This Boy's Adventures

A Final Post :( & Some Holiday Fun

2014-01-05T20:34:00.003-08:00

So I'll start off with the disappointing news that I am going to take down this blog in the coming week. With intentional effort to simplify my life, try and give back some time to us, and take some pressure I put on myself to do so much, I have decided that blending this blog with my Hobby Collector blog makes the most sense. We want to stay connected with family and friends who appreciate the updates on all that we do so I will transfer all of the posts here to my other blog and continuing posting there. If you want to follow what we (and G) are up to please bookmark that site, follow it by email (find a ways down on the right hand side of the blog), or add the Hobby Collector to your feed reader.

Before we officially say goodbye I thought you might like to see how G spent his Christmas. We had a great Holiday even with a little cough. Legos and Ninja Turtles were the biggest hits but G loved everything.

We are lucky to have so many people that love us and give so much. We wish everyone a wonderful New Year and I hope that you decide to follow our lives through my Hobby Collector blog in the future.

Brooke

Thanksgiving "Trailride"

2013-12-03T09:16:00.001-08:00

Look Gramps, no hands....wait...what I really mean is look, Gramps is not using his hands. Greyson is holding on and in charge (sort of) while Flo follows Gramps around the corral.

G LOVED it and got his first lesson on clicking his tongue to let Flo know it was time to go and how to pull back on the reigns to get her to stop.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Brooke

First Days of PreSchool

2013-08-27T21:21:00.001-07:00

It's official... Greyson has grown up beyond the point I was ready for. What an exciting week for him though. Here are a few highlights...

He was really excited...can't you tell?

Walking in with Daddy

Silly faces before going in.

Giving Mrs. Heather her hand soap gift (idea from Pinterest on my give page)

Second day silliness. That goofy smile cracks me up.

His name tag below his bag hook.

His cubby.

Tracing school tools and line drawings.

First official school note - bring an apple.

Introduced a calendar to help him understand what days are "Mommy/Daddy" days, "sitter" days, "school" days, and "special" days.

He also started a chore chart.

And we visited a possible college (kidding, went to U of A Campus to get haircuts)

He brought back apples as requested...she didn't expect these.

Art work with his friend- G's is the traced picture.

Introducing the first letter - A. Noticed he traced his name (sort of)

Learning the color RED

Greyson loved school and Mrs. Heather so much that he wants to go there everyday instead of to the sitter. That's a good thing; too bad not possible. And finally... Please don't think I will be making posts like this every week or taking pictures of everything he brings home, but I had to capture another 1st.

Brooke

The Jasper County Fair

2013-07-14T20:58:00.001-07:00

Last week we visited the Jasper Count Fair. We visit a barn in our neighborhood where a family has been keeping their daughters 4H hogs. We made sure to visit the night she would be showing. G had lots of fun and was very excited that Mira (and family) joined us.

It was HOT

and G was obsessed with this fan

One of the students I visit - she placed high

The baby goats were cute

Gramps we want you to get some of these

G was telling Mira the names of the equipment

Yes , they were prompted to hold hands.

No rides at this fair but maybe when he goes with Gramps and Grandma to the Bourbon County Fair.

Brooke

Silver Dollar City

2013-06-18T18:15:00.000-07:00

A couple of Sundays ago we headed to Silver Dollar City with Gramps and Grandma Becki. It wasn't very warm so we didn't do any water rides but still it was a great day. Greyson had tons of fun and even handled standing in a long line waiting to ride his first roller coaster.

Riding the roller coaster with Gramps. They had their hands up at first.

The Teacups was the only ride we could ride together.

The first ride by himself.

This isn't made for an adult :) but Michael and I made it one.

The best fried hot dog and spiral potato. He ate the whole thing.

He loved the swings.

We did get season passes so we will get back soon. We need to hit those water rides for sure.

Trip to the Big City

2013-04-22T10:07:00.003-07:00

Last week we made a trip to KC for G's follow-up MRI six months after surgery. He was such a great sport and worked with everyone without a complaint. We were amazed at how much he has grown up since his MRI last year.

