The Hill Family

Kadlec's Annual Easter Egg Hunt

2011-04-23T19:01:00.001-07:00

Every year the hospital I work for has an Easter Egg hunt. We have gone every year since Aaron was born. It's a lot of fun and super easy for the kids. Eggs are just thrown out in a big field and the kids just go for it. It seemed like there was a lot more kids this year though!

The whole group. Left to right: Will, Aaron, Stella and Wyatt. BFF's since birth!!
Anxiously waiting to start!

The field.

The mass amount of kids. Can you find Aaron? He's there somewhere!

Wyatt hunting

All the boys!

And the Easter Bunny!! It was a fun morning and a good kick off the the holiday weekend! Can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring!!

I'm back!!

2011-04-14T14:47:00.000-07:00

Wow!!! It has been over a year since I have updated this thing and I have forgotten how much I enjoy doing it!! So This past year has been jammed packed full of stuff that it would take forever posting it all, so in order to save space I'll just mention the exciting stuff.

Last May we went to DisneyLand!! On the way we stopped at my mom's house and Aaron held some of her snakes!! I was completely surprised that he did that. From there we headed down to my sister's house in Southern Utah. We only stayed over night but still had fun. The next day we headed to Disneyland. We spent 2 days there which wasn't enough. Then we headed to Sequoia Nat'l Park. I still can't believe how big those trees are. Then we headed home. We did stop in Reno for the night and caught up with my cousin Leslie and her adorable family.

Aaron started Kindergarten! It was a huge transition for him, but he has come so far this year. He has progressed on target and is ready for 1st grade next year. I can't believe it. My baby is all grown up.

As many of you know Wyatt has been in speech therapy since he was 9 months old. We had 2 speech therapists come to our house twice a month. When he turned 3, they had to turn the teaching over to the school district. In October, Wyatt was bussed to Preschool for speech therapy and cognitive development through the school district. He goes Monday through Thursday. It has taken him a little bit, but he LOVES it!! And of course they all love him. His speech has drastically improved since then. He still has a long way to go, but we are very happy with the results!

And last, but certainly not least....... My brother and his family moved up here in November. It has been a lot of fun having them close. Aaron and Wyatt LOVE playing with Scotty and Maddie! Its been great having family here!

That's just a really quick year at a glance. More updates to come soon!

Echo and hearing test

2009-12-27T14:29:00.000-08:00

We had Aaron's echo done earlier this month. The good news was that his murmur was totally innocent. Which was what we totally expected. However, we did find something. We found out that he has a right coronary artery (RCA) anomaly. His RCA branches out on the left side of his heart (by the left coronary artery) instead of the right side normally. The problem with this is that as it comes across the heart to the right side it goes in between the pulmonary artery (PA) and his aorta. What this causes is when he exerts himself with running and sports his RCA gets kinked by the PA and aorta with the increased heart rate causing lack of blood flow to the right side of his heart. Basically like little heart attacks. The cardiologist reassured us that this really isn't a huge problem until he active in competitive sports in high school. So, we are getting yearly echoes until then and when he's old enough we'll do a treadmill test to actually see how much damage happens on the right side of his heart with exertion. And when the time comes to fix it, it will be open heart surgery. Time will tell. The good thing about time is that by then I can only imagine the medical advances and maybe it'll be a simple procedure and not open heart surgery. Here's a picture of the heart so you can see what it should look like and imagine how Aaron's is.

Now for the best news yet. Wyatt had his hearing tested a week after Aaron's echo and his hearing is fine. Completely normal for a 2 year old. We already knew this because of the advances in his speech since his surgery but it was still awesome to get it in writing from the professionals!!

The next hurdle is Wyatt's appointment on Tuesday with the hematologist. I'll let everyone know how it goes. We have had a really busy and exhausting year but, it still was a good one. I can't believe that it's almost over. I hope next year will be just as good as this one if not better! I will post about Christmas in a few days. I don't have the pictures uploaded yet. Soon though, really soon!

Happy New Year!!

Aaron and Wyatt Update

2009-11-24T20:02:00.000-08:00

A lot has been going on here that I really haven't been talking about... mainly because I haven't had much time. I have interesting updates on both boys. Let's start with the oldest.

Aaron. Many of you know how "spirited" Aaron has always been since birth and all my work with this issue. I was pretty much at my wits' end when the whole iron deficiency came up. That was fabulous for a while. Then his iron levels became normal and he was back to his usual self. I ended up switching pediatricians back in February. Within two visits she looked at me and asked, "So, what were Dr. Pattiillo's plans with all this energy?" I said we talked about going to child psychology to get tested for ADHD but that went out the window after the iron thing came up. She looked at me again and smiled and said, "yeah, it's time. Let's get it done." We took him and the tests were in September sometime. (our insurance works really slow) The results appointment was the Monday after Wyatt's surgery. What I thought was going to happen was the doc coming right out and saying, "Yup, ADHD alright and here's what ya need." I was wrong. When he said Aaron is dealing with child anxiety everything finally clicked. I really didn't know that children can suffer from anxiety, but I can look back at all the symptoms he was and is having and they just scream anxiety. He also said that anxiety and ADHD can go hand in hand sometimes. He doesn't want to label him ADHD until we get the anxiety under control. Now we are going to a Child Behavior Health Specialist weekly to help him understand his anxiety and how to work through it. You would not believe how many doctors and people have said to me now, "It's so good you stuck to your guns knowing that he had a problem and didn't give up. Now he can learn to deal with it before he starts school." I completely agree.

Also, Aaron has a heart murmur that was heard for the first time when he was 1 or 2 years old. Murmurs are fairly common in kids, but since it's a grade 2 (out of 5) the doc wants to just make sure everything is okay. Aaron has an appointment with cardiology to have an echo done. That happens in the first week of December.

Now, onto Wyatt. So, the iron saga continues. Anytime we try to wean Wyatt off the iron his levels just plummit. Kids usually respond with 3 months of iron treatment and then they can just take a multivitamin with iron and move on. Not so much with Wyatt. He has been battling this since birth. Now it is time to go to Hematology. Hematology deals with blood dycrasias. On December 29th we get to travel to Spokane to meet with the Hematologist to find out why he is iron anemic.

And last, (finally, right?) Wyatt has an appointment to get his hearing checked in the beginning of December. I know Wyatt can hear. He is saying or trying to say new words everyday. It's just another thing we have to rule out. December is going to be a very busy month for us, but I will let everyone know as we find things out.

I hope everyone has a very Happy Thanksgiving wherever you are!!

Halloween Fun

2009-11-09T12:43:00.000-08:00

I know that this is kind of late, but it's been a brutal recovery for Wyatt and I didn't have time to load my pictures until today. Wyatt has finally turned the corner and is getting better and better everyday. We still have our minor set backs, but each day he's eating more...( actually stuffing his face...making up for lost time ;) ) and discovering more with voice and vocabulary.

