Six Months...

Then:



Now:



Today our Grey is SIX MONTHS OLD!! I can't even believe it. It feels like just yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital after 12 long days in the NICU. Days filled with uncertainty and worry. We had so many questions before he was born...Would he need a shunt? Would there be many shunt revisions? Would we have to start cathing right away? Would we be able to come up with a bladder/bowel program so he could be like all of his friends? And the ever pressing...Will he walk? We certainly don't have all of those answers, but what we do have is an amazing son, who is smiling, laughing, rolling, sitting, and a faithful God who has shown Himself to us over and over and over again in these past 6 months. We have faith that whatever challenges come up, we will get through. I no longer fear the future, but look forward to it. I can't wait to hear him say "mama" for the first time, to get a hug, and to hear his first joke. These past 6 months have been nothing short of amazing and I can't wait to see what else God has in store for us!

some new pictures...

As you all know...we are a bit crazy (but in a good way) about our Grey and LOVE to take his picture. Here are a few from last weekend. I also wanted to say a big thanks to everyone who has sent us emails, called, and left comments about Grey's latest trick (rolling over), it is so amazing to us, that there are so many of you out there cheering him on and loving him as much as we do! Thank You!!

OK, so he may be a bit small for the swing, but we're pretty sure that he liked it!

Grey LOVES to fly!

Totally pretending to sleep. It was too sunny for him!

Grey and his Daddy

Grey and his Mommy

What a goof!
The best $6 that I have ever spent!

Keep rollin...

over that is! Greyson's been working really hard at trying to roll over from his back to his tummy (He's been rollin tummy to back for quite a while now) lately and yesterday the G_man did it!!! and get this...Leigh happened to be rolling the camera! So we got it, he's on film. From what I understand we can upload video to the blog so here goes! and keep your eyes on how happy Grey was when he finally did it. enjoy!




In addition to the progress hes making at home, rollin over and such, we also got some encouraging news at his orthopedics appointment today! After looking over Grey's hip X-ray the doctor determined that at this point his hips are in joint and his feet are looking good. In fact he only needs to wear his AFO's at night. She was also pleased with his hip movement and how he was straightening his legs from time to time. I cant even explain how much joy we get when Leigh and I see the slightest movement of his legs and this past week we have seen him moving them much more! Now we aren't gonna sign him up for the long jump event just yet... :) but even this seemingly small step is so huge to Leigh and I. We are so proud of our boy!

We've kinda been slacking on our posting, but we promise to try harder :)

love Andy, Leigh and Grey.

We're Back!!

Ok, technically, we didn't actually go anywhere, we've just been a bit busy doing who knows what and haven't had time to post. Not too much has been going on around here. Grey had a check up with his neuro last week and all is well!!! Grey and his shunt are doing fantastic! WOO HOO!! Dr. Foody did mention that he wants Grey to have a baseline MRI done before his next visit (Sept.) just so we can see how everything looks while Grey is "happy". I totally understand why he wants this, but the mom in me is a bit nervous. First of all they will have to sedate Grey for the MRI...no fun! Secondly, there are many things that could "pop-up" on an MRI. Dr. Foody will be looking for any signs of a tethered cord (something that can be common in kids with SB, the scar tissue around their lesion site can build up causing the spinal cord to become tethered, or pulled down), syrinxs (fluid buildup in the spine, kind of like hydrocephalus of the spine), and he will also be looking at the extent of Greyson's arnold chiari malformation (this is the cerebellum being pulled down a bit and what caused Grey's hydrocephalus...the whole reason that he needs his shunt). Like I said, Grey is doing great and shows no signs of any of these things, but I'm his mom so of course I worry. Andy and I just continue to pray that our little guy stays just as strong and healthy as he has been, and that nothing new will "pop up".
Grey has started back up with his therapy at the Conductive Learning Center, he had 4 weeks off for summer and now he is back at it! We have been working on sitting (he's getting VERY good), kneeling, and gettting in and out of the sitting position. We are so blessed to live close to such an amazing place for Grey's therapy.
We also had a family reunion a few weeks ago and were lucky to get a 5 generation picture taken! Grey got to meet many of his relatives for the first time. I think that most of them probably felt as if they already knew him just from reading this blog! (Hi everyone!!!)

