The End of an Era

As the years have progressed, we've used our backpack carrier less and less. That's understandable as Teddy has grown. Physically, he's now close to 4 feet tall and weighs 80 pounds. When I'm only 5 feet 2 inches on a tall day, there's not much height difference between us. He's also grown steadier and stronger in his walking, though his ability to listen hasn't grown in equal proportions unfortunately. 

For the past several years, each time I pulled out the carrier I was reprimanded by my loving husband and mother ... truly from a place of love and concern that I'd injure myself by carrying Teddy. I insisted on bringing the carrier last year on vacation (and used it on one hike for just a short stint when the listening ears and all other attempts failed). When I didn't pack it for vacation this year, I knew it was time to pass it along to another family in need.

We had to do one final "ups" before mailing the carrier. He still fits. ;-)

Since it was hard for me to give up this season of life, I wanted to give it to another PIGN-CDG family who could benefit. As I type this, our carrier is on its way to Colorado where I hope it brings a sweet 4-year-old boy and his family as much as it did for our family.

Look at that toothless grin! We loved exploring together!

This carrier (and its predecessors) allowed us to get through the basics of life. It made grocery shopping possible when I needed my hands free. It made shopping trips possible when I couldn't wrestle Teddy into carts anymore due to his size, especially combined with my height. (There may have been a couple times we upended the shopping cart when I was trying to wrestle Teddy out by myself.) It allowed Teddy the snuggles and closeness he needed when he was in a mood and needed all the extra love ... yet I couldn't just hold 60+ pounds of sad Teddy.

We did plenty of hiking at our land with the carrier. Ted had to take an important call.

Beyond making the ordinary moments easier (or simply possible), this carrier traveled the country with us. I'm pretty sure this carrier has visited more national parks than many Americans. So, I couldn't resist searching back in time and sharing a handful of places we've been and memories we've made with this carrier. I'll be forever grateful for what this carrier gave our family.

You couldn't always see Teddy in the selfies, but you can see Black Canyon of the Gunnison.

It's completely safe. He's strapped to my back at Olympic National Park.

This was when Teddy still had pacifiers attached to the carrier at Rocky Mountain National Park.

Again, perfectly safe to walk up a river with a child strapped to your back. 

No way we trusted Teddy around the ancient ruins at Mesa Verde.

Not pictured are the ladders we climbed to get to this view in Canyonlands.

Sometimes I even let Dave carry Ted, like here in Great Sand Dunes.

Respite

Last week we had the opportunity to enjoy a bit of respite in the form of a backpacking trip with only AJ for a couple days to Pictured Rocks in Michigan. This trip is an annual tradition for us, with this being the 6th time we've went in the past 7 years (darn you COVID in 2020!). 

It's incredible to watch AJ transform on these short trips as we all truly relax and enjoy life without the daily stress and challenges that come with living with Teddy. A highlight this year was watching AJ create a lounge chair out of sandstone slabs propped in the middle of the river. He spent probably close to 2 hours creating this masterpiece and relaxing in it, knowing there would be no guarantee the waters wouldn't claim it overnight. (It did survive until morning, so he got one more relaxation break there!)

Hiking and camping are my happy places. We have so many family memories that I cherish, but hiking and camping are difficult to near impossible with Teddy through the years. That's why this trip is so incredibly special because we get to do things we love without being fully responsible for care 24/7. 

We're grateful for our village, particularly our one sitter who has spent lots of quality time with Teddy including mornings far earlier than she enjoys, to make this respite possible.

I can't help but share some of my favorite photos from the trip. And we're already looking forward to next year!

All set to hike in to our campsite!

I'm not sure how many more years we can all squeeze in one hammock.

AJ is relaxing in his chair.

We hiked to Spray Falls with AJ, first time since he was 11 months old!

This is my happy place.

Best Brother Ever

It takes a village to raise Teddy, and he's so lucky to have his brother AJ in his village!

AJ is the most empathetic, kindest, thoughtful kid I could imagine. When we started fundraising for drug repurposing for CDG-PIGN, AJ wanted to help. 

He developed a fundraiser with an online order form to sell 3-D printed fidgets with all money going to the fundraiser. He/we cover printing costs and donate his time to make them. He did well with that and decided to take advantage of my connection with the farmer's market to sell them at a couple markets.

He did 2 farmer's markets this summer, raising almost $800 and a lot of awareness. He did a fantastic job making his display board, and his dad helped create a really awesome board to display the fidgets. It was a great learning experience for him 

The real magic was listening to him interact at the market. He's incredible talking to people and explaining his mission. We're so proud of him.

AJ works markets like a pro.

Teddy may not realize how lucky he is to have AJ as his brother, but he does know how much AJ loves him.