The Zoo

Last Saturday we took a trip to the zoo. Makai is still a little loopy from his surgery the day before, but he seemed much happier to be outside.

We started with the birds. Ezra wanted to feed them so I gave him a quarter and pointed to the machine to get food for them. He looked at the machine, walked right past it and threw my quarter at one of the ducks. Haha. Thankfully there was quite a bit of food still left in the machines and on the deck, so I was able to look past wasting our quarter.

Notice Baby Kai's rosy cheeks? Poor little guy. Ezra was so excited to see all the animals, but he was terrified to go near them. I got some food for him to feed the goats and he just threw it at them. When we were walking away he shouted, "Bye reindeer!!" I just cracked up. He told me that some of them were goats, and some of them were reindeer.

Then we came over to this guy and he said, "OH MY GOODNESS! Look at dat!!" I told him it was a Yak and he said, "yeah, it's a yuck." haha

He LOVED the lions and the tiger the most. We went back to see them 3 times. (the real ones.)

Ezra and Makai loved watching the otters swim. I kept trying to move on and Ezra kept running back to the window to watch them.

Then we were joined by some friends. This is Ezra's adorable little buddy Brennon, whom he calls, Brian, Brendan, Brayden, and occasionally Brennon :)

 We had to go back and visit the reindeer so Brennon could see. Brennon is very brave. He let the goats eat right out of his hands and he was so excited to get to go in to pet them. Ezra wanted to follow, so he fed a couple from his hands and then ventured inside to pet them. I was shocked. Until I saw him back into a corner with a frightened look. That's the Ezra I know.

We had fun and Makai did great. He is such a happy little guy. I don't think there's much at this point that can bring him down.

Our Little Troll

My good friend Amanda (aka Lemon Lips) once told me a story about how long ago God gave mother's so much love for their children that they squeezed them to death. Then he gave them a little less love, but so much that they ate them. And the result is what we now feel for our children. Weird story, yes, but I can totally get the humor from it. I want to squeeze him so tightly and eat that little tummy!

By the way... He's doing much better! The bruising has gone way down. He's still swollen, but better than what it was. I stopped giving him any pain meds Sunday night and he has been perfectly happy without them. He's our tough cookie.

Oh and 4 years ago today James asked me to marry him. This was when my ring almost fell off a cliff, got smeared with mayonnaise and he totally forgot my name.

Stickers

Ezra LOVES stickers. He gets really excited if I give him a pack of stickers to play with. He puts most of them on himself and occassionally some on the paper I asked him to put them on. He usually shares a couple with Makai too. Every time we go to the doctor (which has been a lot lately) he asks begs for not just one, but many stickers. It was the first thing he asked the nurse for when they called us back to prep Makai for surgery.

 I find these "stickers" all over my house; on the mirror, TV, Ezra, and sadly even Makai.

He doesn't even care if they're cool looking, as long as they stick.

Makai's Man Surgery

Makai was born with an undescended testicle. We waited until he was 9 months old and then decided to proceed with surgery to bring it down. They couldn't find it with an ultrasound, so we were sent to Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City to see a specialist. Our doctor at Primary Children's decided to schedule a laparoscopy and orchiopexy. Laparoscopy is when the put a scope into your belly button so they can see around your abdomen. The orchiopexy would only be necessary if they found his testicle. Then they would bring it down if they could. We were scheduled for surgery May 19th.

This is us Thursday morning getting Mr. Mak ready for surgery:

Well, I have a blood disorder called Von Willebrand. I told them about it way before the surgery and the doctor told me not to worry about getting Makai tested. Then he called me the day we were driving down to Salt Lake to ask me about the disorder and why I haven't gotten him tested. Umm...hello? So he said he wasn't comfortable doing the surgery and we'd have to reschedule. We were literally walking out the door and had our hotel booked and everything.

Long story short, I talked him into performing the surgery anyways and just watching him carefully. He said we 'd take some blood tests before surgery and that if anything was abnormal that we'd have to cancel.

