Fairchild Family

2012-01-15T17:54:00.000-08:00

We have finally moved to our dream house on the ranch and are raising llama!we hAve adopted a chip name Emma! What a perfect life.... Whos could be any better...?!? No one!!!!!!!!!!$!!!!!!!$!$!$

Kyndai's Talent Show

2011-06-06T18:58:00.000-07:00

Kynadi Talent Show

2011-06-05T21:57:00.000-07:00

Linken Going to Bed

2010-07-25T21:54:00.000-07:00

We had Caitlin staying at our house for a few nights while her mom was out of town. So I told the girls they could all sleep upstairs and have a movie night. Well, apparently Link wanted to join in the fun (not that I can blame him). This is how he responded when I wanted to take him downstairs to go to bed in his crib. It was a nice try but he didn't get his way.

My Sweet Grandma Walker

2010-05-30T22:52:00.000-07:00

These are some of my favorite pictures right now. They were taken about a month or two ago, and are the last pictures I have with my Grandma Walker. I'm so grateful I got to see her this day. She has had a long battle with cancer and wasn't doing well. We had gone down just to visit her, but because of her doctors appointment that day, the visit was short. John took the kids so they weren't running around like maniacs and I got to visit with her for about an hour and a half. It was nice. This was the last time I saw my Grandma in a somewhat normal way. She was completely coherent and we had a normal conversation just about everyday life. The next and last time I saw her after this trip, she was not as coherent and did not get out of bed...she was very frail and ready to be done with this earthly life.

I'm so glad I took the time to see her this day...even if it was for just a short while. Grandma was funny....when John came to pick me up, I hesitated to let the kids come in since Brooklyn hadn't been feeling that well. Grandma insisted it was fine. So they came in and I asked if we could all get a picture. Grandma had just had a treatment and had to stay lying down for the day, but she got up to take the pictures with all of us. I was trying to be a bit selective with Brooklyn and her sickness, and Grandma said, "it's fine, what's the worste that could happen", then scooped Brooklyn right up on her lap. John and I had a good chuckle at this. I guess if your on your last leg of life, she made a good point.

Anyway, Grandma passed away on May 20th and I miss her lots, but I also know she's happy. She was an incredible woman, and I feel blessed to be as old as I am and to have had her in my life for so long.

I'll post more about her and her funeral later, but I was looking at these pics and just thinking about her now.

The brighter side of life.

2010-05-30T22:40:00.000-07:00

Not sure why this picture is turned this way, but I'm too tired to care right now.

I don't know what it is about pictures at the park, but I have always loved them. Whether they are of my kids or someone Else's, park pictures just seem to be so bright and cheery. So this is our first trip to the park this spring. It was pretty chilly but the kids still loved being outdoors finally. Our trips to the park have been few though since we have had snow multiple times since then.

Kynadi looks so determined to stand on the swing..I'm pretty sure she got it.

Linken didn't want to let his sandwich go while he was playing...here he is rescuing it.

My girls LOVE the swings, which is unfortuneate since all I hear is , "mom, push me".

I LOVE bed time

2010-05-30T22:25:00.000-07:00

As much as I love my kids, by the end of the day I'm sure glad it's bed time. I'd like to say I got them to bed and then worked on that HUGE pile of laundry you can see in the background(picture below)...but let's be honest, I probably laid on my bed and turned on a show.

These pictures are how Linken can often be found...snuggling a blanket. I think it's so cute. He often hands me his blanket first when I go to get him out of the crib in the morning. Throughout the day if he spots a little blanket of his, he will usually go grab it and hand it to me to wrap around him, or he just carries it around, as in the second picture. My one complaint about this is his new "trick". He knows all the blankets are kept in the armoir in his room, so he'll go in there and start pulling them all out until he gets the one he wants, and even after he gets the one he wants I think he continues to pull more down just to test my patience.

Easter...Finally posting

2010-05-30T21:33:00.001-07:00

Easter this year was a bit different for us. We celebrated just as our little family. Usually we spend it with Grandma, Grandpa and Kelsey is here a lot too. This year I think my Mom was in Utah with Grandma Walker and Kelsey was with her Mom (go figure). So anyway, we still had Grandpa and he had just gotten back from his re-hab stay and was all excited about life. So we picked him up Saturday to go to the egg hunt at the convalesent center. We go there just in time to line up and spend two minutes scrounging for eggs. Then we were done. What excitement. I'm sure my dad was thrilled to have gotten all dressed and ready for that!

Anyway, I am not used to doing easter on my own and had forgotten that we didn't have easter baskets. I believe they're at my parents house somewhere. So we improvised and came up with these little hand-made baskets(in picture above), that worked just great. Plus I threw them away when we were done and I didn't have to worry about storage. Perfect. I felt a bit like Martha Stewart.

Well we did the traditionally painting of eggs, and of course the Easter Bunny came and hid everything in the morning. Since it was General Conference that weekend, we stayed in our PJ's and just had a relaxing Easter Sunday! It was nice.

These first pictures were taken before church the next Sunday...all dressed up in their Easter clothes.

I love this picture of John helping Linken with his jacket...I don't know why, it's just a cool picture to me.

What a little stud.

That Saturday night as the girls were getting their baskets out with the eggs in them, Linken learned how to climb on the cofee table. He was sure proud of himself. He also discovered when he stood up on it he could see out the window, which he thought was a good time.

Miss Kynadi

2010-05-30T21:31:00.000-07:00

No real reason to post, I just like this picture of Kyandi. What a cutie. I love her!

What a Round Head

2010-05-30T21:17:00.000-07:00

I just found these pictures. I had taken them right after Linken was done with his helmet to show how round his head is now. It's like a perfect little head. I'm grateful for technology! You can kinda see his scar on the back of his head, but the one on top is not noticeable at all. :)

This was the day Link had his surgery. You can see his head is kind of a funny shape.

This was just after he was done wearing the helmet.

Our Trip to Houston...back in March

2010-05-28T19:43:00.000-07:00

The day John was offered his new job at Halliburton he imeediately gave his two week notice at Home Depot. This was fine except for the fact he had to wait until his background check came back to start at Halliburton. This took longer than excpected and so there was a two week period when John was technically unemployed. We decided at the last minute this would be a great time to go visit John's family in Texas. So we loaded up the car and headed out.

I was a bit worried about the 24 hour drive we had ahead of us and three kids ages 4,2, and 1 being in there with us, but it turned out great. We had planned on stopping along the way, but every time we got to a place that the kids could get out and play, they were doing great in the car. So we kept on going. We drove through the night so they slept a lot of the journey. The only time we had any problem was about an hour or two outside Houston.. Linken started getting a bit restless and cranky. At that point though, John said we had made it this far and we weren't stopping that close. So we drove the whole 24 hours without stoppin other than to gas up.

Well, like I said we decided at the last minute to go so we thought it would be fun to surprise
John's family. We got there Monday night around 7:00 and went to John's sister Tammy's house first. We knocked on the door and gave them a big surprise. They thankfully took us in. The best surprise wa the John's mom the next day.

His parents work as missionaries in the cannery so we decided to show up there. Tammy led us there and when we arrived we decied Tammy should go in first with just Linken. We took Link's helmet off so it didn't completely give it away. Tammy said she went and found Grandma TX and she asked who the little boy was. Tammy just said she was babysitting him. Then the rest of the conversation went a little something like this:
Grandma TX: "What's his name"
Tammy: "Linken"
Grandma TX: "Just like our Linken and he has red hair like our Linken too"
Tammy:" Yes"
Grandma TX: "How old is he"
Tammy: "One"
Grandma TX: " oh, just like our Linken"
Tammy: "Yeesss"

At this point Link started getting fussy so Tammy said she was going out ot hte car to get his binki, and she came outside ot tell us the story about how Grandm TX had no idea that it was her linken. Then we all went insisde and gave he a HUGE surprise. John's Dad came out of the restroom right after we had gone in. He saw us, did a bit of a double take, jumped, and had a great big smile. It was fun to surprise them and I don't think we'll ever let Grandma TX live down the story of not knowing Linken even after making all the comparisons. Too Fun! I love surprises!

Well the rest of the week was filled with lots of fun, including lots of shopping for Tammy and I, rock band, a trip to the zoo (where I have never waited so long to find a parking spot
in my life), a treat from Tammy to Build-a-Bear, out to the movies to see Princess and hte Frog, eating out, and lots of visiting and enjoying being around the Fairchilds. It was lots of fun and we were grateful for Tammy and Mark and thier kids for letting us bombard their house and cause them to rearrange their daily lives for us.

Here are some pics of the trip:

Above our some pics of Kyandi at a reptile store. She got to go with Tammy, Mary, Andrew and Spencer. They said there was a HUGE snake there.

Aunt Tammy amazingly got Brooklyn to take a nap.

Linken with Aunt Mary...this was the best pic I got

Brothers!

On our way through the mall to Build-A-Bear we saw this pet store and had to go in. The kids LOVED it. Linken loved seeing the dogs as long as they were not too close.

Brooklyn doesn't look it, but they were pretty excited about getting to build their first pet.

Kynadi got right into stuffing her bunny, but Brooklyn was a bit nervous so I had to help.

Kynadi was so cute, she was so serious about getting her new bunny washed and brushed. It was lots of fun.

This is at the cannery. Kynadi is dressed as a worker. She took this all home so she can dress like this for the next Halloween. :)

The Thayers love Macs and are the ones that sold John on them. So here is Links new Helmet sticker. They labeled him "I-Link" This could be profitable for Macitosh .

There always has to be a wrestling match... I think Tammy wins!

Brooklyn is playing with a remote control spider. Linken was deathly afraid of it, which I think made it more fun for the girls. It made him cry every time he saw it move.

Gettin down with some Rock Band!

From the Mouth of Kynadi...

2010-05-03T20:09:00.000-07:00

Kynadi has always said such funny things to me. She's a sharp little kid and nothing gets past her. Well just yesterday she cracked me up. After our dinner prayer Kynadi says to me, as serious as ever, "Mom, I can't hear with my eyes closed". LOL Oh yeah, is that why they are always open during the prayer? Everything makes sense now. SO funny to me.

Then today I realized again how much I have to watch what I say around my little bean. I guess at preschool the teachers were asking what elementary school the kids would all go to. They told me that Kynadi informed them that we weren't sure which school she would go to because we are trying to buy a house on Knotty Pine St., but we're not sure if we will get it or not because it is a short sale. What, she really knows all that?? That little Kynadi picks up on everything. If anyone ever wants to know my deepest darkest secrets they'd just have to ask her.

No More Helmet!!!

