THE PRICE FAMILY

Chloe's 5th Heavenly birthday!

2011-07-21T01:05:00.000-07:00

Happy 5th birthday to my angel Chloe. We miss you and love you more than ever. 5 years is hard, I'm imagining you starting school this year and that will be hard. I wish every day we had more time with you. Watch over us! Love you baby girl.

Family reunion!

2010-08-02T23:52:00.000-07:00

Gav and bb H in the background.

Olivia

Canoeing

My bro taking my mom out!

My nephew C

My sis, her hubby and my cuz, heading out on the wave runner!

My brother, his wife and son

Burying T

Gav

Madalyn did Chloe's name in the sand.

Me, Madalyn and K

Stupid FB

2010-08-02T23:18:00.000-07:00

Makes me not think I should have to update my blog anymore. So sorry to any followers I still had! A lot had happened in the past few months. Let's see.
April was my dad' s and father-in-law's birthdays.
May was a busy and sad month. We had mine, my mom's, my sister, s-i-l, and b-i-l's birthdays and Mother's day. I lost a dear client of mine and good friends of our lost their little boy Carter. Carter was Gavin's little buddy, although they never really meet(due to being in the hospital) his mom and I always talked about how they were hospital buddy's. He was born 2 days after G, and was born with numerous complications and on May 30th was taken by angels to heaven. So now he is Chloe's buddy too!!
June was okay. Madalyn finished K and is now moving on to 1st grade. She will be in a split 1st/2nd grade class. She also celebrated her 6th birthday on the 29th. My sister gave birth to a baby girl "H" on the 2nd. She is beautiful and looks just like her daddy.
July was busy with a family reunion, 4th celebrations and my Dad and "bonus" mom Deb visiting from Saudi. My dad had to have 2 surgeries and is recovering well form them. And of course we celebrated my Chloe's 4th Angel day. This birthday has been a little harder, not sure why and not that the others have not been. We went to the cemetery, had cupcakes, read a book, shared memories and laughed and cried. Thank you to all the family and friends who were there with us. Thank you for loving her as much as we do.
Now on to August, oh it just started, Yeah, I feel a little caught up! Well we have the "wedding of the century" happening on the 9th. My brother and his gf of like what 7 years are finally getting married, we are all so thrilled and have been waiting for this for a long time. Ash has always been considered family, but now it will be official. Congrats, love you guys. School will start at the end of the month, yeah! I think M is sick of me. I am not fun anymore.
Ok so i hope i caught you up a little and will probably remember more after I post this but oh well. I will see what updated pics I have to.

My Cute Random Kids...

2010-03-31T16:00:00.000-07:00

My Princess girls!

Big G

Sassy-frass!!

Chunky-monkey boy!

Cute girls.

G, looking at me.(madalyn's telling me what to write)

My sister is finally a MOM!!

2010-03-31T15:44:00.000-07:00

My older sister Saralyn has her first baby, Baby C was born on January 20th. He is darling and growing so fast. We love him.

Happy Birthday to my Boy!!

2010-03-31T14:37:00.001-07:00

On the 25th of March I gave birth to this stinker! My life would not have been complete with out this handsome little boy. I truly can't believe it has been a year since you came so fast into this world. I love you with all my heart. I was so scared to have come so close to losing you. We are both blessed that we had the staff there to help save our lives. I could never have imagined having a boy, but BOY do I love it!!

G with his sisters.

Love this one!

Pics with Mommy and Daddy.

Right after you were born.

Mommy waking up in ICU at the U.

Being life-flighted to the U, to bad we did not make it.(the first time)

Mommy's first time seeing and holding you.

Happy Birthday to you, all of you!

2010-03-08T22:42:00.001-08:00

Little bro. Adam turned 25, I think!! Today.

P turned 5!! 02/07

Baby Brother Kent with baby J, 7 years ago. Turned 18!! 02/25

The best mother-in-law in the WHOLE world. I won't say what you turned!! On Thursday.
Happy Birthday to you all, I love ya.

I'm so sorry...

2010-03-08T22:35:00.000-08:00

To my one faithful reader, whomever you are!!! I promise to update more soon. O is in the hospital with her 3rd round of RSV, G is sick but hopefully not getting RSV, that will not be good for him. M is doing good, thanks goodness!! We have been crazy with lots of things this past 2 months, lots of being sick, a new cousin, a sick mom, a few birthday's and lots of fun too. I did find my memory card reader but then lost my memory card, oh am I doing good. I believe i found everything but have just not found the time to load them on here. So i'm sorry I will soon, I promise.

WOW.......

2010-01-12T00:01:00.000-08:00

Has it really been this long since I updated, so sorry. A lot has gone on this past month so I will touch on a few things to catch the one person who reads my blog up to date, :). First off I can't find the card reader so there will be no pictures until I find it, just a long boring post. So my Dad and step mom were here visiting from Saudi Arabia for Christmas, so good to see them! After Livi's b-day Chris and I went to the Christmas box angel to a wonderful ceremony that is for people who have lost children, we have gone every year except for 2 years ago when I had Livi. We love going to anything that allows us to remember Chloe. Gavin had his helmet appointment around the first of Dec. and it was decided that there was not much improvement to we would go another month, well we had that month appointment last week and there still was not much improvement and his Dr. said this might be as good as we can get considering he started extremely severe, but he does think that with more time with it off during the day this will allow him to start learning to roll over so he said he would only have to wear it at night for another month. This is huge and we are okay with this because we have seen a big improvement so far.
We had a great Christmas, it came and went so fast. The kids got spoiled this year even though we did cut back A LOT. We had a big surprise on Christmas, my brother and sister-in-law finally set a wedding date, 08-09-10, we are so excited for it to finally be official, even though it has always felt like it was. Congrats you guys, we are so happy.
My sister and her hubby found out that they are expecting a girl, 2 boys, 2 girls, How perfect!! She will be here in the summer.
My other sister is due in a few weeks with her first little boy, we had her shower last Saturday, I think it went well and she was able to get a lot of things she was needing. I am so happy for her to finally become a mom. She has watched her two younger sister and a brother all become parents, now it's her turn. I know she is super scared to have a baby given that she hates hospitals and needles, but I know she will surprise herself and everyone else for that matter and focus through all that pain on the end result, it's totally worth it. Having lost Chloe and all that I went through having her and feeling like all that work was for nothing, all that pain and tears just so I could go home empty handed. Being pregnant is not always fun, no sleep, killer heartburn, can't breathe, nothing fits, bathroom breaks every 10 min, and delivery is not much better, but believe me I would wish it all back just to hold my baby one more time. Sorry, I just miss her.
I will post picture soon of all our fun adventures this past month as soon as I find that reader.

Happy Birthday Livi

2009-12-06T23:00:00.000-08:00

Oh Liv, you bring a smile to my face just when I thought I could smile no more. You are a blessing to our family. We have enjoyed having you for the past 2 years and look forward to the next 100 years watching you grow. You make us laugh all the time. I can't imagine our lives without you. We love you so much. Happy 2nd birthday baby girl!!!!

I know, I know....

2009-12-03T00:44:00.000-08:00

I need to update the blog but I have a sick boy right now so I probably have the time just not a priority. G is doing better, just trying to keep him from being put in the hospital with RSV or Phuemonia. I don't think I have a lot to update, maybe a few pics over the last weeks so I promise I will update soon.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-03T15:45:00.000-08:00

G was a monkey, but the banana hat would not fit over his helmet.

Helping G do his hand prints and foot prints.

My Beautiful Tinkerbell

M getting ready for her school program. She did so good and sang a ton of Halloween songs.

She's in the back.

And again

Class pictures with her friends and her teacher.

Oh I Love her!! Her and her sexy purple boots!!

O was a carebear.

We went and visited our uncle at the trout farm, caught some fish, went on a corn maze and got some pumpkins.

On our way to a Halloween party, Boy are the girls excited for this!!!

Here are all the kiddos painting pumpkins at Grandmas.

pics of Gavin.

2009-11-02T14:06:00.000-08:00

He does this, as we call it "Grimis" face.

Walk for Chloe!!

