Our Christmas...What a memorable time...

The couple of weeks before Christmas were very busy for us as they probably are for many people. We did a lot of fun things, prepped for the holiday, I tried to tame a class of ten year olds, and we ventured into Children's in Boston for a couple of appointments. Let's just say that this vacation week that I am in the middle of now was so needed. Since Sunday I have just been plopped on the playroom floor and loving very minute of it. The past two days the kids both decided to nap for two hours at the same time so I also got to nap. I feel great now and I am ready for a new year!

I have many pictures to share with you but before we start I want to give you an update on Nicholas. The doctors in Boston believe that Nicholas has a very mild case of Cerebral Palsy. The only way to confirm this is for him to have an MRI of his brain to spot a leison (sp?). CP is usually caused by lack of oxygen at birth and results in a leison on the brain. The location and size of the leison determines the severity of the CP. Nicholas would need to be sedated for this and we are not sure if this will be done. Part of us wants to confirm the diagnosis as we really want to know for sure. The other part of it though are the risks involved with sedation. We are going to discuss it with a neurologist at an appointment in January. We have had two very informative appointments with the primary doctor and we jokingly refer back to these appointments as CP 101 and 102! We have learned that CP is not progressive and will never get worse. We also learned that there isn't a cure and that Nicholas will need to address this his whole life. The doctor told us we just started a lifelong relationship with Children's. We are happy to start it as we know the level of care is fabulous and feel so comfortable with his treatment being done there. The bottom line to all of this is the the only affected part of Nicholas in terms of the CP is his left side. His left leg and left arm are a bit weaker than the right. His left leg is a bit shorter as the muscles are so tight the leg is pulled up. The current treatment plan is a cast for three weeks, which we are at the end of week two, and then a brace coupled with Physical Therapy. He was fitted for a brace and we go back on Jan. 5th to get it. The brace is relatively small and can be worn with a regular sneaker. It goes around his foot and the foot then goes in the sneaker. Right now the cast is turning the left foot inward a bit as it was needed and also stretching the calf. Apparently casting is a fast way to do this and is so common in the CP world. The CP department at the hospital has its own little casting room! Overall there are three doctors that will together treat Nicholas - a surgeon whose the primary doctor, a neurologist, and a physiatrist (sp?). We have appointments with all three of them in the next few weeks and hope to learn more as we go. I'll keep you all updated! Please know that Nicholas is completely unfazed by all of this and actually loves going to Boston. He gets to watch movies in the car as it is a long ride and there are fun things to do and look at there. Nothing he has gone through has caused him any pain and it doesn't seem that anything will in the near future. To all of you that plan to include Nicholas in your prayers, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts and know that God is watching over us and giving us the strength to get through this. However, on the same day we are in Boston next, January 5th, a close friend of mine Jen will be there too with her daughter Hannah. Hannah, who is six, will be having an MRI to see if the cancer in her brain is still gone and will be praying that it won't return for a third time. So, in your prayers, please include Hannah. She is a remarkable little girl who has endured so much in her short life. It is Hannah who has put Nicholas' diagnosis into perspective for us...mild CP- not a big deal!!! Thank you for your prayers for Hannah!

Ok, now back to my little cutie pies! It sure has been awhile since my last post and a lot has happened. Here we go....

Sarah Kate looking cute in the playroom...

Matching Saint Bernard sweaters from LL Bean from Aunt Margie- LOVE IT!!!
So cute!!!

These days if anyone loves our dog it is Sarah Kate. They are great friends!!

Nicholas' preschool class made gingerbread houses. Here he is very focused on his construction...

Nicholas eating frosting with his friends in the "Blue Room"...

I took a personal day from work and volunteered for the first time. I have been teaching for 13 years and have had countless parent volunteers...finally I get to be one!!! What fun!!!!

That is Mrs. Dolloff...we love her!!

Here she is giving Nicholas some pointers...

He was so proud of his cute little house!

Is this not the best gingerbread house you have ever seen!!

Nicholas at the kitchen table making treat bags for his friends at school...

The entire preschool had a "winter sing" and all the kids dressed as snowmen. They were adorable!!! Here is Nicholas being silly before we left the house...

Waiting with his snowman friends before his moment in the spotlight...

This is Aryanna...we hear a lot about her at home!

Grammy, Grandpa, and Sarah Kate came to see the show!

How cute!! Nicholas is on stage the one on the left end! They rotated every song to give a different class a chance on stage!

After the show...a proud mom and a hungry snowman...

My friend Mary Kay gave him a gingerbread decorating kit which he loved.

Here is the finished product before he was eaten!!

Christmas Eve...outside sprinkling reindeer food (oatmeal and glitter) so that Santa's reindeer could easily find our house...

Nicholas dumped instead of sprinkled....

A present from Aunt Carol....how fun!

So much for the "don't write on the table" rule :-)

Christmas Eve...baking cookies for Santa...

Tradition...everyone opens one present on Christmas Eve and it is

always new pajamas to wear to bed that night....

The highlight of Sarah Kate's Christmas...eating the wrapping paper!

Their new pajamas....so cute!!

Christmas morning....Santa ate the cookies, drank the milk, and took the carrots for the reindeer!

All he wanted was a yellow sled!!!! He loved it!!!

The big gift for the two of our babies...a ball pit!!!

They had a ball!!! (get it!)

The stockings...

hung by the chimney with care...

Time to open the stockings...

Cooper got three new tennis balls in his stocking...

Maracas just like the ones she loved on the Polar Express!

Christmas morning Uncle BJ came over for breakfast!

Christmas dinner was at my aunt Carol's house. Look at the cute dress Carol had given her!!

Christmas night, back at home, and ready to play!

Yesterday....we were snowed in and spent hours just playing! Here are a couple of cute shots of the kids with Cooper. He is the best dog ever!!! Sarah Kate just adores him and he is simply amazing with her!

Well...that is it for now!! This weekend we are off to New Hampshire to visit Grammy and Grandpa and we are looking forward to time with them and Aunt Kris, Uncle Jim, Drew, and Mia! Happy New Year Everyone!! We loved 2010 and welcome 2011...