The Holidays

Everything started out great! My Uncle from Florida came to spend Christmas with us and his kids that live in Plano. We had a nice lunch on Saturday with him and enjoyed having him at our home. Clara moved in with us for the weekend since all of the fun was at our house. We got up early Sunday where Clara, Braden and I drove to Denton. My friend Kim and I went to Parkland hospital to give out presents to babies that were in the hospital. It was very nice to give back. Steve and I did it last year but he had to work so Kim went with me. We have pictures and will post them once i get all the Holiday ones set and ready to post.

Sunday evening, MoMo, PoPo, Connie, Chris, Jackson, Jonathan, My Uncle and a good friend of the family all came over for dinner. We had brisket tacos with all the trimmings and our home made tamales!YUM YUM YUM!!!!!!! We had chips and dips and shrimps bites and fruit and lots of sweets. We ate so much that I think we were all looking like good old Saint Nick! We finally got the house quite and clean and it was time for the kids to get ready for Santa. A little after 11:00 p.m. we got all the gift out and we slept until 4:00 when Jonathan woke up from a coughing spell and saw Santa had come. Well after that it was a battle to get him back to bed. The excitement was to much for him. Braden decided around 6:45 that the whole house needed to wake up and we did. We got everyone up and focused and then it was present time. The kids had the best time paper was everywhere. Santa knew they were good boys they got tons of stuff. Braden was very happy and will look very cute in all his new Longhorn clothes! We got all that paper cleaned up and time to get ready for breakfast, we had fruit and tamales. Everyone got showered and time to get ready for lunch.

After we got everything going it was time to rest and wait for the turkey to get done. WELL little did we know, my sink and my washer flooded my KITCHEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was a mess we had towels everywhere and everyone was cleaning. We got it cleaned up and got it where we could continue with our day but it was still a mess. We had to wait till the next day to get a machine to help us fix it . So no kitchen sink, no dishwasher and no washer!! everything was having to sit, and for those who know me that was not easy to do. So we all laughed about it and moved on. Braden hit Connie in the face almost knocking her out, she has bump on her left side of her face. SORRY!!! Braden then had a nose bleed and at that point we all said ok what ever else happens we will just roll with it. Thankfully nothing else happened. Tuesday my dad my uncle and my cousin Joey from Waco came and FIXED MY KITCHEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am back in working order. While they were fixing it i got all my Christmas decoration put up got all the presents where they needed to be so that when it was fixed i could clean that kitchen. THANK GOODNESS. It was like a ray of light shinning on me and I could finally clean. I was so happy i think i cried a little bit. So may house is back in order and no problems so far. Thanks Dad for always having just what we need you are the BEST!!!!!!

My nieces are in town for the week so we will be spending time with them. New Years Eve falls on work night for Steve so i am sure we will be in bed by 9:30 or so. So to everyone thank you so much for a great year and for keeping out little Braden in your thoughts. Thanks for reading about our little life in Texas. This year has been great for my whole family we have had so many blessings and hope that you have too. Wishing you all a great and happy 2007!!!!
Love
Steve, Annie and Braden Bunger

My Buddy

Landon needs your prayers. Jan is a friend of my mommy's and Landon is her grandson. He is in the hospital and can use some extra prayers. My mommy says that he had a rough night and that he is not eating and was not breathing for a while. Mommy says that she understands how his mommy feels. So please if Landon's mommy is crying like mine please pray for her too. If you want to know about him please visit his blog at http://www.babysites.com/sites/landonjax/default.asp

Landon and his mommy, Stephanie, she sent me my first build a bear when i was at Baylor his name is "fighter!"

Holidays

Braden went to get his next round of Synagis today. Steve took him and then they were going to do some stuff afterwards. A nice daddy day too the weather is going to be great here. I am sure they will have a great time.

Last night we had our daycare party, and what a great time we had. It is so much fun to get together and sit and talk and not rush out the door to try to be on time for work. The boys all get great gifts and we had great food and just a great time.

We are going to have a few busy weekends from now till after the first of the year. We have a few parties and a Graduation party for our friend Courtney!! We are so proud of her.

So if we do not post for a while know that we are ok and that Braden is good. And if you know us call us or come by and see us. We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a safe and happy New Year!!!!
Love to you all
Steve, Annie & Braden Bunger!!!!