2009-11-02T12:48:00.000-08:00

We walked for Chloe on the 10th of October in our annual Share Walk to Remember. Anyone who has lost a baby or knows someone that has can come and walk for them. It is a very emotional but well needed day. I have to tell all of my family and friends that walked for Chloe, thank you. I means so much to me that do this for her. To all my Share friends, I love you and I hate that this is how we all met but I do believe that good things do come out of bad things and that's all of you. We have survived another year without out babies.

Madalyn walking fer her Sis. Everyone carries a balloon for there baby weather it be pink for a girl, blue for a boy or white if you did not know the sex of your baby.

Olivia walking for Chloe.

Grandma and Gavin walking for Chloe.

My AMAZING and most talented friend Krishel and her mom Me'Chel came and sang a beautiful song to our angels in heaven. It was called I'll be there. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You and your mom are the best!!!

Tanya and Shayla

G's new hat!!

2009-10-08T15:51:00.000-07:00

Here he is! He is still trying to adjust to the helmet. He will have to wear it 23 hours a day. It makes him sweat so much, poor thing.

Sissy had to get in the picture.

There's a smile.

Here he is getting his scan done for the helmet. They put this funny sock on his head, he looked cute!!

These pictures were taken in the Dr's office right before he was fitted.

And here is our first attempt at solid food....not so much a fan!

Quick post.

2009-09-22T00:19:00.000-07:00

We found out last week that G will have to wear a helmet. He will wear it for 3 months and then they will re-evaluate then to see if he will have to wear it longer than that. We have kind of prepared ourselves for this so I think we are ready, let's just get it over and done with so we can move past this. Also today we had his check-up with the ENT and the Audiologist and YEAH, G's hearing is back!!! So It does not look like he will be deaf in his right ear from the infection, they will re-check him when he is one just to make sure again but for now he can hear!! The Dr did notice an infection so he took a sample and is having it tested to make sure it is not the mastoiditis infection, we will hopefully know the results on thursday. Tomorrow we are headed down to SL for his head scan so they can fit him for his helmet. I will post pics and another update later.....

On a mission!

2009-09-15T23:13:00.000-07:00

Some of you may have heard or seen of Footprint in the sand, someone will write your child's name that has passed away in the sand and send you a picture of it. Well I am on my own "mission" to try and write Chloe's name in the sand as many times as I can all over the world. So I will need your help, if you will. I will eventually run out of things to scrapbook about so I want to start this for her. If you are going to or will be around sand in the future will you write her name in the sand and take a picture for me. I want to see how big and far I can get her name written. Tell anyone you know since I wont be a world traveler any time soon and ask them to do this for me. I am curious to see where her name will be next.

Camping....

2009-09-15T22:41:00.000-07:00

Well kind of! We went and spent the Saturday of Labor day weekend up at Willard bay with some family. Thanks you guys for a fun weekend.

My bro and his little boy.

She could not get enough of the sand.

Trying to get a family photo...not so much. If you look close you can see gav's face, not having the water at all.

More pics.

2009-09-15T22:29:00.000-07:00

Uncle Bryce and Lisa got married a few weeks ago, here are some pics from the reception.

Love that face!

My brother, sister in law and nephew

Fun pictures of the kids...

2009-09-13T22:01:00.000-07:00

Fun day at the park.

Gavin looks so big.

Loves her brother.

Big cheezer!

Really? Really? Get him off of me!

Madalyn learned to ride her bike without her training wheels, she is so excited to show everyone that comes over.

More PT, Breathing treatments and Smiles.

2009-09-04T23:16:00.000-07:00

Ha Ha I got one!! I know it's side ways, sorry. Isn't he the cutest!!

Gavin has been sick with a "cold" the past 2 weeks so in order to keep him from another pheumonia we are having to do breathing treatments on him. He is doing better after all these treatments, an antibiotic and a steroid. We are already on the list for a special series of shots to keep him from getting RSV, we will start those in Nov. Let's hope they work, I really don't want to spend the holidays in the hospital.

This is our attempt at the bouncer. Ya, not so well. He can not reach the bottom and his head is still too wobbly.

Another PT appointment. This is his PTist, she is great. She is working so well with him. We have not made the improvements that we have wanted so we are scheduled to meet with the "helmet" doctor on the 15th and we will see what he says.

Leave the girls playing and this is what I get....

2009-09-04T23:06:00.000-07:00

Apparently she got a hold of my mascara!

Oh soooooooo pretty.

Madalyn got her sis dressed up so pretty, she wanted her to be a princess too.

First Day of School.

2009-09-04T22:51:00.000-07:00

Madalyn's first official day of school.

Not sure how to react to this photo? Get out mom, and take that camera with you? or please don't leave me here?

She was excited before we left.

The Monday before, so the first day for everyone else we had to go to school for 45 min to get a run down on what to expect out of the year, so she gets two "first day of school pics".

Um......

2009-09-04T21:41:00.000-07:00

Can we say she thinks she is 16!!!

Madalyn loves to wear my make-up

I have to say, she does a good job for a 5 year old.

Fun pics.

2009-09-04T20:56:00.000-07:00

Gavin's first "real" attempt at a smile, especially when mommy's around!

Yo Yo Yo. What's up dog??!!

Gavin's PT

2009-08-22T23:24:00.000-07:00

As you can tell he is not a big fan of PT. We have been to PT 4 times this past month. He has made some progress but not enough to more than likely keep him from a helmet. At out last appointment we were given some names of some helmet specialist, they are in the end the ones to make the final "call". So after we meet with them we will go from there. But It does look like he will have to wear one.

Roy days...

2009-08-22T23:09:00.000-07:00

Madalyn was in the Roy days parade. Daddy drove his Grandpa's car and Parker and Grandmw came with.

Kent and Olivia waiting for the parade to start. Olivia loves her uncle "duh".

Happy birthday's...

2009-08-15T00:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my honey's birthday. You are the best husband and the best Daddy. Thank you for everything. My life would have not been the same without you.

Other birthday wishes...on the 7th was Grandma Vickie's, the 12th was Aunt Tess, on the 13th was my Brother-in-law Nick. Happy birthday to all of you. Love ya.

New pics and update on Gavin

2009-08-11T16:55:00.000-07:00

Gavin is doing well, we are still doing PT once a week and it seems to be helping. He did rupture his ear the other night, but of course I never knew about it. Not one whimper, must have a tough guy on my hands!!! He is now weighing close to 13 lbs. He still has no hearing in the right ear but we will go back to see the Audiologist and the ENT next month to see if we have made progress. We are very hopeful that all the fluid is clear and they can pass him on his hearing.

Just hangin' out.

My two boys!

Daddy trying to get him to smile.

Sticking out his tongue at Momma.

This is his cradler that he has to wear while we are doing PT, he does not like it so much. It helps to keep his head straight in the car seat.

An attempt at a smile.

Chloe's Birthday.

2009-08-10T13:52:00.000-07:00

We had a good but small celebration for Chloe's birthday. I made cupcakes for everyone, we wrote her a message on a balloon and sent them to heaven. It was yet again another hard day but I made it through.
Chloe I miss you more and more each day, Love you baby girl.

New pics of the girls.

2009-08-10T13:06:00.000-07:00

Eating ice cream at Maggie moo's

"EEEEEEZ"(cheese)

That's the, "I'm not doing anything wrong look."

Turkey, thinks the squirt bottle is a sippy!

Trying to dress herself.

Sweet look on her face, very rare!!!

Silly Olivia

Madalyn came shopping with me and was so excited to use her own size cart. Now she wants me to go there everyday.

Our visit to the Immunologist.

2009-08-10T12:35:00.000-07:00

Gavin and I went down to the U of U for his immunology appointment. Here are some pics of him in the stroller. There is an attatchment for the carrier but I could not figure it out so I just took him out. We have not officially heard back on the test results, but his Dr and I both agree that no news is probably good news!

You can see where his shoulders are supposed to be, much to small for this stroller!

My Angel.

