Nash turns FIVE!

Holy cow. I have a FIVE year old!? How did that happen?!

Nash feels very grown up and gosh dang, he kind of is.

He went to the doctor for his well visit and he is doing so amazing. Our doctor is the best too. He always likes to take me back to the day he met us right after nash was born. Nash was 4 lbs and 4+ weeks early. He had such horrible colic, and reflux. He couldnt latch and so I pumped and pumped some more. My life revolved around making food for nash and feeding him. Slowly Nash gained weight. Then he was allergic to my breastmilk and it was too hard to keep pumping. He ended up on hospital grade formula $$$. Through this all, Nash kept growing. I taught him sign language. He excelled verbally. He kept growing. Doctor Guthrie always praises both me and nash when we see him and I could just cry every time. I feel complete validation that I did EVERYTHING I could.

Nash now is in the 70th (ish) percentile for Height and 43rd for weight. He is hitting about 49% for his head. We were told that he basically was perfect. I would have to agree.

He is still pretty skinny. He needs 4T shorts still, but because of how tall he is he has to have 5T Jeans (with a pull waist) and he has graduated to 4/5 (xs) shirts in the big kids section. He still has trouble with his bowels and so he gets Miralax to help about 1 time a week. He graduated from his preschool class last week and HAS LEARNED SO MUCH! He has been struggling with cutting things out, but is doing so much better. He knows his letters and numbers, loves to count and is starting to sound out words! I signed him up for kindergarten back in January and he will start at Franklin East in August! He has another season of swim lessons starting in May with Miss Jennifer and hopefully he will learn to master floating and diving. He does really well with swimming himself. His favorite character on Mario is Luigi, his favorite ninja turtle is Donatello, his favorite super hero is Iron Man. His favorite color is Red. His favorite animal is a Lion and "sea animal" is a Shark or Alligator. His favorite stuffed animal is still his "pinkie baby" kitty cat. His favorite sport is baseball or kicking a soccer ball. He loves being at Grandma and Papa's house. He builds with Legos and still loves shooting Nerf guns everywhere. He LOVES to copy his cousin Corbin. He misses his cousins Jane and Sammi in California. He loves cars (hot wheels) and his train table still. He loves being outside with other people. He gets bored real quick by himself. He's been asking for a sibling for about 6 months--hopefully we can give him good news about that sooner than later. He has the best little singing voice and has a natural talent for music and especially for matching pitch. He has some friends in the neighborhood that he loves to play with--Shawn Kerrigan, Calvin Montague, Mason Davis, Brody Brooks, and Jeddy Hewson.

Nash loves doing family dates with momma and dad. He loves going to "cat fats" for glo-golf and arcade games. He LOVES pizza--still his favorite food. Strawberries and Apples are his go to snacks. He finally is starting to eat other things, its been a LONG road to get to this point. HA! He especially loves getting to go to restaurants. He likes to pick Applebees, Olive Garden, and Barros--and he keeps asking to go to a buffet. So funny.

He still loves to read (or rather be read to), and we got the N64 up and running and now he loves to play family games like Mario Party or Mario Cart.

We sure love our Nash man and cant imagine our life without him. He's our little miracle!!!

December 2016 and Christmas 2016

We had a hectic December. We were so so so busy with work that it was hard to find time to do all that I wanted us to.

I got my beautiful tree up a few days after Thanksgiving and we got started on our lights. Jace was working more and so it felt like it took forever, but once we did get them up we were so happy!! Nash especially.

Anytime Nash saw Christmas lights he exclaimed "CHRISTMAS!!!!!!" His enthusiasm helped get us in the spirit.

Lights were a bit slow go-ing at our house since I was the main person doing them and I was working a ton. Nash had been terrified of my parent's halloween and thanksgiving blowups, so we thought we'd let him pick out our blow up and maybe he would love it. Well, he did love it, but he was also terrified of it. Good grief little boy!

My neighbor gifts this year!! I saw all of this soap on sale at Frys and knew this would be something fun and easy to give! I loved it!!

I bought new metallic wrapping paper this year and basically fell in love with my packages.

My house all done on the outside!! Next year we'll have bushes under the windows and a few more lights in the tree, but I think we've nailed it! It was the most lit house on the street!

Our Card this year. I took our family pictures once again and once again i was super stressed out. Maybe we'll have a cute one of us taken randomly during the year where there isnt any stress and use that for next years card!!

Nash has been so fun this Holiday season. I worked REALLY hard with him to say Merry Christmas to everyone as we left somewhere. I made him watch all the fun Christmas movies (grinch, smurfs, Rudolf, alvin and the chipmunks, night before christmas, he-man she-ra christmas, frosty the snowman, and a few others I grew up with, as well as Elf and White Christmas). He never wanted to watch them, but would sit enthralled during the show and then ask to watch them over and over, especially Grinch.

