He's finally here...Linken John Fairchild

Our new little boy has finally arrived. He came at the perfect time. I was worried I wasn't going to get all my orders done for my craft fair, but I also didn't want him to be born on Christmas,nor did I want him to hang out until the new year. I finally finished all my orders and on Friday we had spent all day relaxing watching basketball games at the high school. I had been having contractions the whole time but that night after we got home they were getting a bit worse and more consistant. John has been so excited to have his SON come so he finally convinced me that maybe it was time. I was scheduled to be induced on Monday so I thought maybe we should just wait, but to Rock Springs we went anyway. The girls stayed with Grandma of course. I don't know what I would do without my mom!!!

Well, at the hospital they started to monitor me. I was having consistant contractions, but I wasn't dialating. They almost sent me home, but then I finally started to dialate just a bit. They said they would continue to watch me thru the night and in the morning they would give me the pitosen...if needed. So I was up ALL night. The contractions didn't hurt too bad, just uncomfortable. Anyway, so in the morning they did give me the pitosen, and more importantly shortly after that, the epidural!! Then it was just the waiting.

Finally at 1:15 our little Linken Fairchild was born! He came in weighing 6lbs 13 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long. Dr. Etan was the doc on call so he delivered our little boy, rather than my normal doc. But I really liked him and all went well. Most importantly my epidural numbed much more than it did with Brooklyn so the delivery wasn't bad.

Linken and I are both doing well. The pediatrician at the hospital did give us some not so pleasant news though. He informed us that little Linken probably has something called craniosynostosis. What that means is that his skull is fused together. In a normal baby the plates of the skull are not joined so that the plates can expand and grow, allowing the baby’s brain to grow inside the skull. Because little Linken's skull has already been fused, if not fixed, his head/skull would only grow in one direction and he would look very deformed. The doctor said it's hard to tell for sure in a new born, but he pointed out the "ridge" of bone on the top of the head that feels fused as well as a "lump" in the back that is another indicator of the problem. So we now need to get in to see our normal pediatrician and have him refer us to Primary Children's where Linken will need to have a CT Scan to verify the fusion. If it is for sure fused, he will need to under go surgery on his little head. So I feel like we have become regulars at Primary Childrens. Between Kynadi's scoliosis and Brooklyn's cracked skull, we've made more than enough visits there for me. This one is pretty scary for me though. I don't even like to think about my new little boy having to have surgery. I about lost it when they had to put Kynadi out for her CT scan, and I'm sure it will be just as bad to see Linken have to go through the same thing, plus having to have his little head opened up. It's scary! The pediatrician at the hospital reasured us that Primary Children's does things like this all the time so everything should be just fine. I'll pray that it is.

Well, besides that our new little boy is great! He is such a good baby. No shrill cry like Brooklyn and he only cries when necessary...unlike Brooklyn as well. I could have more babies if they all come out with little Linken's personality. Let's hope his habits stick. Both the girls love him. Kynadi keeps saying how cute her little brother is and Brooklyn is always looking and pointing at him with a huge smile. So all is well in the Fairchild home!

Trip to Morgan and Joes

I know we have more exciting news right now, but I want that to be top post so I'm going backwards. So back to Thanksgiving.

We headed out on our long trip to Arizona on Tuesday night before Christmas. The plan was to stop in Moab and sleep at Grandma & Grandpa Silvers place. Mindy and Kelsey rode along with us for the exciting drive. We actually hit moab and ALL the kids were asleep so we decided to keep driving through the night. Thank goodness John can drive that long without getting too tired. I was the one that made the ride long...being 8 months pregnant, I had to stop at the restroom A LOT! It was definately not a comfortable drive for me. Anyway, after being pulled over by the Navajo Indian police and Mindy insulting him by asking about their crappy "abandoned" looking houses, and Brooklyn puking a few times, we made it to Morgan and Joe's house early that morning.

The first day we just hung out and rested. Then Thanksgiving day was fairly relaxing too. Morgan did a great job with our "feast". The next day we got up early and did some shopping to find some good black Friday deals. No such luck. I did find John a good Christmas gift on special as well as a $4.00 mixer I've been needing but other than that...nothin. Although, the minute we stepped into Wal-mart Morgan went crazy grabbing all kinds of things she didn't even necessarily want...just put it her cart so they wouldn't be gone if she did decide she wanted them.

