Dear Santa

Well Anthony loved Santa, as you can see. He was quite interested in looking at his face and touching his beard. What a fun little boy we have!

Early Christmas

We celebrated Christmas early with my mom since she might not be back again before Christmas - you never know what the weather in the pass will be like. This was Anthony's first try at opening presents and he wasn't as excited about it as I thought he'd be. The tissue paper was the big hit. He loved his new books (some of which belonged to me when I was a kid), clothes, and penguin buddy. Thanks for the generous gifts Nonna!

Oh Christmas Tree

We were very busy getting ready for Christmas this weekend! Jared put the lights up on the house and we decorated the tree. My mom was here and she helped me put everything up inside the house. Presents are wrapped and tree is up - we are ready for Christmas! This year we put the tree in the family room in hopes that our curious little boy won't get to it and pull it over. I must make sure to keep the baby gate up....

Happy Thanksgiving!

Steve in the DS coat.

Jared had a little issue using the whipped cream, and Tyler ended up getting the bad end of that....

We had a fabulous thanksgiving with our families this year. Kim and Lynda graciously invited my family over as well, so it was great for Jared, myself and Anthony to have everyone to celebrate with. Somehow I didn't end up with any pictures of the Anardi side though...

play time with Dad

No more pictures from the papparazi!

Prayer Requests

Please continue to keep me in your prayers. As the days go on this gets harder and harder; I honestly thought I'd be walking by now, no question. It gets easier to live in a wheelchair, but I don't want to get comfortable or used to this, or in the mindset that this is how things will always be. I am getting so weary. I feel like very little progress has been made in the last 8 months. I know, walk by faith not by sight, but that is just so hard right now when everything I see is so depressing.

Some specific requests I have:
Mental/Emotional Strength
Nerve connections are made immediately
Nerves grow quickly
Skin continues to stay healthy - no breakdown or pressure spots
Shoulders stay healthy and strong

Thank you for continuing on this journey with me!!

Advent Calendar

Inspired by my friend Vicki I am starting a fun tradition with Anthony....he is still a little young, but I thought since Jared will be gone for the first few weeks of December it will give Anthony and I something new to do every day. I had to repeat a couple of ideas - does anyone have good ideas for fun things to do with an 8 month old? I need inspiration!

1- eat candy cane
2- wear reindeer shirt
3- Read the Christmas story
4- Christmas book
5- Bubble bath
6- Christmas Pics with Lucas
7- play on floor with dad
8- play in bed with mom
9- finger paint with pudding
10- webcam cousins
11- listen to Christmas CD
12- webcam dad
13- Bubble bath
14- blow bubbles
15- drink formula out of sippy
16- Christmas coloring book
17- drink chocolate milk
18- stay up late to see Dad
19- play outside with dad
20- Bubble bath
21- play on floor with dad
22- Eat ice cream
23- listen to Christmas music
24- Christmas jammies

Last year I found this fabulous advent gingerbread house at Sur La Table and I'm excited to start using it!

It's Tuesday....

Anthony found Roma's water dish this morning and really enjoyed dumping it out and splashing in the water. Anthony already likes to play in water more than Roma does. What a curious little guy we have. When he is three he is really going to be keeping me busy if this is what he is up to now.....Note to self - always leave the gate to the family room up!

Check out the water line on the floor here - he is basically laying in a big puddle of water.

And notice how soaked his clothes are. He was actually dripping water when I picked him up!

Mover...

I was out of the room for 10 minutes and this is where I find him....

Tiny Dancer

This guy loves music!

Kiss

This is Anthony trying to kiss the baby he sees in the mirror. He also loves kissing his friend George (laying next to him) too...

Scooter

Friday Anthony started scooting himself all over the house. This will keep me very busy! He wants to get into everything, and especially loves cords. Uh oh. Yesterday he made his way into the kitchen and managed to pull the blender onto his face - nice. Today we put up a gate in front of the pantry that should allow me to still access things but keep him out!

Jared's 30th Birthday

Jared is turning 30 this week, so we started the birthday week off with a party last night. Thanks to all of our friends and family for joining us - we both had a fabulous time! And a special thanks to Kendra, Lynda, and Colby for helping with Anthony, food and clean up.

What better way to start a party off than to have Jared's friends sign as witnesses to our wills? Not often are we around 3 people who aren't related to us, so we jumped at the opportunity. Adam, Joe and Bob were kind enough to help us start the night out right.

J & A before the party started:

The card from Ken & Erica - Jared wanted me to share this with you all...

Jared loved all of his gifts, but most of all enjoyed his first experience playing beer pong - must have been a CWU thing because these UW guys were all new to the game. But it's quickly become a new favorite.

It was so fun to see everyone!

Happy Sunday!

