Crazy June!!

The month of June was insane with all Nash's appointments. He had 6 and 7 apts a week!! I wasn't sure if we were coming or going... He did a special therapy Called "IM therapy" Basically you watch a computer screen and it makes a noise and you push a button when it makes a noise. That was three times a week. it was to help focus the brain. I honestly think it worked...

Nash also had Hippo Therapy or Theraputic Horse riding. He cried the first time, but loved it after that. Beyond this he had his normal therapies and routine check-ups.

Ahhh this title makes me laugh, because we used to call our bus driver "Crazy June." Basically cause she drove really fast and a bit crazy. I totally did not think of it until I began to write...

Anyway, I am glad it is over however a bit nervous about him starting preschool in Sept. Sad already that he is growing up... However part of me never thought it was going to happen... You see with a micro-preemie your baby is a baby for a LONG time. Almost can't picture them as anything else.

Nash has been traveling some... To the farm to ride the skiloader, to Oboboji to ride the waver runner, golf-cart, boat, and play with Chloe. We had a great time traveling. We also camped in Gpa and Gma Kuehls yard for the 4th of July and then recently went to the Naibi Zoo. Nash pretty much could care less about the animals, but loved the train ride!! He saw it and said, "Thomas!"

He has been enjoying BBQ and sweat corn. Oh and watermelon.... Making a mess out of each of them... In fact you know your child is messy when he pushes back his chair and says, "Take a shower."

He can swim again after his eye surgery and that is wonderful. His eye is moving well. Praise God! His balance has improved too.

He even has stood up several times in the yard without assistance. Yeah for most kids that is not a big deal, but for Nash it is HUGE! We are sooooo proud of him.

Summer days have been good and this weekend Gpa and Gma Blair and Evan and Emily are coming to visit so we will probably go fishing at Gpa and Gma Kuehls. We are so grateful that we have gotten to spend lots of time with family this summer.

YIKES!!

WOW... This could be long, but I will try to make it simply... A lot has happened since my last post....

Vacation to South Carolina
*Nash's first plane trip... Success! We took the carseat and he loved taking off and landing. He did AWESOME! So proud of him.
*Our first rental car... Not a Honda, but it worked and got us where we were going... Which was to the beach, Charleston, Myrtle Beach, and out to dinner.
*Our first beach as a family. First time we have ever been on an East Coast beach... We all loved it... Nash loved feeling the sand under his feet and the waves crashing in. Nate loved the water... Played in the ocean like a ten year old. It was super cute to watch the boys having fun!!
*Our first beach picnic... Do not recommend unless you want to eat gobs of sand!
*First seafood buffet where Nash ate at least five ears of corn and no seafood. He's from the midwest... What can we say!!
*Nash saw his first alligator and we stopped our car for the first time to let a turtle cross the road.
*Had a blast look king at old historical homes in Charleston with Gma Blair... Yea, she came for three nights so Nate and I could go on dates... It was awesome!
*We swam daily at our hotel's lazy river... The weather was AWESOME and vacation was wonderful... Thanks Gpa and Gma Blair for letting us have your timeshare! We loved it!
*First 19 hour car ride back to Des Moines IA from South Carolina... Traveling through NC, TN, Kentucky, IL, and MO. Picking up Aunt Jordanne in Nashville... Nash did awesome in the car... Only got out twice to walk around the car... He was the best kid ever!! Only one video... Thank You buddy! Oh and I drove through the Smokey Mts in the middle of the night in the fog with semis all around... Thank God we made it! Scary... Nate snored and Nash giggled and I have like 100 more gray hairs because of it.

Uncle Evan
*Evan got into an accident. Razor ATV hit a truck head on in Johnston a block away from his house. So after cutting our trip a day and a half short we went to the hospital to see Uncle Evan on a vent and in a coma... God was definitely with him, because life flight had called in to the hospital and said they were bringing in an organ donor. But God had more plans for Evan, because after two weeks at Mercy Hospital and then two weeks at Yonkers Rehab he got to go to the farm in Lake City. Uncle Evan has a Brain Injury, no hearing out of his right ear and cannot open his right eye. Miracles definitely occurred in Uncle Evan like they have occurred in Nash's life... Now Uncle Evan and Nash have even more things in common. Nash got to sing to Uncle Evan and loved hanging out at the hospital eating chicken nuggets at McDonalds with Gpa Blair.

Eye Surgery
In the midst of the drama with Evan, Nash had eye surgery on May 21st 2010 to straighten out his right eye. During surgery they found a stitch that did not dissolve from his previous surgery in 2007. Yeah... Not so cool. It is out now and the eye is looking good. Moving more then ever. Steroid drops have been making him super hyper... He has been missing swimming. It has been three weeks and no pool time.

Other Stuff
*Nash started horse therapy again and loves it once he is on the horse and it is moving.
*Nash's new song is.. "Joy Joy Joy Down in my heart." And still singing "Old McDonald" and adding things like a skidloader with a zoom zoom to the song. Darn cute!
*Started IM therapy three times a week for a month... Putting him with other therapies and apts up to six a week in the month of June...
*He likes some Veggie Tale videos more now... He just thinks Larry the Cucumber is hilarious.
*He is talking more... Sometimes he shocks us what he knows. Obvious that he struggles to get it out.