2010-04-11T18:49:00.000-07:00

So I've been wanting to catch up with my blog in the right order, but my next blog is our trip to TX and I don't know if I have the patience right now to wait for all the pictures to upload, so I'm going to skip that for now and move on to our exciting news.
Most people know, but I need to get it down in writing. Linken is FINALLY helmet free!!! On March 11th we (just me and three kids as always) headed to Utah for Linken's one year post-op appointment with the surgeon. As always, we met with Mike, at Shield's Prosthetics, first where he takes pictures of Links head then scans Link on a fancy machine to get a three-D graphic enabling him to measure Links' head growth. It is still incredible to me all the math/smarts that goes into developing the helmet, and Kynadi's brace as well. But anyway, that's besides the point, Mike said he looked good, the helmet looked good, but it was up to Dr. Siddiqui, the surgeon to determine if it got to come off. So off we went with the scans and ratio's up to Dr. Siddiqui's office, this time at The University of Utah Hospital. I'm going to digress for a min...

Dr. Siddiqui is actually a plastic surgeon so I always amuse myself going into his Uof U office rather than his one at Primay Children's. Obviously at Primary Children's you aren't seeing a plastic surgeon for the same reasons an adult would see him at Uof U. So I'm always judging (I know unrighteously) the people that come in, wondering what kind of plastic sugery they will be getting, or have gotten. It makes me chuckle a bit. I'm sure most people are not there for "optional" plastic surgery, but I still let my mind make up stories.
Also, we always have to wait forever at U of U, but this time I was intrigued by the police officers bringing two convicts in shackles up the hall and into a little holding spot right outside the open waiting room doors. I kept wondering what they were doing there. And the police just had them wait there the whole time we were there. I still wish I could ask what was going on. I'm so nosy! But I'll move on since I'm not sure why any of that matters.

So we met with Dr. Siddiqui and he felt the top of Links head and says all the bone, except one little spot, has grown in and that he looks great. He continues to tell us we don't need the helmet anymore!!!! YIPPEE! I wanted to say, "good, because I've been pretty lienent with him wearing it anyway", but decided against that and just thanked him instead. Now we only have to go back once a year for five years, which beats every other month like it was for awhile.
Well, while we were walking back out to the car I was caught up in the excitement of knowing we didn't have to deal with the helmet anymore and told the girls excitedly that Linken was finished with it. Surprsingly to me Kynadi burst out, "that's not fair". This is when I realized what a hard moment it was for her. She still has to wear her brace. Poor thing. She asked when she will get to stop wearing it, but we really don't know. My poor little four year old has been in a brace before Linken was even born (Brooklyn too in fact) and now she's seen Linken from the beginning to the end of his helmet and there is no end in sight for her. I felt guilty for being so happy for Link and can't wait for the day when Kynadi can see an end to hers as well.

As we drove away the whole thing was strangely a bit bitter sweet for me. I don't know if it was because of the conversation and realization I had with Kynadi or just knowing we had come to the "end" of that stage of Link's short life. I'm not sure how to explain what I felt or if I completely understand it. Of course I was happy we are done with the helmet and my little Linken is healthy and doing well. But part of me was sad. I think it may be that as I have seen so many different children in the halls and rooms at Primay Children's I have realized how special they really are. Everytime I go there I realize how precious life is and how unimportant all the worldly things are. I hope others feel that when they are there. Something about children suffering (whether a little or a lot) puts life in a whole different perspective. Linken is past that stage now, and although the helmet is gone, he was one of those special children I had seen in the halls and in my heart he still is. I guess in some ways I feel since he doesn't have the helmet to mark him as one of those special children I fear others won't see him that way. I don't know. I am sooo happy and grateful to have a healthy boy, but it was definitly an emotional day.

Who needs toys, when you have a brother

2010-04-04T21:22:00.000-07:00

I turned around one night to find Linken sporting this new antenna. I couldn't help but laugh. After questioning the two most likely culprits, indeed they were guilty. They couldn't help but stick their new tooth brushes (with suctions on the end) to Linken's helmet. Linken was clueless as to why the girls had been following him and pushing on his head. Poor kid, then he didn't like that I was following him with a camera instead of holding him and saving him from the girls.

Yet another cupboard dweller!

2010-04-04T21:14:00.000-07:00

Not sure why, but the bathroom cupboard must have some appeal to small children, as this is not the first child I've found like this!

Don't try this at home Kids!

2010-04-04T20:55:00.000-07:00

...unless your mom thinks your stinkin cute and you can get away with it!!

I had just taken out a load of laundry and Link was right behind me climbing in. The girls thought they should get in too, so we had to have a little lesson on how dangerous it could be, take a few pictures of Linken, then get him out and ruin three little kids fun. He was sure excited about his new adventure, I hated to ruin it, but didn't want the dryer to become the newest hiding place or anything.

Soccer Star...Almost! :)

2010-04-04T19:47:00.000-07:00

Kynadi-excited for her first game

Well we signed Kynadi up for soccer this year and it was lots of fun. It is definitely not a long season...only about 6 weeks. She was so excited before hand and constantly asked when she got to start. I thought this enthusiasm was cute, considering she really had no idea what soccer was other than a game with a ball. When it came right down to it though, she was a bit hesitant. The first practice revealed what the entire season was like. She loved being on the team, but was nervous about kicking the ball when there was a swarm of other kids around. She much preferred to just run and let the others fight for possession. One practice I could tell she was overcoming her fears and was going after the ball a little bit. But then, this boy who I'll refer to as "the giant" came and kicked the ball right as Kynadi was trying to. He brought Kynadi's feet out from under her and she took a massive face plant to the floor. Poor kid! Needless to say, she didn't go after the ball much after that.

During the games she was so funny to watch. Half the time she didn't even watch the ball. She was always playing with her hair (I think this was because she was a bit nervous), and when she was the goalie she'd rather hang on the bar than pay attention to the game.

A little video of her following the pack, but a bit afraid to get too close.

Paying lots of attention to the game, but not making a move! :)

Playing with her hair-AGAIN

Hanging from the goalie

Here comes the garbage man!

2010-03-07T23:11:00.000-08:00

My kids love Thursday when the garbage man makes his route down our street. He seems to come around 8:30 a.m. just as we are eating breakfast. We can always hear his loud roar coming, and the girls excitedly run for the counter where they perch in front of the window to watch the big truck grab our can and dump out its contents. They are mesmerised.

Purple Pals

2010-03-07T23:07:00.000-08:00

Kelsey was visiting and the three girls all ended up dressing in purple and of course they thought that constituted a picture. My girls love when Kelsey visits...they can't wait for a few more weeks when she comes to stay with us for a week!!!! Yippee!

When do I get this Job???

2010-03-07T23:05:00.000-08:00

I always seem to get the children in their waking hours, so I want to knwo why John always seems to get this job.

What a hat!

2010-03-07T22:58:00.000-08:00

I love this picture of Linken. It was a cold night and we were on our way to see Dad at the hospital. The girls were dressing warm and thought Linken needed to as well. They found this hat and it even fit over his helmet. He sports it well if you ask me. :)

Christmas 2009

2010-03-07T22:16:00.001-08:00

This is the best pic I could get of the three of them in their new PJs

This year was the first year we had Christmas at our house and not my parents, since no one else was here. It was wierd but still enjoyable. We went on our traditional ride to see Christmas lights Christmas eve and the kids got to open their new PJ's that night too. Kynadi and Brooklyn were soooo excited as expected, but the threat that Santa wouldn't come unless they were in bed worked wonders. We had a good Christmas and here's some pics of our Christmas day.

Brooklyn with her final outcome

Kynadi with her final outcome

Linken loving his new toy from Grandma and Grandpa

Brooklyn in her new attire from Penny and kids--they spoiled our kids

I'm not sure what Kynadi got, but she obviously loved it

"I think I like this Christmas stuff"

Brooklyn asked for a Dora doll everytime she was asked what she wanted for Christmas

Linken's Car "town" - everyone had fun with it

Just relaxin

Penny gave my girls some baby-alive's which turned out to be the biggest hit. They played for hours and hours with them. I got credit for nothin'...they both thought all the other gifts were from Santa.

Stinky-Linky turns 1!

2010-03-07T21:08:00.000-08:00

I know I'm soooo behind but I want to catch up on things before I forget everything. And as I've stated before this blog is for MY memory and not for entertaining those online!!! :)

Linken got two cakes, I bought the cupcakes and then Penny and her kids brought the cake over for him...they're GREAT!

Soooo...back on December 20th Linken turned one-year old! I can't believe it! He is such a cute little boy. I just love being his mom. I've never enjoyed having a baby so much. Not that I don't LOVE my girls to death, but with Kynadi as my first, everything was new and it was a bit scary entering the unknown territory of motherhood, then with Brooklyn she was such a fussy baby that it was hard to enjoy life through all the shrill screams and cries. So I've LOVED having my little baby boy around. He is so content and laid back. He smiles all the time and really does light up a room. His dimples are adorable and his giggle is my favorite sound. I love being able to take his helmet off and rub his head and cheeks against mine, something I didn't realize I loved so much until I couldn't.
In his first little year he has endured a lot with his surgery and all, but the doctors say his head looks great now and it won't be long before we get to take the helmet off for good. (I'm hoping in four days when we go to his appointment at Primary Children's) He will probably have the roundest head of any kid around. He has definitely been a trooper and I forget he is wearing his helmet until I see funny looks or hear curious kids ask and point at him. I think it's cute. The best comment I've heard was from a boy at church. It was a family visiting our ward, who knew nothing of Link's situation, and I heard the young boy say, "look mom, there's an astronaut!". I'll probably miss some of the attention he gets once the helmets gone...in some ways it make me think others see him as special as I do!

Anyway for some stats:
At one he still didn't walk, but was walking along the couch and anything he could grab. He also doesn't say any words yet, which concerns me, but the doctor doesn't seem too concerned so I'll try not to be. If he says anything at all it is "Banana", since he has one every morning for breakfast. I wish I could remember his weight and height stats from his "one-year" dr. appointment, but that's what I get for not writing right away. I'll have to post his 15 month stats from his appointment in a couple weeks. He had 8 teeth on his birthday and now he's up to 12.

Well, I hate that his birthday is so close to Christmas. Not only are we busy with Christmas activities, but it's in the midst of craft fair orders. I almost forgot about his birthday, especially since he's not old enough to be excited and remind me. I did remember it though, and as customary in my house, my kids get their first taste of sugar on their 1st birthday. I bought the cupcakes for his cake so he could chow down. And as any kid would, Linken loved the treat. He scarfed it right down. So cute! It was the highlight of his birthday I'm sure. Anyway here's a few pics of his special day.

Playing with one of his new toys.

Drinking from his new sippy cup...he loved it

The messy mug from his cupcake, it really isn't that bad and I'm guessing because he made sure to get most of it in his mouth.

Not the greatest pics of me, but I love Linken's face...I just want to squeeze those cheeks

Linken's One Year Old Pictures

2010-02-03T21:16:00.000-08:00

My friend Jen took these pictures. I LOVE them. But then again, I love the kids in them! They were supposed to be for Linken's One year pictures, but were actually taken a few weeks after his first birthday...close enough though. I think Jen does a great job, she even took some pictures of the girls too...added bonus!!!

Christmas?!?!?!

2010-01-30T21:38:00.000-08:00

We had Christmas this past year but for some reason I can't seem to find the pictures. I'll post more when I find them.

