My 2009 Christmas Letter

December 2009

I used to think that people were crazy when they said that time goes by faster the older that you get. I completely understand what they mean now. This year can be defined by one simple word, BUSY!!!
2009 started with Jay & I celebrating our 9th anniversary, which means that in a little over two weeks, we will be hitting number 10. A whole decade – I never thought it would come so quickly, but time flies when you’re having fun, right!?! Speaking of fun, in January, Jay was released from serving with the young men and was called as the Elder’s Quorum Secretary. In February, I had to say goodbye to my little 5-year olds and was called as the Young Women’s President. (I am not sure what the bishop was thinking, but he assured me that he prayed about the decision.) We both thoroughly enjoy our new callings and are grateful for the blessing we receive by serving others. Jay continues to paint for his mom and I still do my accounting work on the side. We have both had to lay off on the extra curricular activities due to the change in schedules, but we sneak in a date night or two whenever we get the chance.
Kennedy has been one busy girl!! She had her 3rd and final graduation from Preschool in May and started Kindergarten in August. She loves her new teacher and is thriving in all areas!! This summer, she was given the opportunity to start singing and hula lessons. After a couple months, she decided that hula was not her thing, but singing has become her new love. She has had three performances so far and sang her heart out at each of them. Other than having her tonsils and adenoids removed in September, Kennedy has had a happy, playful year.
Talen has had the busiest year of us all. He has graduated from TLC and began preschool in November. There are 5 students in his class and 5 wonderful teachers. He goes 4 days a week for 2 hours a day and absolutely loves it. On a medical note, we made 5 trips to Primary Children’s for Nutritional Clinics, ENT (Ear, Nose, & Throat), Neurology, Orthopedics, and Cardiology. One of the trips was to have his adenoids removed. Normally this is an out-patient procedure, but given his medical needs, it was an overnight stay for us. In September, we discovered that Talen has a heart murmur, but nothing to be too concerned about yet. They will keep an eye on it and there may be issues in the future, but for now, all is well. The rest were normal, routine visits. However, we did make two trips to the ER with Talen this year. In March, Talen caught RSV and had to be hospitalized for two days. After being released, he had to continue to use a respiratory pump for an additional week or so. The second trip to the ER was because he was feeling restless and tried to jump off the bed. He got a huge goose egg on his forehead, but I think I felt worse about the whole ordeal than he did. In June, Talen’s wheelchair finally came through. After over a year of paperwork, phone calls, and headaches, it arrived. We also got his stander and a versa-form. In October, we had the opportunity to take Talen to a physical therapy facility in Provo where he spent 4 weeks getting intense PT. It was tough to be away from home for so long, but the progress that he has made is priceless. We will be heading back for another round of PT this coming April. I have tried to keep his progress updated on my blog and would love for you to follow along. The address is: shellyvaughn.blogspot.com We are also keeping Talen’s website up for future events. The address there is: teamtalen.org
That pretty much sums up 2009 in the Vaughn household. I just want to thank all those who helped with the fundraiser that we held in order to be able to send Talen to physical therapy. Whether it was time spent selling golf balls, baking goods for the bake sale, helping at the booths and breakfast, or simply donating money, we appreciate every single person that was involved. There are so many people that helped make it possible and we could not have been successful without all your love and support. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! I am so blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful family and friends. From the bottom of my heart, I love and appreciate you all so much!!! I hope and pray that you have a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year!!
Love – Jay, Shelly, Kennedy, & Talen

KiKi lost her 2nd tooth!!

It is official, we are the worst parents ever!!! Kennedy lost her second tooth (the bottom front one on the left) and we forgot to have the tooth fairy show up. The first night we totally spaced it and had to tell Kennedy that the tooth fairy wanted us to take a picture before she took the tooth so that is why it was still there. Of course, I got busy and didn't get the picture taken. Then, the second night we had to say that she knew I was a scrapbooker and would just be too sad if I didn't get a picture, so she left it again. After the third night of forgetting (and still not remembering to take a picture), I made the $1 trade that morning before KiKi remembered to check under her pillow. Thanksfully Kennedy was none the wiser, but we sure felt like we had taken the World's Worst Parents award. So, here is the official 2nd lost tooth photo - Kennedy with her reward for being patient!

Going for a walk

It was such a beautiful day that we decided to take the kids out for a walk. After getting Talen decked out in his new shoes, beanie, and gloves, he looked so cute we couldn't help but to grab the camera. What a doll!!!

