Humpty Dumpty Sat On a Wall...

We all know this nursery rhyme right?



Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the kings' horses and all the kings' men
Couldn't put Humpty back together again.


Well, it all started last Friday, the 4th. Friday morning Adam woke up and his day started as usual. He worked out, ate breakfast and started working from home. By about 11:15 he said he wasn't feeling so well. By 12noon he was double over in pain. The day continued on like this and we both thought that maybe he had the flu. The pain got worse and shifted, bad news! About 2:30 Saturday morning he woke me up and I immediately flew out of bed, got dressed and took him to the ER Hospital. They ran tests and initially thought Adam had a case of appendicitis. Great! Easy to fix.


Well, when the tests came back, the good news is he didn't have appendicitis. The horrible news is he had a bowel intussusception. If you think of a telescope collapsing on itself, that's what happened to Adam. This typically happens in children or when there is a blockage of the bowels. It causes severe abdominal pain. We got the results of the CT scan at 4:30 and at 5:45 he was being transferred to a different hospital. By 7:30 the surgeon was talking to him and at 8:15 he was being prepped and wheeled to pre-op. It was at 9:00 he was in surgery to fix the problem. The surgeon took out about 20 inches of bowels (approximately 1/2 small and 1/2 large). The pathology report revealed no blockage or real reason as to why this even happened. In other words, it could be classified as "idiopathic" or a fluke.


After Adam's surgery there was more blood work done. The results of the blood work revealed that 2 liver enzymes were elevated. Everything else is coming back either negative or within normal range. Because everything is normal but these two enzymes, the doctors are stumped and once again it can be considered idiopathic or a fluke. More blood work and more blood work and the enzymes were still elevated. They remain elevated as of this post. We were hopeful to have Adam come home today, but with the enzymes being elevated, there's just no way he can be released. Even though it seems like "they're not doing anything" if something happens and he's not in the hospital, it could be bad news.


Adam feels good, other than being sleep deprived and sore from the surgery. He's frustrated and wants to come home so bad and sleep in his own bed. There's a lot of disappointment happening in not being allowed to come home. I totally understand how he feels. I felt the same way just a short 3 months ago when I couldn't come home when I wanted to after having Howie (another story for another time).


I'll try to keep this updated and let everyone know how he is doing. The kids are missing him BIG TIME and keep asking for daddy, especially at night. I've snuck the kids up a couple of times for them to see their daddy. Because of the H1N1 virus and school back in session, they have limited the floors to visitors older than 12. I understand why they've done this, but it breaks my heart to tell the kids, especially Owen, that he can't go see his daddy. The phone is great, but just not the same. I'm missing Adam terribly and am burning up the highway going between home and the hospital. I'm grateful he's where he needs to be at this point in time and getting the care he needs.


We are so grateful for the prayers, well wishes, good thoughts, meals brought in, kids being watched, and help that we (mainly me) have received from family, great neighbors and even better friends! Thank you to everyone who have helped, thought of helping, or offered to help. Your kindness, service and generosity is so very appreciated.

Howie - 3 Months

I can't believe Howie is just over 3 months old now. Time seems to be slipping by me even faster with this baby and I'm not so sure that I like it too much. Some days I wish I could slow time down and be able to spend more of it with just Howie. Other days, I wish the day would end as soon as I get out of bed and we can move on to the next day. I've looked back at pictures of Owen when he was just 3 months old and it makes me sad. I miss him that small. As a first-time mom, I didn't know what I was doing and those first 6 months slipped by me way too quickly. Then, before I knew it, I was pregnant with Caroline. Because Owen was so small and still needed so much of my help, when Caroline was born, the first 6 months of her life were - and still are - a complete blur to me. I promised myself after Howie was born that I would enjoy this phase of babyhood because I would never again have this in my life. Boy am I ever enjoying this baby! Howie is a great sleeper -12 hours at night plus two 3 hour (minimum) naps per day. When he is awake he is talking more and more and is so happy and smiley - despite the face in the picture below.



I decided that I would take some pictures of Howie this afternoon since the other kids were asleep. I had an entire hour to spend with just Howie - what a novelty! I loved spending that one-on-one time with just him. It seems like whenever I have him in my arms I'm either feeding him or rocking him to sleep. I don't get to spend much time with him awake and by himself as the other two kids are usually awake making demands of me. So, this 1 hour was definitely a treat and I devoured every minute of it. He was very cooperative when the camera came out. He even started cooing and talking to me. I got to hear him giggle and see that sweet smile of his without being distracted by something (or someone) else. It was definitely a highlight to my day.