Enjoy the following pictures!

Bunger Home

If you notice the bottom of the tree is a little bare. Well we put the stuff at the bottom that Braden could get and not hurt himself with. Next year I am sure it will look the same but more of the tree will be bare, since he will be taller.

Bunger Home

This is kinda blurry but you can see what little decorating we did.

Let me think?

Daddy I do not like this?

HEY

Why am I in the bath so much? How come i never you see you in here?

I'm out of here

That's it I've had it I am out of here.

Happy Birthday Jackson

Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday dear JACKSON

Happy birthday to you

We love you very much

Jackson is 10 years old today. Thank God for miracles!!!!!!!!

Another answered prayer

Dear Friends,

I'm extremely pleased to report two major legislative victories for the March of Dimes, babies, families, and all Americans.
Early in the morning on December 9th, Congress approved the PREEMIE Act (S. 707). The bill will now be sent to President Bush for his signature. This bill would not have passed without the hard work of volunteers and staff across the nation who reached out to their Senators and Congressional Representatives through personal visits, telephone calls, letters and emails urging swift approval of this initiative that sets the stage for increased federal support of prematurity related research and education.
Congress also approved a bill to extend temporarily federal support of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), thereby avoiding a funding shortfall projected to impact 17 states, putting over 600,000 infants and children at risk of losing their health insurance.
The volunteer efforts of the March of Dimes have again proven successful in meeting the health needs of America's infants and children. Let's savor these significant legislative victories and also get ready for next year's agenda -- funding for the PREEMIE Act and long term reauthorization of SCHIP.

Regards,

Dr. Jennifer L. Howse

President March of Dimes

Happy Birthday MoMo

Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday dear MoMo
Happy birthday to you

We love you very much
Love your Husband your kids and grandkids

November

November is National Premature month. So please log on to the March of Dimes web site see how you can help or donate to this great cause. November 14th is premature day so wear pink and blue show support of Braden and all his NICU friends. This is a story that I heard this morning on Kidd Kraddick in the Morning about a women describing life with a special needs baby.

WELCOME TO HOLLAND

by Emily Perl Kingsley.
c1987 by Emily Perl Kingsley. All rights reserved

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......
When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.
After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."
"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."
But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.
The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.
So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.
It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.
But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."
And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.
But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

To learn more go to http://www.journeyofhearts.org/jofh/kirstimd/holland.htm

Halloween Party

Here are a few pictures of us at the Halloween Party we had at Aunt Clara's. Hope you like them.

Weekend

Well this weekend was a very calm weekend for us. Friday night a cold front moved in and we stayed in and stayed warmed. Saturday was Jonathan's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JONATHAN he is 8 years old! He had a soccer game that morning and then we had a family lunch that the menu was planned by Jonathan himself. YUMMY....... We watched football, HOOK EM HORNS, and the kids played outside it was a great day.

Sunday was a very cold day Braden and I did not leave the house all day. It was very nice. Braden is teething pretty bad and not in the best of moods these days. We did get some pictures over the weekend and I will post them soon.

Thanks for checking in on us.

The faces of Braden

Braden

Well not much has been going with the Braden. He has had his first Synagis shot and a flu shot, so we are ready to battle this fall and winter. Lets hope we hit no major problems. Braden is getting ready for Halloween and we are excited about the weather finally cooling off. It has been so hot that we love this cool weather.

Steve, Aunt Clara and I are going to help at a Golf tournament that our friends The Lee's are putting on and all the money raised goes to March of Dimes. A good cause and we are excited about helping out. We have another event in November that we are going to help with and a few more along the way. The Walk America is set for April 21st 2007 so everyone mark your calendars and get ready to WALK!!!!

Hope you like the pictures of Braden. His Lion King P.J.'s are a Palmer Lee special and Braden just loves them, he looks very cute in them as well. The Halloween shirt is just us getting Braden into theme for the up coming holiday. He will probably go to a few of our friends houses on the street and then just help us pass out candy. We will be going to Aunt Clara's Halloween party we always have a great time there.

Uncle Chris had a birthday Oct. 1st and we had a great time celebrating with him. Aunt Connie is feeling much better and back to her self so Braden is going over for a sleep over tonight. GOOD LUCK CONNIE.