Anyway, that night we went to Mesa to see the lights on the temple turn on. It was fun to see. I was probably the party-pooper though, because I was hurting pretty bad as a fat, prego woman walking around for so long trying to keep track of two kids. Here's some pics of that.

While we were there we also visited the big park in payson near Joe's work. It is really pretty. We also went fishing in the pond that's in the middle of the park. John was proud that he caught a fish, although I'm sure Morgan was not a fan of it being cooked at her house. The fishing was not so relaxing to me as I was scared one of the girls was going to fall, run, or trip off the dock and drown. It was more stressful than anything. Other than that we had a lot of fun. It was fun to finally get to see where Morgan and Joe live and the things they talk about. Thanks guys!!

Well, on the way back we stopped and spent the night in Moab and did a little off-roading in the morning. We were in search of a good arch and here's what we found...

Now you can see the real size...

Not quite what we were looking for, but it makes a cute frame for faces.

Here's the real arch we found, but when we tried climbing to it, we realized it just wasn't going to be so easy...and impossible with three children (and Mindy..lol). Here's John thinking he can climb with Brooklyn..hasn't she already had her head cracked!!!

Some more pics...

Along the way we saw quite a few cows, which Brooklyn loved. Then on our way out, we past some people riding horses. They were kind enough to stop and show the horses to the kids close up. That was pretty fun for them.

Thank you

Thank you Morgan, Joe and Boston!
Morgan and Joe were kind enough to let us all barge in on them for Thanksgiving this year. They were great hosts and Thanksgiving was good!
I was going to write more and post some pics, but my mind isn't in the writing mode so I will post all about it later...when I get a chance...lots to do before this baby pops out!! Yikes the clock is ticking, it could be any day now. AHHHHH!

Another Scoliosis update on Kynadi

Yes, Brynn I am writing about it again! Anyway, despite my sisters love of hearing about Kynadi's back, I'm posting as usual for my own records..not hers!

Well we headed for Utah for Kynadi's appointment at Primary Children's in mid November! They took x-rays as usual, and things look great!! She started out with a 56 degree curve in her back and now it is down to a 15 degree curve, isolated in her lower back. Her upper spine, where the curve showed before, is straight now! The x-rays looked great. The doctor said if she were to have come in initially like that, they wouldn't have done anything for her except monitor her. He said a lot of the time with children, the scoliosis will go away as they grow. So he told us Kynadi doesn't have to wear her brace for the next six months and then we'll see how she looks at that point. If she stays the same they'll just leave her out of the brace and keep monitoring it, otherwise back to the brace we go. But for now YIPEE!! It has been so nice to be told, "mommy I need to go potty" and to be able to tell her she can do it all by herself now...no onesie to tuck in her shirt to avoid the toilet water, no brace to help take off and NO fighting/convincing Kynadi to lay back down so I can put the brace back on. Especially with a baby almost here, it will be nice to have a break from the hassels of the brace!! I just hope she really does out grow the rest of the curve.

A Story...In Memory of Tippy :(

Well Tippy, my parents dog, which we've had since I was probably in middle school, died about a month ago. She was just too old. Anyway, Mom was gone on an overnight trip to UT for work, so Kynadi and I dug a hole to bury her in, out behind the fence. During this time I was having to explain to Kynadi a bit about what it meant that Tippy had died and why we were digging a hole. I wasn't quite sure if she understool. Well, about a week or two later we were driving somewhere and we pass a man outside digging a hole. Kynadi was quick to piont it out and said, "mom he probably has a dead dog too!" LOL Maybe so, there's few other reaasons I can think of for digging a hole..she must be right! :)

Another video for Corbyn and Landen

Here's our salute to Veterans Day....and the next video request for Corbyn and Landen

This one's for you Corbyn and Landen...

Brynn told us the Corbyn and Landen like to watch the videos we post so we made one just for them. Notice Brooklyn's hair...YIKES! )

HALLOWEEN...Sneak peek

Our town had a little Halloween party at the park last weekend. It was not the best...more of a money maker, but here's a peak at what the girls will look like for Halloween. Kynadi is a pink "Friendly" witch and we call Brooklyn a Diva.

