Christmas 2011

We had a pretty relaxing Christmas this year and some firsts.  It was the first time that we went to someone else's house on Christmas Day.  With the birth of Sydney, we were happy to travel to Brandon and Erika's house and enjoy a 3-day-old baby, our entire family, and an awesome meal prepared by Erika's parents.  

We had church early on Christmas morning, which was nice because it allowed us to stretch out the gift opening and enjoy the day.  Santa stuck with some pretty traditional gifts this year--a scooter, a doll, a bike, a remote control helicopter and some ice skates made for some pretty happy kids.  The girls have taken a real liking to ice skating, so having their own skates was exciting.  I've now taken them ice skating three times and decided that getting older has its privileges--I can sit on the side with a good book and let them skate!  I did try it once and didn't die, so I guess that's a good sign.  

I surprised Doug and got him a gift certificate for Lasik eye surgery and some non-prescription sunglasses.  He is ready to ditch his glasses once and for all!

It has been great having Bennett home for a month, so we got to enjoy a lot of time with him and will be sad to see him go back to Tulsa on Cooper's birthday (is is possible that he's really almost 14?).  

Wireless microphones from Papa

Kaiya and her gym buddy, Evelyn

No fear!

Two Christmas miracles!

I cannot remember a time in my life that I have been so overcome with emotion for other people than I have been for the last 2 weeks.  On December 16th, just as Doug and Cooper were getting in the car to head to Utah for a quick visit (and the USU bowl game), we got the call that my nephew was about to get a heart!  Doug and Cooper made it to the hospital before they took him to surgery and were able to see him.  What a blessing!  I am happy to report that Spencer is HOME as of the time of this post.  He came home on New Year's Day, exactly three months after he went in.  It's hard to wrap my mind around all that happened in that time frame.  

Just 86 hours after transplant!

Doug and Cooper were able to go to the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl with Doug's dad and all of his brothers and they had a great time.  I love that my boys have been able to take two trips now to be with them and have fun.  It's memories for Cooper for a lifetime.

On the blue turf

Just 6 days after Spencer got a new heart, we welcomed a new baby into our family.  Sydney Nicole was born on Dec. 22nd at 6:12 pm weighing 8 lbs 3oz.  She is perfect in every way and we can't get enough of her.  I've made more trips to Greeley in the last 2 weeks that I have in a long time.  It's worth it just to hold her for even a moment.  It's also pretty fun seeing my little brother being a daddy!

Proud parents

Pretty excited it's a girl!

Just an hour old

Better than any Christmas present

So awesome that Uncle B was home!

I could stare at this photo ALL DAY!

When we're not in Greeley, we've been busy this holiday break doing fun stuff.  The girls have a new found love for ice skating and we've been twice to do that.  Kinley also got to get her ears pierced because she FINALLY quit sucking her thumb once and for all.  Socks, duct tape and the nastiest tasting stuff on her thumb did the trick.

A little nervous

Ta-da!

Telling Santa what's on their list (and Kaiya being a really good sport!)

Miss Martha May in her debut

After 3 months of practice and rehearsals, Kinley finally got her big moment on stage.  She decided she wanted to give acting and singing a try and so we enrolled her in a children's theater group that is put together by a member of our church (and fellow Utah State graduate!).  They performed the classic Dr. Seuss story of How the Grinch Stole Christmas.  Kinley got a pretty big part and she practiced hard every week.  I didn't know she had a singing solo part until about a month into it, but she was super excited.  She memorized all of her lines with ease and had absolutely no stage fright (not surprising if you know her).  The play was over an hour, so I'm just posting her solo.  We were pretty proud of her and I think she's really got the bug to keep going with this acting thing.  I'm just glad to see her trying all kinds of things and finding what she loves.  The quality of the video is not great, but the sound quality is good if you turn up the volume.  Cooper took a tech class in school and learned how to make this into a fun movie.  

A most memorable Thanksgiving

I think I am safe in saying that this Thanksgiving was one our family will never forget. We had planned to go to Utah for the week, but in light of the event's with Spencer, the trip became that much more important.

We left early on Sunday and drove straight to Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City. We made it in 7 hours, which meant that we got there in time to see my niece before she was discharged after having back surgery. Talk about a crappy place for a family reunion! Doug's family now has 26 grandkids and enough medical stories to fill a book. They are all miracles to us and now we need one more miracle!

We didn't stay too long on Sunday, but long enough to say goodbye to my niece and to say hello to Spencer and Doug's sister and husband. Cooper was the only one old enough to actually visit Spencer in his room, so that made it tough. Getting to finally see him and kiss his forehead was so wonderful and he really responded to Cooper, which just melted me. This is one remarkable kid and I say this with no bias. After taking care of hundreds of cardiac kids, this kid is simply amazing! He doesn't complain, he doesn't whine, he does what he is asked and when he is not in a good mood, he simply chooses to not engage. He has his Berlin Heart, a tube in his nose, a PICC line in is arm and oxygen under his nose and yet, you'd never know it. He is totally unfazed by his Berlin--he shows it to people and even knows how to get the alarms to stop when it's kinked. I am still in awe of this little man.

On Monday, Cooper got to spend time at Utah State with my best friend from college shadowing her as she treated the injured and banged up athletes. She is the physical therapist for all athletes and Cooper is thinking he might like to follow in her footsteps or at least to be an athletic trainer. He watched her do some therapy on the underwater treadmill and bumped shoulders with some of the big name football players on campus. It was a great experience for him.

