Dino-saur

"OMG... let's hustle it up people"


"Enough with the pictures, let's move on to the good stuff"



"Where's the grilled cheese?"

ROAR!!!!!

Today Brady had a Halloween parade at pre pre school. He was the

biggest, baddest d-i-n-o-s-a-u-r in town. He was no fossil, that's for sure. He was tromping all over town. I had a hard time keeping up with him. The whole trick or treating ritual is a bit new to Brady. He didn't understand why people were handing him spider rings and not grilled cheese (his current favorite meal item). He thought if they were offering treats then surely they would tailor it to his preference. So really they were giving him tricks even though he clearly stated he preferred treats. Ahhhh the frustration of Halloween. If this keeps up, I'm afraid Brady will not be adding Halloween to his favorite holiday list.

In true Shannon fashion, Mallory will wear several costumes for her first Halloween. Her dress up ensembles are:

1. Casper

2. Banana

3. Skeleton

So far she has not replicated he brother's holiday outfit protests. Please remember that when Brady was her age and I happily outfitted him in appropriately themed get-ups, he promptly crapped them out. She is much more a lady than her ornery big brother. That's my girl!

The Proof

I can't believe this video for three reasons:

1. Brady actually walked when I turned on the camera. Typically when he hears the camera turn on he turns into a big fat diva. "I can't be filmed in this light" "Where is my bowl of green M&M's?" "Did you make my dinner reservations?" "Chop, chop woman!"

2. Brady is walking! It's still seems a bit strange to see him walking around. It feels funny to set him down on his feet.

3. Brady didn't crash. I swear all that's in that sippy cup is milk, but looking at the topsy turvey trot Mr. B is displaying, one would think it was a white Russian (maybe I should check...he did say he was celebrating his graduation day!)

I'm off to make some dinner reservations....

Graduation Day

Brady graduated from private physical therapy today. His diploma? A big fat walking certificate. The world is your oyster B-man! Of course something of this magnitude demands a celebration. Brady has been on the line spreading the good word "I'm a walker folks, A WALKER!" and "Dad's you better watch your daughters because I'm mobile man, mobile." He has such swagger for a 2 year old. With a full "sack" and spending most of his time upright his confidence is pretty high, border line arrogant.

Brady would also like to wish his cousin Brooklyn a HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY!

Da Man

Well it's official, Brady is a man. His little troopers have been reunited and they are currently snuggling in their new "downtown" condo. Unfortunately, Mr. Righty did not get the "good sized" report/rating that Mr. Lefty did. So in order to compensate, lefty will be paying a bit more in rent. The Doctor even said that there is a 30% chance that righty could end his lease early even though he signed a life long rental agreement. Brady gave his boys a talk and said that they better make the most out of their time together because nothing in life is guaranteed.

Brady did great in surgery today. He had 3 procedures, but really only one was a success. It turns out that his canals are still tooooooo small for tubes. The doctor tried and tried to wiggle a tube in, but threw in the towel in order to ensure he didn't do any damage to the middle ear. He was able to suck the fluid out and give his ears a good Merry Maids cleaning. He said there was a sizable amount of wax build up... no shocker to us. So on the bright side Brady will hear great for a bit and his balance should improve for the next 2-3 weeks. We will try for tubes again in 6-9 months.

The 2nd procedure was the ABR (hearing test). The audiologist was unable to get a good reading due to the work that the ENT did in the above procedure. He could hear all high frequencies, but did not register well at the low frequencies. The Doctor said this was due to the fact that he now has holes in his ear drums and her gut feeling is that his hearing is fine. YES! Score! We will now proceed with a behavioral hearing exam and skip all this fancy stuff. I'm pretty sure that my voice must register in the low frequency tones based on Mr. B's behavior lately. AHHH the joy of a 2 year old. :)

Brady is doing wonderful. He has been sleeping for the past 3 hours. They did give him a healthy dose of steroids to help with inflammation. So if you see Brady in the next couple of days please outfit yourself with a helmet and safety goggles. Unless a black eye is needed to complete your Halloween costume, then come as you are.

So now we are on recovery road. Brady has once again shown us how strong he is. I am so proud of him. Thanks for the prayers!