My 31st Birthday

2010-01-30T21:01:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I'm 31. I don't feel like I'm that old, although Kynadi likes to remind me often. :)

My birthday this past year was great. John took my shopping and out to lunch. He made me spend my money that day so I wouldn't spend it on bills like I normally do. He was really sweet to me.
My mom, was also great as usual. She watched the kids for us, while we were gone. When we got back the girls had hidden my gifts and had me go on a "scavenger hunt". This was really them, running around the house with me, excitedly telling me where every gift was. It was really cute. Well, after cake and ice cream, mom went with me to set up for my craft fair in Rock Springs the next day (the only downfall to the day). All in all though this was one of my best birthdays!!

Kynadi made this little bag by herself. I thought it was great. I honestly thought my mom had helped her, but she punched the holes, tied the ribbon and put it all together alone. I loved it!

Our Little Girl?!?!?!

2010-01-30T20:38:00.000-08:00

I bought some hair accessories for Morgan's new baby girl, but wan't to know how they would fit. I figured since I had my own baby I could try them on HIM. I think he makes the bows look pretty good...although he may hate me for saying that when he's older. John doesn't like that we have pictures of Link with them on but he's just too cute regardless.

Our little puppy dog

2010-01-03T22:13:00.000-08:00

Linken reminds me of a little dog, as I always see him traveling around with something in his mouth. He doesn't hold it with his hands or anything, just carries it in his mouth. I finally took pictures of it, but it is definitely not limited to a ball -- this just happens to be what he found this time.

Haircut Time

2010-01-03T21:09:00.001-08:00

So of all the people in our house that needed a haircut, Linken was the last on the list. Yet for some reason John decided he needed one. He told me he was going to do it, but first John brought him to me like this:

It made me feel about like this:

What in the world!?! Well after John was done laughing at the bald man's haircut he'd given Link, he finally just shaved him bald. My poor little boy didn't have much hair to begin with, but John took what was there. It took some getting used to, but he still looked cute as can be. Plus it probably did feel much better with his helmet on. You can see how round his little head has become with the helmet, and with no hair the sca rs stick out, but they look pretty good considering.

Way Behind...Here's Halloween

2010-01-03T19:21:00.000-08:00

Of course the kids were excited for Halloween this year. I don't know that Brooklyn understood a lot, but caught right on that you get treats. Kynadi on the other hand knew exactly what the holiday is all about. Well, as you can see Kynadi was a giraffe, Brooklyn was a dragon--we put bows on top so she looked more like a girl, but it didn't work too well, and then Linken was the cutest clown ever.

It seemed like Halloween went on and on. We had the halloween "party" at story time, as well as Brooklyn getting dressed up for her pre-school, and then Kynadi having her own pre-school party. Finally we had Halloween and went Trick-or-Treating. We started with the trunk-or-treat at the Stake center, with Penny and her kids. We love them, and have lots of fun with them, so I was excited they came with us, for at least part of the night. After the trunk or treat, we went up to the "big" houses in hopes of getting some good treats. That didn't work out so well, nothing special. After that, John wanted to go to Rock Springs to some buddies houses, so we took Penny and the kids home and headed to RS. This is where we hit the jack pot. We went to a neighborhood in Rock Springs and everyone gave out the normal size candy bars. We weren't there long, but sure got a lot in the little time we were. We came home to tally up our goods. In totally we beat Brynn with 14lbs of candy!!! Yikes, way too much and my poor kids hardley got any of it; either John and I ate it or it got thrown away.

Getting the "guts" out of the pumpkins.

Our final results

Brooklyn helping Linken at story time.

Here's the goods...look at how much compared to my hand.

We've done it again...

2009-11-01T14:11:00.001-08:00

Less than two weeks after Brooklyn made her debut in the local paper, we've been spotted again. Kynadi and Brooklyn both made it in the Green River Guide this last week. This was taken while that were at story time for the Halloween celebration. Fun, fun. Like I said before, there are definite advantages of living in a small town.

Our famous Miss Brooklyn

2009-10-21T19:39:00.000-07:00

Kynadi's Preschool had an open house to make the community aware of the needs of the CDC, so we attended to show support. Anyway, while we were there the local newspaper was there as well. They snapped some pictures of the kids playing and apparently Brooklyn was soo cute they had to put her on the FRONT page of the Rocket Miner. Here she is in all her glory. Poor Kynadi though didn't understand why she didn't get to be in it too. Made me feel bad for her. Maybe she'll have her turn someday too. This is why living in a small town is so nice.

The caption says, "PLAYTIME -- Two-year-old Brooklyn Fairchild practices her hand-eye coordination during a Child Developmental Center open house Monday night. Center workers say space and budget constraints may prevent them from growing and limit existing services."

Pics of the Kids

2009-10-11T21:32:00.000-07:00

Jen Wiberg took these great pics of the kids back in the beginning of September and I'm just getting around to posting them. She did a great job. I LOVE them. Of course they are my kids, but they're all so cute!

Who couldn't love this kid??

2009-10-11T21:20:00.000-07:00

Linken is growing up fast. Today I probably had 4 people tell me how big he has gotten in the past two weeks. He didn't have his helmet on at church today, so that may have made him look different, but he's sure changing a lot. He's getting two more teeth on the bottom, bringing the total to 6 teeth now. He likes using these teeth to bite my shoulder any chance he gets, which is unpleasant in every way. He has just started, in the last two weeks or so, pulling himself up to stand against whatever he can. Tonight I had to go rescue him three different times as he pulled himself up to stand in the crib but then hasn't quite figured out how to sit back down. It cracks me up, even if he was supposed to be sleeping. I mean look at the face in these pictures, how could you get mad at that?!?!?

C is for Cookie

2009-10-11T20:59:00.000-07:00

I'm doing a little preschool with Brooklyn and three other little kids. The moms and I take turns once a week for an hour and a half teaching what you can to a group of 2 year olds. I was worried Brooklyn wouldn't go without me, but so far she has loved it. I think she likes that she gets to go to preschool just like Kynadi, little does she know how vastly different they are.
Well, this week preschool was at our house. We had the letter C, and of course that stands for cookie. So for one of our activities we made sugar cookies into the letter C. I think the kids had fun, and they are all so cute and such a great group. Here's some pics our our cookie adventures.

First Snow

2009-10-11T20:50:00.001-07:00

My girls love when it snows and a couple weeks ago we had our first good snow storm. We woke up to snow covering everything. It wasn't the snow to make a snowman out of but still good for playing in. I love the white covered streets and one of my favorite things is to drink hot chocolate on a cold winter's night.

Scripture Case

2009-10-11T20:42:00.001-07:00

This one if for Mindy. Here is the scripture case I made for my little neighbor Caitlin. If you want one for Kels let me know Mindy.

Swim Swim

2009-10-11T20:16:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I'm wasting my time posting about Brynn's 10 cent fish that has lived far too long, but here he/she? is. If it wasn't for Corbyn and Landen, Brynn you'd be out of luck. I don't know if you can tell in the pic but the fish has definitely grown. Maybe some day the blasted fish will die, but for now it lives on.

Pics of my favorite little Boy

2009-09-27T20:54:00.000-07:00

So I just realized at Linken's 9 month appointment the other day that he is a small little kid. My girls were always in the 80-90% with both height and weight, and they told me Link is in the 10th. I had no idea. So my little boy is small, but cute and happy as ever. He has his top two teeth in now and is trying to crawl. Hasn't quite go the hang of it, but sure can army crawl fast. He's finally sitting well and he's still the happiest kid ever.

These pics are from about a month or two ago, but I think they're cute.

First day of pre-school

2009-09-27T20:30:00.000-07:00

Behind as always...but here is Kynadi's first day of pre-school. I was a bit nervous to have her go. She did great at pre-school last year, but it was in a home and there were only 6 kids in her class, and she only went twice a week. This year, she is going to the Child Development Center or "CDC", or as Brooklyn insists, "CDE". This is in a "real" school and she goes four days a week. Plus she didn't have anyone she knew in her class. Well she told me she was going to be brave and sure enough on the first day of school she went right in and sat down with the other kids. She LOVES going. She will never tell me what she learned, so I'm hope she's learning something, but she's happy everyday, so things must be going well.

She's been really cute with making friends. I'm sure I'm not the only parent out there that worries how the other kids will treat your child, so every day the first week I asked if she made any friends. The first day she said no, but then as the week progressed she told me she played with a girl named Cassidy and then later she told me she has a friend named Orianna. She'll rattle off other children's names and I'll ask if they're friends and sometimes she'll tell me they've played together, but most times she tells me she just knows their names. She's just a smart kid, and I'm not just saying that as a mother, she just picks up on things quickly, so I always wonder if these kids she's telling me about even know who she is. I guess it doesn't really matter if she's happy; and so far she is, so life is great.

What happens when you have a big sister...

2009-09-27T20:24:00.000-07:00

Poor Brooklyn. Kynadi is supposed to be sleeping on the bed and Brooklyn on the trundle, but I guess Kynadi made her way down to the trundle, therefore Brooklyn was shoved to the floor. I laugh every time I look at this picture. Poor kid didn't even get a pillow to move with her.

Who knows?!?!?!?

2009-09-20T20:41:00.000-07:00

What is she doing? I have no idea why my two year old is stripped down to her birthday suite and getting a water bottle off the counter. I thought it was a great Kodak moment. I have blotted out the unmentionables, but (no pun intended) still have no idea what was going on in her little mind.

Goofy kids

2009-09-20T20:18:00.000-07:00

So this was about a month ago, but I thought it was funny. I went into my room one day where the kids were and found Brooklyn with her underwear on her head. Kynadi found it funny as well and thought she'd join in. What a couple of goofy kids.

I'll add these silly pics of Linken too. I have no idea why he's in a sleeper on top and swimming suit on bottom. He's cute regardless, just "chilin" with a pile of dirty clothes.

Linken Update

2009-09-20T20:13:00.000-07:00

So we finally got to take Linken to Primary Children's to have his heart checked. It took almost an hour to do the echo on him, but everything looked GREAT! The doc told me his heart looked normal and was developing just as it should be. He said that the enlargement in the x-ray may have just been the way it was taken and at that moment. So all is well. We had 4 appointments on that trip to Utah and it was all great. Linken's head is doing well, except he has already outgrown his second helmet. We are still waiting on the third one. Kynadi had a check-up as well and she looks good too. So the Fairchild's are in good health. What a blessing!!!

Camping Trip

2009-09-20T19:18:00.000-07:00

Who wants to go Camping!?!?!

This is a late post, but we finally went camping this last August. I keep telling John that if he learns how to shoot a gun then I'm fine going, but I don't want to be eaten by a bear or any other crazy animal or attacked by some crazy person (they always hide out in the forests ! ). Anyway, no gun, but John's brother and sister and their families convinced us to go with them. The girls loved it. It was their first time camping. We only camped for a couple nights in Cottonwood canyon, but it was enjoyable. I don't like sitting around doing nothing for too long, but it was nice to relax. Following are a few of the pics we took.

This cracked me up. Feel free to sleep whereever you'd like Kyandi; Brooklyn doesn't mind being a bed. So cute.

