Quote of the day..

Had to get this one down in writing...

Instead of getting in the habit of having the TV or a video on in the morning, we usually listen to music. Which, often leads to dancing. Some of our favorites (mostly just Timmy & I at this point. Tommy often looks at us with a hint of suspicion, I'm guessing he's wondering if he's really related to us) include the ever popular "Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes" and of course, "The Chicken Dance."

This morning while doing the chicken dance, Timmy was holding on to a little ball that was shaped like a brain. In the midst of flapping his arms he stopped and said "This is really hard to do with my brain!"

I've been on a "giggle high" since :)

BY THE WAY: I JUST REALIZED MY LAST POST ON OCT 17 SAT IN THE "EDIT" BOX AND WASN'T OFFICIALLY POSTED. JUST IN CASE YOU MISSED IT...

Good times all around

Well, it's Oct 17. Since the last entry we have celebrated Tommy's 1st birthday (eek! did that go fast or what?), celebrated some major potty traning movement w/ Timmy and oh so much more :)

We had a family birthday party (which still ended up being 20 adults and 8 kids) and it was a great time. Tim & I must have mentioned at least a dozen times each how nice it is to have a house that we can entertain in. My family from Oshkosh (minus Eric cuz he was here the weekend before for the walk and dad/Bonnie cuz he was sick) made it down and it was GREAT to see them. I think the end of the year is one of my favorite times because now w/ Tommy's bday in Oct, I get to see everyone in Oct, Nov & Dec! Here are some snap shots from the party:

Tommy attacking his cake

Tommy playing w/ his cousin Andy

Tommy hanging out w/ Uncle Karl & his cousin Allison

Timmy has beeing making great strides w/ potty training. In fact, he is even wearing underwear to school now! He wanted his picture taken in his Thomas underwear (we like to call this picture "The Gun Show")

I just had to include this picture below. Last weekend we went to Frankfurt's farmer's market and they had a couple of guys playing some music. Timmy (who loves to dance and will bust a move anywhere) took the stage....

Until next time!

Is it really October 6th?

I'm not sure where the month of September even went. This is why I say thank goodness for digital cameras- time goes by so fast but at least I have pictures to show what was going on. Most of September was spent planning the 5th Annual Hydrocephalus Walk. Five years ago was our first walk- started and completely organized by yours truly. Around 20 people came and I still remember the pure excitement and joy I had meeting others (finally!) that were affected by hydrocephalus. The closest in age was Caitlyn- at the time 13 yrs old. But otherwise it was toddlers and younger children. But still- a sense of knowing and belonging overwhelmed me.
At Saturday's walk, we had over 225 people attend. If it wasn't for homecoming season- we would have had much more. We are close to reaching our $30,000 goal too! I say "we" because Stacy stepped in after the second walk and has done so much with it. It is no longer a one man show and actually- it's getting too big for a two man show!
In July, the United States Congress passed a bill declaring September National Hydrocephalus Awareness Month. Why is this exciting? Because it shows that the government is finally starting to take this disease seriously. Our next step is to get the bill that is currently in the Congress to pass so some of the money that the government hands out for research is applied to Hydrocephalus. Right now we get $0 (which is why the walk is so important- something has to fund the research that is taking place).
Speaking of research, I'm excited to announce that I will be seeing a neurosurgeon on Oct 22. Dr. Batjer (my former n/s) saved my life- there is no doubt about that. If not my life then at the minimum the quality of my life as he stopped the comma's & pressure building in my brain because he listened to me vs. the "normal" MRI or CT scan. But once this ETV was placed (which it took him 2 months to find out about- 2 months of me being restricted to a hospital bed) and another doc from Children's came to do the procedure)- he has considered me "cured" There is no cure for hydro and I still have just have a 50% chance of needing surgery again. So- welcome to my wonderful life Dr Frim. Dr Frim is part of the Univ Chicago group- this group not only knows about hydrocephalus but 2 doctors from the group (inc. Dr Frim) are on the medical advisory board for the Hydro Assoc. Dr Frim speaks at pretty much every conference the HA has. And (this one is my favorite)- this group does research on hydrocephalus! Needless to say, he understand the importance of getting a CT scan every year or two, just to monitor things. Ahhh.... relief.
Sorry this post is all about Hydro but it's all I been thinking about w/ this walk.
As far as my wonderful and adorable Timmy & Tommy..... they've been sick. Timmy missed school all last week and then on Friday night- Tommy got the croup. Timmy is doing better and is back in school this week ("I got to see my friends, mommy" is what he told me after coming home yesteday). Tommy- is much better but you can usually hear him before you see him.
I'll post pictures of the walk once I get a hold of them all.