New Nunley

Davis skipped school yesterday since he has a cold, so I took him to the pet store to get a fish. He picked this one...

...and named her Dory (from Finding Nemo). Hopefully Dory stays alive for at least a couple days!

Make A Wish

A girlfriend of mine, who coincidentally had a 2 lb 9 oz boy at 30 weeks, gave me a very special gift a couple weeks ago...

It's called HEAL AND BELIEVE

The card attached says...

MAKE A WISH

for peaceful healing

and put on this necklace.

Believe in your natural abilities to heal.

When your necklace wears off, your wish should

be true.

Trust, Hope, and Be...

I don't believe in magic (but maybe a little superstition). I know that my wish for Davis won't miraculously come true once this charm leaves my arm. It is, however, a constant reminder of our ultimate goal for him (can't tell you 'cause then it won't come true, right?!?!) and the importance of providing support to those undergoing similar situations as yourself.

It was such a sweet gesture and I wear it proud!

"Boo!" "No Boo, Momma!"

I can't believe Halloween is almost here! This year has completely flown by! Davis is totally freaked out by masks, people in costumes, spooky sounds, etc. So it's hard to get super excited about the whole thing. I took him into a Halloween store before school yesterday and you would've thought we were in a morgue. He tensed up and got panicky whenever we walked past skulls or creepy masks. And I guess there was a motion sensor on something because when I rounded the corner this ghost started flashing its red eyes and making this Tales From the Crypt style laugh. Davis screamed, started shaking, and almost leapt out of my arms. Sensory overload, much?!?! I wanted to let him pick out his own costume, but he went for the $40 Thomas the Train one. It was this 3-dimensional foam thing and, when I pictured Justin trying to carry him from house to house in it, I kept on walking. We left the store without a costume.

Davis and I carved our pumpkin the other night...

He's already on an adult's reading level...

Sorry!

Thanks Pa for taking such good care of Davis over the weekend! :)

No Kids Allowed Weekend

Justin and I had a very eventful, fun-filled weekend. Friday night, we went to the Kings of Leon concert with some friends. They were so awesome live and, since we had floor seats, we were like 20 people from the stage.

Then, on Saturday we headed to Tallahassee for the FSU vs. Ga Tech game with Mom, Jay, Brother, Elle, and some of Ev's friends. We tailgated at Ryan's (Jay's son) friends' house...well...in the street in front of their house. It was tons of fun...beer pong, flip cup, trying to learn the moonwalk, making fun of Justin's hideous sunglasses, hanging out at Mellow during the flash flood...

Busted

I just caught Davis, red-handed.

He stole a pack of gum out of my purse and snuck it into his room. I walked in to find 6 empty wrappers balled up on the floor next to him. I asked, "Where did the gum go?" He replies with, "In my mouth." "Did you swallow them?" I ask. "Uh-huh." OMG.

The Fair and Stuff

Justin, Davis, and I went to the North Georgia Fair in Marietta on Friday night with Davis' friend from Wildwood, Max, and his parents, Lindsay and Bob. Davis and Max were such big, brave boys and rode all the rides that their 36" would allow!

Saturday morning, we headed to Canton for Davis' T-ball and an anniversary party at his therapy clinic.

Driving the firetruck!

What's In A Name?

The name Davis (the son of David) means 'The Beloved One'. And his middle name, Gregory means 'watchful, vigilant'.

Most of you know that 'Davis' was on the top of my list of possible names while I was pregnant. Since we had him so early, and his name was still undecided, everyone that visited us in the hospital got to vote on what the baby's name would be.


On the list:

-Walker, meaning 'Cloth washer'...wow...

-Jackson (son of Jack), meaning 'the Lord is gracious'

-Luke (there was no way I was gonna let this one slide, but my mom and Justin LOVED it), meaning 'Bringer of light'

-Greyson, meaning 'gray-haired man (what?), pleasant'

Swash Has Arrived!

Davis got his Swash, finally! He seems to be adjusting to it just fine!

The back of it.

Bye Bye to Wildwood

Justin and I had to make a tough decision this week. We decided to pull him from his preschool at Wildwood. A couple teachers and students came down with the Swine Flu, but the school didn't feel it was necessary to notify all of the parents. I only found out during a conversation another mother had with Davis' teacher. When I questioned her and the coordinator of the preschool (also informing them of the danger of someone like my son catching this illness), I was redirected to the Parent Handbook and given lame excuses. The Parent Handbook, by the way, says that parents will be notified of any contagious illness that they know about so that we can be watchful of our own child's symptoms. This occurred two weeks ago and nothing has been sent home about these instances. I know that Davis can get the Swine Flu anywhere, but I can't allow him to be placed in an environment that operates that way. I mean, FOLLOW THE DAMN PARENT HANDBOOK FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! And if a parent, who PAYS YOU PEOPLE, has a request as simple as typing a few sentences on a flyer YOU SHOULD APPEASE HER AND DO IT!

