Bredeweg Family

Halloween already???

2009-10-29T17:12:00.003-05:00

Wow, I am WAY behind on this. I guess I forget because almost everyone I know is on Facebook now and I post updates and pics there.

The summer FLEW by and the boys started school at the end of August. Kaden got the same teacher he had as his pre-k teacher, which I was thrilled about (she was bumped to kindergarten!). I LOVE her and their personalities fit well together. He is doing very well academically. He has grown so much from the first day of school it's unbelievable! I am still looking for a job and have every afternoon free, so I spend 2 hours every day in his classroom helping out with the literacy small groups. I get to see each child in the classroom in groups of 4 or 5 and complete a lesson in reading, rhyming, sight words, etc. It is actually fun and I really enjoy it....I just wish I could get paid for it!

Collin is doing very well in school, as he always does. We started him in baseball this fall and he loves it. He falls into the 9 year old age bracket, so it is player pitch ball. Unfortunately, our fall here has been unbelievable wet and he has only had 3 1/2 of the 8 games he is supposed to have played, and just about as many practices. He is bummed, but the weather report today said that there should be no more rain for a while! Hopefully the fields will dry out and we can get some of the missed games in. We are excited to see him develop in this area and can't wait for spring ball and maybe even get a tournament team put together!

The boys were excited to have both grandmas here for a few days last week. Gini and Dorrie came down so that Gini could go to the Houston quilt show with some cousins and Dorrie came along to spend time with us. We really enjoyed their visit and wish grandma Dorrie could come more often. Grandma Gini and Grandpa Russ were here for about a week in early September and will be here again for a few weeks over Thanksgiving. We really enjoy having their company, even if they do kick our butts in Rotten Rummy!! :)

Things have been pretty slow for Jack at work lately and I am still looking for a job. Therefore, we don't know if we will be able to make the trip to MI for Christmas this year. It won't be all bad though because Jack has not made the Christmas trip with us for the past 2 years so we will be able to spend Christmas as a family this year. I'm all for anyone that wants to come spend Christmas here with us!! Last year, I do believe it was 75 here Christmas day!!

Collin and Kaden...1st day of school

Kaden playing in the rain

Collin catching during a game

Batter up!

Pumpkins 2009

A Little Behind!

2009-06-28T19:02:00.004-05:00

Where to start? Kaden went into Our Children's House @ Baylor on Monday, May 18. For the first 9 days, I was not allowed there but from 5:30pm till I got him to sleep. They needed all day to get him familiar with their method of eating. Then for days 9, 10, and 11, I observed from an adjacent room, then I was allowed in the room to observe. After that, I was the "feeder" and the therapist watched in the room, then she left the room and watched thru 1 way glass. It was just Kaden and I in the room. He flew thru their program and came home on Monday June 9. He was there for 3 weeks exactly. We were told before he went in that it would be 4 - 5 weeks so we were very happy with 3. He was totally off all tube feeds by the 10th day there and has not needed any since. He has gained 2 pounds since he has been eating everything orally. Coming home has proved a little more difficult to get all the feeds in, but he has not lost weight since we left there, so I feel I am succeeding!! He is still going to OT 2 times a week to work on the textures he is still having problems with.

Jacks mom and sister and niece were here for a week at the beginning of June. We had alot of fun while they were here and even got to relax a little. We all went to the rodeo and Kaden and Sami got to do Mutton Bustin' (sheep riding...buckin' bronco style). Sami took first place and won a pair of Justin cowboy boots and all the kids got a trophy and bandana and belt buckle. Kaden was not sure at first and was a little upset when he fell off the sheep, but was very proud of his trophy and even slept with it that night.

Collin has been enjoying his friend from AZ that is only here (5 houses down from us) during the summer and Christmas break. He and Cayden have played together every day since school got out. We got his last report card from 2nd grade and his lowest grade was a 94!!! We are proud of him and the great grades he gets! He starts 3rd grade on Aug 24 and Kaden will start kindergarten!! Kindergarten here is all day every day just like the rest of the grades. It will be a big adjustment for Kaden and he will need to learn how to eat properly before school starts. I am looking for a job with the school system so that I can have the same days off as the kids but still get out of the house and back into the working world! Plus, if I work for the school system and need daycare, before and after care right at the school is only $3 a day!! Can't beat that! I am getting bored at home and really need to get out and meet more people here. Plus, a little extra $$ coming in won't hurt either!

