Bring on the Apples

While most people I know go through the McDonald’s drive thru for a Diet Coke each day, I would go for another reason. If I could, I would order a small Caramel Dip. That is the reason I usually order my kids a Happy Meal. Just so I can sneak the apples and dip. Well, my cute Dad found this out when we were at Mickey D’s one time. (Ya! He would not step foot in that place when we were kids but now he takes my kids all the time). He would always ask for a thing of caramel as we were leaving so I could take it home and indulge later that day during nap time.

Well, look what he showed up with on my door step this morning!!!!!! HE ROCKS! He is so thoughtful and amazing. 200 caramel dippers from McDonald's. He makes me smile! Thanks DAD. I LOVE YOU.

Summer Fun

We went on our annual Bear Lake trip with the Pohlman Fam. We had a grand old time. Pictures explain it all.Alan's brother, John, put on a REAL firework show on the beach.Watching the fireworks.

WOW…it got hot fast. I must say it was kind of nice having the heat come later this year. We have ventured out of the valley a few times with my parents to Park City to get out of the heat and it was NICE. We found a new favorite, Turkey Burgers at Ruby Tuesday. The first time we went to the Alpine Slides but it had just rained so it was closed so we rode the roller coaster instead. That place has REALLY changed in the past five years. We returned a week later because we had a pass to the slides but of course we had to stop for a turkey burger. As we got to the slide at 8:05, we realized it closed at 8:00. So, I guess we will head up once again. However, before heading home, we had to stop at the Chocolate Factory for a Caramel Apple and the kids picked these nasty sugar suckers with no flavoring. Even they did not like them!

We have also spent a few nights at the Pohlman cabin where it was also much cooler. We love it there. Thanks to Alan’s family, this place is amazing! There is always something to do there. Including…..going on the potty!

Yep M is potty training and after 6 days with no BM….success. I sat on the bathroom floor of the cabin for what seemed like eternity reading a coloring book to the kid. (Hey, you take what is available.) He has taken to the whole thing pretty well but seemed a little baffled by what happened. Let’s hope it lasts! I am so proud of the little trooper. Yippee, only one kid in diapers to change each day.

Back to Life!

We are glad to have M’s surgery over with. He was such a trooper. I am so proud of him. The doctor said it would take at least three months for the swelling to go down and then we could start speech. We were not expecting any changes in his speech but we have seen great improvement! He can say his name without air coming through his nose. We are so excited. He also sleeps in a big boy bed now. It has only been a good thing. He has slept two strait weeks in it and has not even tried to get out. Also, M used to rise at 6:30 every morning. After we put him in the twin bed he has slept until 8 or 9. LOVIN’ IT! C had a more difficult time with the surgery than his brother that actually had the surgery. I think he was so worried about M that he even got a fever. Once M came home it was even more difficult. We are back into a SCHEDULE for him and he is doing WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!!!! He started swim lessons and LOVES it. I was blown away. He hates new things and paced the house all morning the first day of lessons. Now he asks when the weekend will be over so he can go to swim lessons. He has been delightful lately! He just needs something to look forward to.
O is adorable and I think he is beautiful. Can I say that about a boy? I call him Kitty Cat (because he cat naps all the day long) or Koala (because he just hangs on my body and forms to whatever position you put him in). He is rolling like crazy and giggling all day. He is sleeping from 9:15 to 5:00 or 6:00. He nurses and then goes back down for a few hours. I do not want to complain but I am wondering if I should try and break him of that early feeding. I never did with M and he is now an early riser. Any advice? He is also sitting for a few seconds and LOVES food. Today he ate broccoli and loved it. We are loving summer (now that it finally came) and looking forward to a few family trips. Alan took the two older boys fishing this morning. They were so excited. As for me, O and I did some serious yard work. It was perfect weather and the ground was moist.

Summer rocks. I love it. Alan HATES the heat (and I do at night) but everything else about it is wonderful. I can’t believe next weekend is Alan's birthday and then July 4th. Great times!

