The Fraser Family: 2011

Saturday, December 31, 2011

December 2011

December was an amazing month. Brynn and Mia actually understood a little bit about Christmas and what it entailed. We started to educate them about Christmas being about Jesus's Birthday, but I think it is still a little confusing to them! Our family had an elf visit this year and his name is Pico. The kids adored him! Brynn still asks about him lol I keep telling him that Pico will be back next year! The kids enjoyed talking about Santa Clause this year and enjoyed all the gift his brought, but when push came to shove.. they cried every time they saw him! Hopefully they will be ready for him next year! Simon had 3 weeks off for Christmas break, and it was WONDERFUL! The twins and I really enjoyed having him home, being able to see him, hug him, and just be with him all day, everyday! It was some much needed family time. It makes me laugh though, because when Simon was here helping me out with the kids, I thought to myself, "How the heck do I do this all alone?" But I guess when no one else is here to help get the kids ready and fed, you don't think about it, you just do it!

Christmas was actually very relaxing this year. My mom and Garth were on vacation over Christmas, so we celebrated with them on Saturday December 17th. We went to a Santa Brunch and then hung out at our house. It was awesome! Then on Christmas Eve we celebrated with Simon's parents. It was a small group, us, Marion and Hamish, Omi and Opa Jim. We went to church and then had an amazing Fondu dinner! Yummy Yummy! It was a very relaxing evening! Then on Christmas day, Simon and I woke up with the kids and enjoyed unwrapping all the gifts Santa left! Mia go a ton of doll and dress up stuff! And Brynn got a lot of car and train stuff! After we played with the new toys for awhile, my sisters, Jason, my dad and Elaine came over for deep fried appetizers and a very yummy lasagna dinner! After eating we hung out and watched Hang Over 2! It was an awesome day! Then on New Years Eve, we started the evening off at Simon's parents house and then retreated to our house when the kids were ready for bed! That too was a fun night!

The MOST exciting news of December 2011 was Brynn got his body cast off on December 29th! Hopefully this was the last surgery that this sweet little boy will ever need! 2011 we a year filled with love and excitement and all we can do is pray that 2012 will follow in it's footsteps! Here is to a new year filled with fun, love, joy and health! 2012 we are ready for you! The question is.. are you ready for us?!

Mia waking up from a long nap!

Brynn waking up from his long nap!

Putting bumbo chair to good use again!

Stinkin body cast!

Our little monkey, sleeping with his arms

hanging out of his cage!

Tucked into the corner, just the way she

likes it!

Can you tell I wanted the picture a little more

then Mia?!

Mia looks okay with Santa, but when he walked

away, she bursted into tears!

Brynn wouldn't even make eye contact!

Happy Chelsea, Happy Brynn= Happy Everyone!

Mia and her best friend Charley

in their matching Princess JamJams

Christmas morning! Santa spent 4 hours putting

everything together! 9:30pm-1:30am! I'm sure he

had something besides milk to drink!

Mia digging into her stocking!

Brynn digging into his stocking!

Jump Jump Jump! Trying out the new

indoor trampoline

Unwrapping!

Trampoline again.. one of the favorite toys!

Mia wearing her jewelry with Chelsea,

Odie and Brynn

Yes, Simon was there too!

"Simon ate what??"

My dad, aka Grumps, being silly with Elaine!

Our little group on Christmas!

New Year Eve's Princess Mia

Riding in on her horse! Would you expect

anything else?!

Prince Charming on his Motorcycle!

Picture taken..

Now we can play!

Monday, November 28, 2011

November 2011

November was Mia's month! Mia became potty trained! One of my friends, Amy, told me when I was pregnant to not force our kids to go on the potty, to let them do it on their own. It was the BEST advice.. thank you Amy! I would let Mia go on the potty if she wanted to but never forced her. While at school Mia would go on the potty sometimes but not always. In the middle of the month her teacher, Miss Jessie, told me she was doing very well going on the potty, so I decided to ask Mia if she wanted "big girl" panties. She replied, "Yes," and we were on our way to Target. With Princess panties in hand we headed home to try them out. Ever since then Mia has been potty trained! She wears a diaper during nap-time and bed-time, but other then that she has zero accidents. Everyone always told me having your kids potty-trained makes life much easier; however, I find myself in EVERY public restroom, which makes me a little queasy. All I say to Mia is, "Don't touch ANYTHING!" I can't believe my little girl is growing up so fast! She is so fun to be around. She sings all types of songs and says the craziest things! She will say "Does that sound like a plan?" It puts a smile on my face every time. Her favorite places to go are Target, Home Depot, Giant Eagle, and restaurants. She picks out her clothes (I give her a few options), makes sure her pretty (hair bow) matches and will dress herself. She is such a joy to be around. She makes sure to tell you she loves you every chance she gets and she also makes sure Brynn has what he needs and is doing fine. She had such a gentle heart and soul. I am so thankful she is MINE!

