A Walk Thru Taren's Life

That Time AGAIN!!!!

2011-03-09T10:31:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone,

It is that time a year again. Time to get our walking shoes on and help raise money for babies who start life like Taren. The annual March of Dimes is coming up April 30, 2011. This is something that is very close to our hearts! March of Dimes was a huge support, financially & emotionally for us while Taren was in the hospital. We look forward to being able to give back each year and bless another family who is going through what we did. We wanted to ask each of you if you would like to support us during this time. There are a few different things you can do to help us.
1. Join us April 30th to walk in the March of Dimes. The more people we have join us the better!
Location: Bush Park, 890 Oak Street SE Salem, OR 97301.
Date: April 30
Time: 9:00 AM
2. Help us raise money by sponsoring us. Our personal goal this year is $500.00, almost doubling our goal from last year. We are excited to try to meet it. To make a donation log onto : http://www.marchforbabies.org/team/t1444961 or click on the link to the left of my profile.
3.Forward the link to friends and family who would want to sponsor us.

Thank you for being there for us during our walk with Taren and helping us be there for families who are going through similar things now! This will be our 4th year walking and every year has been more and more fun with all of our friends & family joining us!
Cant Wait!

A busy life!

2010-12-29T10:49:00.000-08:00

I am so sorry that it has been 3 months since I have written blog! I can not believe time is going by so fast. A lot has happened in 3 months. I guess I will write a "catch everyone up" blog. :)

In October Taren dressed up as the cutest NASCAR driver to go out trick or treating. He wore his pit crew out fit (even kept the hat on!) and road his NASCAR push car. I was so impressed how into it he got. He was very serious! He road that car up & down the hills in West Salem for 2 hours before I finally made him let me carry him!! He would even ride it up the steps of the porch right to their front door to pick out his candy. He gave us all a few minor heart attacks when he would start going down a steep drive way & pick up his feet so he just flew down. Luckily, he always stopped before hitting any garage doors. :)

Heading to the next stop. Up hill isn't slowing him down!

We also went with Taren's cousins to the pumpkin patch where we had fun looking at the animals, riding in the wheelbarrow, hunting for the perfect pumpkin, and burning energy by running the length of the open field.

In November, we had a wonderful thanksgiving with our family. This year we hosted at our house, which ended up being complete talent getting a total of 19 people in our tiny house! Even, though it was cramped, we had a great time. Joseph & Chad BBQ ed an AMAZING turkey for us!

Our family picture Thanksgiving day

The weekend after Thanksgiving we went on our annual Christmas Tree hunt with our good friends Derek & Beth. It was quiet the adventure this year! We spent a lot time digging the Suburban out of the snow & trying our best to get to our spot up in Detroit. When we FINALLY got there, Joseph & Derek took off to find us the perfect trees. They ended up hiking straight up the mountain in almost waist deep snow to bring us back 2 awesome trees! Beth & I stayed back by the vehicle with the kids & set up a small fire & camp. The kids played in the blizzard of snow that was coming down & made a perfect snow man. Taren however, screamed the WHOLE time. He did not like touching the snow, sitting in it, standing in it, or it falling on him. He did not stop fussing until I set him back into the car seat to leave.

December brought the crazy month of birthdays & a good friends wedding,

Elijah & Kira's birthday parties with trains & a carousel,

my bowling party with my girl friends,

and of course Christmas, that Taren loved this year. He had a blast opening presents. His favorite being his new scooter that he is still riding constantly! He would say "Oh my goodness!!" with every present he opened! He was so excited about everything!

His popcorn, new scooter & rolling tool box!

Exhausted after a full day of Christmas!

Playing with his new toy with Aunt Phyllis

Unwrapping presents!

Taren & his cousins in matching pajamas that I made :)

It has been a busy yet fun 3 months and I am looking forward to what this new year might bring! We hope you all have had a wonderful holiday & will have a great start to the new year!!

Can't Slow Me Down!!

2010-09-30T20:34:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we were over at my sister's house for my niece's dedication party & Taren was outside playing with the kids. No one really saw what happened but Uncle Chad brought him in crying. Taren is usually a very tough boy, he may cry for a minute (more for the sympathy he will get then out of pain) but this time he was really freaking out. It took us several minutes to calm him down, once we did we stood him up to go let him play (which is the usual, before even stopping crying he is ready to go again). However, this time he quickly buckled to the ground & started crying again. After a couple more times of trying he was finally able to stand up & "walk" with a very defined limp. After looking his leg & foot over, we finally decided the pain was coming from his ankle. Since he was still walking around and playing we figured he must have just sprained it.

The next morning I called his Dr.s office & scheduled an appointment to come in to get it looked at. The Dr. took a long time looking at his ankle, leg, hip. Feeling it & moving it around. She finally decided that since he was able to walk better now that she wanted to wait & see how he does in a few days. If he got better then we would just assume he twisted his ankle, but if he was still in pain a week later that we would get him an x-ray to figure out what else was going on. (it does not cause more damage to wait at his age).
(wrapped in a tiny ace bandage after 1st Dr. Apt)

During the week Taren would go a couple days walking fine, running around & acting normal, but then he would trip and start limping all over again. It was like his ankle was weak causing him to be abnormally clumsy. So Monday I called in to his Dr.s office and they scheduled him to have an x-ray the next morning. Taren did great through the x-ray. Hardly moved at all & let me hold his foot in whatever position needed. Later that afternoon we went back into the Dr.s office to get the x-ray results. His Dr explained that the x-ray showed that there was no breaks in the bones, however, since he was still having problems and when he would fall he would limp for longer periods of times she called the orthopedic specialist up in OHSU. The specialist explained that there could be a fracture that a normal x-ray might not pick up. So instead of wasting money & time for everyone to get a more detailed x-ray, the Dr.s all decided the best thing would be to cast it. A 2 year old is not going to know or be able to sit & be careful to let a ankle heal, the best way to make sure it heals quickly & properly would be to cast it. So Thursday morning we went in and had his ankle & lower leg set in a cast. He is now sporting a cool red cast!(here's my cool Cast!!)