Kaden and Collin playing with the baby raccoons at Dale and Morgans house.

The boys hanging out in Kadens room at Our Childrens House

Kaden with his Mutton Bustin' trophy

2009-05-09T16:47:00.001-05:00

It is finally near! The intensive feeding therapy program we have been interested in for a few years and been on the waiting list for 6 months is finally ready to take Kaden. He will be admitted on Monday the 18th. This is an inpatient program so he will be living there for at least 4 weeks, more if needed. For the first 10 - 14 days, the family will only be allowed to see him in the evenings. We are allowed to stay the night but they want you to make a decision one way or the other before the first night. Basically if you are there the first night, they want you there every night for the rest of the time he is in there. If you don't stay the first night, they prefer you not stay at all. Given that I have Collin at home and still in school, I will not be staying the night with Kaden. So, for the first 2 weeks, we will only be able to see him from 6 - 9 pm. They do intensive therapy during the day including at least an hour of occupational therapy to help him get over his texture aversions. They also do 5 - 6 feeding sessions with a feeding therapist and a psychologist. Their method is very strict...he is given foods to eat and is instructed to take 3 bites, then must drink 1/2 ounce, then 3 more bites and so on. He is on a timer and the choice to eat is ultimately his, but they are there to help him get over the mental side of it. They dont let a parent be there for the first period of time because they dont want the distraction and want to get Kaden into the routine and knowing all the rules. Then for the third week, I am required te be there for at least 3 - 4 meals a day just as an observer. They have feeding rooms with the one way glass so I can observe and he doesn't know I am there. They teach me their methods and answer all questions that may come up. Then for the fourth week, I will be the one in the feeding room with him and the Dr's will be on the observing side of the glass. If all goes as planned, he will be able to come home on June 12th. It may take longer depending on how he accepts things and how satisfied they are with his progress and mine.

This is not going to be an easy month!! I will try to keep everyone informed of the progress but we are going to be very busy! The hospital he is going to be staying at is in downtown Dallas which is almost 30 miles from home so I will be putting on alot of miles also!

Been a while

2009-04-22T17:00:00.003-05:00

Wow, I am getting behind on this! All has been very busy around here. Jacks parents arrived around the 2nd week of March and were here for about 4 weeks, overlapping about 4 days while my parents and brothers were here also! We actually had 10 people here for 2 days! I love having the company though.

Kaden is just getting over a cold/sinus infection that went on for 3 weeks. I have been suffering from allergies for the first time...they say if you have never had allergies, move to Texas! We started April with 17 scheduled appointments and have made several more during the month! I think we will have racked up at least 22 by months end. Collin had 3 fillings at the dentist last week and has been referred to an oral surgeon because he actually has 2 extra teeth in the front! He has to have those pulled and hopefully his adult will come in. He is also missing 3 adult molars! Two on the bottom and 1 on the top. After he loses his baby molars, they are hoping for enough crowding on the bottom to just be able to space out the teeth he has. The one on the top will have to be an implant put in in his late teens. We attempted to take Kaden to the dentist but after his fit they referred us to a pediatric dentist so that he can be sedated...yay. I got a call from the intensive in patient feeding program today and it looks like they can admit Kaden toward the end of May. I am sad because he will have to miss the last 2 weeks of preschool. But, also happy because they are going to teach this kiddo to eat on his own for the first time ever!

Speaking of preschool, I talked to his teacher and she said that he is ready to start kindergarten in the fall! I was expecting him to be in preschool for another year, but she says he is ready!! Wow, he has come a long ways since starting preschool in October! She said he is like a sponge and anything she teaches him, he just soaks it all in!

Kaden and Collin at the Harbor

Grandpa Dan, Grandma Dorrie, Uncle Brandon and Uncle Sean with the boys.

Kaden and Collin feeding the birds at the Ft Worth zoo.

