G-tube Removal

After 3 years as a part of Grant's life, he had his G-tube removed a little over a month ago. This is something that has needed to happen for quite some time now, but I have not been ready to have it out quite yet. He has only used his tube for his meds since March 2008. It has been my security blanket with him for so long, that I had a hard time taking that next step. But in all reality...he is doing SO well with his eating! He has made so many improvements and is still continuing to make more all the time. We are so proud of him and the progress he is making. The procedure was really quick, and we didn't have to stay in the hospital overnight which was a nice surprise. He did really well in the days afterward. Very few problems. He is doing well taking his meds orally, which is a big relief. I just can't wait until it is healed completely. Soon...very soon.

I have been waiting to blog about it because I wanted to do some before and after pictures once he had healed up a bit. It's still not completely healed, but it gives you somewhat of a picture of the before and after.

BEFORE: in all his scrawniness

AFTER:
No G-tube, and still healing.
He's gonna look like he has 2 belly buttons for the rest of his life.

Problem Solved

Since we got Grant's wheelchair a year and a half ago, we have had problems with him dropping his head off to the right side and whacking his head on the frame. While it sounds like it would hurt, he thinks it's funny and has turned it into a game. A game that drives Jeremy and i INSANE! We have tried to resolve the problem quite a few times, and in quite a few different ways, but this week we finally fixed it! I am so excited! We have tried this little "spot" in a different position and it didn't work. But the tech that came out this week is brilliant, and moved the spot to a different position and it did the trick. It kind of looks like a microphone. It's a little bit in the way, but whatever it takes. The only real draw back to having it there is when he's eating. If he has any food on his face and turns his head to the side then it gets on the spot. But the cover comes off and is washable, so really it's not that big of a deal. I'm just excited to have the problem solved. Now if only we could figure out the other "problems" that Grant likes to stump us with. Well...one thing at a time....

Holding onto his mic.

Talking into his mic.

Grant's Last, First Day of Preschool

I feel like I have done this post so many times already, since this is Grant's 3rd first day of preschool. This may explain why it has taken me 2 1/2 weeks to post this. Things are a little different this year. Grant is now in the "afternoon" class at school which is really a late morning early afternoon schedule. It has kinda thrown us all off a little bit, and we are still trying to figure out a good schedule that works for us, but we will figure it out eventually. Last year Jeremy put Grant on the bus most days, but since he leaves later this year I get to do it. He has cried almost every day. Some days he starts crying when he hears the bus pull up before we even leave the house. He's done a little better the last couple days, so hopefully he'll continue to do better. I think that his separation anxiety has gotten 100 times worse since I quit working and had Hallie. He has me home 24/7, which really hasn't done him (or me) any favors. But really I think he's just a little stinker, because the bus driver/bus aid say that he quits crying by the time they reach the stop sign (which is 2 houses down). And I know he has a fun time at school. He has the BEST teacher and aid's at school. So basically he's just doing it to try and make me feel bad. Too bad it's not working. :)

Blowing us kisses good bye.

Trying to decide if he's happy or sad. Or try remember that he's trying to make me feel bad that I'm sending him away.

Either way...he's one handsome boy.

3 Months Old

So I kind of already did a 3 month post for Hallie with the whole ear piercing thing, but I wanted to write down a few stats about her and what she has been doing lately. We had a check up the day before she turned 3 months and here are her stats:

Weight: 15.2 pounds 95%
Height: 24 1/2 inches 90%
Head: don't remember the #, but 75 %
So yes...as you can tell from the numbers, she is a CHUNK! She gained a little over 2 pounds this last month. Which is less than the 4 that she gained the month before. The chunkier she gets, the less I think she looks like Mikkele. I don' t know if it's just because she's chunkier, or what, there are still a ton of similarities, but I think she's coming into her own a bit more. Her hair is starting to come in a bit and get a little fuzzy. It looks like she's going to be darker than Mikkele was too. Maybe closer to Grants hair color, but with Mikkele's blue eyes. Whatever she ends up with, she's gonna be cute! I love her rollie pollie little body. The only disadvantage to her being chubby is that she thinks she needs to eat constantly at night. There are some nights that she wants to eat every 1-2 hours. Which is killing me. During the day she wants to eat every 3-4 hours, so why more at night??? I'm going to try adding some cereal to her bottle at night and see if that will help stick with her for longer. She is still sleeping quite a bit during the day, but is getting into more of a routine with her naps and awake time.
Hallie is full of smiles. She loves to smile, even if there is nobody trying to get a smile out of her. Her best smiles are first thing in the morning. She is such a happy little girl and has a cute personality starting to show. She is cooing more and more. I love to talk to her and have her talk back to me. So cute! She is becoming more aware of her surroundings and loves to look around. Sometimes it's hard to get her to focus on one thing, she is so busy taking everything in. She is loving sitting in the Bumbo chair and looking around. Although I don't know how much longer she'll be able to use the Bumbo chair. Her little legs aren't so little and get stuck a bit getting in and out of it. It's kinda funny. You go to pull her out of the chair and the chair comes with her. It's a pretty funny sight. She is starting to reach out for toys and other objects. She loves to play on the floor under the toy gym. It can keep her entertained for quite a while. She still gets her hands to her mouth quite a bit, but not as much thumb sucking as before. Who knows, maybe I jinxed it.
We love this little girl so much and we are so happy to have her in our home!

Ear Piercing

Since my baby girls are bald and look a lot like their dad, I have to make sure they are dressed in pink, have a bow on their head, and a bib that says "I'm a girl" helps too. And even then I get asked "how old old is HE." We got it so much with Mikkele that at 2 months of age we took her to get her ears pierced. Since Hallie looks a lot like Mikkele I decided I would do the same for her as well. So at 2 months we tried to get them done. Apparently they have changed the rules in the last 9 years and the babies have to be 3 months old and you have to show current immunizations. Well Hallie turned 3 months old yesterday, so what did we do??? We went and pierced her ears. She was not very happy with me the rest of the night, but we came home and gave her some Tylenol and put her to bed. She looks super cute with them if I do say so myself. And this morning she is full of smiles and has forgotten how mean her mom was to her last night. The video of her is kinda sad. Please don't call DCFS on me.

The best shot I could get of both ears.

On another note...I have not worn earrings for 2+ years. I have a slight metal allergy and if I don't wear really good quality earrings then my holes get really sore and infected. So over the last few days I have been trying to get earrings back in my ears. After quite a few hours of self inflicting torture, I was able to get one in my left side, but not my right side. I knew we were gonna do Hallie's on Friday, so I just left a small, thin, gold hoop in my right side to keep the hole open. So basically I was walking around like a pirate for 24 hours. I got a lot of jokes made at me. And every time some one said "AAARRR matey" Grant laughed. So yes people, I looked like a pirate. But I was big and brave and got my left side re-pierced before we did Hallie's. I wanted to do hers first, but I figured I probably had to be brave first, since I was inflicting pain on my 3 month old child. This video shows how brave I was. :) Or not...Thanks Adam!

First Day of 4th Grade

School started today. I think this is the first year in the 5 years Mikkele has been going to school that I am actually kinda sad she is going back already. She has been such a good help to me this summer. Nevertheless the first day of school is here and she must go. She says she's not excited, but she has had her outfit picked out and laying on her bottom bunk for a few days now. I think she just says she hates school because everyone else does...it's the cool thing to say I guess. She's getting very opinionated on what she wants to wear and how she wants her hair done and if I'll be helping her with her hair or if she's doing it all herself. My little girl is growing up and I'm not sure I'm ok with that. But whether or not I'm ok with it or not...4th grade here we come!

We walked outside this morning and it was kinda chilly, so she went and grabbed a sweater. Kinda ruins the outfit, so I made her take it off for one of the pictures so we can see how cute her dress is.

Mikkele, Rietta, and Tienna at the front of the school.

Mikkele, Rietta, Tienna, and Gunner. Gunner is in Kindergarten this year. He's even growing up too fast and he's not even my kid.

