail and offered me the bright green Energizer sticker. While doing so, he softly and with a shaky voice from being afraid said "Happy Birthday Mommy!" This brought tears of joy to my eyes. A simple sticker offered to me as a birthday present. A simple sticker that most people would look at as just another piece of trash. Was given to me with so much love and from the heart by a humble 4 year old, meant so much to me.
I asked my Nurse for an armband and some tape, which she provided me with. I placed my special birthday sticker on that armband and secured it into place with tape. I proudly wore the armband the entire time I was in the hospital. I still have this armband safely put away with other momentos from years past.
. The vision of my hyperactive, yet loving 4 year old offering me such a simple gift of love, stays with me to this day. That was the best birthday present to this day I have ever received.
There are a couple of numerical facts, which are interesting pretaining to your birth and my birthday;
1. The year of your birth (1996), reverse the last 2 digits and you have my year of birth (1969)
2. The numbers of your time of birth (3:43PM) + The numbers of your birth weight (7lbs 2oz.) + the two digits in your birth day (27th) = the age in which I would be on my birthday (27) on Jan. 27th, 1996.
3. Starting at your 1st birthday, the number of years you are or when one adds the two digits in your age, when I add the two digits of my age upon my birthday, will either equal your corrent age or the two digits in our age will be the same. For example, take your age this year, (15) upon my birthday Jan. 27th (tomorrow) the two digits in my age (42) will also equal (6). 1,5 =6 AND 4,2 =6 . This pattern continues or some variation of it for many, many many, years.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Where Did My Baby Go?
HAPPY 7th. BIRTHDAY !!!
For a child who was only give less than a 1% chance for survival, he has come a loong way!
On Thrusday Oct. 30th 2003, I went to my bi-monthly ultrasound appointment. I was 30 weeks pregnant. By this time in my pregnancy, my OB/GYN was letting us make the call as to my care. At this appointment my ultrasound showed that Timmy hadn't grown any in almost 3 weeks. My amniotic fluid level was non existant and had been at this point for over 10 weeks. The blood flow from me to Timmy and vice-versa was dramatically decreasing and had reached a dangerous point. So after speaking with my Perinatologist, we all agreed that a C-section delivery as soon as possible was best for Timmy, even though the outcome looked very grim.
I was admitted to the hospital on Oct. 31st. and steriod injections were started in hopes of inproving Timmy's lung development. Timmy's heartrate was monitored 2x a day, once per shift. This was the longest and most stressful weekend of my life.
Timmy was delivered via emergency C-section on Monday, Nov. 3rd. at 10:40am. He weighed 1lb. 6oz. The NICU nurses were unable to get a length, due to Timmy having severe contractures. The contractures were a result of my not having any amniotic fluid for Timmy to free float in for 10+ weeks.
I really can't recall much about Timmy's first month or so in the NICU. My first visit to see Timmy was 36 hours following his birth. This visit was very traumatic for me. It wasn't until this point that I actually realized just how fragile and unstable Timmy's medical condition was. Timmy was hooked up to an osculator. This is a machine like a ventilator which breathes for the patient, but the osculator gives small puffs of air instead of the normal longer breaths. He had 10 infusion pumps hooked up to his little body, which were giving him electorlytes, blood and medications.
My 1st and only memory was a day or so following Timmy's birth. i went to the NICU to visit with Timmy. Pam, his nurse at the time requested that I help her change Timmy's diaper. "What??? But he is so little!" Pam calmly explained that if I ever wanted to take Timmy home I had to learn how to care for him. "But right now?" Perspiration fouring from places on my body I never knew that I had sweat glands, afraid, emotionally torn, the uncertainties for Timmy's future, I didn't know whether to stay or flee and hide until this nightmare in which I had been placed ended. Yes, no better time than now. So I tenderly and ever so carefully lifted Timmy's tiny and frail body. After this traumatic experience, I can't remember anything until just before Christmas, when we were allowed to officially hold Timmy outside his incubator for a short period of time. By this point, Timmy was pretty stable. And it had been discovered that both of his nasal passages were blocked and that he was going to require a tracheostomy to aid him with his breathing off of the ventilator. Finding a NICU and an ENT in the same hospital to place a trach was our next major part of this long and continuing journey. (More on this at a later date.)
