In the midst of Christmas shopping and celebrations, Brady, Grandma and I went to Brady's cardiology appointment today. It was his follow-up echo from his cath last August. My favorite part of the whole day was a little girl walking around the waiting room with a tray in front of her, stopping at every single person and asking, "Would you like a cookie?" She then handed out an invisible cookie. I watched her walk around and every person played along with her -- I love when everyone comes together for a greater good.

And now for the reason why we were there: the short version of the story is that Brady will have heart surgery in February. The longer version is that ever since Brady was one month old, we knew surgery was in his future. His gradient keeps going up, and his cardiologist, Dr. Marx, was only waiting until he was older to have the surgery. He said that a few pounds difference isn't really going to matter, and he was waiting for that big sign to get this going -- which was his level going up again after a few months. Dr. Marx said that some other cardiologists would have probably already done the surgery, but he wanted to wait as long as possible. It is surgery that will --hopefully-- only be a one-time-thing.

The good news is that his cardiologist said that Brady will be fine for the surgery, he doesn't really have any worries for him. Dr. Marx is a very straight, honest man who doesn't say things just to make you feel better, so I feel very confident since he said that. The bad news (besides the obvious) is that we're looking at a seven to 10 day hospital stay -- ugh. Brady will take a few weeks to recuperate, but I'm already thinking of the pounds he'll probably lose after all our high-calorie work!

We should get a call over the next week or so to put the date on the calendar. I am feeling okay, as I trust his cardiologist and I see how well Brady is doing. One day at a time...

Meet me in St. Louis...

How exciting - the WSA convention in 2010 is in St. Louis - woo hoo!! We head out to St. Louis every few years to visit family - my family moved from there when I was eight. The last time I was there was when my Uncle Joe died in 2005 - so Brady already had his first trip to Missouri(although he was in utero!). (Uncle Joe is who Brady is named after --Brady Joseph.)

There's so much to do out there - Nance, you WILL love the Arch! - but there's also the Saint Louis Zoo (free and HUGE!), plus the downtown area and tons of other stuff. We will all have a blast!

21.8 lbs tonight!!

My Brady gained ONE POUND AND THREE OUNCES in one month!

Holy cheesecake, Batman!

And for all the high calorie food I am giving him, I have gained three pounds. What I do for my children :)

Brothers

When I found out I was having Brady, I was excited for many reasons - but one of the biggest was knowing Michael would have a brother, a sibling. Even though they would be seven years apart, they would still have a connection and have a history like no friend can. I knew Brady would look up to Michael, and Michael would protect his younger brother.

And then we got the WS diagnosis when Brady was one month old. Again, I thought of Michael - was he being cheated out of a "normal" sibling relationship? It didn't seem fair, and there was nothing we could do about it. But after I read about WS, I realized Brady could still be the brother I had envisioned. Looking back now, I'm not sure what I thought would be the "right" sibling, but this was uncharted territory and I didn't know what the right answer was. So once again, my mind changed to what the "perfect" relationship would be.

However, I noticed that Brady's development was much slower than other WS kids. Even though all our WS friends were developing at different speeds, Brady was still further behind than everyone else. He wasn't crawling steadily until he was over two years old, still not walking over three. He vocalizes, but doesn't speak yet at three, either. What kind of relationship would my boys have?

Funny, if any other mother had come to me with these comments about her own sons, I could tell her that as brothers, her sons would have their own special bond, their own secret inside jokes, their own smiles for each other, regardless of ability. I could tell her that her older son would always protect her younger son, that her younger son would watch her older son constantly, waiting for the inevitable laugh. I would tell her that she would have incredible joy watching the two interact, knowing that their relationship wasn't tainted, wasn't anything different. Funny, I could tell another mother this, but until I sat right now and wrote it out, I couldn't tell myself.

I know Michael and Brady's relationship will grow and change, but I know that what I hoped would happened was achieved: the bonding of two boys that is inseparable.

Ode to Love Puppy

On Valentine's Day of Two thousand eight,

I was pleasantly surprised to find my mate.

It wasn't a girl, for that I am sure.
It was a puppy with red and white fur.

For months he hung around with the stuffed bear,

When, suddenly, my eyes opened up, excited to see him there.

With red hearts blazing all over his white frame,

I smiled at him, and Love Puppy was named.

My mom was excited that I loved this guy.

I couldn't care less before; now, I wasn't shy!

If Love Puppy was in reach, I grabbed for him fast.
If he wasn't, then I quickly moved my tiny little ass.

To hold him, to bite him, that's always my plan.

And if you don't give him to me, instead I'll bite your hand!

What's wrong with you, boy?

It's official: Brady's getting older and less babyish which means... people are starting to notice he's different. I think he was such a baby before, people didn't think twice, unless they realized how old he was. When we go out now, he uses his walker a lot and is thus garnering much attention.



Last week, one woman asked me, "Is there something wrong with him?" when she noticed Brady using the walker after finding out he was three. I answered, smiling, "Nope, there's nothing wrong with him."



She went on to tell me very sympathetically that he will get stronger, have more confidence and not need the walker anymore really soon. How sweet. I suppose I wouldn't have minded the second comment if she didn't start off with "What is wrong with him?"



I like the kids better. "Why is he using that?" one little boy asked me when Brady and I got to school one day. I answered, "Because his legs aren't strong enough to walk by himself, so this helps him." He was happy with my answer and ran off to play. It makes sense to him - if you can't do something, have some help and you're all set.

Boo!

Brady was once again a blue monster for Halloween - he wore it last year, but he is too cute in it. I swear he'll wear something new next year!

Saturday we went to Lucien's house for the WSA Halloween party. Lucky for us, it was right in my hometown - how cool! We saw some old friends and made new ones - there were five teenagers there, four whom we had never met before. It was great to meet them~ we have always met the younger kids but only one or two older kids. They were very social, but also respectful and pleasant to hang around with. One boy, Josh, was dressed as Elvis, even able to sound like The King and do his stance. He also collected a few girls' phone numbers, quite a charmer!

I wasn't sure how I would feel meeting older kids with WS; it's like the future is staring you straight in the face, whether you want to see it or not. I was happy meeting these kids; it was actually a relief to see their independence. I know all kids are different, so what will be with Brady might be totally different.

Jen, as usual, was a fabulous host - although all Brady wanted to do was walk, walk, walk. He would take off in his walker to the rock wall, the woods, a tree.... maneuver then keep going. At one point he was trying to go uphill. Who is this kid???