He had an OT appointment before going in for the MRI. The therapist was very happy with his range of motion and strength. She feels like the skin color and scar tissue will continue to improve for up to a year after surgery. We did order a new glove. He requested black with Batman on it. He earned the medal for being so good.

Greyson's MRI followed and took about 2 hours. The interventional radiologist read the scans after and didn't find anything he felt like needed to be taken care of now. He does have some tissue filling up in his bicep area but it isn't bothering him. We sent everything on to Nationwide Children's docs in Columbus, OH and will wait to hear what they have to say. If there will be any follow-up treatments we will let you know.

We finished up our trip with a visit to the bookstore...

and PF Chang's where G learned how to use his chopsticks...

...and he did a little reading on the way home.

The day was fun for sure.
Brooke

Vascular Anomalies Clinic Visit

2013-03-22T14:03:00.000-07:00

In the beginning of March, Greyson visited the Children's Mercy Vascular Anomalies Clinic...basically an appointment with 4 specialists (dermatology, radiology, plastics, hematology). They reviewed all documentation and history since his last visit there (before our trips to Columbus) and basically just told us that he looks great and seems to be doing great.

Lunch at Fritz' between appointments (trains bring your food)

Greyson will have an MRI and Ultrasound April 17 to check out things further. The MRI was already scheduled but they did go ahead and schedule an ultrasound for that same day. They had us take G down for an XRay to check on a Phlibolith (blood clot) that showed up in his pointer finger a week before. He has had a couple of these before and from what we understand they don't hurt him and aren't an issue but take time to break down naturally.

He picked it and wants the next one to be black with Batman.

While we were at Children's Mercy we also took Greyson to visit Tracy in OT. She checked the fit of his new compression glove. We, along with Dr. Spaeth, decided that compression does seem to help his hand swelling a little and having a glove keeps me from having to wrap it with Co-Ban every night. It was kind of a pain since it had to be cut down to fit his fingers. We massage his fingers with vitamin E oil twice a day to help with the external scar and scar tissue. Tracy told us that scar tissue can take more than a year to break down.

He fell asleep waiting for docs.

I will add an update when we have some info from the MRI and ultrasound. We hope that they will guide us in making decisions for upcoming procedures. We will get opinions from doctors at both Children's Mercy in KC and Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, OH.

Take care to all of you.
Brooke, Michael, and Greyson

Navigating a Walk

2013-03-21T20:09:00.000-07:00

Greyson has been watching a lot of Jake and the Neverland Pirate's on Disney in recent days.

Before we left on our walk Tuesday evening he said he needed to take his "map".

For the first 2 blocks he would stop, unroll and check the map, drop it, and then have to pick it up and roll it back up.

During the walk we had mailbox races, he stopped to check out dirt piles, and he pretended he was a ghost (hat pulled over his face). We are really not sure where he got that idea but it started the night we bought the hat.

It was hysterical to watch and even made the cold wind bearable. On the way home we ended up carrying the map and then of course Greyson.

Brooke

Clean Up Crew

2013-02-28T04:04:00.001-08:00

We got snow the other day and before G went to the sitter he and Daddy did some clean up. It was so funny... Michael asked G if he wanted to go out and play while Michael shoveled off the drive. G said, "No, I shovel too. I need my shovel!" Then Michael said he would go get the shovels from the shed and G promptly told him, "No, I get my own shovel!." They spent 45 minutes cleaning and G "helped" the entire time.

We Have a Swimmer

2013-02-06T20:15:00.000-08:00

Maybe not a real swimmer yet, but we have a little boy who goes underwater on his own and LOVES it! Michael (and me sometimes) have taken him swimming a few times over the last few weeks and he is doing so great. It really has us looking forward to summer at the lake.

Brooke

The Shoe Influence

2013-01-27T08:00:00.000-08:00

Daddy's shoes are perfect with the overalls.


I guess if Michael wears flip flops to take the trash out G would think he had to as well.

