Overall, I would say we all had a pretty good day. I got some sewing done and the boys both were more happy than not.

Here’s the video overflow from Wednesday of the boys getting to see the rocking horse for the first time:

Trevor put on the best cowboy outfit he had (sorry, no hat and boots!) for some pictures.

Trevor’s latest thing today was to pull up rugs. Then he figured out that he could hide things under the rugs.

Brendan felt pretty silly all day today, just minor withdrawal symptoms. He played for a long time in the jungle.

This is for Aunt Schnah and Uncle Jon

Brendan did a phenomenal job for speech therapy today too. He ate several bites of sweet potato and corn blend puree. He impressed everyone.
Then he made us all laugh with his love of the “oops, I dropped it” game

He only did a few minutes of training time with his PMV today. He doesn’t seem to mind it at first but if he has to cough, it seems to really bother him and then he starts to cry really hard. When he cries, Trevor gets very upset and has to be taken out of the room!
This ought to be fun as we progress!

Brendan had a bit of a withdrawal filled morning, good thing he had his remote control and his Yo Gabba Gabba to get him through the day.

Remotes are good for teething too!

Apparently so are wind up chickens

Brendan did have a good afternoon. He got to play and do some of his exercises like jumping jacks minus the jump part!

Trevor has been really enjoying all of the Gramma time and has been very active and napping well. He has a lot to talk about. Or yell about…

Trevor puts a lot of effort in to getting out his favorite corn popper. This boy is definitely stubborn. Make note in the very beginning of the strategic drawer opening.

Brendan looks super cute in monster jammies

He was just spent tonight and was begging to be picked up and rocked for bed.

Brendan only did about 5 more minutes on his PMV tonight. It is really hard work on his body and it made him sweat. He handled it well though. Bit by bit.. he has so much going on now, he is such a tough little guy!

This could be an epic saga of a blog post tonight, I have scaled back quite a bit and I still have a ton to post. We had a super busy fun day and then we got the package we have been waiting for!!

This morning, Bill went to the office and Gramma surprised the boys with their early Christmas present. It is so super cute! This rocking horse whinnies, makes trotting sounds, shakes his head and wags his tail. The boys were in awe.

Trevor was all about trying it on for size!

Brendan did NOT like the texture of the mane and tail.

He was happy to chew on the stirrups though!

Trevor thought that seemed like a good idea

We have some cute videos of the rocking horse, but there was just too much to process to post them tonight!

The boys played all afternoon with straws and cups.

Until high drama tantrum throwing tired Trevor ended up on the naughty step!

It had nothing to do with this naughty behavior…

And then the doorbell rang and we all jumped up with excitement! It was Brendan’s package!

But it was really a cruel trick. It wasn’t the speaking valve for his trach like we have been waiting for. It was the tiny little plastic adapter piece that allows an oxygen line to be connected to the speaking valve.

But then… another truck pulls up to the house! Another package for Brendan!

We love the fact that in each box, the actual contents are just over 1 cubic inch in size. They had to use lots of air pillows. We were so anxious to try this out, we waited nervously for Bill to get home from work!

Brendan gets dressed and ready to debut his voice for the first time in just over 8 months. The blue piece you see is the guard that he wears on his trach while he uses the mist collar.

The new valve being put in place..

This valve is called a Passy Muir Valve or PMV. It is a very simple design it allows air to be inhaled through the trach tube. But it slams shut tight on the exhale. Instead of breathing out through the trach tube, Brendan has to push his exhale out his mouth and/or nose which is why he will be able to make sound. It allows air to move over his vocal cords. It is pretty uncomfortable at first and can be very stressful so Brendan will only wear it for a few minutes a day at first until he gets used to it. Then he will be able to have it on any time he is off the ventilator.

We were able to distract him and make him smile like in this picture, but his first experience was pretty rough on him. He coughed and gagged and panicked a little. We would just give him breaks and then try again for a few more seconds until he started to figure it out.

I can’t even begin to describe how thrilled we are even to hear a super mad baby belt out some good cries. Yay Brendan!!

After a few tries, he was starting to get it figured out, but he was tired. Bill did manage to get a laugh from him with some tickling! It just melts me to hear him giggle, and this is just the start. My silly Brendan will really love this once it starts to feel better. I can’t wait to hear his real belly laughs. Trevor is in this video mocking Brendan’s laugh. It is so funny to see Trevor’s reaction to Brendan making sound.

It is super hard work, but he has his brother for support!

Trevor isn’t real keen about Brendan’s angry cry now!

This was a huge day on the timeline of Brendan’s progress. Once again, YAY BRENDAN!!!!!