The Phamily Blog

Happy Healed Heart Day, Gabby Goose!

I can't believe only a year has gone by. It feels like so much time has passed since my sweet little Gabbers went under the knife. I am sure this is due to the fact that she has changed so much in the last year, achieving milestone after milestone after milestone.
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I've read over those posts numerous times, and the feelings of fear and sadness are blatantly clear. I'm so glad we're passed that and I am so glad that everything turned out the way it did. We are so very fortunate for this little fighter who has changed all of us in more ways than we could ever explain.
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July 31, 2009

Yuck. I don't love looking at these pictures. I hate seeing my girl so uncomfortable but I am reminded that this was necessary in order to get where we are today. She is HAPPY, healthy, and most imprtantly, thriving.

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I thought nothing could slow her down before open heart surgery but seeing her now, constantly on the go...I realize how much more energy she really does have. She's truly unstoppable!

Happy Open Heart Surgery Anniversary

to the sweetest, spunkiest "Little" I ever did know!

Water Therapy!

3:19 PM 10 Comments »

We've been trying something new lately with the 'licious. We finally got approved for weekly warm water therapy and I'm not sure I have ever seen her more excited or enthusiastic over something like she is when we enter the pool deck.
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We've officially been going for three weeks but these pics are from her very first session. Here she is with Miss Elena, checking things out.
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Miss Elena kept trying to make Gabs do things she really would rather not do, but alas, she completed her tasks and all was well in the pool.

"Wait...what? Why do I have to lay down? I don't want to get my hair wet."

About a half hour into the session, Gabby started getting really happy and VOCAL.

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I'm certain that every senior citizen that walked into that pool for water aerobics not only got a "Hiiiiii!" but also got blown a big fat kiss as well. She was too funny.

See? Absolutely giddy!

I am so glad we have the oppurtunity to do this. Not only is this fantastic for her strength, balance, mobility, tone, etc, etc... The amount of joy she gets from this is priceless. I predict she will be a little fishy by age four. ;)

Gabbers and Gracers do Music Therapy!

8:00 AM 9 Comments »

Normally, we do weekly music therapy sessions at Sheridan's house but since he is still fairly fresh out from open heart surgery, we're completing music sessions as a duo with Gabby and Gracie for the remainder of the month.

Last week we had the pleasure of hosting at our house and Gabby couldn't have been more thrilled!

She loves (like seriously, LOVES) Miss Jonna, Gracie's mama. I have seen Gabby get jealous when Jonna interacts with Gracie, her very own daughter. The nerve!

Both girls just adore music and can get really, REALLY loud and crazy.

This day was no exception.

Gabby says "that song makes me wanna:"

Pretending to be Great White Sharks while singing "Slippery Fish," one of Gabby's all-time faves!

Miss Gracie, sweet as can be...

HOORAY for music!

Thank you to Miss Bessie, Jonna and Gracie for making our music hour such a fun one!

Wordless Wednesday!

8:00 AM 5 Comments »

Beating the heat!

10:03 PM 3 Comments »

These photos were taken a couple of weeks ago on a beautiful 85 degree day. Today was 104 degrees...FAR too hot even for fun like this! Enjoy!

It's Soccer Season!

9:51 PM Posted In cameron 6 Comments »

Cameron has officially transitioned from T-ball to soccer and I'm not sure he's much of a fan. Still, he is enthusiastic with the social aspect of recreational sports, just not so much with being aggressive and getting the ball taken away from him.

His first game was two Saturday's ago and Nguyen and I did our best to pump him up for the event. He went in with a great attitude and we considered that a success in our books!
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About five minutes into the game, Cameron turned around to inform me his best buddy from school, Wyatt, was on the other team. He was ECSTATIC. Of course, when he finally got out there to play, it was all he could do to stop from running right up to Wyatt and chatting his ear off. In fact, at one point Wyatt had the ball and was making his way towards the goal when Cameron stopped to chat with him. They both got caught up in the conversation and the ball was quickly lost. Poor Wyatt tried to concentrate but my social guy wasn't having ANY of that.

In typical Cameron fashion, some one on one coaching was needed in order to regain focus.
(I can just hear the coach now: "Focus, Cameron. FOCUS!")

I think at one point during the second quarter, Cameron may have skimmed the ball with his foot before it was quickly taken away by an opponent. This picture perfectly reflects Cameron's attitude for the remainder of the game:
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There was even some foot stomping and air punches being thrown, if I remember correctly.

The game ended with a score of 3-0 (we lost) but the kids had no clue.

They were just excited to get their snacks.

Cameron made sure he got to have some one on one time with Wyatt after the game, so we snapped some pics of these two handsome guys in their soccer duds.

How cute are they?!

We just had game 2 this past Saturday and I can't say it went any better than game 1. I think the score was something like 6-0. So maybe soccer's not his sport but he loves his teammates and I think being a part of a team is a valuable lesson to learn. We'll keep him in sports so long as he tells us he wants to play and as of now, he does.

He took last year off from soccer after the soccer fiasco of 2008:

He clearly was not ready for soccer at that point.

I'd say we've made leaps and bounds since then, wouldn't you agree?

Class of 2023!

10:00 PM Posted In cameron 10 Comments »

This past Friday, the most handsome boy in the world graduated from preschool. Nguyen and I BOTH were a hot mess and teared up as soon as we saw his class march to their seats.
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The kids were soooo adorable. They sang many songs and even did some sign language to go along with their tunes which I thought was incredibly cute. Eventually, it was time for each child to walk up to the podium and receive their diploma. Look at my guy!
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Of course it HAD to be the windiest day EVER but we still managed to soak in such an exciting event for our boy. Gabby was irritated by the effect the wind had on her hair.
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After the ceremony, Cameron dragged me around to make sure I took his pictures with some of his best buds. First was Makensie, aka "Cameron's wife."
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And then Cameron's good pal Ethan, aka "Eefdin."

Cameron's cousin also goes to the same preschool so Nguyen's sister and brother-in-law were there. We attempted a graduation pic with just the kids and as you can see, it turned out AWESOME!

A picture with Teacher Diana.

(please note: Teacher Diana does, indeed, have two front teeth...it's just a shadow!)

And lastly, the token family shot...wind and all!

We're so proud of our graduate. We celebrated by having brunch at Mimi's Cafe and Cameron opened up a new lego set from mom and dad for all of his hard work.

We love you, Bubs! Now stop growing up so fast!