We spent the rest of the week helping with Spencer's sisters and making trips to the hospital. It was nice to finally be the ones pitching in a little. My kids love their cousins, so it was a great week for them. Cooper and I spent about 7 hours at the hospital just the two of us on Tuesday and then we all spent Thanksgiving afternoon there. Tuesday was a little bit of a rough day for Spencer due to nausea, but I think he still really enjoyed Cooper's company. We got to meet his transplant surgeon, which was a very "small world" moment, realizing he trained under Cooper's surgeon. He knew all of Cooper's surgeons and where they were now. He knew the nurse manager who hired me and he was genuinely personable (not a common characteristic in cardiothoracic surgeons!). I had some very emotional moments watching Cooper interact with Spencer.

Cooper's gift to Spencer . . one for him, too.

Reading to Spencer in his room. The kid loves books!

We found out later that while we were there on Tuesday, his team was actually looking at a potential donor heart. It wasn't a perfect fit, so they rejected the offer, but it means he is that close. After 8 weeks in that hospital, it is time! As scary as it is, this kid is ready. He looks so good, his eating has improved, his kidneys are normal and he is going to do great. Every time my phone rings, I jump a little, so I can only imagine what it's like for his parents!

Our Thanksgiving at the hospital was perfect. They reserved a conference room for us and Nancy decorated the tables with homemade placemats and covered the tables with bedsheets. Is that awesome or what? It was just our family, Nancy's family and Doug's parents and the highlight of the afternoon was the smile on Spencer's face. He even asked to be turned around in his wheelchair at one point so he could watch his siblings and cousins play in the room. What a champ!

Our Thanksgiving headquarters inside the hospital

Love this pic! He could barely see over the table, but look at that smile!

He loved watching the kids play

The girls loved the white boards in the room

Before we left on Saturday, we were able to celebrate Doug's mom's 70th birthday with her. Doug's brothers fixed a huge Cajun boil and we enjoyed a little more family and cousin time before we hit the road. It was an emotional week, but I am so glad we were able to go.

Cajun boil!

Grandma turns 70

Kinley and Jess (one of our other family medical miracles, born just shy of 28 weeks)

11 in '11

I have been a blog slacker. Part of it is pure busyness, but part of it was a hope that I could post lots of good news at once. I had it all worked out in my head--I was going to report that my nephew got a heart transplant, Kaiya had a birthday and that she qualified for Level 6 state gymnastics. Well, Kaiya had a birthday, but neither of my other hopes came true.

It was a gut-wrenching gymnastics season for Kaiya. It was a big jump from level 5 to level 6 and the judges even warned us that this level is tough. The judging is picky and the skills are tough. It's the last level in which they all do the same routine. Level 7 becomes her own stuff. She had 5 meets in the last 7 weeks and she just missed qualifying at two of them by tenths of a point. She is crushed, but she also knows that through adversity, she will grow. I offered to switch her to tennis or volleyball, but she won't listen.

I love this shot because her hair seriously glows!

Her favorite event

Floor

Upside down

Her nemesis, the darn beam!

Top finisher on bars at DU

Her birthday was a big success. This was an off year for a party, so the family outing was to see the Broadway show, Lion King. I saw it ten years ago and it was just as amazing this time. It was even more fun to watch my girls' eyes light up. We had dinner at the Olive Garden and then went to the show. It really was a great night. We let her have a couple of her gymnastics friends over the weekend before her birthday for a sleepover and took treats to her class. She has grown into such a beautiful young lady this last year. She maintains A's in school, plays piano, devotes 12+ hours per week to the gym, and has even started babysitting other people's kids. She's also a great big sister and Kinley really looks up to her.

Birthday dinner at Olive Garden

Lion King!

With her teacher, Mrs. Wolfinbarger . . . love her!

Her gym buddies have quickly become her best buddies

No party is complete without a hair salon

So proud of this girl. Through her tears, she gave her teammate a big hug to congratulate her for qualifying. Fortunately, we leave the next day for Utah and as I think about what will face us when we arrive at Primary Children's Medical Center to see Spencer, I am brought back to what's really important right now.

Im looking forward to reporting about our visit next week! Until then, here are some pictures of my beautiful girl.

Loveland Half Marathon

For some reason (OK, likely because a significant birthday is around the corner), I decided to run another half marathon three weeks after the last one I did with my mom.

At mile 2, I pulled my calf muscle (yet another sign of my age) and had to run 11 miles basically limping. Thank goodness for awesome friends who stuck with me the whole way. I couldn't walk for a few days after that, but it was still worth it.

The weather was so nice and it was awesome to be able to run with friends. Some of the group ran the 10K and some ran the 1/2 marathon. Other than the pain, it really was a great day!

Before the race

About to cross the finish line

The three of us ran every step together

The whole crew of pink ladies

Glad to be done!

Happy Halloween!

With each year that passes, I realize that my days of little ones trick-or-treating are nearly gone. So sad! My girls still get pretty excited about the big day, however, and this year was no exception. They had a hard time picking a costume, but I think they turned out pretty cute! I put on lots of make-up on Kaiya and when my dad saw her, I about gave him a heart attack. Let's just say that make-up on her pale skin makes really shows up.

Cutest bumble bee

The bee and the vampiress

I love the tradition at the elementary school of a Halloween breakfast. I was able to go to both girls' classrooms and enjoy that time with them. Kaiya also had a Halloween-themed piano recital.

Now that's what I call breakfast!

Kaiya's Halloween piano recital

Cooper decided for the first time in his life to go as a fictional character. Took him 13 years, but he finally decided to go for it. He was Buzz Lightyear and he got quite a few laughs. It doubled as Doug's costume as well, so it was a real bonus.

The weather was so gorgeous that night that they were out for a long time. We got to hit the streets with friends, so it really was a nice night.

Ready to hit the streets

The annual post trick-or-treat candy trade