Update

So...it's been 8 months since I last updated. Life has been busy! I stayed at Tatum's house for most of the summer before moving to return to school. The summer was great, Tatum and I got to spend quite a bit of time together since I was staying at her dad's! We had a ton of sleepovers in the basement. One of the best sleepovers was the day Mercedez came over to hang out with us. Mercedez and Tatum have been friends since Tatum was a baby! They are great friends and I used to babysit Mercedez and still hang out with her all the time as well. We all get along great and I love hanging out with them.

We took this photo around 2AM because we STILL hadn't gone to bed!

Tatum is in grade six this year at school! Sometimes I find it hard to believe. She is growing up way too fast. It often feels like just yesterday that I first started taking care of her. It's been a little over six years since that first day, and she has brought so much to my life. 

There was a segment aired on 'The Doctors' today about a young boy with EB. One of the doctors actually went to his house to meet him and we get to see a glimpse into what daily life can be like for an EB family. You can view the segment here. Every time I watch a clip like this one, I am constantly reminded of how these children and adults live in daily pain, yet they rarely complain. Even the simplest of tasks, which many of us take for granted, can be impossible for many EB patients. Some parents cannot even hug their children for fear of hurting their skin. In a way, watching that segment today gave me some perspective. Although Tatum does have EB, I am thankful that her case is not as severe as it has the potential to be.

Recently, Tatum was approved to receive a wish through Make-A-Wish foundation! I'm certain one of her wishes was to meet Justin Bieber...she is a huge fan! She has been trying to convince me for weeks to watch his new movie with her...so far, I haven't agreed! I'm sure she will wear me down eventually ;)

In honour of 'Throwback Thursday', here's one of my favourite photos of Tatum as a toddler. She's so cute!

2013

2013 has been an eventful year so far! I neglected writing on here over the past year due to school and everything, but I'm making it a goal to post more often and keep everyone updated on Tatum's daily activities and such.

Tatum finished grade 5 at the end of June and passed with flying colours! There is a video rental store here in town that gives students a free movie rental for every 'A' they get so she took her report card in and got three free rentals! She had a bunch more As than that, but they have a limit. 

The last few weeks before school ended were an exciting time also! Tatum and I both got to go see Taylor Swift in Toronto (I went on Friday, and Tatum went on Saturday with her dad, Jen, and Micaela). It was an amazing concert and we both had a blast at each of ours! 

Then, the week after, we all went to the zoo! Tatum, Chris, Jen, Micaela, Avery, Jen's parents, and Jen's sister Liane and I all hopped in the cars and went to go see the pandas! Sadly, the pandas were sleeping when we saw them, but it was still a great day!

Tatum, Micaela, and Avery hanging out in the wagon while waiting for snowcones.

We've had our silly moments too, here's a few photos :) 

Tatum and Micaela getting the mail in a grocery cart we found by our house.

Mercedez came over for a sleepover and of course we needed snacks!

Summer 2012...So Far

Summer is always a busy time for us so unfortunately the blog has been neglected in the last few months!

Tatum has been having a great couple of months! The weather has been absolutely gorgeous so we have been spending lots of time hanging outside, having barbecues, and spending lots of time with friends! For our May 24 celebration, the whole family went to visit Aunt Christine's house for the day. Tatum had a great day splashing around in the pool with her cousins and we had a delicious dinner to end the day!

The swimspa had been shut down over the winter for several reasons but it has been up and running for the last few weeks! Tatum loves it and it's always a fun way to spend a few hours of the day. She loves to turn on the jets and be pushed back towards the stairs, or better yet to do laps back and forth across the pool. Of course, a good waterfight with the spray guns is always a favourite activity.

The other day we were being silly and Natalie had me make some pasta in preparation for dinner. Tatum and I decided to test whether it was ready by throwing pieces at the ceiling and in the shower!

Tatum finished school just last week so we've been enjoying all the extra spare time she now has! Lots of Sims 3 time, playing with friends, and just being silly. Yesterday she decided to have Jordyn come and sleepover. It was a fun night on the street, hanging out at the neighbours, swimming and having a barbecue. Summer is our favourite season! We like to make lots of treats and saltine cracker candy is one of our absolute favourites. It's so addicting. Tatum also made a beautiful dessert the other day.