Now, back to what this post is suppost to be about... Halloween. Aaron was Ben 10 and Wyatt was a fireman. They were both adorable and completely enjoyed trick or treating. We went over to a friend house for a party that night and then all the mom's took the kids around the neighborhood. It was fun and pretty desent weather too.

Aaron and his good friend Will, who's a spider.

Fireman Wyatt. We tried to get the cutest Ewok costume, but it was sold out. We had to settle for this one and it turned out pretty cute! Very fitting for him.

Surgery for Wyatt

2009-10-20T21:07:00.000-07:00

As of now Wyatt is going Friday to get his tonsils and adnoids out and more tubes in his ears. It is a pretty big surgery for him especially since he only turns 2 the next day. I know, happy birthday...right. Poor boy. Wyatt has had so many issues with his ears so our favorite doc wants to get it done. I totally agree. Not only is he sick all the time, but his speech is drastically delayed. He can say mama but doesn't refer to me as mama. I strongly believe that this is the next step to do. Please keep him in your prayers and thoughts.... And mama too. I'm so scared. Even though We've been through this before with Aaron. He so little.

Pumpkin patch

2009-10-20T21:06:00.001-07:00

Saturday we took the boys to the pumpkin patch. It was super busy. They had bounce houses, carrusels, corn maze, petting zoo, hay bile maze and pyramid, and of course the hay ride to the pumpkin patch. Lots of fun but tons of people. Maybe we'll go on a week day next year!

Hay ride to the pumpkin patch

Searching...

And searching.....

He loves this look. He does it with every picture. I have to remind him to smile soft.

On top of the pyramid.

Misc.

2009-10-20T20:52:00.000-07:00

Here are some fun summer pictures taken along the way.

On the boat...obviously;)

Just chillin' in the 110* weather this summer.

Down at the park by our house.

I don't know why but I absolutely love this picture.

How you doin'?

Fair Fun

2009-10-20T20:19:00.000-07:00

Back in August we took the boys to the county fair. We had a lot of fun. Mmmmmmm greasy fair food. Aaron rode rides, horses and bungy jumped. He had a blast. Wyatt ate food, loved the petting zoo and ate more food!! It was a lot of fun and can't wait til next year when Wyatt will enjoy the rides.

Kung Fu Wyatt!

Aaron loves riding the horses.

Transformation begins....

He thought he was so cool as Incredible Hulk.....

I'll post the video of Aaron on the bungy trampoline jump later... When I find it. All in all it was a fun evening!!

Test

2009-09-29T13:17:00.000-07:00

I found this new app at the app store and I hadto try it. If it works it'll be fun and extremely easy to post new things.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod Touch

ICE CREAM MAN!!!!

2009-09-16T13:05:00.000-07:00

Why is it when you don't want the kids to hear the ice cream truck they do and when you don't care they don't hear it or it's already passed by?!? Yesterday, we were sitting at the park and in the distance over the noise of sprinklers, lawn mowers and kids playing I hear it...the all to familiar music to the song 'Do your ears hang low?' In my head I'm thinking, "oh crap, I know he's going to hear it and I have no money with me." And before I can even finish the though Aaron screams out "ICE CREAM MAN!!!" All I could do was smile. I remembered growing up and listening to Eddie Murphy's 'Raw' or 'Delirious" - which ever one had the ice cream man bit.(highly inappropriate, but the ice cream part is pretty funny.) So I explained to Aaron that since we road our bikes I have no money and if we catch him later at our house we'll get ice cream. Well, he got a huge grin on his face and continued playing. At about 6:45 I hear that song again and I made the mistake of telling Aaron. We grabbed our money and went outside and the truck was already way down the street. Aaron lost it. I would too I guess- two misses with the beloved ice cream man. Come on, who wouldn't right?!? So I packed Aaron up and went to DQ and got the family blizzards, because by then I really wanted some too!!

Iron Man

2009-08-06T22:25:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note that I had to share. Aaron is finally off the iron, well, at least for now. Weening off medicine is a celebration at our house since, for most kids, it is so hard to give to them and my boys are on a lot. Wyatt on the other hand just opens right up. It's second nature to him. I love that I don't have to fight him, but it's kinda sad if you really think about it. And speaking of Wyatt, his iron is still low. Very low actually. So, he's still on iron drops and multivitamin with iron. Someday though, he will be as strong as brother!!! Anyway, back to the point... one less med!!!! waahoo!!

Cool Desert Nights!

2009-08-06T21:56:00.000-07:00

In the Tri-cities you know it's summer when it's time for Cool Desert Nights. For 25 years (I think) people enter their classic cars, (or any car they feel like, but really it's supposed to be a classic dang it...) drive around town and even have drag races. It's pretty fun. Aaron really enjoyed it and Wyatt's starting to catch on. I think Aaron's favorite was the new Camero painted just like Bumble bee. In fact, he thought it was Bumble bee. "Mommy, I want to see Sam and Mikaela." It was really cute. Here's some pictures of our faves.

And apparently all laws go out the window too. I can't believe they let them ride around for hours on his lap. (even though I have very fond memories of driving on my dad's lap, but that's not the point :) ) If you're going to make it a law enforce it, even in special occasions. Right???!??

Aaron's swimming lessons

2009-08-06T20:13:00.000-07:00

Last year on the boat was pretty miserable since Aaron was pretty much petrified of the water. So we thought that we would get a jump on things for this boating season to be enjoyable (and safer) by putting him in swimming lessons. He started in the beginning of March and has already moved up one level from jellyfish to starfish. He loves it. Plus, he asks us to go boating now. It's awesome. I just wish that they weren't so darn expensive and lasted a little longer for the size of the class.
Aaron getting used to the water

Laps..laps...laps

Getting pretty brave!!

Welcome Colin Michael

2009-07-01T12:28:00.000-07:00

On June 1, 2009 at 5:13pm Colin Michael was born. Andrea had an amazing textbook perfect delivery. It was unbelievable. He was a little guy at 6lbs 12oz, but was perfectly healthy. The funny part was she was scheduled for induction that day and went into labor herself at home in the morning. Mommy and baby have recovered great and are doing fabulous. Baby Colin is 1 month today and grwing like a weed!

Dad introducing the brothers for the first time.

Hanford Expo

2009-07-01T11:55:00.000-07:00

Once again it was time for the Hanford Expo. Charlie and his department got to put on a show on and the boys loved it. Actually they just loved going down and playing with all the equipment and trucks. He's just a few pictures of them on the trucks.

Aaron's 1st dentist appointment

2009-05-27T21:21:00.000-07:00

I finally took Aaron into the dentist. I know this sounds bad being that he is 4 and a 1/2 and I'm a daughter of a dentist and should know better. But come on, what do they really do before that anyway. Some call it "getting used to the dentist." That is all fine when your 18+ month old can sit still long enough. Aaron, not so much. There was no way he would have been able to do this even 6 ago. . He did have 3 cavities (bad mom!!), but in my defense they were really small cavities. I was so amazed how quick he filled them. I'm talking maybe 5-10 minutes tops per cavity. He had a total of 3 appointments and did amazing every time! I was so proud of him.

