A Night under the Stars...

We went to the Bob Bullock Museum this weekend for a Night Under the Stars event. They had free admission into the museum as well as free food. It was a lot of fun to go down there and let Madison see part of our Texas History. She of course just liked the music and food. She decided to put my glasses on and we played a little game with it.

Where is Madison...

Is she in there?...

There she is...

Brother even got in on the action...


Such a handsome boy...


My little angel...

We have had a very fun and relaxing weekend and I am such a happy momma of two beautiful children (well I am a little bias).

Weekend of Firsts...

We had a weekend of firsts. Madison and Eli both got their first haircuts. Brother slept in his crib for the first time and Madison went potty in the big girl potty after asking me to go. It is a start, but we still aren't there yet. Brad decided to give Eli a haircut which was pretty easy. He just sat in his bumbo chair and Brad cut his hair. We took Madison to Cool Cuts 4 kids. It was a lot of fun to just enjoy the kiddos getting older. They are both at very fun agings. Here are some pictures from the weekend.

Eli with his new big boy haircut...


Madison playing before she gets her haircut...


Ready to get her haircut in her car...

A little movie to keep her entertained for a little while...

My little girl getting her haircut for the first time...

Such a big girl...

We both got our toes done too...

Momma with her kiddos, what a wonderful feeling. Brother has to show us his foot too...

Scottish Rite Appointment

Today we went to Scottish Rite for Eli's 2nd appointment for his hands. We got to meet with the hand team and met some of the other doctors that we didn't get to meet last time. He was very happy the entire day which made the visit so much better than last time. If you remember last time, we had just gotten his 1st set of casts on his feet. Sister (Madison) went with us this time and she loved it. We met with Dr. Ezaki who is the head of the hand team and some of the other residents that were there. She did an evaluation on Eli again and reaffirmed the he has arthygoposis. She did say that they are a lot of other syndromes or conditions that are underneath the arthygoposis umbrella. She was impressed with the range-of-motion he has developed and was very positive about his prognosis. She told us to continue to do stretching at home, but also put us in contact with an occupational therapist in Austin that actually used to work at Scottish Rite. We will set up appointments with her to begin therapy in Austin.
We again met with Amy, the therapist at Scottish Rite, who initially evaluated Eli at his five-week appointment. She gave us hand splints to put on while he is sleeping and just having some down time. He doesn't mind them at all which is so nice. We will go back to Scottish Rite in 4-6 months for a follow-up and to discuss what to do from there. Amy took more measurements of his range of motion like she did last time we were there. Everything had improved which was awesome. We left the appointment very encouraged and ready to tackle this new step in Eli's adventure.

Here are some pictures that I took during our visit....

Madison enjoying all of the toys in the waiting room...

This is very cool. It's a projector that puts images on the wall that interacts with the kids' shadows. Madison enjoyed her shadow, but didn't really get what was going on...

Brother waiting for the doctors in his daddy's lap...

The inside of the exam room...


A little down time in between seeing the doctors and going to see the Occupational Therapist...


Watching sister try to sleep...

Playing with all of the toys in Coach's Corner (it is where the Occupational Therapist is)...

Amy, the Occupational Therapist at Scottish Rite teaching me how to do the stretches with his braces on...

Sporting his new splints...

We are so blessed by Scottish Rite, the doctors, and OT there. I don't know what we would do without them. Thank you all so much for your prayers as we go through this adventure in our lives.

Eli, we are so proud of you! You are such a calm and happy baby! God knew what He was doing when He created you especially for your daddy and me. We love you more than you will ever know!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to my wonderful husband! Our kiddos are so lucky to have you as their daddy! We love you!!

Brad and Madison at 6 months...

Brad with both of the kiddos (April 2009)...

And a priceless picture of Brad sleeping with his twin, Eli Bradley...

We love you! Thank you for taking the role of being the kiddos daddy to a new level! You are amazing!!

On to the next adventure...