2009-07-21T12:22:00.000-07:00

3 years ago today I held the most perfect, precious and beautiful angel in the world. Chloe Faith was given and taken from us way too soon. We feel very blessed to be her parents, even if it was only for a few moments here on earth. We wait for the day that we get to hold you again. Chloe you have brought so much strength to our family. Mommy is a stronger more patient, more loving person than before. I hate that the reason I am is because I had to loose you to show me what I can do and become. I want you to know that I have helped so many other moms out there, and have met some of the greatest people all because of you. Would I give it all back to have you. ABSOLUTELY. But thank you for showing me a "new" me. I don't think that 3 years ago I would have never thought that I could see anything positive out of loosing you, but I sit here today and I can smile, I can laugh, and I still cry but I know that you would want me to, and not want me to miss out on watching your sisters and brother grow, so for you I will keep on going on. I only wish I had one more minute with you. I know you will and have blessed our family far beyond imagining, so go play baby girl and save us a spot.

My Tinkerbell.

2009-07-19T23:01:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of Madalyn's last 2 dance performances. One was at a Retirement home and the other was her big recital at a school. She is above the orange cone.

Waiving above the green cone.

Madalyn and Miss Ashley

Madalyn and 2 of her bestest friends. Camdyn and Annistyn

Pictures of gavin's surgery.

2009-07-19T22:46:00.000-07:00

I wanted to post these pics of right after Gavin's surgery. He had a tube that was sewn into his ear so it could continue to drain.

Family Pictures.

2009-07-19T22:14:00.000-07:00

Well here is our attempt at our Family pictures. I think my hubby did a great job and we were lucky that the kids cooperated for the most part.

3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days.

2009-07-19T22:02:00.000-07:00

I just noticed that Gavin is 3 months, 3 weeks, and 3 days old. So I decided I would post about it. I think that 3 might be another lucky number to us. Let's see 3 months, 3 weeks and 3 days. I am typing this and my computer time says 11:03. He was born in the 3rd month and he was 3lbs 8 oz. Sorry it was weird, it was all running through my head. Just thought of something else, Chloe's 3rd birthday is Tuesday the 21st. 2+1=3. Weird, sorry I know. And I'm finishing this post at 11:13.

Update.

2009-07-17T12:57:00.000-07:00

I took Gavin down on Wed for his Immunology appointment and the Dr. that saw him did an exam on him and then asked a ton of past medical history questions. Finding out the Lupus played a part in my grandpa's death and that my aunt was diagnosed a few years ago with it, he is wanting to run some test, tests he says he would not normally run on a baby but given his past few months and what he had already had to go through they are going to run them. So we headed over to the Lab at Primary's for the blood work. Little dude did so good, he did not cry at all, so either the lady was squeezing his hand so tight he could not feel the poke or he was like been there, done that, just get it over with. We should hear back in about a week with the results and all we can do is hope and pray that everything comes back normal. I think that the Dr. does not feel that it is Lupus but it is an immune deficiency disorder so he is testing for it and things that could be linked to it. He has PT scheduled for the 27th of this month so hopefully we can get his head issues in line. My poor little guy, i love him so much, What more???

Random pictures of the girls.

2009-07-13T00:19:00.000-07:00

Olivia fell asleep in Gavin's swing

I love my Madalyn

Olivia with sissy's Tutu on her head.

Olivia was wearing Madalyn's leotard.

EEEZZZ!!(cheese)

Madalyn wanted to do Mommy's hair, so here is the end results. Diva or what??!!

Doing my hair in a Tinkerbell outfit.

Whoot whoot!! Hollar! Good thing we ran out of hair clips.

Pics of Gavin.

2009-07-12T23:59:00.000-07:00

Here are some new pictures of Gavin.

He is finally getting some "Chunk" on him

Just out of the bath

Oh, me sad boy!!

Love him.

Boutique.

2009-07-12T23:53:00.000-07:00

My friend is having a HUGE craft boutique this weekend with tons a cute things. So please check it out if your in the area.
Saturday July 18th
9:00am-7:00pm
4660 w. 3450 s.
West Haven
Head north on 4700 w towards Fremont High school and you won't miss it.

Lagoon

2009-07-12T23:17:00.000-07:00

Madalyn got her face painted like a princess.We went to Lagoon last Tuesday with some family and friends for Harmons. We usually only go once a year and it's a bit cheaper and harmons does lot of free and fun things for the kids to do. Daddy and I decided to get a sitter for the younger ones and just have a fum day with Madalyn. I think it was better because it was really hot and we did not have to push a stroller around and stop every 10 min to change a diaper or make a bottle. So thanks Madalyn for a fun day.

Kissing mommy on the carousel.

Madalyn and Parker(nephew)

Daddy on the swings.

3 month check-up, and visitors.

2009-07-11T22:45:00.000-07:00

We went to Gavin's 3 month check-up on Thursday. He is 10lbs 12 oz, he is still growing good but below average of course. His head is the closest to average, his Dr. says that hopefully by 12 month he will be average on the charts. His check-up went well other than finding out that he will need PT(physical therapy), He has Torticollis and Plagiocephaly which is basically a stiff neck that is making his head flat on the right side. He cannot keep his head to the left without someone holding it there, if you turn his body to the left his head rolls back to the right. So with much hope we are going to try PT, if this does not help he will have to have a helmet evaluation at 6 months. They are hoping that before his soft spot closes that PT will help re shape his head and help him be able to turn his head to the left. If not our little guy may be wearing a helmet. Yet again another bump in the road. Another thing is due to his really harsh and rare infections that he has had to deal with, along with being 10 weeks early they are wanting to test him for an Immune Defectiancy Disorder. So the Immunologist called us on Friday and wants to see Gavin as soon as possible, so we are going down to the U of U on Wed. for tests. We look forward to the day that the Dr's tell us that there is nothing wrong with our boy, but until then we will pay any amount of money and give up whatever needs be for him, we are just grateful to have him. I know I say that alot but I LOVE my kids and they are worth anything.

Other news, my Dad and Step-mom arrived from Saudi Arabia on Tuesday night safely. He had to have back surgery to Thur and it went better than expected. He has been in alot of pain for along time so this surgery was much needed. My Dad is a VERY important person in my life and I can't image life with out him. Love you Dad and Deb, so glad your here and that the surgery went well.

2 week post-op and dinner

2009-07-08T23:48:00.000-07:00

Gavin had his 2 week post-op on Monday. Daddy and I and of course Gavin headed down to Primary's for the appointment. With much hope we were waiting to here that he had a clean bill of health but that was not the case. He does not have hearing in his right ear and there is still fluid in it so right now it looks as if the tube is not really doing its job, we are going to continue the ear drops and hope that helps. We are going to follow up with the surgeon again in 2 months and can only hope that then he will pass the hearing test. Worse case scenario would be that the infection got so bad that it affected his hearing permanently. We are hopeful that the fluid just needs more time to drain but always on the cautious side because our little guy has never has anything easy. The Audiologist said that if in 2 months the hearing is still not there they will have to put him asleep and do more extensive test to for sure find out if this hearing loss is just temporarily or permanent. So again I ask for prayers for him that his hearing will come back and everything will be good. He has his 3 month checkup tomorrow with the pediatrician so i will update with his stats. Other than all that he is doing great. After the Dr. app it was our 7Th year anniversary so we headed out to dinner at the Red iguana and I have to say that it was not as good as I thought it would be. Very authentic and maybe I'm not used to that. On the other hand my hubby did not even take a second to drink, he downed those enchiladas like I've never seen. I guess he was kind of hungry and he said that it was really good. Thanks honey for dinner and a date to Primary's:)

7 Years of Bliss.

2009-07-06T00:24:00.001-07:00

Happy Anniversary Honey. 7 years can you beleive it. I am a lucky woman to have found you. You are an incredible husband and and even better Daddy. I could not image having 4 beautiful children with anyone other than you. We have been through far more than anyone should have to go through. If our marriage can survive losing Chloe, I know we can with stand anything. Although it has not always been easy and we have had some hard times I know that I have found my eternal companion. I love you more than words can say. Thank you for being my best friend and sorry, you're stuck with me forever. Ha ha!!

4th of July FUN!!!

2009-07-05T23:33:00.001-07:00

We had a fun weekend with both sides of the family. We went to west point day on Sat. We started off at the parade, then over to the park for the festivities. After naps later that day we went to my mom's for a BBQ(thanks mom for cooking)fireworks and a bad a** game of Badmiton(according to adam and ash). Then on Sunday we went to my in laws for dinner and some more fireworks.