Appointment #1. X-rays and a simple cleaning. Notice that Optimus Prime had to come along for support!

Appointment #2. 2 cavities down and 1 to go. I recommend laughing gas for every dental appointment! It was a life saver for Aaron.

I don't have pictures of the last one, but you get the idea.

Juniper Dunes

2009-05-27T21:12:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago my friend Jen invited us to go to Juniper Dunes for a couple of hours to let the kids run around and get dirty. Her husband has 4 wheelers and they go out there often and camp out. We'd thought it would be fun the take the power wheels and let the boys participate some what.

This is Aaron on Will's Power wheel. I promise it's not a real 4 wheeler. I would never let him ride one without a helmet on!!

Andrea's Baby Shower

2009-05-27T20:57:00.000-07:00

Last month my good friend Andrea had her baby shower for baby boy #2. Who knew we'd both end up with 2 boys. I get tired just thinking about it. The shower was really laid back. The fun part about it was that our friend from high school was there too. We just came back into contact with her and it was fun to be together again. We had fun catching up and eating, because that's what you do at shower's...EAT!! I only took one picture, but it's a good one.

From left to right: Sandy, Me, and Andrea. I am the only one not pregnant. Literally, every girl I know is pregnent or just had a baby. Crazy. Oh, did I mention I have to wear glasses now?!?

Easter

2009-05-27T20:37:00.000-07:00

Despite the fact that I had to work the nights before and after we had a pretty relaxing Easter. Saturday the 11th my hospital puts on an Easter egg hunt every year. Aaron loves it and it was really fun to see Wyatt enjoying it this year too. The kids get separated by age groups and just go at it. Then there's activities inside after. We met up with my good friend Jen who has kids the exact same age. The mom's went with the babies and the dad's went with the big boys! Unfortunately each family only had one camera. So I got to take pictures of Wyatt and Stella and Jen's husband took pictures of Aaron and Will. I don't have their pictures yet and I haven't given them a copy of mine yet either.So here are a few pictures of Wyatt and his friend Stella at the Easter egg hunt.

Wyatt got bored really fast and started to go to the playground and eat rocks! Boys!!!

ICU update

2009-03-12T08:49:00.000-07:00

The ICU is going great! I should have moved there years ago. I am in week four of my orientation. The hardest part about it is being full time again. That is a huge adjustment for me! Another hurdle has been health issues. In the first week Wyatt got RSV and I had to leave to take him to the ER. It was really scary. He progressed really quickly. The ER doctor told me that he would be admitted to the hospital if he wasn't going home with a nurse and an EMT. They really don't do anything for RSV anymore due to evidence based practice these days. What they would do in the hospital we could do at home. All we could do was nebulizer treatments, suctioning and Tylenol for fever. He turned around very quick. I was amazed. Now, in the beginning of week four I got Strep throat. I don't think I have ever been so sick. I never knew strep throat was this bad. I had a fever of 101.9*, chills, and I head a upper chest cold as well. Let me tell you I am a huge fan of Penicillin now!! Charlie started to have symptoms so he got antibiotics as well. He came home with a fever of 103*!! Who needs work in the ICU when I have one at home?!?

Here we go- What I've learned so far:

-What it feels like to breath through a ventilator. We got to be hooked up to one for a few seconds. Let me tell you it's like breathing through a straw!!

-I hate phlegm. Every nurse has their thing they hate. Mine's phlegm. In ICU we have to do oral care at least every 4 hours when some one's on a ventilator. It helps to reduce ventilator acquired Pneumonia (VAP.) And the ironic part is that both my boys are phlegmy boys!

-2 critically sick patients can keep you busier than 4-5 non critically ill patients.

-Ambulate, ambulate, ambulate!! If the patient can walk assisted or by themselves, make them at least 4 times a day - even if they're 6 hours post heart pass!!

-Breaks are overrated!

-Knowing where a drug metabolizes and excreted from the body is really important.

-Lab values are not just for doctors.

More to come later. I'll try to do week by week. ha ha!!

Aaron's Reward Party

2009-03-12T08:26:00.000-07:00

Charlie and I have always struggled getting Aaron to go to sleep and then staying in his bed all night. It has really been frustrating! Our bedtime routine would take us 2 - 2 1/2 hours from start til asleep in bed. Exhausting!! So, in December I made a poster with 4 rows of 7 boxes that made up 4 weeks. I called it "Aaron's Sleep Transformation." (He really likes Transformers so I went with it.) Any night that he slept in his bed all night he got to put a Transformer sticker in a box. When all the boxes had a sticker in it he gets to go to Chuck E Cheeses. He was so excited. He was good for a couple of nights and then had a set back or two, but we just kept going along with it. Half way though we mixed it up a bit and told him that 'when we tuck you in, you have to stay in bed until you fall asleep and all night and then you get a sticker." His response, "Ohhhh, okay Momma. Goodnight." We walked out of the room and he stayed!! A week before Valentine's Day all the boxes were filled and we got to take him to his reward party at Chuck E Cheese. He thought it was the coolest thing! Bedtime isn't a struggle anymore. It's fabulous. He still comes in our room at night sometimes, but we just put him back in his bed.

Disney Live on Valentine's Day

2009-03-12T08:01:00.001-07:00

For Valentine's Day we took the boys to Disney Playhouse Live. Aaron has recently gotten into Disney shows, his favorite being 'Phineas and Ferb,' and he had the best time. I don't think he sat down the entire show. Wyatt made it through the first hour and was DONE by the second. Afterwards we took them to McDonald's to have lunch. It was fun and I loved including them on Valentine's Day.

Charlie did surprise me with a dozen orange roses(my favorite!!) and a box of chocolates. I know, you're thinking how original. How ever does he get these brilliant ideas?? Well, regardless of how cliche it was, it was still appreciated since we rarely have time for each other these days!

Hotdog Dance

Aaron showing off his Little Einstein's baton

Handy Manny

Tigger and Pooh

After the show.

-PS: I got both the boys' hair cut a few days later. This picture opened my eyes to how long their hair REALLY was!! Yikes!

Movin' on Up

2009-02-01T08:26:00.000-08:00

I have decided to make the big plunge and move to the ICU. As of February 8th I am officially an ICU RN. I am currently working in the step down unit for the ICU, but I am ready for a change and want more of a challenge. It'll be a huge learning curve for me and I am really excited. I'll keep you posted on my progress.

The Big 2-9!

2009-02-01T08:21:00.000-08:00

On the 15th was my 29th birthday. We didn't do really anything exciting. Charlie came home from work and surprised me with an ice cream cake from DQ (my favorite!!) and 2 - 1 hour massage gift certificates. We all went to dinner at Famous Dave's. The service was horrible, the food was okay but the boys were amazing for being there for about an hour and a half!! All in all it was a good day.

