We (well, I) never got around to sending out Christmas cards this year. One of my favorite things about getting cards is reading the quick little blurbs about what the family has been up to, what their adventures have been and what their kids have been up to. I know that these cards kind of serve as a time capsule for their family, and they can look back on them every year and get a brief glimpse of what that year was like. I love that.
I’ve been really bad at keeping up with social media and blog posts this year. I feel like I haven’t documented anything, but have a million pictures to tell a story of the year. I want to remember the details, so why not make a big year in review post. This may be long, so continue of you want 🙂
It was a busy year, and life is slowly getting back to normal after Covid. Thank goodness! It’s been so great seeing smiling faces, giving great big hugs, and just feeling normal again.
I’ll start with Logan. 2022 started off a bit rough for this lady. Her GI issues were not getting better, and daily life for her was very up and down. One minute she’d be her happy and sweet self, then out of nowhere the pain would hit and she’d lash out to whoever was nearest. Lots of crying, lots of scratching and biting, headbanging, restraining, blood and sweat (mine, not hers). It was heartbreaking to watch her in so much pain, and no way for her to express it other than this violent behavior. We were trying everything to help…changing diet, different medications..nothing was really working. She had bouts with what we were assuming was SIBO in the past, and I wanted confirmation of this, and to see if anything else could be going on. So, I asked our GI for an upper and lower endoscopy. I wrote about it here, so I’ll spare the details. But, we did confirm the SIBO, but also found EoE. Yay.
Once we started meds she slowly came back to life. The pain was less intense, she wanted to be more active, and she was just looking healthier. She had a follow up scope which showed NO SIBO (hooray!!!…but it can come back) and the EoE was getting better. Now, she is happier and smiling and laughing a lot more! She still has bouts of pain pretty much daily, but nothing like before, and not as intense. I’m still trying to tweak her diet and find the root cause of all of this mess. A lot of it has to do with PTHS, and thankfully there are trials being done at this very moment for GI issues specifically for Pitt kids. David and I are speaking with someone from UNC in January to talk about FMT, and are hoping that Logan can have this done ASAP.
Logan had a fun spring and summer, with lots of pool time. She learned how to swim wearing her adapated puddle jumper (I took a toddler sized one and just extended the strap…saved myself hundreds of dollars. Anything “special needs” is ridiculously expensive). Normally we have to always hold on to her in the pool, otherwise she would topple over face first into the water, but she finally figured out how to keep herself upright. She also turned 10!!! Double digits for this beauty.
School in 2022 was way better than 2021. Since her GI pain has not been as severe she has been able to actually do more. Her walking has taken off, and she continues to show us how smart she really is. She has such a fantastic team at school! Her head teacher is phenominal, her original 1:1 is back with her (her BFF, her pea to her pod, her messy bun twin, babysitter extrodinaire…Anna!)! Her PT is extremely encouraging and enthusiastic, and sends me the best updates. Her speech therapist is amazing and on top of it all, and has built a new communication board to try out. Her team noticed that she has not been really interested in using her Tobii, but has preferred physical choice boards for communication. So, they set up a meeting with me and her outside SLP and came up with a plan. They went above and beyond. I’m so, so thankful for them.
Logan also went on the school bus for the very first time! Her class went on a field trip to go bowling, hosted by the Special Olympics. She had a blast! She also participated in the family marathon at school…and proudly received a medal!
Now for Jack. 2022 was jam packed for this guy. The last half of his first year of middle school was definitely better than the first half. He made the school baseball team, continued to play on his baseball travel ball team, and his YouTube channel for his love of stop motion took off. He became a sushi master, had a great swim season and swam at champs. The summer was filled with pool time, nights in the neighborhood with friends, Durham Bulls baseball games and movie nights with us – he still likes hanging out with mom and dad 🙂 Oh, and we finished watching the entire series of The Office. Now on to Stranger Things (lots of Durham connection in this!).
7th grade started off well. He was asked to be an ambassador at school – such a cool program that will teach him lots of life skills and lessons. He wanted to play football, but we made him do Cross Country instead. He ended up really liking it, and it really helped his running, especially for baseball. He still wishes he did football though. Next year, bud. He joined a new travel team and has been loving it! Some of his neighborhood friends are on it, which makes it extra fun. The team did had a fantastic season and even got to stay in a tiny house village for one tournament. They played in a tournament for the Miracle League – one of the games was at the old Durham Bulls Stadium, which was so cool – especially for David who grew up going to games there. Lots of fun memories were made with this bunch.