(on the way home from the Dr.s with the cast on!)

(can't slow me down! riding the scooter with the cast!)

So far it has not slowed him down at all! Right after his Dr. appointment we went over to my sister's house & he was right away running around & riding the scooter. He has been playing as normal ever since. Just hoping the next 2 or 3 weeks go as easily as the last day!
(exhausted after a long day & week!)

Warrior Dash

2010-09-12T20:08:00.000-07:00

This Weekend Joseph & his good friend Jon participated in the Warrior Dash..
"Warrior Dash is the ultimate event for thrill-seeking athletes. This running series is held on some of the nation's most demanding and unique terrain. Participants will conquer extreme obstacles and celebrate their feat with music, beer, warrior helmets and muddy shorts." www.warriordash.com

Part of the map & obstacles they had to do. For more about the corse they ran look on the website www.warriordash.com under norwest.

The starting line

The start..

Jumped over fire & then ran over tires

Mud!! Had to slide down then army crawl under barb wire

The Finish Line

After! MUDDDDDD!!!

Don't get mud on me!

"Washing" off afterwords

CA & Race

2010-06-22T20:47:00.000-07:00

This last weekend Taren I went with my parents (Papa & Gram) to Petaluma CA. My parents had a race & my good friends live about 20 minutes from the race track. So Taren and I spent Thursday & Friday with my friends Tara & Nathan & then met my parents at the race on Saturday and headed home. Taren had so much fun with our friends 2 boys! He even got to go see a showing of toys story 3 (his first big screen movie!) at Nathan's work.
After Toys story 3, eating lunch

Taren had a great time at the race as well! Here are some pictures & also an awesome video of him when the cars came by.

A hauler driver of a cup race driver was parking his truck right next to us & saw Taren watching so he jumped out and gave Taren a team hat!

Taren watching the Cars come by

POPCORN!

2010-06-22T20:25:00.000-07:00

Taren loves popcorn!! He is defiantly my son! I love popcorn as well! Here are some fun pictures & video of him with popcorn!

Taren watching the popcorn pop!

2 years old!

2010-04-15T14:20:00.000-07:00

(I wrote this on his birthday & thought I posted it, but I guess I just saved it as a draft )

Taren Hunter,
I can't believe how fast time has gone by! You are 2 years old! You are not a baby anymore. You are my big boy! I have loved every minute these last 2 years watching you develop & grow into the toddler you are! It is hard for me to remember how small you really where when our journey began. I look back at all the pictures of you in the hospital & your tiny little hands & feet & I am so proud of my boy who you have become. You started out at just 2lbs 2 ounces and now are 19lbs. Every ounce has been celebrated and every new development you have achieved we are so proud of! I am so amazed at what a awesome boy you have turned into! People say they feel the presence of God on you and it is true! You radiate the very presence of God in who you are.

Who are you? You have more personality then I can ever put into words & describe! You never fail to make me smile even on the worst days! You are sweet, goofy, funny, spunky, a total cheese ball & so incredibly smart!
You love music! You are not even out of your bed in the morning before you start asking for "Joy Joy" (music). You love having it play at all times! You love to dance to the music & will randomly bust out dancing even if it just music on a commercial that you like. You love it when I sing to you & will sing along with me. I love listening to you sing in the car. Makes my heart so full watching you enjoy the simple things in life!
You love cars! You often come running into the room with a car in both hands yelling "CAR CAR", just so excited to be playing with cars. You can't have enough cars. You love to pick one out whenever we go to the store & carefully choose the perfect car or truck!
Your new thing is playing Doctor. You got your very own Dr. kit for your birthday and you spend hours playing with each item. Wanting me to do your blood pressure, or look in your ears or listen to your heart. You are fascinated with everything in the Dr.s office when we go for an appointment. Everyone says you will become a Dr. when you get older.
You love love love to be outside! You do not like being stuck at home all day. Even when you are sick you ask to go "bye bye". You are always bringing me my shoes & yours and wanting them on so we can go out. You spend alot of time looking out the window watching outside & get so excited when someone pulls up to the house! You love company! You will squeal & run around in circles when someone comes over, so excited to have someone to play with.
You are a very talkative little boy! Always having something to say! Your vocabulary is growing daily. I am so impressed with how much you talk! You copy almost everything I say & are so proud of yourself when you get it right! You often walk around saying your favorite word, or newest word. This week your favorite word to say is "seriously".
You have always had a love for reading books & it hasn't changed. You are even interested in mom & dad's books even though we tell you there are no pictures. You would spend all day sitting on our laps reading books! You love animal books, you love to point out each animal and try to say their name & what sound they make.
you love being involved with everything. When you are the center of attention, you love it the most! you love "helping" mom do everything & do not like to be left behind! You love giving mom kisses & spending special tickle cuddle time together.
Daddy is your hero! You ask for him when you wake up & want him to tuck you into bed nightly. you want to do everything that daddy does. If Daddy is working on something you are right next to him with your own tool trying to help. If daddy is playing WII you are right next to him with your own remote trying to play too.
You LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE your Binky. There isn't much else that you absolutely must have, but when it comes to your Binky, you love it! You like to sleep with 2 Binky's (or more if we let you) at night. You need one for each hand. You will have one in your mouth and tap the other one on your nose or forehead as you fall asleep, rotating which Binky is in your mouth & hand every few minutes.
You love giving kisses! You will go to anyone (yes even strangers) and try to give kisses. You even try to give mommy a kiss when she tells you not to do something.
Taren you are my little man! I am so proud of you! I could not ask for a more perfect kid! You are my fighter, my entertainer, my miracle, my pride & joy, you are my thunder achiever!
I am so excited to watch you continue to grow & love every minute of you being a 2 year old!

