I thought that if I finished the year blogging, it might inspire me to continue into the new year.
I started off by looking through photos and posts of this last year and it's so interesting to see how little Hux looked, and to reflect on what he was doing at the time.
This first photo is of Huxley in January, sitting in his little clip on chair. We haven't put him in that chair recently, he's so darn big and long! We are working on seating in his very own wheel chair but I'll talk more about that later :)
Seems that February was a quiet month but we matched one day in our red plaid, standing in our red kitchen ;)
Huxley 'flying' with his 'Nano' :) Brianna continues to be a huge source of support and love in our life.
My dear, sweet, wonderful Grandfather passed away. He lived a very full life, is missed by all, but I'm so happy that I have this picture of newborn Huxley with his great grandfather Brown <3
In March Huxley had a play-date with his friend Olsen <3 I miss them dearly, they moved to the mainland but we are working very hard to get our boy mobile so we can visit loved ones near and far!
April was hard.
It was really really hard. To say it wasn't would be a big fat lie. These photos show glimmers of light within a very dark time, but don't let them fool you. It was straight messed up. I found our little Huxley fighting for his life one morning after a seizure tried to claim him. We spent 30 days in hospital, Huxley had two surgeries and a lot of recovery. We were SO extremely fortunate to have such a wonderful team of family and friends who donated money to us, fed us, texted, called, dropped in etc. We felt so cared for and it made this part of our journey a little bit easier. It really does 'take a village'. Thank you again from the bottom of our hearts, for whatever you contributed to us big or small. It filled us with light when we felt so dark.
Oh and Matt and I celebrated 10 years of being together, Matt made Jambalaya and snuck beers into our hospital room. It was oddly romantic.
In May Huxley had his g-tube surgery, it has been the best decision. It was not an easy decision to make but I truly believe it was the right one. We now give all of Huxley's medicine without any trouble, we can guarantee he gets all the calories he needs, and he can work on oral feeding without any pressure. Man does this kid love his food! He's eating textures I never thought he'd be able to, and his tongue looks so good. Huxley's ENT doctor did a beautiful job on his tongue repair. Wowzers.
I celebrated Mothers day in the hospital, our nurses made me feel really special <3 We took an insane selfie upon returning home (you can see how crazy happy we are to be out of hospital) and we took the float plane over to Vancouver to see specialists but they didn't tell us anything new so that was pretty disappointing but it's always good to get a second opinion. The trip was worth it though to meet our friends who have a kiddo with the same injury as Hux! Love you guys!
June we settled back into a regular routine, Huxley had his first hair cut! Matt did a great job :) Now he's a pro!
Huxley celebrated his second birthday! It was wonderful. It was filled with friends, family, bubbles, laughter, and paw patrol. So. Much. Paw Patrol.
In July we celebrated Canada day with Fireworks, we went to the pride parade via pickle boat, and Huxley showed us how fast he could heal his tongue. Three months after his surgery he was eating more by mouth then he ever had before
In August we moved to our new place! We have a fenced yard for the dog and we bought an outdoor pool for Huxley! We spent almost every single day in the pool. Best. Purchase. Ever. Auntie Jena came from Ontario and we went to the petting zoo :)
In September I went for a birthday hike with Matty, a wonderful cider tour with Bri, and I started taking yoga pictures again because it makes me happy. This life is full of challenges but you won't be happy if you don't take care of yourself along the way <3
October we had a fun Halloween with a little trick or treating and (my favourite) kid scaring ahem handing out Halloween candy :) We celebrated world CP because there is so much to celebrate, so much challenge and adversity but so much strength and character despite it all!
November we got a wheelchair to trial and look he's actually sitting in it! I mean he's not the most comfortable and he's been in it maybe max 15mins but we've been going for walks and are feeling very hopeful for seating in the future! He's getting there! We could not be more proud :) He's actually requesting to go in the chair sometimes because he knows he's going to get a chocolate reward HAHA. Sneaky bum. We continue to use the gait-trainer as well, but seating has been a big big focus as of late.
December was wonderful. I LOVE Christmas. I'm one of those kooks. I try every year to make it more and more magical for Huxley. He opens a homemade advent calendar every morning, we read Christmas books, play Christmas music, eat Christmas treats ... the list goes on and on. He was spoiled rotten, thanks to everyone who got him presents we took two days to open them! We have many new toys to play with, new books to read, and an indoor swing that I can't wait to try out!
Our year has had ups and downs, behind all of the sparkles and fluff we show on social media is tired parents, with sore backs, and an extremely full schedule. Matt is doing law school, I'm working three jobs, Huxley has therapy every week. blah. blah. blah. The list is extremely long, but we do make the most of it, we hold each other up, we carve out space for each other, and we love that little boy with such a fierceness.
TEAM STUCKENBERG FOR THE WIN!
Love you all, thanks for being in our lives
xoxox
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