Christmas

We woke up Christmas morning and I decided to take on the roll of my dad. No presents until every one has eaten and breakfast is cleaned up. I guess it was kinda mean, but I had to do it as a kid, now it is my turn to torture my kids. Kennedy was just dying to jump in when we finally told her she could start opening the presents. We had invited Grandpa Victor, Grandma Robin, and Gavin over to watch the kids open their gifts. Kennedy got a cardboard play house, a new razor, an X-box game, figurines to paint, puzzles, games, and Polly Pocket and Littlest Pet Shop toys. Talen got several movies, new shoes, a workout mat, gloves, and bath toys. After presents and relaxing a bit, we headed over to Cathy's to exchange gifts with them. We ended up staying longer than we planned because we got hooked on playing Scott's Rock Band game thing. Even Talen enjoyed it!! We stayed for dinner then headed home. What a nice relaxing Christmas!!!

Christmas Eve

Christmas this year will be fairly low-key. We were supposed to spent it with my family, but since we had already spend the entire month of October away from home, I just didn't want to leave. My parents came for a quick visit earlier this week, but Christmas this year will mostly just be us. So, for the usual Christmas Eve, we got the kids ready for bed and let them open their Christmas Eve presents. They got . . . pajamas!!! (what a surprise!!! hehehe)

Family Pictures

I've been getting much better at using Photoshop, so I decided to make and send out Christmas cards with my yearly newletter. I guess that meant that we needed to get pictures taken. Brooke and Talia were nice enough to help us out. So, here is our Christmas card (which I made and am very proud of, can you tell?)

Tuacahn Nativity

Grandma Cindy & Grandpa Dallan arrived early enough that we decided to head out to Tuacahn's production of the Nativity. When we got there we took some pictures and let Kennedy visit Santa. We tried to let Talen, but he was just not in the mood to sit on some fat guy's lap. The Nativity was really neat because it had live camels and such, but was too dark for any pictures. After the Nativity, we went on the little train ride that took us around Tuacahn. Good times!!!!

Kindergarten Christmas Party

I asked Cathy to babysit Talen for me so that I could go help at Kennedy's Kindergarten Christmas Party. Viviann (my neighbor) did a wonderful job organizing the party. The kids played games, colored, and decorated graham cracker houses. They seemed to have a really nice time. It also gave me a chance to meet some of the kids that Kennedy keeps talking about. I especially wanted to see "Mason B." Everyday after school, I ask her who she played with and what she did and every response includes Mason B. I am afraid that we are headed for trouble when she gets older. 6-years old and all ready boy crazy! AAAAHHHHH!!!

December Singing Program

Kennedy's singing class had a performance at Santa Clara's Nativity Festival. Her, Dylan, Hailey, and Trey were all able to go sing. They did such a good job!! Kennedy's favorite song is "Angels We Have Heard on High." I think it is because she likes singing the Gloria part at the end. After the performance, we walked around the festival. There was a place set up where they put headdresses on the kids so they could be shepherds. Kennedy wanted to wear her headdress all day and wasn't happy when I made her take it off.

Playing Dress-up

We had gone over to Brooke's to get pictures of the kids with Robin before her and Gavin left on their Christmas trip (I needed more pictures for her Christmas calendar). While we were there, the kids were all playing in Hailey's room, so I took Talen in so that he could feel like a part of the group. Trey and Hailey took turns tossing him balls and playing with him. Then we decided it would be fun to let him get dressed up. Given that it was Hailey's room, the only dress-up stuff was for girls, but they used it anyway. Talen loved it!! When I showed him what he looked like in the mirror, he got a huge smile on his face. I think he liked it so much because the other kids were showing him so much attention. What a cute cross-dresser!!!

Kennedy

This year for Christmas I made Robin and Victor a calendar with pictures of the kids. So, in order to have enough, we did several at-home photo shoots. We did such a nice job I figured that I would just use the pictures of Kennedy as her official pictures this year (since I messed up and missed getting her school picture). So, here is the page that I made from Kennedy's best photos.

Talen & Trey

Kennedy has singing lessons every Wednesday, so to kill time while we wait, Talen and I usually go visit Talia. While we were there, I was showing Talia how good Talen is at sitting up by himself, so I propped him up in her chair. As soon as I did, Trey decided that he wanted to sit with him. So we got them situated and grabbed the camera. It was the cutest thing ever!!!

November 2009

This month was doctor-free for Talen (that doesn't happen often). Well, unless you count getting the H1N1 shot. I took both kids to get their shots just as soon as it was available. I have been so nervous about them getting this crazy swine flu, so once the shots were over, I was very relieved. After being gone for a month, I decided it was finally time to get Kennedy in for her yearly doctors appointment. She always gets so freaked out about going to the doctor because in her mind, doctor means shots. Thankfully no shots this trip!!!
Thanksgiving this year was spent with Jay's family. We went over to Wes & Talia's where we had dinner. After things were cleaned up, we played a little Thanksgiving football. Yes, my team won!! (is anyone surprised? hehehe) As soon as it started to get dark, we decided to pack it up and head home. Nice evening spent with family!