Kadens 1st t ball game.

Kadens surgery

2009-03-11T16:52:00.003-05:00

Kaden had his surgery on his eyes about 2 weeks ago. This pic was taken about 4 hours after surgery. It went very well and he is now without the need for glasses anymore and his eyes are perfectly straight. They are still slightly red but that should be gone within the next few days.

Kaden has started t ball and Collin is on the waiting list for baseball. They had an overwhelming amount of kids sign up for baseball and we were late so he can only play if they get enough kids on the waiting list to make 2 more teams.

The Bredeweg grandparents are on their way here and in about 3 weeks, the Szymczaks will be here for about a week. More pictures and updates will be coming soon. Something was up with this site for about 2 weeks and it wouldn't let me post, that being the reason this post is so late.

Collin's awards assembly

2009-01-30T20:26:00.002-06:00

Collin had an awards assembly today at school. He got an award for being on the Honor Roll for the first semester! They also did a little dance type thing which you can see by the picture, he thoroughly enjoyed...NOT!! Apparently all the boys were very embarrassed about doing this...must be the age!

Collin is on the far left. One of his best buddies, Brenden, is 3rd from the right.

Kaden's GI appointment

2009-01-29T20:34:00.002-06:00

Kaden had an appointment on Monday with GI. They are very concerned about his weight gain, or lack thereof. He has actually lost 4 pounds since he was there 3 months ago. I happened to think their scale was off, so I had him weighed again today at feeding therapy, and it was right. He is currently at about 34.5 pounds, which means the scale at the pediatricians office is off. Anyways, because of this, I have put him back on at least 2 tube feedings during the day. He was only getting them during the night, but apparently has not been taking in as much calorie wise during the day as I thought. I was really hoping to avoid the tube use during the day because it makes him less hungry and not wanting to eat. It's so frustrating sometimes!! I have to weigh him weekly and report back to the GI Dr if there is no weight gain or any weight loss in any given week. We are still on the waiting list for the intensive feeding therapy at Baylor, they are thinking sometime in June.

New puppy

2009-01-17T18:44:00.002-06:00

Here is our newest addition to the family. We got her on Wednesday. She is 9 weeks old and her name is Kaiah. She is a blue heeler/black lab mix. We all are loving having a puppy around....even the cat! They are now friends and were chasing each other around this morning and wrestling.

On another note, Kaden had his yearly cardiology appointment yesterday and it went VERY well!! The Dr said everything looks BEAUTIFUL and he couldn't be happier! His heart function is great and the pressures are coming down in the areas that they were concerned about which means that he is finally growing into the repairs that were made! All the repaired areas are holding up great. There is very mild regurgitation through the mitral valve repair, but it is nothing to worry about. He said that there is rarely a valve repair that doesn't have a little. We compared last years echo with this years and the aortic stenosis is definitely lessened which is what is helping his pressures come down. I asked about future surgeries and the Dr said that unless something drastic happens, he doesn't think he will need anything further done until he is an "old man".

Michigan Trip

2009-01-09T15:30:00.003-06:00

The boys and I took off for Michigan on Dec 19th. We arrived there in between the snowstorms on Saturday the 20th. We weren't 1 hour into MI and Kaden started coughing! I kept up on his asthma meds at full strength and the cough was gone within a few days. Collin enjoyed playing in all the snow almost every day we were there. I didn't let Kaden go out in the cold until his cough went away.

Collin and cousin Sami
The boys with grandma Dorrie making a rhinoceros out of snow

Every New Years day, the Bredeweg's all get together and go bowling. The boys had a blast.

Collin and Kaden celebrated their birthdays while we were in MI. Collin is now 8 and Kaden is 5! My how time flies!

The boys had their yearly checkups at the Dr yesterday and they are both doing great. Collin weighs 56 lbs and is 50.25 inches tall which puts him at the 50th percentile for his age for both weight and height. Kaden weighs 37lbs 5oz and is 40.25 inches tall. This puts him at the 25th percentile for weight and 10th for height. He's finally on the charts! Kaden goes in for a cardiology appointment next week. The Dr mentioned yesterday that sometimes when they repair a mitral valve like they did with Kaden, it starts to stretch and get tight over time, so they will be paying alot of attention to that. I will update after the appointment!

