Collin's awards assembly

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!!