The McKeehan Family

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E!!

2012-01-23T14:29:00.000-08:00

We went to Disneyland this weekend, I found out late Thursday afternoon that David didn't have school on Friday for teacher inservice day, but we couldn't leave any earlier since he had procrastinated doing his project that is due Tuesday, plus since my car needs to get some work done I had rented a car to pick up Friday. Anyways, we left later than I had wanted to Friday had lots of fighting between the boys and got to California about 11pm. We got up early Saturday and my weekend just got worse! I slipped in the mud behind the car as I was trying to load all of our stuff in it & dropped our jackets in a puddle but managed to salvage most of them with little wetness. Then when we got to the park and I was loading the stroller I realized that the ice chest had dumped and the back of the car had a few inches of water in it and the jackets were sitting in the water! Only Tommy's was not able to be worn, so he ended up with a new Disney jacket! It only lightly drizzled/rained for the first few hours, but made it nice cause there was no lines and we had raincovers for the strollers so it was great!!

Tommy & Nathan enjoying a mickey shaped sucker (& Nathan flexing his muscles, being a bully & pulling Tommy's hair)

The kids rode the firetruck down Main Street with grandma & papa and Tommy got to sit by the bell and LOVED ringing it!

Sunday morning we went back to Disney, I was SO proud of the little boys!! Tommy has NEVER liked the characters and Nathan is still scared of them & only likes to see the from afar. But we got in line with our cousins to see Mickey and when it was our turn they both on their own, went up to Mickey for a picture!!

The little boy cousins had really cute matching shirts for Disney (the girl cousins had adorable skirts/shoes/shirts & hairbows too) we tried to get a cute boy cousin picture and this is what we got!!

Then we went to Marie Callenders for late lunch with Great Grandpa Allison. It was so fun to see him, Gwen, Bob, Sherry, Rhonda, Raquel & Michael! Tommy & Nathan fell asleep in the car on the way to lunch and stayed asleep till it was time to go! So, that's them asleep in the stroller!

Abby is one of Nathan's absolute favorite cousins! He ALWAYS talks about Abby and PaPa! Even now he is trying to grab the computer saying Abby, Abby, Abby!! As we were leaving lunch he & Abby were holding hands walking out of the restaurant.

We had a GREAT time at Disney with our cousins!! It makes us sad that they live far away and we don't get to see them as often anymore!

crazy busy boys!!

2012-01-19T09:21:00.000-08:00

We have had a very busy January & it isn't going to slow down anytime soon! Maybe in February....

We started January with Nathan turning 2, we celebrated that night (6th) by going to Chuck E Cheese for dinner, opening presents & having cupcakes at home.

This is Nathan enjoying David's gift to him....a bag of gummy worms!

another favorite, a remote control truck

We had Nathan's birthday party this last weekend, which is our only weekend in town this month!

Nathan's favorite treat from his party....chocolate covered Mickey oreo pops!

We have lots of fun things planned for this month.

We are going to Disneyland this weekend with all of my family which we are very much looking forward to, not just to go to Disney, but to go with all of our cousins! I love that my kids have such a good relationship/friendship with my siblings kids!

The following weekend we are going to St. George for David's baseball tournament! And to have Jake help replace the lower control arms on my durango, its a lot cheaper (& fun) to have family help fix stuff & I can buy parts and dinner! We love you Jake & so so very much appreciate you!!

David has midterms right now at school & according to his teacher is doing very well. He also has little league baseball signups this month, which means in about 1 1/2 months we will be on 2 teams, club & league so baseball will even more so consume our lives for a few months! He just received his webelos award in cubscouts and is working towards his arrow of light. I didn't get any pictures of it though, just as I was juggling little boys and grabbing my camera they called me up to get the mother's pin.

Tommy is doing good at preschool, still tells me almost everyday that he is mad at me for taking him, but loves it in class & participates and is making lots of friends. He also gets to do baseball signups this month, he wants to play t-ball!! That will definitely be a sight to see & I am really looking forward to it! Although it adds more practices & games to an already busy schedule! He is still going to speech and is thankfully making a lot of progress and hopefully will be done before he starts kindergarten this fall! We did find out though that he is lactose intolerant & are now cutting all dairy out of our diets!!

Nathan is good! He loves to play outside, eat & ride his bike and scooter. He just lost his tube out of his right ear, so hopefully he doesn't need to get another set, fingers crossed!

I am doing good, still a little sore but got the all clear from the surgeon. She said I should be sore for a few months! But, life is fun and crazy busy with all these boys and is just going to get more so with these little boys growing up and being able & wanting to be involved in lots of stuff!

2!!! Can you believe it!

2012-01-10T16:33:00.000-08:00

Nathan's 2 year old birthday party invitation

Nathan's 2 year old picture

I can not believe that Nathan is 2!! It seems like just yesterday he was born. I am certainly not ready for my baby to be so grown up already! Nathan loves to play with his brothers, puppies, food & candy, read stories, play in water and be outside no matter how cold it is! He is an amazing sleeper, he will usually take a 2-3 hour nap and goes to bed & falls asleep at 8:30 and usually gets up between 7-8. He is one tough little boy!! Nathan is always so happy and is really easy to please. He is such a lover... he has to kiss and hug everyone that is in the house or he can't go to bed at night, in the morning he has to find his brothers and says hi to them and gives them hugs & kisses. If someone is crying or gets hurt he will go to them and try to hug them better, he's such a sweet little boy. I can not imagine Nathan not being in our family!! He is such an amazing little boy & I just love him so much!! Happy birthday Nathan!!

Nathan's 2 year old stats

weight: 25.6 lbs (20-25th%)

height: 34 inches (25-30th%)

head: 50 cm (75-90th%)

He is right on the 50% track for his age

mattress fun

2012-01-10T16:04:00.000-08:00

The boys all got their rooms upgraded a little this weekend....they had a blast playing on the stacked up mattresses while I was rearranging!

Christmas Weekend

2012-01-03T10:23:00.000-08:00

We had so much fun over Christmas weekend!

We played games with our cousins & decorated gingerbread houses (and ate the candy for them!)

We had a 'snowball' fight with our cousins out front

I love this picture, David is to cool, Nathan is trying to get away from Santa (still not to sure how he feels about him), Tommy wants nothing to do with him (does not like him at all!) I'm trying to keep Nathan from bumping my day old incision & am a little drugged up, and Keith just looks annoyed at all of it!

The boys stockings hung under their pictures

the tree & presents after Santa came Christmas Eve

David & Tommy trying to decide where to start

Nay-Nay totally happy just having some milk

Tommy trying to find a present with a ''T" on it for him, and Nathan found a sit & spin that was left for him! He sat and played while the other boys opened gifts and made Nathan a pile of his gifts.

Tommy got a new bey stadium

Finally convinced Nathan to open a present, he got Mickey & Pluto! He sat the box on top of the sit & spin and continued to play on it! Such a funny boy!

And he got a puppy!! He loves this puppy, it goes to bed with him every night & it goes everywhere with us!

hugging his puppy

I love this picture of Tommy... after all the presents were open and we were starting to open and put things together he sat down and started crying. When I asked him what was wrong he through hysterical crying said that Santa hates him!! I asked him why Santa hates him and Tommy said because he didn't bring him anything he wanted, then threw himself on the ground crying!! Poor kid....only got everything he asked for!

In the afternoon we went to my mom's house and opened more presents, had dinner and the kids did a version of the Nativity. David was a shepard, Tommy was a donkey but wanted to sit and not participate, and Nathan was a wiseman.

(Nathan & Cassidy playing outback)

We had such a fun Christmas weekend! It was so much fun to have all of our cousins here to celebrate and play with these last few weeks!

yay!!!

2011-12-28T16:27:00.000-08:00

I got to find out the results from my surgery today. My diagnosis has changed, it is not a fibroadenoma, but is a hamartoma. But whatever you want to call it, it is a benign tumor!! My stress level has dropped dramatically today. I am so grateful for all of my family & friends. I would not have made it through these last six weeks without out your love, help, and strength to lean on. I am feeling pretty good, finally. I am still sore, but instead of having to have ice on it & drugs all day long, I am taking some ibuprofen at bedtime and sleeping with ice on. I think its mainly sore from where the scar is, whether I wear a sports bra or a regular bra it sits right on the incision. Once I take off my bra the pain level goes down, so hopefully that is something that will just have to take time to feel better, but at least I can make it through the day! I have an awesome hook-like scar just under my armpit, right at the bra line. The doctor wasn't able to go in where she originally thought because the tumor was a little higher and farther back than she originally though, but that is fine with me as long as she got it all & the results are as great as they are, I'm good with any kind of scar!

Leaves & Zombies

2011-12-13T09:27:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Tommy decided that it can't be Christmas if there is no snow. After a very lengthy & complicated debate with him, he decided he was correct. A few minutes later he looked out the living room window and started jumping up & down and yelling that it had snowed and he needed outside! It was overcast & threatening rain....but definitively not snow. He decided that the leaves that fell from the tree the last few days were snow leaves and it had in fact snowed all over the yard! So, we got jackets on and went to play in the snow! We got snow pile makers (push brooms) and made a big pile that the kids spent hours flopping in, running from the neighbors yard & jumping off the wall into, and of course burying our biggest brother in! The best part was coming inside and having hot chocolate after playing in that great snow!!

Tommy & Nathan burying David (below)

Tommy is really into zombies lately. He is funny! He can't go to sleep unless the zombie alarm is set, when he says prayers he prays that no zombies will come in, he runs past zombie doors at the store.

Somebody (Tommy) snuck into David's room and got his markers that he uses for his school projects. And decided that he'd be such a nice brother and let Nathan color too. Only problem is, they decided to use themselves as the paper! This is the reason that I ONLY allow color wonders in my house!! Where was I you ask....helping David who in the middle of my getting the little boys stripped down & ready for bed needed my help with his school project, besides the boys were being so good & quiet, should've known that meant trouble!!