Christmas Card Pics

2008-12-15T08:46:00.002-06:00

I took the boys down to the lake near our house last night to get some pics to put in the Christmas cards this year. I know you will all get one of these in your cards, but they were so good, I couldn't wait to post them! It was about 70 degrees last night and the sunset was awesome!!

Now, this is the one I should put in the cards!!!

The boys and I will be heading out for Michigan on Friday, arriving sometime Saturday afternoon/evening depending on the weather. Jack has to stay home and work this year because he is out of vacation days. They have been really slow there, so he has to take as much work as he can get! We will be in Mi for about 2 weeks. During that time, all 3 of us will have our birthdays, mine on the 18th, Kaden on the 24th, and Collin on January 2nd! Add in Christmas parties and New Years and it gets crazy! I have convinced the boys to have just a small party in Mi with grandmas and grandpas and then we will celebrate their 1/2 birthdays next summer here at home. That way, they get to spread their presents out and have a pool party with all their friends here in TX.

I hope everyone has a very happy Christmas season!

Fun with Grandpa

2008-11-12T19:16:00.002-06:00

The boys have been having fun with Grandpa Russ and Grandma Gini being here. Here are some pictures of the fun things they do with Grandpa.

Collin in the sunset at the fishing pond

Collin, Kaden, and Grandpa Russ fishing

Kaden caught one! Collins total for the evening was 15!!

Grandpa helping Kaden with the pole.

Grandpa Russ brought down his Sea Doo and has been having fun on the lake near our house in the great 80 degree November weather! Here, Kaden is checking out the ducks.

Collins turn for a spin around the lake.

Kaden always wants to go faster!!

Halloween and fall

2008-11-05T08:52:00.002-06:00

Halloween was a short night for us. Kaden and I had been sick all week (Kaden was almost admitted to the hospital on Wednesday morning), therefore we were still not feeling the best and just overall tired and worn out. We did about a block and a half and Kaden said he was tired so Jack took him back home and I did another block with Collin and we were done. Here are a few pics of my cowboy and alien.

Kaden thought it was funny for the cowboy to shoot the alien.

The space alien. And a pic of the tree in the front yard for my mom...she thinks that the leaves don't turn colors here in TX.

The handsome cowboy

Our neighborhood had a harvest festival and the boys enjoyed the bounce houses and huge blow up slides along with pony rides and cotton candy and fire truck tours. Fun times!

We were given Dallas Cowboys tickets from Jacks boss. We went and brought the boys and we all had a great time! Collin likes to color his hair for the games! They even won when we went so that made the day.

Jacks parents arrived last week Monday. Jacks dad had bought Nascar tickets for Sunday for the guys. Jack was also given some from his boss. They decided to call Jacks uncles in Michigan to see if they wanted to do a road trip and come down for the race. They were sick of the cold and drizzle in Mi so they gladly accepted. They got in the car Friday morning and were here by about 11:30 Friday night. So on top of Russ and Gini here, we also got Aunt Evelyn and Uncle Norm, and Aunt Polly and Uncle Harvey!! It was a FULL house for the weekend, but we had alot of fun. Sunday, all the guys went to the race and all the girls (and Kaden), along with Jacks cousin Martha, went to First Monday Trade Days in Canton which is the largest flea/craft market in the US!! We were there for about 5 hours and only got to about 1/3 of the place. The Aunts and Uncles left this morning and a good time was had by all!!

Preschool!!

2008-10-15T15:56:00.002-05:00

I had my meeting with the ARD (admissions, reviews, dismissal) committee yesterday and they approved Kaden for special ed preschool based on his medical conditions and wanted him to start right away. So....today was his first day of preschool!! He was SO excited as you can see by the smile on his face. I took him to Target last night and let him pick his new backpack (Diego). He will go Monday thru Friday from 10:50 till 2:30 at the same school as Collin.

Ready to go!!

