Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Mary had a very fun day, which included opening lots of Valentines from all of her friends, baking heart shaped cookies to take to the firemen, and playing with Jackson. Here are some pictures of the fun day:

Mary opening Valentines!

Jackson eating Valentines!

Mary showing off Tinkerbell!

Mary and Mommy in her Valentine's Outfits!



Jackson in his Valentine's Outfit!

Mommy reading Mary her Valentine's Card!

Mary's flowers from her nurse, Michelle!



Mary reading Tigger and Pooh!



Jackson wants the balloon!!

Mary taking the cookies she baked to the firemen!

Mary with "Mack" the firetruck!

Hope you all had a great day as well!

Mary Gets to Promote Daddy!!!

On Monday, Mary got the honor of promoting her dad to Major. She was very excited about it and held on to the "oak leaf" all morning up until the big event. Mommy even taught Mary to say "Major Daddy"! Here is a picture of Mary "pinning on" (the Army uses velcro now) daddy's new rank:



Here are some pictures immediately following the promotion, can you see how proud Mary is?

Mary's Broken Leg and a Trip to the Park!

We had a very unfortunate (to say the least) event happen this week. Mary went to see a special doctor about getting fitted for a body brace and some new AFO's (Ankle and Foot Orthotics) and while the doctor was "examining" her he hurt her leg very badly. We're not sure yet if it is broken, but we think it is and are taking all of the precautions. Here are some pictures of Mary's cute little cast:










Also, here is a crazy picture of Jackson, who loves being up-side-down! Mary loves it too!


Also, on Sunday it was almost 60 degrees here, so we took advantage of it by taking a walk up to the park in our neighborhood. Mary had a great time and loves to go on the slide and swing with mommy and daddy. Jackson wasn't as entertained!

Mary's 23 Month Brithday!

Here are a few fun pictures from Mary's 23 month birthday celebration. Mommy made an awesome Elmo cake!

Jackson playing with Mary's balloon:


The amazing cake that Kate made:


Mary getting ready to blow out the candle:


Blowing out the candle:


Opening some books from Grandma and Grandpa N:


Sam and Jackson playing:


Mary concentrating on playing her video game:


Another shot of Mary playing "Whack-a-Gopher" using the camera mouse:


Hope you all enjoyed the pictures! We are all looking forward to Mary's big celebration next month!

Mary's Special Friend

Over a year ago, when we got Mary's SMA diagnosis, Connor was the first child with SMA (other than Mary) that we met. Connor is an amazing inspiration, and his parents really inspired Kate and I to take an active role in Mary's treatment and development. When you ask Connor what he wants to be when he grows up, he'll instantly tell you, an astronaut. I don't have any doubt that he will be one. Just like we have no doubt that Mary will do whatever she puts her mind to.

Here is a link to an awesome video about Mary's special little friend Connor.

Connor has SMA, Type 1, like Mary, although he is able to sit upright, thanks to a steel rod in his spine. Hope you enjoyed the video and the amazing story.

Ice Skating

Mary got to go Ice Skating this morning at the Charlottesville Ice Park and she had a great time! Special thanks to Lindsay from the Ice Park for allowing us to do this. Mary had a great time racing against her. Here are some pictures:

Vacation to Virginia Beach

I had the day off of school on Monday so we took the family for a little mini-vacation to Virginia Beach. Yes, it was the coldest weekend so far this year, so probably not the best time for going to the beach. But, the price on the beach house was right, and we had our friends, Robert, Wendy, Jadon and Emma visiting from Tennessee, so we figured why not. Anyway, we had a great relaxing and wonderful weekend. Mary really enjoyed seeing the ocean and loved the beach. By Sunday she was asking to go back down to the beach, even though it was below freezing when we went the day before. Mary really loved the aquarium! She absolutely loved seeing the huge sea turtles and she liked the sharks. Here are several pictures from the long weekend, enjoy!