...ANNNNND...Scene...

Where's Your Friend, Davis?

Today was Teddy Bear Picnic Day at Davis' Preschool. Parents, the kids, and their favorite stuffed animal all ate lunch together on the playground. I, being the girl that only halfway follows directions didn't realize that I was suppposed to send Curious George to school with Davis all day. So...Davis was awarded Best Imaginary Friend! How pathetic is that?!? I'm so sorry, Davis! Will he hold that against me when he's, like, 10?

...The sun'll come out...Tomorrow...

Cherokee County Schools are out this week for Fall Break and Wildwood was cancelled yesterday because of the aftermath of the tsunami of 2009...

Needless to say, we've been going nuts being cooped up in this house all week.


On Monday, we drove around and did a little sightseeing...

Just outside of a neighborhood.

A house inside that neighborhood.

Someone's yard off Woodstock Road.

Woodstock Road. No one could cross this. Not even Justin's tank.

This is the road that leads to Justin's mom's house. She abandoned her car and WALKED across this thing! Superwoman.
Hunt Road. We watch a woman in her little Geo inch her way across this thing. The water came to her door! We seriously thought we were about to have to go into rescue mode! But she made it.

Hell1No1

In doing some research about the Swine Flu, I've come across some frightening news...

Almost two-thirds of the children who died with swine flu had epilepsy, cerebral palsy or other neurodevelopmental conditions.

www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32674615/ns/health-swine_flu/

...And those with underlying health problems, such as cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy and neurodevelopmental disorders, are at the highest risk and should be among the first to be vaccinated against the new virus, according to the report in the Centers for Disease Control...

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-sci-swine-flu4-2009sep04,0,2093906.story

One high-risk condition particularly hits children hard: All six Arizona children, ages 18 and younger, who have died of swine flu had cerebral palsy, which refers to disorders that permanently affect body movement and muscle coordination.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/09/10/20090910flu0910.html

Georgia is one of two states - along with Alaska - reporting widespread flu activity. And a new CDC report indicates children are being particularly hard-hit by the H1N1 bug...While nearly 70% of those children had at least one "high-risk" medical condition -- that increased their risk of complications. The most common conditions were developmental delay, epilepsy and cerebral palsy.

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/news/CDC_Children_Hard_Hit_by_Swine_Flu_090309

Ummm...Holy Scared. When all the talk about this 'epidemic' began, I was skeptical about its actual severity (drug company conspiracy) and thought the CDC was being overly dramatic. And, already being sort of wary of vaccinations, I was especially against injecting Davis with something so new, not knowing what side effects it could cause. But NOW...Which is worse? A vaccine (or vaccines???) that's been rushed into production with limited testing? Or the risk of Davis contracting the virus? I know one thing...I'll be stocking up on hand sanitizer and you can bet I'll be psycho about it until I make a decision.

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/apr/27/science/sci-swine-history27

The Joys of Raising a Boy

Davis had his first Challanger T-Ball Game on Saturday morning. It's a special needs team that gets together at a field in Canton every Saturday morning. It's so wonderful that things like this exist for sports fanatics like Davis to participate in. It was so exciting and Davis LOVED it! He was so upset when we left and talked about it the rest of the day! I was fighting back tears while he ran to first. We're going to get him his own baseball bat because the one they had was way too heavy for him. And he'll have his walker to help him run the bases too.

And sorry, Dad, for sending you home too soon! But there will be plenty more games for you to watch! Best 'Pa' EVER!

"Spazz"ticity Clinic

Davis had an appointment with the Spasticity Clinic at Scottish Rite on Wednesday.

We were trapped in an exam room for 2 hours while doctors, their teams, therapists, social workers, etc. came in and out sporadically.

They watched Davis stand and walk and did a lot of stretching.

The Botox doctor said he didn't think Davis was a good candidate for injections. He's mostly tight in his hamstrings and would probably become too weak and lose most of his ability to stand and walk. Maybe when he gets walking down pat, they'll reconsider.

One doctor thought that, in a couple years, Davis would really do well from the Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy Procedure. "He's the perfect candidate."

Isolated muscle strengthening, combined with balancing, seemed to be the common theme amongst the therapists.

X-Rays showed that his hips look great...so the "W" sitting isn't so damaging, afterall.

Most of the doctors were very against cutting Davis' braces down and putting him in the Swash, but they obviously didn't get to see how well it corrected his internal rotation since he doesn't have his own yet. I've come accustomed to differing opinions on how to help Davis. And I ultimately trust his PT over anyone else right now.