Brooke

Pillow Fight: Take 2

2013-01-25T20:26:00.001-08:00

Pillow fights are the best entertainment in the winter when it's dark out so early and cold. The last one was so fun that he asked for Michael to throw pillows at him again... "like last time".

Brooke

Pillow Fight

2013-01-14T21:30:00.001-08:00

Again, again, again until daddy was too tired.

Prepping for Santa

2012-12-24T21:01:00.000-08:00

So the Santa excitement started much earlier this year and he is soooo ready for him to visit tonight.

In early December, we went to see Santa (at the mall) so that G could tell him exactly what he wanted. After the 3rd trip, Greyson agreed to stand next to Santa and even smiled. He was a bit upset when we left and he didn't have his train and train track.

Knowing that Santa needs some calories to keep him going through his long night of work, I figured Greyson needed to get in on the cookies and milk preparations.

For the sake of consistency and because I love the look, the above pictures are in black and white. I think look pretty nice but I thought it might be fun to share a little funny story about the cute PJ's in the last picture....

Two years ago (at Greyson's first Christmas), we started the tradition of getting him new PJ's and let him open them Christmas Eve. This year, when we said he could open a present he was uber excited and then he opened it and here is what we saw....

...guess he was a little disappointed but he recovered and went to bed happy and excited for Christmas morning. He did ask for one more thing this afternoon...a little bit of snow.

Merry Christmas to you all.
Brooke, Michael, and Greyson

Cracking Us Up

2012-12-18T19:54:00.001-08:00

This boy just doesn't quit. He does the funniest things. Here are a few pics from the week.

A New December Tradition

2012-12-02T15:47:00.001-08:00

Like so many other families before us, the Elf on the Shelf has come to visit for the month of December to help Greyson make it through the 24 days before Christmas and to remember to be nice. Think we might invite Elf to stay year round if that works.

Here is how we met him and read his book to learn all about why he has come to visit. Not really sure G gets it but it will be fun to help him get excited. More to come. ;)

Thanksgiving - Take 1

2012-11-22T19:14:00.001-08:00

Rogers, AR - Grandma She She and Papa Charlie's

This boy cracks me up. Silly! He had a great day even without a nap and loved every minute with his cousins Calvin and Tanna.

Of course I took more pictures than this but they are all stuck on my DSLR (the big camera).

Home Again

2012-10-24T20:47:00.001-07:00

Greyson's visit with Dr. Spaeth went well yesterday morning especially since he didn't tell her that he didn't like her. He told her that Thursday when she came to visit after surgery. He knew she was responsible for the splint.

By Ronald (or as G calls him "Donald")

She checked out the stitches and took out the drain tube. She re-wrapped it all and gave us instructions on how to care for it all. He won't have any OT or PT for now but just be encouraged to use both hands. We will follow up to check the healing with his pediatrician in a couple of weeks. He is going to talk with Dr. Shiels to decide when a follow up MRI will be and when we will take G back for follow-up treatment. He is good to go for now.

We hung out with Tralaine and Andy in German Village at Katzinger's Deli and the coolest bookstore ever. Before leaving them at their hotel heading to the airport for their flight home.

Candy Buckeye (chocolate and peanut butter is AWESOME)

Katzinger's Deli (it's famous...has even been on Food Network)

Cruising German Village carrying his leftover lunch.

Reading with Uncle Andy - they lost us when we went to get some sweets.

Fun with Aunt Tralaine. Lucky she was there to help clean up the two water spills at lunch.

We got home last night around 10pm and he did pretty good on the trip. We read books, played with some borrowed toys, and watched Babar and Monsters Inc. for the 50th time.

The week should be fairly quiet and he will probably go back to the sitter next week. He needs to be able to catch himself if he falls and things are looking promising considering he is wiggling his fingers today.

We will send an update maybe this weekend. He is doing so well there isn't much to report.

Take care,
Brooke, Michael, and Greyson

Whirlwind Weekend

2012-10-21T19:35:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it is already 10pm on Sunday night. Since we left the hospital on Friday time has flown by. Greyson has done excellent. He has had some minor pain but the Ibuprofen seems to take care of it. By Friday evening he was dealing with the splint much better and tearing around here like he owned the place. He found the train table in the play room and was hard to tear away from it.