Weeping into Joy

2010-04-14T23:04:00.000-07:00

Song: Restoration
You bring restoration, You bring restoration, You bring restoration, to my soul
You've taken my pain, called me by a new name, You've taken my shame, and in it's place, You give me joy
You take mourning and turn it into dancing, You take weeping and turn it into laughing
You take mourning and turn it into dancing, You take my sadness and turn it into joy
hallelujah, hallelujah, You make all things new, all things new

I don't know why things happened the way they did with Taren or if I ever will. But as I sit here listening to "Restoration" watching my two year old son run around I know God is good. He took my months of weeping and in place of them he has brought be daily laughing in the moments I spend with Taren. He has taken our sadness watching our son go through surgery and all the procedures he suffered through and turn it into pure joy & pride over the amazing son he has given us. My son has more spunk, personality, humor, love, goofiness, spirit and just absolute love for life! He has more than I ever imagined. Do I know why he has had so many rough times. No, but I know that God makes all things new because my son is living proof! He is not what the Dr.s predicted. He has surpassed every expectation. He is my miracle, he is my fighter, he is my thundering achiever! He is 100% normal & healthy. He is right on track in every area of his life. I look at him and I know God is a God of miracles. Even when things do not go the way I think or pray they do, I know he is good. Because in the end my son is living proof miracles happen.

Surgery

2010-04-14T21:50:00.000-07:00

Sorry that it has taken me so long to get back on here & update everyone.
Surgery went great! Surgery was successful & recovery quick. We were heading home by 11am. They said he would sleep most of the day after surgery, but not Taren. :) He slept for about an hour and was up & awake & running around like normal. He only needed a couple doses of pain meds, but the next day he went hiking up & down the sand dunes at the beach & running all over.
Praise God for a great recovery & a strong child! He is doing amazing! Thank all of you for your prayers!!!

Surgery Date

2010-04-06T14:03:00.001-07:00

Taren Update: Taren's surgery got moved to this Friday at 7:30am. Prep starting at 6am. Here at Salem Hospital

update

2010-04-05T14:36:00.000-07:00

Update from Friday April 2nd (sorry it took so long to post!)

Taren Update: We had Taren's dr apt today with the specialist/ surgeon. Taren will need surgery because though there is not bowel showing yet, it is a hurneia & the longer we let it go the more likely his bowel will come down as well. As of now surgery is scheduled for Friday April 16th 8:30am, but he is on-call for April 9th if an opening comes available. It is a same day procedure so he will get to come home that afternoon. Praying it gets move to the 9th so we get it done quickly & he doesn't have to go through this another week.
Taren is starting to feel much better today. He is actually up playing & eating better today!

Ultrasound Results

2010-03-31T11:08:00.001-07:00

Taren Update: Taren did so amazing at the ultrasound yesterday they did not need to sedate him. It took 2 top techs & 1 dr to come try to figure out what is going on. They said it is not like anything they have seen, it doesn't make sense. A few hours later I got a call from the Dr. office with results. they said it looks "more" like a hurniea then a hydroseal (fluid), but they want to send him to a specialist here in Salem. So we are now waiting for that Dr. office to call with an apt time. Hopefully He will be able to give me an actual answer.

Taren is starting to feel better today, his fever has broke and he is starting to be his goofy, silly self. Still coughing and whining alot, but he's looking better.

(Pic of Taren calling Gram to tell her how miserable he is, it was quite the story he told her! i laughed so hard)

Update

2010-03-31T11:07:00.001-07:00

Taren Update: We will be going in at 11:45am for another ultrasound. We will be having the top technician working with Taren to try and do the ultrasound without having to sedate him. Please pray this is possible & he will let the drs work. He is so miserable with his cold he doesn't like anyone touching him, ...so holding him down could be harder than normal.

ER Visit

2010-03-29T14:50:00.000-07:00

Taren Update: For those of you who haven't heard, Taren went in to ER Saturday night with a possible hurniea. After 6 hours of Drs & ultrasounds they said it is a hydroseal (fluid) with possibly a small hurniea and referred us to see is Dr today. She checked him today and he is still very enlarged and she is worried it ...doesn't feel like just hydroseal so we are scheduling another ultrasound for this week to double check. Taren is fighting a nasty cold & is miserable but luckily in no pain. Thank you for the prayers! I will keep you updated as I know more.

(picture of Daddy & Taren in ER at 2am)

Cute in Glasses!

