Had a little impromptu photo shoot with Hunter today. I'm no photographer but I can always count on my trusty iphone to get some greats pics.

I saw this sweater at Target the other day and pictured how cute it would be with the fall colors....so off we went for a few hundred pictures....

oh Target....

Went to Target for a few things....like usual, go there for 2 things, leave with a cart full...How does this always happen???

They have a few of their new holiday items out....can't get enough of this stuff...I did good and didn't buy any Christmas stuff...yet...

I was browsing through pictures on our computer and came across this priceless pic....A picture says a thousand words...and exactly how little man was feeling that day.... Gosh he's come a long way. Love him to pieces.

pumpkin patch.....again

This time we went to the really big pumpkin patch about a half hour outside of town. It was a really cool place to check out. The tempature was good, but the darn wind made it a little annoying to have in your face the whole time. We managed to enjoy most of it, aside from Hunter having a couple mini meltdowns.... ; )

Here are some pic's from the day...enjoy.

It's that time of year.....busted out my favorite Halloween shows...

This was our second session of hippo therapy today...I'm still in awe from seeing Hunter on a huge horse....He did awesome yet again...

hunter on all fours...he wanted to do this all on his own!

other kids on their horses...so cool to watch.

the huge arena.

"Thankful Thursday"

I am fully aware it's only Wednesday and this post was going to be for tomorrow but I have time to do this post now so I figured why wait until Thursday.....

I just wanted to share my thoughts with a few things.

I am just amazed at all the people who have been involved with Hunter from his therapists to his doctors etc. I had no idea how many people are doing things in the background to help kids like Hunter out. When Hunter first had his trach put in, we had tons of people come in and out of his room talking about the programs the state offered to social workers offering help. At the time, I was beyond overwhelmed, not only that my baby had just gotten a crazy thing called a tracheotomy done to him but just the worry and the wondering what's going to happen next etc etc. I couldn't even comprehend what these people were doing and what the heck they were talking about. Nineteen months later, I get it, I finally get it.

They were there to offer services like Early Intervention, which is where the state offers services if your child is behind in areas such as speech, physical etc. They were there to get Hunter on the waiting list right away to be offered a medicaid waiver, which is basically extra insurance and benefits that is based solely on the child's needs and not whether the parents make "too much" money. Just because we aren't destitute doesn't mean we can't use extra help with the cost of medical care and co pays....They were there to offer support in many ways I didn't know I needed.

From the case workers who helped us fill out the forms, get them to the correct people, be there for me to call when I just didn't understand something. Then there are other people who work with the Early Intervention therapists as a liaison to make sure we were getting what we need out of therapy..Not to mention the therapists themselves, you know who you are..These are some wonderful people. Not only have we gotten speech therapy from them but just someone to talk to and tell them my feelings and worries to. It's been priceless. Then there's the doctor's who have all been involved in Hunter's care, his primary care doctor to his ENT surgeon in Cincinnati. The nurses, who let me call them whenever I need to to ask a big question or a small question. All of these people and programs ended up being a huge help for getting Hunter the right care and assistance for us to get him to where he is today, trach free and doing AMAZING.

I remember thinking while still in the hospital the very first time, "we don't need any of this help" it's for "other" people. Whoever the "other" people are...Boy was I wrong....

I'm basically trying to say and huge THANK YOU. I don't know where we'd be today without everyone's help. I mean that from the bottom of my heart.

check out that awesome bedhead...

Hunter got his first haircut today...well, in a real salon at least. My mom's been doing his cuts and while I've been happy with the outcome, they have always had to be cut short (no pun intended) simply because little man doesn't want to cooperate so we've never got to fully get it just perfect...So we thought we try a kids salon and see if he would sit through it there. Hunter couldn't have been better or more still in the chair. He was a model customer...He got to watch Alvin and the Chipmunks on the t.v. and thorougly enjoyed that while he was getting a cute little haircut. I sure love my shaggy boy hair but it was time to get it cleaned up a bit...

the "before"

the "after"...a very happy customer

Today Hunter had his first Hippotherapy session. Hippo? No not hippos, it's therapy with the aid of horses. Horses are used to help with all different kinds of therapy, from physical to speech to emotional etc. Riding a horse takes a lot of core muscle strength which is also the same area in which your speech comes from thus helping quite a bit with projecting speech. I'm not explaining it like I wish I could so here's a link to more info http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippotherapy

The idea was brought up not long ago to have Hunter maybe try it out, after all it can't hurt any. Generally there is a 4-6 month waiting list for kids to get in on the program. Hunter was lucky enough to snag a spot quickly though, I'm guessing someone graduated from the program so a spot became available. I was pleasantly surprised how quick this all happened. I mean what a great opportunity for Hunter. I want to say a huge "thank you" to both Jenny and Emilie for helping make this happen...you two have been beyond helpful with so much...

We made the drive out to the ranch east of the city, it was about a 40 min drive but actually quite nice and didn't seem like that long of a drive. We walked into a huge barn/arena where they were just finishing up the previous session. All the kids got lollipops after, they were quite happy about that...I knew Hunter would be too ; )  We first talked to the therapist, I liked her right away, she was very good with Hunter and explained how things were going to work. She asked about his history and what Hunter was into....we told her planes, trains and automobiles, he's aaaallll boy. She took Hunter to a little toy area in the arena where she interacted with him and she quickly slipped on a belt that he would wear while on the horse, she would be holding onto him the entire time as well. After a few mins they walked over to the horse and hunter got right on no problem. I was sure Hunter would freak out a bit, but to my surprise, he did great. Maybe nervous a bit but no major issues. It was quite a sight to see, my little boy on this huge horse! I'd never imagined I'd be seeing this. Very cool stuff they do here. I've never been into horses but man watching them today, it sure was fascinating. I wonder if they know how much they are helping people..? I am very excited to see Hunter's speech improve that much more..

(I couldn't get very clear pictures inside but you get the idea)...

excuse my terrible filming....again...need to work on my skills...

Today I've really been in the mood to watch "Anne of Green Gables"...I love that movie. I watched it so many times at my gramma's house, I couldn't even count. We had so much fun watching that movie together. We would always talk about how Marilla was so grumpy and we laughed out loud when Anne almost served her teacher the custard that a mouse had drowned in the batter of...so much fun watching that movie. I have a copy of the book that I think I'm going to read again, the copy belonged to my gramma, so it's extra special. I would love to visit Prince Edward Island, one day...maybe.

Here's a great site all about the Anne of Green Gables...http://anneofgreengables.com/

Another Sunday out with little man....went to the mall, Barnes and Noble---yes, again! Someone LOVES that train table...Grocery shopping (all while holding a sleeping, toddler...not an easy task!) Then a little down time for me..

taking a short break while riding his scooter

pumpkin patch 2.0

Can't get enough of pumpkin patches, twice in two days???? Yep...only lame thing is that it's too hot out still..I had to spray water on my face and arms to stay cool....Okay, it's not that crazy hot out but then again, I'm complaining when it anything but mid 60's...I'm a Seattle girl, I like it nice and cool....