Stories at bedtime are always better in a tent.

Looking thru the "window" of our tents, wishing they were older so the wouldn't have to go to bed so early.

I let Linken suck on a few oranges. He couldn't get enought of them. Brooklyn decided she needed to help him eat as well. That's always a good combo - a two year old feeding an 8 mnth old. :)

Linken hanging out with Uncle Richard around the campfire.

All the "little" girls eating lunch, they had lots of fun together.

My girls LOVED the little chipmunks running around the campsite. Every time they saw them they got excited.

The Biggest Rip-off EVER--aka the circus

2009-08-17T16:09:00.000-07:00

(You may ask why one child is in shorts and a jacket, while the other is in sweat pants and a winter coat---3 words should explain it all -- stubborn ,red, head, If she would have found the winter gloves those would probably have been on too. Also, didn't Dad wear that same outfit to the circus 2 years ago...hmmm)

Well the circus came to town, right to the Pamida parking lot; which tells you what a great circus it was. Our neighbor gave us some free tickets for the kids. I thought it would be a rip off for parents to get in but I was thinking something like eight bucks, ten bucks max. Well, my dad came with us and we discovered the adult fee was $14.00!!!!! When the lady asked for $28 from my Dad and I, we had to scrap the bottom of our pockets to come up with the ridiculous amount.

The insanity continued inside. We bought some cotton candy - $4.00. Then they announced that they were selling candy bars for $1.00, but if you saved the wrapper you could get a back stage pass to see Sponge Bob. Well, we fell for the trick and when they handed us the candy bars we were shocked to see the tiny little candy bars for a buck... at least give us the normal size. Then to make matters worse, at the end of the show when they announced Sponge Bob they then, announced to actually get your picture taken with him it would be an additional 5 bucks. What the heck!?!?!? So my Dad stood on the side and we took our own picture, while the kids used the candy wrapper to give Sponge Bob a high five (which Brooklyn was afraid to do).

The show itself was a jip too. There was not one animal in the circus, unless you count the two pigeons the magician used during one of his three tricks. The talent was lame, and most the time was spent parading around people dressed as Madagascar characters, in the oldest, worn out costumes one could imagine. We did get to see ponies outside the circus tent, which I'm surprised we didn't get charged for just looking at. Needless to say that is the ONLY time we will attend the Pamida parking lot circus. I think I should call the BBB of circuses!!

Movie Party

2009-08-17T15:55:00.000-07:00

We had to babysit the little boy across the street a few weeks back. All the kids were playing outside but it started to get dark so I invited all the kids in for a movie night, with popcorn and all. Aren't I the coolest mom? Really I just wanted to have something to do until Aiden's parents got back. The kids had fun...they didn't watch much of the movie but they had fun anyway.

Nap Time....

2009-08-17T15:46:00.000-07:00

or at least it was supposed to be; instead I went into the girls room to find them looking like this. Weird how magically they change clothes while they are sleeping. Pretty cute nonetheless though.

Let's go fly a kite

2009-08-16T22:01:00.000-07:00

John took the girls to fly the kite Mom gave Kynadi for her birthday. They had lots of fun.

*Warning: you may become sick after watching the video, it's a bit shakey!

Unfit Mother

2009-08-16T20:52:00.000-07:00

It is times like this that I feel unfit to be a Mother.

Kynadi and Brooklyn were playing outside one day and then decided they wanted to play in their little pool and sprinkler. So off they went to get in their swimming suits. I had put sunscreen on them earlier, but didn't after they had changed to swim. I was mostly worried about Brooklyn burning since she has the red hair and burns more easily. But this is what Kynadi popped up with that night....

I can't believe how awful it was. I have not forgotten to put sunscreen on them since though. I felt terrible, all because of my laziness and forgetful mind!

The other pics are of the girls being silly that night and wanting me to take their pictures. I couldn't resist capturing their cute mugs!

Kynadi's 4th Birthday

2009-08-16T19:35:00.000-07:00

Kynadi was so anxious to have her birthday this year. She has been able to go to a few birthday parties this past year and so she was so excited to have her very own. We had been to a few princess parties already so I was trying to have her decide on something else. She finally liked the idea of a water party. My girls have played outside in the water a ton this summer so it seemed fitting. Well, the planning went better than the party. We found goggles, water guns, little toy squirters, and splash balls to give to all the guests. I also found a slip 'n slide, a cool beach ball sprinkler, and our old pool to set up for the party. I found a great cake to make online (and it actually turned out decent), and the invites turned out pretty good too. Kynadi was excited about it all. Her party felt like a flop though. It wasn't terribly cold, but the wind was blowing enough that the kids were getting cold when they got wet and didn't want to play in the water. I felt disorganized, and no one seemed interested in the water games. So I just let them do what they wanted and we BBQ'd some hot dogs and then opened gifts. That part was ok, I just wish everyone would have had more fun. Oh well, what do you do? Kynadi was just excited that it had finally come and she was finally 4!

After her party, when John got off work that evening , we invited Grandma and Grandpa over and we did our traditional scavenger hunt for her gifts and had cake with them. That was pretty fun. She finally got her V-tech gaming system that she has seen sitting in the closet since Thanksgiving. I felt bad that she knew what her main gift was, but I surprised her with some Fancy Nancy books, and a Tinkerbell hat, as well as Tinkerbell dishes to match Brooklyn's Dora ones. Grandma got her a hula hoop, play dough and a kite. I think I could always just buy play dough and that would be good enough to keep my kids happy.

The kids all got their own cupcake with a bear in a tube on it.

The kids watching Kynadi open presents.

Here's the cake...not too bad considering I'm far from a pro

Anyway, I love my little Bean so much. She doesn't seem like a four year old. She says and does things that seem much older. She is soooo helpful to me and just has the sweetest little spirit in her. She is so eager to learn and asks many questions, as well as catches on to everything. Here's a cute example of that. John had been talking about going camping and I was complaining about not wanting to go and get eaten by a bear. Kynadi, who was listening to every word, pipes in to let me know it is ok. She said, "no you'll be ok mom, remember you even said in primary you just have to pray and you will be safe from the bears" She was sooo right, the last time I had done sharing time I had read a story about some kids who had been approached by a bear but they prayed and were not hurt by the bear and knew how to get away. I couldn't believe she remembered it. It made my day to know that not only had a child remembered my sharing time, but it was my own child and she had learned about prayer. She has a tremendous desire to do good. I love to watch Kynadi with other kids. She is such a leader at times, this probably has to do with being the oldest, it can turn into bossiness, but I know her heart is in the right place. I have watched her in primary tell other kids they have to stop "messing around" and in fact today she was so excited to be the reverence child and be the example to all the kids. She's so cute and I love her to death!!! Happy 4th Birthday Kynadi Bean.

The start of the scavenger hunt...Kynadi loves it

Understanding the Young Mind

2009-08-12T16:02:00.000-07:00

Kynadi is always right on top of things. As I've said many times, she keeps me on my toes. About a month or so ago, while we were taking Linken to get his heart x-rayed at the hospital we were trying to find the way around. There were signs with different colored arrows showing which way to different departments (typical). Anyway, I was telling Kynadi we had to follow the purple arrows. So as we walked she would look for them and guided us to our destination. Well then the next week we had to go back to the hospital to get Link's EKG done. As we walked into the hospital Kynadi quickly asked, "Mom, can we follow the mouse again?" "HUH?" was all that went through my mind (as usual). But, she repeated it a few times and then it clicked (no pun intended)...the mouse as on the computer which is obviously symbolized with an arrow! I chuckled, and told her yes. It's crazy to think how the world has changed in technology even since I was her age...wasn't it a turtle we followed then?...what's with the animal theme?

4th of July

2009-07-12T16:12:00.000-07:00

I never posted about our 4th of July. It was really uneventful. We had a BBQ with Mom and Dad and then went to the sewer to watch the fireworks. The kids were afraid of the noises so we watched from inside the car, not how I would suggest watching, but oh well. Anyway, I'm really posting this to show how Kynadi walked around on the 4th so she couldn't hear the fireworks people were setting off near my parents house that evening. I thought it was pretty funny. Who knew the head set would come in handy for more than just drowning out the noise of the saw while I cut!!

Fun Pics of the Kids

2009-07-12T15:52:00.000-07:00

On one of our trips to UT we stopped at the outlets in Park City and I found the girls some glasses for the summer. They had fun wearing them...as you can see. It had been raining a lot at that time to, which would explain the umbrella...not sure how to explain Brooklyn's dirty mug though...she's almost two I guess!

The other pics are just some recent ones. I was trying to get some pictures of all three kids, but as you can tell, Brooklyn is missing and was being very uncoopertive (I think she's on my lap helping to take the pics)

First Train Ride

2009-07-12T15:45:00.000-07:00

While we were down in UT this last week, we took the trax from downtown SLC up to PC for Kynadi's appointment. The girls were pretty excited to ride on the train for the first time.(not that you can tell from Brooklyn's expression)

Linken--what a Kid :)

2009-07-12T15:25:00.000-07:00

Linken is the happiest baby you could ever have! I have read and heard so many people talk about how hard the third baby is. For me completely opposite. Linken is the best baby, he makes you think you could have ten kids (not so convincing that I'm going to though!--I do still remember the days with Brooklyn) He just got his two front teeth a month or so ago and he was still happy. Anyway here are some pics of him recently. The one time I was taking his pictures I couldn't get him to stop smiling.

Brooklyn turned 2!!

2009-07-12T14:22:00.001-07:00

July 6th was Brooklyn's birthday. She was pretty excited for it to come. When I asked who's birthday was coming up she'd point to herself and say "me", then follow with an excited "d.dd.dd..Dora". So we had to have a Dora birthday. Everything she got for her birthday was Dora, except for her bed. She got a hat, play-dough, a back-pack (that has to go EVERYWHERE with us), a ball, a coloring book, dishes, and then the bed with sheets.

John and I made her a trundle bed so she could start sharing a room with Kynadi and Linken can move out of the cradle into his own room. So far she has spent a lot of time still in the crib. Hopefully this will improve! I think the trundle turned out pretty good for two non-professionals. Although it may have caused Dad to have his heart attack, since he was out painting it with his spray gun I'm apparently too uneducated to use! (that's another story though) Also, I do have to say the Kreg joint is the best $100 I've ever spent on a tool. It made putting the trundle together sooooo easy. (I think I should get paid for advertising for them)

Anyway, her birthday was probably not too exciting. She got to wake up to all her Dora decorations (thanks to Elaine for giving them to us) which she really liked. But I made her wait until John got home to open her presents. He came home around 2:00 and so she finally got to open them and have cake--I forgot to buy ice cream; just less junk food for them to eat though. After all that we packed up and headed to UT. We were planning on going to UT on Tuesday anyway for the kids appointments, but since Dad had a heart attack on Sunday and had been life flighted to the U of U we went down that night. Not that we saw him that day though.