The First SNOW!!!

I walked up the stairs today a bit groggy with Brooklyn and was surprised to find the outside covered in WHITE. There was snow everywhere. I couldn't bleive it. It has gotten colder lately but I hadn't been wearing a coat or anything, just jackets...if that. Anyway, Kynadi was pretty excited when she woke up so right after breakfast we bundled up (at least the kids, I don't seem to have snow clothes) and headed outside. It was perfect snow for a snowman! This doesn't seem to happen too often so we took advantage. Here are some pics of the girls and then our finished project :)

Brooklyn the Bully

So the other day Kynadi and Brooklyn were playing in the living room. John and I were just watching. They were doing tumbling and standing on their heads...very cute, but besides the point. Anyway, Brooklyn was standing on her head (she just bends over and puts her head on the floor) and Kynadi attempted a summer-sault (however you spell that). Well her tumble landed her on top of Brooklyn. It didn't hurt Brooklyn as much as it probably surprised her. So she got herself back on her feet standing, then she goes over to Kynadi and gives her a head butt. Then she turns and gives us this mean little look. John and I thought it was soooo funny. She is such a funny, fiesty little thing. You can't help but laugh at her.

From the Mouth of Kynadi..again.

So last night John turned on some music to go to sleep to. Note: Kynady was lying on our floor to sleep. Anyway, Elvis starts playing and I make some wise crack about how someone should have shot him...blah blah blah...John and I somehow start talking about how Kennedy and Lincoln were shot and where. Suddenly little Kynadi pipes in, with a little giggle like she can't believe our foolishness, "NO Dad, I got shot at the Doctors". So funny. I'm just grateful she didn't know what "shot" we were talking about. I love the simple mind.

I'm so glad when Daddy Comes home

John had just gotten home from work and we had heard the front door open. I thought this was cute. Just look at how excited Brooklyn gets. :)

Halloween Decor

We attempted Grandma & Grandpa Walker's ghost circle. This is how it turned out. Not as good as Grandma's, but Kynadi likes it so I guess it will do.

First day of Preschool

Kynadi started preschool on Sept. 9th. I'm just slow at posting.

She was really excited to go, but I could tell when we actually got there she was nervous and she didn't want to go in without me. It didn't take long to settle down though.

She goes to a preschool at a lady's house. "Ms. Kari" as she is called, is in my parent's ward and was the singing leader while Kynadi was in nursery. Kynadi LOVED her. So when I learned she was teaching a preschool I figured I'd better sign Kynadi up.

Here's some pics of her first day.

After her first day, she wouldn't tell me what they learned but she sure wanted to go back. She got mad when I told her she gets to go twice a week, she said, "no five times!" As I was trying to pry out of her what they did, I asked if she got to go outside and play. She got upset and told me they got to go outside, but, "I had to learn, she wouldn't let me play" then a cry. Silly. She was a bit tired when I asked her, but I tried to explain preschool was for learning. Regardless she loves it now and looks forward to going.

Our little "Crack Head"

Well our trip to SLC didn't end on the most pleasant note. We had planned on leaving Saturday night, and at around 9:00 that night we had been loading up the car. Well Andrew came over to show Kynadi his dog. BLASTED DOG! When he got there everyone went outside to see the dog. Grandpa Texas picked up Brooklyn so she could go see the dog too. I was just behind them and as they went outside and off the porch, Grandpa Texas missed his step or something and Brooklyn and Grandpa took a bad fall. I saw and heard Brooklyn's little head hit the pavement, she bounced and hit it again. I felt frozen. I hate rememebering it all even as I write. John quickly rushed and picked Brooklyn up. She was screaming at the top of her lungs. I paniced and ran over as well. John said I asked for Brooklyn, but I knew I didn't want her, because I knew if she passed out and I was holding her I would completely lose it. I went over to my father-in-law and asked if he was ok, but quickly went back to John and Brooklyn. It's all kind of a blurr. I feel bad for leaving Grandpa Texas just laying there too, it probably didn't feel too good for him either. I'm grateful someone went to him, since I was worried about my little baby.

So John was holding Brooklyn and took her inside. At this point Kynadi had come over and was crying and no cooperating as well. I think she was just afraid since she knew Brooklyn was hurt, and she could tell John and I were both worried. She was acting out since she didn't know what else to do.

