1st Halloween

Greyson's first Halloween was a busy one with friends visiting (thanks Hicklin's) and making some Trick or Treating stops around town and through our neighborhood(not as many as we would have liked). We finished off the day with Gramps and Grandma B coming over for dinner. The skunk costume was a great find at Old Navy the weekend before Halloween. The last one and it was actually his size (which is now 6-9 months).

The most exciting thing of the day was finding that Greyson has a little tooth coming in (see picture). Not sure how long it will take to make its way out but how exciting it was to see that little tooth pushing through. It was so exciting in fact that Michael even stopped playing his video game to check it out. Greyson doesn't seem to mind it much for now; he just continues to chew and drool on everything.
I uploaded some pictures to the Photo Gallery and although they didn't load in the correct order I am sure you can figure it out. Hope you are all enjoying this beautiful Fall.
Brooke (Michael & Greyson)

Surgery Date Set

After much coordination one of the great nurses (Michelle) at Children's Mercy has found a date for Greyson's big surgery. She worked very hard to get the 2 plastic surgeons and one general surgeon together on a date that would work for all of them and Greyson and it looks like surgery will be in the afternoon on January 27. They expect it to last a few hours.

Greyson has 3 more months to get even bigger and stronger (which shouldn't be hard since he loving eating solid foods). It seems so far away but in the grand scheme of things it is just around the corner. With the holiday's just around the corner it will most likely fly by.

To our knowledge, he will not have to go back to KC until the day before surgery (for blood work) and we expect that he might have to stay in the hospital for a handful of nights and will then be back home to finish recovery.

Thanks again for all the thoughts and prayers. We talk about you all with Greyson so that he knows how many people love him :)Happy Halloween to you all - come back and visit Greyson's site next week to see his Halloween pictures....he is going to be a skunk.

Brooke In Layers

Don't know why I do this...you can just pretend to read this and move on to the next post ;-) Idea from my friend at "If I Can't Convince You - I'll At Least Confuse You" blog. Thx Emz

In layers.

LAYER ONE:
– Name: Brooke
– Birth month: September
– Birthplace: KS
– Eye Color: Hazel (brown/green)
– Hair Color: Brown [light brown]
– Height: 5′1″
– Righty or Lefty: Righty but Goofy (footed that is)
– Zodiac Sign: Virgo



LAYER TWO:
– Your heritage: Scottish/English
- The shoes you've worn [so far] today: Asics Nimbus
– Your weakness: cookie dough (oh who am I kidding...all sweets)
– Your fears: Being alone
– Your perfect pizza: Gusano's Chicago Style
– Goal you’d like to achieve on a physical level: Ultra-Marathon Woman

LAYER THREE:

– Your most overused text talk: OMG
– Your first waking thoughts: "wonder if I can get a nap in today?"
– Your best physical feature: small wrists
– Your most missed memory: lounging at the lake

LAYER FOUR:

– Pepsi or Coke: water
– McDonald’s or Burger King: yuck; neither
– Single or group dates: Yikes, If I have to pick one . . . Single
– Adidas or Nike: Adidas first my first days of running
– Chocolate or vanilla: both

LAYER FIVE:

– Smoke: No - quite a long time ago
– Cuss: not as much as I used to
– Sing: loud and clear to Greyson...and he LOVES it!
– Take a shower everyday: most of the time
– Do you think you’ve been in love: for many years now
– Liked high school: don't miss it but had fun
–Want to get married: AM
–Believe in yourself: depends, but more than I did 10 years ago
– Get motion sickness: didn't used to  :( YUCK
– Think you’re attractive: pretty average
– Think you’re a health freak: well I must run but I sure don't eat well enough
– Get along with your parent(s): yep
– Like thunderstorms: Love them except when accompanied by wind.
– Play an instrument: do Rock Band drums count???

