Tyler's New Trick!!!

Man oh man, I love this kid!!!

www.tylergardner.com/video/Tyler_walking1.wmv (13.5 mbs)

Prayers Please!

My sweet friend is in the fight of her life to retain custody of her son. Please read this article and pray, pray, pray!!

http://iammykidsmom.blogspot.com/2007/07/prayer-athon-for-young-mother-and-her.html

Here Comes The Bride, and Groom!!!

This totally adorable little boy is named Tyler. Tyler loves to drink milk and listen to music. He is often found dancing around and begging to be tickled! He has been known to pull hair wants to constantly go, go, go!

This totally adorable little girl is named DramaChild. DramaChild likes to eat whatever she can fit into her mouth (especially pop corn), is known to tease her sister mercilessly, loves long walks on the beach and apple juice on ice. She is also often found jammin’ to music and dancin’ like a queen!

Tyler's sister and DramaChild share the same name. Same spelling and everything! Tyler and DramaChild are both adopted and they both have Down syndrome. They share the same birthday (month, day and YEAR).

Therefore, DramaChilds mother, CJ and I have decided Tyler and DramaChild are to be wed in the far off future. They're just too perfect for one another and we'd like to have in-laws we not only tolerate, but like a great deal!

You Know You're Getting Older When.....

I am closing in on my 32nd birthday. Yikes!! How did I get here? I am actually IN my 30's now. Sheesh. Anyway, I realized yesterday that some things in my life certainly point to my advancing age. Just to name a few.....

You know you're getting older when you receive a wedding announcement for a girl you used to babysit!! Holy cow, I nearly died!

You know you're getting older when you don't get carded anymore. Before your imagination goes crazy....the kids have colds. I went to Tops last night to get some cold medicine. I used the self check-out and after scanning the cold medicine it said, "please show your ID to the cashier." I'm sure they have all those weird laws for some reason. Anyway, I started taking my ID out and the cashier says, "no, you're okay." I was seriously almost offended. Please card me, lady! Don't you know my fragile ego is on the line here?

You know you're getting older when everyone calls you ma'am. The girl at the McDonald's drive through, the aforementioned checker at Tops, even the obviously older-than-me lady in the toll booth on the thru-way. I despise being called ma'am.

Well, I suppose it is inevitable. I am getting older. No matter how I try and deny it, it is happening. I'll try not to cry!!

Love For Parker

Please click the picture for information on how to help Parker. This beautiful little boy has many special needs and his family is in need of help paying for his extraordinary medical bills. He is a love!!

Great News!!

Tyler saw the cardiologist today. We were very happy to learn that he has what is called an innocent heart murmur. Basically it is as the name implies. He does have a murmur but it is nothing to be concerned with and it will likely go away as he gets older. HOORAY!!! We were thrilled, to say the least. The doctor gave the green light for hand surgery so we will get that re-scheduled. We are just so thankful that it was nothing serious. Thanks to everyone for all the thoughts and prayers!!

Tyler Keeps Us Hopping!!

As most of you know, Tyler was born with a complete syndactyly on his right hand. Basically this is the medical way of saying that his middle and ring fingers are completely fused. They are attached by skin only with the bones and joints in both fingers being in tact. We have taken him to several orthopaedic hand surgeons in his three years and they have all told us the same thing. The surgery to separate the fingers is relatively simple, (if there is such a thing!). We have put it off for quite some time, mostly because we happen to love his cute little "Spiderman" fingers, thank you very much! But, I am of the mindset that if more than one doctor tells us that something is in Tyler's best interest, it is probably a good idea to listen. We have had several doctors tell us that it is time to separate them. That brings us to last Thursday. Tyler was scheduled for surgery. He was to be at the hospital at 7:15 a.m. and go into surgery at 8:30. We left Emmalee home with Collin and I took Brent and Tyler to the hospital. I came back, got Emma ready and took her to my friend for the day. I figured that by the time I got back to the hospital, Ty would already be in surgery. Not so. Turns out in the course of all the doctors coming in to see him before surgery, the anesthesiologist heard a heart murmur. Tyler has never had a heart murmur before. He did have a heart condition at birth but it corrected itself and was not something that was an issue. So, this heart murmur was a surprise. Three different anesthesiologists heard it. They actually think he may have developed it when he had pneumonia this spring. We weighed our options and decided that it was in Tyler's best interest to cancel the surgery and see a cardiologist before moving forward. We were lucky enough to be able to get in to a pediatric cardiologist tomorrow. We hope and pray that this is nothing, that the tests will show it is nothing to worry about. I'll keep you posted!

Happy 8th Anniversary, Love!

Today is our 8th Anniversary! It amazes me that it has been that long. It's true what they say..."time flies when you're having fun!" Brent and I have been through our fair share of good and bad times but looking back, all I see are the good. I can't imagine spending my life with anyone else. Brent is truly a miracle in my life!

I love you, honey!!

Happy Birthday, Miranda!

Yesterday my oldest niece Miranda turned 16! Sixteen! How is that possible? I am having difficulty wrapping my mind around the fact that she is no longer the tiny baby, the funny two-year-old, the sassy six-year-old or the very shy eight-year-old I left behind when Brent and I got married. Somehow, despite my inner protests, my sweet little Bean has managed to grow up. She is going to be a junior in high school. She got a car for her birthday which means she can drive! She goes on dates. She is a varsity cheerleader. She is closer now to adulthood than she is to toddler-hood. She is no longer a baby. Instead, she has morphed into this gorgeous almost-adult.

From the time Miranda was two until the day she turned eight, I was an almost daily part of her life. I lived in the same town for the majority of that time and for many years, I was the nanny to her and her two sisters. I cherish those years. I look back now and can think of a million funny stories about Miranda. She was, and still is, a good girl. She and I have always been close, even through our silly sister-like tiffs. She has always managed to make me smile, even on my gloomiest days. She has, and always will, hold a very special place in my heart.

I love you, Miranda! I am so very proud to be your aunt!!

New Look -- Thank You, CJ!!

I decided that my blog was in need of a face lift. So, I fiddled around online and found all kinds of awesome templates and such. Then I just stared at them and hoped that through the power of positive thinking they would magically work. No such luck. For those of you who are html illiterate like I am, you know that the html code resembles something from Star Trek.

CJ to the rescue!! Through the miracle of the internet, I have met so many amazing people. CJ is one of those people. We share a common bond in that she has adopted not one, but two beautiful little girls with Down syndrome. She is amazing. She is truly one of my heroes. She also happens to have the most amazing looking blog and she actually likes to fiddle around with the Star Trek code. I casually mentioned, (okay, I sort of begged,) that I'd like a new look and she came to my rescue. I LOVE the new look! I think CJ did an amazing job and I am so happy with it!

Thank you, my friend! Kiss those girls for me!

Happy Birthday, Sue!!

Hope your day is fantastic!!

Funny Video of Emma Singing

.....well, sort of! Enjoy!!

http://www.brentgardner.com/emma/sing/emma.html

Fun at Lake Ontario

We took the kids to Lake Ontario yesterday afternoon. Tyler was a hoot! I wasn't sure how he would like it but he was such a little water baby!

Here's a link to the video Brent took....

http://www.brentgardner.com/lake_ontario/Lake%20Ontario.html

Emma's Big Girl Bed

How is it possible that in two short years our little girl has changed so much? She has gone from sleeping in her Papasan chair or her swing to now sleeping in a big girl bed. The past two years have flown by. She is no longer a baby. I'm trying to stay strong! :)

Here's some pictures of her and her new bed. She LOVES it!!


Sleepy head!

The morning after.