All in all... We are surviving... Enjoying our beautiful weather. Garden looks good and Nash loves riding the lawn mower with me. Taking walks and playing in the park. Before we know it fall will be here and school will start... Already sad about that... We are so happy to have had a vacation and that Uncle Evan is still here with us. Our little wild and sometimes crazy life is well worth it. We are so thankful that God has poured many blessings on us.

Since my last post!

I will have to admit I want to write more, but finding the time along with not having Nash crawl all over me and clean out my desk drawers while I am at the computer is rare! He loves his Utube videos... And of course the typical toddler... Mommy is busy.. I WANT HER NOW!!!

Since I last wrote Nash was in the St Patty's day parade for RKH along with his aunt Miss Rodeo Iowa and friend Kaitlyn. Nash feel to sleep right before the parade started and slept till the last block. Amazing how he slept right behind the fire truck and people yelling YEE HAW!!!

He has kept busy with his day to day life or therapies, swimming, and now playing outside... LOVES outside. We have been taking him out a little more, which he loves and yet has produced some new challenges for us... Like his stiff legs and braces do not work well when trying to put him in a cart... After getting him stuck and ten people staring at us and no one helping I got back to the car and cried... Realizing the world is not equipt for disabled kids. Once again I could not just be that normal mom... I pulled myself together and have figured out the solution. Flip over a basket and have him sit on it in the back of the cart... You see he cannot sit flat on his butt well, so without the basket he cannot sit and ride... It takes a litte more time and we get starred at, but it works. I am eeling much better once again about taking him shopping. Plus he LOVES going! He even read the word CHICKEN in the store... He said chicken chicken chicken NUGGET!! There was no nugget, but he loves chicken nuggets, only from McDonalds of course.

He is growing taller and not gaining much. We go to the doctor on Thursday for a pre-op apt. So I have a list of things to talk to the doctor about. All those concerns that people ask about and I sit there and wonder, yet still slightly fearful to find out answers. Nash will have eye suregery on May 21st. So lots of prayers for that! First we get to go on a family vacation to Myrtle Beach. First airplane ride.. I am nervous, but Nate says it will all be fine... I hope so. I soooo do not want to make the evening news!

April we went to the farm (Gpa and Gma Blair's) for Easter. He hunted Easter eggs this year which was a major improvement from last year. He even bent over and picked them up without falling. He also got to ride Sammy the horse. He loved that. Not big fans of George and Dakota the dogs, but maybe someday. Now getting licked in the face and knocked over is not so much fun! Oh and we will never forget mom killing the snake during the Easter Egg hunt... Cut it up with a pocket knife. Happy Easter!! Hee hee. I hate snakes, but murdered in front of the boys during the hunt... Hmmm not exactly risen!!

Nash spent his first night alone at Gpa & Gma Kuehls. He did well and they enjoyed it too. They kicked Gpa out of bed so he got to sleep with Gma. Nate and I got a date night. I of course was sleeping by 10 PM!!

We went to Cabella's in WI with Gpa and Gma Kuehl one Sunday. The ride was a bit much, but we all survived and the weather was beautiful.

Gpa & Gma Blair, Jordanne & Nick all came for teh March of Dimes walk. We had 19 people register and 10 showed up. It was raining and cold, but we all survived the 7 miles. Nash was the most tired when we got home and he rode in the stroller. Go figure! It was a success we raised over $1,000.00 for Team Kuehl March for Babies.

We have had some pretty busy days and the weather has been wonderful this fall, which is great, because we can get out of the house.

Nash still loves Chinese food, swimming, outside, his grandparents, music, pizza, reading words, videos, his parents, going bye bye, and giving kisses. He is still not a fan of eye patching, some veggies, being in the house, going on the potty, and animals.

A Mama's Throughts

I will have to admit the last few days I have been thinking a lot about Nash's development. Some good and some bad thoughts... In the midst of everything sometimes it is hard to stay 100% positive.

Many times I find that we are on a bit of a roller coaster ride... Some good news and some bad.... Some ups and some downs. Some days I cope better with bad news the others. After beating myself up a bit I think... Reality check... Don't we all do this??? YES... We are human...

I just have to share some of my thoughts, cause I think they are important... I think someday Nash may or may not read the rambling throughts of him mama either think wow... she is nuts or there is some truth in the words and thoughts of his mother.

So the reality is this... Nash is now three.... He speaks some, but not what we call "normal." He sings praise songs all day long... Even waking up in the night singing... When he is happy he sings... When he is sad he sings... When he is hurt he sings... You will hear him singing... Holy Holy Holy Lord God Almighty; OUr God is an Awesome God, Amazing Grace; How great is our God; and Jump Jump for Jesus... He will sing entire verses... Sentences are hardly ever spoken, but he can sing. You ding him in his room laying on the floor or swaying to praise music. He turns on his CD's and just praises God. I think often... WOW do I need to be more like Nash... He is the one who has it right.... How awesome is his spirit to Worship God no matter what... It is truly amazing....