LAYER SIX:In the past month…

– Smoked: No
– Done a drug: No
– Ran a marathon:  a half ;-)
– Gone on a date: Yes
– Run a crazy man / horse 50 miler?: ????
– Eaten an entire box of Oreos?: No-never.
– Eaten sushi: yes
– Been on stage: no
– Made homemade cookies: yes

LAYER SEVEN

– How do you want to die: In my sleep or while running(stole this from Emz)
– Where you want to go to college: went to Pittsburg State University
–What do you want to be when you grow up: not grown up
– What country would you most like to visit: Australia

LAYER EIGHT:

– Number of piercings: 3 - ears and belly buton
– Number of tattoos: 0 - can't decide on one that I would want for the rest of my life
– Number of times my name has appeared in the newspaper: ???
– Number of scars on my body: 2 (appendectomy and c-section)
– Number of things in my past that I regret: a handful
– Number of people I could trust with my life: 6 that I would be on

Congrats on finishing that....;) learn anything?

5 Months & Dr. Appointments

Today was Greyson's appointment with the doctors at Children's Mercy to begin planning his upcoming surgery. We visited with the radiologist, dermatologist and plastic surgeon along with all of their nurses. They checked in and were all very pleased with the shrinkage in Greyson's growth and the way his skin has changed. Dr. Jiang, one of the plastic surgeons that will do the surgery says that they are ready to plan and see what they can do for Greyson. Their staff is working now to try and get this scheduled and we will let everyone know as soon as there is a date. There are a lot of individuals and resources to coordinate so this could take a little time.

One of the biggest thing discussed was what to expect after surgery. The doctors want to make sure we understand that even after surgery, the chance of the growth reoccurring is possible and it is likely that he will have to have future surgeries as things progress. It seems to be the nature of this kind of "beast" and we will have to see what happens. We also talked about what to do with the spots in Greyson's right arm. For now we are going to wait and see how taking off the larger growth will affect his arm.

Greyson turns 5 months old tomorrow...he now weighs 16 pounds 2 ounces and is 26 inches long. He has gotten so strong and holds himself up well when we carry him. He is still working with the Special Instructor and Physical Therapist. They are trying to teach him how to roll over and how to sit up and he is getting so close on each but the weight of "buddy" presents some challenges.

Greyson jabbers a lot, smiles, and sometimes giggles. He is very friendly and especially loves his TV friends. He still likes to go on runs with me and will be able to continue this into the fall as soon as we get the weather shield for the stroller. This weekend Greyson is having a sleep over with my Dad and Beck when Michael and I go out of town for the night. He is also going to get to try rice cereal for the first time and get to go to his first race to see me run. Next weekend will bring on his first Maple Leaf Parade and trail ride at Gramps and Grandma B's. And he will have his first Halloween at the end of the month.

We look forward to seeing or hearing from you all. Happy Fall!
Brooke (Michael & Greyson)

Brrrr

I don't like the cold...I don't like to have to wear pants (or even 3/4 pants)...hats, gloves, buff, etc. all make a run less comfortable....I overdress all the time....I hate not getting to wear a tank and shorts....cold weather means less morning runs which then takes up too much of my evenings....G won't get to come on runs when it gets too cold....Did I say I don't like cold???

Damn you Mother Nature and Old Man Winter!!!!!

On a good note - looks like it might be pretty nice for the Mother Road 1/2 this weekend.

Run On!!!
Brooke

Be Prepared

Yes, I was a Girl Scout and I do know how to "Be Prepared". The weather sheild for Greyson's running stroller is on the way. FYI Wish we could have found it in yellow like below but no dice....went with gray, the only color Target had.

With Mother Nature dropping these 40-50 degree mornings on us, it's like she is testing my motherly judgment.....take the little guy or bow out and stay home with him. He loves being outside so how can I bow out just because of a little drop in the temp? Maybe this will help me stay on the road longer when there's no one to watch him and I need to log some miles. Planning for a spring marathon so there will be some cold runs coming soon for sure.

Run On!
Brooke