At the "sign in" area. The kids have to put their backpacks under their name tags and then find their name on the sign in board and print their name. Kaden needs work on the printing, but at least he tried. The teacher said he did a good job today. He had a few little problems (not paying attention, wanting to do something other than what they were supposed to be doing at the time), but she said to give it a week or so for him to settle in and if needed, we would discuss it more then.

State Fair

2008-10-12T12:19:00.003-05:00

It seems strange to me, but the State Fair is such a big thing here in the Dallas area, that they give the kids a day off of school to go to it and they give them free tickets! Collins school had their fair day last Thursday. Jack had to work so I took the boys by self and we spent the day at the fair.
Kaden loved this race car ride...it whipped them around the ends and he had his hands in the air yelling "woo-hoo" the whole time!

Kaden on the airplane ride.

Collin on the ride that made you feel like Superman!

The boys learning about how they milk cows.

Kaden enjoys the rides!!

Unfortunately the boys are so different in height that they couldn't go on many of the rides together. Either Collin was too tall or Kaden was too short. I need to remember to talk to Kadens cardiologist about rides...he is the type of kid that is going to want to go on all the biggest and fastest!

New Venture

2008-10-04T16:35:00.002-05:00

I have decided to become an AVON Representative. I know 99% of you are not in my area, but you can still order from me. I have my own website and am able to offer free or very reasonable shipping. AVON has much more than make-up and skin products. They also sell purses and handbags, clothing, kids items like Dora and Sponge bob, home decor and much more! I am excited about starting this as I have been looking into home based "mommy" type businesses. The fact that I absolutely HATE to get up and speak in front of a group of people made this a great option. Those of you that live near me, I will give you catalogs to browse, but others are free to browse the web site and I can mail you a catalog if you would like. Also, please let anyone else you know about my web site or pass on the catalogs to your friends and co-workers. If you are looking to order from the web site, email me first and let me know and I can find out about and free/low cost shipping discount codes available at that time. AVON comes out with a new catalog every 2 weeks, so make sure and check back often and I will let you know about any specials that may be of interest to you if you would like. Thank you all for your support! 214-681-0339 www.youravon.com/abredeweg

No Training Wheels!

2008-09-26T16:27:00.002-05:00

Kaden learned how to ride his bike this week Tuesday with no training wheels! As you can see....daddy got ALOT of exercise in the process! Jack had the day off and so I went to clean Marthas house by myself and by the time I got home, they were cruising up and down the street. It took us another 1 or 2 days to get him to turn without falling over, but he still can't stop or start by himself because his legs are just a little too short.

Kadens eye patch that he is SUPPOSED to wear for 2 hours a day for 2 months straight. I think the most we have accomplished so far is a half hour.

Kaden and Collin love to play in the puddle a few houses down from us that forms at the end of their driveway. This picture was taken after the rain from hurricane Ike stopped a few weekends ago.
Things are going well. Collin is finally getting over a sinus infection that lasted about 10 days. He was in alot of pain for a few days there. I wish I hadn't waited so long to take him to the Dr, but I thought it was the same allergies I have been dealing with for a few weeks now. I finally got a meeting with the ARD committee at the school about getting Kaden into preschool, but it is not until the 14th of October. I am really wanting to get him started because I need to get out of the house and get a part time job. I have been a stay at home mom for almost 5 years now and I want to get back out there and socialize with adults again! And a little extra money before Christmas would be nice too!

We are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Grandpa Russ and Grandma Gini here in a little over 3 weeks. They will stay with us for a few weeks. It's always nice to have visitors!

Kaden had an appointment yesterday at Childrens Hospital in Dallas with GI and they are working on getting him into an aggressive feeding therapy program here in Dallas. He will have an evaluation and from there they will decide if they want to do outpatient therapy or inpatient treatment to get him off of his g-tube dependency! Someday.....

Glasses

2008-09-09T21:28:00.003-05:00

We went and picked up Kadens glasses tonight. He looks so cute in them! I was not too sure how he would do with them because the prescription is so strong (+3 in the left eye and +4 in the right), but he put them on, said he could see fine. I thought for sure there would be some tripping, misjudging distances, etc., but he hopped on his bike and off he went. Hopefully we can get him to pass his vision test at the school now so we can get the ball rolling on getting him into preschool.