So that was our little Brookielyn's 2nd Birthday. What a girl. I love her to death. She is the funniest little thing to watch. She's so cute and full of energy. She is very independent and often likes to do her own thing rather than play with all the other kids--they usually just make her mad. :) She's beginning to be quite a mamma's girl, but I love it. She always wants to sit on me and wants me to come with her to accompany her in whatever she may be doing. Cute. Everyone always comments on her bright red hair. It just matches her personality perfectly. She can be a little fireball if she wants, but she is also so happy and sweet (if she wants to be). I love her lots and am sooo grateful she is mine forever and part of our family!

I still got IT!!!

2009-07-12T14:05:00.000-07:00

This is just my post to brag about myself!!

A couple weeks ago I was entered in a tennis tournament put on by the tennis club here in town. I have to say first that it has been YEARS since I had played, but they were looking for more woman so I decided to do it. The night before I was a bit panicked about making a fool of myself so I made John go up to the courts with me and hit around for a bit.

Anyway, there were only 3 of us entered in the woman's singles, but as you can see from the pic I took first place. Not only did I take first place but I beat them pretty good. I think the first girl the score was 6-2, 6-0 and the second was 6-4, 6-1. Plus these girls were young (barely 20!) I turned 30 this year and have three Kids!! Needless to say, I was proud of myself even if there were only 3 of us. So if you don't like my bragging --- TOO BAD -- I don't have the right to do it very often! I learned I still have a big competitive gene in me...guess that never goes away. It was lots of fun, even if I was sore all over the next day.

Linken Update

2009-07-07T21:06:00.001-07:00

My little Linken is a trooper!!! I can't help but love the little guy.

Well, last week I took Linken in for his 6 month check up. My normal doc wasn't there, but I was very impressed with the "substitute doc". I was concerned with his development. He still isn't sitting up and doesn't crawl or anything. So when she examined him, she agreed that he was behind in his gross motor skills. I asked if it would be related to the craniosynitosis or the surgery at all. She didn't think so, but wants him to work with the CDC (child development center) here to help him develop. I commented on how they are familiar with us, since that's who is working with Brooklyn on her speech and Kynadi with her Scoliosis. This put some red flags up for the doc and she found it interesting that all my kids have "issues". She mentioned maybe we should see a geneticist to see if there is some connection. Hmmm...who knows.

Then as she continued to examine Linken. She listened to his heart for quite some time. She said she heard a heart murmur and thought it would be best to have an x-ray of his lungs and heart to make sure nothing looked abnormal. After discovering this she thought Linken could have a "syndrome" of some sort which would cause the murmur and the craniosynitosis. Nothing conclusive, but she just wanted us to be on top of things. So anyway, after that appointment we went to the hospital and had the x-ray. The next day the doc called back and said Linken's heart looked like it was enlarged. She said we should go get an EKG for Link, so we did. The EKG didn't seem to show anything abnormal. But she called after she got the results of it, and said we should probably see a cardiologist at Primary Children's just to make sure there isn't anything wrong with his heart. So more visits to UT for us. Great.

I wasn't so concerned about the visits to UT as to what is going on with my little boys heart. The first couple of days after learning all of this I was pretty worried. I didn't want his heart to stop working all of a sudden. It really made me think and realize how precious life is. What if something did happen? I found myself wanting to hold him more and spend more time with each of my kids. I don't ever want to regret not holding or caring for them enough. It puts life in perspective for me. Anyway, there maybe nothing to worry about, which I hope is the case, but we'll find out more when we see the cardiologist on August 28th!!! (that was the first opening they had a PC's--nothing like making me wait and worry more!)

Funny Brooklyn

2009-07-07T20:59:00.000-07:00

Brooklyn is starting to talk more and more. The speech therapist comes to our house every other week, and it has really helped her realize she can talk. She's still hard to understand sometimes, but its fun to listen to her learn to say new things.
My favorite "new" phrase from Brooklyn came a few weeks ago. We were in the car and Linken started to get fussy and was crying a bit. Brooklyn sternly turned to him and repeatedly said, "No whining!" Looks like she's heard that one a bit.

Noodle creations

2009-06-10T11:16:00.000-07:00

So I forgot about this until I was going through my recent videos. I had this great idea awhile back to make Noodle Creations (my own invention). My thought was the kids could make shapes, pictures, numbers, ect. out of noodles. I thought it would be fun. I had told Kynadi all about it, and we couldn't wait for Boston to get here so we could do it with him. Unfortunately things didn't go quite as planned...

This video shows most of the excitement for the project...maybe when their older...huhh or maybe NEVER again.

Happy Birthday Grandma

2009-06-10T10:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my mom's birthday. We celebrated it on Sunday though, so Kelsey could be with us. As you can see, after the tradgedy with John's cake, I just bought this one. The girls made her some earings and we sent her on a Scavenger hunt...since that's what we all get to do on our Birthdays. We Love Grandma and think she is the best thing EVER. Kynadi even broke down in tears when I told her grandma was going to be gone to visit Corbyn and Landen. She doesn't want Grandma to leave and also she was sad that she doesn't get to see Corbyn and Landen. Anyway, we hope you had a great Birthday mom... we LOVE YOU!!!!

John's Birthday

2009-06-10T10:37:00.001-07:00

Well John got a flu bug for his birthday so it was a pretty uneventful day. He had already bought himself new rims for his present, so he didn't even have any presents to unwrap. To make matters worse, the "cute" cake I was going to make for him turned into this diaster:

This is supposed to be an Astro's baseball hat...obviously I ran into some problems. Happy Birthday anyway hun. We love you and are grateful for all you do for us!!!!

Kynadi's Graduation

2009-06-10T10:07:00.000-07:00

Kynadi had her graduation from pre-school at the end of May. She loved being in Mrs. Kari's class and I know we'll definately miss it next year...but you can't turn down free pre-school. Here are some pics of her big event.

Linken and K-bean medical update

2009-06-10T09:45:00.000-07:00

We took Kynadi and Linken in for check-ups recently. Linken is looking really good. The docs are very happy to see how round he is becoming. He's already out grown his helmet and next week we will go get his new one. Nothing else to say there. His progress is great.

Kynadi, on the other hand is digressing. She has been out of her brace now for about six months. On her x-rays back in Nov. they said her curve was only about a 15 degree curve. But this time on her x-rays it showed about a 34 degree curve. I met with the nurse practitioner in the orthopedic office this time rather than Dr. Smith her normal doc, and I LOVED her. She actually explained things and took the time to look at the x-rays and compare. She showed me how she was measuring Kynadi's back and even showed me how her measurements on the last x-ray were at 22 degrees. I was very impressed with her, and would like to see her all the time. We'll see though, I'm not sure how to tell Dr. Smith I think he sucks!
Anyway, I'm getting sidetracked.
So obviously Kynadi isn't able to maintain the straightness in her back, so she's going back to the brace. We went to SLC last week to get her cast for her new one. She did GREAT. She held still the whole time they were casting her. I wish I would have had my camera. You could tell she was a bit nervous laying on the table with 4 grown-ups around her, putting the slimy casting "stuff" on her, but she didn't complain at all. Anyway, we go back to SLC again next Tuesday to get her brace and Linken's helmet. We'll see how wearing it again goes. Dealing with a new brace on top of potty training Brooklyn and dealing with Linken teething sounds like good times to me :)

What a Character

2009-06-10T08:33:00.000-07:00

Our little miss Brooklyn is such a funny little thing. I don't know quite how to describe it, she is just entertaining to watch. She always has facial expressions and is soo determined. Her newest word is "hit" and she is doing most of it (in fact she just hit me to get my attention). The best part is she hits Kynadi and then comes to me to tell on herself, "hit, hit" she'll say. I'll ask her if Kynadi hit her and she'll answer truthfully with a "no" then I'll ask if she hit Kynadi, she'll say, "yes". I tell her no more hitting and then we're done...she runs off on her way.

Funny story:

The other night the girls were supposed to be going to bed. I had let them both sleep on Brooklyn's floor, in hopes Brooklyn would get used to being out of the crib. We've done this a few nights; always with threats that if she gets up she'll have to go back in the crib. Most nights she gets put in the crib. Well this particular night I happened to be walking down the hall and heard a little jiggle on the doorknob of her room. So I bent over next to the door to surprise Brooklyn when she opened it. When she finally did open the door, there I was. She looked at me a bit surprised and knew she was busted. So how does she respond? She grabs her crotch and tells me, "potty". LOL How much she has learned. Kynadi never gets in trouble when she gets out of bed to go potty...I think you have to be potty trained to use that excuse. Too the crib she went.

Bathing Beauties

2009-05-20T22:09:00.000-07:00

Kynadi had her friend Pace come over after pre-school the other day. They wanted to run thru the sprinklers and since it has finally been nice around here I let them. I was even nice enough to let Brooklyn stay up from a nap to join them. I was just doing the dishes and watching from the Kitchen window when I see this site:

Pace had gotten dressed up so Brooklyn made herself fancy as well. Oh to be a child and not care!

The Giggles

2009-05-20T21:47:00.000-07:00

This was great. The other night after baths the girls were singing to Linken. He thought it was so funny. Unfortunately, I didn't catch the best of it on video, but I still think it's pretty cute. I don't know what's better though, Linken giggling or Brooklyn doing the actions. I love my kids.

The TV Critic

2009-05-20T21:17:00.000-07:00

Alright, I don't know what everyone is watching out there, but obviously not the best shows on television, since they are all being cancelled. The past few weeks in "TV Land" have been very disturbing to me.
It all started with Prison Break. I know, I know, there is a lot of violence, but I have been addicted to this show for the last 4 years. Now Michael Scofield is dead and the show is over. WHAT?!?!?!? Not only am I disturbed that the series is over, but I felt like Michael was a part of my life. Oh the mourning. I even got the name of my son from this show. Lincoln is Michael's brother, and I have loved the name since first hearing it on the show. Strangely in fact, Lincoln's son is named L.J. My Linken is Linken John...maybe he could be L.J. too. Anyway, I'm sidetracking.
Next on my complaints....I just learned today that the show Life is being cancelled. NBC must be crazy. This is one of the best shows I've seen on TV EVER. Have you ever watched this show? Charlie Crews is great. His zen comments alone would keep me watching for years. I'll buy some fruit and mourn this one as well (you'd understand if you watched). My only prayer is that the rumors that USA will pick up the show are true.
Moving on. American Idol lost Danny. He would have won tonight had America voted correctly. C'mon why didn't you vote for Danny!?!?! Too late now.
24...now this one is debatable. Jack can't die or I'm done with TV for good. How could 24 go on without Jack? I really don't believe this will happen, but the way things are going in other series Kiefer Sutheland better start looking for work.
House is giving me some hope. House in a psych hospital could make for some good TV, that's still to be seen though.
Now to help the ratings here are a few shows that I still have hope for, so start WATCHING, what else do you have to do? "Lie to Me", "Flashpoint", and "Numbers". I really think that's all that's left. Please help these stay on, so I have something decent to watch online when I'm up with my children in the middle of the night.

All about my little Kynadi

2009-05-17T15:01:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to write a post about my little Kynadi so when she's older she'll know how much I love her and get to know the cute little things about her at the ripe old age of three.

