A very merry christmas

Well, we're a little late on showing some of these Christmas photos to everyone, but here we go!
On Christmas eve we had my family (Andy) over to our house for dinner and gifts. Grey was excited to see his cousin Evan. He so lovingly refers to him as "baby elvin" these days. Anyway here's a picture of grey and evan with grandma and grandpa.

I think aunty em was being silly, Grey thought it was hilarious!


These pictures were taken "post-gift opening" where apparently the boys stripped down to their onesies and started partying.

i just really love our new home and Christmas felt so great in it this year!

this totally wasn't from Christmas eve, but i just like photo.
Anyway, back to Christmas eve...After Grey was in bed we set up his big gift, a tent (or a house as he refers to it) Christmas morning he was able to see it and as we thought it was a big hit! in fact he ate his breakfast in it that morning. So now we currently have a tent permanently set up in our living room.


ah yes, holdin my boy wearing snowman pj's on Christmas morning, can't beat it.

Here's a family shot on Christmas...man i feel like we could have tried that one again...were like 50 feet away from the camera. Don;t worry, i got a tripod this Christmas so i wont have to rely on propping it on the arm of the sofa to do the job anymore.

Here's Christmas at the Neals! Christmas chaos at it's best!

Oh and here's Leigh with niece Kendall singing Karaoke. Let's just say we don't have the next American Idol in our family :) hahaha.

here's grey crawling out of his house when Leigh was finally done singing :)

Here's the cousins playing with their new gadgets. Grey found the play/pause button quickly and kept pushing it until Olivia got sick of him and left.



Might as well wrap up the day with a spin behind the go-kart on the tube! oh yeah!

I hope everyone had a Wonderful Christmas and we wish all of you out there a happy and healthy new year!

love the Gibbs'

How it happened...

First, I just want to say THANK YOU to everyone who called, emailed, commented, etc. on our last post about Grey walking. It means so much knowing that there are so many people cheering Grey on just as loud as we are. :) I said in that last post that I would have more info on how his new-found walking came about, and then I realized that I really have no idea! But...here are some things that I think helped...

Since Grey was about 11-12 months, we started using this little push toy. At this point he couldn't bear weight at all and I was doing ALL of the work. He wasn't shifting his weight, wasn't swinging his legs, and wasn't supporting himself. This was the beginning. Lots of work for mama, and lots of learning for Grey. Each time that we did this, I would say "shift your weight, swing your leg" he never did, but that little mind of his was starting to get it. :)


Next, his PT, Liz, brought over a gait trainer. Not Grey's finest moment. :) He wasn't a fan of this gait trainer and all of the "extras" that came along with it. Liz decided that it wasn't the right time. Good decision. :)


THEN...Liz suggested that we get a pair of knee immobilizers. Grey was still having trouble bearing weight for longer then a few seconds, his knees would just buckle and we weren't making much progress. His ortho didn't want to go with KAFOs (knee, ankle, foot orthotics) just yet (which I understood) but I felt like that left Grey hanging. Unable to do the things that I knew with a little more support, he would be able to do. The knee immobilizers were the next best thing! (Although, I was so excited when I ordered them, that I forgot to check the "male" box and they came with fairies on them...oops! Sorry Grey!

Once his immobilizers were here, we started working more on standing on his own, taking side steps, and being upright way more often. Then, during one PT session, Liz brought that gait trainer back...without all of the "extras" just to see what would happen. Much to our surprise...Grey started getting it! He still needed help with shifting his weight, but he was bringing his left leg forward all on his own! So exciting!!

Then, in December, we made a huge decision and decided to try out a new therapy place. 1 plus 1 Therapy
A decision that I was so nervous to make (sorry, Amy!) has turned out to be so good for Grey. Grey gets to do things there that he has never been able to do before...like jumping,

standing without leaning on something,

moving forward on all fours,

and more jumping!

After that first week of going to 1 plus 1, his Early On PT, Liz was back over and we were trying out the walker again. This time he was shifting his own weight and swinging both legs forward all on his own! He still needed a bit of support at the waist but he was doing it! Now, after a month at 1 plus 1, he is starting to 4 point crawl, and no longer needs any support when using his walker, although we do still need to push it forward for him. Army crawling is still his perfered method of getting around, but more and more I see him on all fours taking a few "steps" that way.

So, that is some of what we have done leading up to this point. So many people have helped Grey, but above all...it's Grey's strong will and determination that have gotten him to where he is. He is the best!

Grey's gift to us...

