Filmpossible Fever

Two entries about filmpossible and our little Super Stars in one day??? That's right!

Check out the BLOOM blog to see the post by Louise Kinross.

FILMPOSSIBLE FEVER.

"Left hands are so over-rated!"

I've said it before but I will just say it one more time... This has been such a wonderful experience for Gavin and our family and friends. I know that we really reached out to a lot of people. And it was overwhelming how much support everyone showed. Thank you again to Jen and Annya for sharing your talent with all of us!

Filmpossible Fete

Last Wednesday was the Filmpossible party at Holland Bloorview and it was a very memorable evening!

The first thing we saw as we entered the party was a table of Holland Bloorview's 2012 Desktop Calendars! It was pretty cool to see Annya's winning photo, "Lucky Fin Love" on the cover! We are sure proud of those adorable little arms wearing their lucky fin bracelets with pride!


It felt oh-so-fancy when we realized there was even a little red carpet and a photographer took Mr Gavin's picture as he entered! He didn't want to smile until he found out there was popcorn! It is such a rough life being a mini celebrity! Ha! He totally rocked his sweater vest that GG knit for him! Thanks GG!

During the awards ceremony they played the clip of Gavin and Gabi's "I Can Be Me!" video and I almost teared up. I just love that little video! Its so awesome :) Jen did a great job and it was so fun being a part of the contest this year!

Here is the "I Can Be Me!" team: Gabi, Jen & Gavin


It was really too bad that Annya wasn't able to make it though, as the first place photography winner! I really wish she could have been there and I know she did too!

They called Gavin & Gabi on stage to accept her award (which meant that Janelle & I had to go up as well because the kids were being all shy). They were both presented with an incredibly soft and cute stuffed animal. They were both being so shy though and didn't even want to take them.

One of the highlights of the evening was when Gavin held out his hand for the microphone when I was asked to say a few words on behalf of Annya. I was not really prepared to say anything so I was glad to hand the mic to Gavin and give him a chance to say something, thus taking the spotlight off of me! At first he just wanted to stand there and hold it but I told him he had to say something. Then he started singing his ABCs in a quiet little voice into the microphone!!!! Ha! I should have known! Of course everyone was just eating it up. I was just glad I didn't have to talk anymore! It was pretty priceless though!



It was such a beautiful feeling to watch the awards and see some of the other winners and participants in person! There were so many wonderful entries and so much VISIBILITY was brought to disability! :)

Soon it was time to wrap up the evening. But it wouldn't be a party without CAKE!!!


Thanks so much to the awesome team at Holland Bloorview for allowing us to have this wonderful experience! It was so nice to finally meet Louise and Kathy and everyone else!

And thanks to all our supportive friends & family who took the time to vote all summer for "I Can Be Me!" and "Lucky Fin Love"!! We love you!

Janelle's BLOOM clip

I feel bad that I haven't been posting here very often. I keep meaning to but it is just hard to find the time lately!

Would you like to hear a long list of excuses or should I just skip right to the post?

We have lots of pictures and news to share!

First I want to share a link to the BLOOM blog where you can find lots of great video clips and resources from other parents.

Janelle (Miss Gabrielle's awesome mom) talks to Louise and shares some advice about dealing with questions and stares from other people and the importance of staying positive! I am so proud of Janelle because I just LOVE her answers and advice and I know how helpful it could be to new parents. Listening to this interview when I was pregnant with Gavin and dealing with the shock of finding out about his limb difference would have made a world of difference to me.

TALKING ABOUT LIMB DIFFERENCE

So I just want to make a shout out to my friend Janelle! You rock! We are SO blessed to have such awesome kids and to have each other too!

(I will be back soon with an update about the Filmpossible Fete!!)

Filmpossible Finalists!!

We want to send a huge THANK YOU to everyone who has been supporting Gavin & Gabby's filmpossible entries! Thank you to everyone who took the time out of your busy or even lazy day to vote over the summer! Cisco Canada donated $1 per vote up to $10,000 in round one so you guys helped raise a lot of money for Holland Bloorview and help bring a lot of visibility to disability :)

We have some pretty exciting news....the finalists were announced today and their video "I CAN BE ME!" by Jen Warman and photo "LUCKY FIN LOVE" by Annya Miller both made it to the finals!!!!

Now there is only ONE WEEK of public voting to determine the winners. You can vote for both entries once a day (open August 24 - August 31, 2011). Winners are determined based on the highest number of public votes in Round Two. Now we need your support more than ever! So please spread the word and show your support.

Thanks again! Lucky fin love to all!