Christmas

2009-01-31T16:55:00.000-08:00

Christmas was nice this year. It was pretty quiet and calm. Charlie and I stayed up late setting up presents on Christmas Eve so imagine how tired we were when Aaron woke up at 7am!! We convinced him to wait until Wyatt woke up to go downstairs. When he did Aaron ran into his room to tell him that's it's Christmas and noticed that Santa left him a plush 'Perry the Platypus' from Phineas and Ferb, his new favorite show. All morning he was saying, "I love this Perry. It's my favorite." And since then apparently everything is his 'favorite.' We went downstairs to open presents. Aaron just started ripping open everything in sight. Wyatt just stood back and watched. It was really fun. We went to dinner at Charlie's parents house at around 1pm. We stayed until about 7:30. By then Aaron was exhausted. We went home and all fell asleep by 8:00.

Aaron opening presents from Santa.

Wyatt and his cousin Bud.

Aaron and his cousin Michael.

Catch-up

2008-12-27T23:07:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's been 2 months since I bogged last. Yikes!! A lot has happened since then. Here is just a few. It's already late and I work in the morning.(hissssss) I will do the rest in a couple of days. Enjoy.

Aaron

2008-12-27T22:13:00.000-08:00

Earlier this month we found out the Aaron is iron deficient. This is not a terrible thing, however here is my frustration with the whole thing.
Ever since Aaron was, well basically when I was pregnant with him I knew he was a very active boy. I remember making comments at work "I'm having an ADHD baby," very jokingly of course. And those of you who had the pleasure of seeing this while I was pregnant remember my belly could have caused an earthquake with how much he moved. It was very uncomfortable. To this day he hasn't stopped moving.

At a young(er) age I brought this up to his doctor, who said, "Yes, he does have a lot of energy, but let's wait until he gets to at least four to see how this goes." So, I waited. When he started having sleep disturbances, I waited. When he had restless leg syndrome, I waited. When he had sleep apnea, I had his tonsils and adenoids taken out. I tried changing his diet. I used the cookbook by Jerry Seinfeld's wife, "Deceptively Delicious." It gives fabulous recipes on how to sneak vegetables in everyday cooking. It's a great book. I bought things sugar free and with no preservatives or red dye, because they can increase hyperactivity. When I did all that, on a scale from 1 - 10, he went from a 10 to 9.5. I waited.

At his 4 year old check-up I brought it up again. His doctor, who previously up to this point never hinted a thing, flat out said, "oh yeah, he has ADHD and it's one of the most severe we see in the office." I about hit the floor. I mean, was I surprised? Not a chance, but this whole time making me feel like an idiot mother who is trying to over diagnose her kid. He handed me a prescription and told me he wants to follow up in a month. I cried the whole way home. Not from saddens, but from frustration. After a long talk with Charlie we decided to try the medication for Aaron for a month. If it works, great. If we see anything that makes him not be his adorable, sweet self, we take him off. A month goes by and no change. Zip, nada, nadia, nothing. I do notice that it seems like his sleeps apnea is coming back though.

At the follow up we decide to take him off and wait (again.) I'm okay with that. I just happen to mention about the sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome when he sleeps and he orders an iron panel. The results...no surprise, low. We had to start him on an iron supplement just like his little brother.

That night I started to research iron deficiency and signs and symptoms and guess what I found. It is linked to restless syndrome, sleep apnea, irritability and with more research some doctor's are trying to link it to ADHD. I couldn't believe it.

Now, I am not holding my breath. But, if that was his issue the whole time, low iron, that's the easiest fix I could ever imagine. We haven't seen any really big changes yet and we might not ever, (which I am fine with, I've learned to deal)but I will just say that for the last 2 weeks we have been able to put him bed, say goodnight and walk out. He stays in bed and falls asleep. (knock on wood) We have never been able to do that! It's wonderful.

Farewell to a Great Man

2008-12-27T21:05:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving had really mixed emotions for me. My Mom's Dad passed away the Monday before. We all knew that his health was failing over the last few years and this was quite expected, but it was a lot harder for me than I thought it would be.
My Granddad and I were very close. He was the most amazing man I have ever known. He was very intelligent too. I mean, the man could read and write Hebrew. I learned a few things about him that I never knew before. He was in the Navy during WWII. What was really touching was that he had a full Military burial. If you have ever been to one you know what I'm talking about. It is really emotional. I balled, especially when they presented the flag to my Grandmother. It was a beautiful funeral. I think the hardest thing is that my granddad and I shared the same birth date. Ever since I could remember we would have contests to see who could call who first. I know something will be missing this birthday.
The positive side to his passing is that it brought families together. This was the first time in 3 years that my siblings and I were all together. We did miss a few spouses though. Since my brother and kids came from back East all the cousins where able to cause major havoc together in my mom's house. It was quite entertaining. Also, my sister even volunteered to watch our boy's so we could have a night off. THANK YOU CINDY!! Even though we were gone for less than 9 hours it was refreshing.
Here are some pictures of everyone at my Mom's house after the service. We had a good trip, but were very thankful to be home.

The Whole group

Just the 6 Kids

Wyatt and Gavin

My mom thought that it would be fun for the grandkids to help decorate her tree. She was right. As soon as they saw uncle Scott and Uncle Dave setting it up their faces lit up.

Julia, Maddie, Aaron and Adam.

Halloween.

2008-12-27T20:45:00.000-08:00

Halloween was a lot of fun. We went to my friend's house just down the street, ate some fabulous food, went trick-or-treating around our neighborhood for a few hours and then went back and ate Cinnabons..mmmmmmm. We talked for a little while longer and then when home and let the kids crash. It was quite the adventure. I guess I got so caught up in the sugar rush and forgot to take many pictures. In fact, I only took one.

He makes a very scary Darth Vader, right?!? You can almost hear the Darth Vader theme going off in your head right now. Aaron had the most fun. He was Spiderman. He and his two little buddies were running house to house. It wore him out. Despite of all the candy he went to bed quite easily that night. Who knew?

A Day at The Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-30T13:35:00.000-07:00

Charlie and I took the kids to a really cool pumpkin patch yesterday and had a lot of fun. For only $6/person we got to take a hayride to the pumpkin patch and pick out one pumpkin per person, go through the hay bale maze, climb the straw bale pyramid and go to the petting zoo. For how much fun Aaron had it was worth every penny. He kept saying, "I love hay rides" over and over. This was our first trip to a pumpkin patch ever. I think we found a hit and will have to do it every year. We will carve the pumpkins tonight on Halloween eve!!

ps: I huge Thank you to Kelly for introducing me to slide.com!! The previous slide show program I used was terrible to work with and was soooo slow! Hence why I NEVER used it. It was so easy and quick this time! THANK YOU KELLY!!

