cuTeST SanTA EVER!!!

Yes, he is adorable!! :) I loved this and had to share.

a-huntin' we will go!

Today we got to go out for our annual tree hunt with the family! It was so fun to have Gage with us this year, but sad that Kody and Cherri couldn't come down for it. This is our tree we got, now we just get to decorate it! I'm excited to get Christmas things up, it always brings a special feeling into the house.

Gage also got to go for his first 4-wheeler ride! I don't know how much he loved it 'cuz he wasn't in the best of moods today... I think the high altitude was getting to him, and he wasn't so thrilled to have his oxygen hooked up all day... understandable! But he still looked so cute all cuddled up in his warm clothes!

I know you can't really tell in the picture, but past all the trees in the distance is the top of the Grand Canyon. We climbed up this tower that was over 160 steps and got to look over the entire Kiabab and Gage got to see the Grand Canyon for the first time! He must have liked to look at it cuz we couldn't get him to look at the camera for the picture!

It was lots of fun to be able to just get away and spend time with family. We love having this tradition, it's always a blast! We have so much fun with the family, you guys are the best!!

A little update for everyone

First, I just had to put this cute picture of our little guy up. He is starting to sit up all by himself (tripod-sit that is!) and he is doing so good! Especially if he has that toy in front of him to watch, its his favorite!

Also, I just wanted to let everyone know that Gage's surgery has been scheduled. We will be heading up on Tuesday, the 2nd, for his "pre-op" check-up. Then his surgery will be the following day. We don't know the time yet though, they will tell us they day before what time we have to be there. I can't believe that it is only like a week and a half away. I feel nervous, but luckily not near as nervous as I thought it would be. I think it has helped so much to be able to talk to so many people that have been through the same experience. I am so thankful that I have been able to meet those wonderful people and get to know them. It has helped me more than they will ever know.

Just so everyone knows, I will try to keep this updated while we are up north for the surgery, too. Incase you want to keep up on how our little guy is doing!

haPpY HaLLoWeEn!!

Yes, now that it is the middle of November, it is kinda late for me to post these Halloween pictures but I have been wanting to get them up... just haven't gotten there. Gage was the sweetest little monkey EVER! He spent his first Halloween at Primary Childrens'. What a brave little boy he is!

This is Gage with Dr. Mart. He his the pediatric cardiologist that has been working with Gage the past 4 months. He is an awesome guy and we are lucky to be in good hands. You can tell he cares about Gage and wants the best for him!

For this trip to Primary Childrens', we went for a sedated echo. Supposedly, this is the last appointment we will have before the surgery so they wanted to get a lot or REALLY good pictures of his heart, just to make sure nothing is passed up at all and they don't have any surprises when they get in for surgery. We hope they did a really good job. There was a sweet little boy named Dylan that went in for his open-heart surgery just over a week ago and when they got in there they found a whole other complication to deal with. Luckily, he is a fighter and is doing really well now!

We were really excited about how the appointment went while we were up there. When you get there, the nurses weigh and measure him and all that stuff. Then a sedation nurse came in to explain to us what medicines Gage would be getting and how he probably would act when he was given them. She also explained how the recovery would go and everything. She then called in the IV team to give him an IV in his hand. They decided that instead of giving him one shot of the meds, they better give him tiny amounts at a time since he has to have oxygen every once in a while and things, they didn't want to have any complications. When the IV team came to put it in his hand, they had to turn off the lights and use a flashlight against his hand to find a vein since his hands are so chubby!

Once the IV was in, we went in to the echo room. Gage hadn't taken a good nap for quite a while and he was very over-due. So by the time we got in there, he had zonked out. They decided to start the echo with him asleep and see how long we could go without sedating him. He ended up waking up when they would have to put him in the awkward positions, but between the 2 sedation nurses and myself, we were able to keep him entertained and keep him still enough for them to get all the shots they needed! No sedation! We were so so happy! He didn't have to get all those crazy drugs in him AND we didn't have to wait at least an hour for recovery! We were stoked. He is such a stong boy, we are so proud of him!

We are still waiting to hear back from the doctor about the surgery date. I e-mailed him and he has submitted the paperwork, he is just waiting to hear back now.

So I got this article from a link on Laurie's blog (Days with Dylan) and I just HAD to add it on here, I thought it was so cute! I want to go watch Snow White now, I never would have thought of this!

Some of those little men had real problems. Doc, the caretaker, had his work cut out for him watching after the bi-polar twins, Happy and Grumpy. Sleepy had a severe case of either sleep apnea or narcolepsy. The painfully shy Bashful could hardly speak around Snow White. Sneezy was allergic to life, so that counted him out for feeding the chickens or dusting, what with the mold and pollen count and all.

Then there’s Dopey. Loveable, silly ole’ Dopey. When I was a child I never took notice of Dopey, never thought he was weird, or strange, or even out of place. I just figured he was part of this big and wonderful family of woodland folk who loved to sing and dance.

Then I watched Snow White again as an adult, as a parent of a child who was born with Down syndrome. As my children and I were watching this classic, the most amazing discovery dawned on me. Dopey has Down syndrome.

Think about it—he’s smaller then his brothers, evidenced by the clothing that is too big for him. His ears stick out, just like my daughter’s ears. He is non-verbal, just like some people with DS. He always has a sweet smile on his face, and jokes around a lot with his brothers. Sound familiar? He seems to be a little mentally challenged.

And he has the biggest heart in the whole place. The Seven Dwarves would not be complete without Dopey, mentally challenged or not. And here’s something that I find the most interesting of all.

Did you notice how much Grumpy loves him?

Yeah, Grumpy. The guy everyone loves to hate. Well, Dopey doesn’t hate him. Dopey loves Grumpy, probably more than you or I will ever know. And Grumpy, although a very grumpy fellow, still needs to be loved just like anyone else.

And that is exactly the point. We need people with Down syndrome around us. They, despite their disability--or maybe because of it--have a huge capacity to love others. They can be really funny, making us laugh when we need it the most. They give hugs freely, without embarrassment. As a whole, they are the sweetest people I know.

Yes, not all people with Down syndrome are sweet, funny, and loveable; after all, they are individuals just like the rest of us. But you know what?

People with Down syndrome are a part of our human family, and they have a place here. They belong. They are individuals of worth with something to offer society that isn’t measured in a typical fashion.

Here are some of my fAvORitEs of Gage. They are from about birth to 3 months or so. I can't believe all the wonderful times and blessings he has already brought to us, we are the LUckiEsT parents ever!