This is Tommy's zombie foot he made, couldn't really do to many pictures of their zombie making

love me through it

2011-12-10T12:26:00.001-08:00

I know this isn't the most personal way to share something like this, but it is easier than making a million phone calls, shedding some tears & explaining those tears to my boys. So, sorry but if you do want to talk, feel free to call, email, text or whatever.

That being said, the middle of November I felt a lump in my breast. I called my ob/gyn and had an appointment in a couple days. Dr. Garg confirmed what I had felt and referred me to a breast specialist and for an ultrasound. I called to make an appt with the specialist Dr. Spotts & was told I had to do the ultrasound first so I scheduled that too. I called the day before my ultrasound appointment to schedule with Dr. Spotts and the girl I talked to told me I can just see the dr and not go for the ultrasound because the doctor was going to do her own ultrasound regardless, that frustrated me a little because I could've gotten in sooner had I been told that originally. So, not wanting to pay twice for an ultrasound I waited till my doctor appointment. Wednesday afternoon I saw Dr. Spotts, she felt it and did the ultrasound. She said it is definitely a tumor and not a cyst because the lump is solid and doesn't have fluid in it. Based off the ultrasound she believes that it is a fibroadenoma, which is a benign tumor. The only way to be sure is to have it removed. So I am scheduled for surgery on Friday the 23rd. They will remove the tumor and send it out to be tested and then we will know for sure. Worst case it is cancerous, we have a tentative treatment plan in place. Best case it is benign, I'm already done with treatment with the exception of a few follow up visits. It is an outpatient procedure so I should be home Friday afternoon sometime. I have the kids arrangements made for my surgery as well as dinner being brought over Friday night. I haven't told the kids anything yet, Tommy and Nathan are to young to really understand but David is old enough to understand and I don't want to scare him or make him worry, especially right before Christmas.

I'm doing ok. I'm not really worried about the surgery, even though I don't really know the specialist, Dr. Spotts, my doctor that I trust more than anything, especially since we have been through so much together, referred her so I am putting my trust in him plus her practice is part of a very very good cancer clinic so I'm sure I will be and am in good hands that know what to do and what I need. I am a little emotional at times about all of this though, usually when I am able to sit and think. I think about worst case scenario and about these three little boys that need me and all the 'what ifs' pretty much just borrowing trouble. Easier said than done to not think about and worry about it though. So right now I am getting by on borrowed faith and strength.

This link is to a song that I heard on the radio a few days after I found my lump. It makes me cry every time I hear it, but I love it and the words are so true for my situation right now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lf82Qf3a0Kc&feature=youtube_gdata_player

pictures

2011-12-09T07:33:00.000-08:00

I had the boys pictures taken last week. They did so good & were really cooperative, which is always helpful!! Here are a few of my favorites! It was hard to only choose a few favorites since they all turned out great!

David, Nathan, Tommy

David

Nathan running to give David a hug

David with Tommy behind him, I love both their expressions!

Nathan

Tommy

busy month!

2011-11-29T10:46:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it is the end of November already! 26 days till Christmas and 38 days till Nathan turns 2 & I am very sad and ashamed to admit, but I am NO WHERE near ready (for either, but more meaning for Christmas!!)

We have had a very fun filled month though,

We ran/rode (bikes & in the stroller) in a 5K for a friend of mine from highschool, Robbie Hale. It was perfect weather and the kids did great!
http://helpingthehales.blogspot.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mTgtoFt1nE&=share

We spent time at the park

After Thanksgiving we went to Utah with some of my family and cut down Christmas trees! The kids had a lot of fun and we were very happy to find snow to play in!

Tommy got sick the night we got there, and spent most of the night asleep in the bathroom :( luckily we go next week to the allergist to figure out what is going on with him, cause this not being able to eat and throwing up when he does is getting old fast!

Nathan LOVED sitting in the snow watching his brothers and cousin make & throw snowballs, and of course eating the snow...the best part!!

Trick or Treat

2011-11-05T12:55:00.000-07:00

This year for Halloween we had

a Zombie (he had a super scary mask but wasn't able to wear it for a few of the activities we had so I painted his face for those & just realized I didn't take a picture of him in his mask!)

Percy the Train

and

Mickey Mouse Fireman

We had lots of fun going to school Halloween parties, parties with our friends, trick or treating at the rec center, ward trunk or treat/Halloween party and of course trick or treating!

We get a pumpkin for each kid to carve, but this year when we went to carve them one was squishy on the bottom and totally rotten inside, so we ended up with two, luckily Nathan isn't old enough to care yet!! Tommy & Nathan decided on a boat for theirs, and David made a face (all on his own)!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-22T16:01:00.000-07:00

Last night we went to the pumpkin patch with some friends

we went on hayrides, and climbed to the top of the pyramid

Tommy's spooky smile

we went on pony rides

got to pet the animals

and had lots of fun!!

five

2011-09-17T09:26:00.000-07:00

I started crying as I sat down and turned on the computer today. It has been that kind of week, very emotional. I can't help but think what if things didn't happen the way they did, what if things were different. I know that losing Gabe is the way it is supposed to be, I know that. I know that he has much more important work to do in heaven and is needed more there than he was here on earth. I can't help to think what if though.

It is really hard to believe that it has been five years though! I have learned so much since then, this experience has changed my life and how I look at life. Looking back I still feel so much gratitude, for my doctor, family, friends, and ward members that helped and carried me and my family when we needed it the most. I am still grateful for the opportunity that I had to be able to go through this loss, to feel the love from our father in heaven throughout everything.

A friend recently shared this song with me, it fits so well with my experiences with Gabe.

this song has always been my Gabe song

I've decided to start a new tradition this year, I am going to go to the temple every year on the 17th (or the first closest day if the temples closed), to just be able to sit in the celestial room and think about and reflect on these life changing experiences that I have had.

School

2011-09-12T13:03:00.000-07:00

I just sat down to blog Tommy's first day of school & realized I never did David's!

So, here it is....

David started 5th grade this year!! He is going to a charter school this year, Explore Knowledge Academy (EKA) and he absolutely LOVES it!! They go to school Tuesday-Friday from 8-3, he has a male teacher, Mr. Hoon, and each student gets an ipad 2. The first week of school they did testing, he is in the highest math, reading, and english classes! Yikes...sure hope he doesn't expect me to help with homework!

Tommy started preschool today!! He is going M,W,F 3 hours a day. We have been talking it up, and he has been very hesitant about going. He has a friend in his class and I thought that might make it easier for him. He did ok getting dropped off today, he didn't want to let go of my hand to go into the room, I kinda had to push him in and walk away. And yes, I cried as I left him.

Not to be left out, Nathan turned 20 months old last week!!

one last vacay

2011-08-21T22:01:00.000-07:00

Last week we went to Colorado for the week to let the kids get to know their grandparents out there a little better. We had such a fun time!

We went to the park where we rode on the train and played in the river

and on the playground

We went to DinoRidge and saw the dinosaurs,

dug for bones

chased a grasshopper (the older boys were afraid of!)

we went on the dinosaur hike

and went to Canon City to check out the Royal Gorge bridge, while there we

rode the carousel

looked at the river below, walked across the bridge, went to the petting zoo & the little boys got to go on pony rides

David learned how to throw a tomahawk

we went on the cable car that went across the gorge, and the incline railroad

We came home from Colorado Monday night, emptied our suitcases, repacked them & the car and headed to Disneyland!!

We had such a fun time on vacation!

Birthday Party

2011-08-10T18:21:00.000-07:00

Monday night we had David & Tommy's birthday party at Bounce U. They had lots of fun bouncing and playing with their friends and cousins!!

David had a baseball cake & Tommy's was Lightning McQueen

stats

2011-08-02T08:19:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it!?! We FINALLY had a well-check at the doctor!

I took all 3 boys in for a well check yesterday, David for his 10 year old check & shot, Tommy for his 4 year old check & shots and Nathan for his 15 & 18 month old well check & shots. Nathan hasn't had a well check since his birthday in January, so he was a little behind on his shots & has to go back next month for a few more then he'll be good till he's 2!

David at age 10 is 58 inches tall (90th percentile)

95.4 pounds (90th percentile)

BMI is 85-90%

Tommy at age 4 is 40.25 inches tall (50th percentile)

34 pounds (25-50th percentile)

BMI is 3%

Nathan at 19 months old is 32.75 inches tall (50-75th percentile)

24.4 pounds (25th percentile)

90 or 4

2011-07-31T16:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Tommy!!

If you ask Tommy how old he is he will tell you he is 90. If you try to correct him, he will fight you he is insistent that he is 90! We have been through so much with him these last four years sometimes it feels like he could be 90.

from his start in NICU, that should've been my sign as to the way this little boy was going to be his first few years!

from ear tubes surgery, allergies that ended up with ambulance rides to the ER, both his legs broke, emergency intussusseption surgery, hernia surgery, crazy weird illness, and I'm sure I'm forgetting something, I feel like we've been through it all but we have had a crazy fun-filled, definitely educational four years!

All Tommy wanted for his birthday was a bike.... and he got one! If you ask him what he got for his birthday he will tell you that Santa brought him a bike! He is convinced that all presents come from Santa & would like Santa to come to his birthday party!!

He was SO excited to open this bike & help his dad put it together

Happy 4th Birthday Tommy!! We love you!

Nursery

2011-07-24T14:52:00.000-07:00

Today was Nathan's first day of nursery!! He is about a month late going due to his surgery and being out of town. But he did great!! There are 10 kids in nursery so he had lots of friends to play with. His favorite things were blowing bubbles, pushing the doll stroller, and of course snack time! His leader said he was the first kid at the table and the last one to leave. He didn't cry or anything when I left him. I carried him in, set him down and he held my hand for a minute, gave me a kiss and hugged my leg and ran off to play. Yep, I cried!! It is so sad! My last baby is in nursery & growing up so fast! On the positive side, it was the first time in 4 years that I actually got to listen & pay attention to the lesson in relief society!

18 months

2011-07-06T11:04:00.000-07:00

Happy 18 months old Nathan!!

We just LOVE this little boy! He is such a happy, fun little man. He loves to talk, eat, and play with his brothers, and of course play in water. He is such a sweet little boy and are so happy that he is part of our family!