Wyatt Lewis turns 1!!!

2008-10-24T21:52:00.000-07:00

Happy 1st Birthday Wyatt!! I can't believe that it's been a year since that unforgettable day. It has been a huge roller coaster ride ever since, but I am so grateful that he's here and, amazingly enough, healthy as a little horse. I am eternally grateful for the spirit guiding me to the hospital that day and the support we have gotten throughout this past year. We couldn't have done it alone.

A few hours after birth. He was kept cold at 88* for 3 days after birth. Hypothermia therapy saved his brain!!

Finally warmed! MMMMMMM toasty!

Enjoying the Superbowl.

11 months old!

My own personal cake....yum!!!

We love you Bug! You are our little miracle and are so blessed to have you with us! Happy Birthday Wyatt!

Charlie's wisdom teeth

2008-10-24T21:30:00.000-07:00

Today Charlie got his wisdom teeth out. We were both very nervous for it just because we knew one tooth was pretty bad and also the fact that he's 33 years old and still has his wisdom teeth. We had to put both kids is daycare so I could stay at the office and then take care of him until he got coherent enough. We arrived at the oral surgeon's at 10:20am and they were waiting for him. What was really nice was the fact that the nurses there were gals I graduated with from the nursing program 5 years ago. So I felt better instantly. Charlie, not so much. He started to relax after the laughing gas. He was hilarious on that stuff. He was a chatty Kathy. Then they put him under and they scooted me out. About an hour later Dr. Klein came out and was thanking us for getting the CT of his teeth. Apparently, his bottom right tooth had 3 roots and were all wrapping around the nerve. The CT was able to show where the nerve was, so the oral surgeon was able to extract the tooth without any complications! Hooray. Charlie is doing amazingly well. Hardly any pain or swelling yet. His mouth is still a little numb and he's on a lot of medicine. Hopefully he continues to heal this good!!

The Champ!!

I know this might be disgusting to some, but I had to show his tooth. This one was the only one that came out intact and I can't believe the root. No wonder wisdom teeth hurt!!!

Monster Truck Party

2008-10-24T13:00:00.000-07:00

Saturday the 18th we had the boys' birthday party. I let Aaron choose the theme this year and who would have guessed..... MONSTER TRUCKS!!! Aaron has been waiting for this party since August. Friday night Charlie put together Aaron's big gift from us, his own personal monster truck. Well, a power wheel actually, but he calls it his monster truck. I thought that I was being so creative by hiding it in our laundry room, putting blankets and clothes all over it so it would look like a big pile of laundry. Saturday morning he walking right in the laundry room, threw off the clothes and blankets and shouted, "Momma, I want to drive my car." "What car Aaron?" I asked like I knew nothing. "My big. black monster truck." It's pretty sad when your 4 year old out smarts you! The party was fun. We had a bounce house, tattoo booth called 'Hill Ink" (thanks Mark for the sign!) and a slide show of the last year. All in all it turned out to be a good party.

Since I made the cake for Aaron's 1st birthday I thought I would attempt for Wyatt's too. It's definitely a homemade cake!

Wyatt seemed to love it though!!

Aaron and his monster truck. He was so good about sharing and letting other kids ride in it or drive it. I was really impressed by him that day!!

All the kids wanted to help open gifts. It was so crazy. I still don't know who got what from who. But the kids enjoyed it and that's all that matters!!

I just love this picture because of Wyatt's curls!! He's so darn cute!!

Aaron got so many truck toys. He really didn't care about anything else. He would just smile at the other gifts and then continue trying to open the truck boxes. Crazy kid!

Happy 4th Birthday Aaron

2008-10-13T23:09:00.000-07:00

Today Aaron Jacob turned 4 years old. I can't believe it. He is starting to look more and more like a little man these days. This morning when he woke up he asked with a huge smile on his face, "Today's my birthday, Momma?" (If he calls me Momma forever I will love it.) He wanted waffles for breakfast this morning so I made waffles. He got to watch any movie he wanted and we didn't get dressed til noon. It was great. When Charlie came home from work he brought an ice cream cake from DQ (yum!!). We sang "Happy Birthday," he opened one present (clothes, boring) and then we went to Eatza Pizza his favorite restaurant. It's like a small version of Chucky Cheeses. This kid always scores on the jackpots. He got 880 tickets. He turned them in for a ninja sword, a pen that lights up and one of those sticky hands that you fling at the table and it picks up a piece of paper. Cheap thrills....priceless. He had a great time. He was hard to calm down and wrestle to bed, but somehow Charlie was able to put him to sleep. He is really excited for his party on Saturday. With a monster truck theme who couldn't wait for that! Happy Birthday Aaron!!!

Eating at Eatz Pizza.

Utah or Bust

2008-09-23T10:27:00.000-07:00

Do to a unfortunate event the boys and I are heading to Utah for a few days. I am really torn about this since I am going without Charlie (he has to stay and work). I need to be there, but the drive will be very,very long. On the other hand since I will be there for awhile I would like to see everyone that I could. If you are available this weekend lets get together! It's been a long time since I've seen most of you! Drop me a message or give me a call and we'll go from there. Hope to see you soon!!

Wyatt's surgery

2008-09-22T15:01:00.000-07:00

Wyatt had his tubes placed this morning and did really well. We had to be at the surgery center at 6:45am. Since I have worked the last 4 days I was pretty exhausted. I didn't get up in time to get the kids ready, drop Aaron off at daycare and then go to the center. So, Aaron came with us and he thought that was pretty cool. He actually got to put stickers on Wyatt's hat and he loved that. They took him back at 7:45, they came and got me at about 7:55, and we were leaving by 8:00am. The doctor said there was really thick, sticky, mucus like fluid behind his eardrum and we'd probably see a huge improvement over time. Hooray, another hoop Wyatt has sailed through!
This is the nurse taking him back. It's not the greatest picture because I took it with my phone.

But, I think it captures the moment pretty well.

Totally 'Tube'-ular

2008-09-16T21:30:00.000-07:00

On Monday, Sept. 22, Wyatt is getting tubes in his ears to match Aaron. So, literally we will have 'tube'-ular boys. (I know it's a bad pun, but I worked 1/2 a night shift last night and didn't get home til 2am and then woke up at 6am when Charlie left for work and have been up ever since. I'm tired and everything sounds better when you're tired...right?) He has had 4 ear infections over about 5 months, still has fluid behind both ear drums and when they tested his ear drums there was no vibration. He responds to sound so I know he can hear, but it's probably like trying to hear underwater. I am all for them since I saw such a huge change with Aaron when he got his. I know that this will help him a lot. I just can't believe that since February both boys will have had surgery twice. And it's really scary when the doctor says"you're family's keeping me in business." This particular doctor has done all the surgeries too. However, it is safe to say that they were all greatly needed and none selective. I must say that we are completely blessed with fabulous medical insurance from Charlie's job!! ( my insurance is not so great to say the least.) Without his insurance, this past year when have cost a fortune!!

