Canon's Surgery

Lately, I've been kind of emotional and sentimental. Okay, I'm always emotional really, but it might also be because we have been preparing for Canon to go into surgery for a Scrotal Hernia with a Hydrocele (which just means it is not his bowels, but fluid in his scrotum that needed to be drained and sewn up). He also had to have his circumcision redone.
So, today was the day he went in for surgery. Garret and I dropped Sydney off at a sweet friend's home, and we headed to Texas Children's Hospital downtown. Along with being nervous, my stomach was killing me, which it always likes to do during the big things in my life. It's tons of fun, let me tell you. Anyway, I needed to focus on Canon, so I said a prayer to my Heavenly Father to help us all through the day, which really helped. I believe strongly in the power of prayer. Heavenly Father has shown me countless times that when I go to him for help, he is there, watching over me and my loved ones. When I felt like I was going to lose it throughout the day, especially in the recovery room as I saw my baby so uncomfortable and upset, I felt the power of the Spirit, letting me know everything was fine. I still cried, but it was because I felt SO blessed. Here's some photos before the surgery:





Canon finally did calm down after guzzling down- and choking on- some Pedialite. (He kept sucking it down too fast because of the nipple, and got lots of air, too. Not fun.) It was a little traumatic for me for a bit. The nurse, who was great, kept wanting to take over and be the one to console him, like I wasn't doing it right or something. It kind of made me a bit self conscious, especially when she really did have the magic touch! After his belly was filled, he finally relaxed in my arms and fell asleep. I remember staring down at him and thinking how grateful we are for this little guy in our family. I'm so in love with him. He has the potential to get away with a lot of things, just like Sydney has that effect on daddy!
Despite the fact that Garret and I were having our son operated on, we actually got to spent the entire day together, and I loved it! It's been hard lately to find time for just us, so I joked with him that we were on a date.
I thought of how when Garret and I got married, we didn't know about all the trials we would face together, and I'm glad we don't know. I'm comforted in the fact that I have him to go through all of life with. He might get mad at me for getting so mushy about him, but oh well! He is such a strength to me. He is faithful. He is loving, patient, gentle, strong and tough when he needs to be, funny, a hard worker, and a great father. (Not to mention, my handsome hunk!) He's also calm and collected, and being the emotional girl I am, I'm so grateful for that.
Canon has been doing great this evening, just wants to be held a little more. (I absolutely LOVE it when he totally relaxes, leans his head on my shoulder and lets me cuddle him.) He's actually been teething for the last few days, and it seems like that's been irritating him more than his incisions! All in all, it was a good day, believe it or not.
I have been given so many little moments in life that I want to remember forever. Lately I've been thinking that when I'm an old lady, I'm really gonna want to come back and kick my 34 yr. old butt because I didn't write anything down! I need to keep a journal. This isn't a new revelation to me. Ever since Pres. Henry B. Eyring gave a conference talk on how his family started a gratitude journal, I've been feeling like we need to start one, too. And really, how long ago was that- a few YEARS now?! It's time. Today is the day, and it starts with writing on my blog. I plan to scrapbook them someday, but for now I just need to write them down. Life is busy- busier than it's ever been. It's been hard work trying to do everything I'm responsible for these days, and I often fall short. I know this isn't going to be easy, but I'm going to do my best. So, instead of having regrets when I'm old, I will thank my young self someday!

It's a BOY!!!

IT'S A BOY!!! Okay, most of you already know this, but I thought I'd finally post it on our blog.

I spotted "IT right away. Girls are hard to see- not boys. I asked the ultrasound tech, "Is that it?!" Her response was, "Yep, there's his (boy part)." I looked at Garret, struggling to keep two little girls happy (Sydney, 2 1/2, and the little girl I babysit, Avery, 14 mos.), and asked, "Did you hear that?!" He said no, so I got to tell him, "It's a BOY!" And, people, you should have seen the look on my husband's face! It was a look of disbelief and shock and absolute JOY. (Next time we will make sure he can enjoy the experience as much as I did!)

It's probably no secret that I originally wanted another girl. Girls are so much fun to dress and doll up, and, I know girls. I grew up with just sisters, lots of girl cousins, and only a handful of boy cousins. I do not know boys, that is, not yet! As soon as I found out it was a boy, I started envisioning this rough-and-tumble little boy, bringing bugs and lizards and mud the house. (I didn't envision snakes- he will be taught to stay away from them completely!!) I also thought of scouting, sports, camping, him getting the Priesthood, going on a mission, etc., etc., and I feel so blessed as I anticipate Garret and I raising a boy to a man, and to experience both boy and girl stuff with our children.

We cannot wait to meet this little guy. And, I've had lots of fun already preparing for him. We decided on a sock monkey theme, and I found the cutest fabric for it! I'll post on his room when it gets done, which better happen pretty quick. I do have 13 weeks left, but there's a LOT to get done!

Baby #2 On The Way

I'm so proud of myself, taking this picture all by myself, while a squirming child fell asleep on me, which is one of the few times Sydney has done that. Even as a baby, she didn't let me cuddle her- she just wanted to be laid down to fall asleep. I guess that's a good thing. But, on this special Sunday afternoon, she was extra tired after church and fell right asleep on me, and I enjoyed every moment of it! I will miss these days with just me and my Sydney-Sue. She's my sweet and crazy baby girl, my little pal, and I just love being with her. But, things change, and she will thank us later for giving her a sibling to share life's experiences with- we hope!
We found out not too long ago that we are expecting another baby!!! I am about 14 weeks now, and things are going good so far. Sick as ever, but lately it is lessening a little, which I am so grateful for! So, if all goes well, we'll have a baby join our little family around Jan. 6, 2011. The kids will be almost exactly 3 years apart, since Sydney was born on Jan. 11.