Owen and especially Caroline look more like me. However, out of the three kids, Howie is the best mixture of Adam and I. From about his nose up, he looks like me. The mouth and chin are more Adam. Although, each day I do see more of Adam coming through in Howie. His nose and eyes will always be me, but there's something about the whole combination that looks more like Adam. He is definitely "a keeper". Each of the kids got Adam's hairline, hands, fingers, feet and toes genes. Adam and I are so incredibly blessed to have 3 beautiful children. They each present their own unique and different challenges on a daily and, sometimes hourly, basis but they are each a blessing in our lives.

California or Bust - Part II

As promised, here are the pictures that I've finally had a chance to pull off the camera. I sooo miss the beaches of California. There's not a whole lot that I miss about Cali, but the beaches are definitely one thing I do miss. To me, there aren't many beaches that top these.

A Long Awaited Visit

My younger sister, Mindy, told me just last week that she and her entire family are planning on coming down here for Halloween since they found a killer deal on airline tickets for all of them. I am so excited to see her as it has been over a year now that I last saw her. I haven't seen my b-i-l and her 3 older kids since last July 4th. I saw Mindy and Mylie last August when my niece got baptized. Since then, nothing! We talk on the phone weekly, sometimes daily, but it's just not the same. She hasn't met Howie and I need to see Mylie again. I can hardly wait for Halloween to roll around. I promise we'll get back up to Idaho next year - this year was complicated with the arrival of Howie. A year's hiatus and we'll be back. Until then, Halloween this year will be highly anticipated.

California or Bust

This past weekend Adam and I took the kids to California to visit with my parents. We left Wednesday night to drive over. The kids did really well in the car - thanks, in part, to me not letting them take a nap before we left. We left about 3:30 and by 4:30, or just on the outskirts of town, they fell asleep in the car - ALL OF THEM! They woke up about 35 minutes before stopping in Blythe. They ate their dinner in the car (I refuse to buy them anything to eat because all they want to do is play when we stop. I'll pack their dinner and they can eat in car.) and then played and slid down the slide at Carl's Jr.

We arrived at my parents' house about 10:15. We got their beds ready and off to dreamland they went. We didn't do much on Thursday because my parents had a brand spanking new a/c and furnace put in. Their a/c went out about 2 years ago and 10 years ago they were told they should look into getting a new furnace. The furnace has worked all of these years and they finally were able to get a new a/c unit. I was in heaven - it was soooo hot and humid while we were there. While Adam ran around town with 1 kid or the other, I managed to clean out my mom's kitchen pantry. I was in serious and desperate need of a cleaning and organization.

Friday, Adam took Caroline and Owen down to the beach. I relaxed in the cool a/c with Howie. We had planned for all of us to go to the beach but when we couldn't find a beach umbrella and I didn't want to put sunscreen on Howie's skin yet, the better option was just for us to remain at home. The kids and Adam had a great time.

Saturday was met with even more relaxation. My dad treated all of us to breakfast and then my mom treated me to a pedicure. I was so in heaven. I'm pretty sure after I got home from my pedicure I even took a nap. Now that's how to spend a Saturday! My brother and his family came over for dinner that night. We caught up with them (hope Kristen is feeling better) and the kids ran and played outside and ate their popsicles.

We drove back yesterday and all of the kids did fabulously in the car- again. Howie slept for the first 3 1/2 hours in the car. He got a little fussy towards the end of the drive, but even I was getting antsy to get out of the car. The other 2 just sat and watched movies the whole way home. They were quite, didn't ask for much except to have their movie changed out. It was an easy shmeasy drive.

I am so grateful that I have parents who want us to come visit them. I am even more grateful for a husband and kids who WANT to go visit my parents. We always have such a great time when we are together. My mom and Adam tease one another and it's fun to see them banter back and forth and watch as one tries to out do the other. I miss them when I'm not around my parents but always, always, always look forward to the next visit.

(As soon as I get the pictures off the camera I'll post them of the kids at the beach).

Potty Talk

About 5 weeks ago I had had it with changing Owen's diaper and decided right then that he was going to start potty training. He's 3 1/2 and totally understands the concept of needing to go when he has the urge. So, over the 4th of July weekend we started this adventure of potty training. There were several accidents and wet pairs of diapers for the first 3 days. Then, I decided that I was done cleaning wet underwear and he was going naked from the waist down. He knew that he wasn't allowed to pee on the carpet or floor. After several false alarms of running to the toilet, he finally had a successful moment. That was it! From that point on he has been using the toilet and I couldn't be happier. I am happy to say that he is 90% of the way there. Now we just need to keep him on the right track with pooping on the potty after his more than successful day yesterday of popping on the potty.

Caroline is very interested in the potty too. In fact, she will go almost on command but is still attached to her diaper - for the moment. I will work on her once we get back from our trip in October. I can hardly wait to go from 3 in diapers to just my baby in diapers. That will be a day I will celebrate with glee!