2010-03-03T15:45:00.000-08:00

For those of you who do not know yet, a few weeks ago we took Taren in for his regular eye check up. With Preemies it is very common to have eye problems and so from the very beginning they start eye exams. He had several while he was in the NICU and passed all of them with flying colors. He had 2 more over the first year and again passed those with perfect eye sight.
A few weeks ago we went back up again for another routine check up. I had put off this eye appointment for a while because life had gotten so busy, but finally decided it was time to get him back in. A few friends had asked me if his new "thing" which is to frown at everyone, could in fact be that he is having trouble seeing far way, so I made an appointment to get his eyes check just to make sure. Before going up there I told myself that if he indeed need glasses I would not be surprised, glasses tend to run in the family and I didn't want to go up there and be shocked if that was the case.
I was very impressed with how Dr.s can tell how well their vision is, because unlike us, he can not tell the Dr. when it looks the clearest. They have several pretty cool ways of checking out their eyes and how they see up close and far away. After seeing his Dr. Taren does in fact need glasses, however, not because he has trouble seeing far away, but because he has trouble seeing up close. (so his frowning at everyone is in fact just Taren being goofy).
Taren's right eye also very slightly (i have to stare at it to even notice it) slightly turns in when trying to focus. At first the Dr. was worried that this was a symptom of something going wrong with his shunt because it is also on the right side. When the shunt stops working it can cause the eye to swell slightly inside as well as cause it to cross in and not be able to look out the side of the eye. After testing his eye more, the Dr. thankfully determined that this was not the case! PRAISE THE LORD! Taren has no swelling in his eye and can look just fine out the side. Which means, he simply has a harder time focusing with his right eye causing it to want to turn in ever so slightly. At this point it is not a big deal. He can still use it just fine, however, as he gets older he will start to realize that it is easier to use his left eye and begin to use his right eye less and less, causing it to cross more noticeable and eventually he will stop using it all together.
And so, Taren was fitted for glasses. He is to wear them as much as he can, but especially while reading. We will also eventually be starting what is called patch therapy on his right eye. Patch therapy is where once a day for about an hour we will cover his left eye and have him use only his right, which will begin to strengthen it.

(Getting fitted)

(Finished product)

This was hard news for Joseph and I simply because he has been through so much already and we hate to see him have to go through anything else. We prayed there would not be horrible fights trying to get him use to wearing the glasses.
We ordered his glasses a few days later and have now had them for over a week. Taren is just adorable in them! I love how cute he is in them! I am also so thankful that he has been amazing with them. He still has times where he doesn't want to keep them on for long, but for the most part he has no problem keeping them on as long as I want him to. I am so shocked at how easy he has been with the whole process!

Two days after having them, he met his first friend with glasses. Taren thought it was very cool that they both had glasses and for the first time he kept his on for over an hour after meeting his friend and has continued to do so since!

(Taren and his new friend)

That Time of Year Again

2010-02-27T19:19:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone,
It is that time a year again. Time to get our walking shoes on and help raise money for babies who start life like Taren. The annual March of Dimes is coming up April 24, 2010. This is something that is very close to our hearts! March of Dimes was a huge support, financially & emotionally for us while Taren was in the hospital. We look forward to being able to give back each year and bless another family who is going through what we did. We wanted to ask each of you if you would like to support us during this time. There are a few different things you can do to help us.
1. Join us April 24th to walk in the March of Dimes. The more people we have join us the better!
Location: Bush Park, 600 Mission Street SE, Salem, OR, 97301
Date: April 24, 2010
Time: 9:00 AM
2. Help us raise money by sponsoring us. Our personal goal this year is $350.00, doubling our goal from last year. We are excited
to try to meet it. To make a donation click on the link below. Forward the link to friends and family who would want to sponsor
us.

Thank you for being there for us during our walk with Taren and helping us be there for families who are going through similar things now!

Hair Cut

2010-02-02T16:34:00.000-08:00

Taren got his first professional hair cut today! He has had many hair cuts over the last 22 months, however, this is the first one that the Dr.s or myself have not given him. I was so proud of him. He did amazing! He did not make a peep once. Normally at home he screams through the whole thing. He does not like having to sit still. This time though he loved it. They had a cute little car that he sat in instead of a normal chair. Greatest invention ever! He loved every minute of playing in the car.

Getting Ready!

Cutest Monkey Ever

2009-11-14T12:21:00.000-08:00

This year Taren dressed up as a monkey to go out trick or treating. He was such a big boy, having just learned to walk he insisted on walking up to each door on his own. He not only had to walk on his own, but he insisted on picking his own candy. :) He is our independent boy!

( cute curly tail & banana in his pocket)

Here are some more fun fall pictures...

Pumpkin patch fun

Helping Daddy clean out the pumpkin

He decided to stick his foot in there too... goofy boy!

Helping "carve" the pumpkin, he wanted to stick his toy in the mouth

Finished product, Taren gave him a pipe. :)

Playing in the leaves with Papa & Gram & his cousins.

He is getting so big!!!

And off He goes!

2009-10-17T10:40:00.000-07:00

He walked for the first time last night! More then his usual 2 steps too!! It was great! He just kept going back and forth between the 2 of us!! Oh boy! He is never going to stop & slow down now!

All by Myself!!

2009-10-02T17:44:00.000-07:00

Taren is now in the fun stage that he wants to do EVERYTHING by himself. He has always been very independent, however, there were still somethings I was able to help him with. Not really any more though, he has now learned to feed himself with a spoon. Last night at dinner he decided he wanted to feed himself his dinner with a spoon & this morning he ate his yogurt all by himself. Wow! He is growing up way too fast!!

