Grey's new gear...

Today, Grey got his very first pair of KAFOs (knee ankle foot orthoses). These are braces that go above his knee and can be locked so that the knee has complete support when standing. I spent many nights worrying and debating weather or not we should stick with his GRAFOS (ground-reaction ankle foot orthoses) or take the leap and go with KAFOs. So far I am THRILLED with our decision! Grey's quads are extremely weak and it is nearly impossible for him to stand for any length of time without some sort of support for his knees, and trying to walk...forget about it. His knees would just buckle. We have been using knee immobilizers for months and for standing and walking they have been working pretty well, although they were getting much too small and we knew we didn't have much time left with them.

Grey with his knee immobilizers on

So, I went in to talk with Gabe...the most amazing orthotics guy around and he showed me something that I didn't even know existed. It's a KAFO that can turn back into a GRAFO...amazing.

See how it attaches near the ankle? Awesome.

At that point, it was a no-brainer. We knew that these were the braces for Grey! Before I show you what his new braces look like, I thought that we could take a stroll down memory lane and reminisce a little about his past AFOs...

Can you even handle this picture? I can't.

Grey got his first teensy tiny pair when he was just 3 months old. He had a curve to his foot, that if left untreated...would just get "curvier" so we strapped these bad boys on for about 20-22 hours a day and voila! his feet were (and still are) straight and beautiful!

I'm not sure what's cuter...the tiny AFOs or those chubby little legs!

Next came a pair that he only wore at night. This pair was to help with his plantar flexion (basically they pointed his foot down).

Here we are putting them on

and here he is just being cute. :)

Next he got his "standing AFOs" this was the first pair to help with standing.

Who is this kid?

snacks are always a good motivator

He also figured out how to take this pair off

His next pair were GRAFOS....they give a bit more support at the knee, you can tell in these pictures that there is an insert that goes above his knee in the front.


Next, it was time for the casting of his new KAFOs...here is Gabe doing what he does best...

Grey's just keeping himself busy with the IPOD

And there you have it!!

How did we get from so little to...so big...so fast???

Grey at therapy...standing so tall!

Grey with his brand spakin' new KAFOs!!

I heart life

A few days ago Grey got a new t-shirt...

...and he loves it.

Blizzard Sledding

Last weekend the weather was beautiful! so nice in fact that i got out Grey's swing and hooked it up and we went for a swing! Great i thought, spring is almost here. Well, the next day we got like 10 inches of snow in an afternoon... *sigh. oh well, Grey and I decided we'd get some sledding in. Leigh joined us as the field photographer.

As you can see it was coming down pretty hard. Grey loved it. (so did I)






Let's hope the next time i'm pushing grey down that hill, it's sunny and he's rolling down on grass.

love,
Andy, Leigh, Grey

Grey's 2nd Birthday

It's hard to believe that last weekend our little gibblet turned 2! Here's some pictures of how the day went.

First off i made him pancakes, and this time we didn't even" trick" him by mixing sweet potato puree in with it, it was just straight Mrs Butterworth! haha he loved it and i attempted to make a "2" with the batter...not bad.
We had a pretty lo-key morning just playing and hanging out, grey really liked his decorations and was asking often to kiss Elmo (the ballon)

here's the birthday boy before his party.and the cake...it fit into the theme of the party...yep you guessed it ELMO!
grey quickly tried to sneak a taste of his cake...
Naturally he had to have the piece with his own name on it.
After cake and ice cream it was on to presents, and grey was pretty excited to open them.
Here's grey trying to "magic doodle" his arm while rocking out his new guitar.
Heres Grey and his cous Evan, he must think evans' ear is the on button.
He got a new elmo video and was watching it with pop.
After a very exciting and eventful day, here he is relaxing with mommy.

Onto the next day...before all the snow melted we hit up the hill at grandma and pop's house and we took grey for a ride. Lets just say the run was intense, but that didn't stop us, Grey laughed the whole way down. (so did i) :)




And finally heres a little video that highlights some of the birthday events!


love from the Gibbs'

Give Love

My good friend Joanna who has an amazing heart, introduced us all to a sweet boy named Shea. A boy who, like Grey, has spina bifida and all that comes with that. She has been keeping us updated on where he is and how his forever family is doing in their pursuit to make him a permanent part of their family. Well, a few days ago Joanna sent out an urgent call for prayer and help. Shea will be sent to an institution in a few weeks and we need to do all we can so that this won't happen. There is a family waiting for him, a family who desperately wants him, and a family who is so close to welcoming him into their lives. They just need a little more help. Please do what you can to help Shea. This is what Joanna wrote on both her blog and Shea's, she says it so much better than I ever could...Thank you Joanna for sharing it here as well...

Because it's February.

Because I just decorated my house in pink and red hearts.