It's a Dash For the Finish

This year I am trying something I have never done before, nor did I think I would ever do. I am doing a sprint triathlon in the city of Casa Grande. This sprint triathlon consists of a 400m swim, 10 mile bike ride and 3 mile run. I'm terrified of the swim portion - having been a self-taught swimmer. I've never been on a bike for 10 miles and am starting to wonder if my bum is going to be able to handle that distance on a teeny tiny seat. The one leg I'm not worried about one bit is the run. I love to run. Running for me is like escaping to a different world. I get in my own breathing pattern and my thoughts just wander to a place that is all my own. It's so freeing for me. I figure I have nothing to lose but a few more pounds and inches right?! What can this hurt - NOTHING!

Adam is more than supportive of me and thinks I could do it now if I wanted to. I don't think he realizes just how out of shape I am, especially being 3 months post partum and having to lose all of that weight on top of getting back into shape. But, I love how he thinks I can do it. I've got 11 weeks of training to do and it feels so good to be extremely physically active again. I must admit that my inner competitor is coming back out and I love it!

I'll keep the blog up to date on my training (maybe and hopefully) which will also help me track my progress. I've been doing double workouts (a.m. and then p.m. in the same day) and then doing them back-to-back (double workouts several days in a row). I did my first "brick" (2 or 3 of the events in the same workout) on Monday night. Right now, my rest days are Sunday and Tuesday.

Off to the gym to do more running! Yippeeeeee!

I Need Some Privacy Please!

So I've decided to go ahead and make the blog private. If you would like to have access to this and be able to continue to read and see the pictures, please leave me your e-mail address in a comment and I'll add you to the list.

Comparing the Two

Adam and I recently moved the kids around to their respective bedrooms. Owen is now up in the front bedroom (which will continue to serve as the guest bedroom), Caroline is now is what use to be Owen's bedroom and Howie is FINALLY in his crib. The best part about doing all this work is it's done. We don't ever have to move kids around again. Howie will move into Owen's room when he's out of the crib. No big deal. Owen can hardly wait for that day.

Anywho. As I was cleaning out the guest room to make way for all of Owen's stuff, I found a journal I started for Owen. In there were his 2 month stats. At two months, Owen weighed 12 lbs. 11 oz and 23 1/2" long. I took Howie to the doctor about 10 days ago for his two month appointment. Howie's stats at 2 months are 13 lbs. 6 oz and 24" long. I thought Owen was a big boy and he certainly is a big kid for 3 1/2 years old. But if Howie continues down this pace, I won't be able to keep pants on either one of them. Hahahaha - they'll both be the only deacons wearing shorts passing the sacrament because I can't keep up with buying pants for them. Good thing we live in a climate for shorts huh?!

Howie - 6 weeks

Howie has changed so much in the mere 6 weeks he has been in our family. He has always been a really good combination of Owen and Caroline. In the past few weeks, when I've been feeding, bathing, changing, feeding, or just staring at Howie, I've noticed how much he is looking more like Owen. I've compared pictures of when Owen was this age, and Howie and they look very similar. It'll be interesting to see Howie evolve over the next little while to see if he'll change and look more like Owen, or more like Caroline.

My Chocate!

We all know just how much Caroline loves, loves, loves her chocolate. This gene was inherited from my dad who all he ever asked his dad for was a "chocate shake". (Caroline has inherited so many other qualities from my dad that it's scary.) This love of chocate became really apparent the other night when we were eating Drumstick cones for dessert (thanks Becky!). As she was chomping on her cone, Adam got up to check on Owen, who was outside. Caroline quickly moved her cone into the opposite hand and said, "No, no, Daddy! My chocate!" Adam and I laughed as this girl says the funniest things, without trying to be funny or even knowing what she is saying. She's hilarious. Caroline enjoyed every morsel of goodness from this cone. I'm sure Caroline wishes there was an endless supply of chocolate or that it was running through her veins. She lives and dies by chocolate.

Stink Bug and The Keeper

One of my very favorite posses of any baby, but especially my own (hehehehe), is when they are in the "stink bug" position when you pick them up or when they are asleep on their tummies. (Yes, I sleep my kiddos on their tummies during the day, and as soon as they can roll over. They sleep 1000 times better and they don't get flat spots in their perfectly round c-section heads). So, with this being our final baby, I finally grabbed the camera and snapped a few pictures of Howie in the "stink bug position". I'm just sorry I didn't get pictures of all the kids sleeping like this.



Caroline has decided that Howie is a keeper and can stay in the family. Once she shared her toys, especially her coveted fairies, I guess that meant Howie was a-okay. I hope she still feels that way once he becomes mobile and is into everything of hers.