Lately, I have been using Daven’s clothes from last fall to dress him for this fall. I feel myself getting that blue feeling every time I dress him in last years clothes.

It all started when I was going through his closet getting ready to purge clothes and put things away in storage. After I started looking at different outfits and checking the sizes, it hit me…Daven can still wear these clothes! Sure enough as I slipped one pair of old pants on him, they could barely stay up. Between his itty bitty waist and lack of bottom, it is a constant battle to keep pants on him.

I have tried to think on the positive side, such as “he will get more use out of them” or “I won’t have to buy any new clothes.” Though, I just can’t seemed to get excited about Daven wearing 12 month, 9 month, and even 6 month clothing. It makes me terribly sad to think of my 21 month old fitting into clothes that he should have long since grown out of.

Now, if only I could fit into last years clothes…that is something to get excited about! HA!

On another note, Daven is SO close to crawling. Last night and today at lunch he took about 4 steps crawling. Cross your fingers people…I may have a crawler on my hands here in the next few days. I am hoping to push him hard this weekend to see if he will crawl even more. Once Daven realizes what he is doing, I know that he will love it and want to crawl more. Let’s hope at least.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

LOVE LOVE LOVE

Let me start out by apologizing to all those avid readers out there. Between work, traveling, Daven, and my blah feeling…I have simply not had anything constructive to write about. I am hoping that today is the beginning of snapping out of my funk.

We had an amazing trip to Colorado. Baby Raney is beautiful and Tia is one heck of a big sister. She wants to hold baby Raney and loves to kiss her. And always yells out “GranZ is holding baby Raney” or “Uncle Logan is holding baby Raney.” So very cute.

Tia also seems to have a giant sized crush on Logan. All weekend long we heard “LOOOOOGAAAAANNNN.” In which Logan would respond “TIIIIIIIIAAAAAA.” Then Tia would get giggly and shy. She just loves her Uncle Logan. You can see her here holding a fish chasing after him. Long story, but we got a good laugh out of Tia chasing after Logan with her fish. Precious times.

As for Daven, well he actually was a rock star all weekend! He traveled perfectly, dealt with all the commotion brilliantly and only had one minor melt down. He was great! It is remarkable to me how when any child cries, Daven just cries along with them. He will be happy and laughing but the moment he hears a child cry, he will instantly change moods to a terribly sad boy. The more I see it, the more I realize that Daven truly has empathy for any child crying. You can already see that boys loving heart.

As we were driving over Black Canyon on the way home, we saw one of the most beautiful sites I have ever seen. We turned a sharp corner and looked ahead to see beautiful white puffy clouds floating along through the canyon. Once we found a spot to pull over, we all jumped out to take in the beautiful scenery. It was a strange feeling being above the clouds without being in an airplane. Once we got through the canyon Logan noticed yet another beautiful site. A big horn sheep. (Or a Ram as I like to call it) We once again pulled over to watch this beautiful animal. When we finally got back in the car Logan shouted out “That’s it, I have to move to Colorado.” HA!



We have finally made it home and reality is settling once again. Logan still does not have a job, I still am not thrilled at my work, the house is still a giant mess (I was sure hoping the cleaning fairy would come while we were away), and Daven is still not crawling, talking or walking. However, we are still truly blessed on a daily basis with family and friends.

It’s almost Friday!

LOVE LOVE LOVE

For those of you that have been reading this blog for a while now, you will remember me talking about a friend at work that was 20 weeks pregnant with a downs syndrome girl. (Refer back to the “Words to Say?” post) An update for you that has been on my heart for two weeks now…

The doctors (a week after she got the downs diagnosis) told Ashly and her husband that the baby’s brain did not develop and she had water on her brain. The doctors explained to Ashly that her head would continue to grow as more and more water fills it up. Their concern being that this precious baby would not survive outside mommy’s tummy and would endanger Ashly in the process. The doctors asked Ashly and her husband to choose to terminate the pregnancy.