That is all for now thanks for checking in on us and we will post again soon.

GOOGLE

please log onto http://www.marchofdimes.com/forms/signPetition.asp

sign up and make people aware of the battle that Braden and his other NICU friends have been through.
thanks

Home Sweet Home

Connie is home and can not be better. She is going to have to take it easy for while but she will recover faster at home. Thanks to everyone who helped us last week, who prayed and who came to see her and sent flowers. That really means a lot to my family and we can not thank you enough.

This weekend was busy but nice. We had some family time, Grandbob came in for a quick visit on his was way to San Antonio. It was great to see him but would have liked to have more time with him and Gramy if she could have come. We love to see them but sometime wished Memphis was just next door.

RSV season is just around the corner and Steve and I are taking advantage of the fact that we can still go out with Braden. Once Oct. starts our fun days out will come to a halt. It is hard on us but we will make it for Braden we will battle this and move on. Once this season is over in April or May we will be done with RSV and can kinda have normal falls and winters.

Other then that not much more to report Braden is growing like a weed. He has a mouth full of teeth just waiting to pop out, that makes for a fussy Braden. He is so much fun we love to see him learn new things and learn to say new words. That is the best feeling ever.

Have a great week and we will post again soon. Thanks

Note for Braden

I wanted you all to say a little pray for my aunt Connie. She has been in the hospital since Wednesday. my mom says she is tired of that place and I can not blame her. So please aunt Connie come home soon I am ready for another sleep over!!

Love Braden

the faces of Braden

He's ready for his close up

Such a big boy

Hook em' Horns!!

A quick note....

Just wanted to get a few things out there today......

Amber Parks a good friend of ours, John's mom, is having surgery today please wish her a well and a speedy recovery.

Please continue to keep Audrey in your prayers. She has been in the hospital for over a week had a surgery done and now the waiting game. This family really needs some prayers and Braden's followers are the best at it. To see more on her please see her web page at http://jennmillerblog.spaces.live.com/

Jenn please call if you need anything!!!

Hope you like the pictures below!

The group

Here we all are with our boys. Jackie, Tristan, Chanda, Sam, Amber, John, me & Braden. Those boys steal that picutre.

Birthday boy

Tristan was the last of the daycare boys to turn one. So no more babies they are all big boys!!!

Sam

This is sam, Braden's daycare buddy, at Tristans birthday party. We tried to get him to smile for us, he has the cutest smile, but he was not up for it at the time.

John

This is John, Braden's day care buddy, at Tristan's first birthday party. These boys have all grown so much.

PaPa time

This is Gary, a.k.a. PaPa he takes care of Braden everyday with his wife Shirley. We were at Tristan's first birthday and Braden had to take control of him. He stayed like that for about 20 minutes. That is his favorite place to be.

Cool

Braden loving the cool breeze we got over the weekend. He is so tall you can see in this picture. Love the PJ's?

Daddy time

Bath time is daddy time for Braden . Steve and Braden have the best time and water seems to be everywhere when they are done. Sounds like to much fun for mom to be in there.

Bath time

That smile would melt anyone's heart!!

WHAT A DAY

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO AUNT CONNIE!!!!! She is ?? Today

Happy Grandparents Day to ALL of Braden's grandparents today!!! He is so blessed to have you all in his life!!!!

We celebrated the events last night with my family and steve's mom at our place. We had way to much food and a great soccer cake. YES a soccer cake.............Saturday was JoJo's 1st soccer game and they did a great job. They did not win but the whole team did a great job and the family was there to cheer to them on!!!!! WAY TO GO JOJO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today we are taking Braden to the park with his cousins for the 1st time. IT will be very exciting to see him at the park. I will report all the good details later.

This weekend was a great time and we had many things to be thankful for. We look forward to many more wonderful weekends.

Check back for pictures!!!

The SUN

Braden was at the Carters outlet shop in Allen a few weeks ago with Aunt Clara, Mom & Dad and we got this pictures with the sun just peaking behind him. He does not look real happy with any of us.

Braden & Jonathan

Braden LOVES his cousin Jonathan that he can even call him by his nickname "JoJo", he started to say it one evening and has not stopped.