Better Days

Our sweet Moo is in Primary Childrens Hospital. After a morning of only fluids we came here to have surgery around 11:45 to fix his Submucus Cleft Palate. M was happy as could be. The surgeon was running behind a little so he played for hours with some other kids and his Nana. After a few hours he said "OK Mommy. I am ready to go home." He had no idea what he was in for.

He happily went with the anesthesiologist in a wagon around 2:00. After an hour the nurse called and said everything was going well. She said she loved our little boy. He hopped onto the table and was as cute as could be.

After 2 hours and 45 minutes I started getting anxious. However Dr. Marshall Smith came out to tell us everything went well. He has 40-50 stitches in the roof his mouth and a few under his tongue. When I first saw him my heart broke. He is so sweet. I could tell he was in a lot of pain.

It took a while to get him stable enough to move to another unit where Alan spent the night with him so I could get home to nurse O and get him down.

He is not eating or drinking now and we can't go home until he does so. We will try to be patient and loving as he gets more comfortable.

A HUGE thank you to our family!!!!!!! Alan's Mom took M to buy a special Froggy toy a few days ago. It has turned into his best friend. She also took him yesterday morning while I got the other kids ready for the day. M could not eat ANYTHING!!!!! Even a raisin would not allow for surgery so she kept him by her side all morning long. Aunt April and Uncle John gave M a football to have people sign when they come to visit. My Mom came for support before surgery. I thought I would be fine until Alan got up here but I was happy to have my Mom with me. Aunt Mimi took C for a special day followed by a sleepover. O is back with Alan's parents, C is still with Mimi. How do people do it without family? We are beyond blessed!

I will update more later. We love you Moo!!!! GET WELL SOON.

Good Morning!

Isn't it ironic how you wait for the day your baby will sleep through the night and when he finally does....you are awake because you HAVE to pump, check him every few minutes because something must be wrong, or just can't sleep because your body is so used to being up. Good job O. Now just do it again!

These pics are for Aunt Jana and cousin E. O just wants to show off how awesome his hair is. He has a California wave going in the front. We miss you guys!

1st's

How can another month go by and I not make time to post a little update. At least I found a little time to write in the baby books. Now I have about 3 minutes before I need to get C and M up from naps. So this one is for O.

He had a lot of firsts this month. Mostly with food. I still can't figure out what it is I eat that makes him have hard nights. I have narrowed it down to one thing for sure.... yogurt. Which I LOVE!!!! I used to eat two a day. He has started sleeping much better but still not like the other boys at this age. The whole cry it out thing is still in the works. Here are a few pictures from the past few weeks.

My Dad will claim this face is because he HATES this frog outfit. I think it is cute. I would have to say O knows what is to come. I heard the boys laughing and came in to find O wearing C's new shoes. First rice cereal. He loved it..... for about three days. First try with a sippy. Hmmmm, not quite ready.

First solid food. Sweet potatoes. YuMMMMM He ate 2 and half jars last night after a full nursing.

O adds a lot of extra mommy work to my day with no extra sleep but I love him to pieces. His smile is so cute and people always comment on how sweet he is. Today is a good day and we are doing well. I seriously pray every day for more patience but then thank the Lord for these sweet spirits that teach me ALL about who I really am.

SPF

All those years of my Mom telling me to put more suncreen on finally caught up with me. I was not going to post anything but so many people have been calling and they are very concerned. I am hoping this will calm peoples' nerves.

A few weeks ago I was diagnosed with Melanoma In -Situ. The spot is on my upper chest and is about the size of a quarter. Today I had surgery to remove it and it went well. It took most of our day at Huntsman and we will be back again tomorrow for reconstructive surgery. All of the melanoma is gone after two procedures and they did a biopsy on another spot. They also had to take a control sample so I have stitches in three different areas.

Tomorrow will be very telling as far as what my chest will look like in the future. We are praying they will be able to close the wound with just a straight line. If that is not an option, I will have a graft from my thigh. I really hope they can close it.

All is well and a huge thank you goes out to Alan's Mom for taking the boys ALL day, my parents for taking C and O this evening, and Trish and Sara for dinner. I LOVE YOU!

Hopefully this will be the last physical bump in my health for a long time. I do not like not being 100% for myself and family. (P.S Do not look at the rest of this post if you have a queasy stomach)