So where has my baby gone???
I would almost swear that Timmy's Kindergarten teacher, his VI teacher and Teacher's assistant replaced Timmy with an identical look alike, when we all attended the Deaf-Blind conference earlier this year. Just over the past 3 months Timmy has gained 5+ pounds and has grown at least 4-5in. taller in the past year. His face has lost that "baby boy" appearance. And cognitively, sociially and physically, he has made awesome improvements.
So where did my small, fragile, medically unstable baby boy go? He has grown into a 40lb.+, 39in. tall, social butterfly, who captures the hearts of everyone he meets. He has taught us, medical professionals and everyone else who has come to pass many things. The most important thing being, The "dis" abled can become "enabled" if only given the proper opportunities to overcome their social, mental and physical challenges. And not every person can be judged and compared to a textbook. Each of us are unique individuals....
4 months old
1st. Birthday
Easter 2005
Late Summer 2005
Easter 2006
Christmas 2006
Christmas 2007
Easter 2008
Fall Pre-K 2008
Kindergarten Aug. 2009
Pre-Halloween 2009
Kindergarten Spring 2010
1st. Grade Sept. 2010
For a child who was only give less than a 1% chance for survival, he has come a loong way!
On Thrusday Oct. 30th 2003, I went to my bi-monthly ultrasound appointment. I was 30 weeks pregnant. By this time in my pregnancy, my OB/GYN was letting us make the call as to my care. At this appointment my ultrasound showed that Timmy hadn't grown any in almost 3 weeks. My amniotic fluid level was non existant and had been at this point for over 10 weeks. The blood flow from me to Timmy and vice-versa was dramatically decreasing and had reached a dangerous point. So after speaking with my Perinatologist, we all agreed that a C-section delivery as soon as possible was best for Timmy, even though the outcome looked very grim.
I was admitted to the hospital on Oct. 31st. and steriod injections were started in hopes of inproving Timmy's lung development. Timmy's heartrate was monitored 2x a day, once per shift. This was the longest and most stressful weekend of my life.
Timmy was delivered via emergency C-section on Monday, Nov. 3rd. at 10:40am. He weighed 1lb. 6oz. The NICU nurses were unable to get a length, due to Timmy having severe contractures. The contractures were a result of my not having any amniotic fluid for Timmy to free float in for 10+ weeks.
I really can't recall much about Timmy's first month or so in the NICU. My first visit to see Timmy was 36 hours following his birth. This visit was very traumatic for me. It wasn't until this point that I actually realized just how fragile and unstable Timmy's medical condition was. Timmy was hooked up to an osculator. This is a machine like a ventilator which breathes for the patient, but the osculator gives small puffs of air instead of the normal longer breaths. He had 10 infusion pumps hooked up to his little body, which were giving him electorlytes, blood and medications.
My 1st and only memory was a day or so following Timmy's birth. i went to the NICU to visit with Timmy. Pam, his nurse at the time requested that I help her change Timmy's diaper. "What??? But he is so little!" Pam calmly explained that if I ever wanted to take Timmy home I had to learn how to care for him. "But right now?" Perspiration fouring from places on my body I never knew that I had sweat glands, afraid, emotionally torn, the uncertainties for Timmy's future, I didn't know whether to stay or flee and hide until this nightmare in which I had been placed ended. Yes, no better time than now. So I tenderly and ever so carefully lifted Timmy's tiny and frail body. After this traumatic experience, I can't remember anything until just before Christmas, when we were allowed to officially hold Timmy outside his incubator for a short period of time. By this point, Timmy was pretty stable. And it had been discovered that both of his nasal passages were blocked and that he was going to require a tracheostomy to aid him with his breathing off of the ventilator. Finding a NICU and an ENT in the same hospital to place a trach was our next major part of this long and continuing journey. (More on this at a later date.)
So where has my baby gone???