It's been an amazing summer so far...we're looking forward to the second half!!!
Please continue to keep little Grey in your prayers and we will continue keeping you updated! :)

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

So it appears as if summer has truly arrived here in Michigan and with nicer, warmer weather we've been getting outside a lot. I thought I'd quickly post some photos from this weekends "photo shoot" at Riverside park in Grand Rapids. Oh and by the way Grey's 5 months old already!!! ahhhhhh! it can't be true !
But he continues to do well, so we give thanks everyday for his good health. He has an appointment this Friday with the neurosurgeon to check his shunt/head measurement etc. We pray that these types of appointments will become fewer and farther between with how well Grey's been doing!! Please pray that this is the case.
so here ya go, a few pics from the weekend.

My First Father's Day.

First off, look at the banner image... Does anyone remember the first time i took a picture of the G-Man on that chair... he was just a little squirt and had to rest his head on the armrest, not anymore! He's getting so big!!!

So its been a week or so since Father's day and haven't had a chance to share, so here goes.

That week, Leigh got Grey his first set of paints and paint brushes, However, the paintbrushes were not really used. Apparently Grey prefers to express his visual inspirations thru that of finger painting! and thats just what he did. He painted me two amazing paintings, paintings I will frame and keep for my entire life. These are by far more valuable than any other piece of art or design I own!!!

Here's a couple pictures of him working on this intense design solution!




And here's the final Masterpiece!




I still can't believe Leigh let him get all "dirty" with paint. I guess she knew I'd really like it! :) She was right. So after Grey gave me his paintings, we played for a while.



Later that day the family took uncle Jake's boat out and Grey had his first "swim" with daddy. I'm not sure what he thought about it, I still think he was a little self-conscious about the dorky life-jacket mommy made him wear. I think i heard him say something like, "Come on mom, this thing has a dorky turtle on it and my name's not Kent, why does it say Kent on here?"
Anyway, since his maiden voyage we've discovered he is a big fan of the water and even likes being dunked!



So after a busy Father's Day what else is there to do then to take a nap!



My First Father's Day was amazing and look forward to so many more!

love,

Andy

Appointment Update...

Greyson had a VERY busy week last week and I thought that it was time to update all of you on how his appointments have been going. First, he had his 4 month check up with the pediatrician (we still can't even believe that he is 4.5 months!!!) All went well there, he is weighing in at 15lbs 10oz. and is 26 inches long...50% for his age in both...we'll take it! :) He also had a head ultrasound and a check up with his neurosurgeon to check on his shunt, we are VERY happy to report that his shunt is working just as it should be! I have to say that whenever anything is just a bit different with the G-man my first fear is always that shunt! If he doesn't eat as much as he usually does, or sleeps a little longer, or cries just a little bit more than normal, I immediately feel his soft spot just to make sure that it feels ok, I don't know what I'm going to do when that soft spot closes! I guess that is something that will always be in the back of our minds. Anyway, back to the appointments...:) While we were at the SB clinic to see the neurosurgeon we also saw one of the other doctors there, he says that Greyson is doing GREAT!! He was very impressed with his head and trunk control (all of that tummy time is paying off!) Speaking of tummy time, Greyson is not a huge fan of it and has started rolling from his tummy to his back! He has been doing this for awhile now, but it is becoming much more of a regular thing! I think he sees how happy I get whenever I see him do this, and he knows that it is the best way to get out of that tummy time! We have been working on rolling from his back to his tummy, but he's not quite as good at that yet. We also had a kidney and bladder ultrasound and an appointment with the urologist. All is well in that department as well! His kidneys are growing as they should and not too small or enlarged and everything is still looking healthy! I'm always a bit nervous for these appointments knowing that cathing will most likely be in our future at some point, but the longer we can put it off the better! :)

Well, I think that it is for our appointments. Like I said, it was a very busy week, but one filled with good news! :) Greyson just continues to do so well and we are amazed by him every day! If we only knew what life would be like with him, we could have saved ourselves A LOT of worrying in those months after we found out about the spina bifida. Life is so good. :)