St. Louis Bound!

I'm beginning to "pin" some ideas of places we can visit as a family prior to Kaz's big surgery! The options are endless...I never realized how much St. Louis had to offer. From the world-famous zoo to the massive arch, so much of this spot is FREE to visitors I'm discovering, which makes this whole planning thing even more fun. We will only have a couple of days prior to being hospital-bound, but I figured we should live it up while we can!

Another thing I've been ISO (which means "in search of" - don't worry I just figured this one out myself;) are some neat surprises for Kaz. I thought this would be something fun to shake things up a bit and a way to get his mind off of the yuck of surgery and hurting. I've stumbled upon a few things that I know will make his day! If only I could get Florida Georgia Line or Lady Antebellum in the flesh to appear, the kid probably wouldn't shed a tear ;) For now, we'll have to stick with pirates and ninja turtles!

These snow days somehow make the time drag along...waiting...
But I must say, our time together is precious! I'm so thankful for these extra moments to make memories with my ever-growing 3-year-old. 

It's all becoming REAL!

The prayer of Kaz walking one day (completely on his own) once seemed like a dream. I've always been in hopes that one day he would reach this goal, until the other day I realized... This is MY dream. Of course as a parent, you want your children to experience everything you did growing up and more! For him to walk in my mind, was always a requirement in order to truly enjoy life to it's fullest and experience everything I'd ever want for Kaz. I guess I just assumed all of this was his dream too?!

Until the other day when he was talking to a good friend of mine, it all seemed that we were both in agreement. That's when the surgery got brought up and Kaz starting talking about it with her. For the first time I heard him utter the words I'd been selfishly dreaming of the past three years with no hesitation at all... "I'm having surgery, and I'm going to WALK!". Until that day Kaz had never said he was going to walk and honestly, I can't say he minded being carried around too much. 

However, now that we're dreaming the same dreams and have our hopes set high, I say it's safe to say Kaz is now ready to accept this challenge and it's all becoming REAL!

We will spend the second week of April in St. Louis, with Kaz's surgery date scheduled for April 7th.

In the meantime, keeping him healthy and finalizing all the details are in the works. After following so many families that have gone through this same surgery, I now know it's truly a lifestyle shift. Today, I met with my employer to confirm details for my long-term leave and will be taking the rest of this year off following Kaz's surgery. I plan to be as involved as possible, attending therapy and providing home therapy daily!

Our family is believing for BIG things! Now that Kaz is finally onboard I don't think there's much that can stop him. Prayers along the way are so appreciated!