HAPPY NEW
YEAR!
We hope your 2015 was wonderful!
Here’s what the Nielsen Family was up to this year!
Shawn – Is still building his Farm Bureau agency. We were warned that the first 3 years can be
the hardest and his late nights are evidence of that. He has 5 employees now and is looking to hire
a few more the beginning of the year to help ease his work load so hopefully we
will get to see more of him at home. He
enjoys golf, hunting and working outdoors whenever he does get time off. He is currently serving in the Elders Quorum
Presidency.
Alyssa (Me!) – I am a full time mama to Kimber and now little
Brady. They keep me BUSY! In my “spare time” I try to keep my blog up
to date to continue helping families in the Prader Willi Community by sharing
our own story and experiences. I am
serving as Primary Secretary in our ward which has to be one of the best
callings ever.
Kimber (2 ½) – Started walking early this year just before her 2nd
birthday! Her speech is amazing and she
keeps us laughing on a daily basis with her very “grown up” vocabulary. She knows her alphabet and numbers. Her schedule still includes therapy multiple
times a week and regular trips down to Primary Children’s Hospital to see various
specialists but this is officially our “normal” and isn’t as overwhelming any
more. She love books, Elmo, Daniel
Tiger, Word World, and singing at her nursery class with her friends.
One of the highlights of our year was a trip to Florida to see THE
Prader Willi Specialist, Dr Miller. Our
appointment with her was worth the budgeting, planning and long flight over with
a toddler at 7 months pregnant. Dr.
Miller was very impressed with Kimber’s progress and told us that she feels
Kimber is definitely on the “mild” end of the Prader Willi Spectrum. We left her office so full of hope and
EXCITED for Kimber’s future. Oh the
places this little girl is going to go!
Watch out world!
Brady (4 mo) – The other highlight of our year! Brady was born in August via c-section and
has definitely brought a new level of “excitement” to our home. The whole experience has been dramatically
opposite to Kimber. He was born with
literally perfect apgar scores and our little man has not stopped to take a
breath since! He giggles, coos, rolls
over and is DETERMINED to become totally mobile before his mama is ready for
it!
I have been asked if having a “typical” baby is easier or harder
than my experience with Kimber. It’s just
DIFFERENT! While it is nice not to have
constant doctor and therapy appointments, it did take some time adjusting to a
baby who actually cries, eats by mouth and spends more time awake than asleep! We LOVE having him in our home and Kimber
absolutely ADORES him.
We are so grateful for all of your love and support this year. We look forward to what next year has in store
for the Nielsen family!
Love,
Shawn, Alyssa, Kimber “Bean”, and Brady
