The Croy Family

Over a year........

2011-03-31T13:54:00.000-07:00

I have my blog address on a spina bifida board I belong to. A mom I've been messaging on the board said she saw my blog..........I told her I hadn't updated it for a while.........wow.......it's definetly been a while! One of the last things I wrote was that Casey had just gotten his 2nd nine weeks report card for 1st grade...............well today, he got his 3rd nine weeks report card for 2nd grade! LOL! (All A's again) :) Cody and Connor are now in preschool and LOVING it! :) They are doing great. Cody walks all day at school. Socially, they are little men! LOL! They are so verbal and doing great with their preschool work. They are still with their wonderful baby-sitter 3 days a week and at preschool 2 days/week. Connor started playing t-ball this winter. Cody signed up but REFUSED to play! LOL! Connor is loving it! Casey is in 2nd grade as I said. He is LOVING it!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) He's doing very well with his school work. He's signed up to to play soccer and coach pitch this spring/summer. We are going to be busy!

Big Boy Beds/Cody's Clinic/Casey's Report Card

2010-01-29T17:18:00.000-08:00

This entry is way over due!

Casey got his 2nd nine weeks report card and got all A's again! He's doing so well in 1st grade! We're so proud of him!

Cody had a clinic visit on January 15th. He did great!! I was so proud of him walking into Children's Hospital! :) He had a great check up with his doctors. We are going to start potty training with Cody and Connor both! Wish us luck! He sees his hip surgeon next week to see about the hip surgery. We'll update more on that soon.

Connor continues to love cars! He is very into police cars!

Mom and I took them for their birthday pictures this week. I can't believe they will be 3 next weekend! What a ride these 3 years have been!

The biggest news is that the twins are finally out of their cribs! Only one bed came in on the first day only one bed came so they slept together. They listen to music in their room and they are doing pretty well staying in the beds.

Here's a pic of the new big guy beds. They are great because Cody can get in his! Right now they have crib matresses in them but we can do twin matresses when we are done.

Another picture of the two of them (Cody blue jammies, Connor red).

Here is Connor on his first night in his new bed.

And here is Cody in his bed.

Casey and Connor

2010-01-13T18:05:00.000-08:00

So most of my posts end up being about Cody.........this one's all about Casey and Connor!

Not too long ago, Casey mentioned to me that he needed a room-mate! He pointed out that he's the only one in the house without a room-mate. He said Cody had Connor and I have Matt! I guess the kid has a point. Well tonight I showed him the beds we ordered for Cody and Connor. Since I figured he's going to a little bummed that they are getting race car beds I asked him what kind of bed he'd like to get if he got a new bed. He said bunk beds. He said then I could move into his room and he could sleep on the top bunk and I could sleep on the bottom bunk. LOL! He's a hoot!

Connor said some hilarious things tonight! He asked me where Alice (our baby-sitter) was. I told him he was at her house. He said "She's playing with my toys?" Yeah sure Connor........Alice sits and plays with your toys when you are not there! Then I asked him not to drive his car on the kitchen table while he was eating. He said "Mommy, you hear my words? It's not a car, it's a bulldozer!" LOL!

Cody has his clinic visit Friday. We are anticipating a great appointment! :) We're looking forward to our traditional clinic visit lunch with Aunt Connie!

Lazy Snow Days At Our House! :)

2010-01-05T08:30:00.000-08:00

Snow Days Rock!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) This is my 3rd snow day and Casey's 2nd. Cody and Connor love looking out at the snow.

Here's Casey playing wii.......I think in a way he's ready to go back but he's also happy just to hang out around the house! Yesterday he crawled in my bed around 8 and said "I wish we could stay home one more day." I told him to look out the window! He was so excited. He started jumping on my bed saying "Snow Day, Snow Day!" He's gonna get a rude awakening this afternoon when we clean his room! I'm sure that's not what he has in mind for his day off!

Cody and Connor LOVE their bean bag chairs from their baby-sitter. Now what could better than this on a day so cold? Laying in a room full of toys watching t.v. in your jammies! :)

I had to share these pics from New Year's Eve. At one point, Cody was feeding the cake to Connor. I could not get an action shot of it......it was SO CUTE! :)

Here's another one of them with mom.

2009 was a great year for us and we're looking forward to a fabulous 2010. It's hard to believe the twins will be 3!!!!!!!!!!!! We painted their room this weekend and put up a border. They are getting toddler beds soon.

Casey is doing great in 1st grade. He really enjoyed the football players coming to read to them every week during their fabulous season. He is on two basketball teams right now. His games start this weekend.

Connor is talking SO MUCH! He does not miss a thing! He is also becoming a bit of a tattle tail.....LOL! He likes to point out to me what Cody's doing that he should not be doing! They got a Little Tykes Basketball Hoop for Christmas and he LOVES to play on it!

Cody continues to do so well! He walked around Buehler's the other day with Matt while I got groceries. He's everywhere with his little walker. His PT is working with him on using arm crutches. He has some upcoming appts. this month and next so we'll be updating on those. He seems to be doing so well! He's one amazing little dude!

That's it for now...........Here's to a great 2010!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-29T18:20:00.000-08:00

The boys had a great Christmas! :) We were very busy! The boys were in our church Christmas Eve service and we had 6 Christmas celebrations in all! They got SO MANY toys! Casey's favorite was his DS. The twins' favorite is their Thomas stuff. My favorite gifts are Mario Brothers and Casey's Bop It! We are still trying to get everything organized and put together. Lots of batteries have been installed! It was so great seeing the boys so excited about their presents. Everything Connor opened he said "What is it mommy?" Casey wanted to go to bed at 6:15 on Christmas Eve so Santa would come. Then he came home from church and couldn't fall asleep until after 11:00..............he wouldn't even watch t.v. because he wanted to fall asleep so bad! I hope you enjoy the pics! It's hard to believe 3 years ago, I was getting steroid shots in case the twins were born at 28 weeks......3 years later, Cody is a walking 'miracle' and Connor is running around everywhere like a little wild man! We are so blessed!

By the way, I have no idea why my camera says 12/24......these are pics from Christmas day! I guess I need to change the date on my camera! :)

Connor...........

