Will Winter Ever End???? But We are going GREAT!!!

I tried making a resolution to update once a month starting in July...that hasn't gone very well...so here it goes.

JULY 2016
The Weber's took their first Summer vacation (we did two this year).  We went to Winnipeg to visit our friends the Housers.  It was great to get the kids together and the adults to catch up (we miss them dearly and still think they should move back to Regina).  We went to a amusement park called TinkerTown and just hung out otherwise with our friends.  Brody absolutely loved the Scrambler ride and the roller coasters (pretty sure we will be rider buddies).

AUGUST 2016

Vacation #2.  We went to Edmonton.  To break up the trip we overnighted in Saskatoon on the way there and back.  WE stayed at the Sheraton (which has an awesome waterpark).  Brody figured out that he liked Waterslides and went up and down about 50 times (which I was impressed with as his stamina on the stairs is impressive).  We stayed in the West Edmonton Mall Hotel as well.  The kids thought it was awesome.  We didn't even have to leave the mall.  WE did the waterpark (again Brody found a slide he loved and just continued to go up and down), Galaxyland (loved the roller coasters) and we even ventured out and went to the zoo.  It was a great relaxing week.

We also went on a train ride in Ogema, Saskatchewan with Grandpa Weber.  It was a lot of fun with  pop in a bottle even, which the kids thought was awesome.

SEPTEMBER 2016

First day of kindergarten, I can't believe it.  I always wondered if we would get this far and here we are starting kindergarten with no restrictions other than talking to the teachers and letting him tell them his limits.  It is not secret that he idolizes his big brother.......

OCTOBER 2016

We had a very busy October.  Brody received the Guardian of the Month award at School for the virtue of Respect.  We were VERY proud of him.  Sports also started this month however....we enrolled Brody in ice hockey and he was mad getting ready and then gave us the stink eye on the ice the whole time.  When he got off the ice and undressed he came up to me and yelled "I HATE ICE HOCKEY I THOUGHT YOU WERE PUTTING ME IN BALL HOCKEY".  Point taken as we could still remove him without having to pay so it all worked out.  Also it was Halloween (which this year he absolutely LOVED).  Nothing but Chocolate for Brody :)

DECEMBER 2016

Brody had his first ever Christmas concert and it was great.  It was nice to watch a Christmas concert with no kids bugging me (I will admit I really enjoyed it).  We did a lot of tobogganing as it was a beautiful December so spend as much of it outside as possible.  Then there was Christmas...well Brody had to write a letter to Santa, then another, and then make sure there was cookies and milk and then up at 5am on Christmas morning to make sure he arrived.  He was appreciative of all his gifts from new socks to the new Wii he got.  I hope that continues.  We also celebrated New Years Eve with some friends and Brody made it to 1130 (which is impressive as he usually doesn't make it past 8pm)

FEBRUARY 2017

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!  We had a busy New Year with all of Caine's hockey and Brody starting Basketball (which he is really great at).  In February we needed a vacation and went to Phoenix, Arizona.  WE stayed it the same place as last time in Maricopa.  WE attended one hockey game and the rest of the time we just hung around the pool, went to the arcade (which Brody loved the motorcycle game) and Laser Tag (as they call it there).  He says the favorite part of the trip is the restaurant Mom took them to.  We all went to the RainForest Café and it was awesome. 

We also had our 9 month check up with Dr. Bradley.  His check up went well.  Everything still looked great  and he is still in junctional rhythm when at rest.  They will continue to monitor him but we do not have a follow up for 1 year!!! I never thought I would hear that....I am so happy with this outcome and so proud of Brody for being so strong and continuing his battle with CHD with fierce.  He likes to tell people about his special super charged heart all the time.  I am proud that he is proud of his "war wounds"

Where has the time gone...

Well where has the time gone... I have updates and some VERY good ones

APRIL 2016
Brody turned 5 years old.  Since him and his brother have birthdays 6 days apart we do a consolidated family party and then they each get their own friends birthday party.  This year Brody decided to have his birthday bash at Dinobouncers.  He had a fantastic time.

MAY 2016
Finally got to go for his checkup.  The doctor was VERY happy that we took him to Dinobouncers when he had his heart monitor on as it showed what happens to his heart when he is active.  As soon as he becomes active his heart goes into regular rhythm...this is AWESOME news as if it wasn't then we would have for sure been headed to Vancouver for a pacemaker.  His heart still goes into Junctional rhythm when he isn't doing anything but they are VERY happy that it kicks in when it should so we are all cleared for a year now.  He grew to 109.8cm and weighs around 43 lbs which is shocking since he only eats pancakes, waffles and kraft dinner...... This trip was also the first time he laid all by himself to get his Echo done.  He is getting so big and brave...