On the 19th, I starved my baby and prepared him for surgery. He kept turning to my chest to nurse and I couldn't. It was so sad. They gave him an IV, drew some blood and sat us in the pre-op room. The anesthesiologist started walking us back to the O.R., but right before we handed our baby over he got a page to come back to the pre-op room. That's where the doctor told me that his blood tests were grossly abnormal, so we needed to cancel.

They sent us up to hematology for more tests; including repeating the tests he had gotten earlier that morning. I finally decided to feed him while we were waiting to get the tests. Then after we got the tests we waited some more and more and more.

Long story shorter again: The hematologist came in and said the test they were scared about earlier that morning came back normal and appears to be a probable mistake of the IV team who drew the blood. Oh bother. Cancelled surgery for nothing.

I worked hard and bugged a lot of people and was able to get the doctor to squeeze us in early the next morning. So, we starved him all over again and this time it wasn't all for nothing.

The surgery went well. He was able to find the testicle and bring it down in one day (we were expecting a two-surgery process). The doctor told us it was quite challenging so he wants to see him again soon to make sure everything is okay. He has 4 incisions and is pretty swollen still. It was hard handing him over and even harder seeing him all drugged up afterwards. I couldn't get him to stay awake more than a couple of seconds for the rest of the day. He's in a little bit of pain, but I'm staying on top of his meds, so he's doing okay. He still has somewhat of a raspy voice from the breathing tube, but it's getting better quickly. I actually got him to smile for me today :)

We were all pretty pooped on the drive home having had two long days in the hospital, so we were head bobbing right along with Makai. Thankfully James, who was driving, kept his head up.

I'll keep you updated on how he's healing, but for now we're all sponge baths, pain meds and rest. Thank you to those of you who prayed for our baby love!

Ezra Goes to the Dentist

 Ezra had his first trip to the dentist yesterday. That's right, FIRST. I totally wish I had taken him sooner, but I never knew where to go or even when. I was so happy with the office we chose. It was a pediatric office, so everything was short and miniaturized and totally kid friendly. They had an awesome little clubhouse in the waiting room with a slide and lots of toys. They had TVs on the ceiling. I'm pretty sure we wouldn't have survived with those. Ezzy started with Megamind then he switched to Tangled because that's his favorite movie. He did really well for his first time.

 Until she did the fluoride rinse and spit sucker on him. Not his favorite part.

He was pretty happy when it was over. They gave him a coin to go get a prize out of the machine, a new toothbrush, flossers, toothpaste, and 3 stickers. It was like going to a birthday party!

Losing Ella

When I was 19 I met a family that probably had the greatest effect on my life other than my own. They showed me what marriage can be and how a life filled with the Spirit in every moment is possible. They took me in and loved me as one of their own. They spent their days always in the service of others. One of the daughters, Dacia, was a role model to me. She is always happy and involves herself completely in her family. I haven't seen them in years, but I have always had a great love and admiration for them that I think will stay with me forever. To me, they will always be family.

Last night Dacia's husband and her daughter Ella were in a car accident. Her husband was greatly injured. Ella was killed. I never met her, but because of my love for this family, I loved her. I can't imagine what it would be like to lose a child. What I can imagine of it is the most painful feeling. I am so saddened for this poor, sweet family. Ella was their only girl. I have no doubt that Heavenly Father was surely there to welcome her into his arms and to hold her. I pray that He will also be there to hold her family through this tragic time.

Big Mak Isn't So Big

Makai had his 9 month check up today.

 For being a 9.1 lb baby, he is pretty little. He has slithered his way down to the 4th percentile in weight. He's now a whopping 16.9 lbs. Only a lb and a half more than he was 3 months ago! He grew 2.5 inches in 3 months though bringing him to the 12th percentile for height. My boys are just little. Sorry kiddos. I think at least the height thing is my fault.

(Photo taken by Rose Stanek)

Makai is at my favorite baby age right now. I just love this stage. He's more curious. He's trying to figure things out and he's way more social and fun to play with. He learned to wave about a month ago, but has since replaced that trick with his favorite; clapping. He loves to clap. I love to watch him.

He's trying to crawl, but has only managed to wiggle himself backwards a couple of feet, so it's a work in progress. He likes to "clock crawl" (turns in full circles while on his belly- totally not a real thing- at least not the term).