Braden & Jackson

Braden LOVES his cousin Jackson. Some people in the family think that Braden looks like Jackson when he was a baby.

Best place to be

Braden loves to snuggle up with his Uncle Chris.

Once again.......

Braden is 18 months today!!! Happy 18 months to my BIG BOY!!!!!
Happy Birthday to Braden's great grandfather in Hereford Texas!!!!!!!

School has started and the weather will hopefully change soon and fall will begin. Braden went to his lung doctor on Friday Aug. 25th and we got the news that Braden will have to have synagis again this fall/winter. He will have his first shot in Oct. and end sometime April or May. These shots will help to prevent RSV which we all know can be very bad for Braden. The Dr. feels that as well as Braden is doing one more round will keep him on the pace that he is now and not fall back any. So we will be doing the same stuff we did last winter. We will not be out as much with Braden, we will not take him to crowded place and NO SICK PEOPLE!! If you feel that you are sick please know that we will understand if you do not come over to visit. We have to do what is best for Braden. I was very upset to hear this news, I just cried over the fact that he was going to have to do that again. I know that he will not remember but I do and I think that he has been through so much what else can he go through. But my Braden is strong and he will get over this and we will move on and he will be fine. I on the other hand will smile and go on and then cry in the closet like every good Mom does, to show no fear.

We are very excited Braden's cousin Jonathan is playing soccer this year. He is on a team called the Rockets and there first game in sometime early September. So Braden will get to see at least a few games before RSV starts. Chris is helping the team get ready and hope that they have a great year.

The Miller Family in Frisco still needs prayers for Audrey. She was in the hospital last week and our hearts break for that family. Jenn please know that if you need anything call us. It takes special people to care for a special needs baby but it takes friends to take care of the parents. So call if you need us and we will be praying for you! To see more on the Miller family go to http://jennmillerblog.spaces.live.com/

Kedroski's Texas welcomes you back!!!

Landon Jax Crowley WELCOME !!! Landon is the grandson of my friend Jan Hill. He was born on Tuesday Aug. 22 8 pounds 4 ounces. Everyone is doing great and he is a doll. Lots of love to you!!!

Braden is talking up a storm some of his words are "WOW" "Uhh Ohh" "Wal-Mart" "Clara" "pamper" "Jo Jo" and "touchdown" now they are not that clear but you get the point of what he is saying. If you point to food or want him to eat if you say "MMMMM" he will say it too. I love to see him learn new things it just makes me smile every time.

We will post some pictures soon so check back!!!!

Too CUTE

Look at this boy I mean there is nothing but CUTE written all over that face.

Family of Year

The Havis Family in the parade!

HUGS

Grandpa Gary and Grandma Shirly wants hugs from Braden! So the driver of the truck stops so that Braden could go up to them and see them. Can we say "spoiled"!!!

Having fun with Dad

Steve and Braden having a good time at the parade.

Braden

Braden giving his MoMo a big smile at the parade in Denton!

A year ago..............

A year ago today I took Braden to his first day of daycare. WOW a year!!!! He has grown so much from that first day and that comes from good care from Shirley and Gary. We are so blessed to have them watching over Braden everyday. Amber and Shannon Parks opened their home to Braden and it has been the best place for him to grow. John, Sam and Tristan have all become such a big part of our lives that seeing them everyday just makes my day!!!

Here is a picture of Braden on his first day of day care a year ago today

Braden NOW

So much stuff.......

Braden has had his glasses for a while now and is doing pretty well with them. He will wear them about 3 to 4 hours and then when it is time to sleep they come off. We are very proud of him he is such a big boy. We went to the cardiology on Friday July 28th, and got great news. Dr. Clapp said that she "NEVER" wants to see Braden again. "never" I say as I look at her in a uncertain way and she looked right at me and said "Braden is doing amazing, I never want to see him again." I heard that all day in my head word for work and trying it now I am just smiling. To hear that we are slowly getting out of the woods makes us feel so good.