He and I read Christmas books all December and we sang Christmas songs everyday in the car, and in the bath especially. He learned Jingle Bells, Frosty the Snowman, and Rudolf and sings them everyday.

Speaking of singing, in December, Nash started singing when he woke up which told me he was ready to get out of bed. It was so much nicer than him yelling "momma! rescue me!" Ha!

I finally got him to see Santa. He didnt really care about seeing him....he cared about going on the "roller coaster" (aka the merry go round). :)

We held our Christmas Party (of course I didnt take ANY pictures!) and my house has NEVER been so clean. Not since we moved in. I spent 2 solid weeks decorating and cleaning to get it ready. It was fun to have people over to our home. Other than family, we havent had anyone to our home in almost 2 years of living here!! So crazy.

Out of everyone in my family, we were the only 3 (plus my mom) to not get sick! It was a bummer for everyone and we had to be really careful with Randy, but it was nice to not be sick on Christmas this year.

Christmas Eve and Day were different for us--Jace's family were all up in Flagstaff and so we had lazy days!! IT WAS SO NICE!! There was no stress and no rush. I loved it. We celebrated Melanie's birthday on the 24th and then had our family program--jace and I sung Christmas Hallelujiah again, joe sung oh holy night, we all sang starbright, melanie performed her poem, and the kids sung jingle bells. Then they opened their Christmas eve gifts from gamma and papa and jammies from moms and dads.

Since Christmas was on a Sunday this year, we decided to do our Christmas breakfast for dinner (jeff and melanie had 830 church). So we woke up, opened presents, watched a show, went to church, napped, and then I made fresh squeezed OJ and homemade biscuits! (They came out so good!) Went to mom and dads and had brinner and then opened gifts. Went home happy and tired and grateful for a great Christmas!

Mr and Mrs Santa Claus as we finished putting together Nash's Christmas!

Santa left Nash a tool bench with tools and a Swing car. He basically didnt care about anything else.

Jace's favorite movie apparently. After 7 years he has changed his mind on that multiple times. LOL so I made sure to get the "latest" in his favorite movie lineup.

Lightsaber Chopsticks. I couldnt not.

A leaf blower!! Our yard is always messy because Jace hates sweeping after he mows the lawn! Now he doesnt have to sweep and I have a nice looking yard! Win win!!

Believe me...he was stoked about those cars.

And his own gun! Too bad the trigger is a little hard for his 3 year old fingers to pull.

All day Christmas and everyday since. That boy loves his cars.

I picked out a new flash for my camera--thanks santa ;)

Jace surprised me with my gift. Last year my IPOD got stolen (super sad since it was one my parent gave me in the early 2000s that was engraved! and it had all my favorite music on it) and its been a bummer. He found a refurbished one--and redownloaded all my previous music (most of it anyways-- thank goodness for Itunes and still being on our old computer!!) I was not expecting it!

Always.

He finally put down his other cars and his tools long enough to play on his car. He couldnt figure it out for awhile...but after 2 weeks he started cruising all over the house! He calls it his "Mario Cart".

We have spent alot of time together--Jace had PTO for the last week of December and first week of January and so I took time off work too. We've done alot of playing and resting, watching movies, going to the park, and organizing our house!

We took down our lights and tree today on January 2nd and Nash is completely distraught. He started quoting the grinch who stole christmas to me as I took down the tree!! and when he saw us packing up the blowups and lights he said "why are you taking my christmas!!!???"

Its been a great and busy end to 2016 and we are really excited for 2017 and the plethora of things we hope to happen and accomplish this next year!!

Lifted

Today was a long day...on the tail end of a very long week.

It was kind of a recipe for disaster. Complete grumpiness on my part.

I havent been sleeping since Nash has been sick and he hasnt been sleeping.

I didnt know it at the time, but I was fighting that same illness.

Jace wasnt home much with work.

My brother is still in the hospital (6.5 weeks!)

And I am BUSY with work.

I had a very early newborn shoot, with one right after, with a hair appointment right after that and then a 2 hour break and then a maternity shoot tonight.

I love doing newborn sessions. I love to snuggle and hug those little babies, and give moms a little break :) I love how the pictures come out. But they are pretty physically taxing on me. Lots of up and down, and weird angles and the HEAT from a space heater!

In my "down time" waiting to go to the maternity shoot, i realized I was in a BAD mood. I was grumpy and tired, and angry. I have no idea what I was angry about even! I left in a bad way.

While in the car, I prayed to my Heavenly Father. I asked him to help me feel better, and to have a better attitude. I asked him to help me be inspired so i could deliver a great session for these soon to be parents.