Well we are on to the next adventure with "mister". He had his casts taken off today and got his bar and shoes put on. He did good today or as well as can be expected for someone messing with you. He had his last set of casts taken off which was so nice. Today has been a rough day for little "mister" though. He keeps trying to kick his legs, but can't because of the bar and shoes.

Here are some pictures from the morning.

Getting his casts off for the last time. He was not very happy...


I was consoling him after it was all over...

"Ok, guys I am ready to go home, now..."

Here is his left foot after all of the castings. They look so much better...


I fed him a bottle to calm him down after getting his casts off...

Our little "mister" in his new bar and shoes. He looks so cute!

Here is a side by side of when we first started until today...

We are so thankful for the wonderful doctors who have helped Eli along the way. Man, what a trooper! Thank you all for your prayers during this adventure in our lives.

Eli's Surgery

Eli had his surgery on his Achilles tendon on Wednesday. We knew that it was going to happen for a week or so, but the days leading up to it were very hard for me. Eli was such a trooper the whole time. I knew the worst part of the whole procedure would be that he wouldn't be able to eat seven hours before the surgery. The morning of the surgery we got up and fed him early and then he went back to sleep. We left for the hospital around 10:30 am and Eli woke up very angry with us. He wanted to eat so bad and the car ride up there was not fun. We got to the outpatient surgery center and after a little while of waiting we went into the pre-op room to answer some questions.

Here are some pictures to explain the day...

He didn't ever get in the crib, but I wanted to take a picture of it.


Eli laying on Daddy before the surgery. His eyes are red because he has been crying for awhile...

Mommy and Daddy with Eli before the surgery...

Answering questions and getting his vital signs...

Waiting in the step down room for our little "mister"...


Us with Eli after his surgery and getting to feed him a diluted bottle...

He is happy to be in his mommy's arms and getting to eat more than anything...

We are so thankful for our little trooper. He is such a wonderful baby. Thank you all so much for your wonderful prayers. We defintely felt them during the whole process. We are so thankful for the whole process to be over and on to the next adventure.

All castings...

Eli has been a trooper through this whole process. We can see a light at the end of the tunnel. Eli's feet have responsed remarkably well to the castings. He is having his surgery next week and then, after that set of casts he will have those on for three weeks. After those casts, we will go back and hopefully, we will get the bar and shoes. Man, these past six weeks have gone by really fast. We are so blessed and thank God for every blessing that He has given us.


Here is the progression of his feet from when he was born to this last week...

Thank you so much for all of your thoughts and prayers. We really appreciate each one of you!

Happy Birthday, Madison!

Today is my beautiful daughter's birthday! I can't believe that she is already TWO years old! It seems like just the other day our lives completely changed when this beautiful girl came into our lives.

Madison, Daddy and I love you so much more than you will ever know! When we first saw you in the hospital we knew that you were special...

Over the past two years you have taught us so much about our lives, marriage, our walk with Christ, and each other. We are so proud of you and all that you have accomplished in your short little life.

Madison at 12 months...


We had a party at our house for Madison with our family...

She is really into "rella" these days, so I got a Cinderella cake for her...

Madison you are such a great BIG sister to Eli. You always want to know what is going with him and make sure that he is "Ok".

Madison,

We love you so much! You leave a lasting impression on everyone that you meet. Your personality is so inviting and you really enjoy anything that you are doing. I can't believe that you are two years old. You have taught daddy and I so much since you were born. You amaze us everyday. I can't wait to see what all God has in store for you over the next year.

Love you,

Daddy and Mommy

5th set of casts

Well, we went to get his casts changed again today. His feet looked good today except for his little foot is swollen. Poor guy! He was such a trooper. I fed him a bottle again and he did so well. I got to wash his legs today which was not fun for the little guy because no one has touched his legs for five weeks. Here are some pictures from today:


His little swollen foot:

Side by side picture of his feet from last week to this week:


We are look forward to his progress each week. He is doing so well and really doing well for his feet being so bad. He is such a trooper!