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)

Good Bye February

I thought I would quickly put in a few things we did this month.

C went to the Senate Floor and sang the Utah song for a few players and coach Wittingham. I told Louie Sakota about how Alan wanted to name O Louie. He asked what we ended up naming him and he said that was his middle name!

We went to Eden last weekend and C got his snowball from Charley and Bucks. It is ice cream covered in every candy bar you can think of. WE LOVE THAT PLACE! My Dad ordered FOUR desserts for the five adults and two children. We were sick! We also did a little snow play.

C had his first official birthday party. Of course, he wanted a UTAH party. We just went to the church and let the kids run crazy. We also did a pinata, pizza, and cake. He had a blast.

O turned three months old!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT???????????? I still pretend he is a newborn. John and April had a new baby and Susan was able to hold all three new grand babies together today. She was ALL smiles!

1*2*3*4

FoUr! How can you be four years old today baby? It is exactly 4:49 the time you were born four years ago today. I must tell you I have learned more in the past four years of being a Mom to you than I have my entire life. True patience, deep love, pride, gratitude, I have a temper at times, forgiveness, and admiration, just to name a few. I have so many wishes for you bubs. I hope you had a happy birthday.

The past year was a growing experience in many ways for you. You tried a soccer team with all the neighbor kids. In the second game you fell and got trampled on. You had cleat marks on your back and chest for a week. Needless to say, soccer games were not your favorite thing after that experience.

You love going to Eden and spending time with family. Your cousins get crazy when we get together but what do you expect with 7 boys and 1 girl?

You went to a variety of Utah games and got the infamous jersey! Today, Papa bought you a new basketball jersey after taking you to Mc Donald's for a birthday breakfast. Now you might actually have two different things to wear every day.

You sang the Utah song on KSL radio and had a new baby brother in a 24 hour period. You also sang on the Senate floor for the players and coach but that is a whole other post.

You and M have become best friends. You love being together and play well. I hope someday O will join you in your fun activities you create. You make me smile every day and cry on others as I try to raise you to be a happy, respectful, adventurous, courageous, loving, and kind little boy.

HaPpy BiRtHDay C! We love you so very much!