And you know what?

Literally as soon as I stepped out of my car...the weight fell off. The negativity, the anger, the tiredness even. I physically felt my spirit be lifted. And I wanted to cry.

I have such gratitude to my Heavenly Father for listening to my prayers. Its such a wonderful reminder that He is so mindful of us--all of us. Even for silly things like to be in a better mood :)

Here is a picture from the shoot tonight...I love it because its now a reminder of Heavenly Fathers love for us all.

God's timing

My oldest brother Randy has been in the ICU for over 3 weeks.

The last I had written here on my blog was that his kidneys seemed to be shutting down.

When we got the news that Randy might have to go on dialysis and that would probably mean that Randy's time here on Earth would be coming to an end, I dropped to my knees and started pleading with Heavenly Father to make Randy well enough to stay with us. 

I have to say, I dont know what I would do without my Heavenly Father. I truly believe that He hears our prayers. He listens, He cares. 

Others who love us and Randy started praying for him. Clients of mine that I am friends with now, were sending me their love and prayers for him. We had a cousin who immediately said his family would fast and pray for Randy. 

My brothers and I loaded up and went to the hospital to spend some time as our original family of 6 there in ICU. The boys gave Randy a Priesthood blessing. It was nice to be there all together, even though it was in a tiny, cramped ICU room in very scary and unfortunate circumstances.

Randy's kidneys started working better the next day and he did not have to go on dialysis.

Then Randy went through a roller coaster of health issues. One day his breathing was a bit better and they lowered his oxygen down and were talking about taking out his breathing tube. The next day they cranked his oxygen back up since he was having trouble breathing and then he spiked a 104 degree fever! This poor guy.

Sidenote: my mom (mostly) has spent all day and night, EVERY DAY AND NIGHT at the hospital on a horrible little chair that you sit up in. She has been amazing.

Well, since Randy's breathing was still so bad, they decided that they needed to do a tracheotomy. :( That is a forever decision, however, it might help us in the future with problems such as colds or pneumonia. So he had the surgery. With that comes a whole new set of obstacles. He has always been total care, but this is so much more involved. If Randy got well enough to leave ICU he was going to need to be transferred to a rehab facility where my parents would learn how to take care of him and his trach. My mother went to tour one, one day. Not only do they not cater to total care special needs individuals, they dont have physicians oversee them everyday, and they dont allow anyone to spend the night. That obviously wouldnt work for us. 

There was a program there in the hospital that Randy is currently in. And it seems to be the best solution. Randy's doctors would come in everyday and monitor his care. He would be right there in the hospital if something were to happen or go wrong. And one of our family can be in the room with him. But the insurance required 21 days in the hospital and on a ventilator before he could qualify. Well, wouldnt you know, Randy just so happened to be on a ventilator and in ICU for 3 weeks and a couple days. He now qualified.

God's timing you guys. What if, all of this, went on just long enough to get Randy into the correct program to help him have the best care? 

Well, I dont question 'what if'...because I KNOW that Heavenly Father is looking out for Randy.

As of yesterday, Randy has been moved to that facility there in the hospital. He is out of ICU!! He is still on the ventilator, and I have no idea how long he will be in there before he can come home, but they have taken the next step!! Hopefully soon, we can get him and my mom home for good and settle into our new 'normal'. 

We sure miss him.

Thank you everyone who has reached out, expressed love and concern, and especially offering up prayers on our behalf. We have felt them. 

Nash is 2!!

My baby is two. TWO!! How did that happen??!!!!?!?!??? How did I let that happen!??!?!

Nash is so fun. This is a hard age for sure, because he WANTS to be independent with alot of things, but he's still too small so he needs help...which he DOESNT WANT. Ha! Its a battle everyday.

But on the other hand, he makes me laugh so much. He talks so well and is saying full sentences. He quotes his favorite parts of shows and movies. He has FAVORITES. I mean, like looking at me like I'm crazy when I suggest something else! He loves to explore, which causes me to get up, out and explore with him. Its been awesome. 

Some Nash facts for you:

Nash still chooses the red and blue colored toys or books over other ones.

He is FREAKING HEAVY AND TALL!!! He is skinny, so all the weight must come from his height.

Nash is wearing some 18 month pants still because hes so skinny, but they are highwaters on him. 24 month onsies and feetsie jammies are getting to be too tight. He wears 2T and 3T tshirts. 

Nash is in size 6 diapers.

Nash officially weaned off bottles in 2 days at the beginning of March. It was basically nothing for him. Now the trick will be to wean him off milk. I was going to, but had enough on my plate and that was a battle that I didnt have time to tackle at that moment.

