We have internet again.  Yay!  Since Alex was scheduled for surgery on December 10th and we wouldn't be able to go up North to my parents house for Christmas, we headed to Roy early.  It was fun to visit, but the kids were very disappointed that all the snow had melted.

Unfortunately when Alex called to make sure everything was set for his surgery which was planned as a bone graft (a bone from a cadaver grafted into his knee).  Three days before the surgery there was no cadaver bone that would fit the circumference of his knee.  So workman's Comp finally okay-ed the surgery that Dr. Perry and Alex had originally wanted but that workman's comp wouldn't originally pay for since it is somewhat experimental.

Basically the bone is scrapped clean then a mixture of gel and stem cells would be layered in the hole where his cartelidge (spelling?) had broken off. Well all that went well, it was the aftermath that proved to be difficult.   After the doctor finished the procedure I waited for over an hour and a half before I could go in and see him because, according to the nurse they were still trying to get his pain under control.  I didn't understand why they wouldn't let me go see him.  And apparently he was asking for me.

He was in so much pain when he came out of the anastesia they just kept giving him more drugs.  He was so delirious with pain and morphine that he kept asking the nurse if he could see his wife.  "Can I see my wife?  My wife is hot.  Have you seen my hot wife?  Can I please see my hot wife?"  So cute, but very sad.

Finally they rolled him out still in pain, but not terribly.  The next three days were a blur of sleepless nights, lots of ice and a couple calls to the doctor.  Turns out the trick to relieve his pain was a muscle relaxer. If that weren't enough poor Miah had been struggling with an ear infection that kept coming back despite antibiotics. So after her ear drum ruptured a second time I turned to a more homeopathic approach and she seems to be doing much better.

So now that everyone's on the mend and we're all getting a little more sleep things are looking up.  And we're are ready and excited for Christmas and a new year!

Catching Up!

We no longer have internet (well we do through Alex's phone, but how often is he home...thus I have no internet) So  that's why I haven't posted for a while. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!  We are spending thanksgiving at Alex's parents this year.  Actually we just got done eating and it was delicious!

Just to catch up:  Tate is doing great in school.  He loves his teacher Mrs. Massey and all his friends.  He is doing really well and can read small books and is writing sentences.  Tate was a ninja for Halloween (along with his uncle Jeremy :)  I'll post pictures as soon as I can.  He will be turning 6 on Nov. 30th.  I can't believe how big he's getting!

Allie is still our little Allie - drama queen with an attitude one minute and completely adorable and grown up the next.  the other day she had a well child visit to the doctors (she's in the 50% for everything)  and they gave her two shots...she "couldn't walk" for a day and a half!  Seriously.   She absolutely refused,  certain that her "shot leg" was no longer usable.  She loves her brother and sister and preschool.  (Me and a few moms in the neighborhood are doing a joy school type thing twice a week).  Allie, who thinks she needs to be shy, is so proud of herself when she talks in preschool.

Miah is growing so big!  She is 7 1/2 months and since I didn't post her 6 month stats here they are:
weight 18 lbs.     84%
height 28 inches  99%

She has been army crawling for a few weeks and now this last week has been perfecting the actual crawl. She apparently had an ear infection that I can't believe I didn't catch sooner.  In fact I didn't know until her ear drum ruptured!  It was so sad :(  But she's got antibiotics and on the mend.  Miah has stranger anxiety and loves to be with mommy...preferably sitting on or being held by mommy at all times.  We're working on that.  She says ra ra, da da, ma ma, and my my.  I know it sounds crazy but when she sees me and can't get to me she'll say mama.

Alex is great all except for a little problem.  He's going back in for knee surgery on the 10th of December.  This surgery will be much more extensive.  They wanted to do a partial knee replacement, but he talked them into a bone graft instead.  We're nervous and looking forward to it all at the same time.  Nervous for obvious reasons and excited for the chronic pain and limitations to be past us.  He's looking forward to training for the marathon.  He's the secretary in the young men's presidency and working hard on building our business with financial services as well as working real estate.

I'm just busy with three kids.  I volunteer at Tate's school once a week and Allie's preschool.  I'm always working on projects like writing a book, songs, singing and doing never ending laundry.

Sorry that was long and boring,  pictures will be coming soon.

A weekend at the cabin!

We headed to our family cabin over the weekend which is way up in the mountains above Park City.  It was so nice to be up there and away from everything.  And the kids had a blast.  We had a close encounter with the wild life the first night up there when Alex and Allie were almost run over by three stampeding deer!  Seriously! Alex had to grab her before a big buck ran over her.  Then the next morning a huge bull moose was  having breakfast right outside the back door.  We didn't get a good picture though. the rest of the weekend was pretty uneventful except for lots of family coming up to fish, visit and eat!

Of course the first order of business when at the cabin is to go fishing! 

It was so fun to just hang out and have family over for dinner every night.

Alex was in heaven!  Nothing to do but fish all day in such a gorgeous place!  He ended up catching 6 fish and keeping 3.

Cute little Allie was helping Daddy fish by throwing rocks in the river and scaring the fish his way!

Miah loved being outside and going for walks to see the horses!

What a cute little fisherman!

Hi it's me, Miah! I sure am growing up (it makes Mommy a little sad that I'm getting so big) in fact I went to the doctor yesterday for my 4 month appointment, even though I'm actually 4 1/2 months. She said that I weighed 16 lbs. 4 oz. (89%) and that I am 26 inches tall (92%) But Mommy and Daddy always say that they love this chubby baby. Who wouldn't? Mommy says I've gained 4 lbs. in two months. I eat the same amount as other babies my age, it's just that my Mommy's milk is creamy goodness!