My nephew Parker

Grandma and her girls!!

Gavin was not to sure about this.

Livi with her 1st sparkler

Yeah.

Madalyn trying really hard to enjoy this.

My princess

Olivia and Papa.

The bad a badmitton game!

And now for some fireworks.

Oh I love my Livi!

New pictures of Gavin and the girls.

2009-07-01T11:57:00.000-07:00

Gavin is doing good , we go back on Monday for a check -up with the surgeon and hope that all the infection has cleared and that his cut has been healing properly. He is growing so much, right before his surgery they weighed him and he was 8lbs.13oz., so i think by now is is close if not over 9lbs. We will have his 3 month check-up done next week as well and then I will have his stats then. We are just loving having him home and home we can have a good streak for longer than 2 weeks. He has been a wonderful blessing in our lives.

Oh, big yawn.

Madalyn and Gavin

Pictures of the 3 of them.

Hi Mommy.

Madalyn loving on him.

Wide eyed.

Livi Loves him, giving him kisses.

Here is the incision made behind his ear.

Here are two terrible pictures taken from my phone, we did not have the camera with us when we went to the hospital so I took these with my phone and then took a picture with the camera. If you look close you can see his right(looking left)ear lopsided and sticking out quite a bit more than the other.

Happy Birthday to my Madalyn.

2009-06-29T22:34:00.000-07:00

Silly girl.

Daddy and Madalyn

Madalyn and Olivia

Madalyn and Olivia again

Madalyn and Mommy

Her 1st Birthday.

Waiting for Olivia.

Eating a Cucumber, Yup not even peeled!

3 weeks old.

Holding Chloe for the first and last time.

Wow, my baby is 5 years old today. How time flies. I love this little "big" girl more than words could ever tell. She has been my rock and my hard place to fall and that's hard to say because she should have never had to be all of this for me, but she has been. Although Daddy was here, after Chloe died she was the reason I wanted to breath again, the reason I had to get out of bed in the morning, the reason to live. I don't know what I would have done had I not had this ray of sunshine by my side. I remember i used to sing "You are my sunshine", to her all the time, because I truly believed she was. I am so proud of her and can not believe that she will be going to Kindergarten in the fall. We have had our fall outs, as much as you can have with a 5 year old, but I love her so much. In honor of her 5th birthday I will post 5 things I love about her.
1. She knows how to make me laugh.
2. She is one of the smartest little girls I know.
3. She is the best biggest sister in the world.
4. She is an awesome helper.
5. She is the only girl I know that would rather eat tomatoes and cucumbers over candy.

I love you baby girl, forever and ever.

Father's Day

2009-06-22T16:01:00.000-07:00

I need to post a little on the Father's in my life. I want to wish my Dad, Father-in-law Jim and Father-in-law Cliff a Happy Father's Day. Thank you for being awesome father's to me and to my husband, but most of all being the BEST grandpa's to our babies. Next I have to wish my hubby a Happy Father's Day. Honey I love you and we have been through a lot, more than most should have to in there marriage, but I am glad to have done it all with you. Thank you for being the best Daddy to our babies. I know being a Dad can be oober stressful but you know how rewarding they all are. So thank you for taking this "role" in our family, you are the best. And to all the other Father's, Have a good one.

HOME

2009-06-20T11:06:00.001-07:00

Gavin is home. YEAH!!! I will update a little later, but he is doing good. He will have to go back in 2 weeks for a check-up, so I just hope it heals the way it should. Thanks for all the love, prayer and concerns.

Gavin must have missed Primary's....

2009-06-18T13:32:00.000-07:00

Gavin is back down at Primary's. He had to have emergency surgery last night. He had something called Materoiditis, it is an infection that caused his masteroid bone behind his ear to swell and drop. It is VERY rare and not seen much at all these days, and especially for his age but of course Gavin's gets it!!! He had an ear infection and instead of it draining out like it should have it drained back in to his bone, causing a really bad infection. I took him into his pediatrician and he referred us to an ENT(ear,nose and throat)specialist and he immediately said that he needed surgery to drain out the fluid and puss that has been building behind his ear. The Dr. also suggested that we put tubes in his ear so that if and when he ever gets an ear infection again this does not happen.They also wanted to do a CT scan to make sure that the infection had not grown into his brain, luckily it had not. Davis hospital will not do anesthetics on a baby younger than 3 months and he is just a week shy of that, so we had to drive him down to Primary's. He was supposed to have the 45 min. surgery at about 8pm, but due to some emergency's he was pushed back and did not get out till 11pm. The surgery went well and they were able to get almost all of the puss out, so they put a drain in to help the rest get out. It was supposed to be an in and out surgery but because he seems to be our "worse case scenario child", they felt better leaving him in the hospital for observation for a few days. So he is still recovering and hopefully will be home by Friday. We are hoping that this will be his last scare. We are DONE with hospitals. This could have gotten really bad, fast so we are lucky that we caught it when we did. I will give you pictures and an update when we get home. Thanks for all the help and the prayers.

Still alive..... I think.

2009-06-10T11:31:00.000-07:00

Well I am still adjusting to having Gavin home. Although I am beyond thrilled that he is home hopefully for good, I am EXHAUSTED!!! I love being a mom but man 3 wears me out. Gavin is doing good, we are still having to suction him out with a bulb and saline but that is it. I am still trying to get him on a better schedule or at least the schedule he was on before he went to Primary's. There was always noise, sometimes alot and I think he got used to sleeping through noise, which is good right, Why should I be complaining?. Except for the fact that at night as soon as the girls are asleep and the noise stops, Guess who's wide awake???? I can't complain and I'm really not I would do it on less sleep if I had too. I am so blessed to have him even here with us and after Chloe died I will never take my children for granted, EVER. Even if they cry for over 2 hours because Daddy took the rest of the Raspberries to work. Yup, that was my day yesterday, Poor Madalyn!!! I just got my camera back so I will post new pics soon.

Gavin.

2009-06-01T23:41:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of Gavin taking his first bath being home. These pictures are from the first time he was home. I broke my new camera up at Primary's so the pictures from him coming the second time are on Daddy's camera and I have no idea how to download those. So as soon as I can get them on a file I will post them.

Pictures of the latest.

2009-06-01T22:18:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of the girls and the few other things that have happened the past few weeks, other than our trauma with Gavin. The girls were able to come up to the hospital a couple times to see Gavin. Here are some pics.

Playing Peek a boo in the waiting room.

Madalyn graduated on the 15th of May from Preschool. She is off to kindergarten in the fall. We are so proud of her, She has been through a lot in her little life and has had to be her Mommy's rock. We Love ya baby.

Olivia had to participate too.

My sister Saralyn graduated with her Masters on the 4th of May. My girls think the world of her and she has been there so much for me and my family. I am so proud of her, she has worked her butt off for this and still found the time to take care of us. I love ya.

Easter dresses.

Here are a few pictures of the girls just havin' some fun.

Madalyn being silly.

Olivia loves to clean her ears out and walk around with the q-tips in her ears.

Home

2009-05-31T10:14:00.000-07:00

We are home.... again. We we able to bring him home on Thursday night. He is doing good. I will post later with pics. I'm exhausted so i'm gonna go try for a quick nap.

Pictures of the extubation.

2009-05-25T11:09:00.000-07:00

Kisses and Luvs from my Mommy.

Look at me Mama. There's my boy!

His feeding tube kept trying to come out too.

Finally I get to hold him. After 7 long days.

Holding the Daddy's finger

Not so happy.

Right after they pulled it out.

Waiting for all the Dr and nurses to be there to watch just in case something goes wrong.

Right before extubation.

2 months old!!