Please vote for "I CAN BE ME! by GAVINandGABBY
Gavin and Gabby are two friends who were born with congenital limb differences, but despite what many other kids might think at first, they can do EVERYTHING other 3 year olds can do..and more!!

Please vote for LUCKY FIN LOVE!
Gavin and Gabby showing off their little fingers (Gabby calls them "pinky fingers" and Gavin calls them "baby fingers") and Lucky Fin bracelets! Left hands are SO overrated ;) © Annya Miller Photography 2011 annyamillerphotography.com

filmpossible Video and Photo Contest
Source: bloorview.votigo.com

Lucky Fin Bracelet Giveaway!

This is one of the awesome pictures taken by Annya Miller during Gavin and Gabby's recent photo shoot! We think it looks like they are shaking hands :)



If you don't have your own lucky fin bracelet here is a perfect opportunity for you to WIN one! Just head on over to Born Just Right and leave a comment and you will be entered in a random draw to win one of five lucky fin bracelets! Make sure you do it by August 23 and the winners will be chosen at 8pm central time!

3 Years Old

I just wanted to share a few of my favourite pictures from Gavin's birthday.

He was a very happy little boy to wake up on his birthday and find a John Deere tractor (the one he had been asking for incessantly) in the backyard from Gramma and Grampa! He is so proud!


Soon it was time for his party! Auntie Michelle makes his birthday cupcakes every year and they seem to get better every single time!


The birthday boy!


Gavin had a few friends over in the backyard and they played basketball and hockey! It was a great day :)


Look at these two. They were inseparable. Best buds! ♥


Yes, so our little boy is three now. I know everyone talks about "the terrible twos". But so far, I think they might have it wrong and I know a lot of parents who would vouch for me on this one! So far, three is turning out to be a lot more of a challenge!


We love you Gavin! Even when you're grumpy!

Lucky Fin Love

I just came across one of many adorable pictures of the two of them together. Gabby and Gavin, that is. They have grown so much in 1 year!! Thanks Annya, for all the awesome pictures we have thanks to your photoshoots!

Which reminded me to spread the word that we entered another entry into Holland Bloorview's filmpossible contest for bringing visibility to disability! It is a really striking photo of their little arms wearing their lucky fin bracelets with pride. Its a close-up that shows their baby or pinky fingers, as they call them. So cute. Love this picture! :)

LUCKY FIN LOVE

We hope you will vote every day because Cisco is donating $1 for every vote (and also we wouldn't complain if we won either.)

You can vote for as many entries per day as you like and there are lots of other great entries too! :)

I CAN BE ME!

Last year we participated in Holland Bloorview's first filmpossible contest. It was a huge success! Gavin's video, "His Abilities" made it to the finals and was even featured in a 1 hour documentary about the contest on Rogers TV.

The theme of the contest is "bringing visability to disability" and it definiately achieved that goal!

The second filmpossible contest is starting today and we are so excited about it! This year my awesome friend Jen put together this super cute video of Gavin and Gabby, the adorable duo!

Please show your support! You can register your email and then log in every day to vote. Cisco will donate $1 for every vote!

Contest details

Copy Cat

Gavin is at that stage where he loves to copy. EVERYTHING. He copies things we say which has caused us to be extra careful. We have even heard him say some choice words which we know he didn't hear from us. We can censor what WE say, but not what other people say.

When I'm looking after Eden he will pick up his doll and mimic everything I do. My favourite is when he puts his doll to his chest when I'm nursing her. Haha!

He loves to watch sports and copy their actions. Several weeks ago we stopped at the park on the way home and there were some older kids playing baseball. Gavin focused on the back catcher and copied EVERY move he made! This has now turned into a weekly routine and he loves to stop and watch the baseball games.

But Gavin's favourite thing to copy is other kids. Especially Gabby! We went to the zoo a few weeks ago and I swear there was an echo every where we went! It is pretty hilarious at first, which quickly turns into annoying!

These two just love to do whatever the other one is doing...especially if it is rolling down a hill! :)

CHAMPS in Ottawa!

Last weekend we went to Ottawa for Gavin's 3rd CHAMP seminar. It was a highly anticipated trip because Gavin knew for several weeks that we were taking the train! It was our first time on the VIA train and it was a success! I wish we could take the train everywhere, instead of driving. It is so much easier with the little ones, not having to keep them confined to their car seats for several hours. Janelle and Gabby were with us and it was lots of fun!


The train ride was 4 hours and the kids were amazing. It helped that Janelle had lots of tricks up her sleeve to keep them entertained. And little Eden slept most of the way and didn't make a peep.



At one point they even put a blanket over the table and then looked at books in their fort!