It's a great day in my world today - Jared came home with a gingerbread latte and a new laptop for me - yippee!

Loko Friday...

Well I'm finally back on the lokomat today after about a month off because of the injury to my ankle. Had a good walk and put some weight down on the treadmill which isn't always possible due to the high spasticity in my legs. Looking forward to progressing quickly now that I'm back walking on the Lokomat again!

Cards

Did you know that you can order greeting cards and have them mailed directly to the recipient on Hallmark's website?! Hallmark has an excellent collection of cards online that are customizable and they mail them for you - no shipping charge, you just pay the cost of postage. And with online coupon codes that are readily available you can actually get 50% off all cards on a fairly regular basis. This makes the cards less expensive than they are in the store! I just found out about this website this week, and wish I had known earlier! Plus, once you've loaded your addresses it will take seconds to send someone a card!

Bath & Body Works Deal

For all my friends out there who love their anti-bacterial soaps - here is a great deal available in store and online!

http://www.fatwallet.com/top-deals/bath-and-body-12-anti-bacterial-soaps-for-20-with-coupon/

Photos from this week

Baby MMA

Jared and Mike have been wanting to have the boys wrestle each other - I guess the boys decided that was a great idea while they were playing today. Notice Anthony's hand in Luke's eyes and mouth....

Hard Work

Anthony is now getting up onto his hands and knees and trying so hard to stay balanced. It's tough being a baby. Our guess is he'll be crawling by December. The wood floors make it a little trickier for him (for which I am thankful!). The longer he waits to crawl the easier it is for mom!

Continued Progress

Well things aren't exactly progressing as quickly as I had hoped or expected, but at least they are still progressing. The sensation/feeling in my left leg is getting much better, and the doctors have told me that typically sensation returns before function, with the caveat that each person is so different and they really have no idea what's going to happen. Please pray that my right leg will catch up quickly! My right leg is the leg that I had problems with for a year and a half before they found the tumor, so the nerves on that side are likely more damaged than on the left.

I can no longer ride the ERGYS bike at PB because of the increased sensation in the left leg. The ERGYS is the bike that shocks my muscles to get them riding - it's only my muscles powering the bike based on the electrical stim they are getting. If we turn down the electrical stim to a level low enough for me to tolerate the pain, it's not enough power to get my legs moving properly. Now I'll switch to riding the RTI which provides some electrical stim and also has a motor to move the pedals. The electrical stim on the RTI is at much lower levels, much like the stim unit that I use at home. This is great news, because no normal person can ride the ERGYS bike, so I'm moving up I guess!

Today I am one day closer to walking again!

Get involved!

The Christmas season is a great time to get involved with local charities as the need is so great. Find a charity that you can be passionate about and volunteer - your time, resources, whatever you can. It's so rewarding to bring a smile to someone's face.

One of our favorite charities to work with has long been The Salvation Army. Their toy drive, Toy 'N' Joy is beginning soon - adopt a family or donate toys. Better yet, volunteer at the toy distribution the week of Christmas. This is one of my most memorable holiday experiences - helping parents pick out toys that their kids will get to open on Christmas morning. What a joy!

If toys aren't your thing, I encourage you to find something else. We should all be volunteering as we are so blessed to have everything we do. You have a lot to offer others, so share it!

Tis the Season

Happy Holidays! The season is officially here because starbucks holiday cups are out. It just brightens my day to see a warm red cup....I've also taken a fancy to some new decaf holiday teas that you just must try. Celestial Seasonings came out with several new holiday teas, including Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride and Gingerbread Spice. Both teas are quite delightful and great to enjoy on a cozy day at home. Anything that reminds me of the holidays is a sure hit - I think I'll be buying several boxes for the off season! I know most people think it's ridiculous to start celebrating so early, but I just can't help it!

And by the way, if you register your SB card on their website, you can get a free drink on your birthday...just found this out recently, what a great deal!

Dachsund walks again after treatment

http://www.brainandspinalcord.org/blog/2009/11/03/dachshund-gets-paralysis-treatment-and-walks-again/

Very interesting article.....

Filming

Pushing Boundaries sent a film crew from Thumbprint Studios to our house today. We are going to be included on a documentary fund raising video they are putting together. Jared and I are excited about the opportunity because we think that PB is a fantastic organization, and we wish that more people had the chance to go there. It really has made all the difference in the world for us. We'll share the video with you when it is available next spring. Anthony was on his worst behavior for the film, so I doubt he will be included much. Babies who miss naps are not happy babies!

Happy Halloween!

Anthony was a reindeer and Lucas was Tigger. No smiles from these guys!

They did really enjoy their first candy bars!

Go Dawgs!

Here is our little Husky, just like dad and grandpa!