T-T-T-Toser

The vent classes are going great; we're learning lots and hopefully will feel comfortable with everything by the time we go home. I will explain a little more about the classes later but right now I want to talk about Toser.

I love that kid so much. Mr. Awesome and I have been trading off going home to be with him and doing that makes me miss him that much more when I'm in Birmingham. He has gotten so much older in the last 2 months. He's so much more a boy than a toddler now and it makes me proud and sad. I love that he's getting a weird sense of humor like me (Mr. Awesome probably hates it) and he makes me laugh so much. He knows I laugh when he talks in a deep voice so he does it when I don't expect it. And last night when some friends of Kajja/neighbors of ours stopped by, he very loudly said, "I tooted!" while Kajja's friend was talking about God's mercy in the other room. I, of course, started laughing because I couldn't help it (which only encourages him). I fear the poor kid has gotten my ill sense of comedic timing. It drives Mr. Awesome crazy how I find things funny when things are serious-at least Toser comes by it honestly.

He can come up with some zingers even when he's being serious. The other day I was getting ready to leave and he picked up my keys and said, "I wanna start your car for you." I laughed and said maybe when he's 4 he can do it-he said, "maybe when I'm 3 I can do it." And earlier that day he was being cute and I told him I want him to stay little and he said, "But I want to get big." He still mispronounces some words (ephelant for elephant, ticktocs for tictacs, sing-it for music) but is beginning to correct himself and I know the days of cute mispronunciations are dwindling.

This kid has the biggest heart. You can tell he genuinely cares about other people (as much as an almost 3 year-old can) and is so sweet. He can drive me up the wall but make me want to dip him in chocolate and eat him at the same time. Lately when we leave he says, "But I want you to stay here," and when we say we have to go see Nate he always says, "Okay." Like he knows he has to make this sacrifice of not having us around so his brother can get better. It breaks my heart into a million pieces every time he does it. He's just recently started talking on the phone to us and it's even worse when he does it then.

He's got a great imagination and can play by himself like he's so much older. He's a bit OCD and has some sensory issues but is a boy through and through and can get dirty in 30 seconds flat. He loves to play in the "river" behind our house (it's a little creek) and also loves to play in the State Park our property backs up to. He thinks going on the trails and going to the overlook is something every kid can do on a daily basis and has such an appreciation for all things nature. He won't throw away any trash he generates at home but if he sees some trash on the ground in the park, he freaks out until we can find a can to throw it away. He's obsessive about recycling and knows that plastic goes in the blue bin.

He's the very definition of a conundrum and I wouldn't have it any other way. He makes our lives funny and balanced and overall better. He'll be 3 next week and it hurts me that he's growing up so fast. I want to keep him like this forever but know it's just going to get better. Until he becomes a teenager and then he can go live at PapaCoco's house.

Pictures

We've taken 430 pictures since January 29th-um, that's a lot for us. Some highlights here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/tosertater/PicturesSince129

Great-er Tater

So, Tater's birthday is this coming Monday. I CANNOT believe how both fast and slow this year has been. Some days I don't remember because there was so much going on and each day was a blur. Some days I remember all too well (good and bad) because they seemed to go on forever. But all in all, it's been a good year. Last March 31st was a horrible day. Of course it was good in that we had Tater but the news we got seemed to be so devastating. No one could give us answers-Tater wasn't doing good and that's all anyone knew. We were in such a fog and weren't really sure if we wanted answers at the time. Our families NEEDED answers and we were pulled between wanting to know everything and not wanting to know too much and then trying to explain all that we found out to everyone else. Everyone was confused and scared-just thinking about all of it now gives me a lump in my stomach. It was something no one should ever go through but I do think those first few weeks proved to us we can make it through uncertain times and that knowledge has come in handy since.


We made it through the year! My first idea for celebrating how far Tater and the rest of us have come is to throw a huge keg party. How else to celebrate getting through stress than with beer?! But then I remembered how I can't have more than one beer before I fall asleep and that wouldn't be much fun. So of course the next logical step in my crazy mind was figuring out how can we pay tribute to the people who have gotten us and this wonderful little fighter we have to this point and I thought-"Why not beg for money?"

Not for us but for the Huntsville Hospital for Women and Children's Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. That place and the people there mean the world to us. They truly became part of our family the 6 weeks Tater was there and we love them all so much. They are the best of the best when it comes to health care professionals. We would not have made it emotionally without their support. Tater would not be the healthiest kid most people have seen on a vent without their care. They deserve more than praise-they deserve things that will make their difficult jobs easier.

So, you see that nifty little green button at the top left of this page? It's a link that will take you to Tater's Birthday fund page on the Huntsville Hospital Foundation's Onlinelifeline.org site. Directions for how to donate to the PICU are on the page and we appreciate you helping us out with this very, very much. Huntsville Hospital is a not for-profit hospital and they depend on donations to get the little extras that make things easier in stressful situations. If we could raise enough money to buy a little something in Tater's name for the PICU, I know they will greatly appreciate it. And we might be able to keep our reign as the best family ever to be in the PICU (our self-appointed title mind you-we like to prop ourselves up like that).

Of course, I'm begging without any sense of entitlement. And I would hate for any of you to think we expect this of you. It's something that's there if you would like to do it and if you don't that's fine by us. Thanks!