Happy 4th!!

2011-07-05T13:03:00.000-07:00

We started off our 4th of July by going to Moapa Sunday night to have dinner and watch fireworks. It was SO windy we had to hide out in the car for a little bit. Luckily the wind died down and the weather cooperated just long enough to watch.

Monday we went to the Summerlin Parade, then came home and did fireworks. The boys, including Nathan, had boxes of poppers that they had popper wars with...

Nathan preferred to sit on the sidewalk and pop his in his hands

then we did our sparklers

and our fireworks and finished the night off watching the city's fireworks show

tonsils, adenoids & tubes

2011-07-01T14:24:00.000-07:00

Nathan has been constantly sick for the last six weeks. It started in May when he had his seizures. Every time he has been sick it has been with tonsillitis and it has been really bad and he has ended up getting the other kids sick as a result. Thursday, I was back at the doctor with Nathan. Dr. Goebel recommended he get his tonsils removed. So on the way home from the appointment I called our ENT and got an appointment with him for Monday morning. When I took him in to Dr. Manthei his throat was still really infected and his tubes were starting to fall out but there was a bunch of infected fluid behind the tubes, so we scheduled him for surgery to remove his tonsils, adenoids and put in a new set of tubes!

We had a good friend spend the night Wednesday night to stay with the older boys while I took Nathan to his surgery, Keith couldn't go because he had an interview at work. It was supposed to be an overnight stay for Nathan because of his age they worry about swelling in the throat. But he did so great during surgery and his tonsils were so infected and inflamed they came out very easily the doctor decided that as long as he was drinking/eating popsicles in recovery for an extended time that he would be able to go home. And we ended up being able to come home Thursday afternoon. He is doing really good right now, one day post-op. He hates his tylenol with codine and loves the popsicles, juice boxes, and slurpees he is being spoiled with!

Nathan hanging out in the waiting room before surgery

Nathan laying on the bed waiting to be taken in for his surgery

Nathan in recovery with his cup, lion and blankets

Lake Outing

2011-06-29T12:52:00.000-07:00

We went to see Cars 2 yesterday, which the boys LOVED!! We got a large popcorn since we get a free refill for a treat during the movie. We left the theater with a full bucket, didn't even make a dent in the refill! So we took the popcorn and the boys to the lake to feed the ducks and fish!

Nathan watching the ducks

Tommy watching the ducks

Keith & the boys luring the fish

Tommy kept asking for a fishing pole to catch a fish with!

Utah Summer Games

2011-06-26T18:36:00.000-07:00

This weekend David's baseball team the Knights went to Cedar City to take place in the Utah Summer Games tournament. We drove up Friday morning and played at 4pm and at 6pm. After the last game Friday we had a team dinner at Chili's then the boys went swimming at the hotel. I think we maxed out the pool's occupancy limit and sound limit! Saturday the boys had 2 more games to play! They didn't make it into the final championship game, so we got to come home early. But they played great and we had fun!!

Progress

2011-06-15T14:27:00.000-07:00

Tommy started swim lessons this week. He was SO excited on Monday to swim with his friends, he even wore his new Lightning McQueen swimsuit

Then came time to actually get in the water! All bets were off, he screamed, cried and had a huge meltdown about going in the water. One of the pool managers took him from me and sat on the edge of the pool with him till he got his feet in the water while I was hiding in the lifeguard break room!

We have been going to swim lessons every day this week. Yesterday he sat on the first step of the pool, still not participating, but on the step because he had blue Lightning McQueen in his pocket! Today, again with blue Lightning in his pocket he went in and participated and had fun!! YAY Tommy!! Hopefully he keeps getting better and braver every day!

(not the best video, but it's Tommy swimming with his teacher & the kickboard!)

Red Sox

2011-06-10T12:48:00.000-07:00

Little League is officially over!!

David got recruited to be on AAA minors Red Sox this season. And they had an AMAZING season!! The team finished first place in the league and went on to the TOC (Tournament of Champions). The boys played a game every night this week and dominated the other teams. They lost last night in the semi-finals leaving them in 3rd place! We had a great group of boys, fun families and amazing coaches this year for little league!

David

2011-06-08T13:55:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday David!! It is hard to believe that you are 10 years old today!! You are a great kid, and a super big brother! I know your brothers love you and look up to you! We love having you in our family and are so proud of you! We love you David and hope your day and year are great!

Big Boy

2011-06-08T13:38:00.000-07:00

Nathan is officially big! :( Such a sad day today! I took down Nathan's crib and let him have his big boy race car bed!

He thought it was great fun to climb on and play on!

When I put him down for his nap he wasn't to sure about laying on it, he looked at me a little funny when I laid him down and gave him a kiss. I went to check on him and found him on the floor! He's so sweet!! He is the oldest of the boys to move out of his crib into the race car bed. Both David and Tommy moved out right at their 1 year old birthday, Nathan is 17 months old. It's so hard to let my baby grow!!

Day Out With Thomas

2011-05-30T10:45:00.000-07:00

This weekend we took the kids to Heber City to go on Thomas the Train!! They had a great time! While we were in Utah, Keith & I were able to attend a session at the Salt Lake temple while the boys were babysat by some friends that used to be in our ward. We got to see some old friends that we haven't seen for a long time, visit with Gina & her mom, and had Keith's birthday & birthday dinner with friends and family.

When we got to the train station we got wristbands that allowed us to participate in the fun, special activities they had planned.

We got to ride the yellow train car

and play trains on all the train tables they had set up!

The boys on Thomas the Train

watching out the window as the train drives

taking a picture with Thomas the Train!!

We had a really fun weekend!!

Happy Birthday Keith!!

2011-05-30T10:36:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Keith!!!

(a day late)

For Keith's birthday this year he got to ride Thomas the Train in Heber!! See how excited he is!! :)

Such a good sport! Then on the way home we stopped in St. George to have birthday dinner at Texas Roadhouse with MaryAnn, Jake, and an old friend of Keith's & her family. It was a lot of fun!!

At Texas Roadhouse for your birthday, they bring out a saddle for you to sit on while they yell for your birthday. Keith enjoyed it a little too much! They should have brought the saddle out before we were all so full it hurt to laugh!

It was a great time though. Happy Birthday Keith! We love you!!

Red Sox

2011-05-26T15:07:00.000-07:00

We have officially ended regular season for little league!! Don't worry, we still have TOC (Tournament of Champions) and club ball to keep us more than busy with baseball and David! Great season boys!! David has enjoyed his team this season. He has had some amazing coaches that he's learned a lot from. It was a big change/adjustment coming from Rookies/coach pitch to AAA/kid pitch and skipping AA ball, but he did great!

2011 AAA Schedule

AAA Minors - Spring 2011 Standings

Team GP W L T PTS RAVE RF RA PCT GB SO

Red Sox 16 11 2 3 25 7.56 121 55 0.781 -- 2
Yankees 16 8 6 2 18 6.38 102 85 0.563 3.5 1

Angels 16 7 5 4 18 4.44 71 87 0.563 3.5 0

Braves 16 7 6 3 17 6.44 103 82 0.531 4 1

Mets 16 1 15 0 2 3.75 60 148 0.063 11.5 0

Legend:
GP - Games Played W - Wins L - Losses T - Ties PTS - Points earned Rave - Average Runs per game RF - Runs For RA - Runs Against PCT - Winning Percentage GB - Games Behind SO - Shutout

sick, sick, sick

2011-05-05T17:57:00.000-07:00

Friday night we were getting ready to leave a friends house and Nathan started acting tired and felt warm. We got home put jammies on and I took his temp, he was 103.4, which isn't to high for him. I gave him motrin and put him to bed. Saturday morning I woke up to him whining through the monitor. I rolled over, looked at the clock and said to myself there is no way we are getting up at 6am, not when he normally sleeps till 8-830. I let him whine for a few minutes and decided to get him and a bottle and put him in bed with me for a little. When I walked into his room I found him in his crib on his tummy his face down in his mattress. I leaned in to pick him up and he was shaking, was really warm and his body was really stiff. I held him close to me and rocked him as we went into my room. I laid him on my bed, his eyes were still shut, not all the way more like he was peeking out the bottom of them, he was still stiff and shaking and had his arms up at his chest with his hands in tight fists. His breathing was fast, short and the sound of it made me want to give him a breathing treatment. He was like that for about half an hour. During that time, I called my mom and Keith to have them listen to him breathing and see if I should wait to take him to the doctor when they open and probably not see our doctor since its Saturday or take him to the ER. I decided to take him to the ER. David and Tommy were both still asleep so I called Keith's mom to come over and sit with the kids. We went to St. Rose and walked right in, there were no other kids in the ER. The doctor, Dr. Shane that we saw is the same one that saved Tommy when he had intussusseption, and saw Nathan last year when he was running a high fever for a week in picu and did his spinal. So, knowing our history with this doctor I was immediately at ease and trusted he'd do whats best for Nathan. By the time we were in the ER Nathan was awake, kept falling asleep/napping, and was running 102.2 temp. Dr. Shane ran a bunch of tests/xrays on Nathan and everything came back negative. He decided that it was a febrile fever. He watched him for a little then we were sent home with instructions to follow up with our doctor and a prescription for diastat (valium enima) that is used to stop seizures. If Nathan was to have another seizure we are supposed to let it go for two minutes, then with one hand call 911 and with the other use the diastat. Dr. Shane told me that a long seizure is 2-3 minutes, Nathan's was 30 minutes. We left the ER, stopped at the pharmacy, and picked the older kids up at the Campbell's (thanks guys!!) Then my parents came and picked up David and Tommy to go to David's baseball game so I could stay home with Nathan. I called to make our appointment with our doctor and she came on the phone and told me she already has all the paperwork from our ER visit and we had an early morning appointment with her Monday and instructed me to keep him on tylenol/motrin every three hours till she sees him. Sunday morning we had a baby blessing to be at, so we went to Hudson's blessing and then Nathan & I came home while the rest of the fam went to brunch. While we were home Nathan woke up from a really short nap and started to tense up and shake. He was having another seizure. This one only lasted a few seconds. Monday we went to see Dr. Goebel. She agreed that it was a febrile seizure and does not want his temperature to get over 100.9. Nathan also has strep throat and a nasty sinus infection which is why he was running a fever in the first place. But, he is on antibiotics now and is feeling SO much better and acting like his normal happy, loving, playful self.