2009-05-25T09:51:00.000-07:00

Wow I can't believe that Gavin is 2 months today. I just hate that he has to spend it in the hospital. Gavin is doing a ton better. He was extubated yesterday and seems to be tolerating it quite well. He is on high flow oxygen and they are planning to slowly ween him down a bit. I guess they would like him to be around 4 liters to go to the 4th floor which is the infant floor for the rest of his recovery. We have no idea how long he will have to be there but we are hoping for no longer than a week. My birthday is on Sunday and that would be the best birthday gift EVER!! We have been able to hold him for a bit here and there. My arms have ached to hold him so when I was able to yesterday it was AMAZING and very EMOTIONAL. I held him right after they took the tube out so he was extremely ticked off. I think he needed his mama to hold him too cause he calmed right down. We have had to move rooms twice because more serious traumas have come in and they said thats a good sign. So right now we are just waiting. We think that if he does not make it upstairs today for sure by tomorrow. I'll post some pics of the whole extubating process. Thank you to all for the prayers, for my family for helping with the girls and to our Mom's for taking the girls over night for the past week. We don't know what we would do without them.

Update

2009-05-22T09:57:00.000-07:00

I wanted to post a quick update on Gavin. He is doing better, They have been weening him down off the ventilator slowly. He is just a few more steps from having the tube removed, were hoping by Sunday. He has not had any scary episodes lately, thanks goodness. He is still on some sedation meds and pain meds. He seems so far to be tolerating all the changes as of this morning. They did another chest x-ray this morning as well and they are still not happy with the results, they are expecting bigger changes because he is looking a ton better. He still has alot of secretions and gunk on his right upper lobe. He is trying to be more alert. I posted a ton of pictures yesterday to show the progress that has happened so far. We wanted to thank everyone who has keeped our little guy in their prayers, they have truly helped. He is showing great improvements in the right direction. Keep praying for us and I will update as soon as things change. Love you all.

Pics of Gavin

2009-05-21T22:32:00.000-07:00

And with Mommy.

With Daddy tonight.

Looking around, thinking where am I.

Here he is today, trying to open his eyes and see his Mama.

Look at how much puffier his face is. Poor thing was pumped full of a ton of fluids.

Down at Primary's later that day.

And with in hour. Here he is being put on Life flight.

Here he is on Sunday.

Here he is at Davis on Saturday.

Quick vid and update

2009-05-20T22:18:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to try and post a quick video on how our little dude is doin. He's still having a little trouble draining his one lung out so the nurses decided to prop him up to help it along. So he's just kickin back in his boppy. As you can see in the video he's a little more awake than he has been in the last few days which makes us happy, and he's draining quite a bit. I'm so happy to see the little guy fighting so hard and winning. I'm sorry it is a little dark but they had the lights off and I was trying not to blind him so I was trying to cover the light on the camera.

Gavin's update as of right now.

2009-05-18T15:48:00.000-07:00

Well what a day. It at first seemed that nothing had changed from last night to today. The doctors had told us that they were going to change his pain meds to Morphine so they wouldn't have to dose him every few minutes. So at about 11 I decided to go home-(this is Chris by-the-way)- to get some things like clean clothes and stuff. Well as I was getting ready to come back up Rach called me and told me that they had to do chest compressions on him. Apperantly when they gave him his new meds he clamped up and wasn't getting any air. Not cool... So I hit about mach 9 to get back to the hospital. I can't tell you how slow people can be when you REALY need to get somewhere in a hurry. I also can't tell you how many people I gave the bird to on the way to Primary's. When I finally got here they had to do chest compressions and Rach was/is a mess. As of right now they have him more cumfortable and he is doing just fine. His infection from what the doctors is telling us is accutally getting better. He's just going to be a little more "high maintenance" as one doctor put it. Here are a few pictures I just took of the poor little guy. Keep us in your prayers they are appreciated..

Gavin's down at Primary Childrens.

2009-05-17T22:17:00.000-07:00

Gavin is in the hospital at Primary's. He was admitted yesterday to Davis hospital with respiratory distress. He was not responding to the oxygen they put him on. Once we got to the hospital they did a chest x-ray and found that he had pneumonia, so they started treating him for that. In the mean time he will still not responding well to the oxygen so they decided to up it and that seemed to help through the night. In the morning(so today), he was doing OK but by 11am he quickly started showing more signs that something else was wrong. They came to draw blood and suction twice and this time he just laid there not responding or crying like he had done before. So they decided to check his 02 levels in his body and they were through the roof, immediately they knew he needed to be at Primary's. He was not breathing enough to get out the o2 that had been going in to him. So he was totally lethargic and just laid there. They said it was kind of like carbon monoxide poisoning. He was sedated and intubated and life flighted down to the hospital. He is coming off his sedation slowly and he o2 levels are slowly going back to where they need to be. He will have to be here for at least a few days. Please keep Gavin in your prayers.

Meeting my Sisters!!!

2009-05-10T22:57:00.000-07:00

Here we go. We are ready to go home. Waiting in his car seat for the nurses to bring us his discharge papers. He weighed 6lbs 2 oz when we took him home. We had to sleep over in the hospital to learn the monitors and we sleep on the smallest bed, well it felt small when we sleep on a king. My legs were hanging off so you could imagine how far off Chris were. We love having home and here are a few pictures of the girls seeing him "for real" for the first time.

Sleeping on Daddy.

Olivia would get so close but would not actually kiss him. It was quite funny to see her reaction.

Madalyn could not get enough of him and still can't. She just held him and held him. She wants to hold him through everything. Sleeping, feeding, pooping, whenever she can. She is a good"Mommy" and loves to help me.

Happy Mother's Day.

2009-05-10T22:34:00.000-07:00

I have to wish my Mom and my Mother-in-law a very Happy Mother's day. I was very fortunate to have such a wonderful and fabulous mom, who cares for me beyond imaginable. Then I was blessed to gain a wonderful Mother-in-law almost 7 years ago. I could not ask for a better one. I was again blessed to gain a fabulous Step Mom who has brought happiness again to my Dad. And then there is Grandma Vickie who has been like a mom to me, helping out my family any way she can. I love all of these Moms with all my heart and am truly blessed to have them in my life and my family's life. I have to send a greeting out to all of my sisters wishing them a wonderful day as well. My sister Holly became a Mom very young but has proven over the last 6 years that she is a great mom and deserves this title. My sister Saralyn is not a Mom yet but hopefully will be soon one day, but she has been like a second Mom to my girls their whole lives but especially the last few months. And to my sister-in-law's Ashely and Jessica for bringing wonderful boys to our family and being great mom's to them. I have not been able to be the "normal" mom my girls are used to, so thank you to all my "Moms" for the overwhelming help they all have been. I am so blessed to be a mom myself to 4 beautiful children. Becoming a mom has not come easy for me, struggling through a miscarriage, infertility, death of a child, and then nearly dying trying to get my last one here. I would not trade any of it for anything. I know I was meant to be a mom, just never thought it would be so hard. I have to thank my Mom for raising me to be a great mom. Mother's are true gifts from heaven and I'm glad to be one. Happy Mother's Day to everyone that is a Mother or some day will be.

Happy Birthday!!

2009-05-08T19:11:00.000-07:00

I have to wish my sister Saralyn a Happy birthday. You are the best sister anyone could ask for. You have done so much for me and my family and there will be no way I could ever repay you. My girls think the world of you and so do I, and I am so grateful that they have you in their lives. Thank you for everything. I love you. Hope you have a wonderful day.

Also I have to wish my brother-in-law Nate a Happy birthday. Thank you for coming in to my sister Holly's life, you have been a true blessing that this family needed. We love you and thank you for everything. Hope you have a good Birthday as well.

Happy Birthday and We're home!!

2009-05-07T00:23:00.000-07:00

I have to start out wishing my Mom a Happy Birthday. I love you mom and want to thank you for everything you have done for us. You have been a HUGE blessing and a HUGE help my whole life but especially the last few months. Thank you, thank you mom. I truly love you and hope you have a wonderful birthday.
On another note, We are home, well Gavin is at least. We are adjusting to life on his schedule. I am super exhausted but he is so worth it. Madalyn was so excited to see her brother and hold him for the first time, she has not wanted to let him out of her site. Olivia has just had a hard day today, she woke up from a nap a bit cranky so seeing "that baby" at first was not good. She just cried and wanted to be held. When she quit being so upset she did give him kisses. So life here will be hectic for the next few months but we will hopefully be okay. I will post pics tomorrow.