Grey has been working very hard on a special gift to give to all of us. There really aren't words to describe how proud we are of him...to say that we are bursting with pride just doesn't even seem to come close. Take a look...

grey walking!! from Leigh Gibbs on Vimeo.

More to come on how this came about. I just couldn't wait to share with all of you! :)

Merry Christmas to you all!!

Much Love,
Leigh, Andy, and Grey

hittin the hill

So it's getting cold here in Michigan these days, and with that comes snow. This past weekend we got a "dusting" on snow that left our yard with just enough snow to pull out the snow suits and dust off the sled! I was pretty sure Grey would love sledding, he was obsessed with going down the hill in our yard on his truck all summer, so i assumed he'd feel the same way on snow.

Right when i put him on the sled he got his "Lady Face" (by Lady Face I mean the little grin he gets when he hear's that Lady Antebelum song...) by the way he still loves that song, haha.
Anyway here he is going down for the first time.






He loved it every time down!



I'm pretty sure where going to be doing a lot of sledding this winter...and I can't wait!

love,

The Gibbs'

Heavy Heart...

My heart has been heavy since reading this post from my dear friend Joanna. She is out to save a little boy named Shea. A little boy, so much like my own that I can barely breathe at the thought of what his life may become. You see, this little boy has spina bifida and all that comes with it. Just like Grey, Shea has a shunt, has bladder and bowel issues, and isn't able to stand or walk. And just like Grey, Shea is "a very good, and smart boy." The only difference is Grey has a family to love him, a family to help him, and a family who will never give up on him. Shea on the other hand, because of his age, is close to an institution where he will become bedridden for the rest of his life. A life that is worth so much. Please visit Shea's blog and do what you can to help us save Shea. Every little bit helps.

Burning off that thanksgiving feast

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! (yep a little late) Just wanted to say how blessed our family is feeling this time of year. It's really remarkable looking back on the year and realizing that this year there's even more things to be thankful for than the last. I remember last year listing a few key things that were so important in my life and that i'm so incredibly thankful for, and guess what, they haven't changed!

*Greyson: yup no surprise here, he's still my best little bud and amazes me all the time. The highlight of my day is when i come home and the minute i open the door he says, "daddy home, daddy make house." He loves making forts out of blankets, and guess what so do I! Everything up to that moment in the day is pretty insignificant in my book, it's all about the time i get to spend with him! I am thankful that i can.

*Family: Some Really exciting times for my family this year, a new baby cousin evan, some big milestones for Grey. Combined with some really hard ones as well. Losing a grandma and a grandpa in the same year was tough, my moms fight with cancer was grueling (we got it this time, right mom!) but all these people, all these experiences i am thankful for. They mold us, make us who we are.

*Church: Our small group remains strong and the relationships more meaningful, they continue to love and encourage us in the good and hard times.

*SB support Groups: We have had several opportunities to meet other SB family that we've met online and it's been incredible to interact with them in person. A truly amazing community of families out there that will do anything for their kiddos and willing to help anyone that has a question.

*micro brew: i've got one brewing right now, should be ready in time for the holidays :)

*Leigh: yeah she's still amazes me how wonderful a mother she is and am so thankful that she is Greys mommy. That really doesn't even describe it at all, it goes way beyond that...you get it :)

*A job: I still like what i do and am thankful that my job can help provide what my family needs. and some of those fun things too :)

Anyway, this years thanksgiving was incredibly relaxing and just such a nice time spent with family.

Heres a few pics:






and heres a little video of Grey working off some of those extra Thanksgiving calories!





love to all,
Andy

Rough Riders

A few days ago I got a text from Emily asking if Grey and I were up for an adventure at the park...my reply? OF COURSE!! Any day that Grey gets a chance to see Carson is the best day of his life. Seriously, he loves him. They started off on their bikes. They weren't really racing (that would be a pretty slow race) :) it just looks like it.



Then, they spotted a dog. Who knew that a dog could be so entertaining. They couldn't take their eyes off of that dog. So cute.



Not sure what they were chatting about here...
Grey taking a break from peddling.
He might be the cutest thing that I have ever seen. Seriously. I can't get enough of him.
Not sure what this contraption is, but they seemed to like it...for a minute anyway. :)
This is what Grey is constantly doing when Carson is around. He either has to be taking his glasses off of him or petting his hair. He is obsessed with Carson. Poor Carson.
Here is the petting. I'm not making this up.
Impossible to get them both looking up and smiling at the same time, this was as good as I could get. :) Maybe next time. :)
I feel so unbelievably blessed to have Carson and his parents in our lives. God is so good, he knew just what we needed. :)

Hope this finds you all enjoying your fall!