Cody.........

Connor........

Casey

Cody was unimpressed with Casey's 7:00 wake up call!

He needed a rest when he was done with his presents!

Casey and his Rubix Cube

Connor

Cody

Casey

Christmas Pics Of The Boys.......

2009-12-12T13:19:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from the boys! :) Here are a couple of new pics of the gang.........They are IN LOVE with Santa. I figured the twins would be scared of him but they have seen him twice now and they are not. The twins went to the movies for the first time today........Casey was quite worried about what would happen if they talked in the movie but they did fine! :)

Christmas Time Is Here!

2009-11-29T08:08:00.000-08:00

Well the shopping madness has begun! After three Thanksgiving dinners we are ready to move on to Christmas. The tree is up.......unfortunately last year's lights don't work but the tree is up. It's just waiting on me to get to Wal Mart and buy some new lights so it can get decorated.

The boys have been so funny lately. Here' s a quote from each of them:
Cody says "Turn on the dark" when he turns off a light.
I asked Casey what he wanted for supper last night. I gave him a few choices since Matt was gone at a game so it was just a left over night. He said "Is the pizza shop open?"
I said something to Casey about presents and Connor said "Presents (raising hands in the air) Where's the presents?"

They are so funny! The twins are talking so much and Casey is doing great in 1st grade! He's having a FABULOUS year this year!

Cody continues to amaze us with his progress. He is now walking everywhere when we go places (like into restaurants and the like). Connor is happy because now he gets to walk too!

That's it for us. Christmas tree pictures coming soon! :)

Trick or Treat! :)

2009-10-29T16:44:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of the boys on Trick or Treat night.

Connor the Lion!
Casey, Darth Vader!

Cody, Casey and Connor

Cody the frog

What's been going on with us!

2009-10-24T19:11:00.000-07:00

Well I thought monkeys were appropriate for our life lately!

First of all the twins are in the terrible two's! And the terrible two's times two! LOL! They love to tell on each other and have to point out what the other one did prior to them getting in trouble. For instance the other night Matt was not home and Connor threw a toy at Cody. The next morning when I told Matt about it, Connor said "Cody spilled the goldfish." That had happened 3 days earlier in the church nursery! They are so funny!!!!!!!!!

Cody had a couple of appointments recently. He saw his hip surgeon. He will not be having the surgery to put his hips in anytime soon as they are not sure they would stay in and he's walking great with them out. We'll just wait and see. The doctor also said that he needs to stop wearing his long leg braces all the time so he can start building up some more muscle function. So Monday he's getting fitted for new AFO'S (the ones that just go around his ankles, not all the way up to his hips). He can walk (not strongly but walk) without his long leg braces.

He also saw his neurosurgeon who said his shunt looks great! I really thought his shunt was blocked so I was very happy to hear that he was okay. I had actually packed clothes in case we had to stay. He had just seemed sleepier but it must be from all the walking he's been doing!

We also had our preschool meeting for the boys. They are both in early intervention now because of Cody's SB and them being preemies. When they turn 3, they transition to the school district for services. Connor's services will end when he's 3 as he does not qualify for anything (which is a good thing!!!!!!!!!!!) Cody will qualify for physical therapy services under orthopedic impairment due to his SB. So in the fall, Cody will definetly go to preschool at Ridgewood and hopefully Connor will have a spot as well.

That's about it for us. Casey's doing great in 1st grade! Right now he's has all A's! He's been reading Junie B. Jones and loving those books! He's started church choir and just finished up his soccer season.

2009-10-05T16:01:00.000-07:00

We had a great time at the fair yesterday! Cody and Connor were very patient while Casey rode rides. We just had to take them in to see their new friend Smoky the Bear every once in a while! One time Cody said "Hi There, Smoky!" Casey of course loved the rides! We wanted Cody and Connor to ride the rides but they would have nothing to do with it!

Here's Casey on the batmobile ride. This will definetly be his last year in kiddie land! As you can see he's a little big!

Mickey and Minne were outside the RV stand so we stopped fora Photo-Op!

Here's Casey's 4-H club's booth. He's in Cloverbuds this year.

Cody and Connor had their footprints and handprints in the Hopewell booth for Early Intervention.

In other news, Cody is now a walker! He's been walking everywhere! Right now he's standing with his little walker in front of the tv watching Dora! He used to walk for Physical Therapy........he now walks to get where he wants to go! He walked into church yesterday and out when it was over. He walked into the doctor's office today to get his flu shot and walked out of Early Intervention today. He's now figured out that you walk to get where you want to go! It's SO AWESOME to see him on the move!

He had a couple of big appointments next week, one of which I'm very anxious about. On Monday we see his orthopedic surgeon to see if he's going to have the hip surgery this summer. The other one is his CT scan and a visit with his neurosurgeon on Tuesday. It's a scheduled appt but unfortunately we'd be going if he didn't have an appt. He's been a little sleepier than normal and has more prominent veins around his eyes than are normal for him. We're hoping that he does not need another shunt revision. We'll keep everyone posted on that too.

Casey and I are enjoying our fair vacation! :)

Another video

2009-09-27T15:52:00.001-07:00

If you liked the shopping cart video, you'll love this one! Cody walked into church this morning! He's now walking everywhere he can when we go places! :) Tonight I took him out on the driveway and had him walk a little bit on the street and our driveway. He rocks!!!!!!!!!!! :)

http://s178.photobucket.com/albums/w265/twins2707/?action=view&current=Codywalkingonthedriveway001.flv

Video Of Cody Pushing A Shopping Cart! :)

2009-09-24T14:32:00.000-07:00

Follow this link to see a great video of Cody! His long leg braces have been broken off and on for several weeks. In the meantime, he's decided he can walk without them! In this video he just has on his ankle braces. He gets his other braces back tomorrow. I had to post this video!

http://s178.photobucket.com/albums/w265/twins2707/?action=view&current=Codypushingcart001.flv

September.....

2009-09-22T17:09:00.000-07:00

September is in full swing at our house!

Casey is in soccer......he had practice tonight. He had a great game on Saturday. He's also in a tumbling class with one of his friends. And he started Awana at one of the churches in town. So he's a busy guy!

Cody's been without his braces for a couple of weeks.......they keep breaking because he's so active. We were getting them lengthened since he's grown so much and the orthotist actually broke them. :( He's supposed to get them back Friday. His speech is really coming along. He's really catching up with Connor in that area! I'm anxious for him to get his braces back so he can start walking when we go places. It's hard to believe but they will be 3 this winter!

Connor is my yapper! He talks ALL THE TIME! :) "See school bus, mommy", "I want.........", "Go that way mommy", "Cody wants........", "Casey's getting....." and on and on! He's SO FUNNY! :)

All three boys have started Sunday School. The twins are enjoying being with Alice and Casey LOVES 1st grade. He's doing very well with his reading!

That's all for now!

Cleveland Indians Game!

2009-09-05T20:03:00.000-07:00

We took Casey to his first Cleveland Indians game! Here are some pics! He loved Slider!

In other Croy news, Casey had his first soccer game today. He starts gymastics with one of his friends on Wednesday. I think he'll enjoy that!

Casey's First Day of School!

2009-08-26T15:00:00.000-07:00

Casey had his first day of first grade yesterday. I cannot believe he's a first grader! He's growing up so fast! He's going to be starting soccer again for the fall season. He's excited about that. He'll also be starting Awana Bible Club soon at the Baptist Church. Here are a couple of pics:

Cody and Connor are doing great.............Con ended up at the ER Saturday with the rapid breathign again. We have a breathing machine at home now in case he has these episodes so we can give him a treatment before it gets so bad.

Cody got his braces back today. They broke 3 weeks ago. He's walking everywhere already. They also made them bigger since he's grown so much. He's been asking for them and asking to walk.

They are going weekly for Early Intervention this fall. They will have their evaluations soon to see if they qualify for preschool services.

That's it for the Croy's!

More Cute Things The Boys Say!

2009-08-22T18:04:00.000-07:00

The other day, I honked the horn at someone and Cody said "What Happened?"

Connor was having some rapid breathing again today so we took him to the ER and the whole time we were there when he'd hear something, he'd say "What's that about?"

Connor was crying a little while ago and Matt went in to check on him. As soon as Matt walked in, Cody said "Connor's blanket, daddy." Sure enough Connor needed his blanket.

Casey is all geared up for 1st grade. He's excited that his teacher this year will be Mr. Larr.

As for Connor's trip to the ER, he had some cold symptoms yesterday. Today it turned into rapid breathing. They did two breathing treatments and sent him home on antibiotics and steroids as well as breathing treatments. Here we go again!

Check Ups

2009-08-18T06:09:00.001-07:00

The boys had their check-ups yesterday. Casey had his 6 year check. (Although he's almost 6 1/2!) He's doing great.........his weight and height were great. His BP/Heart Rate were great. She thinks one of his ear tubes has fallen out so we'll follow up with his ENT about that. He's going to have a hearing test just to be sure after all of his ear infections and 2 sets of tubes he's doing okay in that area.

Cody and Connor went along for weight checks. They were checked at 27 months and she didn't want to wait until they were 3 like she does with most kiddos due to the fact that their weight has been so low.

Well.............they have FINALLY hit 25 pounds! They both weighed 25 pounds 8 ounces. This is the first time since they've been born that Cody hasn't been a pound and a half bigger than Connor! It seems like Cody weighs more but I think it just must be the way their weight is distributed. Connor has very long legs and Cody has a longer torso. So she is happy that they both gained. Connor gained 3 pounds and Cody gained 1 1/2 so she's happy with both of them. They will get weighed again in 3 months just to be sure they're still doing okay.

I go back to work Thursday so the boys will be returning to our fabulous baby-sitter Alice on Monday. Casey starts school on Tuesday. I went to Alice's Sunday and took diapers, wipes, clothes, toys, a highchair and 2 cribs! They're all moved back in!

That's it for now!

Things the boys say.....

2009-08-12T14:34:00.000-07:00

The boys all say some funny things every day. Here's an example from each of them.

Cody: Every morning when I get him up, he says "I want reppest (breakfast)"

Connor: He calls corn, "popcorn".

Casey: He informed me a little while ago that he was going to join the Coshocton circus when he grows up. He's going to be the strong man. He's been practicing by holding things above his head.

We're all better!!!!!!!!

2009-08-10T18:40:00.000-07:00

Well, we are all better at our house! :) Luckily, the twins are over their bugs and Casey managed to get nothing more than an ear infection that we were able to treat with ear drops.

Casey is excited that he'll be in Mr. Larr's class this year. Since his friend Jorrie had him last year, he wanted to have him this year. He is getting his new back pack tomorrow. I bought most of his supplies tonight. I can't believe he'll be a first grader! He is in a 4-H Cloverbud group now so he had his meeting tonight. He's all grown up!

I've started working on my classroom. The beginning of the school year is always exciting! It is going to be a great year! :) I'm ready for the routine that the school year brings. I'll be glad to see the boys at 4:00 every day though!

That's it for now!

The saga continues........

2009-07-31T06:49:00.000-07:00

Well yesterday morning Connor was doing much better. However, Cody was not! He had started coughing. So..........off Connor went to the doctor.

He had his chest x-ray and blood work and sure enough.......he has pneumonia!!!!!!!!! :( He got his two shots yesterday and started his breathing treatments too. It's interesting giving two kids breathing treatments. Connor really enjoys his! (Those of you who know Connor well will think that's funny but he does!) He just sits on my lap and looks around. Cody is still getting used to his.

Today they both go back to the doctor. We've been there every day this week but Monday! Cody will get his second round of shots and Connor will just get checked.

Casey's ear is doing better......still bleeding some but the drops seem to be working so he shouldn't need antibiotics. Casey enjoyed basketball camp. He was on the front page of the paper! LOL! Lego camp is over this morning. I'm going early to take some pictures of him there.

Have a good weekend! We have NOTHING but breathing treatments, ear drop and antibiotics. It should be a nice weekend of staying home!

Pneumonia Day 2

2009-07-29T17:37:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a difference a day makes! Yesterday in the doctor's office Connor was sitting on my lap with his bear and his blanket and would not even eat a popsicle that the girls gave him.

Today, he was jumping, running around the room, telling me all about the animals in the pictures on the wall, eating the popsicle and the goldfish, coloring............

So in case you couldn't tell, Connor is doing much better! :) She did give him 2 more shots today of the antibiotic. Tomorrow we will start oral antibiotics. He's also to continue his breathing treatments every 4 hours while awake. She said he's not having labored breathing but is still breathing from his belly so she wants to continue the treatments for that reason. She is going to call me in the morning and see how he's doing but he should not have to go in tomorrow. I'd say we'll follow up at the beginning of the week.

She said his blood work really looks pretty good. She's assuming since he's responding so well to the antibiotics that it's bacterial and not viral.

Luckily she's on call this weekend in case anyone else decides to get this! Casey's ear has been bleeding........this is what happens when he gets an ear infection since he has tubes. She gave me a prescription to get him the drops he needs since we've been down this road many times.

Cody does have a little bit of a runny nose but we're praying it stays at a runny nose!

Pneumonia.......

2009-07-28T15:36:00.000-07:00

Connor has pneumonia! He was coughing some yesterday. Today he started having rapid breathing. I took him in and they did a chest x-ray and it's pneumonia.

He had a breathing treatment in the office and got 2 shots. They also did bloodwork so we'll go back tomorrow and see how he's doing after breathing treatments at home and those shots.

It has not been a good day! :(

Home From The Beach

2009-07-26T21:56:00.001-07:00

We had a great week in Myrtle Beach last week! :) It was great to get away. We went with Matt's parents. We had so much fun with them and the boys! Cody and Connor LOVED the sand! They also loved riding their floaties around the pool! Casey was in the pool like a fish! He loved riding the waves with his board we bought him! It was sad to come back home.........it was such a good time! The twins were happy to get their toys though and Casey was happy to play wii! :) Enjoy the pics!

Pirate Casey at Drunken Jack's

Connor and Cody loving "the sandbox"

Casey ready for some wave action

Casey got his face painted twice.......
this time he was a dog. The night before
he was half Hulk/half Spiderman

Casey having lunch on the beach

Cody and Matt

Me and Connor

The whole gang!

The boys

This week Casey has Lego Camp and Basketball Camp. I'll be running after him all week! :) He's excited that he got his school shirts and his school shoes. Now we just need his backpack and supplies. I can't believe he'll be a first grader!

The twins are doing great in their Early Intervention Group at Hopewell. They will continue going there this fall when school starts one day/week for an hour. They love it! Cody is a walking machine now! :) He goes everywhere with his walker. He walked some on the vacation......he definetly captures people's attention! He's doing so great and I'm so thankful!

Matt's cousin Kelly got married the day before we left for the beach. The boys passed out the rice after the wedding and did a great job. All three boys LOVED the reception. It was great that Cody was right out on the dance floor with his brothers! We are so blessed!

Cody's Clinic Visit! :)

2009-07-17T12:25:00.000-07:00

Cody has his clinic visit today. I keep notes from each visit and last night I looked back at my notes. He had just had his braces for about 3 months when we last went. The PT there told me to start standing him at the couch and see if he would cruise at all. She also mentioned putting two dining room chairs together and put him between them like parallel bars. Well, our PT here had parallel bars so she brought them and Cody started using them. Then in December, he started moving the walker and taking a couple of steps. Since then he's been unstoppable.

Cody WALKED into his clinic appt today! :) He stood on the scale to get weighed like a big guy! (This is the kid who I was told would never walk!)

The Physical Therapist and Physical Medicine Doctor were VERY IMPRESSED with him. He was walking all over the place for them! They just want us to keep doing what we're doing. They said he needs to get his braces adjusted since he's grown so much but he'll keep the same level of bracing.

His kidneys and bladder are doing great! We will have more tests done next summer to see what our options are for bladder control.

Anyway, this was the best appointment we've had for Cody. I was so happy!

2009-07-14T14:20:00.001-07:00

Summer's Halfway Over!

2009-07-08T07:23:00.000-07:00

We had a good July 4th weekend! I got my deck almost all stained. I am so proud of it! It looks great if I do say so myself!

The big hilight of the July 4th weekend was Casey's airplane ride! He attended Summer Adventures Day Camp last week and he got a ticket for a free airplane ride at the Coshocton Airport. He LOVED IT! He got to go with his friend Kolby and Kolby's cousin. The pilot flew them around West Lafayette! Casey is really growing up! Last week he spent 2 nights at his friend's house. I can't believe he'll be a first grader!

The twins have been going to an Early Intervention play group 1 day a week this summer for an hour. Casey and I drop them off. They do great! We are so thankful for Coshocton County's Early Intervention and Help Me Grow programs. They will continue the group this fall when school starts. When they turn 3, unfortunately they won't be in the program anymore. Luckily, Cody will have the same PT when he becomes the school district's responsibility. They will probably go to preschool 2 days/week starting in the 2010-2011 school year. Hard to believe!

Connor LOVES being outside. It's a fight every night when it's time to come in! He loves the Little Tykes Car he can drive. Casey's been giving them rides on his Power Wheels Gator this summer. That's been a hilight! I was kind of sad to take down Connor's baby swing......he wants to be on the big guy swing now!

Cody likes to walk on the driveway with his new walker and get pushed around on the bikes. He also likes the gator! It's great that he can go out and do things! We got him a sand table that he stands up to play with. He likes that too.

Water therapy has been going great for Cody this summer. He LOVES the hot tub. I was trying on a swim suit the other day. I came out of my room to show it to Matt and Cody said "Hot Tub! Hot Tub!" The aquatic therapy has been great for him!

That's all that's going on with us for now!

2009-06-30T15:06:00.001-07:00

2009-06-21T18:04:00.001-07:00

Summer Time!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-06-11T08:19:00.000-07:00

The kids and I are really enjoying our summer vacation!

Cody and Connor are going once a week to a playgroup through Early Intervention. The wonderful ladies they work with said they did great! While they are there, Casey and I will be heading to the library. He was happy to sign up for the summer reading program.

Casey is doing some camps this summer at Kids America. Right now he's in tennis camp. The boys and I are going to go and watch him today........I'm sure Casey with a tennis racket is quite interesting! :) He's excited because you get to keep the racket.

He has his first t-ball game Saturday. This is through Ridgewood Rec.

Cody and Connor are loving playing in their playroom all day!

Cody is still walking a lot with his walker. Today when breakfast was over, I put him in his walker and told him to walk to the playroom. I got Connor out of his highchair then and told him to walk with Cody. He went up behind the walker, pushed it and said "Go Cody!" Too cute!

I ordered the boys one of those sand tables that's up off the ground from Step 2. I think it will be good for Cody to play with sand while standing. It's hard to find outside activities for Cody to do but I don't want Connor to miss out on being outside because it's hard for Cody to be out there. We've been trying to find things for Cody to do out there and I think this sand table will be good. He loves the sandbox, but he gets sand in his braces if he sits and plays in it.

Well, have a good weekend!

Some new pics of the boys and Cody's newest trick!

2009-05-30T16:22:00.001-07:00

Casey and I went to see the movie "Up." They were selling t-shirts so of course he got one! :) He really enjoyed the movie.
Cody and Connor were laying on the floor together reading a book. They are playing together so much these days! They're also starting to fight more! :) Poor Cody, today Connor took his crocs off of him and was wearing them around saying "Cody's Shoes!" :)

The video of Cody is pretty exciting for us (it's on the post before this one if you missed it). He's using 'dowel rods' to get the pattern of walking. WALKING!!!!! :) We're so happy with his progress.

Casey and I will both be done with school for the summer on Tuesday! YEAH FOR SUMMER VACATION!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) Casey starts tennis camp on June 9th and we start Bible School June 21st. It's going to be a busy summer!

Crazy times at the Croy House!

2009-05-20T15:37:00.001-07:00

There's certainly never a dull moment around here!

Connor is a wild man........climbing on everything and talking up a storm! He talks constantly now that he got his tongue clipped!

Casey has his track and field day tomorrow so he's really excited about that. He has all kinds of things planned for his summer vacation! He's going to do some camps at Kids America.

Cody continues to amaze everyone around him! He's now standing up at the couch and letting go! :) That's his newest trick.

The twins are turning into 2 year olds........when they don't want to do it, they are not going to! Cody has been less than cooperative when his physical therapist comes the past 2 weeks!

Hope everyone is doing well!

Springtime! :)

2009-05-09T18:10:00.000-07:00

May has been a busy month for us! Casey and I are both ready for summer vacation. I'm sure Cody and Connor are too!

Casey is doing great with soccer! Today at his game, he stopped 3 balls from being goals! He enjoys playing goalie! Then he got to go to a birthday party for one of the girls in his class so he had a good day! :) This week he has his field trip with his class to library, fire station and pizza shop. He's excited about that. He had his kindergarten musical at the end of April. I can't believe he's about to be a first grader!

The twins are growing up so fast! They are really talking! The other day, Connor was playing with an airplane and Cody tried to take it. He said, "No Cody, that's mine!" They are also getting pretty wild with their playing! The other day they were sliding down the couch cushins and then Cody was riding in the shopping cart and Connor was pushing him!

The big development though is that Cody walked today holding my hands! :) He's never done this before.......he didn't have the balance to walk with his hands up in the air........but today he got it! I was so proud of him!

Update......

2009-04-26T17:45:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful weekend! :) Luckily everyone got to enjoy it! Everyone's on antibioitcs but doing better. Connor got his tubes in on Friday. Luckily, they were able to do it and we were able to come home. At one point they thought we might have to stay because they didn't know how he would do with the anestesia and his cold but we didn't! He did pretty well. He wasn't real happy but he survived!

This weekend we pretty much spent outside all weekend. Cody does so well outside! He gets wherever he wants to go! Unfortunately his braces broke so he can't play soccer right now but he had fun in the sandbox and the playhouse. They are making his braces out of STAINLESS STEEL! He's too active for them! Yeah for Cody! :)

Connor loves to RUN outside! He's always saying 'outide, outide'. And Casey loves riding his bike and playing on his swingset. It's going to be a great summer at our house!

Cody is starting horseback riding therapy tomorrow. I'm excited to get him in that. That will be in addition to his weekly physical therapy sessions and his aquatic therapy we do in the hot tub.

Have a good week!

2009-04-18T18:07:00.001-07:00

Soccer and Family Fun Day!

2009-04-18T12:03:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of Casey's first soccer game and the Family Fun Day at the fairgrounds. Casey had a great time at his first game. He's on a team with some kids from his kindergarten class. He loves playing soccer!
Then we went to the fairgrounds to Family Fun Day. We went with my friend Jenny and her son Gabe and a friend of Jenny's and her little boy. Jenny is actaully the one who found Cody's spina bifida on the ultrasound. She also did my ultrasound the day we found out we were having twins! The day we almost had to peel Matt off the floor in the ultrasound room! Jenny and I have become good friends since Cody's diagnosis that day.
Enjoy the pics!

Connor's Turn!

2009-04-16T18:36:00.000-07:00

We took Cody and Connor to see their ENT today. Cody had to have his ear tubes checked and Connor had his first appointment to see if he needed tubes.

On the way over, I told Matt if we weren't going to see the ENT today I'd be taking him to see the pediatrician. He was coughing and was warm. Well, guess what!?! Ear infection number 6 since November. So........next Friday he gets his tubes put in and his tongue clipped.

We've noticed Cody talking a lot more clearly since he got his tongue clipped and his tubes put in so we're hoping the same happens for Connor. He's a little harder to understand.

On another note, Connor now has a tent over his crib. He has mastered climbing out and was even trying to climb back in! So he's now tented in. It's really pretty neat! :) I'll have to post a pic! Why can't I think of this stuff to invent?

Casey has his first soccer game on Saturday. This is the first time he's played in this league. He's starting t-ball this spring too. He also joined a 4-H club. He's a clover bud. He had a great time when he went to his first meeting. Awana is almost over. There' s only 3 more weeks left of it.

Cody is still walking. He's even standing up at his walker and walking and standing up to the parallel bars! :) Yeah!!!!!!!!!!

That's it for us!

Great appointment for Cody!

2009-04-13T15:42:00.000-07:00

Today we saw Cody's orthopedic surgeon. We had seen him back in November. At that point, he was just starting to walk.

He has not done any damage to his hips by walking which is good. Cody may or may not be a candidate for the surgery to put his hips in. He may have enough muscle function to hold them in. But then again, he may not have enough muslce function to hold them in. We could put him through all of that and it may not work so we're waiting to see. He won't have it past the age of 4. Probably between 3 and 4 from what he said today.

He said he has great balance while sitting so his hips being out are really affecting him! :) And of course he's walking with them out!

He was very happy with the progress Cody is making with his walking and his moving. A little while ago he was getting brave and even letting go for a few seconds while standing by the couch!

Thursday we go back to Columbus for Cody to get his ear tubes checked and to see about Connor getting them put in.

Back To Normal!

2009-04-08T17:26:00.000-07:00

We are glad to have life back to normal around here after our trip to Children's! Cody had his follow up last Thursday from his surgery and the doctor thought his incision looked great. It's funny when we look at pictures of him now, his shunt was definetly blocked and making his head get bigger! You don't notice it because it's so gradual but he's all back to normal now!

The boys are talking up a storm! Connor is saying some colors now and they are both starting to put words together. Alice has them saying "Please, Thank You and Bless You." They are becoming little boys!

Casey is on spring break right now. He got new golf clubs today from Grandma and Grandpa. His trip to McDonalds was the hi-light of his day, though.

I get off work on Friday and Matt has a vacation day.......it's off to find Easter outfits for all 3 boys, dress shoes for Connor and soccer shoes and a jacket for Casey! Plus maybe an Easter dress for me????? We'll see if I'm still in the mood after getting that stuff!

Monday is Cody's next big appointment. We see the orthopedic surgeon about Cody's hips. When we went in November he was just really starting to walk so we need to see if his walking has done any damage and we need to do surgery or if we are going to leave them the way they are...time will tell!

Here's a link to a video of him walking:
http://s178.photobucket.com/albums/w265/twins2707/?action=view&current=codywalkingapril2009002.flv

Thanks for keeping up with us!

We are home.......

2009-03-21T14:14:00.000-07:00

What a week! We just got home late this afternoon. Cody did great with both surgeries yesterday. The nurses thought he was adorable! He wasn't as into them as they were into him! He did not need any pain meds until during the night and then only needed Tylenol and Motrin. The nurses said he did better than most of the big kids do! Connor and Casey are glad to have us home. They spent the week with mom, grandma and Alice. Casey enjoyed spending part of today with his friend, Clay.

Thanks for the prayers, e-mails and text messages. We are so thankful for all of those who care for Cody! He's certainly a trooper!

Cody's big adventure.......

2009-03-19T06:12:00.000-07:00

We are on quite a ride here at Children's! Cody had a CT 2 weeks ago and it showed larger ventricles than 6 months ago. We were scheduled to get a follow up CT today (Thursday). Well on Monday he started vomiting and continued doing so on Tuesday. We got him in on Tuesday and they decided yes, he did need a shunt surgery.

So they admitted him and planned to do it yesterday. Well that all changed yesterday!

When the nurse practitioner was examining him yesterday she noticed his ear was still infected. We knew he had an ear infection because we'd had the twins to the pediatrician on Friday and they had ear infections. They were actaully scheduled to see about getting ear tubes on April 3rd.

Well Cody beat them to the punch!

They cancelled his surgery yesterday until we could get the ear stuff figured out. We saw the ent folks yesterday and they decided he needed tubes. So they scheduled that for yesterday. He obviously needs a revision soon. So they have decided to do both surgeries on Friday. I guess that's good in the regard that he'll only have to go under once. They just don't want him to have any infection in his body when they do the shunt surgery.

The ENT folks did not think he had as much infection and he had fluid. That makes me feel better that he is not 'infected' and that he will be okay for surgery in that regard.

So........Cody gets ear tubes and a shunt revision on Friday.

They ended up keeping him since he is indeed in shunt failure and want to watch him. As of now he's not having any 'symptoms' like vomiting or anything so he's early on in shunt failure.

Please keep him in your prayers!

Trip To Children's......

2009-03-04T16:05:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a big trip for us. Cody and Connor both needed CBC's and lead tests as part of their 2 year well checks. I decided since we were going to Children's anyway, we'd get it done there. So we did that first.

Then Connor had an X-ray of his spine........he has a dimple at the base of his spine. Thankfully, it is not spina bifida oculta. If it was we knew it was not causing him any trouble but we just wanted to rule it out. Cody's neurosurgeon read the x-ray for us so I'd know for sure.

Cody had his 6 month CT of his brain to check his shunt. Unfortunately, we have to go back in 2 weeks because his ventricles in his brain are larger than they were 6 months ago. We are praying that it's just the size they are going to be. If they have grown, it could be because his shunt is not working and he will surgery to revise his shunt. For those just joining our story, Cody had a shunt placed at 3 months of age and it was blocked (like it possibly is now) at 7 months of age. Since then he's been fine. Most kids with spina bifida need shunts because thier spinal fluid builds up in their brains. The shunt drains into thier bellies and causes no problems (unless it gets blocked..........) We go back in 2 weeks for another CT and another appt. I will post after that.

Otherwise, everyone is doing well. We're ready for spring so we can outside! Connor is really starting to talk and put two words together. Cody is hanging on to everything and walking around things! His PT is ordering him his very own walker this week! Casey is still doing well in kindergarten. We're very proud of him!

Matt's busy with ball games........The teams in his county are really good!

I'm loving our new wii, especially wii fit! I'm trying to lose my twin weight two years later!

Too Cute!!!!!!!!

2009-02-23T15:59:00.000-08:00

Tonight Cody said "Night-night" so I knew he was ready for bed. I asked Connor if he wanted to go night-night too and he smiled. I started to pick Connor up because I was going to take him in first. He shook his head no. He then went over and stoody by Cody and said "KeKe". How cute!!!!! He knew Cody would need carried so he was going to walk so I could carry Cody. When I was changing Cody, Connor went and got both of their blankets and brought Codys out to him.