Here is a video of him eating with a spoon all on his own for the 1st time last night at dinner

Move those Hips!

2009-09-10T16:56:00.001-07:00

So much personality in such a small package! Taren loves to dance! Anytime there is music he will start to rock out. Even if he just gets excited about something he will start to move. He is such a crap up! Here is a video of him "moving those hips". Notice how he takes a minute to "pet" the dog. :)

Always Talking!

2009-09-10T15:56:00.000-07:00

Taren loves to talk. It is rare that he ever stops talking. You can usually hear me across the store. Joseph doesn't have to look hard for us :) He defiantly has plenty to say & makes sure he is heard! Here are a couple videos of him jabbering away.

So Proud of Daddy!!

2009-09-01T23:10:00.000-07:00

For those of you who do not follow hunting, Bow season opened this last Saturday. Joseph is a faithful bow hunter & loves to get out as often as possible during season. Since Joseph & I have been together (6 plus years), he has not had much luck at getting anything. However, day after opening day I get a picture text from Joseph who was out for the weekend hunting.

(Text read: we will not have to buy meat for a long time!)
Amazing! 2nd day of season & he gets a NICE size elk! Not something that has ever happened for him! He said it was the perfect set up, straight out of a movie where you can't believe it is happening. Everything was perfect. After 6 hours of packing his elk out Joseph came home sore & exhausted, but on cloud nine.
(Packing the elk rack out.)
We are so proud of him! This is a very exciting event for our family! Lots of celebrating & congratulations all around.
(Taren helped make a "good job daddy"sign)
I would love to be able to say that I am so thankful he got something the 2nd day of hunting season, since I was not prepared for him to be gone every weekend. However, I am not so lucky as to be able to say that. :) He will still be going out with his guys to call for them & just be out in the woods like he loves. Plus he says he still has his deer tag, bird tag & bear tags that he can use.. :)

ALL BOY!

2009-08-13T10:31:00.000-07:00

This week Taren & I went camping & Taren is ALL boy! We were not even there an hour before he was head to toe in mud & getting into everything! We had a great time with our friends! Just wish the weather would have stayed nice.

Not even an hour after we got there, he crawled under my friends trooper & got oil all through his hair & his pants .

MESSY!!! Everyone kept trying to clean him up. I just gave up & let him get dirty. We showered before bed but otherwise it was a waste of time & effort to clean him up every few minutes.

He kept wanting to go for the puddles, so finally I let him. He had so much fun in that water!!

WATER!

2009-08-01T16:06:00.000-07:00

This week I pulled out the kid pool we have so Taren could play in it & cool down. He was so excited!
While I was blowing it up in the living room he wanted to be inside of it!

Then when I took it outside to fill it up he got in fully clothes & would not get back out. He loved the pool!

Taren playing with his friend Honor on a hot day.

Getting Closer!

2009-07-29T13:24:00.001-07:00

Taren is getting so close to walking! We are so proud of him. For a long time now he has been walking tip toed. His home nurse says that is normal for a preemie to do, but if it continues we will have to have early intervention come in & work with him. Our appointment is this afternoon & Taren is doing so much better! I am excited to hear what the nurse says. He is walking flat footed about 50% or more of the time!
Yesterday Taren started to walk only holding one of my hands! this is a huge deal. We have been trying to get him to do this for a while now but he refuses unless we are holding both hands. Since yesterday though he has been walking holding only one hand non stop. He is so excited & proud of himself! Here is a video of his progress!

A LONG TIME!

2009-07-28T09:43:00.000-07:00

Wow! I had no idea how long it had been since I last posted a blog! I am so sorry to all of you who love following Taren's life. Time has gotten away from me & now I am 2 months down the road shocked that time went by so fast.
Where to even begin. Taren has grown & changed so much over the last 2 months. Everyday he is learning something new & exciting. Joseph & I love to watch him discover new things! We could not be any prouder as parents.

New things in Taren's life & New adventures we have had.
* He is getting closer to walking everyday. He is taking more and more steps by himself. He is occasionally walking with me holding onto only one hand.
* He loves his bath time! He will spend an hour in there every evening before bed if we let him! He loves to splash & play with his toys. He is starting to dunk his head under the water & then come up laughing thinking himself hysterical.

* Swim Lessons! We signed Taren up for parent & me swim class this summer. He had a blast! On Tuesday nights he swam with mommy & on Thursday night he swam with daddy. He loves being in the water, especially during the songs where he gets thrown up into the air & then dunked.

* Wednesday mornings we go to story time at the library. He enjoys playing with the other kids, singing to the songs & listening to the stories. Most of all he loves to climb up & down the 3 steps they have in the room ( that is my boy! always on the move!)

* Taren loves to clap his hands & wave good bye.
* He has discovered talking on the phone. Anytime that Joseph or myself are talking on the phone he comes over & takes it out of our hands. He gets very excited to hear the person on the other end talk.
* 1st camping trip!! YAY! We took Taren on his 1st camping trip this month. He loved it! He loved being outside & exploring everything! Loved going down to the river to swim. Even enjoyed crawling in & out of the tent.