It was a great weekend. My favourite part is always seeing all the kids playing together. I love how everyone is instant friends, whether they haven't seen each other for a year or it is their first time meeting. We always meet some awesome parents too!

This year Janelle and I were asked to do a little interview together for the "Matching Mothers" program. They asked us some questions about how we met, how we feel about coming to the seminars and how far we have come since finding out about our babies' limb differences. Miss Eden even got to make a cameo in the interview! She kept crying when I tried to leave her in her stroller and then we would have to start the interview over so finally, they just said I could hold her. After the interview they wanted some shots of the kids playing together. There were multiple hugs, which eventually ended in tears, since Gavin's hugs tend to involve tackling Gabby to the ground. We are working on that...

I think the most fun was when the amputees took over the hotel's swimming pool! Ha! I love to see the looks on other people's faces when kids start jumping in the pool with their swim legs on and swimming around like nobody's business! :)

We have been working on getting Gavin to wear his "mighty machine arm" more frequently so it helped for him to see other kids with their prosthetics on. (Although I still don't think he really cared). But he is doing well with it when we can get him to leave it on. (Tough love!)

I didn't get many pictures because my camera was acting up. But I love how proud he is in this one! He was showing me how he can hold the bus with his mighty machine arm. I am so proud of our little CHAMP and I can't believe how big he is getting!!

It was great for him and Gabby to spend the whole weekend together. They were inseperable and so cute together! Janelle got them these Sammy's Friend's T-shirts and wrote on them with fabric markers. Gavin's says "Gabby's arm buddy" on the back and Gabby's says "Gavin's arm buddy". Then she wrote on the left sleeve "God made me this way". I love them! Sorry this is the only picture I have but trust me, they are super cute!


If you are interested in your own Sammy's Friends shirt, you can purchase one here!

The "G" Team

A few weeks ago, Gabby stopped by with her mom to meet baby Eden. (Bearing gifts, a big bin of girly clothes and a delicious homemade pizza!!)

It was a short visit but our little twosome made good use of their time together, playing with Play-Dough and being silly! I'm looking forward to more frequent play dates now that I'm off work again!

I just love these two little monkeys!

Sammy's Friends Calendar

I have exciting news! The new Sammy's Friends Calendar for 2011 is now for sale!

For those of you who aren't familiar with Sammy's Friends, it is an online support group for those affected by congenital limb differences. I was referred to it when I was pregnant, and it helped me so incredibly much when I was going through some pretty tough emotions.

The sales from this calendar will help us raise funds to file for non-profit status.

And the best part? All the ADORABLE children featured in the calendar! I am a bit partial to the two cuties featured in the month of July! (Thanks to Annya for allowing us to use the beautiful photos she took).

CLICK HERE to get your own Sammy's Friends Calendar and support an awesome cause!

The G Team

Annya did a recent photo shoot of Gavin & Gabby for next year's Sammy's Friends Calendar. As usual, she did an incredible job.

These pictures make me so happy I could cry.

Discrimination

I have vented before about the child modeling agency that Gavin is involved with. You wouldn't even know he was affiliated with them if it weren't for his profile on their website.

When I asked why he wasn't getting booked, first she said that clients get scared when they learn that he has one hand. When I called her out on that she started backpedaling and then blamed it on the fact that he wasn't in the right clothing size. Clients mostly book size 18 months. So we figured we would see what happened now that he is in that size. Well now he is almost grown out of that size and still hasn't had anything.

A few weeks ago I sent her this message:

"Here are some updated pictures of Gavin. He is 22 months now, still wearing mostly size 18 months. I will weigh him and take his height tomorrow.

I still think its crazy that he is not getting booked. Everywhere we go people stop us to tell us how cute he is. He has a lot of personality too.

He loves to say cheese and sing and talk. He also knows a lot of sign language. He is very active, with good balance and can do anything that kids with 2 hands can do.

I know that there are people out there who would be proud to show that beautiful children come in all different shapes and sizes. And unfortunately, anyone who doesn't want to give him a chance is missing out."

She updated his profile but didn't even have the decency to respond to me. I find that extremely rude!

I guess we should just remove him from the agency because she is clearly not advocating for him at all. We could really care less if he models or not. The only thing that upsets me is that I KNOW he is being discriminated against. I know if he had 2 hands he would be getting booked.

And his adorable friend Gabby (who is also an LBE) has not had any bookings in the 2 years she has been with them either. So obviously something is wrong.

Just look at how adorable they are and please explain to me why no one would want to give them a chance?

It makes me so incredibly sad and frustrated. All we want to do is spread awareness that children with limb differences are capable of doing EVERYTHING that other children can do.

