Family Camping Trip

The last time Isaiah and I went camping was for our 1st anniversary, 2 years ago, when I was 4-months pregnant with Evan. It was so fun to add Evan to our group this time. He was SUCH a good camper!

What we did to keep Evan comfortable and happy:

• Nap BEFORE leaving
• Spread out large picnic blanket for crawl space
• Jogging stroller for walks
• Snacks
• Diaper wipes to keep hands/face clean
• Crib mattress to sleep on
• Lots of blankets to stay warm

Fallen Leaf Lake

Digging for pebbles

Matching morning pj's

We found a campsite near Lake Tahoe at Fallen Leaf Lake. Our campground was a 5 minute walk to the lake which was peaceful and beautiful--and much less crowded than Tahoe. In the morning we went on a drive over to Emerald Bay to enjoy the view.

Evan went to sleep really well on his crib mattress with blankets piled on top of him, but part-way through the night he decided to move off the pad and sleep on the bottom of my sleeping bag. I guess next time we'll save the hassle of packing the mattress. 

Who I Run 4

Announcement Time!

The newest addition to our little family of 3 is...

Nikki!! Evan's new running buddy!!

On Monday I signed Evan up for a program called "Who I Run 4". It's a program designed to pair up runners with people who physically can't run who can act as inspiration for the runners. Evan was assigned a running buddy that night! Nikki lives in Jacksonville, Florida and now runs in honor of Evan. She posts updates from her runs on Facebook so yesterday we were notified when she did her first 6 miles for Evan in a beautiful Florida sunset. 6 MILES!! That's more than I've run in the past month. Way to go Nikki!

First I will explain why I did not initially want to sign up for this program, and then I will explain why I did choose to sign up. At first when I heard about getting a running buddy I felt like I was giving up on Evan being able to walk and run. I like to think, "He's not that disabled. He doesn't need somebody to pity him by doing something for him that they think he can't do for himself." But then the idea came to me that maybe Evan could benefit from this relationship too. I love the idea of having someone who we (Evan, eventually) can look up to as motivation to learn to walk and then run someday. I'm really looking forward to strengthening this mutually-motivating relationship as we get to know Nikki better.

Evan must have been harnessing some Nikki running power as he walked all the way around the block with his walker for the first time ever on Monday night. He is getting SO strong and SO confident.

This program has about 3400 runners waiting to be paired up with buddies. (Nikki had waited since April to be paired up.) If you or anyone you know have a child who physically can't run (yet :) ) then sign up!

Garrett Family Reunion 2014

Evan and I flew to Utah on our own for a family reunion and a little farewell to Austin for 2 years. Evan was an angel both ways on the plane. The biggest travel challenge was getting the luggage checked in and then picked up from the baggage claim. I had two suitcases, a car seat, a walker, a stroller with Evan inside, and a diaper bag. Thank goodness Southwest allows for all of that to be checked in free with my one ticket. We did curbside check-in and then security and the rest of the airport was a breeze.

In Utah I loved being in nature, feeling the family love, and showing off my adorable son. Isaiah also kept reminding me to get my fill of games while I was there which I made sure to do. In between family time Evan managed to squeeze in some lounge time in our room, watching TV. The lodge was so fancy.

Evan met a lot of second cousins (sometimes by running into them with his walker). He learned to sign "baby" and loved the babies he saw there. A lot of kids were curious about his walker and took their own turns with it. I love spreading awareness by allowing them to experience a piece of Evan's life.

Grandma (Evan's great-grandma) planned a Bear Hunt for the kiddos. They got superhero capes for their adventure and each got to collect trinkets, treats, and pieces of nature--not to mention the BEARS they found at the end! The jogging stroller did great through the rocky trails. Evan is very observant and seems to love being outside where there is a lot to look at.

After the Bear Hunt

Still wearing their superhero capes

Evan's favorite person at reunion (his reflection)

Evan finally mustered the courage to pet this dog but she didn't seem so fond of him and kept walking away. Somewhere there is also a picture of Evan with the domesticated fawn (Thunder) that lived at the lodge.

Janelle and I planned a craft with the kids where they made salt dough jewelry and shapes. They were so creative with making heart-shaped pendants for necklaces, worms, and in one case a ring for a "girlfriend."