At the end of the month, Brynn go his cast changed! The new cast covered his torso and stopped right above his knees. Being the determined little man he is, he learned how to pull himself around. Brynn continues to amaze us as well. He will sing songs, use full sentences at times, and is just a hoot! He makes us laugh all the time. We still continue to work on his feeding. He actually ate one whole feeding by mouth! He has aversion to textures but we are trying to puree whatever we are eating. We hope that when his cast comes off and he is sitting at the table with us, it will be easier to get him to eat by mouth! But other then that Brynn is such a trooper in his cast! Still a happy little boy. He is so determined and loving, I am so thankful he is MINE too!

This year we were able to host our 1st Thanksgiving in our new home. We had Simon's whole family here (along with Ingrid!) and my family as well. Anytime you get both of our families together it is always a lot of fun!

Lastly, November was a crazy month for Simon and myself. With Brynn in his cast, he only stays at school for an hour; therefore, I drop them off at 8:45, pick Brynn up at 10:00 then go back and pick Mia up at 11:00. Its crazy but totally worth it. Simon is busy with school, doing very well in his classes. He had some exams therefore was only able to see the kids for a day during exam week, which was hard, but other then that we are finding a good routine with school, and family life.

Our Potty Queen!

Such a Big Girl!

Finger Puppets!

How does he have a smile on his face?! What

a happy little guy!

Cooking her babies lunch! Such a good little

mommy!

Best Buds!

Shhh.. Everyone Sleep!

Even Monty!

Cuddle time, with fingers in mouth!

Brynn in his infamous chair! I have no idea

how we would have made it though 12 weeks in

a body cast without this chair!

Playing with her dolls!

October 2011

October was Brynn's month! Brynn began crawling all over the place and even taught himself to go up the stairs. The first time he did this I was so excited! I could not believe that my little peanut that was told he might be wheelchair bound was actually climbing the stairs. However, I then started to panic, knowing I was going to have to watch him like a hawk so he wouldn't fall down the stairs! Brynn also began to walk while pushing a toy shopping cart. I would hold the cart steady as Brynn put all his weight onto the handle. Knowing he wanted to be independent, I decided to put a gallon of paint in the cart to hold it steady. WaLa! Brynn had become a walking machine! He also started talking. It was the first time that I could give him 2 choices and he would tell me what he wanted. We could also have a conversation with him! We just cannot believe the progress he has made. It is as if a switch clicked and he developed into a toddler boy over night. However, all the walking and crawling had to come to an immediate stop because Brynn had his 2nd hip surgery on October 5th.

After already being though one hip surgery, we thought we knew what to expect and were not worried about the procedure, just dreading the body cast. That Wednesday I took Brynn into the hospital expecting to have the surgery done, stay the night and then go home the following morning just like we did last time. I even told Simon to stay at school and not to worry about coming home for it. The surgery went well, and I met Brynn in his hospital room. Later that day Brynn started to chock and stopped breathing and turned purple. I called for help and the nurses helped suction him and that allowed him to breath normal again. He wasn't tolerating his feeds and I kept telling them the body cast was too tight. He then stopped breathing and turned purple again. The nurses called for back up and during the 3rd time Brynn turned purple, I told Simon to get home. As it turns out, Mother know best and the cast WAS TOO TIGHT! They cut the opening out around his stomach, which allowed Brynn to take deep breaths and also to tolerate his normal feeds. Because they cut away so much of the cast, they had to put a metal bar between his legs. The left it very difficult to hold and position him, but we made it work!

Mia went to school telling her and Brynn's teachers that Brynn has a boo boo and is wearing a cast. She always makes sure that Brynn is okay and has been wonderful to him. She brings him toys, and hugs and kisses him. She loves him so much! But she doesn't like the cast.. she keeps telling me that she wants me to take Brynn to the doctors so they can take off the cast so Brynn can play with her. Now can you get any sweeter then that?!

We did manage to go trick-or-treating. Simon surprised us and came home. He said he couldn't miss trick-or-treating with the twins. He is such a great daddy! Mia was Belle and Brynn was Woody! We pushed Brynn in the stroller and walked to probably 30 houses. The kids got a ton of candy and of course they (Mia) had to come home and eat a few pieces before bed. For the next week Mia kept saying "Lets go get our Princess dress on so we can go trick-or-treating!" It took awhile for her to understand that we can't go trick-or-treating everyday! But boy oh boy, that would be fun if we could go everyday!