About 4 days later I went to Ashly’s office to stop in and say hi. See how she was doing. I would have never guessed what she was about to tell me. In all of my 26 years of life, this conversation was one of the hardest I have ever had to participate in. Ashly was scared, heartbroken, angry, and just wanted to run away and never have to make this decision.

To make a long exhaustingly heartbreaking story short, baby Destiny Janelle Baccas’s funeral was yesterday. It is terribly upsetting for me being away and having to miss the services. We got the word Thursday afternoon as we were headed up to Colorado; there was simply no way we could make it.

All I ask is that everyone reading this, take a minute to appreciate all that you have. In Ashly’s own words, who would have known that the downs syndrome diagnosis would have the great news? Yes, Daven will struggle for the rest of his life. Yes, we will have to jump over a few hurtles. Yes, times now seem bleak…BUT I do have him and he is the joy in my heart.

Dear Heavenly Father I come to you now asking that you hold your hands over Ashly and her family over the next few weeks. Please help them understand that you are holding that precious baby tight in your arms. Thank you for all that you do for us. In Jesus Name I pray….AMEN.

LOVE LOVE LOVE

Well, we are having a great time here in the big city of Crawford Colorado. (And by big I mean, 350 residents.) First and foremost, Baby Raney is beautiful and sleeps like an angel. I have only gotten to see her eyes open for one short second. She is a big snuggle bunny and loves to be held.

Friday morning we woke up to a beautiful snow storm. It snowed for about 5 or 6 hours and tured out to be such a beautiful day! I however, did not bring clothes for a winter snow storm! In our part of the word we are still getting 85 degree weather. Snow in middle September is foreign to me. So my suitcase was packed full of short sleeve shirts and heels. Yet, another fashion problem…Colorado is not made for heels. I have been here a million times so I can’t even say I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. But, I will make due. I did bring warm clothes for Daven luckily.

I better run…it is time I KILL the boys in yet another poker game. Break out your wallets boys, I need to empty them out!

LOVE LOVE LOVE

Off we go to introduce ourselves to baby Raney. It will be a terribly long day. The trip is a total of about 13 hours and we aren’t getting started until almost noon. So, we have a long road ahead.

PapaT, GranZ, Logan, Daven and I are all going to pack like sardines in the car and drive until we can drive no further. We will be taking a mini van but taking a baby AND going to see a baby…involves LOTS of baby loot.

I am so excited to get out of town for a few days. Not only will I get to meet the new baby, see Cousin Tia, my brothers, my sister-in-law, my aunt and uncle, my cousin and so much more…BUT I will get to spend the weekend with my husband as well. When I take long trips like this with my family, Logan doesn’t usually get to go because of work, but since he no longer has a job…he can easily take off and enjoy the time away too! This is very exciting to me. Who cares if we can’t pay the bills when we get home right…at least we have each other. HA!

I am a bit concerned as always about Daven. Trips such as these sometimes get a bit exhausting and overwhelming for my little homebody. I am confident he will love seeing his Cousin Tia and even Cousin Raney, but I still worry that he will panic about his unknown surroundings. However, I am not going to let this get me down. I have faith that Daven will do great and travel like a pro!

Please keep us in your prayers as we travel. I will try to update while I am away.

And their off…

LOVE LOVE LOVE

It was such a beautiful evening yesterday that Logan, Daven and I were outside enjoying the fall air. I found that Daven walks REALLY well in the grass. He didn’t like the feeling of the grass under his feet (even with socks on!) so he was picking up each foot one step at a time. I might try this therapy again tonight when I get home. It was so precious walking along with him. I know passers by were watching us with a smile on their face. They could tell I was trying to help my (I am sure 11 month old in their minds) son walk. But in reality, he was simply picking up his feet because he HATED the texture of the grass. They will never know.

In the midst of all the fun I grabbed the camera once again. We ended up with some of the best pictures! This one reminds me of those pictures you see in picture frames. Of a father and son enjoy the fall day (which is exactly what we were doing!) and you can’t see faces too close, but you know they are truly a happy family! Also a little like Mary Tyler Moore throwing her hat up in the air. Daven is WAY up there. Almost as high as those trees! You best be catching him Daddy!!