Mikkele's desk in the classroom is right next to the bearded dragon named Mt. Dew. I knew I was gonna like her teacher this year!

Mikkele and her teacher Mrs. Clements. She is a huge animal lover and has many animals in the classroom. This year they are more in the reptile family. Mikkele is really excited to help with the animals and learn more about them and how to care for them. Notice the teacher's zebra print skirt. She had on a different animal print at the "meet the teacher night". I wonder if she loves animals so much that she wears animal print every day, or just on the first couple days that we've seen her. Hummm...we'll see I guess.

Springville Playhouse Presents: 101 Dalmation's Kids

Since the end of June, Mikkele has been a part of the cast of 101 Dalmation's Kids at the Springville Playhouse. She landed the role of a poodle, which is part of the London Bark if you remember the movie. She also had a role in the Kanine Krunchie's commercial that the puppies watch on TV. It was a LOT of work, a LOT of practices, and a LOT of really good experience. It was such a cute little play. The performances ran for 2 weeks with 3-4 performances per week. Her last 2 performances were last night and we are glad to be done. It has really been a good time filler for the summer though. I didn't hear very many "I'm bored" comments come from Mikkele. Thanks to everyone that came out to see the play. For those that weren't able to make it, I have ordered a copy of the DVD that they are selling that has the play, plus some pictures. So if you would like to see it let me know and we'll send it your way, or you can come over and watch it. Until then...enjoy the pics.

Cutest Little Poodle

Our friends, the Sabin's had their 3 oldest kids in the play as well. Rietta and Tienna were part of the ensamble puppies, and Gunner was one of the lead puppies/Pongo and Perdit's puppies. Gunner had a couple lines also. One of them was to bite Horase on the leg. It was pretty cute. Fits his fiesty little personality.

The kids plus Cruella

Look What I Found!

Over the past few weeks, Hallie has started a new little trick. It's not all the time, but I wonder if it will turn into an all the time thing once she gets a little bit older and has a little more control of her movements. I kinda have mixed feelings on it as well. I have heard that babies that suck their thumbs are great sleepers (which would be awesome), but there's also the major dental issues that come with it. :( So I don't know what to think about it at this point. Another thing that's kinda funny that the pictures capture, is her need for something in her hands. (You can see her holding her clothes.) She is always holding onto her clothes or whoever clothes that is holding her. She might be one of the type of kids that walks around with a blankie until she's 12. (My mom would love that!) Whatever her personality ends up being...she's super cute and we love her lots!

First Time on Ski's

Mikkele went to Lake Powell last week with my mom and brother and a whole bunch of aunt, uncles, and cousins. She has gone almost every year since she was 15 months old. (She had a melt down as she was getting in the car last year to leave and ended up staying home.) Each year she has made improvements in her confidence and skills. This year they were able to get her confident enough to try water skiing. My Uncle James has a boom on his boat that lets the kids hold onto a bar on the side of the boat, rather than a rope behind the boat. So she tried that first to get the feel of being up on ski's. Then she tried the real thing. By the end of the trip she was a pro. She wasn't jumping the wake or anything yet, but we have to leave room for improvement next year. I wish I would have been there to see her, but I wasn't about to take 2 babies to Powell. The video's and pictures are great to see her at it though. Enjoy!

Getting in position

Good form

Coming back into the boat

Swimming in the lake

She waves in this one towards the end. Wait for it...it's pretty cute.

Hallie's Baby Blessing

We had Hallie's baby blessing Sunday, July 19. We were fortunate enough to have quite a bit of our family there. It was a really nice day. Jeremy did a great job on the blessing. My mom did a fabulous job on Hallie's dress. We had a yummy get together afterwards. It was an all around great day. Thanks to all that made the sacrifice to come and support our family. We really appreciate it.

Our growing family

The proud mama and papa

When my dad makes the trip to Utah from Texas pictures have to be taken and it needs to be documented that he made the trip. Thanks mom and dad for making the sacrifice to come up and support us on this special day.