First I'll start by saying she just told me 3 + 3 = 6. Pretty good for her age I think. She's just a smart little kid. In fact a few weeks ago Kynadi was being evaluated for this pre-school next year. I will say that they mostly work with kids who have problems, whether it be physical, emotional, or intellectual, but anyone can have their child screened. The first screening she was given a couple months ago and she scored 99/100. The only question she missed was what her middle name was....she doesn't have one so she didn't answer. Anyway, so she was being given the "intellectual" part of the 2nd screening. They asked her to say her ABC's and she did it perfectly. The 2 ladies looked at each other impressed and said they had never had a 3 yr old say it perfectly. That one surprised me, but Kynadi kept impressing them. As they continued through the "test" they kept commenting on how they hadn't had any other child that age go as far into the test as Kynadi was going (they continue asking harder and harder questions as the child continues to get them right). My favorite was when they asked Kynadi why we wear clothes. Kynadi's response was so that we can keep our bodies modest. They were surprised by the response...I was proud. I don't know many three year olds that even use the word modest, much less know what it means. That may just be due to our world these days, but I can still be proud. Well, they finally just ended the test when Kynadi had reached the 6-7 yr old level. This just solidified to me, as a mother, what a smart little kid my Kynadi bean is. She just picks up on everything (not always good :) ) and loves to learn. I wish I had her memory too. She often has to help me remember where I put things, and she'll often talk to me about things that happened long ago, things I only remember because she brings them up.

Kynadi is also the best little helper. I oftentimes treat her as if she is much older, but she seems older than she is for some reason. She helps with Brooklyn and Linken all the time, whether it's getting diapers for me, helping Brooklyn get clothes and dressed, or just playing with Linken so I can shower, or get things done. The only thing she really complains about is when I tell her to clean her room...this often results in break downs and fits. She'll complain that Brooklyn did it or that it is too big of a mess. If we could jump this hurdle life would go pretty smoothly most days.

Kynadi is the sweetest little thing. She is always concerned about others and wants to help. You couldn't ask for a better big sister. She gets upset when there is contention in the house and always says, "hey! we had a plan, no more getting mad at each other". Just now she was leaning on me and I said, "don't do that Kyandi" and she corrected me, "you should have said, 'Please Kynadi don't do that". Definitely keeps me on my toes.

I thought this was a precious moment. A few weeks ago, Kynadi and I were talking as I was tucking her into bed. We had just read The Rescuers, where the little girl gets adopted at the end. She loves this story because the little girl gets a mom and dad. She was asking me about adoption and then somehow this turned into a HUGE discussion about death. She gets very worried about death. She told me that if we all die together than it will be ok because we will all go to Jesus together. Then at one point she told me, "I almost started to cry" and had a sad look on her face, but was fighting the tears. She actually did start to cry as she told me how sad it would be if Brooklyn died. I was crying but I was trying to teach her about life after death, and at the same time comfort her that we will hopefully not have to face the death of anyone in our family for a long time. I told her if she gets worried about dying she can just pray to Heavenly Father and ask him to allow us to live longer. Now EVERY prayer she includes, "help us to stay on the earth longer". So if I live for a long time it will be because of the faith of my three year old.

So that's just my post about my favorite 3yr old. I love her and am grateful to be her mom...she definitely teaches me a lot.

Easter

2009-05-03T21:36:00.000-07:00

For some reason I'm always slow posting Easter pics...but here some are.

Kels was with us for Easter again, which is always fun. Kynadi especially loves it.

Before Kelsey came, we went to the Easter Egg hunt at the Convalescent center. Earlier in the week our primary had helped paint the Easter eggs for the hunt, so that was fun to be able to find some of the eggs we painted. After this last week (I was in charge of a Fabulous Friday) everything is kinda a blurr, but that night when Kels came, the girls painted eggs and had their own little Easter egg hunts for each other. I thought that was cute.

Easter was good, not too eventful, but enjoyable.

This was the only pic I got of the two girls in the Easter outfits Grandma bought.

I completely forgot to take a pics of the girls in their Easter dresses...but I got some good pics of Linken in his Easter outfit..he's such a cutie

Good-bye Norman...Hello Beamie

2009-05-03T21:04:00.000-07:00

So after 10 good years I had to say goodbye to Norman the Neon. He was a good car, and never had a problem until just recently. His trannie had something wrong and the fix was pricey. John took this as a great opportunity to find himself a different car (which he had been trying to convince me of for some time). Apparently Norman was too "bubbly" for John. He said it was a girl car...well I did buy it and I am a GIRL.

So anyway, he finally found himself Beamie (as I call her). I actually think he takes more pride in it than me. If you could cheat on your spouse with a car...John would be a first class adulterer...glad this isn't the case though. Anyway, Beamie is older than Norman and has more miles, but John is more than happy, so I guess that's what really counts.

I was a bit sad to hand Norman over. We had posted him on KSL and in less than an hour he was sold. Someone from GR actually saw the add and called like 15 min after we had posted. I took this as a sign, I guess, and we have parted ways. I still think Norman looks better inside and out...Beamie is OLD, but I have a better car than both of those to drive, so I can't complain.

Our little Football Player

2009-04-21T21:41:00.000-07:00

So I just realized I haven't posted any pictures of Linken in his helment, so here they are. I think it makes him look cute. I forget that he's even wearing it until I see someone looking at him a bit different. I can't blame them, I'm sure I'd look similarly. Anyway, he's adjusted pretty well to it, but seems to be out-growing it already. We go back to UT in a couple weeks to have him checked again...it's been 2 weeks without a trip there, so I guess we're due. Thankfully I changed Kynadi's appointment for the same time (rather than two weeks later) so maybe we can continue staying home more...here's hoping at least.

Egg hunt in the Pool

2009-03-29T20:42:00.001-07:00

Kynadi got to go to the rec and participate in the Easter Egg hunt in the pool. Unfortuneatley, for me and everyone that had to see, I had to get in with her. She had fun though, and I can't believe that Easter is that close. Poor Brooklyn wanted to get in soooo bad. She wasn't old enough though so she had to sit on the sidelines and watch. Maybe next year!

While I'm waiting for the video to upload....quick comment by Kynadi.

I was telling my mom on Friday how they accepted Kynadi at the CDC preschool because of her scoliosis and that means she gets to go to pre-school for FREE. I was saying that her scoliosis was kind of a blessing in that way...blah, blah. Then my mom said, "oh that is really cool!" Which Kynadi immediatley proclaimed, "That is NOT cool!" LOL I'm not sure if it's not cool to have scoliosis, or go to pre-school for free. :) Either way she's a cute kid!

Before and After

2009-03-29T20:31:00.000-07:00

BEFORE

AFTER

As I had mentioned in my HUGE blog below about Links surgery; you can already see a difference in the face of his head. These are just before and after pictures that make it obvious I think.
Note: I just noticed the blanket colors of the before and after LOL...NO Linken is not a girl now nor coming out of the closet...all the boy blankets are apparently dirty.

The shoes live on..

2009-03-29T20:15:00.000-07:00

So I made John clean out the car before we took Linken down for his surgery, and he happened to find Kynadi's old pair of princess shoes in the trunk. Grandma had given her these and she LOVED them since they light up. Well, Brooklyn saw them and immediately had to put them on. They are a bit big for her but I can't get her to let me take them off. She has insisted to sleep with them...just as Kynadi did when she first got them from Grandma. I thought it was too cute!

I took a picture with Kyandi sleeping in them...so here is Brooklyn sporting the same shoes to bed. She has also had an obsession with her coat and won't take it off either...thus the sleeping in the coat too. The third obsession; her baby doll. She won't go to sleep without it and will barely leave the house without it too. Such a stubborn thing and she's not even 2.

All is Well!!!

2009-03-29T18:21:00.000-07:00

[After surgery..at home, you can see the difference already]

***WARNING...as Brynn has often reminded me, my medical updates are BORING. She may be right, but this is my journal of these events, so proceed to read if you like, but there is a lot of detail most may not care about.

Anyway here's my update on our Little Linken. His surgery is over with and he is doing great now!

Morgan was already in GR so we left the girls with her and headed down on Monday (16th) night. Thanks again Mor for watching them...and teaching Kynadi some Spanish while you were here! :) Anyway, Tuesday we had to get up early and take Linken to Shields. They put him on a "scanner" and scanned his head, which then produced a 3-D image of him on the computer so they could get measurements and ratios...yadda yadda. It is amazing what they can do with technology these days!

Then the rest of the day we just bummed SLC, until that afternoon when they had us take Linken to PC (Primary Children's) for his labs. I was not expecting this to be so bad, but it almost had me in tears. They needed to get blood samples, and were trying to get the needle into his tiny little veins. Unfortunately they were having problems, and once they got it in his one hand, they couldn't get enough blood to come out. So they had to attempt it again, poking him on the other arm. I hate having my blood drawn and I have some pretty hefty veins, so watching them dig around in Linken's little arm was awful. I'm sure it was painful to say the least. Finally that torture was over, but before we left one of the nurses commented on how the docs/nurses the next day were going to need luck getting his IV in. Thanks for the peaceful thoughts-- and we left.

The 18th was the big day. We got to PC at around 8:00 where they prepped us for surgery. Basically just kinda talked to us, let us meet the anesthesiologist (Dr. Clark) and put Linken in funny little clothes (they match Brooklyn's set from her night at PC--we're collecting them I guess :) ) So then they took us over to the pre-op waiting area. This is when I really started getting nervous. I of course let all kinds of things enter my mind...while John entertained himself on the video games they have for the KIDS!!! Then the hardest part was when Dr. Clark came and talked to us a little and then I had to hand Linken over! Linken had had a blessing before we went, so I felt like things would be ok, but the "what-ifs" always pop up testing our faith, not to mention, they are awful to think about. I'm proud to say that I was strong though and fought back the tears...though it was tough.

The next two hours were spent mostly in the waiting room provided for the families with children undergoing surgery. That was interesting to me. I loved to eaves drop on all the conversations about how each child was doing and what procedure was being done. Doctor after doctor came in and the news to the parents was always positive. So that helped lighten the mood.
Finally, a little over two hours later, Dr. Siddiqui came in and gave us the update on Linken. The surgery had gone well. He did have a blood transfusion, as his blood was getting a little low and they didn't want to risk anything, but other than that, the doc said he was pleased with how it turned out. Yipee! So then off to the PICU to see Link.

This was hard too. The pictures don't show it much, but he was pretty swollen all over, and just seeing all the "things" in him and hooked to him was scary. The IVs and everything were put in him after we had handed him over, so this was the first time seeing him this way. He was crying a lot and the nurses and techs thought he was probably still feeling a lot of the pain. They had given him quite a bit of morphine, and were worried about giving him much more since it could make him stop breathing. That was a pleasant thought again.

