I Might Trade Him For a Bunny Rabbit

Bryson has always wanted a baby sister.  She was very disappointed when she found out that Brett was a boy, but she quickly got over it when he was born and hasn't been able to leave him alone since.  Lately though, she has been talking about me having a girl baby (which will NOT be happening).  The other night, Bryson, Brett and I were laying in bed and she told me that she had been praying to God to give us a girl baby.  I told her (again) that God wanted us to have Brett and we were so happy to have him.  The rest of the conversation went like this:

Me:"Look at him sleeping.  Isn't he the sweetest thing?  We wouldn't trade him for anything would we Brsyon?"

Bryson:"Well, I might trade him for a bunny rabbit."

Me:  (HUGE GASP!!!) "BRYSON, I CAN"T BELIEVE YOU SAID THAT!!!  BRETT LOVES YOU SO MUCH AND HE WOULD BE SOOO UPSET IF HE KNEW THAT YOU WOULD TRADE HIM IN!"

Bryson: "Momma, please don't tell him that I said that.  I really do love him."

I haven't told Brett yet, but one day he will read this!!

New Shoes

     Brett got his first pair of Stride Rite walking shoes on Friday- size 4 1/2 XXW.   It was quite the adventure.  Our day started out at Dr. Ben's office so that Blake could get several warts removed from his knees and elbows.  Blake was very brave as Dr. Ben froze them off with liquid nitrogen.  It definitely hurt, but he did not cry! 

     Our next adventure was to the shoe store for Brett.  Blake and Bryson are obsessed with their little brother!!  After almost a year, you would think that the newness would have worn off and they would not want to hold him and play with him ALL of the time.  WRONG!!!!  I finally had to put Blake and Bryson on benches on opposite sides of the store so that the lady could fit Brett for his shoes.  The lady at the shoe store said that Brett's feet were like "blocks" and that he has a "large fatty pad" on the top of his feet, hence the XXW.  He really seems to like his shoes and has more fun untying them and chewing on them.  Brett is not walking yet, but he is standing without help and attempting to take a step or two at a time.  Brett went to church this morning in his new shoes and one of Blake's outfits!

Mini Mustang Cheer Camp

Bryson went to Mini Mustang Cheer Camp this week at South Effingham High School.  The cheerleaders were in charge of the camp and Bryson LOVED it!!  She practiced her "Go Mustangs" and "Go Big Red" all week!!  She also had to do a split for the routine.  Here is Bryson with all of the cheerleaders!

Friday night was Parent Night and Bryson showed off all that she had learned!

The "famous" split that she practiced all week for.....she was so proud of herself!!!

Brett had a GREAT time at the program!!

Bryson was worn out every day after camp!  One day she put on Rick's IPod and this is what happened!

The Lemonade Stand

We had a garage sale today that was a FLOP!!  We had tons of customers, but no one bought anything.  Blake and Bryson wanted to sell lemonade and cookies, but I burnt all of the cookies and so they only sold lemonade.  Noah and Reed came to help too!!  Sadly, they made more money selling lemonade than I did at the garage sale.........seriously.

THE BEST NEWS!!

I just got off the phone with the audiologist and....Brett does NOT need his hearing aids anymore at this point!!  She said that his loss is so minimal right now that the hearing aids are not making a significant difference.  Because he has made such good speech progress and has a neurotic mother, they will continue to monitor him closely for any changes!!  Praise the Lord!!  This is the best news ever!!!

The Good and The Bad (News)

We have had a busy week around here.  Summer is almost over and things are in high gear at our house!  I posted an earlier post about Dad being accepted into a study for AD at Emory.  We left on Monday for his appointment on Tuesday.  Brant went with us.  Mom had to sign many consent forms, we met the doctor in charge of the study and asked many questions, and Dad had a physical and memory testing.  We scheduled his MRI for next week.  We went back to the waiting room to wait while Dad had his EKG and bloodwork.  We had not been seated long at all when the nurse, Janet, called us back to discuss the cognitive testing results.  Dad's testing had shown significant change for the worse.  Because of this change, Dad is no longer qualified for the study.  We are devastated and this news was a huge blow to us.  We were in no way prepared for this.  Janet said that they will continue to look for studies that Dad may qualify for.  We are still hoping and praying for a miracle.  Maybe something better will come along that is meant for Dad......

Now, the good news!  Brett had his sedated ABR test today!  They saw an improvement in his hearing.  He still has minimal hearing loss, but it is borderline!!  This was wonderful news to us.  Brett will see the audiologist on Wed. to see what her recommendations are.  We are hoping that he may not need to wear the hearing aids and that we can treat his speech aggressively with weekly speech therapy.  Even if he does have to continue to wear the hearing aids, we are so thrilled for imporvement and good news this week!!!  We really needed something to lift our spirits!!

The Rushing Family at Tybee

This past week, all of Dad's family (along with their children and families) got together at Tybee Island.  At one point, I think I counted 36 of us there.  Unfortunately for them, the weather was not good all week long, but even so, everyone was able to squeeze in some beach time when it wasn't raining and lots of family time.

The 5 Rushing children!

Fun at the beach!

Cousins: