the journey continues....

"Two roads diverged in the woods, and I --

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference."

This blog was created as a space to document and share our journey after we were told it would not follow the path we expected.  At a time that we were scared and searching for information and hope, we found much solace in other people's blogs. Our initial goals were not only to keep friends and family informed, but also to hopefully give other frightened expectant parents some kind of hope and guidance as we had found in other families' blogs.

It was just over four years ago that we found out we were pregnant after trying to conceive for almost two years. Four years ago that we started a journey that we did not even fully understand at that point. Along the way we learned what it feels like to have your world turned upside down with 8 little words - "We think there's something wrong with your baby." We have found a strength to push on despite fear of the absolute unknown. We have trusted a perfect stranger to care for our child - to take him apart and put him back together. We have cried for families and their babies whom we have never met, yet feel inexplicably connected to. We have made memories that will never be erased, no matter how haunting some of them are. We have made friends. We have grown in ways never even imagined. We would not change a minute of where we have been and what we have done, as strange as that may seem.

We are blessed. Totally, completely, incredibly blessed. I personally do not know if that word "blessed" was even a part of my every day vocabulary three years ago.

We firmly believe that everything indeed happens for a reason and this is no different. We are better people, better parents, better off because of all we have experienced along our Gumdrop's Journey. We want to preserve this space as somewhere that focuses on CDH and our journey through this part of our lives. We are obviously not untouched by CDH in our lives today, but this blog has served its purpose and with our family about to grow, it seems this is as good a time as any to make a move.  We are beginning a new family blog at www.faithhopeandlovejourney.blogspot.com. We hope you continue to follow us along our journey as a family, but if not we sincerely thank you for your love and support shown to us here. 


Follow your path with courage, no matter what unexpected places you find yourself in along the way and always believe that you are truly exactly where you are meant to be. 

http://faithhopeandlovejourney.blogspot.com/

Happy Easter - a quick reflection

Hope everyone had a great Easter weekend. This time of the year always reminds me of how far we have come. Just a quick look back for you... 

Charlie's 1st Easter - 2009

Still in the NICU and enjoying a little treat to aid in his oral aversion issues

Such a skinny little (yellow) baby! :-)

Easter 2010

Venturing out in public for one of the very first times

First time in a restaurant and I forgot his special seat cover to keep 

him from any yucky high chair germs. I was so upset and proceeded 

to wipe the whole seat down with clorox wipes.

Easter 2011

Such a cheese ball and working the camera to earn his M&M reward

Easter 2012

We are so blessed.

Our last big holiday as a family of 3!

CDH Awareness

We were blessed with the birth of an almost perfect child. His imperfection was called Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH) and he had surgery to correct it when he was just 6 days old. He fought to get to where he is today.

We strive to raise awareness for his fight and CDH every second of every day. We don't need an excuse to share the story of our journey.

That being said, having a month, a day, a color that unifies us and stands as a symbol for our fight gives us a renewed sense of purpose and power. It makes us feel we belong to this club we never wished or imagined being a part of and allows us to ask others to join in our quest. It starts with a day and a color and carries us through the other 364 days.

March is CDH Awareness month and we ask that you join us in wearing turquoise on March 31st. More importantly, tell someone WHY you are wearing it! (And we would love it if you could send us a picture of you wearing your turquoise!)

pictures from last March 31st

Making it blog official...

Our family is growing.

Charlie is going to be a big brother.

And the baby is HEALTHY!

We are 19 weeks along now - due July 9th. We went to the Perinatal Center this morning for our big sonogram/anatomy scan and they found a complete diaphragm and all organs where they should be! They did see 2 choroid plexus cysts, but they tend to be completely meaningless and should go away within the next couple of weeks. They saw one on Charlie too around this point in my pregnancy with him and nothing came of it. Today might be the first sigh of relief we have had since our positive pregnancy test nearly 4 months ago. Life is good...

A Birthday Party Fit for a Superhero...

Some how three whole years have passed since our little miracle man came into our lives! While on one hand I cant believe it has been three years, on the other hand, it seems like just yesterday. Strange how time works like that!

As per Charlie's request, we had a superhero themed birthday party yesterday to commemorate the occasion and celebrate with family and friends. To say he was excited is an understatement! He could barely contain himself as he waited for every one to arrive and was nonstop energy the entire afternoon!