Tralaine and Andy got in Friday night and we met up with the Saturday. We visited the Runners Expo, ate, had Jeni's Ice Cream of course, and hung out at RMH. I was supposed to take a taxi to their hotel this morning but it never showed. Luckily there were some very nice volunteers here to make breakfast and they offered to give me a ride (only 5 minutes). Michael and Greyson got to meet him at breakfast and he even made them a special plate of eggs and french toast.

The race was great. So well put together and supported. There were 18,000 runners with both the 1/2 and full marathons being sold out. I have never seen so many bathrooms and water stops...the important stuff for runners. Since we raised so much money (thanks to so many of you, we hit our goal of $1500 on Saturday and went over - yipeeee!)we had access to a special VIP tent at the beginning and end with some special food and more port-potties.

Running 26.2 miles is a challenge but we got it done. My legs wouldn't say it was a fun day but spending the day running with Tralaine and Andy is always worth it. I owe my finish time once again to Tralaine. She seems to have turned into my personal pacer and pulled me through many miles making sure I got a PR (personal record). Thanks Sis! And of course it was great to see Michael and Greyson at the end having fun at the after party. Of course G didn't want to leave.

Greyson goes to see Dr. Spaeth in the morning. We expect she will send us on our way after the visit. She said he may or may not come home with the drain but I am betting not...it really isn't putting out much. She will also take the splint off tomorrow and we will get a good look at the incisions. He has one at his elbow, one at his wrist, and one on each of 3 fingers.

I will send an update once we get on the road to let everyone know the plan. What a trip it has been...Michael and I will be glad when we are finally home.

Have a great evening. Pictures to come hopefully tomorrow.
Brooke, Michael, and Greyson

Friday Morning Update (10/19)

2012-10-19T08:06:00.001-07:00

Greyson had a pretty good night's sleep. He fell asleep around 7pm and woke for about 30 minutes at 11:30pm, then was awake again from 4am-6am, and finally woke up about 8am. He hasn't complained about much pain. He really doesn't like the splint that Dr. Spaeth made special for him. We told her it might be an issue so she wrapped the splint in blue tape with cars on it. He still isn't much of a fan. We found that if we covered it up along with the IV and other monitor with a blanket he didn't worry much about it as much. He even started covering them up.

Playing Peek-a-boo!

He has been unhooked from all monitors now and seems to be dealing with the splint better since he is now mobile. He just finished up breakfast and is playing here in the room. We are getting ready to head down to the new play room and let him have some fun before we check out.

The plan is to go to RMH by noon today and just hang out for a couple of days. Tralaine and Andy will get here tonight and we will meet up with them tomorrow. The Runners Expo is tomorrow and then the marathon on Sunday. I will make another post sometime after the run Sunday.

If anyone is interested in donating to our team for the marathon I think you still can. We are $225 away from our $1500 goal. Click and drag over this address then copy and paste it into your web browser if you are interested in giving: http://www.nationwidechildrens.org.kintera.org/faf/r.asp?t=4&i=1011247&u=1011247-364784818&e=5979548072 Tralaine, Andy and I raised more than anyone else on the Plastics Department Team and we owe that all to those of you that donated :) Many Thanks!

Take care and thanks for everything,
Brooke, Michael, and Greyson

Surgery Done & In Recovery

2012-10-18T14:00:00.000-07:00

We got here bright and early and surgery started about 7:50am. Greyson was given some medicine to relax him and he was quite silly when we left him with the nurses. The surgery went as planned and just finished at 2ish. It took a bit longer then planned due to his growth tissue being wrapped around veins and major nerves but that is what Dr. Spaeth specializes in so he was in good hands. She shared a lot about what she did and even showed us some pictures and is very pleased with the outcome.

We are waiting now to get to go back and see him and then head to his room here at the new hospital for the evening. Dr. Spaeth doesn't think there should be any major problems and he should be able to go back to RMH tomorrow.

