Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday! Isabella and I made a few more goodies before Christmas Eve.

On Christmas Eve we waited for Grammy to come. We went out to lunch and came home to open our presents. In years past we had Isabella open all gifts on Christmas Day and it was too overwhelming. She was actually tired of opening gifts. So this year we split it up a bit. She and Raymond had fun tearing into Grammy's presents!

When it was time for bed, Isabella had a very hard time falling asleep. She was so excited for Santa....and he came!

We had a gate up around the tree so Raymond wouldn't bother it. on Christmas we took it down. He actually seemed more interested in the tree with the gate up rather then down. We haven't put it back up since and he's been fine. Hopefully I didn't just jinx myself! : )

Lets get this show on the road!

Even Sadie got a present from Santa.

Raymond wasn't sure why all the sudden he was allowed to rip things apart but he decided not to ask any questions and go for it!!!

We got everything pretty much cleaned up from Christmas morning just in time for Grandma and Grandpa to come with more gifts.

Yes, Isabella wore her pajamas all day! Why not!

The day after Christmas we went to Lancaster for a gift exchange with my family. I had my camera with me but ended up not taking any pictures. By the time I realized that I didn't get the camera out everyone was leaving. My cousin Ashley had a baby, Paige, on Nov. 7 and this was the first time we got to meet her. She is very cute. I was holding her and decided to pick up Raymond to see what he would do. He was surprised when he saw her and then got a very big smile on his face. Raymond touched her face and rubbed her cheek so gently. I think he was curious about a person smaller then him! I can't remember Raymond interacting with a baby smaller then him before. Normally babies younger then Raymond are still physically bigger. It was unbelievably sweet and Chris, my cousin and I were all making a big of fuss over them! This interaction makes me wonder what Raymond will think when he has a little baby to look at all day long. It will be cute for sure. Hopefully he doesn't think his new sister is a special toy for him. Even though, sometimes, I think Isabella considers Raymond her personal toy. He's always here for her enjoyment! See...

Until Next Time,

Lots of Love,

Erica

Today...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRAMMY, AUNT ANNA & AUNT LORI!!!!

Getting Ready for the Holidays

On Friday, Raymond had an appointment with his new neurologist. The appointment went well and Raymond's medicine had to be increased slightly. We've seen hardly any seizures since then. The medicine increase normally takes about one full week to take total effect. I think we have finally found the correct amount for Raymond. Raymond will also be having an MRI after Christmas to see if the cause of the seizures can be pin-pointed.

While we were waiting for Raymond's appointment I noticed a PSA poster about texting while driving. For the record, I never text and drive. It's such a idiotic thing to do. I don't understand why people don't think it's distracting. This poster, in my opinion, should be in every high school in America. The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons has joined forces with the Orthopedic Trauma Association to urge people to NEVER text while driving. Orthopedic injuries are extremely common as a result of texting while driving accidents.

Pretty powerful in my opinion.

On a brighter note, do you remember the kitchen we bought for Isabella for her birthday? Well, it turns out that Raymond loves to play with it too. He rolls himself over to it then sits up, plays with the doors and takes things in and out of it. I think he looks so cute sitting there.

We've been having a very hard time getting Raymond to leave his oxygen tube alone. He keeps ripping it off his face. His little cheeks are so sore! You can see it in this picture. Honestly, this isn't even that bad. Normally his face looks so much worse. We really can't give him a break from it either. If we do, his little feet turn purple because his oxygen level is too low.

Dress up time for Isabella

We've been doing a lot of holiday related crafts. Isabella loves it do anything crafty. She started by making a Santa snow globe.

She and Daddy put together a gingerbread house. I kept having to remind both of them that the candy was for on the house!

Is that a gingerbread cookie?!?!

All of our holiday excitement is wearing Raymond out!

My brother and his family were supposed to come to our house this past weekend and we had a slight bump in the road. At the last minute, we drove to their house in West Virginia instead. It was a short visit but nice to see them before Christmas.

Poor Sadie didn't know were to lay. She kept getting wrapping paper thrown on her head. (Yes, we take Sadie everywhere. Luckily she's a good girl so we can.)

After we got home from West Virginia on Sunday we decided to go to Whole Foods. Then we drove past the King of Prussia Mall to see if it was still open. It turns out the mall was open to 11:00pm - on a Sunday! So we walked around there for a little while. Isabella really liked the gigantic Christmas tree. When we walked past it on the way back to the car, it came to life! Music started to play, lights flashed, the dolls moved, drummers drummed, the toy soldiers marched and the carousel horses went around the tree. It was really cute. We stood and watched it until it was done. I was glad we had got to see it because I had been to the mall around Christmas in past years and never realized it did that. It must start on the hour.

Until Next Time!

Lots of Love,

Erica

EPDSC Holiday Party

At preschool on Thursday, Isabella participated in the Santa's Secret Workshop. She was very excited to pick out gifts all by herself and wrap them. She needed to buy gifts for 11 people and one for herself. When I asked her who she wanted to buy for she made a long list! She was so excited when I picked her up. I told her not to tell me what she choose for anyone because I wanted to be surprised too. Well, this sneaky girl told me what she picked out for Daddy without telling me directly what it was. Cleaver! So then I clarified my previous statement to her by adding that I didn't need any hints either. After Christmas, if I remember, I'll tell you what she said. Since Chris reads the blog, I don't want to ruin the surprise.

This weekend we went to the Eastern Pennsylvania Down Syndrome Center's Holiday Party at the Allentown Brew Works. We had been looking forward to it. We saw most of these families at the Buddy Walk in September but the kids have all seemed to get so big since then. There were also a lot of new members with tiny little babies. All cuties!!! It was a lot of fun!

Morgan, 9 months

Raymond was playing with a spoon up close and personal with Daddy

Santa even stopped by!

Santa even brought a gift for everyone

Tanner, 10 weeks

Meet Sara. In February of 2009, Sara was diagnosed with Leukemia. We have a special bond with her family because of our similar circumstances. Sara has a different type of Leukemia then Raymond but we still understand the ups and downs that each other's families go through. At 6, her little body has had a rough time with the chemotherapy. Sara looked like she was feeling much better just since the Buddy Walk in September. Her mom was telling me that she is doing fantastic! She sees her oncologist just a few days before Raymond sees his. So I'm sure we'll be hearing how that went soon after.

Sara was sitting in the chair that Santa had been in. She was pretending she was Santa. I shot a short video. I wasn't able to get it to flip upright. One day I'll figure it out. Sorry! Turn your volume up and get ready to strain your neck.

Over the last few days I also made a few things. I've been wanting another zip-front robe but they are so expensive. Easily $60-$70. I really didn't want to spend that much on one. I had some fleece fabric I bought awhile ago for a good price. There was enough of it for a robe. I made myself the robe and Isabella wanted me to make her a matching robe. I didn't have enough of the fleece to make her a robe so I made her pajama bottoms instead. With the tiny leftover scraps, I made her doll a set too. I just need to get her a sleep shirt to go with the bottoms. Here we are. That's a lot of flowers!!! : )

Until Next Time!

Lots of Love,

Erica