Halloween 2016

Halloween was so much fun this year! I love making memories with our kids. Seeing their faces light up with excitement and seeing them happy as we did family activities together.

This year Lincoln was 'Toothless' from How To Train A Dragon. It was a lot of fun watching Lincoln pretend to be Toothless and actually act like a dragon.

Lacey was a 'Witch'. It was such a perfect costume for her. As she's my little witch at times. We had fun back combing her hair and spraying her hair with green hair spray.

Oliver was our 'Firer Fighter'.

Snuggles

Lacey loves being a sister. Most days when Oliver wakes up from his naps and we hear him on the monitor, Lacey loves to go climb in his crib with him and snuggle they for a while. These two sure love their snuggle time together.

Geocaching

We have been doing some geocaching this fall. Lincoln and Lacey are both really into it. They've been having a lot of fun finding the caches around Lethbridge. It's been a great activity to do as a family.

Spina Bifida Awareness- Pro Life

68% of Spina Bifida babies are aborted. I hope to spread awareness about Spina Bifida... At the time of Oliver's diagnosis in Calgary and the weeks to follow, we were asked multiple times if we wanted to end my pregnancy. That was never a choice for us. Yes the doctors gave us the absolute worse cases seenario, which was very hard to hear as parents.

But sometimes life doesn't go as we have it planned and your new normal becomes something so beautiful. How our life is meant to be. Your life takes on so much more meaning. You appreciate so much more. You cry more then you ever have, you get told you're strong even when you never feel like it... and you love more than you ever have, Heavenly Father always has better things in store for you. You just have to have faith........ and try your hardest, that you can be as strong as Heavenly Father knows you can be. 

Spina Bifida Awareness Month

Oliver has been sitting up for a short time, for the past few weeks. Which we are all excited about. It’s so cute seeing how proud he gets of himself. Which he should, as this is a big achievement...Today is WORLD SPINA BIFIDA AND HYDROOCEPHALUS DAY! It's not easy at times to be a mom who worries when your child has Spina Bifida, as we don't know what to expect with his health and life. And it's scary for a mom. I want other Spina Bifida families to know, your family is going to function like a normal family. Your family is going to do wonderful fun things…. Once we've adjusted to our new fun journey with Oliver. I know that everything is going to be alright. Yes life can be hard at times. But Oliver gives me more smiles and giggles then any body. Oliver picks up on people's moods and loves with a great capacity… Oliver has shown me what life is truly all about. I wouldn’t change a thing. You are perfect to me. Thank you for being you. It is an honor to be on this Spina Bifida journey beside you. Together, we will weather every storm. Love your mom.

Oliver: 9 months

I feel like I haven't done an update in a while. Oliver is doing great! It's going on 3 months keeping Oliver elevated (45 degree or high) 24/7. At first it was hard making sure he was always elevated but now it's the norm and it's just a part of our life. His bulge is starting to go down more, which means there is less CFS seeping past the shunt and Oliver's skull has been able to start fusing together. 

It's also been 3 months since Oliver had his shunt surgery. Recovery has gone well! The VP programable shunt is doing what it's suppose to be doing, as his head hasn't grown in 3 months!!!! Allowing his brain to slowly grow into his head size, as the csf levels go down. Oliver's head is the size of a 18 month old, so his head isn't suppose to grow for the next 9 months. As Oliver's body grows into his head size, it will make holding his head up and doing physical movement things easier.

Our main focus right now is physiotherapy. We are doing stretches each day to help Oliver suffering from Torticollis. Torticollis is a tightening of the neck muscle on one side, causing his head to tilt towards the right. So we are working with him and doing different exercises to try and help him correct it.

Weight: 21 lbs (65th percentile)
Length: 28.8 inches ( 50th percentile)
Head: 49.5 cm ( above the 100th percentile)

Pappa Stewart's Surprise Party

 Dad, on this special day of yours I want to take the opportunity to thank you for everything that you have done for me. You are absolutely the most amazing dad. Happy 65th Birthday!

Nana Stewart pulled of an AMAZING 65th surprise birthday party for Papa Stewart, construction theme. We all had so much fun!