So, the overall experience was pretty good.

I'm back on the knitting kick again...It's going to be a Christmas Stocking. I plan to make one for all 3 of us...(Pay no mind to the filangies and foot. The top of it keeps curling.)

269.28

That's how many miles, per week, that I drive Davis around for school and therapy. Wow. Hi, my name is Andrea. I'm a stay-at-home mother of a wonderful 3 year old. Oh! And I'm a taxi driver. A free taxi driver. But, my passenger does provide me with an abundance of entertainment...

At Jake's First Birthday Party on Sunday...

At the pool on Monday...

The Magic SWASH

Davis and I met with his PT and Orthotist yesterday to try out the SWASH. It immediately corrected his internal rotation. His legs stayed straight and faced forward the whole time! The orthotist was even amazed! So, we've ordered one of those and we're going to cut his AFO's so that he only has a brace from his toes to his ankles. Davis is such a work-in-progress, but we're getting there!

Hope everyone has a fun and safe Labor Day Weekend!!!

Into The Wild

Friday night, we went to this beautiful wedding at the Glendalough Manor in Tyrone.



This weekend I was a 4-wheeling, gun shooting, fishing, s'mores eating 'neck. Justin, Brother, some other boys, and myself all went camping this weekend at Justin's dad's land. It was fun, although I was yearning for some estrogen around me. Justin's dad and stepmom watched Davis, but Steve brought him out there for a little while.

The biggest hornets' nest I've ever seen...

Oh, and we decided that we hate Davis' new leg braces. His new PT (who I LOVE, by the way) thinks he needs a brace that just covers the heel and ankle. She also wants to try something called a SWASH. The SWASH will hopefully help with his weak hip muscles and decrease some of his internal rotation. I love how, after just 2 weeks of working with Davis, she's so eager to try new things and REALLY wants to help fix his problems.

The SWASH. It'll wrap around his waist and just above his knees.

The brace. The blue part is the only thing he'll have to wear. And it's so flimsy that you can crumble it in your hands.

Davis' first day of Wildwood Preschool was this morning. He was so excited to see Max and Elijah again!

News Worthy

Davis made an appearance on one of the Conductive Ed's Newsletter pages. Bottom left.

Justin and I spent our anniversary dinner at Kani Steakhouse...Mmmm, Mmmm. We had the entire place to ourselves. (I wish I could say that was planned...realty tv style, but no.) So Justin was forced into chatting with the hibachi cook about concrete...the whole time we were there. "Sooo, how much it cost to build basement?" "Sooo, how much it cost to build...what that called you walk on? Oh yeah, sidewalk." "How thick concrete?" "Can I marry concrete?" Seriously, guy? Between I Love Concrete Knowledge Guy and us stuffing our faces with too much MSG, Justin and I didn't say a word to each other almost the entire time. It was still nice, though. Ignoring our sleepy eyes and way too stretched out stomachs, we met up with Brother for a beer afterwards.

Pur-dee flowers from the Husband

I took some video of Davis at aquatics yesterday. His therapist is moving Davis further and further up the ramp to really encourage walking. It's not graceful, but I'm sure he'll catch on before too long.

What Is Kentucky's State Animal?

The Gray Squirrel...Geez...

We spent the weekend visiting my family in Kentucky. My cousin's daughter, Roxy, and Davis had lots of fun together...crushing grandma's tomatoes, playing Baby Kitty and Daddy Kitty, coloring, etc...all the leisure activities that Kentucky has to offer. :)

Davis and I slept in a bed together, giving Justin the comfy couch! Davis would sneak out of bed early in the mornings and join my grandmother in the kitchen where she'd be preparing breakfast. I'd hear him shout, "Hey Gamma!" They'd chat back and forth, but it was so funny to listen to my grandma try and translate the Davis Language.

My Dad grew up in that house and I've been visiting everyone there my whole life and now that I'm grown and have my own child, it's so neat to watch him and my cousin's kids spend time there. And I really love catching up with my aunts and the few of my cousins that still come around! Love you guys!

The main reason for our impromptu trip was to visit my Pepaw. He's been sick and we felt like we needed to get up there and spend time with him. He's the strongest man I know. And he just loooooves Mr. Davis!
Davis got his new braces last week. They're different from the ones he's been using for the past couple years. His old PT, the Orthotist, and myself thought these new ones might help correct his internal rotation better. They don't bend as much at the ankle, so he's having a hard time walking in them. I'm going to try them out for a couple weeks and if they don't work out, the Orthotist said she'd toss them and start all over.

HAPPY 2ND ANNIVERSARY TO US!!!