Between the pizza and cupcakes, pinata and presents - a good time was had by all and Charlie has once again been shown how loved he is. We are very lucky to be surrounded by such loving and caring people.

a tower of superhero cupcakes

one very excited birthday boy!

'patiently' reading a birthday card before tearing into the present

and this was his reaction to being sung to

(I think he was just embarrassed and this was how he coped!)

making a wish!

I've been waiting for this alllll day....

mmmm.... frosting...

(the cupcake is really just the vehicle for the real treat - frosting!)

Deck the halls....

Just can me 'Tinsel Man'

How many ornaments do you think I can hang from a single branch??

Cheesers!!

Christmas Tree Hunting

Last weekend we made our annual holiday trip to the Christmas tree farm to cut our tree down. We have gone somewhere different every year because we have never been completely satisfied, but I think we found a winner this year. The blue skies and lack of snow, made it feel like we should have been hunting for pumpkins rather than trees, but it was perfect all around and we got a beautiful tree!

All smiles on the wagon ride out to the fields

our tree!!

Charlie catching a ride with Aunt Bridget

while we waited for the wagon to return

Tchaikovsky!

Last Friday night we kicked off our Christmas holiday season with a family date out to the ballet to see The Nutcracker. Charlie was so beyond excited and told every one he was going to see Tchaikovsky (which he pronounces surprisingly well!). We got a great price on great seats through Groupon and it was the children's ballet with lots of other kids there and we ended up with no one sitting in front of us! It was perfect!

Charlie stood for much of the first act with his elbows resting on the seat in front of him, propping his chin up on his hands as he watched - - I wish I could have gotten a picture of him like that! And he knew there would be mice in the show so the moment the lights came up, he yelled out "Where's the mice?!?" and got quite the chuckle from everyone around us. He got to pick himself out a couple little Nutcracker ornaments before leaving and was a happy boy. It was a really great night all around!

October Rewind: Pumpkin Carving

Pumpkin carving was a big hit in our house and we ended up with some great results. Charlie directed daddy as to what shapes were needed where and Eman took charge with the marker, drawing his jack-o-lantern face before his mom helped him carve it up.

Cheesy smile Charlie

Helping to dig out the guts

Team Trouble

Look at that concentration!

Very closely observing daddy's progress

Just about done!

Pumpkin teeth!

Eman's finished product

And the final display

(Before we put them out on the porch and they were eaten by squirrels!)

October Rewind: Apples & Pumpkins

There's not much better than apple and pumpkin picking on a sunny fall day....

Taking a break from his apple to show me that super smile!

cousins and apples and smiles, oh my!

Charlie and Grandma picked out a good one!

October Rewind: Abbott's Farm

A few weeks ago, we had a nice fall outing to Abbottt Farms where we got to visit some animals, get lost repeatedly in a corn maze, and enjoy some delicious fall treats. It was a chilly, grey day - but it was a good time!

Charlie was intrigued by the turkeys

The chickens came running expecting to be fed,

but then Charlie growled at them instead...

Sorry chickens. :-)

posing with the pumpkins

mmm... warm cider donuts...

Such a goof ball!!

Trick-or-Treat!!!

Charlie and his little friend, Noah, were a big hit in the neighborhood while trick-or-treating in their thinga-ma-jigger last night. I have to give credit to our friend, Melissa, for coming up with the idea and making the awesome blue wigs though! We did nothing but buy a t-shirt and pair it with some red footie pajamas. They were both super cute and had a great time raking in the goodies!

Thing 1 and Thing 2 ready to go go go go... on a trick-or-treating adventure!

Posing with The Cat in the Hat (aka, Melissa)

Eman the skeleton and Thing 2 raring to go!

cute face!!

Happy Halloween from Thing 1 and Thing 2!

Camp Week: Walks at Sunset

Just about every day at the beach ended with a slow and leisurely walk along the beach at sunset. Camera in hand. Charlie often with a freeze pop from courtesy of our camping neighbors and good friends, the Sherwoods. Life doesn't get much better. The beauty of sunsets at Southwick never cease to amaze us, even after years of being in awe of them. Each night is just a little different and spectacular in its own way. Here are a few pictures from throughout our week. Enjoy...