"I go OUTSIDE"

This is the phrase that Andy and I hear...A LOT!! Grey wants to be outside all. the. time. The past few weeks have been difficult trying to find things that he can actually do outside. He isn't crawling on all fours yet so if he is on the pavement or the deck he gets so dirty and I am super paranoid that he is going to get all scraped up. He rides on his 4-wheeler, rides his amtryke on the deck, and loves to rip out grass and throw it...other than that, we were at a loss, not wanting Grey to be stuck inside all summer, but really having a tough time finding things for him to do outside..until today. :) This past month (thanks to 1+1 therapy) Grey has made some amazing progress with his walker. His balance is great, he is taking steps and moving the walker all on his own, and his confidence in his ability has soared. So, I decided to take the walker outside and let Grey stand at it while we played catch...he had other plans. :) He was walking all over the place!


He walked (really fast because it's sloped downward) down the driveway, he walked on the grass, he walked on the deck. He walked all over! It wasn't pretty and it wasn't fast...but he did it. I was so proud as our neighbors walked by and saw my little boy doing what little boys do. And amongst all the walking/playing he had time to give his mommy a kiss :)


Today, Grey showed me (yet again) that I need to stop worrying about the future and just focus on all of the amazing things that he is doing today!

love,

Leigh, Andy, Grey.

ABCDEaster

This past weekend we headed down to Indiana to celebrate Easter with Leigh's family. We knew there'd be an Easter egg hunt so we packed grey's 4-wheeler to help give him an edge on his competition. :) Grey could "take or leave" the Easter egg hunt, however as soon as he discovered what was inside his interest grew.

Here he is on the prowl, with mommy has his official "egg picker-upper"




Here he is with his cousins, enjoying his findings.



In other news, Grey's been saying his Alphabet more and more these days and is getting pretty good at it. Here he is just the other day.




love to all,

Andy, Leigh, Grey

Spring Break!

Last week friday we packed up and headed to Florida with Leigh's whole family, eleven of us in all. Lets just say we were more than ready for some warmer weather as the end of march can get very depressing here in Michigan. So we were off! Thankfully we were able to fly...I feel for those families that make the 20+ hour drive south from Michigan, its brutal. Trust me i've been in that back seat a few times riding down and it takes forever!!! Even with a fully charged walkman and DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince Summertime album blaring through your headphones, it's tough. Anyway, we were lucky enjoy to fly (thanks Mark) and our very first flight Grey got some special attention. He was able to sit in the cockpit! Here he is...being amazed.


After a few minutes of amazement we left to find our seats, but not before the pilot gave us a spare set of wings! no, not the plastic ones they give to every other kid, the real deal! Grey didn't care, but i thought it was pretty cool. :) Anyway, the flights went great, Aside from Grey jubilantly shouting at takeoff, he did wonderfully. AMazing what a bowl of goldfish, and a Curious George movie can do. :)

We made it, and the weather was incredible! Imediately we hit the beach. Last year the sound of the waves put grey to sleep...this year he wanted to "ride" them.


Here he is with pop, ridin. he loved it.

When Grey gets excited he wiggles his hands. Anyone thats met him has probably seen him do this. You can imagine what his little hands were doing here. :)
He loved the sand as well. But hasn't learned the proper beach/sand etiquette yet...he threw it around a lot.

The house we stayed at was great and actually worked out very well for Grey. It was open, had a lot of flat surfaces to roll around. (we brought his ride, he's really good at gettin around in that thing) they had a pool and spa. Grey loved it.
But it wasn't all just play...Leigh made sure that he worked on his walking and the tennis court made for a perfect place. Admittedly, we were both a little lax on therapy related stuff this trip, but as always, Leigh made it happen and worked him good.

Towards the end of the week the boys (except for Grey) took a charter and did some fishing. Given our collective fishing record in the past, we were simply hoping not to get skunked. Well, turned out we hit the right spot and we were slayin King Mackerel from the moment our first line went in. Here i am, hooked into a big one.

Here's my father-in-law with a shark! yeah, a real shark! so cool!
And finally the whole crew with our limit for the day.

So yes, we had a warm, relaxing, wonderful time in Florida!

One more thing...For those of you livin in colder States, you might relate to this. Have you ever had some one say before you leave for a warm place say "have a good time, bring back the warm weather." and you always respond with a "you bet i will!" haha. Well this year we kinda did. This Sunday it was like 82 in MI! incredible. So the 3 of us took a bike ride!
Grey loved it!

WE can't wait for summer!!!


P.S. props to Leigh for taking video and riding the bike :)

love to all,

Andy, Leigh, Grey

Greyson Neal Gibbs

:)

The Children's Museum

This week, my mom and I took Grey and two of his cousins to the Grand Rapid's Children's Museum He LOVED it! He has been borrowing a wheelchair from his PT and he had the best time zooming around! He also had on his KAFOs so if there was something that he could stand at...he did!! Here are just a few pictures from our day!

Here he is enjoying the giant lite brite!

He is learning his shapes...so we heard "ti-angle" for the next 20 minutes!

Here he is standing at the bubble table and the sand table...such a big boy!!

What a cutie!!

I hope you all are enjoying your spring!! We are off to Florida next week and can't wait for some warm weather!!

Much love from the Gibbs'!!

A picture worth a thousand words...

To those not living in the SB world, this picture may not mean much. To me, this picture means more than I can say.


The scar (which you can barely see)
The standing
The undies


I knew there would be a scar, I hoped that there would be standing, and I had no idea if he would ever wear undies.

I know that his bladder can change anytime, so right now, we are so thankful about this huge milestone.

He's basically Superman. :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DADDY!!

Happy Birthday to the best Daddy around!!



We Love You!!!

Love,
Leigh and Grey