Trick or Treat!

We had fun trick or treating this year! We sang Christmas songs in the car on the way to trick or treat. During the first few stops we made, Quade got scared of Santa when we went inside someone's house. He was okay in the car with "Santa", but for some reason when we would go inside he was a little scared and would say, "Stay back, Santa!"

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Great Grandma Helen is 92 years old!

First Day of School

Quincy is in 4th grade and Quade is in Kindergarten!!

St. Louis Cardinals

All fans 12 and under received a Build-a-Bear dog. Quade really liked his!

Quade's Appointment

Quade went for his Kindergarten eye exam and was referred to Children's Hospital. After seeing three opthamologists, his vision is fine....no problems!!

Jr. Sluggers Tournament

Brody spent the day at our house!!

Vacation

At the Beach

5th of July

We were supposed to spend 4th of July at Quincy's baseball tournament but it rained the entire day. Quincy and Quade got to spend time with their cousins Jim, Jenny and Veronica who were home for a visit. We also went to see fireworks and had a great time!

STL Cardinals

Monty and Quincy went to the Cardinals game Saturday. They sat behind the visitors dugout. Quincy got some autographs before the game.

Quade and Kurt

Stewardson Parade

Quade went to the parade in Stewardson to see his cousin Brody in his first parade.

Batter Up!

Church Camp

Quincy is spending a week at church camp.

Concrete!!

Quade and Maggie

Tee Ball

Quade had his first tee ball game. He hit the ball and instead of running to first, he ran and picked up the ball he had hit and gave it to the other team. He loves to help!!

BAT BOY

Quincy's journey as the North Clay Bat Boy has come to an end. The Cardinals are the 2009 Regional Champions. Their picture will be hung in the school with the only other team in North Clay's history to claim this title which was in 1994 with Coach Aldrich.

Pitch Hit and Run Competition

Quincy competed in the MLB Aquafina Pitch Hit and Run Competition and won overall in his age group. He advanced to sectionals in Mattoon where he placed 3rd in his age group. Way to go Quincy!!

Kindergarten!!

Quade had a good first day of kindergarten. He told us he had a hamburger for lunch and sat by Braxton. He also told us he has a girlfriend and her name is "Dan ell" which we decided must be Danielle. He had fun and is ready to go tomorrow.

Bat Boy in Action!

Baseball season started for the North Clay Cardinals on Saturday, March 21. Once again Quincy is the bat boy for the team.

SPINAL TAP

Quade had his spinal tap and genetic testing done Friday the 13th. Everything went as planned. They wrapped him in a blanket like a burrito to put in his IV. He barely flinched when they put it in. Quade is very tough. This is a picture of Quade waking up after being sedated for the spinal tap. We are hoping to find out results next week.

Happy 18th Birthday Kaylee!!

KINDERGARTEN!?!

We had a meeting for Quade today at school and they have decided to start him in Kindergarten March 30. He will be riding the bus to school and will spend the morning in Mrs. Parks class. He will eat lunch in the cafeteria (very scary thought) and then be transported back to pre-school for the afternoon. They think this will help get him ready for Kindergarten in August.

Hippopotamus

Quade has been talking and singing so much more the last couple of weeks. He was drawing a picture and said, "You mom, hippopotamus". I think that was his way of saying I need to start dieting!

Happy Valentine's Day!

We all enjoyed a Valentine cookie!

Quade's Birthday!

Quade turned 5 on February 3. He loved EVERY gift he received. He was really excited about his presents. Here are some pics from the party.

Quade's Appointment

Quade went to see his neurologist at St. Louis. Dr. Brunstrom has been in Atlanta doing research on a new discovery that might link to some of Quade's issues. The cause of his original brain
injury is still unknown, but she thought of Quade and another child when considering this new research. At a scheduled time in March, she will be having Quade at Children's for a spinal tap to draw cerebral fluid to have it tested. She is going to test for a cerebral folate deficiency. With this research, they have discovered a medicine that can help control seizures, but more importantly, can bring back some of the motor skills, speech, and other issues that Quade has. First, he has to test positive for this to be considered, and even if he is not, she may put him on these meds to see if it helps some things. If he tests positive, it is possible that these meds could do amazing things to improve his condition. It doesn't guarantee success, but it could. That's more than we had. They are also going to do testing for the MTHFR mutations as well since there were potential problems before birth. The best definition that I found regarding this follows: Hyperhomocysteinemia is a widely recognized risk factor for coronary artery disease, venous thrombosis, and stroke. It is also involved in the pathogenesis of neural tube defects, stillbirths, and recurrent pregnancy loss. The leading cause of hyperhomocysteinemia is folate deficiency. Other determinants include insufficient B12 intake, impaired renal function, and genetic variations including those in the MTHFR gene. Folate supplementation can correct for
most causes of hyperhomocysteinemia.

With the spinal tap, we have to keep him down for 12 hrs. or he could develop a severe headache. Dr. B enjoyed working w/ Quade again as he refused to even talk for her regardless of the flavor of the suckers. She referred to him again as a miracle.

They had concerns about his orthotics and his abilities and is recommending more right ankle
ultraflex daily (his big brace).

Quade also made his annual delivery of crocheted baby hats to the NICU. Every year Grandma Sandy crochets hats for Quade to deliver to the babies.

Pluto's Eulogy

Like most pets that we have had, Pluto died. The boys and I had a funeral for him. Quade said the prayer which consisted of "Dear Dod (God), Amen." Then Quincy flushed him down the toilet. No tears were shed.

New Addition to the Family

Quincy decided to use his allowance to buy a fish. This is Pluto the family pet.

Quincy and Brody

Quincy went to visit Brody. As soon as Brody got on Quincy's lap, he dropped a bomb and Quincy cracked up!!! He didn't know that babies did that!

Scrambled Eggs!!

While everyone was still in bed, Quade was in the kitchen attempting to cook breakfast. He got the carton of eggs out of the fridge and cracked every one of them. MOST of them made it to the skillet, shells and all.

Quincy went snow skiing for the first time. He was a quick learner. He even made it off of the bunny slope to the family slope. The hardest part for him was getting on and off the ski lift!