* Zirberts! (where you blow on someones belly & it makes noise) Yep, he has learned how to blow zirberts & loves to do it! any exposed skin is now fair game. He loves to come over while we are sitting on the couch in our shorts & give zirberts on our legs. Very cute! but a lot of slober to clean up after :)
* Finally July 14th, Taren got his 1st tooth!! We are so excited! He has been working for months trying to break the tooth through & he finally did! I must say, I have become obessed with how cute his tooth is & love to see it!! ( I know proud mommy)
* NASCAR! Taren went to his first race! He is defiantly my dad's grandson! The noise of the race (we were right next to the track) didn't faze him at all. He loved standing at the fence & watching the cars & everyone he got to meet.

* Beach time! This last weekend we took Taren to the beach with my family & stayed for the weekend. He loved every minute of it! Loved running towards the water with daddy, loved hiking along the point during low tide & loved every minute of playing in the sand! Most of all he loved all the attention he got! He had his 2 cousins to play with all day long & had his grandparents to love & spoil him.

Words Taren is now saying: mommy, Daddy, dog, & just started saying done.

Thanks for being pacient with me & my lack of time & self disapline with keeping up on blogs. I am going to attempt to be better, but making no promises :)

Taren's 1st Year of Life

2009-05-18T12:48:00.000-07:00

I had a great time putting together my very 1st video. I hope you all enjoy it. Just a little reminder of what God has brought us through. Covers the 1st year of Taren's life. Our little thunder/ achiever.

Our Little Dear Devil

2009-05-14T11:02:00.000-07:00

Taren is always ready for the next "dear devil" adventure. Anything from throwing him in the air & catching him, to hanging him upside down. He loves it all! He is going to be the one who rides every ride at the amusement parks when he grows up. Recently we took him on the trampoline at Joseph's parent's house. He loved it!! We let him jump holding our hands & he had a blast. Then Joseph picked him up and jumped high with him, even tossed him in the air a couple times. He squealed with delight the whole time. Looks like we are going to be spending a lot of time over at Grandpa & Grandma's house in the summer when he gets older. :)

Picture Wednesday

2009-05-06T12:44:00.000-07:00

Sorry I have not had more time to post more blogs. Taren is such a busy boy it is impossible to get on the computer, let alone write a blog. But at least I was able to post some pictures for Picture Wednesday!! Hope you enjoy them. Just a couple of fun ones from these last few weeks.
1st picture: a start of a cheesy smile, his new thing is to smile cheesy at you.
2nd picture: he doesn't care for the grass. Tries not to touch it the whole time! :)
3rd picture: Mommy & Taren
4th Picture: loves going for walks!! Always makes the cranky mood go away!
5th picture: Having fun with his toys
6th picture: playing with his new race car from Papa & Gram

Surgeon Follow Appointment

2009-04-22T21:02:00.000-07:00

Today was Taren's follow up appointment with his surgeon who placed his shunt. Besides waiting for over and hour at his appointment before anyone came into the room (which is impossible with a 1 yr old who wants to get down & move!!). His appointment went great. The MRI looked awesome!!! The shunt is looking perfect & he has healed great from surgery. His ventricles have actually gotten smaller which is not always the case, so his surgeon was very pleased about that. His surgeon is even more hopeful than before that Taren is in the 40% that does not become shut dependent, & will not need to come in in the future for shut malfunction surgery!!

Also, Last month when I went into Taren's routine Dr. appointment, the Dr. I saw there thought perhaps his frontal suture was beginning to close up to early causing a slight bump the runs down from his hair line to nose. When this is the case, surgery to correct this is often the case. We were prying that this was not the case for Taren. His surgeon took a look at his forehead & said that is is perfectly fine & does not require any surgery. It was not pre-closer but that it formed a slight ridge when it closed. He said Taren has a broad forehead so he thinks as he grows you will no longer notice it. (it is not very noticable now anyways) If at age 10 it is still noticeable they can do a cosmetic surgery to take the ridge away.. (no thank you!) :)

Thank you for everyone who was praying for this appointment. We are very happy to hear good news & that Taren is doing so well. He is our achiver!! We are continueing to pray that his shunt will not malfunction & that he will be in the 40% that never has to go back in for surgery!

Taren's 1st Time in the Sand!

2009-04-21T21:10:00.000-07:00

This last weekend Joseph & I went with some good friends of ours to the beach. It was not Taren's 1st time at the beach, however, the last time we took him he was still newborn & did not get to play in the sand. S0 this time was his 1st time getting down & playing in the sand. He enjoyed the sand alot. He actually really enjoyed eating the sand. Sat there and eat handful after handful of it. :( Here are some cute pictures of our time.

Taren's Birthday Party

2009-04-21T21:01:00.000-07:00

Thank you everyone who came to celebrate Taren's 1st birthday! It was a lot of fun to have you all there! Also thank you for all of the gifts! We were so blessed with everything that Taren got! He is loving every gift!! Here are some cute pictures of the party.

1 years old!