Anyway, at some point inside I finally got to hold Brooklyn. She was still screaming. It was almost worse to hold her because I could tell something was wrong. She wouldn't stop crying, but she couldn't hold herself up either. So I told John to give her a blessing and then we would take her to Primary Childrens. So after what seemed like forever...I felt like everyone was just taking their time to find the oil and give her the blessing, but it finally happened. Then John and I got in the car with Brooklyn and headed off. Kynadi stayed with Barbara, thankfully! I sat in the back holding Brooklyn trying to keep her awake. Neither of us were buckled up and John was not driving too slowly. The ride was scary in itself. Brooklyn kept wanting to fall asleep but I thought if you had a conconsion you shouldn't go to sleep. Anyway, I lost it in the car, I was so worried.

We finally made it to Primary Children's though and John dropped us off at the door. There was some relief just being in the hospital. But as I stood in line to talk to the receptionist in the ER Brooklyn started puking everywhere. This put me in more of a panic. The gentlemen in front of me stepped aside and let me go next. I almost burst into tears I was so afraid for Brooklyn. Anyway, the receptionist thought she had the flu and asked if she was just sick. When I explained about her hitting her head they got us right back. At this point John had joined us. We talked to a nurse right away and that helped calm me down. They said to let her sleep, so I finally just held her and let her rest on me. They also gave Brooklyn some PJ's and me a shirt to get out of our thrown-up ones. This was a perk...I now have a shirt to match my pajama pants.

Anyway, we talked with a couple nurses. Each wanting us to explain exactly what happend. This continued during our stay...we assumed they wanted to make sure no abuse had gone on. After talking with the nurses we waited in the waiting room to see a doc. We waited about 15 min and then they took us back. The doc asked us again what had happened and what kind of symptoms we were seeing. Since Brooklyn is so little she said it would probably be best to get a CT scan since we didn't know if she was dizzy or could speak well, ect. This made me feel good, just to be sure of what was going on. Well, since I am pregnant I couldn't go in with her for the CT scan. This was probably better. John went in and I stayed outside the door and listened to her cry. Not so fun. To make this long story a little shorter, they discovered from the scan she had fractured her skull. It was fractured on the back of her head, and the doc said that that part of your skull is the hardest part and to fracture it meant she must have hit hard. She said she obviously had a concusion but no bleeding or anything inside the brain so that was good. They said the first 24 hours were critical though and so they wanted to keep her there that night just to watch.

It was a long night. She HATED being hooked up to the monitors. She was tired, hurting, and I'm sure the last thing she wanted was things being hooked to her to make it more uncomfortable. No one slept too well that night. It seemed like everytime I had just gotten her to go to sleep a nurse came in to check her vitals and wake her up to see her response. Poor thing, just wanted to be held, so most of the night was spend holding her in the black chair in the corner (shown in the picture with John).

By mid-morning Sunday though, she seemed to be doing much better. She had terrible balance, but she wanted to play a bit. By that afternoon, she was ready to go I think. We found some toys to play with in the lobby area of the RTU and she like that. When I took her to the room she was cute and would wave bye-bye wanting to leave.

Well, that afternoon the docs said she was looking good so they released her. She was definately not completely herself, but who could blame her.

We headed back to WY that evening and she seemed to do fine. Monday morning she threw up again which worried me, but after talking to the nurses I settled down. If she threw up again then I had need to worry. Her balance Monday was AWEFUL at best. She wanted to walk but could hardly do it. She would get frustrated and just hold her arms out to me to be held. Anytime she tried walking I had to follow right behind her to catch her. The last thing I needed was for her to fall and hit her head again.

So it's been over a week now and she has finally gotten her balance back and is her fiery, funny little self. Although I must say, this week in sacrament is the first week I have stayed in the sacrament room the entire hour...so the crack has helped somehow :)

Needless to say I'm grateful she is doing well. The doc said I'll have to watch for future developement to make sure she is on track, just to be sure it heals right, but so far so good. I feel very blessed that nothing more serious happened and that all went well. I love my little Brooklyn and I'm sooo glad she's well.

The pics show the room we stayed in and our new attire after the throw up. The cage is the crib they have for her to sleep in. As you can see she didn't like that too much.