This picture Auntie Autumn and I laughed at. We couldn’t decide if Daven was throwing out his local gang signs “WEST SIDE!” or if he was putting his pinky up to his mouth like Mini Me in Austin Powers saying “a million dollars!” HA!

Oh my boys. Aren’t they simply delightful? I just love them to death! I couldn’t imagine life without them.

LOVE LOVE LOVE

It was a nice quiet weekend. Got to see an old friend, got to hang out with current friends and of course stalled doing the regular weekend chores. As Daven and I were hanging out on the floor last night he decided he would show off a bit. His famous walker that Lisa got for him was next to him and he just grabbed it and stood up before I could stop him! Luckily the walker was against the fireplace so it couldn’t roll out from underneath him. I was so pleased that I ran and grabbed the camera! Look how proud he is of himself.

Last night he didn’t seem to sleep as well. At first I wasn’t sure why but around 5:00 am I figured out why. He suddenly exploded out of his diaper! (Yes, Sarah…this is still a mystery to all moms!) As he was laying in between Logan and I, we both woke up in a daze saying “What in the world is that smell?!” We both turned to Daven and he simply looked up at us both and smiled.

I quickly scooped him up and took him to his room to clean him up. His brace was on, so naturally this didn’t just fill up his diaper, he was covered from head to toe! As I was ripping his grey wife beater shirt off…it even got in his hair! I am sure I don’t have to tell you that this was WAY too much for me to handle at 5:00 am!

I promptly started a bath to try and wash the stink off of him. After I scrubbed him for over 30 minutes, I pulled him out and got him dressed in some warm clothes. By the time I got him cleaned up and dressed, it was my turn to get in the shower. I put on a movie so Daven would be content for the at least the next 30 minutes and jumped in the shower.

I got in the shower only to find I had used all the hot water for Daven’s bath! I know what you are thinking…either I have scorched my child in a HOT bath or I am exaggerating. I can assure you that neither one is true. Daven does like his bath’s warmer than most children…but hot water in my house is simply nonexistent. (Autumn can attest to this!) After I finally got myself cleaned up and Daven cleaned up and sent off with GranZ I looked over at Logan and he was fast asleep. He hadn’t even been fazed by the craziness of the morning, go figure!

I am not exactly in "mourning" but I sure do need a nap! It has already started out to be a crazy and hectic week.

LOVE LOVE LOVE

IT’S A GIRL! My second niece arrived yesterday morning. As of today, Mom and baby are doing very well. We haven’t seen her yet, but plan on traveling to Colorado very soon to see how beautiful she is. From what we have heard, she is a “ball of fire” and Cousin Tia has her work cut out for her. I just wanted to share our good news with you.

*I am proud to introduce Baby Raney Lee Moore. Born on September 16 at 11:07 am. Weighing 7 lbs 1 oz, measuring 20 inches long.

We LOVE you already Baby Raney! Your Uncle Logan, Auntie Aspen, and Cousin Daven can't wait to meet you!

*Just a little reminder for those of you that don’t know me…Baby Raney belongs to my brother and his wife; Mom and Dad to Cousin Tia.

LOVE LOVE LOVE

I have been so BLAH this week. Zombie like with no emotions to speak of. It has been a good week, just rather boring. Maybe that explains why I have had a serious case of writers block all week.

Daven seems to be getting stronger here lately. He is now so proud of pulling himself up that he is doing it all the time. However, I haven’t seen him do it anywhere other than his crib. He has tried to pull himself up on the couch but failed many times. With our wood floor, he can’t seem to get his feet stable enough.

When we put him in his crib for nap time, he simply spends his time pulling up and down. He just wants to stand up and smile at everyone looking around. So precious! I am so excited to finally see some new development emerging from somewhere in developmental delayed lala-land.