I do my little turn on the catwalk

2008-09-07T22:44:00.000-07:00

Recently, the hospital I work for, Kadlec, added on a 6 floor tower. The unit I am working on, Intermediate Care Unit, was one of the lucky floors that had the privilege to move into this beautiful building back in June. Now, granted there has been some major bumps in the road with opening this tower, but all in all things aren't that bad. Kadlec puts out a newsletter about the latest and greatest advancements about the hospital and the last one was about how the new units are doing in the tower. I didn't think it was a big deal or anything, but apparently this newsletter is distributed all around the Tri-Cities. Take a look at the top ofpage five:

http://kadlecmed.org/about/newsletters/pacesetter/249.pdf

I have had so many people tell me that they saw me in the Pacsetter. Then, on Sunday the hospital used the same picture in the weekly add in the local paper for job listings. So I get my 5 seconds of fame. Charlie didn't know he married a model!! lol

Monster Jam in Seattle!

2008-09-03T20:19:00.000-07:00

One weekend in August we packed up the kids and headed to Seattle to take Aaron to see the Monster Jam monster trucks. Monster trucks are his favorite right now and we all needed a break and we thought this was the prefect excuse. What was also nice was that a couple of my certifications for work were expiring at the end of August. So, I just took the classes up in Seattle and my work paid for the whole trip (all except the monster trucks of course). We had a great time. This was our first trip as a family with no doctor appointments as the basis of our trip. It felt so good to just get out and enjoy ourselves. Aaron was so excited to see the monster trucks. We talked it up all week. He could barely wait. He now knows most of the trucks and some of the drivers now. It's pretty fun to watch him.

Believe it or not, Wyatt really enjoyed it and he never pulled at the ear muffs!!

These little guys were called the 'Quarter midgets.' They are 6 - 12 years old and were so stinking cute.

Even though Aaron was exhausted we stayed for the whole show and neither of the boys fell asleep as the way back to the hotel. I was kinda shocked.

I tried twice to upload a video clip of the show, but I guess it was too big because it didn't load, twice. It was fun though.

Tot talk

2008-09-03T20:04:00.000-07:00

A lot has happened in the month since I blogged last. It seems harder to find the time to update these days. The most important news was that we took Wyatt to the Children's Developmental Center mainly because he wasn't babbling. He had some speech sounds just not expressive speech yet. They also tested him developmentally. They used the 'Denver' and the 'Baily' test. And, of course the passed with flying colors. The only thing he was lacking in was speech. So now, starting this month we'll have a speech therapist come to our house to help me teach Wyatt and watch his growth. They mainly said that since he was struggling to breath with the tracheomalacia that speech went to the back burner. Which I can understand. Since that appointment he has now started to say "mmmmmmmmm." We are working on mama, but he just looks at me and smiles. I am just so happy that I can already see improvement, as small as it may be, it is still something.

The fire season has started!

2008-07-29T08:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Charlie got called to a fire with some co-workers and they have been there ever since. I think he'll be home sometime today, but we'll see. This is the first fire this season that he's gone to and has been away from us this long. This is my only 2nd season as a fireman wife and it's getting a little easier. Last year he went to work on a Thursday and then couldn't come home until Sunday morning at 2am. That was really stressful considering I was 6 months pregnant. Regardless, it's always going to be a little scary for me.

Cool Desert Nights

2008-07-17T13:51:00.000-07:00

I have been a blogger slacker these days and I really don't have any excuse why. I guess life happens. Anyway, the last weekend in June every year here in the Tri-Cities is 'Cool Desert Night's.' People enter their classic cars and drive in a parade down a main street here and the whole city comes to watch it. It's a big three day event. Since Aaron LOVES cars and everything about them we knew we had to go this year. We picked a spot at the corner of the intersection and it was the best spot to see all the cars. Aaron loved every second of it! He even started likening the cars to the characters of the movie "Car's." He said, 'look mom, here comes Doc, Sheriff, and Lizzie.' It was really cute. He really enjoyed one car that blew fire out the tailpipe. The best part was that it was free. Got to love that part. I can't wait until Wyatt gets old enough to enjoy it too.

20 Years.....

2008-06-22T11:29:00.000-07:00

Yeah, my first tag. Thanks Barb. Here we go...

20 Years.

20 Years ago...
1. I was 8 years old.

2. I moved from El Paso, Tx to Leeds, Ut.

3. I was annoying my older brothers (mainly Scott) about how 'milk does the body good.'

10 Years ago...
1. I graduated from High School.

2.I was working at Fiesta Family Fun Center in St. George Ut.

3. Moved to Cedar City, Ut to go to Southern Utah University in the Fall.

5 Years ago...
1. Married the love of my life, Charlie, here in Richland, Wa.

2. Finished my LPN year of nursing school, passed the boards, and started my career as a nurse.

3. I was thinking about getting pregnant.

3 Years ago..
1. My first son, Aaron, was 8 months old.

2. I was working as a RN at Kadlec.

3. I was getting ready for my family reunion in Park City, Ut.

1 Year ago...
1. We just found out we were having another boy.

2. I moved to Intermediate Care at Kadlec.

3. I was looking forward to not being pregnant anymore.

So far this year...
1. I had my last baby ever.

2. I have taken me or my kids to some kind of doctor more than I would like to count.

3. We bought a boat and love it.

Yesterday I...

1. Took the family out to eat for lunch with some friends.

2. Attempted to take a nap, but failed.

3. Watched the rain storm with Aaron.

Today I...
1. Had a lazy morning.

2. Watched 'Fool's Gold.'

3. Ate the leftovers from lunch yesterday

Tomorrow I...
1. Will clean my house from top to bottom.

2. Will dog sit Tucker and Melissa's 3 dogs.

3. Will go to the park with Aaron and Wyatt.

In the next year I...
1. Will loose all the baby fat from both boys!!!!!

2. Will be dept free except our house.

3. Will buy land and start building our dream home.

I tag Colleen.

Meet Priscilla

2008-06-12T18:32:00.000-07:00

This week we did something completely out of our ordinary. We bought a boat. Charlie has always wanted one, but we could never afford one until now. We picked it up today and spent 4 hours on the river. It was amazing. The boys were really good, even better than I thought. Since I haven't got to name anything I decided to name the boat Priscilla. Charlie didn't like it at first but, it grew on him so I got my way. I am looking forward to a long, hot summer and I hate the heat!!

Big Bro

2008-06-09T20:06:00.000-07:00

I just thought this picture was sweet and had to share it. A few days ago I changed the batteries in many of the boys' toys and this one just grabbed their attention. Aaron plopped right down by Wyatt and started playing too. When I caught on to what was happening Aaron already put his arm around Wyatt's shoulder. It was really sweet. It's moments like this that remind me how much I love being a mom.