I just think it is great that Cody will have Connor (and of course Casey) to watch out for him!

Casey just signed up for soccer and signs up for t-ball this week. It is going to be a busy spring and summer!

Cody goes for a CT scan next Tuesday. He has not had any issues so we do not anticipate any problems. We will update after the appointment!

Two Year Check-ups....

2009-02-16T17:33:00.000-08:00

The boys had their 2 year check ups today. I still cannot believe they are 2! It's been a great 2 years! Lots of stress but all worth it! :)

Their check ups went great! Connor was first. He's still only 22 pounds but growing on a curve so that's great news! :) He was running all over the office exploring everywhere! (As you can imagine, we are quite an adventure when we have appointments!) She is very happy that he's catching up to his 'real age' in speech and developmentally. Overall, great check-up!!

Cody only weighed 21 pounds, 3 ounces. It's okay, she's not too concerned but he's not growing on a curve anymore so we will continue to monitor their weight every 3 months. She said another 1/2 pound and he's be back on the curve. She's not concerned since they have been sick, just something to watch. She talked to us about his gross motor skills. She is very happy with his progress spina bifida wise.

Casey also went because he had to get his second Hep A shot.......that was QUITE a scene!!! He SCREAMED like they were killing him before he even got the shot!!!!! But that's over and done with, thankfully! We also had his ears checked and he has double ear infection!!!!! He said they were hurting today. So another antibiotic for us!

Cody and Connor's ears and throats looked good. Thankfully their 2 rounds of antibiotics worked (actually 3 rounds for Connor!)

After that it was on to the Yucatan for supper!

Casey got an early birthday present yesterday....a wii! We love it! It's good family fun! Casey loves the boxing game. I like the tennis. Matt's favorite is the baseball. Takes him back to his glory days!

We are ready for spring at our house! Matt starts the girls' tournament this week and I am teaching an after-school math and reading program. Busy, busy, busy!

The twins are 2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-02-07T16:15:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe the twins are 2 today...It's hard to believe that as I write this it was 2 years ago today that Connor and I were at OSU and Cody and Matt were at Children's while Cody was having his myleo closed. In 2 years, Cody has had 3 surgeries, more doctor's appointments, CT scans and kidney ultrasounds than I care to count, hours of physical therapy and aquatic therapy and lot of smiles and tears from me! He is such a little miracle! It's amazing what that guy has been through and yet he always smiles! I am amazed that he is walking at 2 years of age! Connor has really developed his speech skills....at one point he was showing a bit of a delay but has really caught up! He told me 'more' today when he wanted more milk and he says 'here' when he wants gives me something. At their last evaluations, their results showed they are both almost age appropriate for speech and development. They are AMAZING!!!!! Casey continues to do well in kindergarten and absolutely loves it!

Me and my babies........

Casey and his brothers!

Cody and Connor....

Connor with the wild hair!!!!!!! (What hair he has!) LOL!

Cody and his grilled cheese.......

The twins will be 2!!!!!

2009-01-30T13:09:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe that the twins will be 2 next Saturday. It's hard to believe. Here are pictures of their 2 year old pictures.

Here's crazy Connor.......

Cody our little miracle baby.....

Close up of Cody......

Close up of Connor.......

We are home again today.....I had a 1 day work week this week! I guess more snow is coming next week so next week could be interesting too! Casey had to get a filling this morning so I left the house for the first time since Monday!

Casey's throat hurts now......luckily our pediatrician called in a prescription for him since she knew the twins have both had it.

Cody and Connor are learning so much from Casey these days.......Earlier Cody shut the mailbox on his learning house and he said hi-yah! I cracked up. They are so funny!

They have their evaluations for Early Intervention this Monday. I am anxious to see how their speech and developmental skills are coming along. :) I'll update after their testing on Monday. Have a good weekend!

Snow days.......

2009-01-29T07:01:00.000-08:00

We're on day 3 of winter storm '09! I hope we go back tomorrow! Casey now gets out for the summer in June. I'm May 29th as of today but that could change tomorrow. Casey enjoyed playing in the snow with Matt when he got home from work last night. Here are some pics of the ice on our trees and him playing along with a couple of pics of the kids in the playroom during Casey's attempt to get them to watch Kung Fu Panda with him!

Gimme 5......

2009-01-27T17:10:00.000-08:00

The twins are really starting to interact with each other and play with each other more. It's really fun to watch. They are also starting to hug each other when we tell them to and tonight they gave each other 5......it was SO CUTE!!!!!

Casey has taught them to squeeze their own noses and say "honk honk". They think that's the best!

Connor could have a career in stripping..........he has been getting naked in his bed when we put him in there. I've changed more sheets in the past week! :) It's been interesting!

We took Casey to his first Ohio State Basketball game on Sunday. We went for Matt's birthday. It was interesting because it was snowing so bad that it took forever to get there and then Casey ended up getting sick so I had to buy him new clothes and a new coat. Course those who know me know I'm not much of a sports fan so I was just going to eat out! Well that did not happen due to the weather and the puke!!!!! We had to eat at the game.

The kids and I were home today and will be home again tomorrow I'm sure. One news station says we could get 8-12 inches of snow! Yikes! I love snow days but tomorrow will be day #7. We missed two in the fall due to the hurricane knocking out power. Spring can come anytime!

Two Year Pictures....

2009-01-24T14:43:00.000-08:00

Well today we attempted two year old pictures. This is always quite an event......having two babies and a 5 year old all smile at the same time. :) Cody's individual picture turned out well after much coaxing. Connor's was not as good so we re did it after looking at them on the computer. The one of all 3 kids......well maybe we'll get that one the next time! :) LOL! They wore their ADORABLE Levis bib overalls that Aunt Marlene and Uncle Caleb got them for Christmas. I will post pictures when we get them back.

Tomorrow we are taking Casey with us to see the Ohio State Buckeyes play basketball. I think he will be very amazed with how big the arena is! That's Matt's birthday present.

Last night we had a very nice visit with the ultrasound tech (and now friend) who told me I was having twins and later told me Cody would have spina bifida. She's never seen Cody and so she was of course amazed at how well he's doing! She and I had a very nice time catching up. It was amazing going back through the picture albulms and videos with her and seeing how far Cody has come. WOW!!!!!