On the other hand, we can’t seem to get him to crawl. Daven’s OT is really working with him to try and crawl. But when we do this, he simply screams out. The thought was that the crawling position may simply be hurting him. I just don’t know…

We have been in a doctors appointment lull lately. It has been very nice! However, these nice quiet months will be ending soon. We will be hitting the doctors offices hard and fast once October gets here. Frankly, I am dreading these appointments. They will be wondering how Daven has been doing with his back brace. I will have to then explain why he has not been wearing his back brace. Which I am sure, in return, will cause much grief and confusion on their part. Sigh. We will cross that bridge when we get there.

I am sorry for the randomness of this post. Again, just simply not sure what kind of phase I am currently going through. Maybe I will figure things out over the weekend.

HAPPY WEEKEND!

LOVE LOVE LOVE

Today through a random trivia question, I found out that a human has 46 chromosomes verses 94 chromosomes in a goldfish. Maybe it is only me, but I was SHOCKED to find out that a goldfish had 48 MORE chromosomes than humans. I found this to be very odd and a bit confusing.

As many of you know Williams Syndrome is a genetic disorder. Daven was born without the #7 chromosome and because of ONE missing chromosome it will cause medical and developmental problems for the rest of his life. Funny how a few little chromosomes can make such a BIG difference. As my sister-in-law so brilliantly stated…”I wonder if there are many goldfish with disabilities.” HA! And that is why you are my friend Micah! I LOVE YOU.

On another note…I am feeling the heaviness of September 11 today. This year, unlike the past years seems much worse. Partly because of the 5 year anniversary and partly because I have seen Washington DC first had. I feel however, that for the most part, the tension I am feeling is because my sister is now there in the middle of it all. Saturday evening as I watched all the documentaries and recaps of that horrific day, I found myself cringing at the thought of it happening again.

I am sure every person in this country feels the same, but I suppose this is the first time I have truly had any connection to anyone or anything that close to all the action. (So to speak.) Having a sister that works at the Capitol Building is as comforting as it is terrifying to me. When we spoke earlier today, she said that it is probably the safest place to be and she is probably right. I do still feel a little unsettled as the day goes on.

I still feel a little motherly instinct knowing that she is more than a thousand miles away. Luckily, because of modern technology…I talk to her on a regular basis. Sometimes I actually forget that she is so far away. I think I would have ulcers in my stomach if it were not because of instant messaging and cell phones. We are lucky to have such great amenities at our finger tips.

We love you Auntie Autumn and miss you tons! (Only 104 days till Christmas!)

LOVE LOVE LOVE

Logan and I have been struggling lately trying to find a balance between family life and career life. We have most recently been having a few serious conversations about trying something new. A new job for him and possibly a new job for me.

This past week was the breaking point for Logan at his current job. Logan currently has a great career, but it takes up so much of his time and energy that he misses a lot of quality time with Daven and me. We had to make one of the hardest decisions we have ever made as a family.

Wednesday, Logan turned in his two weeks notice. There is nothing out of the ordinary about turning in your notice other than the fact that we have no black up plan. We are taking a huge step of faith in hopes that God will provide. We are both at peace with this decision and know deep down in our hearts, that everything will work out for the best. However, that doesn’t mean we aren’t scared to death!

We have been scared about our careers before but that was long before we had a mortgage, car payment, and most importantly a family. Logan is the man of the household and his main priority is to provide for his family. The fact that he (currently) no longer has the means to do that is very unnerving to him.

So please keep us in mind as you send up prayers. We trust and have faith that things will work out for the best, but extra thoughts and prayers are always needed and appreciated. We may also be taking a few suggestions. HA!

Heavenly Father I come to you now with nothing to give. We put our future in your hands trusting that you will provide. Provide Logan with a job, provide the funds to help us get through the next few months, and provide the love and support that this family needs to survive. Guide us as we hunt for the perfect fit and help create a working environment that is family friendly. Thank you for the blessings you give us every day. In Jesus Name…Amen.