Home?

2009-05-05T14:07:00.000-07:00

It's official we get to "room in" tonight and Gavin will be home tomorrow. Yeah. Unless something goes wrong, which it won't we will finally have our boy home. The nurses want him to stay longer and sometimes I think i do to, this is a whole new ball game for us. But we know he is meant to be here so bring it on. He has been there by far the longest out of any of the babies left in the NICU, so we have become very attached to the nurses there and will miss them. But we are ready for this next step.

Wednesday

2009-05-05T00:04:00.000-07:00

Gavin is so close to coming home. If all goes well today they will let him come home on Wednesday. He was circumcised last night. Poor thing. The nurse said he did really well and did not cry. If he gets to come home on Wed., we will have a sleepover at the hospital tonight. They call it a "room in". He will be coming home on Caffeine for sure and possible oxygen so they will be sending him home on an apnea monitor, when we sleep over they will be teaching us all about the machines and what to watch for and listen for. I am so excited but so nervous, sometimes I feel like a first time mom and I hate that because I think I should know all this stuff, I have taken care of 2 other babies. But I know things are a little different this time, but still. I never imagined that we would have a boy and all the circumstances surrounded by his birth but I can truly say that the love I have for him and for my 3 girls is more than I ever thought possible. I don't know what I would do with out any of my kids in my life. I know my Chloe was watching over me and her little brother that day and I hate that she can not be with us now, but I know she is the reason we are both still here. I miss you baby girl and thank you for protecting your brother. Now all you have to do is keep your mommy "sane" for the next 18 years. Once we have Gavin home and settled I will try to keep you updated on him being home.

1 month, 1 week and 1 day old.

2009-05-02T23:11:00.000-07:00

Gavin is still off oxygen and doing ok. He is now 5 lbs 13 oz and for the last few feedings has been eating around 85cc, like a a bottle and a half. He has been desating a few times but considering he is breathing room air, we say that's pretty good. He may have to go back on it but that;s ok cause they will still let him come home. They are just trying to see how well he can breath with out oxygen. The nurses keep telling us that they think he will be ready to come home sometime next week. We are so ready for him to be be home.

Update and pics of Gavin

2009-05-01T23:33:00.000-07:00

OMG!!(gosh) Isn't he edible?

Oh no, get back here.

Oh Mommy, I'm so tired.

All nice and bundled after my bath.

Hurry bundle me up!!

Need I say anything??? Precious.

Mommy getting my bath ready.

Gavin is 5lbs 11 oz today. He is doing so good and was able to have his oxygen tube out as of 8am this morning. Oh my gosh I was so excited to finally see my baby's face with out all the tubes. He more handsome than I ever thought. He had some tests done and it looks like everything came out good. We are still trying to get the hang of breast feeding but he did really good tonight for a while and then got too tired and started getting frustrated so we went to the bottle. They did the numogram 2 nights ago and decided to switch the formula he was having to an acid reducing one to help with the acid reflux and it seems to help, although he love the breast milk this is helping with the acid. I was able to give him a bath tonight(my first time) and he seemed to like it. He still has his leads on so it was still a littel awkward bathing him with those on his chest but I think we did alright. Our little guy is well on his way to coming home. Things will be very hectic and crazy for a few weeks after he is home because the Doctors and Nurses recommend not taking him out anywhere, so if you want to see him you will have to come to the house. If you or your kids are sick we will have to ask that you wait to see him till things are better. I know this will be hard on all of us, but we know that in order to protect him from getting sick we will have to miss out on alot of things and Chris and I will have to take turns going to events. It will be ok and we will do what we need to. He is a blessing and is meant to be here.

Wendover, Baby!!!

2009-05-01T23:07:00.000-07:00

The infamous tree.
We decided to take a quick trip for the night to Wendover. My sweet Mother-in-law took the girls for us and with Gavin in the NICU we thought we would get away for a bit before he come home. We know ut will be awhile before we can get out like that. It was a short but fun trip. We were able to spend some much needed time just the two of us. Of course we talked about our babies, and what we have been through. We didn't win Millions, although we were hoping because we will have some medical bills to pay for, we went out there for fun. Thanks honey for a great getaway.

Driving to Wendover

Going out with the Honey,

Don't we look cute??

Crazy??

2009-05-01T22:56:00.001-07:00

Madalyn had crazy hair day at school on Wednesday. So here are some pics from that day.

Mommy, Daddy already took my picture.

Crazy hair, Crazy Madalyn

New pics of Gavin

2009-05-01T22:43:00.000-07:00

Oh i love him.

Um, Mommy you're squishing me.

Really, another picture?

Stretching out.

Tests, tests, and more tests.

2009-04-29T21:31:00.000-07:00

Well we found out that Gavin has a heart murmur:( They are going to keep an eye on it and hope he will grow out of it and close on it own. They are running a test on his as we speak, don't know the "big" word for it but basically they stick a tube down his throat for 12 hours and check the Ph in him and check for how much acid reflux he has. It seems to be a simple procedure but anything on my little guy worries me. He is still 5lbs 8 oz today and is now 19 inches long. He is however doing much better on not having his little "episodes" as much, well of course not for anyone but Mommy. They did change his blender(oxygen) and every since they did that, he seems to be on the up hill again. They also ordered another head ultrasound to see if his head is still growing the way it should. Our little guy is still growing so good and we are so proud of him and can't wait to bring him home. Although i will miss the nurses and the "safety" I feel having while he is in there I am ready to have him home and start our crazy life again.

Chris and I are going to Wendover for the night tomorrow just for a quick getaway before Gavin comes home because we know it will be a LONG time before we get to do that again. We are taking off after our CPR class tomorrow. I al excited to get away for a bit but I will miss my babies like crazy. Thanks to my Mother-in-law for taking the girls. I may not have time to update tomorrow but I will when we get back.

Oh Daddy!!

2009-04-29T12:29:00.000-07:00

Daddy went up this morning to feed Gavin and guess what happened?????
NOTHING!!! I think he knows when his Momma is feeding him cause he likes to FREAK me out. Little turd. Speaking of turd, while I was changing his bum yesterday apparently some of his turd wanted to attack my thumb. Luckily I noticed it before it went in my mouth. That's happened before!! I tried to nurse him yesterday... tried is the key word. Well it was our first attempt, he tried. He is still 5 lbs 8oz. They are going to order some test, they think he might have a heart murmur. They are also going to de an ultrasound on his head to see if it is still progressing they way it should. How much is all this going to cost us!! Oh well don't care, he is WELL worth it.

Update.

2009-04-27T22:32:00.000-07:00

Gavin is 5 lbs 8 oz today and doing a tiny bit better. All of his feeding except his 930 one were not the best. He is still desating and they are having to up his o2 flow and put the little mask on his face to get him breathing again. They did do some suctioning on him last night and his airway was clear of "boogies", so it was not that. They were able to talk to the doctor and he is not to concerned, considering that Gavin is still only 34.5 weeks and typically babies don't really start feeding like he has till about 36 weeks, so they of course are keeping a good eye on him. He still is loosing color but they are there to help him out of it and I guess it is helping me learn what to watch for, I can see his numbers dropping but now I know when his color is not good and what to do. We are required to take a CPR class before we can take him home. I will be glad to know CPR just hope I never have to use it on any of my babies. My momma went up with me on his feedings so she was able to see what he was doing. She held him and as soon as the machine went off, she was ready to throw him back at me. He scared his Grandma. I'm so glad to have my Mom and Mother-in-law so close to me and grateful that they are wanting and willing to take the CPR class as well. I love my family and I am still so thankful to them for all they have done and are still willing to do for us. Love you all.

Lots of Posts and pictures. Update on Gavin.

2009-04-26T22:49:00.000-07:00

Look at how cute he is!! Oh I just LOVE him.

What are these things??

He kept trying to pull out his 02

Samurai Gavin, Hi Ya!!