Becoming a man

On Tuesday Brady is having the 3rd and final stage to complete his manhood. There is a 50/50 chance that Mr. Righty survived the last 6 months. If he is a fighter then the surgeon will reunite him with Mr. Lefty and the two will live happily ever after in their humble abode. If he failed to thrive, then he will be removed and flushed down the toilet. Hahaha. Not really, I'm sure they will send it to some lab and analyze it for it's total awesomeness. Because as you all know, all things Brady are AWESOME!

Brady will also have an ABR on his right ear. This is the hearing test that they attempted to sedate him for awhile back. Our boy is a fighter and boy did he fight "nighty night" time. They only got results for one ear and they were not willing (nor was I) to try and sedate him again. So they figured he can't fight anesthesia so this is a perfect time to test his right ear. We are hoping for positive results on his right ear too. His left ear tested in the normal range. YEAH!

Finally, as if this wasn't enough, Brady will be getting ear tubes. He hasn't had a horrible past with ear infections, BUT is canals are sooooo tiny that Doctors are unable to really get a look at his ear drums, even with a microscope. The consensus is that fluid is most likely getting trapped, but we are unable to diagnose it because the rabbit hole is toooooo small. Tubes are a proactive measure and we hope it helps Brady to hear even better.

So here we are again...surgery time! My most dreaded time. This is our 7th procedure and hopefully our last. I typically spend the week leading up to surgery agonizing over it. Jeff has much more laid back approach, but I am wound pretty tight regarding this matter. As all parents understand, they hate to see their child in pain. This surgery will be his biggest because they are going through the abdomen and down town. It's a combo of the last 2 surgeries. Ugh! I know Brady will do great. I've seen his resilience time and time again.

If you are into the prayer thing, then please say a couple of words for us.

Buddy Walk 2010

Someone let me nap please...someone...anyone!

Rally, my love...RALLY!!!

What a success! Team Brady's tidal wave raised over $1600! Whoop Whoop. A huge thanks to all of you for your support. The ODSPN as a whole raised over $95,000. It truly warms my heart to look around and see all of you showing your support and loving up our little man. I hope that he will be greeted by such loving and caring people throughout his life. It's events like this that CELEBRATE Down syndrome that will carve a more accepting path for Brady and all individuals with designer genes. Thank you, thank you!

Brady wasn't in the greatest of spirits considering the walk kicked off right at nap time. Our boy is a big fan of his sleep and really cranks up the grouchy dial when something interferes with his beauty rest. Not even the charming advances from Claire turned his frown upside down. Fortunately she is a tolerant soul and can oversee his flaws.

I was hoping that Brady would show off his new walking skills, but due to exhaustion and a bit of stage fright, he crawled or strolled the entire way. Watch out Buddy Walk 2011, Brady is going to blaze the trail!

Claire and Brady sit'n in a tree

October is Down syndrome awareness month. Yep, we get a whole month. In order to celebrate individuals with DS there are several "Buddy Walks" in the area. Usually each city hosts their own walk. Lincoln had theirs last weekend and of course we just had to be there. Brady was dying to see Miss Claire. He has missed her so dearly.

The two greeted each other quite calmly. Neither was willing to "put themselves out there." With their increasing age, they must be putting up a few walls. After a brisk walk through Lincoln they were reved up and ready to play. Once we got back to Claire's place they were like two peas in a big girl bed. Yeah that's right, against parent consent the two of them were playing in her room....with the door closed! I caught the two of them testing out Claire's new big girl bed. Brady gave it a big thumbs up, which he ascertained by jumping on it and throwing all the pillows off. Claire just tolerated his behavior and chalked it up to immaturity.

This weekend it's Brady's walk and you bet your buns that the Mrs. Shannon to be will be there. Brady has been talking about it all week. He got a hair cut, manicure and hit the gym. He wants to be in tip top shape for his lady. Plus, for the first time ever he is going to give this Buddy Walk a real WALK! Yeah that's right folks....just in time Brady is now walking! OMG! You may catch him crawling every now and then, but most of the time he's giving life a big fat vertical kiss!!!