Jack went to a few UNC football games, and got to go down on the field for a couple of them. One was honoring his grandfather’s class, and the other was just for fun with his cousins from CT. He went to his first middle school dance, started playing the trombone, became a teenager (!!!), got braces, and started playing Ultimate Frisbee at school. He still loves stop motion, watches way too many YouTube videos, still wrestles a little too hard with Wes and Jango, and is still Logan’s favorite toy, ha!
Wild man’s turn. Wes had a fun and successful year! He had a great fist year at our elementary school (he spent kindergarten at a different school thanks to Covid), made some great new friends and excelled in math and reading. His little league baseball team were champs of the season, which got them a spot in Durham’s Holiday Parade! Go Pirates! He joined swim team and loved every minute of it – even if he wasn’t winning which was a huge win! He swam at champs and dropped 30 seconds in butterfly! He got most improved and was very proud of that. He spent the summer doing all the things summery, and went in to 2nd grade with lots of energy!
He turned 8, played another season of baseball, went to some UNC football games, got in to stop motion, ran the school’s family marathon and still does lots of reading. He continues to be my sidekick at all of Jack’s games. I so cherish this time I get with him. He talks about the most ridiculous and interesting things, makes me throw a baseball/football with him (which I LOVE!) and always takes care of me, making sure I’m safe at these events. A little gentleman in training. He loves playing outside with his buds on the street, and always brings the fun. He is always up for any kind of adventure.
I guess I’ll include David and I on this recap. David had a great year at work, despite the crazy market. A little stressful, but he made it! He “retired” as a baseball coach after Jack switched travel teams, and can now enjoy his games in the stands with us. He got to travel for work, went to lots of baseball games (got to stay in that tiny house village with Jack!). He went to UNC football games, and even got to see them in Charlotte with his childhood best friends. He had a fun guys weekend at the beach in the winter (I think it was 2022?), and held down the fort at the beach for our spring break while Logan and I were back home getting her endoscopy. He was named Co-Man of the Year for our neighborhood, which awarded him and the other dad a sweet trophy to keep for the year, and a special ride in the Miata for the 4th of July GF parade. Such a fun thing for these awesome dads in our neighborhood! He did some projects around the house, is still the big kid that always is up for an adventure with the boys, and is Logan’s rock.
For the past three years David and the boys have a guys night right before Christmas. They grab dinner somewhere in downtown Durham, look at the festive lights, then spend the night at the Washington Duke Inn. They indulge at breakfast, and are home by noon. It’s such a fun night, and something I know the boys will tell their kids about. We started this tradition so I could get all of the wrapping done. Logan and I have our girls night, then once she is in bed I start pulling things out of their hiding spots and get to work.
As for me, this year is a blur. I’m still the chaos coordinator, the warden, and the advocator and reasercher for Logan’s ailments (and everyone else’s too). I finally got a SUP, but have yet to use it. We forgot to pack it for spring break, and when we brought it to the beach a couple of gators spoiled my fun. Life was just too busy for me to get away to bring it to one of the lakes here. Next year. I joined the middle school PTA as a co-secretary (all so Jack and his buds could have things such as a school dance, yearbook, etc. Can’t do that without a PTA! Very grateful for the moms who joined as well. Very.) and am taking over SOAR week at Logan’s school. It’s a disability awareness week, and I have BIG shoes to fill. I’m still dreaming of designing again. I have so many ideas, but just don’t have the time (and sometimes energy, ha!).
*Edited to add that I finished the Bible In A Year Podcast. You go through the entire Bible, and the best part is that Fr. Mike fully explains what was just read, making it so easy to understand and relate to your own life. And it’s just roughly 20 minutes of your day. Having a child with special needs really makes you question things, especially things in the religous world, so this was a big one for me to hold on to. It took me more than a year to complete, but as Fr. Mike says, “Man oh man, what a gift”.
As a family we enjoyed so much together. Our highlights were spring break at Topsail with friends, our annual beach week, getting to meet our new and adorable cousin from FL, seeing our CT family, a super fun Bar Mitzvah and hosting our annual Bomar Christmas. Oh, and we were on a design show called “Dream Room in a Day” on The Design Network. We love how it all turned out!
I know I’m forgetting a lot that happened, but am just grateful that it was a good year. The kids are growing up way too fast. Time is surely a thief. I’m just praying for a healthy and happy 2023, and am excited to see the kids get into new things and experience lots of adventures!
Oh wait…how could I not include Jango! He turned 3 right after Christmas. He is still the lovable, doofy, big pawed leaner who is still not aware of his size and will plop on you if you let him. He still sits at our corner eagerly waiting for any dog or creature to come by and play with him, still is scaring the delivery guys, and is still on the hunt for the mole that taunts him. And, he still squirms at bugs. It’s been a good year for him. A better one for us since he was in it for sure.
