Big boy bike

I can't believe my baby is turning FOUR tomorrow. But he definitely is! Tomorrow is July 16. A very important day in our family! Gavin has had an amazing weekend. It might even be the best weekend of his life. Anyway, its up there with the top! He is having his first weekend away, camping with Gramma and Grampa in their trailer and loving it! And he also got a new big boy bike and helmet that he is pretty excited about!

We can't wait for him to come home tomorrow morning on his birthday! We both have the day off to celebrate with our birthday boy!

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone has thoroughly enjoyed their holidays! We have been busy around here. Christmas came so fast this year. I don't think December has ever flown by so fast for me in all my life! But before I knew it, it was here. It came so fast that it didn't really feel like Christmas. But once we were up north with my parents, that started to change. There is nothing like going home for Christmas. And I love all the beautiful snow. There is nowhere else I would rather be this time of year.

On Christmas Eve, Gavin left out chocolate milk and cookies for Santa and some celery for the reindeer (we were out of carrots). He was so excited in the morning to come downstairs and see that Santa came!

Each time he opened something he liked, that was it. He was good. He didn't want to open anything else. There were some animal markers in his stocking and he was satisfied with that. Soon he got into opening presents...until he opened the fire truck from Uncle Brian. It was over!

He was sooo happy! This fire truck has a fire fighter, ladder, a hose, sirens and even a radio! Gavin was in heaven. He played with his fire truck all morning and had no interest in opening any other presents.

I think this picture does a good job of capturing his overwhelming joy!


I also love this picture (taken with my new camera! YAY!)


We got all bundled up and Grampa took Gavin for a ride in his new sled and it was so priceless to hear how he laughed and giggled in delight! He loved it!

Our New Years was quiet. I have been fighting a cold and didn't feel like going anywhere and John had to work. So Gavin and I cuddled and watched TV in bed until we passed out around 10:30pm.

Now there are less than 3 months until the arrival of our new little bundle of joy! We are eagerly anticipating his or her arrival! (We chose not to find out the gender this time around).

2011 has some wonderful surprises in store and we are so excited!

H is for Halloween

"H" week was timed perfectly, because it just happened to fall on the week of HALLOWEEN!!

We got a few Halloween books from the library but the only one Gavin cared about was called "Jack-o-Lanterns". When it came time to carve the pumpkins we asked Gavin to choose his two favourite Jack-O-Lanterns from the book and then Grampa worked his pumpkin-carving magic.


The book had happy, sad, scary and funny faces and Gavin chose two of the funny ones. They turned out really cute!

We also went to "Boo at the Zoo" with Gramma, Grampa and Auntie. Gavin had so much fun seeing all the animals. The monkeys are definitely his favourite! We also saw a HYENA. Unfortunately the HIPPOS weren't out on display. But it was a very HAPPY day! :)


One of Gavin's current favourite books is "HUG" by Jez Alborough. Gavin loved the way Grampa read it and he couldn't get enough. He asked Grampa to read it to him over and over and over...


H is also for HENNA! On the day we went to the library they just happened to be having a celebration and one of the activities was Henna art. I have always thought Henna was really beautiful so I decided to get my HAND done.


It is supposed to last for about 2 weeks but with the amount of times I wash my hands in a day, it barely lasted a week!

G is for Gavin!

G is a pretty good letter. It stands for GAVIN! Also known as the GAVSTER or the GAVINATOR!

G is also for GARBAGE trucks, one of Gavin's favourite vehicles. I opted out of trying to arrange a tour of one of those, although I'm sure Gavin would have loved it! The smell is strong enough under regular circumstances and I can't imagine getting close to one with my pregnant sense of super smell! So instead, we stuck to reading, "I Am A Garbage Truck".

One of Gavin's other favourite books is the classic "GOODNIGHT MOON". He has a little board book that he has carried around so much that I had to tape the spine together. (That seems to be becoming a bit of a trend for his well-loved books. What can I say? He is a little rough.) He also has a bigger, paperback copy and he refers to them as "baby Goodnight Moon" and "big Goodnight Moon". He usually requests a specific one and if you can't find it, he does NOT accept the other one as a substitute.