He seemed so fragile I was afraid to hold him, but I did for the next few hours. He was in and out of sleep and crying. You could tell the poor thing just wasn't comfortable. I was so glad to be in there though, as a nurse was standing there with us the whole time making sure he was doing alright. As I sat there I was grateful that I knew Linken was just in there per protocol. There were so many sick little children. We had a little girl (under a year old) in the bed next to Linken's that appeared to have heart problems (she had a big scare on her chest). The PICU is all open so I could hear everything the nurses were telling the mom. She had been there before, and was obviously known by other nurses, and they were trying to figure out something that was wrong with her...anyway, it was humbling. Who knows if that little girl was going to get better or for how long, ect. Later, Linken was moved to a different spot in the PICU (he was being isolated because they thought maybe he was not over the virus he had a few weeks prior). In this room I could hear the boy across from us moaning continually. He was probably only about 7. Sooo sad. At one point during Linken's stay in the PICU I walked to the end to use the restroom...passing bed after bed of sick little kids. It brought me to tears thinking what special children I was surrounded by and the suffering that they were having to endure. Not to mention all the grief and stress the families must be enduring. Oh, this was cute though. When Linken was first in there and was crying off and on...a nurse came over and said her patient (a little 6 year old girl) had heard Linken's cries and said, "he must have a headache like me". Too cute, and sweet. I wanted to meet her but I never did.

Anyway, after a few hours Linken was given Loritab rather than morphine and he seemed to calm down a bit, but not completely. By night he was doing better, so John and I finally left around 9:30 to get some sleep.

The next morning we got there and Linken seemed a bit better. The swelling was worse, but he was at least calm for the most part. We sat with him most the morning and they finally released him from the PICU to a normal room. We just hung out with him that day and spent the night in the room with him (a terrible nights sleep at that). Then the next day we did the same thing. He had a temperature they were monitoring, but by that evening it had been controlled. Dr. Siddiqui had visited us that afternoon and was pleased with how he was doing. So that evening Morgan came with the girls and at about 6:00pm the released Linken. We took Morgan to the airport, and then after getting our belongings at Barbara's and Rob's we headed home. YEAH!!
Linken has a HUGE soft spot on his head now...it's pretty icky to touch. The two incisions in his head are healing well...and everyone that sees him says they look good and are small. They're still big scars to me, but I am the mother. I can already see a difference in his face. Now that the swelling has gone down, you can tell he is much rounder now.

Now we should be headed down this week or next week to get the helmet and go in for a check-up. But all is well, and I am soooo happy to have it behind us. I'm grateful to so many people for the prayers and concern on his behalf. My biggest fear now is dropping him or having one of the girls hit his head on accident with something. The helmet will be good to have just as a protection. :-)

This is the back scar This is the scar on top

Sorry...this is the only pic I got of the babysitter

My girls miss you Boston!!..can't wait until May

Linken the day he was discharged Look Mom I'm doing fine! (out of PICU)

If you look above his ear there is a mark...the doc made it before surgery...he said it was protocol to mark where the patient was having surgery so they would accept him into the OR

IV #1

IV #2

This IV was in his artery (thus the greater protection to keep it from coming out)

All hooked up--he was on oxygen at this point in PICU

Isolated in PICU...his whole body is swollen

Holding him right after surgery. You can kinda see

in the 2nd pic his eyes are swollen.

His poor head right after surgery

(I'm glad I didn't see the incisions for a few days)

Pre-op with mom...he was soo happy that morning, he obviously

didn't know what the day held for him.

Look Brooklyn, my PJ's match yours now!

Linken Update

2009-03-08T23:01:00.000-07:00

Seriously, does it get much cuter?!?! I know I'm biased but I love to see Linken smile, you just can't help but smile when you see a baby grin, especially when it's your own. I love his little dimples, not sure where they came from, but I'll take them.

Linken is a great baby. I probably don't give him the attention I should all the time because he is so good. It's easy to just leave him alone while I do other things. We still bond all night though, so I guess that's mommy-son time (someday maybe we'll change the time of day for that).

Anyway, here's the latest news on his medical "issues". We have Linken scheduled for surgery on Wednesday, March 18th (coming too soon). We will have to be down in Utah on the 17th so we can meet with shields orthopedic and they can get everything in order for his helmet. He'll also, have to have lab work done that day in preparation for the surgery (I really don't know what they'll do, just know they'll be in contact with me to give me more details that day).

We were just down there this weekend for his x-rays and CT scan. It went much better than expected. The appointment for his CT-scan was scheduled for 9:00 on Friday morning. We (my mom went with the kids and I) got there around 8:30 and I started filling out paper work. I hadn't even finished before they called us back for his x-rays. They took two x-rays of his neck (they need these because of the position they have him in during surgery) then they took me over to the CT dept. to see if they were ready for us there. The lady said she had just finished setting everything up for Linken and to come on in. I was expecting Linken to be sedated, but she wanted to try it without sedation first. She wrapped him up tight in a blanket, secured him to the platform and let him suck his binki. Sure enough, he was completely still for the 5 min it took to scan him and we were done. No sedation or anything. It was 7 min to 9:00 when I went back to my mom and the girls to let them know we could go. It was great! I was nervous about the sedation, so I was so excited that it worked without, not to mention everything was done and it wasn't even time for my appointment yet. So if the surgery goes just as well, I will have nothing to worry about.

Morgan is flying out on Tuesday and she'll stay with the girls while John and I are in Utah with Linken during the surgery. Good luck Mor...you'll definitely have your hands full.

So everything is set, now I just want to get it over with and know that all is well. I'm grateful for all the prayers and concern shown by so many people, as well as all the help people have offered to give with the girls during this time. It is so nice to be surrounded by such good people.

Thanks Brynn...from Kynadi...uh what!?!?

2009-03-08T22:51:00.000-07:00

Brynn sent us this cute little outfit, I think it's for Linken, but Kynadi thought otherwise. I turned around one day and saw her strutting her stuff in this....

Finally....

2009-03-08T22:43:00.000-07:00

The mullet is slowly fading, and I have actually been able to pull Brookie-Lyn's hair into little pigglets. I think she looks so cute. She even wants me to do her hair. I'll finish with Kynadi's hair and then she'll point and grunt and want me to pull her's up too. She just knows she looks pretty all done up. I think it's funny how young they catch on to feeling pretty. Now if she would just leave it in all day we would be victorious!

Fancy Nancy Party

2009-03-08T22:29:00.001-07:00

Kynadi got invited to a birthday party for her friend Pace. They are in pre-school together and have a little bond forming I think. It's fun to watch them interact with one another. The are becoming quite the friends. That's another post though. So anyway, the theme for Pace's party was "Fancy Nancy". All the kids were supposed to dress up in there fanciest clothes. So this is Kynadi all ready for the party. I even put a little make-up on her, which she thought was pretty neat. It was a really cute party and Kynadi had lots of fun.

This is just a pic of the two friends, Kynadi and Pace, playing at the park one day. They are both such cute little girls!

Day to Day

2009-03-08T22:22:00.000-07:00

My girls were in the room playing and were being really quiet, so I suspected something might be up. I was pleasantly surprised when I went in the room and found this:

They were just happily coloring and actually sharing without complaints. I love that they each pulled up a ball to sit on. As always...too cute!

Our days of sickness

2009-03-08T22:11:00.000-07:00

Our whole family has had our turn at some virus that's been going around. We were all pretty miserable at one point or another. I think I started it all and was at my worste on Linken's blessing day...what a day to choose. Then the kids picked it up. Kynadi seemed to get over it the quickest, although she still missed a day of pre-school because of it. Brooklyn's turned to an ear infection and Linken had to be put on antibiotics. John finally went to the doc after missing a few days of work. He had 104.5 degree temp when he went in and they put him on steriods (which made him onery to say the least) as well as a couple other drugs. I think we are all on the mend now though (thus I'm finally blogging) so hopefully we'll stay that way. Here's a cute pic of Brooklyn during our "sick days". She was soo tired she just fell asleep.

This pic is kind of gross, but shows all the "goop" draining out of Brooklyn's ear. It was worse in person...trust me. Yuck!

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-03-08T21:55:00.000-07:00

I've never been a huge fan of Valentine's Day, but once you have kids, things just change. So I decorated a little and had a little gift for each of the kids sitting out when they woke up. Kynadi loved it all. Brooklyn was just excited about the balloons, and Linken was obviously clueless.

During the day we went to the store and picked out a few things for secret admirer gifts. Kynadi got to choose three friends to give it to (Grandma and Grandpa were one of the choices--cute). Then that night we went to deliver them. We set the gifts on the step, rang the doorbell, and hid until her friends came to the door to find the surprise she left. She had sooo much fun. She was so cute. I wish we had it on camera, because words don't do justice to describe her hiding behind cars, and waiting to surprise her friends. I think it is a fun tradition we will continue.

Then while we were at Grandma's house later that night, someone rang the doorbell and left all the kids a secret admirer gift too (I'm sure you can't guess who did that). Anyway, it was cute and was a fun Valentine's day. John even surprised me by buying me a CD (which I really like-David Cook), but my favorite was that he hid it under a bunch of hearts he cut out and wrote on each one a different characteristic he loved about me. I thought it was sweet. So maybe I'll start to like the holiday after all.

Go GR Wolves

2009-03-08T21:42:00.001-07:00

So it was the big rival basketball game a few weeks ago. Rock Springs vs. Green River We missed the first one so I took the kids to this one. Kynadi gets really excited to go, and she loves her GR sweat shirt. So we took a few pics before we left. I think she looks really cute!

Linken's Blessing

2009-03-08T21:13:00.000-07:00

So I'm a bit behind as usual, but Linken was blessed the second week in February. John's parents flew out and stayed with us for a few days. We all ended up sick, so that wasn't so fun, but we were glad to have them. John's mom made Linken's blessing outfit, which I think is the cutest thing ever. She has made the girls blessing dresses as well, and has always done a great job. I wish the pictures did his outfit the justice it deserves. Most of the pics were downloaded on my mom's computer though, so these are all I have for now.

I don't know why, I just really like this picture of Grandma, Mom, and Linken. Probably because I just love everone in it!

I realize this is a terrible pic of us (especially me), but it was really all I had. As I mentioned most of the blessing pics are on my mom's computer not mine.

Anyway, for his special day we had a lot of John's family here. His brother Richard, his sister Barbara and her family, his parents (as I mentioned), as well as John's friend Craig and his fiance Erica. My grandma and grandpa Walker came, and my parent's (obviously since they live here). It made me wish my sisters were closer so they could have come, but I guess there's not much to do about that. Anyway, it went well, and I'm grateful to have my little boy with us now.

Pay it Forward

2009-03-08T20:37:00.000-07:00

The Rules:

1. Be one of the first THREE to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me- something crafty or yummy, who knows?!

2. Winners must post this challenge on your blog, meaning that you will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift-anything!- for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!

3. The gift that you send your THREE friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And remember, It's the Spirit and the Thought that Counts!

4. When you receive your gift, feel free to blog about it.If you are not one of the Top Three Commentators on this post, you can still play along. Go ahead and start your own Pay It Forward and encourage your blogging friends to do the same! So remember...it is good... :) Pass it Forward! And I might feel generous and send something to the first FOUR people so don't quit commenting at three :)

Note: Since I do vinyl you can probably guess what type of gift you MAY recieve...so if you have a preference on what you might like...let me know...NO guarantees though. Maybe I'll surprise everyone and not do vinyl at all.