One of my favorite parts of reunion was the adult "ninja warrior" obstacle course. Most of the challenges had an easy way and a "right" way. Even though I mostly opted for the easy way it still challenged me enough that I felt proud of my accomplishments in the the end. Thankfully a few others took pictures of the events.

Tomorrow (hopefully) or sometime soon I'm going to share some exciting news from this week! I can't wait!

July 10, 2014

Some of the names I call Evan are honey, love bug, pal, lovey, and sweetheart.
Evan still loves to push around cars and throw balls but he's recently gained a few more mature interests including sweeping the floor and playing the piano. He can also nearly completely navigate the ipad to his liking, his favorite apps being Video Touch (transportation and instruments) and story books with the Fisher Price puppy. And the camera. Click click click. All. Day. Long.
He knows SO many words, though it's hard to tell sometimes since he still doesn't say any of them. He signs about 10-15 words on demand and a few spontaneously as well. He loves to pray.
For the past two weeks he's decided to wake up screaming every night in the middle of the night. I'm hoping to quell this habit before our family reunion next week.

On Swimming and Strawberries and other Summer Things

Evan still loves swimming. And wearing hats. And one time we went to pick strawberries and discovered that he loves those, too. At least he liked one bite of each strawberry in the basket.

Picking strawberries has been on my bucket list for a long time. Every time I see pictures of other people doing it, it just appeals to something in me with the joy that comes from such simplicity. There's a U-Pick place between Woodland and Davis and we finally stopped by a few weeks ago. We were the only ones there. Evan sat in the dirt and ate berries. My fingernails got a little dirt in them. It was everything I dreamed it would be. The strawberries were soft and sweet. In comparison to most strawberries from the stores (I'm thinking, like, Costco) they were much more strawberry tasting. Go figure.

Evan and I still go on lots of walks in his fancy jogging stroller. Sometimes he plugs his ears and talks to himself. When it's windy and hair hasn't been cut in some time, the following results:

I actually gave him my first little boy hair cut two days ago. He was playing with the iPad along the ottoman and I just started snipping away. It could definitely be touched up a bit with the clippers but I did a pretty darn good job, I think.

Last thing--Evan is pretty much the poster child for all the therapy centers he's been a part of because he uses ALL of the therapies and has such a unique story. Unexpectedly a few months ago we were visited during his speech therapy session by a group of people from the local Yocha Dehe Wintun tribe. They had donated money to our new therapy center and were coming to collect information on the center for their annual community fund report. 

"Do you mind if we ask a few questions and get your picture for the report?"

Uh...sure! We just got a copy of the report. I didn't realize we would be so prominent! That's a full page, yo.

3 Years and Counting

Last week was Isaiah's and my 3rd anniversary. It just so happened that my baseball team (the Nationals) was playing his team (the Giants) that night, so naturally we just had to go. Although attending the game was planned for months, just before leaving I went to print out our tickets and noticed they were for the night before and we had missed it. We had to buy new tickets but we were still able to attend. Evan joined us as a neutral team supporter, though he obviously cheered more for the Nats which gave them the win, thank you very much.

Guest Services gave him a "first-timer" certificate to commemorate his first time going to AT&T park.

The weather changed from 104 to 64 during he drive from Esparto to San Francisco and the wind was strong while walking around the stadium. We were lucky to have seats that were sheltered from the wind and we bundled up in hats and jackets and a blanket to keep warm.

Evan has finally reached the point where he is actually enjoyable to bring places rather than just a nuisance and inconvenience. He's even got special benefits like handicap parking which set us up for a quick escape after he game and he slept on the way home. I love my boys!

June 5, 2014

I'm so excited about this post, so I'll get right to the point:

Day 1 with the walker:

Day 2 with the walker:

Evan's therapist loaned us this awesome gold walker for the week. I thought he'd learn to take a few steps with it during the time we had it. After all, he screamed during the first few attempts with it. I figured it would take a LOT of time to get used to. But once Isaiah got working with him, Evan literally ran down the hallway and there was no stopping him after that. We headed outside, took these videos, and emailed them to his therapist. She said she was near tears watching them and now we'll have to talk about getting our own walker!! (I say that like it's part mine, which I sorta feel like it is.) Now we just need to work a bit on steering and we'll be on our way! We're feeling very, very blessed.

We rotate through the braces-twisters-giant-pink-shoes combination and the hiking boots-twisters combination with a break from everything during sleeping times. There are pros and cons to each method and we're just trying to do our best for his precious little twisted feet.