BUT since Nathan is such a nice, good brother.... he shared his strep throat/sinus infection with Tommy!! Tommy is....stubborn to be nice. And was given antibiotics Monday with Nathan but since he is...stubborn, has refused to take them. I put them in food, drink, treats, tried sitting on him and forcing it down, all the medicine either got left at the table or thrown up. He was determined not to have the medicine. So, Tuesday when he was running 102 temp and didn't get off the couch all day I gave him the choice to take medicine like a big boy or go to the doctor and get a shot of medicine...

he chose the shot.

He goes back Friday to get the 2nd dose of antibiotic shot. But he is doing much better now too. I got strep from these little boys and am on meds too. David gets to get re-checked Friday when we go back in and hopefully doesn't get it too!

getting ready for summer!!!

2011-04-28T17:08:00.000-07:00

With the weather being SO nice lately the boys have been spending a lot more time outside playing. Nathan thought, (and did this with no help from his brothers) that now is as good as time as any to start practicing his swimming skills!! He did stick his face in and blow bubbles and drink the water. Silly boy!!!

Before and After

2011-04-22T10:41:00.000-07:00

I took my girls, I mean boys in for some MUCH needed haircuts. David was to cool to let me take pictures of him before and after, but the little boys let me :)

Nathan before, with his long curling over pretty hair, I could take it above his neck and make a one inch ponytail!!

Nathan after... so cute! But looks so much older!

Tommy before

and my much older looking Tommy after!

Fun Week!! (warning...its a long one!!)

2011-04-22T10:33:00.000-07:00

We started off our week with Keith's sister getting married.

Nathan LOVED the cake, and Tommy slept through the entire reception!

The next morning we headed to Disneyland for the week!!

We had a fun time on Small World

Tommy was FINALLY tall enough, he went on Soarin' Over California and really liked it, until the jets came and the fireworks started.

Haha!! Then I took him on Tower of Terror! He was not a fan of it at all!! But did get a t-shirt for going on!

Nathan LOVED playing in the water play area at California Adventures.

Wore himself right out!!

Nathan learned how to go down the slide by himself, and we had lots of fun running through Redwood Challenge

And of course, we can't forget the teacups.... Tommy's new favorite ride! We only went on them 3 times in a row!!

On the way home we stopped to see Great Grandpa. The kids were really tired/cranky and we had a really hard time getting a picture!! Tommy is behind the bear in the first one.

Overall we had a really fun vacation and week and can't wait to go to Disney again!!

Pine Wood Derby

2011-04-08T13:37:00.000-07:00

We had our pine wood derby this week. David worked with Papa on his car, Tommy played with the tape measure while his got worked on.

working hard on the car!!

Tommy is very proud of his blue Lightning McQueen ho-ho pirates car! But to shy to show his eyes for a picture!

Excited for the race to start!!

David and Tommy's cars. Tommy managed to break the top corners off his car before the race started.

Nathan cheering and clapping!

Of course, the night wouldn't be complete without an injury!! Tommy hit his head on the corner of the wall at the church. I took him to the doctor the next morning and he ended up with a mild concussion.

Life

2011-03-30T16:00:00.000-07:00

I had a friend tell me that I need to update my blog, so here it is! We really haven't been up to a whole lot...

David is playing little league (Red Sox) and club ball (LV Knights), so 5-6 days a week we have baseball. He has also finished his 4th grade work and has started on next years assignments! As well as having cub scouts every week.

Tommy is....Tommy. He is still as stubborn as ever! He is LOVING the weather right now and being able to ride bikes with his friend Chillin who lives across the street and jumping on the trampoline.

Nathan has been SO sick this week. He had rotovirus. He is finally starting to act like his normal, happy, sweet little self! He likes to spend his days following everyone around and climbing on the kitchen table.

Keith is getting ready to start range month at work. He got a new schedule which we LOVE!! He works 5a-1p, it will be much better when we move so he doesn't have to leave the house at 3:30am.

That's about it! Not up to anything to exciting here!! We are looking forward to a Disneyland trip in April though!!

Red Sox

2011-03-21T09:18:00.000-07:00

Saturday was opening day for little league! It was so cold & windy!! Opening ceremonies were held to kick off the season in the morning.

Nathan enjoying a poptart in the wind

David (bottom center in both pics) with his team walking onto the field

The Red Sox played their first game of the season Saturday afternoon and won 3-0. Way to start off the season!!

Bear

2011-03-18T10:15:00.000-07:00

David got his Bear, 5 arrow points and religious knot at cub scouts this week! Good job David! We are proud of you and all the hard work you did to accomplish this!!

Bishop Rickey came up to Lakes stake pack meeting to present David his religious knot. Thanks Bishop!!

14 months

2011-03-06T19:48:00.000-08:00

Nathan is 14 months old!!!

He is such a happy little boy! He is walking everywhere and is into everything! Some of his favorite things to do is climb on anything and everything, the funnest thing to climb is on top of the kitchen table. He talks nonstop! His newest word is papa! He likes to say Daaaab (naynay for david), ba-ba, mmmmmom, da-da. He is such a fun little boy, it is kinda sad that my baby is growing up SO fast! But we love him so much and are so glad he is part of our family.

naughty nay-nay

2011-02-27T21:20:00.000-08:00

I love Nathan SO much, but he is getting to be such a naughty little stinker these days!

He is currently a BIG fan of climbing on furniture. His favorite things to climb are the train toy box, kitchen table and the all time favorite...climbing onto the couch followed by running around the couch to the homeschool computer table to stand on that. All while laughing!!

Last week I came out of the bedrooms and couldn't find Nathan. I checked all his favorite hiding places and still no Nay-Nay. I even asked Tommy where he was and he said "uh taking a nap". Finally I heard a noise, turned around and found Nathan had wedged himself inside the entertainment center. The space he fit in is not much bigger wide than a dvd case. He took the shelf out and was sitting in there.

When I saw him I said "Nay-Nay what are you doing in there"

He smiled at me and said "surprise!!"

He is such a little stinker, but I couldn't imagine life or my days without him.

Brianhead

2011-02-24T17:23:00.000-08:00

For President's Day this year we went to Brianhead with Grandma, Papa, Steve, Lidia, Abby, Jake, Bryan, Allison and Alexis. We had lots of fun in the snow!!

Can't even tell Nathan's pants are "light red!!

Tommy had lots of fun sledding down the driveway with Abby and Grandma. He even had his hands up for the fun ride! Even Nathan got to sled.

Keith worked his upper body out a lot that weekend shoveling snow!

David had a great time skiing. He brought his friend Cody with him and they were hardly seen all weekend. They had fun playing in the snow and skiing together.

Walking

2011-02-09T09:48:00.000-08:00

Nay-Nay is walking! He is getting a little braver and more confident day by day. He LOVES the praise and excitement he gets when he walks to you! If he is playing with his brothers or is in a hurry crawling is faster, but in no time at all he will be running after them.

Periorbital Cellulitis

2011-01-23T18:43:00.000-08:00

Tommy woke up Thursday morning with discharge coming from both his eyes. Thinking he had double pink eye I searched for some pink eye drops, found none and called the doctor to get him in. Of course they couldn't get him in Thursday so we made the appointment for first thing Friday. About dinnertime Thursday around his eyes started to swell and turn red. He woke up Friday morning and his eyes were sealed shut, it took almost an hour to get him able to open his eyes. I took Tommy and the other boys to the doctor so we could get drops for everyone, just in case. The doctor came in took one look at him and said that is definitely not pink eye, checked David and Nathan and then sent them out of the room (luckily my mom was able to meet me at the dr and sat in the waiting room with them).

She told me that he has periorbital cellulitis. Which is an infection of the eyelid and tissues surrounding the eye. It is very serious because there is a very thin layer before the infection gets into his eye which goes into his brain. This infection can very quickly turn to meningitis and become deadly.

She wanted to begin treatment very aggressively for him and try to avoid hospitalization. Which I was all for!! She gave him a shot, eye creams, and oral antibiotics and told us to come back that afternoon for another shot, and Saturday morning for more. She started Nathan on antibiotics just in case and gave him eye cream in case he starts to have eye discharge.

Tommy is doing SO much better right now. He is still a little red under the eye with a little swelling and still has a little discharge. He hates having to do his cream and his medicine, but if he is reminded that he can go back to the doctor and get shots or take him medicine/cream he choses to do his meds!

Zion

2011-01-17T22:08:00.000-08:00

We went on a little adventure today to Zion! The boys had a great time

playing in the snow

and having snowball fights

discovering snow for the first time

seeing frozen waterfalls and hiking to another one...

and seeing deer on the side of the road as we were leaving!

As we were leaving and saw the deer David said "dang it! I wish I had my rifle with me, those would look good on Poppa's wall!"

But, we did have a fun day together playing in the snow, hiking and exploring!!

1 year old stats for Nathan

2011-01-10T15:19:00.000-08:00

Nathan had his 1 year old well check/shots today. He got 3 shots and is currently running a 103 temp from them. :( But, he is 20 lbs, 12 oz (10-25%), 30 inches tall (50-75%), and his head circumference is 47 1/2cm (75-90%) Otherwise he is doing great!!

Party!!

2011-01-07T10:35:00.000-08:00

Nay-Nay got to have 2 birthday parties this year! We did his first party Monday night with my family. He really wasn't to into opening presents so its a good thing his brothers and cousins are!

Nathan preferred to play with the tissue paper!!

His little personal cake

tasting the cake

and LOVING it!!

Nathan waking up as a 1 year old!!

and enjoying his favorite breakfast....pancakes!

We did his 2nd party with Keith's family Thursday night

opening presents

and more yummy cake!

Nathan had a great 1st birthday!! Thank you family and friends for the awesome gifts!!

Happy Birthday Nathan!!