BFF from birth

2008-06-09T19:12:00.000-07:00

My best friend Andrea and I had our babies 8 days apart. Wyatt was born Oct. 24, 2007 and Elijah was born Oct. 16, 2007. Being pregnant at the same time made the whole pregnancy thing so much easier. And it's even more fun to watch them grow up together. Andrea and her family came over on Memorial Day for a few minutes and the boys played together.....more like cried together. It was really funny. ( Wyatt is on the right, if you couldn't tell.)

There's no crying in baseball!!"

"We didn't do it, Mom!!"

Aaron's Surgery

2008-05-24T12:16:00.000-07:00

Aaron had his surgery yesterday and did amazing. We had to be at the hospital at 7:00am and they wheeled him back by 8:00. I was a nervous wreck, but managed to stay cool. He was done by 8:30 and the doctor told us that his tonsils were HUGE. Not only were they blocking his throat but they were embedded far into his tissues too. Poor thing. No wonder he couldn't breathe. I got to go into the recovery room to be with him (it's nice when you work at the hospital, people pull strings for you). He woke up pretty sad, but he recovered really well. He was even able to eat (more like inhaled it) a PB & J sandwich (ouch, that makes me hurt just thinking it.) The hospital has pet therapy so he even got a visit from a dog. He really enjoyed that. We were able to go home by 3:00pm. He hasn't slept really well (can"t imagine why) but, we'll get through it. Thanks for all the prayers!! He is a strong boy!

Off he goes.

Right after surgery.

A little help from 'Transformers' toys Barricade and Optimus Prime.

Pet therapy.

Finally going home.

Safety Expo

2008-05-24T11:46:00.000-07:00

Every year the Hanford Site puts on a Expo all about safety. The Hanford site is huge on safety. So all the different companies out here get a booth and hand out free stuff. Hanford fire goes one step further and puts on the really intense show about how important it is to put on your set belt. There's this fake car crash and the ambulance and fire engines come and the kids love it. Afterwards they can go down and check out all the firemen gear and trucks. Needless to say Aaron has the time of his life.

Fireman Aaron.

Aaron With Sparky the Fire dog

These two boys are Aaron"s good friends Kason and Jacob .

And once again he fell asleep on the way home.

Mad skills

2008-05-19T08:38:00.000-07:00

I have no idea where Aaron learned how to do this, because I know that I can't do it. He just picked up a spoon this morning and placed it on his nose like it was nothing. He is such an amazing kid and surprises me everyday! His surgery is this Friday. Time has just flown by and I can't wait til it's over and he's recovered! I think I will finally be able to relax then.

Surgery for Aaron

2008-04-30T20:08:00.000-07:00

Since Aaron had tubes put in his ears his tonsils have gotten bigger and bigger and his snoring has gotten louder and louder (I don't know if there's a correlation between tubes and tonsils, but I would like to think so.) Apparently they rate how big your tonsils are by numbers 1-4, 4 being the biggest. Now, kids tonsils peak at age 5. Aaron is 3 1/2 and his tonsils are already rated a 3+. I told the doctor all the symptoms that he has been having, like restless sleeping, coming into our room 2-3 times a night, snoring, overly tired during the day and also apnea thing too. I guess all those things are considered sleep apnea, especially the stopping breathing thing (obviously.) What I didn't know was that bed wetting was a symptom too. Aaron has only had like 3 accidents since he was potty trained so I didn't think he had that problem. Getting to my point........ The doc took one look in his month and said when can we do surgery. He is getting his tonsils and adenoids out May 23rd. I am really nervous about this I don't really know why. I know it's a really simple procedure, but I am just worried. So please keep him ( and me too) in your prayers.

The Last Straw!!!

2008-04-19T16:15:00.000-07:00

This morning Charlie called me at work and said that a car hit our truck and 'totaled it'. Our truck is a '73 Ford F150. It's a pretty sturdy truck. A VW Jetta smacked into it and messed up the back end. The speed limit on our road is 25mph. 25mph. This car had to be going more than 25mph to do this kind of damage. This is our first house and we love it, but so much housing has gone up around us and now our road is the 2nd busiest in our town. We has dreamed of getting a house with some acreage so the boys can play in the yard and not have to worry about crazy Jetta drivers (no offence) that pop out of nowhere. I have just not wanted to go through the hassle of moving. THIS IS THE LAST STRAW. We are going to move.

Wheezy- the 8th Dwarf!!

2008-04-19T16:07:00.000-07:00

Wyatt has been wheezing for 2 months now. Nothing seems to help. He has gone on 2 different routes of antibiotics, had 2 chest x-rays, and 2 swabs for RSV and the flu. We couldn't seem to find anything. So, on Monday the ENT doctor decided to scope his throat to take a look-see. We found out that he has Tracheomalacia. Which means he has a 'floppy airway.' When he breathes his trachea colapses. Really the only thing we can do is give it time and he will grow out of it in about a year to a year and a half. Until then, he Wheezy, the 8th dwarf.

(This is from Monday when he had his scope.)

Star light, Star bright....

2008-04-12T10:11:00.000-07:00

So, ever since Wyatt was born Aaron has been waking up in the middle of the night and coming into bed with us. Since we are always so exhausted we either 1. didn't care and go right back to sleep or 2. so asleep that we didn't even know he came in. Well, one week ago yesterday we decided that this has got to stop. So anytime he came out of his room before he fell asleep we'd redirect him back in. We did this about 100 times a night until he fell asleep. When he did wake up and walked into our room we'd put him back in his bed. There were some tantrums at 1:30 am. Then we went to Seattle and all that went out the window. We came back into town on Wednesday night. Did that whole process, but Charlie and I went downstairs before Aaron fell asleep. We heard his thumping around, but nothing abnormal. At 9:30pm we decided to go to bed and went up stairs to our room and this is what we found......... He had made a fort out of pillows on our bed and fell asleep. We still put him in his bed and guess what? He slept all the way til 7:00am in his bed. It was the best night sleep in a long time. And, he's been doing it still. Someone once said to me that consistancy works, but takes patience. I now believe them! It does take lots and lots of patience!! I just thought I would share this story to everyone who knows that patience is definately a virtue!!!

Seizure Free

2008-04-12T07:44:00.000-07:00

We had to take Wyatt up to Children's in Seattle for follow up appointments this week. He had and EEG and a Neurology appointment. We found out that he's not having and seizures and he has no brain injury as we suspected before. He just keeps blowing all tests out of the water. He is truly a miracle baby. Maybe even has some super powers ;).. If you've never seen an EEG, it's pretty crazy. There's like 30 wires they have to stick to your head with gummy stuff. Then all those wires can read brain function. It's amazing what can be done these days!!

Sleepless in Seattle

2008-04-11T23:26:00.000-07:00

In Seattle inbetween Wyatt's appointments we took Aaron to the Experience Music Project and the Space Needle. He had a great time looking at all the guitars. All he could say was "Look mama, Guitar Hero." He had a great time. Then he got to actually play a guitar and drums. He had more fun on the drums (go figure) then the guitar. I could barely peel him away from the drums.

