Casher cracks up

Casher's favorite show is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. He totally gets Donald and Goofy's slap stick humor. Here he is laughing at Donald Duck being silly. Yes, we just sit back, watch, and laugh right along with Cash. It's contagious.

Playing & Picking out the Christmas Tree

How quickly a year goes by. It's time to pick out a tree again. I remember taking Casher to pick out a tree last year. He fell asleep on the way to the Farmer's Market and we carried him around in his infant seat. He missed the entire thing! This year it's a matter of wrangling him away from the parking lot and keeping up with him as he gets into every possible thing on his level. You can see his funny personality in the pics with my grandpa's hat. He likes to cover up his face and walk around blind and then peek-a-boo. He's so serious and so funny at the same time. Obviously, he's got a round little belly and he's been eating great. We saw the GI doctor and she said she would see us in 6 months for a check up. Music to my ears. Happy Holidays!

October 31, 2010

My first thought when I woke up this morning was 'thank you.' I know I felt joy one year ago today when Casher was released from the hospital for the second and final time. I was beyond tired, beyond fatigued, beyond emotion. In the midst of the toughest circumstances in my life, I was grateful for Casher's life and grateful that God saw me through the three weeks of hospitalization after his lung collapsed on October 11. Waking up this morning one year after those events, I am humbled beyond words. What haven't you provided for me Lord? When have you not been with me holding my hand and been a lamp unto my feet to guide the way? The deep gratitude I feel is possible because the dark and hard times I went through.

I'm thankful for my son. I'm thankful for his vibrant life. I'm thankful for this year of watching him grow and laugh and love. For my husband's strength and love. For our friends and family and all the prayers for us and all the caring you bestowed on us.

I remember praying at one point during my pregnancy when we found out our baby was in trouble for God to make it all better. I told him I didn't want to be a deeper person for this experience, let me skip it! That wasn't his plan as we know now. But standing on this side of all of it, I am so much deeper - my love. my gratitude. my joy. my peace.

Here are three photos. One of Casher with his chest tube, pretty darn sick last October. Then a few days after his release last Halloween at our dear friends Cheryl and Don's. And one taken yesterday of a little person vibrant with the gift of life.

October

Last October 1st Casher was released from the hospital. I remember walking out of the hospital doors with him and tearing up thinking this is his first breath of fresh air. It was a beautiful fall day in Denver. I was beyond grateful, overwhelmed, exhausted, exuberant...how many emotions can live in one person at one time?! I remember all of your support at that time and I can't believe how wonderful you are that you are still following our amazing little journey.

Our little Casher is amazing himself. He has healed. His scar from the g-tube looks really good. It healed up perfectly. He is off of the formula and drinking whole milk like a champ. He is eating more and more and his gas pain and all pain associated is pretty much gone. He is still on prevacid which helps with reflux and it does seem to help him still so we are thankful that is working.

As you can see from the photos he is super busy and super adorable. I think it is safe to say that if you have followed us this far you agree that he is adorable. He is walking more and more - still a little unstable but getting there. He is in the Children's Program at BSF, the bible study I attend, every Thursday morning. He loves to eat his snacks, play with his aunts, go out in his wagon, pat Ginny, and explore and climb everything! Life is good. God is good.

Casher's very first steps! Caught on camera by our amazing Tisha!

He wasn't sure he wanted to climb through at first :)

Update on the boy

Well, as you can see from the pics Casher is doing amazing. He got his feeding tube out on Tuesday! We are so thankful. It would have been 1 year on the 15th that he had the surgery to put it in. It is amazing what a difference a year makes. It's God's perfect timing. Cash is eating great and growing great.

I remember clearly how fragile he was after that surgery. He was so little and so sick. Now to see him try to climb UP the slide is...a true miracle. We love each day we all get to spend together. Casher is a determined little guy. He knows what he wants and he goes for it. He is sweet and quiet one minute looking through a book and yelling loudly the next trying to make his point. He really likes to laugh and he cries freely when he is hurt. Life is good.

learning to walk & loving it

Don't you love to laugh?

August...

If you are going through difficult circumstances right now, just remember god is with you. He has a great purpose for you. Turn to him, seek his face, be faithful and trust in his perfect plan. I was reminding myself of that today. One year ago was a challenging time for me with Casher in the NICU. It was a challenging circumstance. I'm glad god is bigger than my circumstances!! I'm so thankful for how far He has carried me and Casher.

Happy Birthday to our big 1 year old!

11 months! Busy and cute.

I love you Da Da. Happy Father's Day!

just playing

He crawls!

I didn't realize what a huge moment it would be for me to see him crawl. It just made my heart soar. He has come such a long way from his days in the NICU. I'm so joyful to be able to share this video with you! Love, Kari

Loving every day...

Though he is not crawling yet, somehow Casher seems to make it from the cabinet to the dogs' water bowl while I'm at the sink washing up some dishes. He LOVES to play in the cabinet but he is most interested with the knobs, screws, and opening and closing the doors. He is very determined and knows what he wants (to be picked up so that he can stand on the counter and open the top cabinets) and what he doesn't (having his shirt put on or taken off)!!!

My First Mother's Day!

It is so amazing to be a mom on Mother's Day! I felt so special and blessed to have my little boy with me all day long. Mitch made it extra special by giving me a keepsake jewelry box with a beautiful locket to keep pictures of Casher on my first mother's day in. Good job, honey! It was also wonderful to be with my own mom. As you can see in the photos, Casher is getting so big. He is determined to play hard and get to what he wants - even though he hasn't figured out the crawling thing yet.

He has gained weight over the past 3 weeks (he hit the 18 lb mark!) but we would like to see him gain more over the next 3 weeks. He has an appt with the GI docs then and they have been getting concerned that he is not steadily increasing. Please pray with us that he will continue to gain and stay healthy.

If he got points for being cute, we would have no problems!

Nan's visit

We had a great time last week when Nan (Mitch's mom) came to visit. We sat around and played with Casher and adored him! It's a tough job. Nan was here to go to a doctor's appointment with us. All in all Cash is doing great. He is healthy and thriving. The GI doctor is concerned that he isn't gaining weight consistently. He is 17 lbs and in the 3rd percentile for weight - so he is little and hasn't gained weight like they would like to see. But he is eating more and more solids and finally switching to a regular formula. He still has the g-tube in his tummy. The doctors keep saying 'what if he would get very sick and need the feeding tube' so it is still in for the moment.

He is voicing his opinion about everything these days. From babbling (dadadadaaa) to grunting in frustration or excitement, he is staying busy. You can just see in his eyes how badly he wants to get on the move. He isn't crawling yet. He loves to stand up and see the world. He gets a very satisfied smile on his face when we help him stand up. As per requests, a video is coming soon!

goin on safari

"You're not supposed to eat the pine straw! Just sit there and look cute. Good job!"

Our expressive little one

First Easter

Casher had a wonderful first Easter. We had fun spending time with his Godparents, Kelley and Randall Nichols and their three kiddos - Eli, Grady and Rosie. We went to an Easter egg hunt with the Nichols, Smiths, and Nickersons. It was a happy reunion.

We also went to an outdoor Easter Church service that was great with the family and lots of friends including Anup and Arjun. Arjun is 15 months and he is showing Cash all the things he can look forward to once he starts walking!

It is so beautiful here in NC this Spring. We are enjoying the warmer weather before it gets super hot!