2011-01-06T11:11:00.000-08:00

It is hard to believe that Nathan is already a year old!!

His delivery was so easy, I guess planned c-sections are though! He was my 2nd heaviest baby weighing in at 6 lbs 13 ounces.

In May Nathan ended up in the hospital for a really high fever and spent a week in PICU. Only to follow it up with surgery to put tubes in his ears.

He is such a happy little boy. And has such a sweet spirit. He is truly an answer to so many prayers.

He is not walking on his own... yet, I think it will be any day. He is getting braver about walking only holding on with one hand and trying to take a few hurried steps to you. He LOVES his brothers. They can make him laugh just by looking at him. He loves to play with them and follow them around.

Happy Birthday Nathan! We love you Nay-Nay!!

Christmas

2010-12-25T22:43:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!!

This year we slept in till about 7:30am, fed Nathan a bottle and then started to open presents. The boys got just about everything on their Christmas lists. We were lucky enough to have Keith home for Christmas morning this year. After we opened all our presents from Santa, set everything up and played with everything, we headed to Grandma and Poppa's house to have Christmas dinner and open more presents with our cousins. We got more fun toys and had lots of fun playing with our cousin and seeing the babies!

Nathan & Tommy just waking up Christmas morning

little boys starting to open presents

Tommy peeking in a present

Tommy & Nathan opening presents

Tommy & David

the candy canes were a favorite with Nathan

Nathan playing with a train, he thought it was the funniest toy, he just sits with it pushing the button and laughing at it

overall.... a very fun Christmas!

Christmas Eve

2010-12-24T19:30:00.000-08:00

This year for Christmas Eve we went to Grandma and Poppa's house for an early dinner and a visit from Santa. It was a little quieter than normal, just us and the Bitter's were there this year.

Nathan eagerly awaiting Santa's arrival

When Santa came in the room Tommy covered his face with his hands so he wouldn't see him then needed to be held. When he was being held he held his face in fear of Santa!! He really likes to see him from a distance or on tv. Maybe next year we will like him a little better.

Although he did willingly go to Santa when he found out that there was a present for him!!

Nathan wasn't to sure about Santa either. He had to hold on tight to Grandma

But, they all LOVED their candy canes!

Jammies from Santa

Happy Christmas Eve!!

Cookies

2010-12-22T17:52:00.000-08:00

We decorated cookies last night for Santa. Tommy is really into Santa also known as HoHo this year. He was determined to make the best cookies for Santa so that he will leave him every present he wants!

David, announced last night that he knows that there isn't a Santa, that it is just his parents. But after being warned that he does have younger brothers and cousins that believe in Santa and if he ruins it for them that he will NEVER EVER again get anything for Christmas, decided to join in Tommy's excitement about making perfect Santa cookies.

The boys, Tommy especially had a little to much fun with the sprinkles. We went through 5 brand new sprinkle containers on 4 dozen cookies!

Disneyland

2010-12-20T18:19:00.000-08:00

We went to Disneyland last week for a few days and had a blast! We went Tues-Thurs so it wasn't very crowded and we were able to go on everything we wanted. Tommy was really excited to see Mater and Lightning! Unfortunately he was 1/2 inch (according to Disney's height sticks) to go on the fun rides, so definitely by our next trip he will be tall enough! David had a blast going on Screamin' and Space Mountain and Nathan and Tommy both loved Winnie the Pooh and Small World.

11 months!

2010-12-13T12:02:00.000-08:00

Nay-Nay is 11 months old!!

It is so hard to believe in just a few weeks he will be a year old. He is such a fun little boy and we are so happy to have him in our family.

He loves to steal Tommy's cup and drink it... chocolate milk is one of his favorites too!

He has recently discovered that he LOVES oreos, especially the chocolate cookie part which works out good, cause Tommy eats the cream and gives Nathan the cookie :)

He loves to follow David around the house and just sit by him. He is into everything, but we are loving it! Nathan now has 6 teeth, 4 on the bottom and 2 on top. He is regularly drinking from sippy cups, just getting a bottle at bedtime (most days). He will walk holding hands, or with a walker but prefers to crawl...he is so much faster to chase his brothers that way!! He is getting really good at words too, saying da-da, mom, do-do , uh-oh, no, ba-ba, and David's favorite that he has worked long and hard with Nathan to say... d.

Sealed

2010-11-17T15:12:00.000-08:00

Saturday 11/13 we were sealed as a family in the Las Vegas Temple. It was such a spiritual and special day for our family. I took the boys to my mom's house about lunchtime, with their backpacks and suit bags so they could spend the afternoon with her (she volunteered to watch them while Keith went through so they wouldn't have to stay in the nursery at the temple for so long). Then came home to wake up Keith and to get ready to go to the temple (after a quick stop at Target for waterproof mascara). Keith worked graveyard the night before and got home about 9:30am. We left our house at 2pm so we could have enough time to check out the youth center at the temple before Keith needed start his stuff. When we got to the temple, we walked in and Bishop Leavitt was there and greeted us with hugs and congratulations and then took us downstairs to they nursery. After checking out the nursery and meeting with the recorder, we went our separate ways. I was sitting in a room off the chapel that the temple workers use as a break room while waiting for the session to start and was talking to one of the workers about the boys and expressing my concerns to her about Tommy and how he would do. She assured me that he would do great and that she would check on him once the kids arrived and were downstairs. Finally it was time to go into the chapel to wait for the session to start. We were sitting in the front with Bishop Rickey. It was so nice to see so many family and friends, including our Stake President and his wife there to support and love us. In the Celestial Room, the worker that before the session told me she would check on Tommy, came up to me and told me that he was doing great and was playing and happy, and gave me a hug. And started my crying! After the session, we went upstairs to the sealing room and met with President Twitchell, who was our sealer. As we walked into the sealing room, you could feel the Spirit and the love, and I started crying almost immediately. After Keith and I were sealed they brought the boys in so we could be sealed as a family. Tommy in his mad, bossy Tommy face with his finger pointed at us said "take those off". He came over to me and let me put my arm around him, still with his mad/bossy face on. David took his place, as did Tommy and then they set Nathan up so we could all hold hands. Tommy and Nathan did not like being forced to hold hands and both were crying, to me quite loudly. But, we made it through and everything was great! Afterwards we took some pictures in the atrium and in front of the temple. These are the only pictures that I have seen so far, even now just looking at the one with us in white I start to cry, we meet with the photographer next week to see all of them, he said they look great so we are really excited for them! We did family, Keith & I and then some of just the boys. After we finished with pictures the kids got in their pjs and we went to IHOP for some pancakes and hot chocolate. It was really a perfect day. The next day at church our Relief Society President came up to me after church and told me that she needed to tell me the funniest thing that happened at the temple yesterday. She then told me that as we were kneeling and the Sealer was speaking, Tommy was picking his nose, not just picking but digging good, and got a nice big one! Now, usually when Tommy picks his nose and gets a buger he will hold his finger out and yell for me until I come and wipe it off his finger. Well apparently he gets this big honker of a buger and she said he looked at it for a minute and then wiped it on the alter!!!! I was and still am so embarrassed that he did that. I asked her if anyone else saw it, and she said she thought so cause as she and her husband were reverently laughing as hard as they could the stake president and his wife were too. As I was telling someone about it, I realized that where they were sitting, Tommy had his back turned to them, so if they saw it, surely everyone did!! Oh well, that is my Tommy. My mom also afterwards told me that as they pulled up to the temple that Tommy started screaming and didn't want to be there and wouldn't get out of the car. She had to pull him out the back window of her SUV to get him into the temple and had to carry him inside while he was clinging to her. I am so glad that I learned of all the bad things later!! It was really a perfect day though. We are so thankful to our friends and family for coming and supporting us. Especially those that are far away! We love you all!!

as a little side note.... go to Nate's (photographer) blog at http://tngblog.com/2010/11/15/quite-the-challenge/ and comment on our picture. If we get enough comments we get free pictures! Thanks!!

Temple

2010-11-06T00:23:00.000-07:00

Keith is going through the temple Saturday November 13th, the 4:30pm session. If you would like to be there we would LOVE to have you there, make sure you are there early or at least on time!

AND

We are going to be sealed after Keith's session. Our sealing time is 6:30pm, they have asked for everyone to be there at 6pm. And again, we would LOVE to have you all there!

Halloween AND....

2010-11-04T19:22:00.000-07:00

This year we went with Steve, Lidia & Abby to their Trunk or Treat Saturday night and had a blast!

Then we went trick or treating Sunday night.

This year David was a Star Wars guy. I think the best part of Halloween this year was Nathan is to young to understand or care, Tommy is SO scared of everything he really didn't want to go far, and David went trick or treating with the neighbor kids!

Tommy was a robot (really an alien costume, but he didn't like the hat, its to spooky!)

here are our pumpkins this year, Tommy's is on the windowsill, its a happy pumpkin and David's is on the hose box and his is Jason

Then there's Nathan who was Spiderman

He HATED his hat and eye-piece on but it was so cute I made him wear it for a picture

we had a blast this Halloween, the kids had fun and got lots of candy and as a bonus, we handed out all the candy we bought for trick or treaters this year!

AND

Keith got a temple recommend!! We will keep you all posted on when he is going to go through!

Exciting Changes!!

2010-10-21T13:25:00.000-07:00

Nathan has recently discovered that he LOVES Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. As soon as he hears the song he stops what he is doing and gets in front of the tv and sits to watch it. He will stay there for the entire show!!

As part of school we have a Nevada history class. One of the lessons in it is to visit a "spotlight" place in Nevada, so we went to see the dam bridge! It was raining and I didn't bring the stoller so we didn't go on the hike up to the bridge and walk across it reading the historical facts. But it was really cool and we are planning on going back to walk to bridge when we are a little better prepared in a few weeks.

The house across the street and down from us has been broken into 3 times within the last 2 weeks. The family that lives there has a couple older kids and the mom stays home. The house behind them is vacant as well as the home next to them. The burglars have been getting in through the vacant house behind them and going over the wall. This bothers me bacause I am home all day with the kids alone, and Keith's schedule is crazy that he is not home at night alot, either gone all night or coming home very late. Yes, I have access to a gun, but its not the same, so we adopted Onyi (on-ee). She is 2 years old, 100 pounds and has a super mean bark but is SO sweet and super great with the boys. We weren't looking to get a pet until after we moved and figured out life a little better, but with all thats going on in our neighborhood right now, we feel really good about our decision to get her.