I'm not just getting big though, I'm doing big things. Like rolling over and over and over. And I am getting pretty good at sitting up all by myself. I love it when someone talks to me. It makes me smile and laugh. I also think that my big brother and sister are the funniest kids ever. Big brother Tate makes me laugh the hardest when he dances around and makes funny noises.

It doesn't make me happy when I'm gassy though (which still happens a lot). It even makes Mommy fussy! She thinks it might be all that creamy milk so she sometimes gives me yucky soy formula and it does make me not so gassy and spit up as much. (Mommy and Daddy don't like it when I spit up on them, but I think its kind of funny). I'm also learning to sleep in a bed and not in the swing. Mommy thinks its a good idea, but I still want my swing.

Well that's all for now from me, bye.

Miah

Happy Birthday Allie and off to school for Tate!

Tate's first day at Coral Canyon Elementary to met his teacher Ms. Massey. He got to do a treasure hunt around the classroom! He is so excited to start on the 18th. He even said, "Mom, school is going to be so much more fun than playing with friends." What a stud!

Heaven must smell like St. George during a summer rain!

"The leader of the pack"

Allie's Minnie Mouse ice cream cake.

Sunday morning before church opening presents.

I'm a little behind on blogging, but Allie's birthday was on August 1st. She is 3 years old! Time really has flown by. Her birthday was on Sunday and Alex had to be in Salt Lake for a meeting Monday morning so she kind of had a week long party. On Saturday per her request we packed a picnic dinner and went to the splash pad. Then Sunday morning before church we let her open a few presents and sang happy birthday over pancakes. Then Alex was gone on Sunday night to Monday night, but when he got home he brought presents from Grandmas up North that she opened promptly. Then Tuesday we had the "official" birthday party with family down here complete with a Minnie Mouse ice cream cake and the biggest gift of all...a big girl bike with training wheels! She has been practicing everyday and is getting very confident!

Then last night we went to family night as the Washington County Fair. I don't have pictures yet but the kids had a blast! Miah fell asleep a little after nine and slept through everything...what a good baby :) Tate and Allie stood in line for half an hour just to ride the Farris wheel. Tate rode with uncle Jeremy and Allie rode with her daddy. They were grinning from ear to ear! They went on a bunch more rides and I was happy to watch their smiling faces, but Jeremy and Liz (Alex's brother and sister) wanted to go on "spin out" a ride that spins around, upside down, side ways and backwards at dangerously high speeds. Not wanting to seem like a pansy I agreed to go with Alex and everyone on it. It wasn't too bad if you kept your eyes closed and pretended you were just on a giant swing, ignoring the blood rushing from your head to your feet and back again. Needless to say I still feel a little queezy the day after!

That seems to be a good way to end a summer!

Summer Days!

Allie's the only one that was in the mood for a picture apparently. But here are the three amigos!

Cheap labor! Gotta love it! Although I think they ended up getting wetter than most of the dishes. You get what you pay for :)

I've finally given up. I took down the crib in my room and replaced it with the swing. Miah now sleeps in the swing for bed time and all her naps. She was waking up two or three times a night and I would end up getting only a few hours of solid sleep. Yeah, not cool. But in the swing she sleeps between 8 and 10 hours straight. No contest...swing wins!

Tate has been just a busy boy this summer. Riding his bike, swimming, digging in dirt, playing with Nerf guns, and picking up chicks with his power wheel (i.e. cousin Macey, his friend Maesi and his sister Allie). He was so cute and even gave Allie a driving lesson. He's a very patient teacher!

Allie wants to do whatever Tate does and she will let you know it! She has been working a lot on the online preschool and the highest I've heard her count was to 40 but I think the only reason she stopped was because she got tired of counting. She knows all the letter and letter sounds and can work a computer and blue ray player like someone years older than her. And she doesn't turn three for another two weeks!

This is what I found Tate and Allie doing one afternoon! So talented! It's the ABC Jam!

Miah's blessing day! June 27th, blessed by her Daddy Alex in the Coral Canyon 4th ward.

My grandma came from Arkansas for my brothers wedding. A couple kids I know got very spoiled!

At Miah's 2 month doctor's appointment she weighed in at a whopping 12 lbs. She was in the 70th percentile for everything but head circumference. Mommy makes cream, but I think it was probably more thanks to the 4 oz. bottle of soy formula I had to give her every day around 4 p.m. to stave off her nightly colic attack. Every single one of my kids have been colicy and by all accounts it's probably thanks to my super thick and overly rich milk. It's hard for little tummies to digest for the first few months.

Miah is now 3 months old and loves to...

Smile!

Have someone talk to her

Lay on her back and swat at toys hanging down

Watch brother and sister (they are always doing something loud and interesting)

Nap in her swing

Play with Mommy or Daddy

Be held

Take a bath (more especially splash in the bath)

Miah can...

hold her head up when on her tummy

sit up by herself for about 10 seconds. (All by herself! That Buddha belly works good as a kick stand :)

Almost roll over

Miah will not...

Be happy in her car seat :(

Sleep anywhere but the swing for naps

Sleep through the night like she did a few weeks ago

Stop spitting up

Stop being colicy (although now colicy time has moved to between 3 and 6 a.m.)

Take a binky (She'll take one now and then, but over all it's a no go)