2009-04-10T10:17:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe it! My Baby is 1 years old today! Where has the time gone!!! I remember like it was yesterday finding out I was pregnant! As I dreamed about him during the months of pregnancy and what he would be like, none of them lived up to the amazing boy I have! He is so full of life & adventure! He is our little dare devil! Our curious George! Our thunder achiever! Our fighter!! I have no idea what our lives would be like without him. He brings so much joy & laughter to our day!
He is such a big boy now & doing a new thing everyday! We love watching him discover everything around him & the pure joy he gets from the simplest things like a spoon or a plastic lid. His laughter is contagious & we love to tickle him or do anything goofy to hear him laugh! His smile lights up his whole face & melts the hearts of everyone around! We cannot go out in public with him without being stopped every few minutes for someone to talk to him or coo about how cute he is. (of course he hams it up them!!)
Taren is now crawling around everywhere & fast! He is pulling himself to standing & cruising along furniture & toys. He loves his push / walker toy that he can walk around the house with. He is babbling non-stop. He loves to "tell" you everything that he is thinking or what has happened while you have been gone. :) He now loves to shake his head "no" at EVERYTHING, and finds himself so amusing! He loves bath time! When he hears the water start in the bath tub he is in there within seconds standing up on the side of the tub squealing with joy. He is eating everything in sight! You can no longer take a bite of anything without sharing with him. We never have to worry about waking him up for a meal, he is ALWAYS ready to eat & will loudly protest when you are late getting him in his highchair.
Our lives are busy chasing him & around getting him out of everything (the dog dish mainly). We love every minute of our day with him! Even late at night when he wakes up crying & we are so tired & frustrated that he is up AGAIN, we love seeing his smile when we walk into the room & love it that he curls up on our chest & falls asleep.
This has been an amazingly long yet fast year! We have gone through more ups & downs then we have our wholes lives, but everyday has been rewarding & we wouldn't trade him for anything. He has come so far & surpassed every Dr. expectation of him & we are so proud to share his story & what a miracle boy he is! We cannot thank God enough for the blessing he has given us!!

We love you Taren Hunter! Happy 1st Birthday!!
Love, Mommy & Daddy

Sponsor Me at March for Babies!

2009-03-21T22:59:00.001-07:00

This will be our 2nd year of walking with March of Dimes. During our time in the hospital with Taren, March of Dimes was a huge support emotionally & financially for our family. We have since had the passion to help other families in their time of need. On Saturday April 25th, we will be walking with the March for Dimes. We hope to raise money for this event as well. If any one of you is interested in sponsoring us and/or walking with us please let me know. You can also click on the logo above to sponsor. Our group name is 'Promise of Hope'. To find out more about what March of Dimes is log onto www.marchforbaies.org

Picture Wednesday

2009-03-18T14:47:00.000-07:00

1st time on a Swing!! He loved it!!

Picture Wednesday

2009-02-25T09:37:00.000-08:00

Picture Wednesday is where you simply post a picture or pictures without any words to explain it & it is suppose to speak for itself. Several of my friends have been doing this on their blog for a while now & I love the idea. So I am going to attempt to do this. I know that I haven't had a lot of time to get on here & post blogs, but I figure if I can at least post a bunch of pictures on Wednesday you will at least be able to see him grow. :) Enjoy!!

CRAWLING!!

2009-02-24T19:43:00.001-08:00

Taren is officially crawling! He has spent several months army crawling & rolling his way around. We had given up hope that he would crawl & assumed he would go straight to walking. But surprise this week within a couple days time he was up on all 4s crawling around. He now is all over the house. His favorite things to get into is the dog bed & dog dish. Our lives are much busier now following him around. Here is a short video of him crawling for you. :)

Ode to the things I love.. Part 3

2008-12-14T11:52:00.000-08:00

ODE TO MOMMY TIME
Mommy & I get to spend all day together. I have so much fun! She takes good care of me. She feeds me & changes my dipper. She is the one who gives me a bath & lets me spend extra time playing in the water. She even lets me help her with doing things around the house. Laundry is the most fun. I get to ride in the laundry basket & then help her fold the clothes. I am a big helper! Mommy & I go on lots of walks when the weather is nice & we even go to run errands where I ride in the cart like a big boy. I don't enjoy the car seat but mommy always makes it better by turning on music & we sing together, or she will hold my hand. When I get fussy, mommy will pick me up & cuddle me while she walks me into my room. she will tuck me in & kiss me good night. When I am really fussy, mommy will rock me for a bit & sing me my favorite song "you are my sunshine". I like my time with Mommy! I always have lots of smiles & giggles for her!!

Ode to the things I love.... Part 2

2008-12-14T11:44:00.000-08:00

ODE TO THE NUMBER ONE DADDY
I love my daddy so much! He is my favorite to play with. In the mornings I try to wake up early so I can see Daddy off to work, I stand at the window & wave as he drives away. I look forward to lunch time because I know that means Daddy comes home to play with me for about an hour. Daddy & I have so much fun together. We spend lots of time playing on the floor where he teaches me all kinds of cool new things. We also spend alot of time playing video games. Those are lots of fun! We both enjoy them alot. But most of all I love the times I get to cuddle with Daddy & share lots of kisses! I am so thankful for my Daddy! He is my best buddy!!

Ode to the things I love... Part 1

2008-12-14T11:21:00.000-08:00

ODE TO MY TOYS!
For those of you who have had the joy of watching me playing with my toys, or anything for that matter knows how cute I am with them! I get the biggest mouth & just attack them. That is the best way to play!! I get so excited about them! Daddy & Mommy love to watch me play. I love lots of floor time where I am free to roll around & kick my legs. I am working even harder to crawl. I now holds my chest off the ground as I work hard to get my legs underneath me. My other Favorite toy is my jumper, I love the music & lights on it. I will jump as hard as I can & squeal away. The harder I jump the funner it is.