That's about it from us. Just ready for spring! Oh and Casey signed up to play soccer this spring. That will be a lot of fun!

Sick kids!!!!!

2009-01-20T13:04:00.000-08:00

Here are some recent pics of the boys.......These ones are from Christmas!

Last Friday (January 9th), Casey stayed home with a fever and ended up vomiting. Then when Connor got up from his nap he had a fever. Casey ended up feeling better but Connor's fever kept going up. So he ended up at the E.R. Sunday. Ear infection!

So everyone was good all week, Connor started feeling better and I thought Cody was going to dodge it. Wrong! Cody ended up at the doctor on Friday which was the same day Connor ended his antibiotic (Snow day 2!) and he had an ear infection and probably strep (they did not test him because it's the same antibiotic). So Cody finally got back to normal and last night, Connor got a fever again of 102!!!!! So........off work this afternoon to take Connor to the doc.......ear infection and red throat! Back on antibiotics!

On a happy note, Casey got all S's on his 2nd nine weeks report card! Casey loves kindergarten and is doing very well!

Cody's PT was very happy with how well he's doing today.....we are going to get him a smaller walker so he can control his steps better......he takes HUGE steps! She has not seem him for two weeks so she was very impressed with how much better he's doing with moving his walker and walking at the same time!

Cody is doing so great!!!!!

2009-01-19T07:36:00.000-08:00

So I have decided that Cody needs to see that walking can "get him places." Usually when it's time to eat, Connor walks and I carry Cody to the kitchen (actually usually Connor runs because Casey is supposed to walk beside him so usually Casey is chasing Connor!)

Anyway, last night when it was time for supper, I decided to have Cody walk to the kitchen with his walker. He did so well! He was saying eat, eat, eat all the way so he had a purpose for walking!

Then this morning when I got them up, I got Connor ready first and put him in the playroom. (He got to wake up Casey who loves sleeping in like his mommy and also loves sleeping in his playroom when he does not have to get to school the next day!)

Cody walked from the hallway outside his room to the kitchen to get his antibiotic and then back to the playroom! He was so exctited!!!!! I really think he needs to walk to get places instead of just saying okay it's time to walk and walk across the living room to get an animal cracker!

I can't believe that Cody is not even 2 yet and doing so much! I read somewhere the other day that if a child with spina bifida is going to walk the average age is 2.5. Well he's ahead of that statistic! :)

Today we are at home for day 5 of our extended break we've got going on! :) Tomorrow it's back to school and Alice's. Matt has been busy this weekend broadcasting games at a big Girls Basketball Tournament. He's been leaving early and not getting home 'til around 11:00. Tomorrow night he does not have a game so I'm sure the kids will be all over him!

Connor is apparently scared of our cat now......every time he comes in the room he runs to me and says "no, no, no" as he points at the cat!

Some Funny Things.......

2009-01-17T20:51:00.000-08:00

The boys do some really funny things every day. I thought I'd post a couple....

The other day Cody and I went to Zanesville to get his leg braces adjusted. We went to the mall and a few other stores while we were there. It was just Cody and I. Everytime I put him in and out of his car seat, he said "Nonnor" (Connor). It was like he was looking for him. Well that same day we had to see the pediatrician because Cody had a nasty diaper rash. We saw the doctor and then went over to the pharmacy to get his prescription. I sat down on a chair with him while we waited and he looked in the mirror behind me and said "NONNOR!" He does the same thing any time he sees a baby picture of him, Connor or even Casey! :) It's so cute!

We went shoe shopping for Connor the other night and he cried every time I took the shoes off of him that he was trying on. He kept saying 'shoos'. He is really coming along with his speech. We had ordered FFA fruit and day it was delivered grandma was here with the kids. Casey went out to get an apple for her and one for him. Apparently grandma did not want hers so Casey gave it to Connor and he thought it was a ball and was throwing it all over the toy room saying 'ball, ball'. Casey thought that was pretty hysterical!

Casey has an imaginary friends now named Brayden. The other day we went to Walnut Creek to meet Matt for supper between his games. We then went over to New Phila (to get Connor's shoes). Casey informed me that Brayden was no longer with us that he had flown home. Apparently he's part super hero! He also flew behind Matt's car the other day when they went to get their haircut. Casey informed me that he knew they were there when he saw the sign outside the barber shop!

What's been going on with us........

2009-01-17T17:02:00.000-08:00

Well I guess my first post will just be about what we've all been up to! I'm new to this so I guess this is a good place to start. Some of my mom friends who have kids with spina bifida have blogs so I wanted to join in (hi girls!)

Casey is thriving in kindergarten........he is doing so well with his reading. He has my kindergarten teacher as his teacher! :) He enjoys riding his bike, playing soccer, playing with his new Leapster and playing with his brothers. He LOVES to play cars and dinosaurs.

Connor is our active little guy! :) He's into everything. He is so funny! He is such a good physical therapist for Cody though! Cody sees what he does and wants to keep up with him. He's walking, running, climbing, talking and all the other things soon to be 2 year olds do!

Cody is our little miracle! I was told when I was pregnant and again when we was 2 months old he'd never walk. Well he's proving everyone wrong and walking with a little walker! He's so amazing! He's taught us a lot about life and brought so much joy to our lives. We are so excited to see what he will do next! His physical therapist is really happy with his progress. We let him show us what he's able to do and he's definetly showing us a lot! We are still waiting to see if he will need hip surgery. Our next visit is in April so we'll keep you posted on that. He has one completely discloated hip and one that goes in and out. We have been kind of waiting to see what he can do with them the way they are. It's kind of a touch subject in the spina bifida world because a lot of doctors think the best treatment is to leave them out if they are not causing the kids too many problems. We will just wait and see!

Matt now works at WKLM radio in Millersburg (owned by the same person as WTNS). He's the office manager and lead salesman/play-by-play guy. He's been there almost a year and really enjoys it!

I am in my 9th year of teaching at Warsaw Elementary. I teach 4th grade Math, Science and Social Studies. Yes, I'm a black bear! :)