Our Trip to Houston...back in March

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...

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!!!

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

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!

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!

...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! :)

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!

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

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???

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!

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

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.