Alot to catch up on

2008-12-05T22:24:00.001-08:00

So it has been a crazy couple weeks & I am finally getting a chance to post a new blog. So instead of posting several blogs, I will just post one large one. :)

My 1st picture is dedicated to the joy of reading! He loves to read his books. If I will keep giving him new books he will sit there forever just reading. He is working on turning the pages. If I start to turn the page he will grab it & finish turning it. He is such a big boy!! So here is Taren sitting up by himself reading "Brown Bear, Brown Bear". One of our favorites.

My 2nd photo is dedicated to Taren's 1st Thanksgiving! A wonderful holiday that is not only about getting together with family and remembering what we are thankful for, but it is about how much food you can eat!! Oh and is it ever great food! Taren's shirt fit the occasion too, he proudly wore a shirt that declared his intentions... Gobble till you Wobble. Father like son is all I can say. :). This year Joseph & I are thankful for so many things! Of course 1st and for most we are thankful for the amazing boy that we have! He is such a blessing in our lives! So full of life & energy. We are thankful for each other & that God has blessed us with a great marriage. And most of all we are thankful for all of you! You have been with us every step of the way this last year. Through all of the surgeries, hospital stays, tears & joy. We want to say thank you so much for your support & friendship! We could not have made it to were we are today with out all of you supporting us along the way!

My 3rd photo is dedicated to another of Taren's 1st. His very 1st Carousel ride! The Saturday after Thanksgiving we all went down to ride the Carousel with the kids. I wasn't sure how much Taren would actually enjoy the ride, or if he would even care. But as it turned out he loved it!! He loved watching the lights all over & watching the horses go up and down. His very 1st ride he went with Daddy & sat in a little wagon so Joseph could hold him on his lap. Then his next ride he got to go with Gram (my mom) and this time he was able to ride a big horse! He loved it!! We will defiantly have to take him back in a couple more months when he will enjoy it even more!

Trying Hard to Crawl

2008-11-26T22:10:00.000-08:00

Taren is trying so hard to crawl! He is so ready to be on the move that he is working constantly while on the ground to crawl. He can now scoot across his blanket by pushing his legs up under him & pushing himself forward. He is so cute!!! Joseph & I are so proud of him! We can spend hours just sitting there watching him! We can't believe how big he is getting!! Plus he is now sitting up mostly by himself now. When he gets excited about something he still can't stay up right, but he does pretty good. I love it!

1st Football Game!

2008-11-26T21:48:00.000-08:00

This Sunday Taren was able to attend his 1st football game. His 11 year old cousin Gus had a big game in Eugene. Since they live down in Roseburg we are not able to go watch Gus play weekly, so when we heard he was having a game in Eugene we were excited to get a chance to go watch. As we headed down to the game we found out that his game was not just in Eugene it was at the Autzen Stadium, which is the Ducks home stadium!! All of the boys were so excited to get to play in the Ducks stadium. It was FREEZING cold out there but it was a blast to watch!! Taren enjoyed he few minutes he watched before going to sleep. He loved all the movement on the field. In the end Gus' team ended up losing, but the experience was still awesome!! How many 11 year old guys can say they have played at the Ducks stadium!!!

Hospital Bills

2008-11-18T19:56:00.000-08:00

As some of you know Taren gets a monthly SSI (social security income) check, because of his birth weight, the length of time he spent in the hospital and having the bleeding in his ventricles, he qualified for SSI. It has been a huge blessing to get that small monthly check. It has helped with some of his large hospital bills. However, when we were aproved for SSI way back when he was still in the NICU, no one ever told us that we automaically were aproved for Medicade as well (which will help pay his medical bills for us). It was metioned off handely to me a few weeks ago, and I was shocked. So I started to look into it. As it turns out, it is true he is aproved for medicade all we had to do was fill out a few pages of paper work. I went to the office this last work to turn in the paper work & talk about weather or not they will be willing to back track the eligbilty so that they will help pay for his NICU stay. I was told this is all up to his case worker. I prayed hard on my way to their office for a case worker who is willing to listen to me & be willing to consider back tracking his eligbilty. When I arived at the apointment I was shocked to find out his case worker was a lady for our church who has followed updates of Taren from the begining. She said she was going to do everything she could to get him aproved for eligiblity that far back. I have not yet heard yet if it was aproved or not, but I am parying hard. If you could please be praying with us on this. Thank you!

Picture time

2008-11-18T19:44:00.001-08:00

I took Taren on Friday to go get his picture taken. In the past we have got cute pictures, however, this time he has really become smiley & happy that we were able to get some GREAT pictures. I am so excited about them!! My little boy is growing up! He weighs 10lbs 8ounces today! He loves to be on the go, he wants to be standing up & looking at everything! He is getting harder & harder to feed because he gets distracted and wants to look at everything. Which is very cute but can be very frustrating. He is so close to sitting up. I am amazed daily how strong he is getting & how fun it is to watch his personality develop. I love being a mom!

First Time

2008-11-13T19:43:00.000-08:00

So I finally broke down and started one of these. Many people have been telling me I need to start one, but I never wanted to take the time.. However, now I am going to attempt this. I am not sure how this all works but I am looking forward to learning it & being able to keep everyone updated on our life.

Taren is now 7 months old! I can't even believe it! He is getting so big! As of this week he weighs 10lbs 1 ounce and is 23 inches long. Thank you for all your prayers & support over these last 7 months. God has truly blessed us & worked a miracle in our lives.

I will be updating you all more on Taren's awesome progress in the next couple days when I get a chance to spend more time.

Love you all..
Sarah Rambeck
With: Joseph & Taren's Help