LOVE LOVE LOVE

Yes, that’s right…football season officially starts tonight! I am so excited I can hardly stand it. Neither one of the teams will I be cheering for particularly…but football is football!

I suppose my love for football started many years ago. My two older brothers were football stars back in their prime, and I had always joked that unlike most mothers, I would much rather my son play football than basketball or baseball. I have just never had a love for those sports. Logan on the other hand, was a brilliant basketball player in high school. Coming in at almost 6 feet 6 inches, I guess you can’t help but be great at that sport.

Before Daven was diagnosed, we would banter back and forth if he would be a basketball star that Logan had always dreamed of or a football star that I had always dreamed of. Bets were more and more for a basketball star considering how tall he was.

Now that we know the ins and outs of what we can expect from Daven and Williams Syndrome, I find myself letting the “sports star” dreams die along with so many others. I do hope Daven can at least learn to love football as much as his daddy and I do. But who knows, maybe I will get to cheer him on as he is marching in the band out on the football field. ;-)

Football also means that fall is here! I am not sure that I would say fall is my favorite season, but it is at least number two on the list. “It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils…” – Joe Fox from You’ve Got Mail

And I don’t need to tell you how much I LOVE the Quaking Aspen trees changing to their brilliantly orange, yellow, and red colors.

All this to say…Goodbye Summer, WELCOME AUTUMN!

DOWN – SET – HUT HUT

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A few weeks ago, Amy (mom to Avery) suggested giving Daven some Beef Jerky to chew on. She said that it would be something for him to chew on while waking up his taste buds. Sounded good to me, so I thought I would give it a whirl.

Saturday, Logan handed Daven a small piece of Beef Jerky to try out. He wasn’t sure what to make of it at first. Then he stuck it in his mouth like he does everything else, and threw it away. Then he picked it back up to try again, and threw it away. You catch my drift.

After about 4 or 5 times going up and down, he finally decided that this wasn’t such a bad taste. He started to really gnaw in it then. Here he is with his slab of beef hovering over it as if he was a scavenger that hadn’t seen any food in months.

I have since learned that it is best to try this with the jerky called Slim Jim, but for now…this is working. It just seems so wrong to me throwing some jerky at my child like I am saying…”Here kid, chew on this for a while.” HA!

LOVE LOVE LOVE

The Thomas family has had a Labor Day tradition for many many years now. All my aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, parents, siblings, and a few family friends load up in trucks and RV’s and meet for the long weekend to go camping in Colorado. We have had a total of almost 25 people before. This picture was taken last year.

Activities include anything from playing horse shoes, cards, looking at catalogs, fishing, hiking, planning future traditions (usually Christmas!), but mostly…we EAT! There is nothing better than eating in the mountains. A running joke in the family is that somebody is always pealing potatoes for the next meal. We also take a night (usually Sunday night) to have a small bible study and we even include songs. Keep in mind we are a Church of Christ family, instruments are of no use to us. HA!

This year, however, we will not be going on our yearly “Labor Day Family Retreat.” Jody, my sister-in-law, is expecting baby #2 here in the next week or two. This means, that she (along with my brother and Daven's Cousin Tia) would not be free to travel. For this reason along with many other concerns such as, “Why spend money traveling this weekend, when we will be going back to Colorado as soon as the new baby arrives;” we will not be trekking to the mountains for the long weekend.

I say all of this, simply because my heart is a bit sad that a long time family tradition isn’t happening this year. Don’t get me wrong, I am so excited for the new baby that I can hardly stand it. But because tradition is such a huge part of my life, I will terribly miss our trip this year.

Yes, abide any unforeseen reasons…we will pick the tradition back up next year. So, to get me by this weekend…don’t be surprised if you smell a cedar candle burning in my house and see me standing by the gas stove trying to make the perfect smore.

I LOVE YOU ALL and will miss our Labor Day Family Retreat. Just better be ready to party at CHRISTMAS 2006!!!

LOVE LOVE LOVE