Right now they are too young to understand how unfair this world can be. I dread the moment that they are faced with the harsh realization of how ignorant some people are.

Just the two of us

Gabby stopped by for a visit today with her mom, Janelle and new baby sister, Olivia. It had been way too long since we last saw each other. We will be sure not to let that happen again!

These pictures were just too cute not to share! (Although it is virtually impossible to get a picture where one is not making a goofy face or looking away from the camera!)

I love these two more than words can express!!












They are such an awesome little duo! We are very blessed to have them in our lives :)

Gav & Gab

Gavin had the pleasure of getting together with his girlfriend Gabrielle today! (Don't mind his expression, or worry that he is being strangled. It is just a very tight hug or maybe she is paying him back for the time he got her in a choke hold...) Anyways, now that the craziness of the holidays is over we will hopefully be able to get together on a regular basis again. We always look forward to our play dates together!

So how did this awesomely adorable duo meet, you may be wondering? I think it was fate! OK well here is the story but I think it really would have just been a matter of time before we crossed paths!

I think it was just over a year ago. After hearing so many people gush about how he was the cutest baby they had ever seen (it didn't really take much to convince me but I am a little bias of course!) I decided to see what his options were. I came across one that seemed legit and filled out an application online. I was supposed to include 3 pictures. Of course I was wondering if his limb difference would have any affect on his chances. So I decided to only include pictures of his face. That way, if he didn't get accepted, I would know that it wasn't because of his arm.

Weeks went by and I totally forgot about the application. Then one day I got an email that they wanted to represent Gavin! I was very excited and proud! So I called them back and we discussed some of the details. I wasn't really sure how to approach it but near the end of the conversation I just blurted out that Gavin is missing part of his left arm and I hope that won't be a problem. To my surprise, she told me that actually, they already have a client who is missing her left hand. A little girl named Gabrielle!

WOW! I was amazed by this. Maybe the modeling world wasn't so superficial after all! (I will have to write more about this later since unfortunately I don't believe this to be true at all). Anyways, she asked me if I would be interested in speaking to Gabrielle's mom and I said "Sure!" and agreed for her to pass on our phone number.

Not long later, the phone rang and it was Gabrielle's mom! She introduced herself as Janelle, and we immediately started chatting away like we had known each other for years. We had so much in common and also lived ridiculously close to each other! I think we probably could have talked for a week straight without running out of things to say.

We arranged to meet up for their first little play date. I was a bit nervous of whether we would get along in person. I remember hoping that she wouldn't be weird in person!! Hahaha!!! Thankfully I thought we had a great connection and it was awesome meeting them both. I was so amazed by Gabby. She is 7 months older than Gavin so she is always a few steps ahead. Which has been great for me to see how she does certain things and kind of know what to expect when Gavin gets to that stage. For example, the first time I saw Gabby clapping away on her left arm. It makes sense that she would clap like that but it was the first time I saw it. I had thought Gavin wouldn't be able to clap since he doesn't have 2 hands but I was so wrong! And now that I have met several little arm amputees, I see that its just a natural thing. They all clap pretty much the same way.

I was also so impressed with the way Gabby would walk around sticking toys under her armpit. She could carry a million things at once! That's another common thing for arm amputees but when you have never been around anyone with a limb difference, you don't know these things. It can be overwhelming having a young baby missing a limb or a hand and wondering how they are going to do all these simple, every day tasks.

CHAMP has a Matching Mothers program (which is more about Matching FAMILIES). Janelle & I just happened to match ourselves, but it is an awesome resource for parents. It is an indescribable feeling to have someone that completely understands. No matter how much support you have from friends & family, its not the same as having a friend who knows EXACTLY what its like. (also it doesn't hurt that you can get meals and travel expenses reimbursed from War Amps for visits with your matched family).

And most importantly, it is SO wonderful for the kids. Gavin & Gabrielle are already such great friends. They've already had countless play dates and both attended each others birthday parties. We also got to spend the weekend together at a hotel in London, ON for an annual CHAMP seminar back in October.

Janelle & Josh are awesome parents who have raised a super awesome little girl! We feel very blessed to have them in our lives. And I should give them a big CONGRATULATIONS because they are expecting another little one in March! It might be a little strange because their new baby is said to have all of his or her parts but I'm sure they will adjust just fine! :P

Gavin doesn't talk much yet but when I asked him today if he wanted to go see Gabby, he gave me a big, enthusiastic, "Yaaa!"

They have a very special bond and I hope it continues into a lifelong friendship! (Sorry guys, but you're not getting rid of us that easy!) ;)