Nash LOVES the outside. He would live out there if it wasnt: a) 90 degrees already b) so sunny that his super sensitive skin burned so easily and c) both a and b. HA! We do spend a few hours every day over the course of the day outside. He loves to go up the ladder and down the slide by himself 1000xs. He loves to jump on the tramp and chase balls around. He loves bubbles and watching airplanes. He would spend all his time running around grandma and papas yard since the grass is so nice and soft...we'll have to work on ours to get it nicer.

Nash LOVES the water. He LOVES bath time. He pretty much always has except for a few weeks this winter where he literally freaked out anytime the water turned on. It was so weird. But he loves to float and pretend he is a fishy. I took him to the splash pad the week before his birthday and basically he was in heaven. I cant wait for it to warm up my parents pool so we can hang out in the water all the time!! (I might even get tan this year!)

Nash loves all animals. I've yet to have him meet an animal that he doesnt like. However since we dont own any, he is very timid to go up to one. He knows tons of animals and what sounds they make.

Nash loves music. He loves to listen to soft piano as he goes to sleep, and fun dance music while we clean the house. He loves to listen to daddy play "tar" and we now have a piano that does fun beats that he loves to turn on and stomp around to everyday. He has recently started singing along with his favorite songs on his kids app on my phone, or to his favorite shows, or even while we sing songs in the bathtub. He LOVE singing time in nursery.

Speaking of nursery, Nash loves nursery!! He never has a problem without me there (unless he doesnt feel good). It helps alot that our dear friend and "aunt" Renay is his teacher and he just adores her.

Nash is sleeping better, but still wakes up at LEAST once a night. That certainly is getting old, but I think we're growing out of it. His napping is hit and miss. He is a schedule kid. If we get off his routine the naps suffer...which means everyone suffers. 

He LOVES people!! Nash will be the first person to wave and say hi to you. It helps that he is so cute, people cant resist swarming him. 

He is my work buddy. Nash helps me when we are out shopping by picking between 2 things that I like. He also will sit on my lap and help me edit photos for my clients. 

Nash loves his cousin Jane and thinks she is hilarious. We have recently started doing friday play dates with his cousins Alaric and Ryker. I hope they are learning how to all be friends.

Some nash quotes so I dont forget:

"whatcha doo-ning?" (whatcha doing?)

"play nano" (play the piano)

"oh bebe" (oh phoebe)

"oh no. tebbible" (oh no! thats terrible!)

"hi son!"...what he says to jace when jace comes home from work

"um mebby button?" (asking where my belly button is)

"moterkycle!" (motorcycle! his new trike that he got for his birthday)

"Minnie show" (wants to watch the Minnie Bow Show from Mickey mouse clubhouse)

"Soup" (that is the Rocket soup episode in Little Einsteins)

"Goofbot" (there are 2 episodes that have goofbot in them in mickey mouse clubhouse)

"step way, wiggle!" (step this way, step that way, turn and wiggle wiggle wiggle!-donald duck)

"tamp!" (trampoline)

"yadder and yide!" (ladder and slide!)

"here go, here go, now!" (i made up a song to keep him occupied in the car. "here we go, here we go, here we go, now!")

"garsh"--he copies Goofy and then scratches his head with one finger like goofy does too.

....well thats all I can think of right now. He is always talking, and most of the time is adorable and funny.

I'll do a separate post for just pictures from his special day(s). I wanted to do an ode to Nash on here though. 

Nash, you are the light of my life. You are the reason I keep going through it all. I call you my own personal sunshine. You help keep the gray skies at bay. And you do it all, just by being you. By being my son. Which is a miracle. YOU are a miracle. You are MY miracle. The Lord blessed me beyond measure by allowing me to be your earthly mother. The love I have for you overflows. My gratitude to you for what you teach me every day knows no bounds. I love you my sweet man. 

Happy Birthday.

Love, Mommy

Easter 2015

This year Easter was interesting.

First, it was General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I love Conference so much...even more so now as a mother. Its also about a zillion times harder to watch and glean things from conference when you have a little one yelling in your ear, pulling your hair, wanting food, needing a diaper change or a nap. But oh so worth it!! Some of my favorite quotes:

Saturday night my older brother ended up needing to go to the hospital. I drove my parents and loaded randy up and dropped them off around 2 AM. They spent the majority of Easter Sunday in the ICU with my brother. My other brother and his family came over, finished conference, went and saw mine and jaces new house! :), took some Easter pictures of the kids, and then I made French toast for dinner. It was sad that Randy and my parents weren't home for most of the day, but when they come home we'll get to watch conference over with them and talk about all the great things we learned.

 I know that my Redeemer lives!!

Now enjoy pictures of our cute kids....