He loves big kid food and gets mad if I eat in front of him and then try to feed him something mushy instead of my food.

He started giving me kisses. They're super slobbery and leave my cheek almost dripping sometimes, but I can't get enough of em.

He's sleeping SOOO much better. He and Ezra share a room right now, so we're having some trouble with naps and bedtime only because they wake each other up, but overall he sleeps great.

I am completely obsessed with this little guy. I adore him!

Where's Mr. Smiles?

(Because blogger had issues a couple days ago and deleted a couple of my posts, I am recreating them.)

About a month ago my baby Kai got sick. It was the first time he's ever really been sick and it was just so sad. He's normally such a smiley, happy, content baby, but for about two days he was just miserable.

Thankfully it didn't last long and he was soon back to his normal, happy self.

It made me realize how much I rely on those sweet smiles. He is my little squish. I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost those smiles. His eyes brighten my days and those dimples could swallow my heart every time they appear on his chubby, yummy cheeks. I just love my little Makai and I am so thankful for his smiles that remind me each day to find the joy in motherhood and in life.

My Best Friend's Wedding

A couple weeks ago one of my old roommates got married. James wasn't able to make it, but it has been 3 years since I've seen her, so I wasn't going to miss it. The boys and I packed up the car and headed to Salt Lake for the night.

The drive there was fine. Then we went shopping. I almost lost Ezra for the first time, got lost finding parking and ended up being two hours too early, even after wasting time shopping. Then Ezra pooped his pants, spilled water all over the table the second we got into the room and kept falling off his chair. He and Makai kept grabbing everything on the fancy table. The people we were sitting with weren't married and knew the groom, so I kind of felt like a loser. Then Ezzy wouldn't eat his food, so I kept nagging him to eat, so he shoved all his food in his mouth at once and threw up all over himself and the table. After stripping him down to his underwear, we went back to say good-bye and he kept screaming. Then while leaving the parking garage I lost my parking ticket, so I held up traffic while I threw all the contents of my diaper bag on the floor and still didn't find it. That's when I cried. Then I missed the exit trying to find my sister-in-laws. Once we finally got there, I vented a little and went straight to bed. Probably never going to a fancy dinner by myself with two babies again!

This is where she was married.

Even after everything that went wrong, I am glad I was able to see my friend. I sadly didn't get any pictures of her :( So I STOLE this one off of facebook.

(Photo taken by Parker Welch)

 She looked like the most beautiful bride I have ever seen too. If I had to, I would do it all over again just to see her one more time. She is just one of those friends who is totally worth it.

Not to mention that I just really love weddings. James and I went to one of his friends weddings awhile back. I didn't know the bride or the groom and I still cried. I was so embarrassed. Weddings, births, chocolate ... they all get me tearing up.

Pathetic

(Since Blogger had issues and deleted a couple of my posts, I am trying to recreate them.)

Yes, this is James changing a poopy diaper. I mean c'mon! He only has to change like one every other week, MAYBE. Actually, maybe that's the problem ... he just needs to change more. I sort of gave up that fight awhile ago though. Apparently, moms are for wiping poop and dads are for getting them wound up at bed time.

At least he isn't this bad!

My 'Mother's Day'

For Mother's Day James made me breakfast, let me try to take a nap (we live in an apartment complex, naps are difficult), and he gave me a gift card to go to the spa.

He also got me a card.

What's wrong with this picture?

I'll tell ya... He got me the EXACT same card the year before! Hahaha! He even signed it "your stud" each year. I always tell people that our fights are about the same things over and over and over again. Now here's proof that our lives don't really change much as time goes on.

I got my grand spa pedicure last week and loved it! There's nothing more relaxing to me than having clean, pretty-ish feet. Although they wanted to charge an extra $10 for french tip! Ridiculous, right? So, I opted for the free glitter toes instead. Happy feet. I still have money on my gift card, so I'm trying to decide what to get next.

Overall, Mother's Day was great and I'm so happy to be a lady. Kids or no kids, we still deserve chocolates, flowers and pampering.