Santa Clause is comin'

Today we took Nate and Hunter to see Santa Clause at the mall. Nate was so excited to go with Hannah and Grace (his cousins). They looked so cute all dressed up in their Christmas outfits and their Christmas lists. Nate was a little scared at first, but then he warmed right up to Santa and told him all of the toys that he wants for Christmas. He told him he wanted big boy toys, a big train, a rescue helicopter, a fire truck with a ladder, a light saver and I didn't hear what else, but he rambled on. Hunter sat on Santa's lap wondering what in the world is going on. I was surprised that we actually got a pretty good picture.

They were also excited to pick up the Christmas tree. We are letting it dry out and hopefully will put it up tomorrow. I can guarantee it wil probably be down tomorrow as well.

2nd Annual Hospital Visit

It must be the hospital food that Hunter can't resist. He just can't keep away from these places. For those of you that may not have been aware (and sorry for not telling you, we have been with Hunter in the hospital), we got a call from Hunter's daycare on Monday telling us that his lips were blue and he had been gasping for air. When we picked him up his lips where still blue and his skin was off color (toward a gray color). Hunter could have fooled us all with his strength, because he didn't act as sick as he was. See the last pic below at the doctor's office. You can see his coloring in his skin is darker than his normal pale skin. When we picked him up from daycare we took him to the doctor and they admitted him to the hospital. Hunter's oxygen levels where very low, partly due to bronchiilitus and no thanks to his confirmed diagnosis of asthma. We spent a long three nights at TMH (two nights shy of his last visit), but the nurses took great care of Hunter and he loved all of the attention (not to mention the one-on-one with Nathan and I). Thankfully, Hunter came home today. Nate and Hunter were so excited to be back together they tore the house up with excitement. You would have never known that Hunter was so sick.

Disney 2008

Hunter and Nate loved Disney and Sea World. What an exhausting two days, but we had so much fun. Nate was so excited about the train and of course that was the first thing we did. We could have ridden the monorail and the tram all day without even paying to go in and Nate would have been happy. Nate and Hunter did enjoy giving Buzz Light Year a high five.

Halloween

Nate and Hunter enjoyed Halloween this year. They were eating the first bits of candy that they received before they left the neighbor's driveway. Thanks Ms. Ronneise and Mr. Dykart! Hunter was a Monkey, but the costume can be mistaken for a bear or lion (the tail is hidden). Nate was a cowboy riding a horse. Hunter and Nate loved sharing the costume and taking turns riding. I only got a video of Nate on Halloween though. Hunter you are too hard to catch.

Nate's Turning 3

Nate will be three years old next weekend and with that in mind, it reminds me of how fast he has grown. Just yesterday he was a round little baby rolling on the ground, and now he is a tall skinny toddler. He is so thoughtful and is always thinking of others. Here are some pictures of just a year ago and from now. My has he changed.

We have decided to take the boys to Valdosta to Wild Adventures. I keep asking myself if I am crazy to take a 17 month old and a 3 year old in this excrutiating heat, but we will bring our bathing suits in hopes to take a few laps on the lazy river.

Nate and Hunter both start school on the 18th, so we are taking them for a practice round next week. It is bitter sweet. We have two babysitters that have been taking care of the boys while I am at work, and the boys absolutely love them and I know will miss very much. Nate gives them a kiss as they leave each day. Hunter tells them Bye Bye, with his wide eyes and sweet smile, and now crooked tooth. But I know the boys need to be around other children, and we can only hope that Hunter will stay healthy while being exposed to new germs.

Hunter's One

It is hard to believe that Hunter is finally one. I can't believe how fast this first year has gone. However, some days did seem to go by very slow. Hunter has been walking for a month now, so he is a pro at getting around. We just had his final session for his baby plan with Linda Long. You can view the pictures at http://www.longsphotography.com/blog.htm. He would not stand still. I can't believe she even got one good shot in and based on the blog, it looks like we will have several to choose from. Hunter is huge as you can see. He now weighs 23 lbs 10 oz and is 30 3/4 inches. He only needs to gain 4 more lbs and he will be as heavy as Nate. This morning Hunter tackled Nate and knocked him down. Nate had better start being nice to Hunter.

Congratulations DANCE MARATHON 2008

This past weekend FSU held its 11th Dance Marathon. This is where FSU students dance/stand for 32 hours straight to raise money for the Children's Miracle Network and especially Shand's Hospital. Shand's is where Hunter was treated after he was born. We went Saturday to see over 900 dancers participating. This was amazing. I believe when I participated 10 years ago there might have been 200 (not really sure). On Sunday night at the closing ceremonies they played a slideshow of Hunter's pictures (which are below) and I gave a speech about Hunter's stay and what we went through. I also talked about being a dancer for FSU's dance marathon 10 years ago. 10 year's ago they didn't have the equipment that saved Hunter's life, so we are so thankful for FSU's Dance Marathon and the Children's Miracle Network. I believe I am the first FSU Dance Marathon participant to become a miracle family. After that they announced that they raised $406,000. That is truly amazing.
This is Hunter being baptised at Tallahassee Memorial when he was 1 day old. He was completely sedated and paralyzed by medications. Here was Hunter's home at Shand's for three weeks. He stayed in this position for two weeks without being held. We were allowed to touch his feet and head.
These are all of Hunter's machines that kept him alive.
This is the first time Hunter opened his eyes. I believe he was 8 days old. His face was so swollen from medications that it was difficult for him to open them.
Here is Hunter (3 weeks old) on the C-Pap, this was a "downgrade" from the ventilator. He looks like a little alien.
After almost a month, Hunter is ready to come home from the hospital.

Hi Grandma and Papa

Nate can't wait to go to Venice next weekend. Here he is saying hello to Grandma Suzy and Papa.

Who Says White Boys Can't Dance?

Natalie this ones for you. Since I know you are off of BOTH feet right now, I thought I would entertain you. We all hope that you get better REAL soon. Hunter says he is going to teach his Aunt Natalie how to walk next time he sees you.



Nate just loves to pick up his guitar everytime we have music on and Hunter can't resist to shake his little booty. As you can tell in the video they didn't practice too much, but who needs to when you have such great talent as the Newell boys. American Idol here we come...

Hunter and Nate

Here are some pics of Hunter and Nate. This is what they do on rainy days....besides make me crazy. The weather has been bad the past few days, so needless to say, we have not gotten out much. We did go to Chick-Fil-A for kids eat free night. Poor Hunter was not able to eat the chicken that he wanted. He settled for his puree chicken pasta instead. He did enjoy watching Nate and the other kids play in the play area. Nate tries to keep up with the older kids, but he still isn't tall enough to climb some of the areas.

My Name is Hunter

Hunter is learning so many new things. One of his favorite words, next to dadda and mamma is Hunter. He loves to say his name. Here is video of him saying his name and waving hi. Sorry it is sideways, so just turn your head to the side and you can see it.