AND......

Nathan is walking!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just behind his walker right now, or holding your fingers, but still my 9 month old is walking!!!

(two videos of Nathan walking)

update

2010-10-15T17:19:00.000-07:00

We had the boys pictures taken... here are some of our favorites!!

Nathan turned 9 months!! He has 4 teeth, 2 on top and 2 on bottom. He LOVES to eat, play with his brothers and play in the water. He is a super fast crawler and loves to race in turbo crawling speed down the hall having races with his brothers, he gets going so fast he trips himself and falls on his face! He is also standing and if you don't watch him, can walk holding onto the water bottles, kitchen bench and the couch! He is growing up so fast!!

AND we are now homeschooling David! We officially pulled him out of school 2 weeks ago and enrolled in NVVA K12 program. He LOVES it!! It took a little getting used to, especially on Tommy's end that David isn't home to play that he has work to do, but now we got the hang of it and it is great!!

Coco

2010-10-05T21:10:00.000-07:00

Coco died this morning.

Last week one of her eyes started hemorraging, we took her into the vet, ran tests and waited for results. All her blood work came back fine, but she was not able to see. She just laid on the floor, wouldn't eat or drink because she couldn't find her food and water. Then we noticed her other eye was hemorraging. We took her back to the vet and he kept her there for the last week to watch her. The pressure in her eyes were dangerously high and he was concerned that she would lose her vision for good, her blood pressure was really high too. We were trying to decide what we should do, if we should bring her home and hope her vision improves or if we should put her down. This morning the vet called and told me that she had just had a stroke and that he thinks that it is her time to go and recommended we put her down. We agreed and told him we would be down in a few hours to let David say goodbye to her and then he could put her down. He asked if it would be ok to give her a sedative to make her more comfortable, I agreed. The vet called me back within an hour and said he had given her 1/4 of a mild sedative and about half hour after he gave it to her she died.

Heart Update

2010-09-24T16:08:00.000-07:00

Nathan went for his follow-up ultrasound at the cardiologist today and he is perfect!!! His chamber is not confused anymore and his hole has fixed itself!! YAY!!!

9 months

2010-09-23T13:05:00.000-07:00

Nathan went for his 9 month check up and shots yesterday, a few weeks early since his doctor will be gone when he turns 9 months. He is weighing in at 18.1 pounds (10-25th %), 28 inches tall (50th%), and his head circumference is 45 cm (50th%).

kissed by a smurf!

2010-09-18T15:07:00.000-07:00

When I came home from grocery shopping, I put Nathan on the floor in the living room while I carried bags in and put food away. When I finished getting everything put away I went to find Nathan who crawled into his and Tommy's bedroom and managed to find a neon blue crayola supposedly washable marker, get the lid off of it and color blue on his face, legs, and hands! Luckily it wasn't on anything but him!

Nathan found the marker under Tommy's bed AND got the lid off by himself! Tommy did not do it or help Nathan color himself! Tommy was helping me carry and put away groceries!

Not so washable Crayola!!

Gabe

2010-09-17T22:12:00.000-07:00

2010 Gabe flowers

5 red roses for Keith, Jennifer, David, Tommy & Nathan and 1 white rose for Gabe

Gabe's hand/foot prints

Four years!! I can not believe it has been four years since we lost baby Gabe. There are some days it seems like just yesterday and other days that it seems like forever ago. Every year this day is hard and emotional time for me. I still have times that I break down and allow myself to feel the emotions from the experience. But, I think that is good. It helps me. Sitting here today, I am emotional, as I look at pictures, watch ultrasound dvds, listen to Gabe's song, and touch his blanket and I am ok with that. He was and always will be my baby.

What a life changing experience for our family though! Feelings of loss, sorrow, concern and yes, gratitude fill our hearts this year. It has taken me a while to understand and truly be greatful for my experience with Gabe. How greatful I am that we had family that was able to help and be with us, both taking care of David and staying with me at the hospital while Keith was running back and forth. Greatful for the strength and comfort of the Spirit through prayer and priesthood blessings. Greatful for parents and church leaders who came to be with us and knew just what to say and what we needed. Greatful for my doctor who validated my concerns that weekend and knew just who and what I needed and came and spent the night in the ER with us, and the perinatologist that he called in that came into the ER in the middle of the night in her evening gown.

Thankful that Spring Valley didn't have what they needed to put me into labor and I had to go to Southern Hills the next day where it was more quiet and peaceful and I wouldn't have to be surrounded by so many mothers and newborn babies.Thankful for my mom who encouraged me to hold Gabe, knowing how hard it would be for me to do but knowing that if I didn't I would regret it. Thankful for my visiting teacher who had a very similar situation and knew what I needed.

. I am grateful that we were able to have Gabe and for all of the lessons that his birth and death taught us.

Gabe's hands

defiance

2010-09-16T09:20:00.001-07:00

I love Tommy! He is my special baby, that I needed after we lost Gabe. Having him made it a little easier to make it through that part of my life. But oh my gosh!!! This kid definetly keeps me on my toes! He is the only one of my boys to have multiple broken bones, emergency surgery, allergies that required ambulance rides to the hospital and so many other exciting adventures. He has gotten to be pretty defiant as a 3 year old. He refuses to use the toilet if you suggest it, but if it is his idea its the best ever! That is kindof how it goes with anything, if I suggest it, there is usually a major tantrum that goes along with him yelling no, but if it is his idea....he's a genius and its the best idea ever! He wears his pajama shirt all day because he likes the picture/design on it, he won't wear socks cause they hurt his feet, he has to run cause his shoes make him to fast. This week we were driving on 215 and he had his window down in the car. He had taken his shoes and socks off almost immediately once we started driving because that is what Tommy does. He had a hotwheel in his hand that he was putting out of the window playing with, I told him to keep it in the car because we don't want it to accidently fall out of the car, he brought it back in. Then he took his shoe and held it by the velcro strap and stuck it out the window... it flapped in the breeze long enough for me to tell him to put it back in the car before he dropped the velcro strap and lost his shoe!! I didn't go back for it, and he cried the rest of the trip. He can be such a sweet little boy sometimes, but man he can be a defiant little stinker!!

4th

2010-08-30T12:26:00.000-07:00

Happy first day of 4th grade David!!

Crawling

2010-08-26T18:59:00.000-07:00

(commentary done by Tommy)

Nathan is such a funny boy!! He is crawling all over the house! He won't crawl to his toys or to people, unless you are holding a remote or cell phone, then he crawls super-speed to get it.

3 in 3

2010-08-22T13:30:00.001-07:00

So I have decided to go back to school and become an orthopedic surgeon!! No, not really, but I should with all the money I spend on Tommy! Friday night, Tommy was walking through the living room "modeling" his new backpack. As he turned he fell over his feet and hit the floor. He jumped right up, saw he was bleeding and started crying. Once we got his bloody nose under control I noticed how swollen his nose was. He wouldn't let me touch it. So, off to Good Night Pediatrics we went. They wouldn't x-ray him, because the doctor didn't want that much radiation and light by his eyes. So, she told us yes it is broken, follow up with your ENT next week. Not really comfortable with what she said and how she wouldn't do anything, called a friend of ours that is a PA, and with his recommendation took him to Fremont Saturday morning to get x-rayed. Sure enough, he broke his nose!! Poor guy! He is not letting it slow him down at all!!

A day at the lake

2010-08-06T12:35:00.001-07:00

We went to Lake Mohave Saturday with my parents, sister Erin and her kids. The boys were excited to go in Poppa's boat and tube, try wakeboarding and play with their cousins. After we found a good beach we had lunch and let the kids tube and play in the water. Then it started getting windy and the water was to choppy to wakeboard so the kids tubed again and we decided to head in and try again next week. On the way back, the wind started getting worse and the waves were huge and were coming over the front of the boat. The front of the boat started filling up with water. The pumps were not able to get out the amounts of water we were taking on. Everything that was in the front of the boat, seat cushions, toys, cups/bottles, towels started to float away as we realized that we were sinking. All 7 kids had their life jackets on. The adults grabbed ours and put them on as we were jumping/floating out of the sinking boat. I gave Tommy to my mom, who with Erin, Cami and Cass went one direction together and floated on and with a seat cushion. I took Nathan and went into the water and got over to the tube that had David, Cade and Carter in it. I gave Nathan to Cade in the tube to try to keep him safer and out of the water. We were in the water with 3-4 foot waves for about 20 minutes before 3 boats stopped to help us. The first boat went over to where Erin, my mom and the kids were. The second one came over and took Nathan, the older boys and myself (and the tube). The third one took Keith and my dad. They got us to the dock where we were reunited with everyone. On the boat that picked up me, Nathan and the older boys, the lady was talking to me and told me that they came from Willow Beach that morning and earlier they had stopped to help some boyscouts whose canoes tipped over, and about ten minutes before they found us, they had turned around to head back to their car and her and her husband looked at eachother and said that they needed to turn around, they did and found us. We were truly watched over and blessed as a family Saturday. It so very easily could have turned out differently. We are so grateful for the people that stopped and put themselves in danger just to help us. The kids all did so great. They really didn't panic, they all listened really well and followed instructions. They were scared and worried about what they could see and family members that we couldn't see, but kept saying prayers in our minds, and knew that we would all be taken care of. The rest of the night, boats were bringing in things that they were fishing out of the water from our boat. If it didn't sink we got it back, even the jar of peanut butter. It took the vessel recovery company all night to get the boat out of the water, where it was completely upside down. Monday the Park Rangers called my mom and asked if we would be interested in doing a public service announcement with our story about the importance of life jackets. There were several local news stations there as well as the two local papers. The Park Rangers gave all the kids t-shirts that say 'I got caught wearing my life jacket' and youth sized lifejackets. Tommy even got to go in the Ranger's police car and make the lights and siren work!!

http://www.fox5vegas.com/video/24519303

http://www.8newsnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=12927519

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/aug/04/dozen-people-survive-boat-sinking-lake-mohave/

http://www.lvrj.com/multimedia/12-Member-Family-Survives-Sinking-Boat-99982614.html

http://www.ktnv.com/Global/Story.asp?S=12928053

7 months

2010-08-06T12:24:00.000-07:00

Nathan is 7 months old today!! He is the perfect addition to our family! We love him SO much!! He loves to roll around the house and play with toys or anything he can get his hands on. He loves to eat, anything and everything. He is just over 18 lbs, and just moved from his infant seat to his big boy seat in the car.
We love you Nathan!!