Talen

I was showing Jay how good Talen can sit up when put in the corner. He thought that he looked so cute that we needed to take pictures. So, crazy hair and all, here is Talen sitting up.

Talen starts Preschool

Well, it is official, Talen has started Preschool. Technically he could have started in September when he turned 3, but we decided to have him wait until after his trip to Now I Can. So, today is the day. There are four other students in his class (all boys) and they were really excited to see Talen (I think because of the wheelchair). There are five teachers so each child has someone with him at all times. He will go 4 days a week (Monday thru Thursday) for 2 hours a day (1:15 to 3:15). I was really excited because he goes 30 minutes after KiKi leaves for Kindergarten and gets home 15 minutes before her. That leaves me with two full hours without kids. What am I going to do with myself???

Halloween

For Halloween this year, Robin picked up the kids costumes while she was in California. We convinced them (mostly Kennedy) that it would be fun to be Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion (although Talen was more cute than cowardly). We got them dressed up and walked around the neighborhood. Talen had a great time being strolled around in this wheelchair. I really think that he likes being able to do things that kids his age are doing. He had a huge grin on the entire time!!! It was cute too because one of Kennedy's best friends (Katelyn Leavitt) had the exact same Dorothy costume and we had no idea beforehand.

October 2009

Just before we made the trip up north for Now I Can, I celebrated my 30th birthday. I never thought I would actually see this day, but it is official - I am old!!! It is crazy how your body just seems to know when you get older. I had done some running last year and it felt so good, this year I have just had the hardest time getting into it and I really think it is my body telling me to stop acting like a spring chicken and settle down a bit. Isn't getting older fun!?!? Two days after my birthday, we celebrated Jay's. Sadly this was also the day that Talen and I left. So, Jay didn't get much of a birthday this year, we will just have to try to make it better next time around.

NOW I CAN - Day 20

I don't know how, but Talen seems to just know that today is our last day. He is so sad to be leaving. He has cried today more than any day since we got here. It is like his feelings have been really hurt. The only thing that seems to cheer him up is Sergio. It is so cute, Talen just loves Sergio! I am also sad to be leaving, but am greatful to be going home. I can't believe that it has been a full month!!! It has been hard, but I truly believe that this is the best thing for Talen. So, after some coaching and good-byes, were are off!!!

NOW I CAN - Day 19

Talen sat up by himself!!! Now I should preface this by saying that he was wearing the neuro suit (so that was helping) and it was only for 1/2 a second, but it is a start. His posture is so much better and he is a ton stronger. I really think that once we get his head/neck under control he will just soar with the rest of his body. His neck is getting much stronger, but it is still going to take a lot of work. I have to keep reminding myself that I can't go to the gym for 4 weeks and expect a six-pack, so I shouldn't expect him to be 100% after 4 weeks either. One day at a time, right!?!? Oh, he got retaped today too, so we have our little smurf back!!!

NOW I CAN - Day 18

Talen had another good day! I noticed today that Talen's feet are starting to go straight again. They had started to turn because he doesn't get pressure on them like a child that walks would do. But, Sergio said that he has been stretching and working with them and I have to say, it is noticable that there is a difference. That was pretty much the highlight of today. After therapy, we met up with my cousin Trisha and went out to the best pizza place in Provo (PizzaPieCafe). It was a nice visit!!!!

NOW I CAN - Day 17

Well, there isn't anything new and exciting to report today. Talen is continuing to work hard and he is definately stronger than he was before we came here. I am so greatful for the opportunity that we have had to come here. I really believe that the PT's here will be able to help Talen in a way that no one has been able to yet. I scheduled Talen's next visit and it will be April 12 - May 7. We are planning on another 4 week session as long as we can afford it. We had originally planned on only doing 3 weeks each time instead of 4, so we may end up coming a little short. But, I know that the Lord works in mysterious ways, so if Talen is meant to be here the 4 weeks, we will find a way!! Gotta have faith, right? Anyway, that's it for today, only 3 more days and we will be headed home!!!

NOW I CAN - Day 16 (Week 4)

Another good day!!! Talen is actually using his arms now. Nicole said that her and Sergio were a bit concerned in the beginning because he wasn't using them at all. However, since we have been doing the electrical impulses on him, he has started to move them more. Nicole said that today he reach out 3 times for a toy!!! HOORAY!!!! He is also doing wonderful in the corner chair. I went in to watch him for a minute while he was in the chair and he just sat there without any help (other than the chair). I am so glad we decided to stay the 4th week. He has been working so hard and I know that it will be beneficial for him!!!