Painting

2008-09-09T21:22:00.003-05:00

We did finally finish the painting of the stairway and gameroom. I borrowed a ladder from Martha to get to the top of the stairwell. Well, I got up there....and got right back down and waited for Jack to get home from work to do that part.

Fun with glow sticks

2008-09-09T21:01:00.003-05:00

I just thought these pics came out really neat! The kids (Jack included) were playing with glow sticks, the small kind that you can link together to make necklaces, etc. I found them at the dollar store and got them for the boys for our trip back from Michigan to help entertain them in the car. They found the leftovers when we got home and opened them all at once!

Ready for school

2008-08-19T19:57:00.002-05:00

Whatever happened to the day when you could buy some pencils and a Trapper Keeper and be ready for school? I have finally finished Collins back-to-school list put out by the teachers from each grade. Wow....it is expensive!! And we haven't even bought any clothing yet! Kaden is still being "processed" to see if he can attend preschool this year. The district wanted $1500.00 for preschool which we don't have and I wouldn't pay anyways. I was talking with a former teacher (our insurance agent now) and she said that with his medical issues, he should qualify to go for free under the special ed program. I have filled out all the paperwork and am now waiting for them to call with a decision or more questions. Even if he does get accepted, we don't know if he will even be able to go to Collins school, which is about 1/2 mile from home. I may have to drive him about 6 miles into town. We went to school yesterday to have his vision and hearing screenings and he failed the vision test, so I have to take him to the eye Dr next Monday. We also have to go to Children's Hospital of Dallas Monday to have another swallow study done.

I have decided to tackle more painting in the house. For those that don't know, we bought a brand new house last year which means that every room in the house was off white builders paint, which is awful! You scrub fingerprints off it once and it turns to a powder. We got the kitchen, breakfast area, living and dining rooms and entryway done a few months ago then ran out of steam. I got to the point a few days ago that I could not possibly wash the fingerprints off the stairway anymore or I would be down to just drywall. The problem I am running into is that our stairway is VERY tall. I borrowed Martha's extension ladder today to hopefully get me to the top when I resume tomorrow. Did I mention that I hate to paint and am not fond of ladders??? I will post pictures of the finished project when I am done.

Professional pics

2008-08-07T21:43:00.002-05:00

Some summer pics

2008-08-07T20:53:00.005-05:00

Kaden watching the 4th of July parade in Dorr, MI.

Collin at the parade.

Kaden and daddy getting their speed fix in for the day on Green Lake.

Collin and Kaden roasting hot dogs and marshmallows behind grandma and grandpas house.

On the way home from MI, we stopped in St Louis at the Arch. Kaden and Collin were listening for the trams that go up inside the arch.

Figuring this out

2008-08-07T18:04:00.005-05:00

OK, I think I may have this figured out. I have been playing around with things for over an hour.

Anyways, I will start by telling about our summer so far. We left for Michigan at the end of June and had 2 weeks there visiting and playing and just hanging out. A good time was had by all. Grandma Gini came back here with us and spent 3 weeks here and just left Tuesday to head back home. We enjoyed our time with her, but I know she didn't exactly enjoy the summer heat here!

Last Friday, we had to let go of our family dog, Keta, whom we got 4 weeks after we got married over 11 years ago. She was 11 1/2 years old and was in heart failure. It was a VERY hard thing to do and we will never forget her. She was a great dog. Some people questioned when we got her why we were getting a rottweiler due to their reputations, but we never second guessed our decision and never regretted it. She will be missed.

Our Family updates

2008-08-07T17:05:00.000-05:00

Hi all. I have decided to set up a blog for our family updates now that we are living so far away from everyone. I had been kind of updating things on Kadens Carepage, but they changed their format and I REALLY don't like it, plus, that page is supposed to be about him and his health situations. So, welcome!! I am going to try and update this blog at least once a week so everyone knows what is going on with us! I am able to post updates and pics and really like the pages that so many of our friends have set up for their family updates so I decided to do one too.