Flee!!!! (3)

2010-07-30T10:35:00.000-07:00

3 years ago, my doctor was telling me to get ahold of Keith because he was going to take my baby emergency c-section at 5pm. Easier said than done, since Keith was in the academy in Indian Springs and wasn't allowed to have his phone with him, and all the emergency contact numbers I was given all went to voicemail! But, I finally got ahold of him and he made it to the hospital right in time for Thomas's delivery.

My 6 week early, 6 lb 2 oz baby boy.

(1 year old birthday party)

(today)

Tommy is definitely my most trying/difficult kid! In his short 3 years he has already had 2 broken legs, emergency surgery for intussuseption, hernia surgery, tubes in his ears, and a severe allergic reaction requiring an ambulance ride to the hospital! But he was an answer to my prayers and was exactly what I needed when I got him. He came to us during/after such a difficult time in life.

Tommy loves to play baseball, play outside, LOVES weeoos (anything with a siren), and his brothers. He is definitely a momma's boy. But we love him so much and are so happy that he is in our family!

Happy Birthday Big Boy!!

3, 6, 9

2010-07-29T13:48:00.000-07:00

Tommy~ 3 years old well check
got 1 shot
28.4 lbs (25th %)
36 3/4 inches tall (25th %)
Nathan~ 6 months old well check
got 4 shots
18.2 lbs (25th%)
26 1/2 inches tall (25th %)
David~ 9 years old well check
86.4 lbs (90th %)
54 3/4 inches tall (90th %)

We all had a fun time at the pediatricians office last week! I bet they are happy we only need well checks once a year!!

Teeth!!

2010-07-15T13:56:00.003-07:00

Nathan has teeth!! I found 2 bottom teeth in his mouth last night. I put a black box around each of his little teeth so you could see them better! Its so sad he is growing up so fast, but so exciting! Tommy loves to make Nathan "bite" him, he thinks its the funniest thing ever!

Yikes!!

2010-07-01T19:14:00.000-07:00

Our house is officially FOR SALE!! It went on the market today. We are not sure where we are going to move yet, we are thinking either staying in Henderson or the far northwest. It's exciting and kinda scary at the same time!

And as for the boys... they are all sick! All three of them have, bronchitis, tonsilitis, sinusitis, and ear infections. I spent almost $100 on medication at the pharmacy today!!! Nathan just looks SO cute doing his breathing treatments, he does them so good... not like his big brother Tommy, who I still have to sit on to do treatments and take his medication! Oh well, at least we all got sick at the same time this time! And the pediatrician gave Keith and I some antibiotics, just to make surewe don't keep passing this crud on!

Tubes!!

2010-06-16T16:29:00.000-07:00

Nathan got his first, and hopefully, only set of tubes in his ears today!

The nurse put the hospital socks on him that went up to his hips! He loved playing with them! He had a great time, pre-surgery playing with, talking to and flirting with the nurses at the hospital
He has a little bit of a rough time waking up from his surgery

But, he is doing great right now! Still sleeping and super snuggly this afternoon, but when he is awake is almost back to his happy normal self!

Catch Up!

2010-06-10T12:56:00.000-07:00

We have A LOT of catching up to do!!

We are officially a binkie free home! Tommy's binkies all broke after his trip to the dentist. He was ok with it since he found Nathan's and shared Nathan's binkies with him until Nathan's binkies all got lost. So sad! Tommy still askes for a bink when he is really tired, but accepts that he doesn't have one at all!

David finished 3rd grade on the A/B honor roll! He also got the social studies award, a governors award and perfect attendance! Good job D!!

On the 6th, Nathan turned 5 months old! It is so fun to see him grow and learn new things, but so sad that he isn't my little baby! He loves to play on the floor and roll around the room. He is starting to put his knees up under himself and rock. Nathan is starting to eat baby food and absolutely loves it! And still loves to have his big brothers in his face and playing with him!

And on the 8th, David turned 9!!! For his birthday we surprised him by taking him to Disneyland. He was really excited and we had a great time!

Tommy loved playing in the water at Bugs Life in CA Adventures.

We were SO excited, Tommy is finally tall enough to go on Matterhorn!! He was really excited to go, look at that face! The whole time in line he kept saying "I go on Matterhorn" and would tell anyone that would listen to him.

Once the ride started and went into the tunnel, he started screaming! He was yelling to stop and to get him off. I waited with Nathan, and just stood there laughing, I could hear him screaming throughout the entire ride!

We had to go on Small World a few times to see the kids sing and dance to make him not scared anymore.

Our week...

2010-05-21T18:03:00.000-07:00

David's little league season ended... yeah!!! Now we have a break for 2 months to "train" before club baseball starts. (david is in green, getting ready to run from 2nd base)

David got his Wolf, along with some arrowpoints and some beltloops!!

Great job David!!

and not to be outdone... Nathan has started this little trick!!!

(sorry, I don't know how to put it the right way, so just turn your head!!)

and just if you were wondering... Tommy is fine! No injuries, or things up his nose to report this week at least!!

As I was finishing posting... this happened!! For your viewing enjoyment, turn your head!!

Nathan

2010-05-13T14:50:00.000-07:00

I took Nathan to the after-hours doctor Saturday afternoon, he was running a fever of 102, wasn't eating very well and wasn't having wet diapers. The doctor there told me that he had a double ear infection, gave us antibiotics and told me to give him motrin instead of tylenol. So, we started the antibiotics, got some motrin and went home. Nate slept most of the afternoon. I checked his temperature again about 9:30pm and he was 105.7!! So, leaving David in charge of a sleeping Tommy, I took Nathan to the ER.

Once we got there, they took us right back and gave him a dose of tylenol and started him on an IV. They started running tests on him to figure out what was wrong with him. The ER doctor did a spinal tap on him to rule out meningitis. His blood/urine came back with really high white blood counts and high crp. After being in the ER from about 9:45pm Saturday until about 6 am Sunday morning, they decided to admit Nathan while they waited for the final results of his spinal and since his fever was still really high.
My mom came up and sat with Nathan in our picu room while I took a nap, went home and got the kids stuff together and figured out what we were going to do with them. Thank you SO much Steve and Lidia for the help Sunday and for baseball! Don't know what I would have done without you guys!! The boys ended up spending the nights with my parents and splitting the days between Steve/Lidia/Abby and my parents. The picu dr, Dr. Fitzpatrick, was wonderful, as the St. Rose Peds doctors always are! After more testing over the 4 days, we determined that he just caught some kind of virus, and combined with his ear infections just wasn't strong enough to fight it off. Which, as frustrating as it is, I would much rather have that than something more serious! But, his fever, white count and crp started going down, they took him off the IV so he could try to start to eat again, and he started to be my happy baby again.

Sunday night I emailed David's teacher to let her know what was going on just in case she needed to get ahold of me regarding David, or if he talked about it, she would know. She emailed me back...

Jennifer,
Thank you for the heads up. David told me this morning and he was very sad. He has actually cried a few times already today in class. He cried after SPARKLE today and then during research. I think he may be a little overwhelmed.
He is having a green day so far.
I'm so sorry and I wish you guys the best. I hope baby Nathan gets well soon.
Sincerely,
Jael Crouse

So, when we finally got released after finding out that David had already tried to talk both my mom and dad into picking him up early from school, I took Nathan and surprised David by picking him up early. He was so excited to see Nate and Nate was just as happy to see him!

We are home now, and so far Nathan is doing pretty good! We go to our pediatrician Friday for a follow up. But are super excited that Nathan is doing better and are happy he is home! Thank you so much to our family and friends that came and visited us and helped with the big boys... we wouldn't have made it through this without you guys!

4 months!

2010-05-06T19:33:00.001-07:00

Four months ago this sweet happy little boy came into our family! We love this baby so much!! There is still a fight over who's turn it is to hold him! Nathan is the happiest, sweetest, most easy going little guy. He loves to be held and snuggle but is perfectly content to lay on the couch and watch everything. We are so happy to have him!
Nathan laughing, he has the funniest laugh, and the older boys always ask him "whats so funny baby Nate" and that just makes him laugh even more which makes everyone laugh!

Tommy

2010-05-03T18:49:00.000-07:00

(Tommy pushing his Tonka truck)

Tommy LOVES to be outside. We have a couple neighbors with kids around his age, and all day these 3 kids push trucks, ride bikes/skooters, color the sidewalks and driveways with chalk and just play so good out front together. I think everyone on our street can hear them!! Earlier today I heard the little girl say she was going to go inside, Tommy stayed out pushing his truck, I could hear him driving/running it on the sidewalk. After a few minutes I realized I couldn't hear Tommy anymore, I was feeding Nathan so I yelled out to him and didn't get an answer. Not to worried cause he sometimes goes next door and plays in their yard, I walked out to go check on him and found him asleep on the curb with his truck parked in the grass!! I was laughing so hard! I had to take a picture of him before I carried him into bed. His feet are in the gutter with his head on the sidewalk. I don't know how that is comfortable to sleep!

Big Boy!

2010-05-02T14:07:00.000-07:00

Nathan is finally at the big boy table! He started eating cereal for dinner and he LOVES it!!

Nice place for a nap!!

2010-04-20T18:35:00.000-07:00

Sundays

2010-04-18T19:27:00.000-07:00

Sunday afternoon naps are the best!! Anyone wanna snuggle?? OR play out back with me??