For Canada Day, we had another barbecue and Natalie made some delicious hamburgers. She paired it with a nice caesar salad and it was perfect! After dinner, we headed to the beach nearby (about a 20 minute drive) to enjoy some fireworks!

All in all, it's been a great start to summer! We can't wait to see what the rest of the summer has in store!

Ottawa Trip

Natalie decided to take Tatum and I to visit her sister Nadia and family over March Break. It was so much fun! We left on Wednesday morning and came back home on Saturday afternoon. When we got there on Wednesday after a long 6 hour drive, Uncle Ted made us some delicious hamburgers and we just relaxed. Tatum and her cousin Gabrielle got to enjoy some playtime too!

Thursday was a busy day. We visited Parliament Hill, where we went to see the Memorial Chamber.

Tatum and her cousin Gabrielle in front of Parliament.

After visiting Parliament, we went to Gatineau for some shopping before going for lunch at McDonald's...yum! After lunch, we headed to the Museum of Civilization where we spent most of the afternoon.

Tatum posing with one of the totem poles.

Tatum and Gabrielle playing a game of snakes and ladders!

This was my favourite part of the museum!

Such a cool effect! Looks like we are outside!

Old railway car.

Hard at work in school!

Riding the camel in the Children's Museum!

Gabrielle's turn!

February

I got to spend the weekend at Tatum's a couple weeks ago and we had a blast! We got to make homemade pizzas with her mama and they turned out absolutely delicious! Tatum is eating very well after her second dilatation surgery.

The pizza was delicious!

Harley and Harper wanted to share!

Sitting on Harper.

Tatum and I made some of our favourite cookies! (Or rather...I made them!)

We also got to go to Stratford with the Rady family to watch Jordyn and Jessye play hockey. We watched Shrek the 3rd in the car on the way there and had so much fun!

Tatum helped Jessye get all of her hockey equipment on.

Jordyn, Tatum, and Jessye waiting for the game to start.

After the game, we had to stop at the airport in London to drop Jamie off at work and he gave us a tour so we got to go behind the scenes at Air Canada Jazz!

The girls touching one of the wings on one of the planes in getting fixed.

Tatum and Jordyn sitting in the flight deck!

Jessye's turn!

Pose!

January

2012 has been a busy year so far! Tatum had her second dilatation surgery on January 6, followed by dental on February 1. Both surgeries went well and Tatum is now eating solid food well for the first time in months! A common problem for EB children is the narrowing of the oesophagus due to scarring of the tissue. This leads to constant dilatation surgeries, and in many cases, the eventual insertion of a stomach feeding tube.

Tatum and I got to enjoy some time together over Christmas break and we spent it well! Our favourite thing to do is watch HGTV and play The Sims 3...so we had quite a few days of that! Very relaxing. We also did some baking.

We had a blast teaching Harley tricks and playing in the snow with the neighbours, too!

We both love to cook with her mom, and after looking around on Pinterest, we found some fun recipes that we decided to try out! They turned out to be absolutely delicious!

 Crescent pizza roll-ups in the making.

These turned out great! So yummy.

Tatum showing off her pizza roll-up

Mozarella sticks. 

We also decided to make some baked pasta as well, which was absolutely delicious! It was an evening well-spent.

My Hero

My hero is not an actor or actress.My hero is not an athlete.
My hero is not a great historian.
My hero is someone with incredible strength and courage.
My hero is someone who inspires many.
My hero is someone who endures pain daily,  and still manages to go
on and even smile.
My hero is someone who may not seem beautiful, but to me is gorgeous.
My hero is someone who makes me laugh, makes me cry,
and makes me proud every minute of every day.
My hero is an EB baby, an EB child, and an EB adult.

-Brenda G. (taken from 'Living with Epidermolysis Bullosa')

For those of you who have not read Tripp's story, it is available here. He, like Tatum, suffered from EB; however, Tripp's EB was of the Junctional form, in which most children do not survive infancy. Tripp beat the odds and made it past his second birthday, but sadly lost his battle with EB on Saturday, January 14, 2012 at the age of 2 years 8 months.