Gavin is not doing so well on his feedings, he was for a while but it may have all caught up to him. Yesterday they pulled his Ng tube(feeding) and he was doing fine all up until today at his 530 and 930 feedings. He is now waking up and telling the nurses he is hungary, so about every 4 hours. My mom went up to his 1100 feeding and he did good. Daddy went up to his 200 feeding and that's when they told him they had changed his feeding to when he wants to feed, which is the last step in the feeding process. So assuming that he kept doing so good on his feeding that he would probably be hime by this weekend. OMG!!(gosh) So soon. Well that was until Mommy showed up for his 530 feeding, he decided to put on a show and scare the crap put of me. He started crying for his bottle so i gave it to him and he started scarfing it down and forgetting to breath, usually he can pull himself out of these episodes but not this time. He kept destating and loosing color, he got to 69 and starting looking a little blue to me, so his nurse grabbed him from me and started shaking him to repsond, it took him a minute but he eventually came out of it. SCARY!!! Becky his nurse says,"Well if he keeps this up it looks like he will be here a bit longer." So I came back up for his 930 feeding just to make sure that his episode earlier was just a one time thing, nope he kept destating, little stinker, so they are going to order a few labs and tests to be ran in the morning. It could be as little as dried boogers in his airway to having another blood transfusion. So lets hope for the Boogers!! Those are easy to suck out. I will update as soon as we know more.

Random Pictures.

2009-04-26T22:26:00.000-07:00

Silly Madalyn.

Madalyn and her cousin Parker

Gavin

Olivia

Aunt Sara got to hold Gavin for the first time on Saturday.

It was finally warm enough to fill up this little pool and let the girls play outside. They were so excited to be out.

My girls!

No NG tube

2009-04-26T22:06:00.000-07:00

Looking at my Daddy.

Daddy feeding me for the frist time without my NG tube(feeding tube). They took it out yesterday. Look at how cute his little face is. One more tube out. Yeah!! There is always a possibility that would have to put it back in, but let's hope not.

Mommy changing me and I peed all over. I think she forgets I have a sprinkling system and it works good.

First bottle

2009-04-26T21:55:00.000-07:00

Here are pictures from Gavin's first feeding. One of his favorite nurses Jan is in the background. We love her, she takes such good care of me.

Look at me and my first bottle!

1 month old.

2009-04-25T22:43:00.000-07:00

Our little boy is doing remarkably well. He is now 5 lbs 5.5 oz. Today Gavin is a month old and for his month birthday he decided that he wanted to get his feeding tube out and be able to bottle feed every feeding, so guess what, he got what he wanted!! They took out his feeding tube at around 2 today and he is bottle feeding every 3 hours. His next step is to wake up on his own and let the nurses know he is hungary, and then if he does all this very well they can't see why he won't be home in about a week for sure no more than 2 weeks. Babies have done so well so fast and relapsed and we are so hoping that will not be him. I really would love to have my boy home by Mother's day. I have taken pictures of him bottle feeding and a few with him with out his feeding tube, so I will post those soon. As for other news in the fam.

Olivia is recovering good from her stitches and has a nice scab over it. She did however decide to pull a figurine on top of it and re-cut it open as well as slice her nose, luckily no stitches were needed for that. Madalyn is still wondering when her brother is going to come home and when she can hold him and feed him. She is almost done with preschool and I know she is excited for that. I think she needs a summer break. She is excited to have a dance recital coming up so she can wear her tinkerbell costume.

My brother Adam proposed to his girlfriend on Thursday and that was an exciting shocker. None of us had a clue. We are so excited for her to officially be a Spicer.
My Sister Saralyn is graduating on May 4th with her Masters, she has worked extremely hard on this and I am so proud of her.

Scentsy Open House

2009-04-24T10:39:00.000-07:00

I have decided to do a Scentsy Open House on Wednesday April 29th at my house. If you do not know where I live let me know and I will send you my address. You can come smell the scents, eat and chat. It will be from 6:30-9:00. If you are not able to make it, but would like to order just leave a comment or call me. I hope most of you can make it, this will really help me make my quota before my 3 months is up. Plus, to get orders by Mother's Day they have to be in by the 30th, so if you need gifts for your Mamma's they will be here just in time.

Gavin

2009-04-24T10:35:00.000-07:00

Gavin is doing so good. He is still out of the isolet and is now on every other feeding with a bottle, this is huge since he just started on the bottle on Tuesday. He was 5lb as of last night. He is getting so big. I think he will be a good size by the time he gets to come home. I'm really hoping by Mother's Day if not by my Birthday, which is the 31st of May.

Scentsy.

2009-04-22T23:39:00.000-07:00

I have decided to sell Scentsy. I have needed something a little more to help out with the finances so things are not so stressful for my hubby. We made this decision before we knew what was going to happen with Gavin and I. I had planned on getting the word out and doing some parties before Gavin came but I guess he had other plans. I'm really excited but really overwhelmed because right now things are crazy at my house and I don't feel I have the time or the strengh to cart around all my stuff. They require you to sell a certin amount in 3 months or you will not be allowed to continue selling and I know the clock is ticking. So im asking all my friends and family to put the word out and if you or anyone you know need scentsy, please give them my number(if you don't have it, shame on you)hehe! I am also thinking about doing an open house at my house to show those of you that are not familiar with Scentsy what it's all about, and if you already know about then you can just come to see me. Let know what you think? I am hoping to start doing parties by June so If you want to schedule a party let me know as well. Also I am going to try to place an order by the 30th of April, so if you are wanting to order for Mother's Day, your orders will be here. Thanks again to all of you.

Big Boy!!!

2009-04-22T22:48:00.000-07:00

Gavin had hos first bottle feeding last night and did not do so well. He was able to get 14cc down, which is good they said for his first time, but he just kept forgetting to breath. So after the 3rd time of his D-sating the nurse decided that he was not ready for it. So today I was not sure if they were going to let him try but when I got up there for him 11 am feeding they decided to let him try. He started off sucking fast and I was worried that he would forget to breath again but he did, he slowly caught his breath and finished the entire 47cc. Since he did so good this morning they would let him try again at his 8 pm feeding and yet again he gulped down the entire bottle and still remembered to breath. Yeah!!! As of tonight he weighed 4 ls 15 oz. They were going to weigh him after his feeding so I'm hoping he has made it to 5 lbs.

And I guess if anyone still cares about me.(just kidding he he!) I am doing much better, i still have people telling me I look pale but I feel like I'm doing so much better. I am going to start doing hair again this week. My Dr. wants me to start slow still because it has only been 4 weeks and my body will still take alot more time to recover.

One more step.

2009-04-21T15:09:00.000-07:00

Gavin is trying to be a big boy and hold his pacifier on his own. We are going to try and bottle feed him tonight because he is doing good sucking and as long as he remembers to breathe when he is feeding they will continue and eventually he will be off his feeding tube, this process may take a few weeks but this is a good step in the right direction. Yeah!!! Also they moved him back into a regular crib again and as long as his temp is good he should stay there. Yeah again!!! Our little guy is still as stinky as ever, and Daddy got to change it for the first time today.

Gavin had to have a blood transfusion yesterday, They did his blood work and found that his red blood cells were low and that he was anemic so they decided that a transfusion was best. They also said that it will help with his temp and that that may be the reason he is so cold all the time. He had to have 2 units of blood, they each took 3 hours to do. The nurse had to put the iv back in his head to do it, usually that is the best place to find a good vein on babies. Poor guy. It went really well and they said his levels were back to where they should be so it looks like it has helped. He may have to have another one before he goes home, but we will see.

Here is a picture of the iv and you can see the blood in the back of the isolet. He was trying to pull on it all the time, not sure if he liked it or not.

Update

2009-04-19T22:49:00.000-07:00

Gavin is 4 lbs 11 oz and 17.75 in today. He is still in the isolet and still stops breathing when he is feeding. His heart rate and oxygen levels have dropped drastically over the past few days when I or Chris are holding him. He gets too comfortable in our arms and forgets to breath. He is still stinky as ever and the nurses love it!! he he. I've told him to get all of that stink out now, cause I won't be able to handle two price boys in the house. They upped his feeding to 39cc, which is 1 oz and 9cc. They also had to start him on caffine because of his heart rate dropping, I guess it stimulates him and gets his heart rate to beat like it is supposed to. You can tell he likes it, in some of these pictures he was wide awake. Maybe he will like Diet coke like his mama. In the picture above my finger is as long as his head, just so you can imagine how little.