Also Brody had his last day of preschool...he loved school and can't wait to start Kindergarten. 

JUNE 2016
So wondering what a 5 year old with a CHD does...well anything a normal kid does.  He loves Ball Hockey, playing outside, listening to music (his favorites are Sugar and I Don't Care), and just being goofy.  We also got to enjoy a day on Mosaic stadium.  It was a good memory as it is the last season this field is open til the new stadium opens next year.  It was extra special as he got to hang out with two of his favorite people Uncle Kenny and Justin.

BRODY says..... Happy Summer and will continue to update after holidays and the start of the school year.

Happy Easter Everyone!!!

Easter was a blast this year... we started off Good Friday at my Mom's place coloring eggs.  Brody wasn't the most gentle with them but we had some good ones turn out.  With the help of Jocey and Justin of course :)

Then came Easter Sunday.  Brody was so excited about the Easter Bunny.  He loved running around finding clues to get to his basket.  He had a good haul.

We were supposed to have our follow up appointment for his heart monitor but ended up with a massive snow storm the shut the highways so it will be rescheduled for late April early May.  So as Brody does just keep dancing...

Things keep rolling along....

Well there goes my monthly update promise but I am going to try again.....

September 2015
Brody started Preschool this year.  He was so excited to go talked about it since June..until we got there.

It took him a few weeks and he is really enjoying it now and it is REALLY improved his speech.  So happy we enrolled him.

This is the exciting news...Brody was selected to be one of 8 kids to take part in a Saskatchewan Children's Hospital Foundation fund raiser.  Garth Brooks was the main attraction to this event...he was the speaker for the play structure that CHF wants to put in and did it all for free.  All funds raised at the event went that the play structure (it was a $5000 a plate event so needless to say this was the only way we were getting in).  We got to go back stage and meet lots of people.  We meet Mike Babcock who is the coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs.  He asked the boys who their favorite hockey team was and Brody said the Chicago Blackhawks :) and Caine said the Toronto Maple Leafs.  Mike asked Caine if we told him to say that and Caine just looked at him and said No why would they....  we also got to meet Weston Dressler and Brett Smith from the Riders...I think me and Wade enjoyed that more...at least I did :)

Then Brody got to go on stage with 7 others in Regina to Thank Garth Brooks for doing the event for CHF and each child got a personal signed jersey from Garth.  He seemed like a really down to earth great guy and I wish we could have had some one on one time with him.  By the time the event ended it was 10pm and Brody was exhausted and to be honest Garth looked exhausted to.

It was an absolute honor for the Weber family to represent the Saskatchewan Children's Hospital in Regina.  I would volunteer or do anything to help out this great organization.

OCTOBER 2015
6 month check up.... he is doing great.  His stats are still great...96 to 97 for O2 staturation... blood pressure normal and growing steady at 41lbs and 105cm....so happy he is doing well.  I said to Dr. Pocket his cardiologist that when you think he is going left he goes right and you can't guess what he will do next.  His cardiologist wanted to check his blood work for elevated readings as his liver is still slightly enlarged.  She said I was right that all his levels came back normal and she would have bet his liver readings would have been elevated.  He is still in Junctional rhythm so will be doing a heart monitor in the new year to review.

Also had a great Halloween.  Brody was quite into it this year as he just wanted his candy.  He wanted to be Spiderman again so we got him a new outfit.  Caine wanted to be a Zombie...which really but my creative talents to work but I think it turned out pretty good.

NOVEMBER 2015
This was a whole new year for Brody of trying something new.  He really wanted to play ice hockey..we got the check mark from the cardiologist and signed him up.  He had a hard time at first staying upright but enjoys it a lot.  He is on the Wild just like Caine was so VERY happy about that.

DECEMBER 2015
The month with full of Christmas Concerts, Christmas Parties and Christmas itself.  It was a great month with family and friends and the kids had a great Christmas.  Lots of presents and a surprise of a trip in February to Phoenix to see the Coyotes play.  They are so much bigger than last year it is crazy!!!!

JANUARY 2016
In typical New Year's Day fashion (and since it was +2) we got all bundled up and went sledding as a family.  It is so amazing how Brody doesn't get winded like in the past.  I am so thankful for great surgeons that can help kids with heart defects have "normal" lives.

We have also taken in a lot of Regina Pats games...Brody has become such a huge Pat's fan it is crazy... Thanks Tim Horton's for creating a Pat's sprinkle donut that he HAS TO HAVE because it is a Pat's donut.