In the light of all this... I hear things like, he is not fitting on the age range of this cart, he needs to do this, why isn't he talking more?, why is he singing, he needs to do more more more. You need to work more more more....

My mind nearly blew up today.... We work and work and work. More more more. On the way home from running an errand, while Nash was with a sitter... I heard a song... Well part of a song... I was focused on developmental issues with Nash... What I heard loud and clear was something about... "Viewing others through the eyes of God." BANG... It hit me and tears began to flow. If I were to look at Nash through the eyes of God... I would see a good and faithful servant... I would see a kid who is far closer to God that myself and millions of others. I would see a kid who is a true example of Christ. I would see a miracle... I would see God and His love, peace, joy, patients, kindness, and goodness. I would see how we are suppose to live... I would see Christ.

Suddenly the flood gates opened... I thought if only the rest of the world could look at my child (God's Child) through God's eyes. They would not be so quick to judge him or place him on some chart or say he is not "normal."

Ahhhh if only I as him mother and could only continue to see him through the eyes of God. If only I could help the rest of the world see him through God's eyes then maybe just maybe they would accept him as a child of God and not a disabled kid. Because isn't it really we are the ones who are disabled????

Another week in the books!

We have been busy the last few weeks, which has been wonderful. Great to get outside and get some fresh air. This past week Nash rode in the St Patty's day parade with Randy Kuehl Honda and Miss Rodeo Iowa. He feel to sleep in his aunts arms ad then rode sleeping through the entire parade in his carseat. I was sort of bummed... I knew he would have loved watching all the people out the truck window... They were hooting and hollaring... Don't even know how he slept through taht and the firetruck we were following... He was out cold... He normally doesn't nap, but he decided to this day. We had a water pressure tank break in the basement. Water shooting everywhere so no water. We got up early and went to CR to take a shower at Angie's. Kaitlyn was excited about it, but it threw a wrench in Nash's day so he was a crab. Angie and Kaitlyn rode in the parade with us. Kaitlyn loved it!!

After the parade we loaded up the mini van and headed to Shriners Hosp in MN. Nash had a good report. We go back in five months to get fit for new braces and a walker. They feel it would be best for Nash to have a walker while he is in school. To give him better balance and not get knocked over.

We got home Friday afternoon... Just in time to have our water fixed and back on. We had a great trip to MN. There was an outdoor zoo that we went too. The weather was 65* so it was perfect. nash did not care about most of the animals that much, but shocked us when calling out the names of a few of them. He was more happy to be outside walking around. We of course avoided being close to people. Still a lot of stuff going around out there. Nash had a cold a week and a half ago, but did well getting over it. it was wonderful... A normal cold! Nothing that drug on for weeks. Three days and done. Yipee. Great job immune system! Praise God.

After the zoo we went swimming. Nash is a fish... He LOVES swimming. It is soooooo good for him. He now swims five to eight feet underwater. He moves more freely then ever when in the water. Well if the water is above 80*.

I will have to post some pictures, when I get them off the camera. Oh uncle Evan got engaged so Nash will have a new aunt Emily.

I better go finish breakfast for the boys... Nate and Nash just got up. Hurgry no doubt.

Related to the Blairs!

Nash definitely has a head cold. He is running a little temp and watching lots of videos. I asked him a little bit ago what he wanted to eat to make him feel better… He responded with “BACON… I want bacon please… thank you.” I thought WOW is he related to his Gpa Blair!

Finally!! Some pictures of Nash!!

Hello everyone! Mom got a new camera for Christmas and she has been taking lots of pictures. I am eating, cooking, swimming, sledding, and yes... pooping. Ahhhh the good life! You'll have to tilt your head for a couple. Mom did not edit them before posting. Silly Mommy! I am off to play farm in my room. Hope you get a few good giggles!

I love to cook with mom... Well I like to eat what we are cooking better. I get to do a little adding and mixing and a whole lot of eating!! I am a chef in training!!!

I am warm, but I cannot move... Mom and Dad say I look like Randy from the Christmas Story!

Gpa Blair's Redneck Sled!!! I loved it!! Who knew I weighed that much that I needed a tow rope to pull me sledding!! Thanks Gpa and Gma Blair! I had LOTS of fun!

Iowa Rodeo King! I think kissing the queen during the contest really helped!!! I love my Aunt Jordanne! And Uncle Evan.... We make an awesome pair. Chick Magnet duo!! Don't worry mom you are still my only girlfriend!!

Hee hee!! Someday my mom is going to get in trouble for this one. Sitting on the potty while watching Elmo Potty Time video! Now if only I would go more on the potty like they do in the video... Mom and Dad would be super proud! Accidents happen right mom!! Hee hee... Got you back!

The side view of swimming!! I loves it, I love it, I love it! We swim almost two hours a day. I can swim at least 5 Ft under water. I am a dolphin!