G is also for GRANDPARENTS which Gavin is very blessed with. He has his beloved Lola & Lolo, and Gramma Joyce, and he was very lucky that Gramma & Grampa came down to visit for the weekend! And he even got a special package in the mail from G.G. (Great Gramma!) He is a very lucky boy!

Happy Grandparents Day!

Gavin made this card at daycare today for his grandparents.



I was so happy that they stamped his little arm too instead of just stamping his right hand twice to make two hand prints. I love it and I know they will love it too!

A Child's Smile

I love this picture! It was taken a few weeks ago when Gavin's Grampa surprised him by bringing home a real police car from work! I think it was the happiest day of his life! He got to hear the sirens, see the lights and even sit in the driver's seat!



Whenever I'm having a bad day, all I have to do is look at this beautiful face and everything else just fades away.

We Are Family

This picture was taken last October at our first CHAMP seminar in London, ON. Gavin was 15 months old. Don't mind the lovely 70s decor!



Another really great section in "Parenting the Amputee Child" (based on the work of the War Amps CHAMP Program) talks about how the whole family is affected by the experience of having a child with an amputation.

(Again, I am summarizing in my own words and I do not take credit for any of the following information. )

THE ROLE OF THE FAMILY

The family has a very important role in supporting their child, advocating for them and connecting them with appropriate resources.

What is most important is providing this support in an encouraging and realistic way that isn't overprotective and doesn't underestimate the child's abilities. Connecting with other families who have already been through the same experience can make a world of difference.

It is also very important for parents to explain their child's amputation in a straightforward and encouraging way, which will set a positive tone for others to follow. Family and friends may mean well in some of the things they say and do but its important for parents to be clear about the attitude they want modeled for their child. We were always very clear that there was no need for sympathy or special treatment. Our biggest goal was to empower Gavin to recognize his strengths and have healthy self-esteem.

As everyone gets to know the child they will soon come to realize that they just need to treat him or her like any other children in the family.

Grandparents

Grandparents play an important role in helping the whole family adjust. Especially because children look to their parents for support, no matter how old they are.

Grandparents often experience emotions similar to the parents and may go through some of the same stages of adjustment. Some may even have a harder time coping than the child's parents. Grandparents dealing with their own reactions should face their emotions as quickly as possible because their children will need a lot of their support.

Keeping grandparents informed about the realities of amputation and artificial limbs can help them feel more at ease, with a better idea of what to expect.

Siblings

Siblings will need some special attention to help them understand and be accepting of their brother or sister's limb difference. Just as parents go through so many different emotions, so does a sibling.

Children have such active imaginations and may have fears and concerns that they don't know how to express. They may feel sad, scared or worried. In the case of an accident, they may feel guilty that it was somehow their fault. They may fear that the same thing will happen to them or another family member. They can feel lonely and left out and resentful of all the time the parents spend with their sibling. They may withdraw and not talk about their fears because they don't want to worry their parents.

Its important to openly talk about the cause of the child's amputation. If due to an accident, the sibling may need reassurance about his or her own safety. If due to an illness or disease, it should be talked about in age-appropriate terms.

Siblings may also seem to be coping well at home but be struggling outside the home. It can be helpful to have others that interact with your child to be aware of what the family is adjusting to.

How you talk about amputation with children depends on their age. Its usually around age 2 or 3 that children even notice that their sibling has a limb difference. At that time it should be explained in very simple terms.

Here are some tips for addressing concerns that siblings may have:
- Encourage them to share all their concerns and ask questions. Be open to talking about it.
- Provide lots of reassurance to help them feel more secure regarding their worries
- Help them become comfortable with answering questions that others may ask them about why their sibling's limb is different
- Make time for special one-on-one time with each sibling
- Be sure to include the child with a limb difference in household chores. This sends 2 positive messages: increasing the child amputee's confidence by showing that he or she is capable and sending the message to siblings that there is no favoritism.

Happy Anniversary!

Today is a special day. Gavin's Gramma & Grampa are celebrating their 24th wedding anniversary! Next year definitely calls for a huge celebration! Congratulations! We love you!!