Braden weighed in at 22.5 pounds and 30 and half inches long at her office. She said that most babies born at 24 weeks that survive that she sees have serious problems and have to have very special care, and she was surprised to see how well Braden was. Of course while she is bragging on the boy, he is walking around the room with just a pamper on and yelling "blah blah blah!" It was very good to get a good report. Of course if any of Braden's Doctor's have any heart concerns we will go back and see her but for now we are checking her off the list of Doctor's to see every year. YEAH BRADEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


That same day we took Braden to Baylor to see some of his nurses, they were so surprised to see him. One of his Doctor's from the NICU was there and could not believe that was Braden. They all came to see him walk and just stare at what once was a maybe and then turned out to be a YES he will make it. As we were getting ready to leave the Doctor looked at us and said "you all have done a great job with him" I quickly said "NO you all did it we just took over." I wanted to cry. We will forever be thankful to the whole staff at Baylor.

The next day we went to a parade where my sister and her family were in for the Family of Year for Denton County and had a great time. Grandma Shirley and Pawpaw Gary were in the parade as well and Braden was happy to see them too. We got some great pictures that we will post as soon as we can get them all together.

We are all doing great other then that. We are working and just making each day count. Steve and I are planning on getting out of the house for a date night on Saturday, Aunt Clara will stay to watch Braden. We hope we can make it out it has been a while since we have gotten dressed up and out of the house alone.

Just wanted to say to the Miller Family in Frisco we are thinking about you and Sweet baby Audrey you keep on fighting prove those doctor's wrong it will make your parents happy to hear them say WOW she looks great.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO GRANDMA LYNDA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We will be seeing her for dinner tonight.

Thanks for checking in on us. Pictures soon!!!!

THE GLASSES

We finally got Braden's glasses!! Here are a few pictures of him in them last night. He is just in a pamper and if you live anywhere in Texas you will understand why!

Braden in his glasses

We took Braden today to get fitted for his glasses. The did not have the color that we wanted or the right size so we will get them next saturday. Here are a few pictures of the style that he will wear.

Another answered prayer

Audrey went home!!!!!!!!!! To my surprise I look at her blog and see that she went home Monday June 3rd. We are so happy for her and her WHOLE family. Many people have been praying for her and we are so happy to prove that prayers work. To see pictures of that sweet girl go to http://spaces.msn.com/jennmillerblog/

First Ear Infection

Braden has been really fussy the last few days and last night I said enough I am taking him to the Doctor. So this morning MoMo and I took him to see Dr. Day and we have our first ear infection! We are really surprised that it took us 15 months to get one we are not happy he is not feeling good but happy that his body has been able to fight it off this long. So we have some medicine and hopefully we can get him through this quick!!

Braden's Eye Appointment

Well we took Braden for a second opinion on him having to get glasses and it looks like he will have to get them. We have called all over the metro plex for these special glasses and we found a place in Plano Dallas Youth Optical. We will go July 8th at 10:00 a.m. We will post pictures as soon as we can. Thanks for checking.

A year later......

A year ago today Steve and I got to be come parents. We finally got to walk out of Baylor with Braden. What a feeling that was to walk out of the doors and not feel like you are leaving your heart up on the 7th floor NICU. We were so happy that day and we cried tears of joy when we got him the car. Aunt Clara came to drive us home so that Steve and I would not fight about who got to sit with him in the back. Leigh one of Braden's nurses was our discharge nurse and we loved her like she was one of us. So it really meant a lot to us when she cried when we left with Braden. But I am sure that all the nurse feel that way when one of there babies leave, they are HAPPY!! So we get home and not a few hours later any family member that was within an hour drive was at hour house. It is weird to think that Braden has been with us a year today. I remember driving away from Baylor and looking back at it from the window and thinking there are still babies in there, and I want so bad for other parents to feel the way I felt taking my baby HOME!!

What a difference a year makes. Braden is walking, and talking, and doing more things all on his own . He is almost 22 pounds and 30 inches tall. We are so blessed to have Braden. He was well taken care of at Baylor and we would have not had him anywhere else. But this day was the day that I said BYE BAYLOR and ran out the doors with my baby!!!!!! We have gone back a few times to see the family that took such good care of Braden!! We will always have a special place for the staff at Baylor. Thanks to all of you who helped us get to this point your prayers and support have been amazing!!!

Well check back all summer long we are sure to have some great pictures for you all to see.......


Last family picture taken at Baylor,on the day we took him home one year ago today!!!



The Bunger family now!!!