Mommy getting me back to sleep before she leaves.

Look at me, I like Caffine.

Hi my Daddy.

Gavin "stinky" Price

2009-04-17T21:39:00.000-07:00

The nurses have given our little guy the nickname of stinky, Anyone guess why? Yup that's right he has the stinkiest number 2 out of all the babies on his side. Today when we went up to see him you could smell him a mile away. Chris said it was so strong he could almost taste it, yuck!!. I on the other hand must be used to stink because I did not smell it as bad as everyone else. When I opened up his isolet that is when i caught a good wiff. Poor thing has to live in his stink. When I was holding him for his feeding they had to let it air out. Like father, like son, right??. Gavin was 4 lbs 9 oz today. He is growing so good. We still have to work on alot of other things but he is doing awesome. He is still in the isolet, and we hope for not too much longer, little stinker can't stay warm. Madalyn and Olivia get to go up and see him again throught the window tomorrow, and they told us that his little cousins could come and peek at him too. I pray my Gavin can be home for Mother's day, but we will have to see, It is all up to him and how well he is doing and how fast he is tolerating things. I am doing much better, still have my weak days and my painful days but I think I am on the up and up. Thanks again to everyone for their prayer, those who made dinners for us, those who have watched the girls and of course a HUGE thanks to all my family for pulling us through this. I know we still have a long road ahead but I am just glad I get to be here for the ride. I love you all. I have to wish Papa Jim a Happy birthday too. We love you.

Gavin

2009-04-16T15:17:00.000-07:00

Gavin is 4 lbs 6.5 oz today. He is still doing good.

Back in the isolet

Madalyn says brother is cute and loves him

Daddy and Gavin

I got a new hat today!!

3 weeks old!!

2009-04-15T21:52:00.000-07:00

Yeah Gavin is 3 weeks old today. He is still doing good. He weighs 4 lbs 5.7 oz. They had to put him back in the isolet because he is still struggling with his body temp. The nurses told us not to think of this as a step back, just a little help for him. He is working and using all his energy and calories on trying to stay warm, so putting him in the isolet will help him not have to work so hard and he can focus his energy on getting bigger. I do have new pics and I will try to post tomorrow but Mommy is so tired so I'm off to bed.

Happy Birthday Daddy.

2009-04-14T21:57:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow April 15th is my Daddy's birthday. It is already his birthday over in Saudi so that's why I am posted late at night because it is morning over there. I love you Dad more than ever. You have been the best father and the best Grandpa anyone could ask for. I am proud to say that. I thank you so much for everything you have done for me, and for Chris, the girls, Chloe and now for Gavin. I hate that you are so far away and we can't celebrate with you, but we will later. I can't wait for you to meet Gavin and see how big the girls have gotten. I miss you everyday and love you and Deb tons.
Happy 50th Daddy. I love you.

new pics of Gavin

2009-04-13T23:06:00.000-07:00

Trying to hold Daddy's hand

He's doing good. 4 lbs 2.5 oz today. He also had a hearing test and he passed. yeah!!

He looks like a grouchy old man in this one.

Stitches anyone???

2009-04-13T22:23:00.000-07:00

My poor baby got her first stitches, 4 to be exact. We were at my grandma's house on Saturday and we ere having our family egg hunt and Olivia wanted to go up some stairs outside that lead to my grandma's garden, well she did not quite make it to the stairs, she tripped and went face first into the rock wall. I ran over to her only to see blood gushing out of her forehead, I immediately freaked out and burst into hysterics, Chris grabbed Olivia from me and rushed her over to my cousin who is an ER nurse and she was able to stop the bleeding, thank goodness. She thought she would need stitches so we headed to the ER. 4 stitches, a sticky, sweaty, exhausted 16 month old, a freaked out colorless mother, and two hours later, we finally made it home. What a way to spend an Easter weekend.

They had to put numbing medicine on it so this is her trying to pull it off, eventually she did and was not a happy girl because we keep trying to put it back on and keep her hands busy on something else.

Before all the trauma.

Update on Gavin

2009-04-10T22:19:00.000-07:00

He is still doing good, he is up to 4 lbs 1 oz. He is opening his eyes alot more and still doing good on learning to suck. They said the results from his head ultrasound(not MRI, sorry) came back normal and everything looked good. Yeah!! He was having a hard time breathing tonight while I was feeding him so they had to cut my holding time down so he could be put back in his crib. But as soon as he was back in his crib, he did a little better. They will just monitor him through the night and hope that does not happen to often. I just love my little guy and can't wait for him to come home.

Egg hunt

2009-04-10T21:36:00.000-07:00

We had a little Easter egg hunt at Grandma yoya's today. The girls had so much fun. Then we colored eggs and that was an experience with all the kids wanted the same color, but in the end they all turned out cute. I did an egg for Chloe. Olivia and Gavin.

Gavin...again

2009-04-08T21:29:00.000-07:00

His head is looking much better now that the skin is starting to grow around his skull.

Trying to open his eyes and find Daddy

Gavin is doing good today, they came and did an MRI on his head today, we have not gotten the test results back yet but the nurses seem to think that if it is bad news they would have said something right away. He is 3lbs 14 oz. The last few days he has gained around 2 oz a day. He had a hard time with his feedings last night, the Dr. just thinks he had an upset stomach, because by morning he was doing much better. Tonight his umbilical cord fell off, and he is starting to suck on a binki. They don't think he will be ready to bottle feed for at least 2 more weeks because even though he is starting to learn to suck he can't suck and swallow at the same time. They tend to forget to breath and that can't happen. I was thrilled to see him sucking though, he is progressing one day at a time.

Yeah a binki, he's learning to suck

Still so tiny especially in daddy's hand.

Here I am, hi Mommy.

Argh!!! Matee

Okay back to bed.

My girls...

2009-04-07T20:21:00.000-07:00

I have to do an update on the girls, I have updated on Gavin so much I feel like a terrible mom forgetting about the 2 other blessings I have at home. First off I have to say a Happy Birthday to my Grandpa Spicer, he passed away in 99 and I dearly miss him. I love you grandpa. Madalyn is going to start kindergarten in the fall and I can't believe it, she will turn 5 in June and I'm okay with her turning 5 but i'm not okay with her going to kindergarten. My baby is growing up. We had her kindergarten round up a few weeks ago and she seems super excited. She is a great big sister, she totally has her moments and know how to push buttons, but we love her and are so grateful for the help she can be. Olivia just turned 16 months yesterday and is learning very quickly how to throw a fit. She is still having a hard time ajusting to mom recovering but I believe she is doing well. I know I will have my hands full when Gavin gets out. Gavin was 3 lbs 11 oz this morning and doing well, he has been graduated out off the isolet but is teetering on what is acceptable for his temp, so he may end up back in the isolet, we will just have to hope he can stay warm. He still looks like he is changing in some way every day.

More and more pictures

2009-04-06T21:35:00.000-07:00

Daddy and Gavin, Oh he's so cute(both of them)

Here is Mommy and Daddy seeing my eyes for the first time, usually we only get one eye looking at us.

Never mind, back to sleep!

Don't tell me that's GAS. I don't believe it!

Here I am again wide awake

I'm trying to stay awake, It's so hard.

Gavin was able to graduate to a regular crib and as long as he keeps a good body temp he can stay out of the isolet. It is a big day when they graduate out of their isolet, so yeah were moving in the right direction.

Burrito Baby!!!

Mommy and Gavin

2009-04-06T21:20:00.000-07:00

My family had my baby shower for me on Saturday, yes it was planned before I had him. I got alot of things for him, since we had nothing boy. So thank you to my family for planning it and to all who came. This was the first day I had gotten ready since I had Gavin, it felt good even though I was hurting quite a bit. After the shower my mom watched the girls so Daddy and I could go see our little guy. I kind of like these pictures because I look half way decent.

Meeting my sisters for the first time!!

2009-04-06T21:05:00.000-07:00

Madalyn was so excited to see her brother, Olivia, not quite sure. She was kissing the window like crazy. I think she likes him now, I'm sure that will change once he's home and taking up all of Mommy's time.