Kyandi's Art

2009-03-08T12:35:00.000-07:00

I have never seen Kynadi draw people before. Then just last week she brought this picture to me and told me it was our family (along with Grandma's dead dog Tippy). I thought it was cute, and as a mom I was very impressed with her work.

May it rest in peace?!?!...

2009-02-22T20:45:00.000-08:00

Garbage that is!

I don't know if I am the only mom out there with this problem, but I cannot throw anything in the garbage without the approval of my children. Whether I tell them or not, they investigate the garbage daily. Kynadi will often pull out papers she drew one line on, upset that I threw her picture away, or broken trinkets/toys, candy that I don't want eaten, and any other object she may find even the tiniest value in. Brooklyn has joined in this escapade in her own way. She tends to pull out anything she finds interesting...used paper plates, empty cans, milk carton ect. The worst happened during lunch a few weeks ago. Brooklyn will never sit still at the table to eat, so she was up wandering around the kitchen with her mouth full. But then I realized nothing seemed to be disappearing off her plate. I look in her mouth and sure enough, she was choosing to have last night's dinner remnants rather than the lunch I had fixed for her. SICK! I have now begun hiding garbage that may be of "special interest" to my children and also plan my big "throw-outs" at night while they sleep and take things to the outside trash. This all seems a bit ridiculous, but I hate having to explain and confess my reasons for throwing things away.

Pre-school Song

2009-02-13T11:53:00.000-08:00

Kynadi sings this song at pre-school everyday. It has actions that she was showing me, but she didn't do them quite as well in the video. I didn't know she even had a "pre-school song' until she started singing it this day. Her teacher gets the curriculum from a company called "Mother Goose Time" thus the song. Anyway here it is. The words of the song are below so you know what she is saying.(Kynadi had to tell them to me).

Oh, when she tells me to put my thumb up it is because I told her that if she wasn't singing loud enough I'd put my thumb up so she knew to sing louder. I thought it was cute that she told me to show it to her.

It’s Mother Goose Time, Mother Goose time,
Clap your hands and say,
It’s Mother Goose Time, Mother Goose Time,
We’re learning everyday.
It’s a brain game, with a book worm,
Math puzzles and tunes and twirls,
Writers’ workshop and art studio,
Kinda fun for boys and girls.
We’re gonna read and write and paint and sing,
Jump, and count, explore everything,
It’s Mother Goose Time, Mother Goose time,
Clap your hands and say,
It’s Mother Goose Time, Mother Goose Time,
We’re learning everyday.

Linken Update

2009-02-12T21:48:00.001-08:00

Not a ton to say about our baby... since all he does is sleep, eat, poop, and cry. Within this last week though he has started to smile at us, which has been fun. He's getting chubbier too now, which I also like. We still don't have any sort of schedule down that's for sure, but hopefully that is coming soon. He's been sick that last few days (poor thing) so he's a bit fussier, but overall he is a really good baby. And cute to boot! I never imagine I'd have two red heads, but it looks as though this might be the case.

As for Linken's head...

I can see more and more that his little head is growing skeewampused. Thankfully it isn't something that bothers Linken (at least as far as I know :) ) Anyway, we met with the doc at Primary Children's this last Thursday. He explained things to John (since John wasn't at the first appointment) and we got to meet with the Plastic Surgeon that would help with the "endoscopic" way. I really liked the Plastic Surgeon. He had before and after pics to show us, and really tried to answer all the questions we had, and offered to put us in touch with others who had babies go thru this procedure. We also learned from him that if we went the endoscopic way that Shields Orthopedic would be the ones they worked with for the head helmet. This made me feel good as well, since these are the same people that we have gone to for Kynadi's brace. They are GREAT!

As for which procedure to choose...

At first, after meeting with just Dr. Brockmeyer, John was thinking to go the more invasive way and be done, which I still have never felt that great about. So when John was telling me this I really didn't know which way to go. But after we met with the Plastic Surgeon, I think we both felt better about the endoscopic way. It's less invasive therefore less painful to Linken, two doctors rather than just one will be involved in the surgery, the helmet will help protect his head as well as "mold" it to normal (even if it will be a hassle), plus after surgery they will put him in the ICU per protocol with the plastic surgeon, whereas the more invasive way the doc doesn't see a need for the ICU even though it is more invasisve. I like the idea of the ICU because it seems Linken will be watched more closely right after surgery. So I think we have decided to go the endoscopic way. Now the next steps are to make the appointment for the surgery (mid March) and he'll need x-rays and a CT Scan done before then. Poor kid has a lot a head of him in the next month.(pun not intended) The docs all make is sound like it will be fine, so I'm trying to feed off them.

I love this pic with Link and my mom. I think he looks so cute here. I just want to squeeze his little cheeks.

Sisterly Love

2009-02-12T21:44:00.000-08:00

Nothing much to say here...I just love when my girls hug. Brooklyn will even pat Kynadi's back sometimes. I think it's too cute.

Copy-Cat

2009-01-29T22:35:00.000-08:00

Brooklyn is sooo funny. She loves to do everything Kynadi does. Tonight was a cute example of it. I had the girls in the bathtub and they were splashing and messing around. Well some how during their play Kynadi hit her elbow on the tub. So she grabbed her elbow and said "ouch" and was beginning to cry when Brooklyn saw and grabbed her elbow followed by "ouch" too. I thought it was too cute, and luckily Kynadi thought it was funny too and started laughing rather than crying. I love being a mom!

Be's block

2009-01-28T13:25:00.000-08:00

K...another post for my sister. This one is for Morgan. Sorry I tried to email, but hotmail wouldn't let me, so here's the pics..

The Verdict....

2009-01-14T21:33:00.000-08:00

I took Linken down to Primary Children's this last Thursday to meet with Dr. Douglas Brockmeyer, a neurologist there. I wasn't sure what to expect. I didn't know if they would do a CT scan while we were there or what. I was a bit nervous because John was already in Utah for some training for work and I was left with all three children to take to the appointment alone. Thankfully Grandma and Grandpa Walker met me at the hospital to watch the girls while Linken had his appointment. I'm grateful they volunteered to come, it definately made the visit easier.

Anyway, the doc said he is 99% sure that Linken does have craniosynostosis. This wasn't really a surprise since we've had two pediatricians tell us the same thing. The good news that day, was that the doc didn't think he needed a CT scan to verify. He was sure enough without a scan and said it would just cause unneeded exposure to radiation. So I didn't have to go thru that with Linken like I did with Kynadi.

The doctor then told me we would have two options to fix his skull. Both surgeries and either one would be performed when Linken is only 3 months old. The first option is an endoscopic surgery, where they would give Linken two smaller incisions; one at the front of his head and the other at the back. This option would be done with a plastic surgeon as well as the neurologist. After this surgery Linken would have to wear a helmet for 9-12months and we would have to make regular visits to the doc during that time. The second option is a more invasive surgery where there would be one large incision from almost ear to ear. This is a more intense surgery, but after it is done, Linken wouldn't have to wear a helmet. My first thought was to do the less invasive surgery to lessen risks and then just deal with a helmet for awhile. But I go back and forth. Either way scares me.

So we will meet with the doc again at the beginning of Feb. so that he can double check Linken's skull and verify the problem. This way John can meet the doc as well, and ask more questions about each option. We will also be able to meet with the plastic surgeon that would assist in the endoscopic surgery.
Anyway, nothing exciting to look forward to, but hopefully we can get this taken care of and we won't have anything else to worry about.

The picture shows how Linken's skull is elongated and there is a bulge at the back.

Anyone else need some shoppping done?

2009-01-14T20:08:00.000-08:00

This is just a post for Brynn. It seems easier than emailing all the blasted pics. The girl's coat was normally $80.00 and I got it for $8.98 and the boy's coat was normally $54.00 (I think) and I got it for $8.98 as well. Now that's a bargain. The shirt and pants were only $1.18 each. You don't find deals like this everyday so maybe it is worth a post! Anyway, Brynn, here are the Grrrreat purchases I got for your children!

Christmas

2009-01-06T21:26:00.001-08:00

I just realized I never posted anything about Christmas. Our Christmas was pretty fun this year. I was exhausted, from having Linken, but Kynadi was so excited, you couldn't help but be excited too.
I thought I had everything ready before hand, since I didn't know when Linken would be popping out, but I was still up until like 2:00 in the morning wrapping and doing things.
We spent the night at my parents house since Kelsey and Mindy were there. We figured it would be more fun for the girls that way.
Kelsey was with Spence for Christmas Eve and Mindy told him to have Kels back at our parents house by 6:30 the next moring. I figured Spence would be late, and my kids wouldn't be up until 7:30-8:00. But no luck. Brooklyn was up at 6:30, as if she knew thats what we had told Spence. Anyway, the girls had fun. They got too much. They didn't even realize half the toys they had recieved. Kynadi would have been happy if she would have gotten Play-dough and nothing else. It made me realize that I don't have to do so much to make them happy. I recieved my one want too...certificates to go to the rec and get this flabby body back in shape. Thanks Mom and John. And John recieved his Playstation 3...although I guess it wasn't a Christmas gift, he ruined that, but he got it the day before Christmas. So all the gifts were good, and as I'm typing this I feel like the true meaning of Christmas was lost!

Anyway here are a few pics.

Brynn...I thought you would appreciate mom wearing your apron.

Here's mom's tree we harrassed her about. Notice there are no ornaments, half the lights don't work, and the bow topper looks great! LOL At least there was a tree at all.

This is what John and Linken looked like at 6:30 in the morning, trying to get up to see what Santa brought.

The video is of Brooklyn unwrapping a gift. Dad has always been a Nazi about the wrapping paper being thrown into the garbage bag, and Brooklyn seemed to pick right up on it and was just as particular. The only problem is that when she unwraps, as you can see, her pieces are a bit small. We would have been there all day if we would have let her continue like this on every gift!

Jumping Jack Queen

2009-01-06T21:12:00.000-08:00

We haven't posted a video for Corbyn and Landen lately, so this is what Kynadi wanted to show them. Enjoy.

The Mullet is Gone..or at least shortened.

2009-01-06T21:02:00.000-08:00

Poor Brooklyn can't grow hair except in the back. Everyone tells me to cut it...which actually annoys me, but we won't get into that. Anyway, I finally decided to trim it, so it is at least even. So here's her new due...we'll just keep hoping the top starts growing too.

Vinyl in my own house...can you imagine

2009-01-06T20:51:00.000-08:00

I just put this vinyl up in Kynadi's room, which ironically enough is the only place in my house that has vinyl on the wall. Anyway, I'm not sure what to think. In some ways I think it looks cute, but I wonder if it's a bit busy? Should I fix it in any way? Thoughts, anyone? Different colors, placement? Be honest...not too honest BRYNN!

Don't mind the messy room...we were in the middle of ...uh well, I don't know, it's just a mess.