I would almost swear that Timmy's Kindergarten teacher, his VI teacher and Teacher's assistant replaced Timmy with an identical look alike, when we all attended the Deaf-Blind conference earlier this year. Just over the past 3 months Timmy has gained 5+ pounds and has grown at least 4-5in. taller in the past year. His face has lost that "baby boy" appearance. And cognitively, sociially and physically, he has made awesome improvements.
So where did my small, fragile, medically unstable baby boy go? He has grown into a 40lb.+, 39in. tall, social butterfly, who captures the hearts of everyone he meets. He has taught us, medical professionals and everyone else who has come to pass many things. The most important thing being, The "dis" abled can become "enabled" if only given the proper opportunities to overcome their social, mental and physical challenges. And not every person can be judged and compared to a textbook. Each of us are unique individuals....
4 months old
1st. Birthday
Easter 2005
Late Summer 2005
Easter 2006
Christmas 2006
Christmas 2007
Easter 2008
Fall Pre-K 2008
Kindergarten Aug. 2009
Pre-Halloween 2009
Kindergarten Spring 2010
1st. Grade Sept. 2010Monday, November 23, 2009
A Change of Heart
This morning Timmy's CAP-C case manager stopped by to drop off a belated birthday gift for Timmy, before she headed off to the hospital to undergo surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff in her shoulder.
This was such a wonderful gesture, being that buying gifts for her clients isn't something that she typically does. Because she feels that if for some reason (finances, illness), she is unable to purchase something for one of her clients it would be unfair to that person.
I guess like the majority of people in which Timmy has come in contact with, he has stolen her heart strings and wrapped them tightly around his little finger.
Timmy's amazing strength and willingness to fight and overcome illnesses and obstacles in his life, his ability to give love without a single spoken word or gesture, his personality, his bright smile that will light up any room and his contageous laughter is sure to steal the hearts of anyone.
Once Timmy's CAP-C case manager had left, Emily immediately volunteered to help Timmy open his present. By this time, it was time to put Emily on the school bus. So we promised that Timmy would wait til this afternoon to open his present, so that she could be there to help.
On Mondays and Wednesdays, Timmy and Emily arrive home from school about the same time (1:30-1:45PM). Today Timmy arrived home about 30 minute before Emily. Once Emily got home she immediately wanted to sing Happy Birthday To Timmy and help him to open his present.
Emily insisted that everyone participate in singing Happy Birthday. If she caught someone not singing, if someone sneezed or coughed, or spoke to another person, she would start singing the Birthday Song from the beginning. After 4 attempts, we FINALLY got the song sang to her satisfaction.
Once the present was opened, As an adult, I'm ashamed to admit, my very 1st thought was a very ungrateful one. "What in the world is a non verbal special needs child going to do with a set of Walkie Talkies?" I can't explain why I had such an ungrateful thought. Honestly, I'm not typically an ungrateful person. I can usually find the best in anything and anyone. I knew that the gift was bought with a lot of thought, by a mom who understands disabilities. Timmy's CAP-C case manager has a son, who has a visual impairment, developmental delays and other special needs.
It was at that moment that I had a virtual slap in the face or a bump on my noggin. Of course, Walkie Talkies are a perfect gift for a non verbal special needs child. How? Well, with the help from an adult or a sibling, the vocalizations that Timmy makes, even though they aren't words, CAN be taken as conversation. And the holder of the 2nd Walkie Talkie can carry on a conversation with Timmy. Which hopefully will help him to understand the pattern to a meaningful conversation and possibly pick up new words.
At about this same time, I guess it was the force of the virtual slap or bump on my noggin that gave me two ideas for uses of the Walkie Talkies. We have a baby monitor in Timmy's room, Unfortunately his monitor doesn;'t have intercom capabilities. So if one of us happens to be downstairs with Timmy while the other parent is upstairs, one of us has to come to the bottom of the stairs and yell up stairs to have questions answered. The same goes if both of us happens to be upstairs and one of Timmy's nurses has a question or concern that needs addressing.
Timmy's monitor is always on if one or both of us is upstairs. So we could use the Walkie Talkies to talk to each other while still being able to tend to Timmy's needs and not having to run to the stairs and yell up to have questions answered.