January was not a good month for us at all.... Brody's best friend, his Grandpa Mike Ritsco, passed away after having a risky heart surgery.  It is so ironic that they were the best of friends and ultimately similar hearts.  We call Brody mini Mike as he is my Dad is a small form...same stubborn personality and as it turned out both had "different" type hearts that needed help.  We miss him dearly everyday and talk about him often.  Forever in our hearts

FEBUARY 2016
Well our trip to Phoenix had arrived.  We stayed at a friends house in Maricopa and it was fabulous...great heated pool and hot tub, close to shopping and about an hour away from hockey and basketball.  We of course took in a Phoenix Coyotes game and they even won and an NBA Phoenix Suns game unfortunately they did not.  We have a blast just taking it day by day with very little stress.  We even went to the Phoenix Children's Museum... it was great for Brody lots of cool things to do however Caine was at that age that he was maybe a year too old but he still tried to enjoy it.  We really needed a trip with some downtime as a family.  It was a great way to reconnect after our crazy January and get the rest and relaxation we needed.

We had a our 24 hour heart monitor put on for Feb 26..which was interesting as he had a birthday party at Dinobouncers.  I am not sure if it is the person who put it on or just crappy tape but the leads kept coming off and I had to band aid them back on.  Thank goodness for the cardiac nurse that was at the party as she assisted me in getting them back on the right spots...I hope it doesn't botch his results too bad but should give them a good sense how what his heart does when he is highly active :)

I will try to keep my promise of updating monthly moving forward.

Merry Christmas...Happy Birthday....Summer Fun!!!

Well it has been proven I am THE WORST blogger of all time.  Sorry for no updates.  As promised here is a Christmas Picture of the boys.  Brody was so excited for Christmas this year.  He got that Santa brought your presents if you were good.  This was awesome as he was very good til Boxing Day :)

 

 

 

 

After Christmas brought a not so bad Winter.  It was amazing the energy and stamina Brody had to do things.  We did a lot of playing in the snow and going Tobogganing.  He loved it.  He even tookup skating...he didn't like it at first but once he got the hang of it he loved it.

 



 HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY BRODY!!!!!
I can't believe how much our little man has been through to get to this day.  He has grown so much and is such a little man.   He loved having a birthday and being centre of attention.  He had his first friend birthday bash at the YMCA.  This meant two birthday cakes as well.  The Captain America Shield was right what he wanted.  He is SUCH a big Avengers fan (HULK is of course his favorite)

We have a check up shortly after his 4th Birthday.  He is still in junctional rhythm however his stats are still wonderful so they are going to see where it takes him. If it does not get out of junctional rhythm on its own he will for sure need a pacemaker but they want to hold off as long as they can so they can put it up high versus lower.  They said usually around 5 they can put it up high.  He gained 4 pounds with that visit an over an inch for growth.  He was also given the green light to play hockey if he likes...he is on the fence but he probably will play come October.

We also had some professional pictures taken again by Drawn Daisy (Krista F) as part of his 4th Birthday (and Caine's 7th Birthday). Krista is great with them and does a fabulous job.  We also got bigger Ritsco family pictures done (in June) but I wanted to add them here.  He absolutely LOVES his cousins Justin and Jocelyn!!! And as you can see he Idolizes Caine!!! Caine is definitely the best big brother EVER!!!!

It finally brings us to Summer!!! It has been a hot one here so harder with Brody as heat just wears him down SSSOOO easy.  I feel bad for the little man as he wants to go and do things.  We have been beating the heat by having water fights, playing in Mr. Wiggles and hanging in the air Conditioning.  We also got to attend our first Saskatchewan Roughriders game with Brody with free tickets from the Children's Hospital Foundation.  He had a great time.  Here is his football song:  O Canada...bring em out bring em out....

We had a fun family vacation...it started out in Saskatoon at the LIVE Superhero Show.  All his favourites where there including Hulk, Iron Man and Captain America.  He thought it was loud (which is was) but loved every moment.  Even scored a new Hulk!!!!

From there we made our way down to Rapid City, SD.  We went to Mount Rushmore, the Air Museum, indoor Waterpark, and whatever else we could fit in.  It was a great trip and Brody LOVED staying in hotels where he could wake up in the morning and go swimming and water sliding.

I think that is all I have for updates.  I will make sure I update this once a month regardless if something is happening or not.  I believe our next appointment won't be til about September or October but we have a few other things going on that are cool that I will update on next month.