Caleb's Surgery

Last week was a rough one for our Little Man. On Thursday, he had surgery up at Primary Children's Hospital. We've know this was coming for a while and we are glad it is finally over. When Caleb was born, he had what they call a High Scrotal Attachment or a Webbed Penis. Basically, his penis and his scrotum were too close together. So, the surgery was necessary so he can be a happy, functioning adult. 

Thankfully, the doctor we were referred to was wonderful and took good care of Caleb. Mommy was far more worried than anyone. The surgery itself didn't bother me, but knowing that he would be put to sleep and have a breathing tube made me nervous. 

He couldn't eat anything after midnight and his surgery was scheduled for 8:45am. Luckily he could care less about eating and so he was as pleasant as could be that morning. 

 The nurses took us back to the prep rooms and we got him washed down and changed and they took his vital signs and did some other assessing. He looked adorable in the little hospital clothes. 

 While we waited for the Surgeon and Anesthesiologist to come get Caleb, he watched Mickey Mouse and tried to eat his hospital tag. A productive morning for a 7 month old.

 It was awful to just hand him off to strangers and walk away. His surgery lasted about 45 minutes, but we didn't see him for a while after that . When we finally got to go to him, he was coming out of the anesthesia and was not a happy boy. He was screaming mad and there was no consoling him. The nurse said the mad part of his brain woke up, but nothing else. Mommy finally got him calmed down and back to sleep, but not before he kicked his IV out and bled all over everything....including Mommy.

 He woke up a while later after sleeping for a bit and getting some food. He was a bit groggy, but was happy and acting totally like himself. We were relieved and so grateful to have our happy boy with us again!

 The nurse gave him a little book as a prize and he LOVES it! It's his new favorite thing to eat. Thankfully his recovery has gone well. We have seemed to manage his pain fairly well and he has been good-other than not sleeping, but that's nothing new. 

I am so grateful for modern medicine and for skilled doctors and nurses who took such good care of us on Thursday. Most of all, I am thankful for 4 healthy kids. It was sad to sit in the waiting room with other parents that morning and listen to all the other surgeries taking place. Caleb's surgery was a minor one and we are grateful. Having a healthy family is something I hope we never take for granted.

Mommy's Night Out

Mommy got to sneak away for a bit on Wednesday night with all the the girls in the family to see Sheri Dew speak at UVU. Sheri Dew has always been one of my heroines. I want to be more like her!

She spoke on the importance of women being leaders and what qualities and attributes we need to be good leaders. It was an inspiring talk and I felt the power of her message. I felt a great responsibility to not only be a leader, but also to teach my daughters to be leaders. It was a great evening!

Mommy and Jodi

 Aunt Katy flew in for Spring Break and made it just in time for the event!

Ma, Aunt Katy, and Mommy

 Sheri Dew-one awesome and amazing lady!

St. Patrick's Day

The kids had no school on Monday and since Tuesday was St. Patrick's Day, we decided to get crafty. The older 3 made some fun rainbow art with pots of gold at the end. And we made some mint truffles for their teachers.

 Gwen was totally annoyed when she realized her picture looked nothing like a rainbow.

 Caleb played happily and watched his big brother and sisters do their thing.

They decorated their treasure box for the Leprechaun to leave his treasure. Tessa even left him a note on the box.

 Our Leprechaun was super sneaky this year and hid the treasure box in the washing machine. 

 But he filled it with lots of fun things!

 He also left a big, green maze of ribbon all over the house.

 Adam and Tessa were up bright and early to see what had happened while they slept. They found their treasure box rather quickly!

 They went through all of their loot and then put it away so Gwen would be surprised when she woke up. 

 Caleb's first St. Patrick's Day was a pretty lame one. Mommy didn't even have anything green to dress him in. But he liked chomping on the green frisbee they got.

 We had rainbow pancakes for breakfast.

 We had yummy Ruben Sandwiches for dinner with green drinks. They kids tried out their silly straws they got from the Leprechaun.

Missionaries and March Madness

On Sunday evening, we had the Missionaries over for dinner. These Elders were from Mexico and Chile. We had fun talking to them about their countries and families. They told us after dinner that they liked being at our house because our kids were so well behaved. (They came on a good night!) They both wanted to hold Caleb so badly and they loved Gwen's nonsensical stories. 

 Since neither the kids or the Elders could go play soccer in the backyard, they opted for a game of Chess. 

 Monday night for our FHE activity, we filled out our March Madness brackets. Adam knew this was our activity and could hardly wait. I love him in this picture. He is so intense about his sports!

Daddy printed off all the team logo's for Tessa to make her bracket. She loved cutting and pasting her chart together. They are all being displayed on Adam's bedroom wall so he can keep track for everyone. He is not at all happy that we no longer have cable. He is dying to watch these games!

7 Months Old

On Wednesday, Caleb turned 7 months old. Time is just flying with this little guy. 

We were surprised to find a tooth on Tuesday night! I had no idea he was teething. He wasn't unusually fussy or anything. And normally, our kids don't get teeth for like 4 more months. He also has way more hair than our kids have at this age. Adam says he has Alfalfa hair. 

Caleb is finally eating better. Still not a lot, but every feeding is no longer a battle where I have to man handle him to get a bottle in his mouth. He likes his solid foods for the most part. Some days are better than others with his eating. I have never met a kid who didn't like eating. He confuses me!

He is also going through that fun phase of wanting to be held constantly and Mom can't leave his sight or he freaks out! Taking a shower is becoming difficult with him screaming if I go into the bathroom. 

He is sitting on his own now and loves that. He still loves to play with his feet and recently discovered that he can take off his socks, so he loves doing that. He is getting close to getting up on his knees. It won't be long before he is crawling all over the place. He also recently discovered remote controls. If he sees one (or a cell phone) he dives for it and screams bloody murder if we take them away. So, he got his very own remote from the Dollar Store, which he happily chomps on most of the day. 

He brings such happiness to our family and we sure love him!