The moral of this story is; When someone does something nice for you or someone that you love, instead of being ungrateful and finding faught in the gift; Look closely at the gift and try to find something positive within it. If you look long and hard enough, you will surely find something positive that will truely turn our ungrateful frown upside down. SMILE!
This was such a wonderful gesture, being that buying gifts for her clients isn't something that she typically does. Because she feels that if for some reason (finances, illness), she is unable to purchase something for one of her clients it would be unfair to that person.
I guess like the majority of people in which Timmy has come in contact with, he has stolen her heart strings and wrapped them tightly around his little finger.
Timmy's amazing strength and willingness to fight and overcome illnesses and obstacles in his life, his ability to give love without a single spoken word or gesture, his personality, his bright smile that will light up any room and his contageous laughter is sure to steal the hearts of anyone.
Once Timmy's CAP-C case manager had left, Emily immediately volunteered to help Timmy open his present. By this time, it was time to put Emily on the school bus. So we promised that Timmy would wait til this afternoon to open his present, so that she could be there to help.
On Mondays and Wednesdays, Timmy and Emily arrive home from school about the same time (1:30-1:45PM). Today Timmy arrived home about 30 minute before Emily. Once Emily got home she immediately wanted to sing Happy Birthday To Timmy and help him to open his present.
Emily insisted that everyone participate in singing Happy Birthday. If she caught someone not singing, if someone sneezed or coughed, or spoke to another person, she would start singing the Birthday Song from the beginning. After 4 attempts, we FINALLY got the song sang to her satisfaction.
Once the present was opened, As an adult, I'm ashamed to admit, my very 1st thought was a very ungrateful one. "What in the world is a non verbal special needs child going to do with a set of Walkie Talkies?" I can't explain why I had such an ungrateful thought. Honestly, I'm not typically an ungrateful person. I can usually find the best in anything and anyone. I knew that the gift was bought with a lot of thought, by a mom who understands disabilities. Timmy's CAP-C case manager has a son, who has a visual impairment, developmental delays and other special needs.
It was at that moment that I had a virtual slap in the face or a bump on my noggin. Of course, Walkie Talkies are a perfect gift for a non verbal special needs child. How? Well, with the help from an adult or a sibling, the vocalizations that Timmy makes, even though they aren't words, CAN be taken as conversation. And the holder of the 2nd Walkie Talkie can carry on a conversation with Timmy. Which hopefully will help him to understand the pattern to a meaningful conversation and possibly pick up new words.
At about this same time, I guess it was the force of the virtual slap or bump on my noggin that gave me two ideas for uses of the Walkie Talkies. We have a baby monitor in Timmy's room, Unfortunately his monitor doesn;'t have intercom capabilities. So if one of us happens to be downstairs with Timmy while the other parent is upstairs, one of us has to come to the bottom of the stairs and yell up stairs to have questions answered. The same goes if both of us happens to be upstairs and one of Timmy's nurses has a question or concern that needs addressing.
Timmy's monitor is always on if one or both of us is upstairs. So we could use the Walkie Talkies to talk to each other while still being able to tend to Timmy's needs and not having to run to the stairs and yell up to have questions answered.
The moral of this story is; When someone does something nice for you or someone that you love, instead of being ungrateful and finding faught in the gift; Look closely at the gift and try to find something positive within it. If you look long and hard enough, you will surely find something positive that will truely turn our ungrateful frown upside down. SMILE!
Friday, November 6, 2009
Birthday Party
We had Timmy's 6th birthday party at school today. Even though the Circus Theme that I had planned on using had to be replaced by SpongeBob, the party was a success! The kids really had fun with the Fishing Game, the Tatoos and bouncing in the Bounce House! I didn't get as many pictures as I had hoped. One reason was because Dad's digital camera was having mechanical problems. (Saaanta, I want a Digital Camera For Christmas. Pleeeease!) And also because Dad was behind the camera taking the pictures. For some reason the men in my life, just don't know how to take a variety of pictures. Maybe for this reason, that is why I haven't seen too many male photographers in my lifetime? Anyway I hope that you enjoy the pictures.....
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