Nathan

2010-04-14T20:21:00.000-07:00

I just LOVE this baby!! He is so sweet and brings such a sweet peaceful spirit to our home and family. His brothers love him so much and are always trying to make him laugh and smile!

Nathan went to the cardiologist today, as a follow up from his problems they found right before and right after he was born. The hole that was in his heart in the ultrasound before I had him has completely healed. However, his heart is still having the problem they found after he was born, which is basically chamber confusion. The blood is going into the wrong chamber, the wrong way through the flap in his heart. It is better (less flow) than when he was born, so we decided to watch him for a few more months and hopefully it will take care of itself and we won't need to do anything surgically for him!

Trees

2010-04-10T13:28:00.000-07:00

We decided finally after oh 6 or so years to take the dead trees out of the backyard. We borrowed Pops truck and his saw and went to work!! The manual labor was a bit much, so we called a friend, Dale and he came over with his chain saw to help us... his cost, dinner! After we ate dinner the guys went out back to work, and got 4 of the trees out! They decided to pull them up from the roots, it was SO funny!! I wish I would have video'd it. I forgot about taking pictures until it started to get dark and then my camera broke, so I used my phone to take this one. The only tree left in our backyard now is the big palm tree, which the guys are going to take out this next week!! It just got to dark to take it down last night! David spent the afternoon today out back with a shovel filling in the holes so the kids won't fall in them! Slowly but surely we are working on the yard!

Easter

2010-04-04T21:31:00.000-07:00

Making rice krispie eggs with dad before he has to go to work
YUMMY!!!!
Dyeing eggs, Tommy had his dozen in the 6 cups we had all at once!! His eggs were definetly... interesting looking!!
Yep, we used our hands to get the eggs out of the cups of dye!!
Nathan with his Easter bucket!

Only interested in the candy in the eggs!!

day 1

2010-03-29T11:22:00.000-07:00

Tommy is potty training! If you ask him he is going on the potty train!! He picked out his own train toilet seat and his own Cars underwear. We just started this morning, but so far he has done really well. Just one accident and has ran to the bathroom twice! He is so cute in his underwear because he wants to wear them backwards so he can see the trucks/cars on them and he is so skinny they hang down to his knees! Hopefully we will have good news to report later this week!!

sick!

2010-03-21T22:30:00.001-07:00

David is sick! My healthy kid is sick!! He said his throat hurt a few days ago, but hasn't wanted to go to the doctor, then he started a real nasty cough, and today his head started to hurt and he asked if I would take him to the doctor. I took him in and he has bronchitis, strep throat, and two ear infections!! While there they had him do two breathing treatments, one with steroids and an oral steroid to get his wheezing/breathing under control.

hog-key

2010-03-13T23:27:00.001-08:00

Friday night we went to the Las Vegas Wranglers hockey game, or as Tommy would say, we go see hog-key. A few weeks ago we found out that Sonic is a Wranglers sponsor and all you have to do is call Sonic and tell them how many tickets you want for what game and they put them at will-call for you!! We were super excited, just wish we would have found out about it earlier in the season!!

Tommy and David trying to catch a shirt in between periods.

I wasn't sure how Nathan would do with all the noise, but he did really good! He really wasn't impressed with it at all!

David's friend Jordan came with us. The boys all had a blast!!

Weekend Super Post!

2010-03-09T19:21:00.000-08:00

What a busy, crazy, fun, great weekend we have had!! It started on Friday with David's baseball season having Opening Night. Saturday morning his team, the A's had their first game, which they won. David did great!! He played shortstop, and catcher.

My baby turned 2 months old Saturday!

Saturday night, we had almost all of Keith's family, my parents, and some close family friends over because Keith was ordained an Elder! After the ordination we had texas sheet cake and visited.

Sunday morning Keith blessed Nathan. He did such a good job. He was very nervous, but did amazing! We were lucky enough to have almost all of both our families there and able to participate in his blessing. Keith and I both bore our testimonies in church. After sacrament meeting it was back home for brunch, which was great! Then a very much needed Sunday nap!!

Today Nathan went to the doctor for his 2 month old shots, and well check. He is now 10 lbs 9 oz. (10th %), 22 1/2 inches long (25th%), and his head is 39.4 cm (25th%). He is doing great, still has to be on the million dollar formula till he is 4 months, hopefully, but is going to start cereal tonight!

Hard Headed

2010-02-27T22:51:00.000-08:00

My sweet little Tommy is the most hard headed little boy I know! You'd think after having to go to the doctor and having your dad comes after you with pliers up your nose, you would stop sticking things up your nose!! Nope, not Tommy!! He doesn't get it!! Yesterday Keith got a package UPS, so the kids have been playing with the bubbles and the box the last couple days. Tonight Tommy came up to me and said "my nose oweie" and then stuck his finger up his nose. So, I grabbed him and looked up it and could see something. So we got the flashlight, the tweezers and the nose sucker. After having to pin him down I got a small piece of bubble plastic out of his nose but could still see more. He sniffed really hard and sucked the piece so far back I could hardly see it. I tried and tried to get him to blow his nose or to sneeze, but he couldn't. He just kept saying "my bubble in my nose". Getting ready to go to the Goodnight Clinic to have them get the plastic out, cause I was afraid he would sufficate himself on it while he was sleeping, Keith took a shot at it... and he got it!! Tommy is such a little stinker these days, but is so cute you can't help but love him!! the two pieces of plastic bubbles we got from his nose

disney part 1

2010-02-20T23:55:00.000-08:00

We went to Disneyland Friday, since there was no school. Nate got his 1st visit pin! We had a really fun time!! On the way home Saturday we stopped to see Great Grandpa, the kids had fun eating all his candy and terrorizing his house, but it was fun to visit for a little bit! I left the camera in the car, so will have to post some fun pictures and a really cute video tomorrow when I can get the camera out!

Sweet Babies

2010-02-15T14:21:00.000-08:00

So Sweet!!

Yesterday during Relief Society, Nate fell asleep in my arms. Then the nursery leader brought Tommy in to me, Tommy was whiny and wanted his mommy. He started out sitting next to me on the chair, and slowly made his way onto my lap, while I am still holding sleeping Nate. Tommy managed to fall asleep on my lap, so as I am holding the 40 pounds of sleeping babies I laid Nate on top of Tommy so I could get a free hand to text Keith to come get one of the babies. But, they were so sweet and cute just sleeping on my lap together!!

Awards

2010-02-13T23:13:00.001-08:00

David recieved 5 beltloops and a pin at his cubscout packmeeting this week! He got his beltloops in chess, wildlife conservation, hiking, video games, kickball and his pin was in video games. And he also received his 3rd yellow bead! Good job David! He is on his way to earn his Wolf!

One Month

2010-02-06T20:27:00.000-08:00

It is hard to believe that my baby is already a month old! That's right, Nate is one month today!!
It seems like just yesterday we were getting ready to have him. Nate was my most difficult pregnancy and so far has been my hardest baby. We have had many trials together in the short month he has been with us. But our surprise baby is definitely an answer to so many prayers, both older prayers and more recent. He is such a sweet and special spirit and we absolutely love him and am so glad that he is a part of our family!!

Tommy loves his brother!!

Nate's Blessing

2010-02-03T15:04:00.001-08:00

We are changing Nate's blessing day. It will now be on Sunday March 7th. Still at 9 am at the Cholla building. We are still having brunch at our home after Sacrament Meeting. Hope to see you all there!

stats

2010-01-26T15:09:00.001-08:00

Nate went to the doctor yesterday, just for his check-up. He is now 7 lbs 5 oz (5th %), and 20 1/4 inches long (10th %).

mini-golf

2010-01-24T19:08:00.000-08:00

This weekend we took the boys to King Putt to go mini-golfing. It is indoors and is in blacklights, so even though it was cold and rainy, we could still have some fun! The boys had a good time, Tommy really didn't get the concept, but loved throwing his ball, swinging his stick (club) and crawling through where you were supposed to hit your ball through! David did really well too! Keith came from behind to win though!

(Tommy crawling through the golfcourse, and yelling at the alligator that was on one of the holes)

(Keith putting)

(Jennifer putting with Nate and Tommy)

(David getting ready to putt)

2 weeks

2010-01-20T16:33:00.001-08:00

That's right! Nate is 2 weeks old already!! He is such a good baby, he hardly ever cries, and when he does cry it is more of a squeak than a real cry. He has slept through the entire night one time, usually he gets up every 3 hours at night to eat and then goes right back to sleep. He went to the doctor earlier this week and is back up to his birth weight and looks great! Nate is such a happy, easy-going baby and we are so happy to have him in our family!
By the way... as a side note, we will be blessing Nate on Feb. 14, there will be more info later though!

Nate

2010-01-09T18:26:00.001-08:00

Baby Nate is finally here!! He was born at 4:56pm January 6, 2010.

He was c-section, and everything went perfectly! He was 6 pounds 13 ounces and 19 inches long. The hole that was thought to be in his ventricle wall, has healed. But they found another possible problem in his heart, but are keeping an eye on him and will re-ultrasound it in a few months. Otherwise, he is perfect!

Nate is such a sweet baby! He loves to sleep on your chest, with a blanket and snuggle! David and Tommy both love their new baby brother. Once we got Nate back to our house, Tommy has decided to take on a protective/possesive big brother roll. He doesn't like anyone to look at, talk to or hold his brother except me and him!

Dog Food and Noses

2009-12-24T20:26:00.000-08:00

You guessed it! Another Tommy post!! This afternoon Tommy came in from playing out back with CoCo and had stuck dog food up his nose! We tried to push it out and to get him to blow his nose to try to get it out, couldn't get it! Keith had him pinned down attempting to use both a screwdriver and pliers to get the dogfood out!! Finally I grabbed the tweezers as a last attempt before we ran to QuickCare on Christmas Eve!
We started to get little pieces out as the dogfood was softening in his nose

Tommy was very upset, and mad at Keith, but did very good and was pretty brave!

After a few minutes of digging, he sneezed and blew out the big chunk!! We will see how long it takes him to stick something else up his nose!

Now that he is traumatized.... lets go see Santa!!