The Space Needle was fun. At first you ride this rickety, old elevator that has glass windows so you can see outside, all the way to the top. Aaron wasn't so sure about that. Once he got to the top he had a good time. He even went outside and wanted to look down. Nothing scares this kid.

Happy (belated) Anniversary and Birthday Charlie

2008-03-30T13:59:00.000-07:00

So I have been really sick recently, as you can see with all the blogs dated today. However, I couldn't let my anniversary and Charlie's birthday slip by without a little something posted. We celebrated our 5 year anniversary on March 15. It wasn't the typical anniversay. We were planning to go to Spokane for Cassidy's birthday (Charlie's neice) on Saturday for the party and then Charlie's sister was going to watch the boys for the evening so we could go celebrate. Well, at 3:30am Aaron climbed into bed with us and said 'My tummy hurts," and proceded to throw up. Oh yes in the bed and all in the bathroom. So, with Aaron having the stomach flu we cancelled the Spokane trip. We ordered Outback. Charlie went and picked it up and surprised me with the iPod Touch. LOVE IT!!! We put the boys to bed and had a carpet picnic beside our fireplace. So, all in all it turned out pretty good. And for Charlie's birthday. Charlie turned 33 on March 24. He's a old man...haha. Just kidding. We ended up celebrating his birthday 2 days late. We had Chinese take out from his favorite place and a DQ ice cream cake. YUM!!! He hasn't decided on a present yet, but I'll keep you posted!

Here Come the Monster Trucks

2008-03-30T13:31:00.000-07:00

We have been waiting and waiting for monster trucks to come to our area to take Aaron and finally last Saturday they did. Aaron had SOOOO much fun. Charlie took him and he said that Aaron didn't sit down the entire time. I was kind of nervous at first because of how noisey the trucks can be, but Aaron didn't seem to care. He even got to ride in the back to one during half time. He was on cloud 9 for days.

And he even fell asleep on the way home. That NEVER happens. He was all tuckered out!

Happy Easter!

2008-03-30T13:22:00.000-07:00

The daycare that the boys go to had an Easter Egg hunt on the Saturday before Easter. Aaron had a great time and was picking up every egg in sight. Since I had to work the entire weekend my work let me walk over the the center and watch the hunt. It was lot's of fun. Although Aaron did not want to take a picture with the Easter bunny. Maybe next year.

Solid food boy

2008-03-30T13:03:00.000-07:00

So I finally decided to try solid food with Wyatt a week ago and he was like 'why haven't you done this sooner mom?' "Can't you tell I'm starving to death on the bottle alone?' (yeah right!)

He loves his vegetables and fruits. Hope it will last.

And then Aaron got jealous of Wyatt's attention and had to climb in brother's chair. Needless to say he got attention, not the kind he was thinking, but he got it.

Let the parties begin

2008-03-17T16:33:00.000-07:00

Aaron has a few friends from school that he just loves to play with are they are so close in age. One of them, Andrew, had his party a few weeks ago at Chuck E. Cheeses and they had a great time. We could hardly peel him away from the games. The best part is was that there was no clean up. Hmmm maybe I should think about that for future parties!!!

Hot Blooded

2008-02-29T15:55:00.000-08:00

We found out yesterday that Wyatt is making his own blood now and is no longer anemic! His blood count was completely normal. This is a huge step for him since he has had 2 blood transfusions since birth. We were worried that he'd battle anemia for a long time. Way to go Wyatt!!!!

Aaron's Surgery

2008-02-29T15:22:00.000-08:00

Aaron's surgery went really well. We showed up at the surgery center at 6:45am. He was pretty grumpy and didn't want to put on the gown. He wanted his Cars pajamas. Even though they gave him Versed, which is suppost to relax you, they had to wheel him off in his undies. The tube placement only took 10 minutes tops and we were home by 8am. It was amazing. He recovered very well and was playing on his playground by 9am. He is already starting to talk better. More people can understand him besides me. He is even napping for me again. YEAH!!! I should have pushed for this a long time ago.

Aaron's gettin' tubes!

2008-02-14T10:24:00.000-08:00

Aaron had an appointment with an ENT doctor yesterday due his chronic ear infection since Thanksgiving. He decided since it hasn't cleared up with 3 sets of antibiotics that it probably won't clear up on its own. So, tubes it is. He goes in on Monday Feb. 25. I hope this helps his ears!! Poor punkin!

Wyatt Lewis Irving

2008-02-06T13:42:00.000-08:00

As I said before, Wyatt is our miracle boy. He was born at 1:03pm October 24, 2007. Here's the story. I went into the hospital that day at about 12:20pm, because I wasn't feeling him move. I just though that I was being that nerotic pregnant mom. I didn't even tell my husband that I was going in. When I got hooked up to the monitors he had a heart rate in the 120's. Within 5-7 minutes of being watched his heart stopped. They rushed me to the OR and took him by C-section. I was still in the shirt I came in with and had no IV. They popped an IV in and just dropped me with anesthesia. It took the doctors 2minutes to get him out from the time I hit the OR room doors. It was amazing. Since he had no heart rate at birth he was considered stillborn. They were able to recessitate him. We found out later that he had bled back into me through the umbillical cord over 50% of his blood supply. The NICU doctor had just been to a conference about inducing hypothemia on trauma babies. He actually chilled Wyatt and shipped him to Children's in Seattle. He saved his life. Now, Wyatt is a normal 3 month old baby boy. He smiles and coos. It's the cutest sound in the world.

Aaron Jacob

2008-02-06T13:35:00.000-08:00

Aaron keeps us going. He has so much energy and always keeps us smiling. He's 3 years old and going on 16. He was born October 13, 2004. Our boys are exactly 3 years and 11 days apart. Aaron always amazes me everyday with all the new things he does or says. He has been battling an ear infection since Thanksgiving. He goes Feburary 13 to a ENT MD and hopefully will get tubes in his ears.

Cousin Gavin

2008-02-05T13:32:00.001-08:00

My sister and family came up from Southern Utah after Christmas to see the new addition to our family. Aaron just adores his older cousin Gavin and still asks to this day if Gavin can come over and play. I wish we lived closer!!!

Christmas '07

2008-02-05T13:12:00.000-08:00

Aaron loves the movie 'Cars.' So for Christmas between Mom, Dad, and both Grandma's he got every 'Cars' toy imaginable. I thought that getting a backpack to keep them all in would help to keep them off the floor. I was wrong. He just dumps the whole backpack on the floor spilling them everywhere. I guess it was the thought that counts, right?

Birth Announcement

2008-02-05T12:52:00.000-08:00

I never got around to sending Wyatt's birth announcement out. Bad mom. So I thought I would post it to redeem some mom points.