Because Valentines are not just for couples...but friends, mommies, daddies, siblings, classmates and neighbors.

Because everybody needs love. And not the romantic comedy, butterflies in your stomach, plucking petals off daisies kind of love.

They need the "I'm yours forever" kind of love.

The "we can do this together" kind of love.

The "can't stop starring at you" kind of love.

The "I'm always there for you" kind of love.

The "I can't keep myself from smiling around you" kind of love.

The "I promise to make time to laugh with you" kind of love.

The "everything you say is so important to me" kind of love.

The " I couldn't be prouder of you in this moment" kind of love.

The love that lifts you up....

Squeezes you tight...

Makes even hard times feel alright..

The love that teaches you all that you need to know...

And gives you support you need to grow...

The undeniable you were made for me...

And together we make a family...

What's mine is yours...

I treasure each kiss...

And everyone deserves to feel like this...

Kind of Love.

Because real love is something that cannot be bought - only shared. We need it from the time we are born - and those of us who having loving families know that NOTHING could have replaced that. The love of family - the love I was given as a child - made me who I am today. It teaches us how to love the rest of our lives. It can never be truly expressed in the form of greeting cards, chocolates, flowers, or jewelry. Those sweet tokens and gestures give momentary happiness - it's the feeling love behind them that really means anything at all. So with that in mind, and in the spirit of this holiday of love - I would like to propose the perfect gift for your loved ones.

Give the gift of Love itself.

Give Love.

You can bring joy and love not only to those who hold your heart -

but to child who needs your help.

Give Love.

By helping one little boy come home to the family who is waiting to give him this kind of love. The kind of love every single one of these children pictured above are given every day.

The kind of love so many of us are blessed to have.

The kind of love he deserves.

Give Love.

Shea's story is a remarkable one - and it is only just beginning. He now has a family ready for him - and Shea is WAITING to come home. His family is actively completing the adoption process - eager to give Shea the love, support and care only a family can give. The only thing wecan do to help them bring Shea home as soon as possible is to GIVE.

Give what you have.

$5, $25, $50

It's not the size of the gift, but the size of the heart behind it.

GIVE LOVE.

It is so costly to adopt internationally - so much so that many people say "we can't afford that" or "it's just not possible for us". But this family has given everything they have not once, not twice, but 3 TIMES (read their blog - they are an amazing family)and is making that leap of faith to make Shea a part of their family - but they need help raising the last bits.

(And in adoption language, "bits" = $9,000!)

They need our HELP!

As a friend so honestly reminded me " Let's face it ... we all spend/waste $$$ on this every year. The chocolate is gone...the flowers die... and all you have is a distant memory of the token(s) you invested in."

How much more meaningful - how much more noble - how much more true to what love is all about - to give that money instead to this family - to this little boy -

to bring him home - to give him Love.

So help share the love...with Shea. :)

Isn't that the most adorable Valentine ever?!

It's message is simple - it's purpose sincere.

Make a donation (even just $5!) in the name of a friend or loved one - to Shea's Adoption Grant (through the chipin on the right hand margin of the Saving Shea blog) or visit his family's blogand donate through their chipin (it all goes to his account.) Then print out these adorable Shea Valentines and give them to your sweetie, your sister, your mother, your friend - and see their faces light up at the sweet face on the card.

I can't think of a sweeter, kinder,

more beautiful way to Give Love.

Can you?

(visit www.savingshea.blogspot.com to read more about Shea's story as well as to view/print these Valentines.)

Happy Birthday to Grey!!

Tomorrow my baby boy turns TWO! I can't even believe it! These past two years have been the best of my life and they have just FLOWN by! It seems like only a few months ago we brought our sweet boy home and wondered "now what?" and now, we are pros at this whole parenting thing...hahaha..yeah right! :) Although we have two years under our belt and are doing pretty good! :)
Remember this one?

Thinking back to two years ago tonight, I wish I would have known what our life would be like. I wish I would have known how amazing Grey would be, that the gut-wrenching worry and fear that I had so weren't worth it and were so not needed. Sure, I still worry and have plenty of fears...especially as our little guy gets older and his differences are becoming more obvious, but it is so much easier to take it one day at a time. It is so much easier to push those fear aside and think about today, to see how happy he is RIGHT NOW and to soak it up!! I love Grey more than I ever thought possible and can't imagine my life without this perfect little two year old in it!!!



Oh, and Grey has learned something new!! We travel 45 min-1 hour (each way) 2-3 times a week for therapy and his favorite video to watch is an Elmo video about the alphabet...well...he can now recognize the letters!! This was a huge surprise to me! I knew that he knew the alphabet, but he shocked me by pointing out an L on the keyboard and saying "L" well, it turns out he knows way more than L...take a look!!


Much love from Leigh, Andy, and the Birthday Boy!!