Take care and we will share more later.
Brooke

Sclero Done, Surgery Tomorrow

2012-10-17T21:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I hope you all followed the rule that "no news is good news" since this message is so late.
Sclero went as expected today with a bit of an extended stay in recovery. Greyson had a bit of pain and was very thirsty after so they gave him some pain meds and some juice. He sucked the juice down and then threw it back up a couple of times. We gave him a couple extra hours to settle down and he was just fine so we were on our way.

We had lunch at the hospital, stopped for a short visit at Ronald McDonald House, and then went to visit Dr. Spaeth to talk about surgery and get paperwork filled out.
After Hospital/Dr. stuff I fit in a run in German Village and Michael and Greyson hung out at RMH to play outside at the "playground". We had dinner here and took care of some laundry (throwing up was not good to Eli, Blue Blanket, or Michael).

Everything is a go for tomorrow. We will get up around 5am (4am for most of you in Central Time) and will be at the hospital by 5:45am. Surgery is going to be less than 6 hours but we should know more specifics in the morning. I will have more time to post tomorrow since we will be in the hospital all day and overnight. Dr. Spaeth expects Greyson to do great and get to check out on Friday.

Thanks for all the loving comments. :) Take care!

Brooke

The Day You Were Born - Album Finally Done

2012-10-16T09:09:00.000-07:00

Finally finished this project and waited for the 50% off books discount to come around. Turned out pretty cute if I must say so myself.

Click here to view this photo book larger

Create your own custom photo books at Shutterfly.com.

Brooke

On The Road to Columbus, OH

2012-10-15T13:51:00.000-07:00

We left for Columbus this morning a bit later than planned but the only appointment to keep today is dinner with Matt (cousin in Louisville). He is hosting us this evening and is making a yummy pot roast with potatoes and carrots and Mac-n-Cheese cause he knows G is a big fan. We are so lucky to have such great family to lean on...an friends of course.

We will arrive at Ronald McDonald House tomorrow afternoon with a big bag of shampoos, soaps, etc to share with them. Between all of Michael's travel with work and from my awesome eMINTS family travels we have a lot of toiletries to give. We are lucky to have a "schedule" with G's stuff but so many family's find themselves there unexpectedly with nothing and these items may take away one minor worry while they are there.

Greyson's schedule is as follows:

10/17/12 (Wed.) Sclero with Dr. Shiels - arrive at 6am for 8am-9:30am sclero. He will treat chest and shoulder area. We will take him back with us and then a late afternoon appointment to check in with Dr. Spaeth.

10/18/12 (Thurs.) Surgery with Dr. Spaeth - arrive at 5:45am for 7:30am surgery. Should be 5 or less hours. She will work on his elbow, wrist, and hand. He will stay overnight in the hospital and hopefully get released early Friday to go back to RMH.

10/20/12 (Sat.) Get ready for Marathon with Tralaine and Andy. Go to Runner's Expo and chill.

10/21/12 (Sun.) Marathon and recover!

10/22/12 (Mon.) Follow-up Appt. with Dr. Spaeth and hopefully head home.

We will post updates as time provides (at least one a day) and will hopefully get to put up a picture or two. Thanks for all of your support and love.

Brooke, Michael, and Greyson

Randomness: towers and chicks (2 kinds)

2012-08-30T13:16:00.003-07:00

Just a couple of things I thought I would share...

Greyson LOVE building tall towers with his "Yegos" (you know, Legos) especially if he needs to climb on the chair to help make them taller.

Greyson and Mira are getting to be good friends. He likes to go see her and I can coax him into the stroller with a promise that we are going to see Chanti and Mira. This was them watching the iGuy (iPad) together on the sofa. He even put his arm around her with his hand on her shoulder and was so sweet.

We recently went to a county fair. Of course we visited the petting zoo. They had a ton of baby chicks and he wanted to pick one up himself. Have to say that I was a bit nervous he might squeeze one a bit too hard but all 3 were returned safe and sound.

Brooke