Better Late than never - Clay's Birthday pictures!

I canNOT believe my sweet boy is ONE YEAR old already!  He wasn't so into the present opening yet - but Wyatt and Hazel were all over that action.  Clay did LOVE his cake!  He really hasn't had anything too sweet yet so I wondered if he would even know what to do!?  Boy was I wrong!  He dove in like a champ!

A blizzard birthday!

Aunt Lily and Calla

AND our 2nd celebration with the sisters and Gma & Gpa Tiedeman, after our post-Christmas gathering!

My family made Clay a wonderful book with their fondest memories of Clay throughout the year and they each wrote him a letter.  It is the sweetest EVER!

Happy Birthday, Clay!!!

...more pictures of the birthday party(s) to come but I wanted to share this with all of my non-Facebook friends and family!  Sorry for the delay, we went 48 hours without power following Clay's birthday party...that is a whole different story!

One year ago, I was SO scared that I would not get this moment.  That the NICU team would rush my precious baby away and hook him up to machines to help his little broken heart.  Thank you so much for being such fighter and proving me wrong!  You have continued to make my worries about having a child with Down syndrome seem so silly!  My life is forever better because you are a part of it.  Happy Birthday, Clay!  We love you SOOOO much!

Santa AND a Fire Station!

The awesome GRANDS group (Grandparents Responsible About Nurturing Down Syndrome) organized a Santa visit and the Waterloo Fire Station.  Santa arrived on a fire truck, read stories to the kids, and then gave the kids a ride ON the fire truck - siren and all!  Needless to say, a good time was had by all!

My Little Scholars!

Hazel's Kid's Day Out Picture!

 Wyatt's Preschool Picture!

Oh, what a difference a year makes!  Wyatt's 2011 picture 

Look who found the Christmas tree!

New & Improved Ears!

Clay had tubes put in his ears at Boys Town this morning and did great!  We have been lucky and he has only had one ear infection but he has had ongoing fluid in his ears that could cause damage/issues down the road.  The tubes should fix that right up!

Dr. Allen, our wonderful ENT, also did a scope of Clay's throat to find the source of his "barky" cry.  We were thrilled to learn that she did not see any damage to his vocal cords or epiglottis, like we had previously been told may have occurred while being intubated for heart surgery!

Doesn't get any cuter than this!

Heading home!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

We have SOOO much to be thankful for this year!  ...and we got to celebrate that thankfulness with turkey and pumpkin pie FOUR times!  Yes, that is right, FOUR TIMES!  I am now also thankful for warm weather in November so I could squeeze in a few runs!

Things were so crazy last year at this time.  Baby Janke's arrival was getting closer and while we very excited to meet Baby J, we were also so scared of the unknown.  Little did we know that he would be a superhero and amaze us everyday with new milestones, good health, and lots of snuggle time.  He made heart surgery look easy for crying out loud!

We also learned of my dad's prostate cancer in November last year.  This news was so devastating and surreal.  I remember thinking it all had to be a bad dream.  You know the saying "When it rains, it pours"...it felt like it was hailing.  But a year later, we celebrate my dad being cancer FREE and an amazing dad and grandpa.

So although last year was a time that has forever marked my soul, this year will be remembered as the year that we knew every little thing is gonna be alright.

The thankful tree that the kids and I made.  We added a new leaf everyday.  This will definitely be a new tradition!

Papa love ;)

This marble run has been around since before I was born!

Wyatt & cousin Sarah.  Apparently, Wyatt is already too cool for pictures.

There may or may not have been a cousin fight over Clay right before this picture!?

Aunt Esther and Clay

Cute pictures of the day!

Just Like You - Down syndrome

What a great video to wrap up Down syndrome awareness month!  The tears were flowing but they are happy tears.  I can't wait to see the amazing boy, teenager, and man my little Clay will become - and someday that could be Wyatt & Hazel making a PSA for Down syndrome!

Tricks and Treats!

Wyatt's Preschool Class

 

Taking a treat break after Trunk n Treating at church!