I personally think Sydney's going to make a great big sister. About a month ago, I found this little line-up of dolls in her room, all diapered and sleeping. She loves taking care of her babies. I've even caught her nursing. When I asked her what she was doing, she said, "I'm feeding my baby with my boobie." She's talented, too. She can nurse while walking around the house.
She loves real babies even more than dolls. She can't get enough of her cousin Lyla who's 4 months old. I really have to watch her so she doesn't maul her, though. She'll start by just holding her hand, but it quickly grows into a bear hug with lots of kisses, and no respect for personal space.
We went up to Courtney and Justin's for the July 4th weekend, and Sydney was all over Lyla. Cute, but scary. One afternoon, Lyla was taking a nap, and Sydney just jumped over the side of the crib and laid down next to her. Luckly it looked like she hadn't landed on Lyla and broken a rib or something, because they were just laying there smiling at eachother. Like I said, cute, but very scary!!! I know, I will have my hands very full pretty soon, but we are so excited for this new addition to our family.

Our Pimped-Out Pool

Now, don't be jealous. Our pool is pretty dang awesome, I know.
Sydney was nice enough to share her pool with Garret one afternoon, and they were having so much fun I got the camera out.

She made him work for his stay though. At least they were staying cool in the summer heat. Poor child had to fill the pool back up when dad left, but she sure loves her daddy. She's getting more comfortable with water, too, which is nice to see. She now lays down in the water "like a mermaid" all by herself. It's not much but she's getting there.

2010 So Far...

2010 so far has been full of some hard experiences for our family. Luckly, Julie's side has been generally alright other than a few surgeries (my dad & step mom, Tish) so far. However, Garret's side started 2010 off with the very sad passing of our brother-in-law, Bret Blakey, Britney's husband. They have a beautiful little boy, Dylan who at the time was 1. Bret died on Jan 9, at the age of 28. We took a trip up to Utah for the funeral and to be with the family. Here are a few pictures of our time there.

At the gravesite, Devin (Bret's brother and our other brother-in-law) led us in a toast to Bret with his favorite drink, Mountain Dew. It was such a cool sound to hear all the pop cans open at the same time in honor of Bret. He has so many friends and family that love him and will miss him dearly.

It also happened to be Sydney's 2nd birthday on Jan 11, so the family made her an awesome elephant cake and we had a little party for her. She loved the cake and all the attention. Thank you Grandma Toni and family for making her 2nd birthday a special one!

Bret's funeral was followed by Monica having surgery to remove her appendix, Dylan had tubes put in his ears due to ear infections, Mary had surgery to alleviate some swelling in her brain, and a few weeks ago, Dale also had surgery. (Now, am I leaving anyone out?!) Also, last Thursday, (Garret's cousin) Damon's wife, Corrine, who was almost 8 months pregnant with their first child, was in a major car accident, and they lost thier baby girl. Corrine was listed in very critical condition, and sustained many injuries, but she is is doing better, and we hope and pray she pulls through and fully recovers. Our hearts go out to our family members who have been through- and are going through- some really rough experiences, and we continue to pray for them. We are so grateful for the knowledge that we will again see those who have passed away. FAMILIES ARE FOREVER, and we love each and every one of you so much!!! Hopefully, the rest of 2010 will bring happier times and added blessings.

Naughty, Naughty, Naughty!

What have we been up to lately? Cleaning up and running after our dear little girl! That keeps us plenty busy. Lately, she's gotten stealthy and even faster. Here are some pictures and stories:

The scariest one: Two weeks ago, as I was doing dishes, she grabbed a large chef knife out of the dishwasher, holding it by the blade, then grabbed the handle, and started waving it around as she ran away from me as fast as her little feet would carry her. AHHHHHH! (Sorry, no photo available!) Garret & I were horrified, and embarassed too, because we had people over that night. So, there's your scary halloween story!

The same night, while our friends were still over, things were too quiet, so I went looking for Sydney. I found her sitting on top of her changing table, laughing and sucking on two binkies. Daddy had put them there because she can only have them at night. When I asked her how she was planning on getting down, she just laughed at me. She is getting more and more creative- anything for a pacifier! She has recently found out that if a binky is on a blanket in her crib, she can pull on the blanket and the binky will come within her reach.

Syrup and carpet don't mix. I was making dinner a few weeks ago, when Sydney snuck the syrup from the pantry (which is on a higher shelf, by the way), crawled under her crib, and sucked on it like a bottle, getting herself and the carpet all nice and syruppy. The only way I found out about this was when she came to give me back the syrup. We both decided it was time for a bath- immediately! After cleaning it up, I could laugh at it, so we took some pictures. (The funniest part is maple syrup reminds Garret of the stinky kids at school, so it really grossed him out that even after her bath, she still smelt of syrup for the rest of the night.)



Here's some more naughtiness....



When she's caught doing something wrong, she beats me to it now, by saying "naw-ee, naw-ee!" lol! Yes, that's a whole box of baby wipes, and she loves pulling out all the DVD's, which I've quit caring about, as long as she doesn't open the boxes. Pick your battles, right?



She's not doing anything bad in this photo, but I can tell she's devising a plan.

Syd keeps us on our toes, but the Lord has blessed us with a healthy, happy child, and what a tremendous blessing that is. She has such a sweet, thoughtful spirit, too. We just need to channel this energy into something good! If I could only threaten that Christmas is coming up, and all she's getting is coal... Maybe that will work next year.

Sydney's First Broken Bone(s)

Oh boy, what trouble we are in for! On Thursday, Aug. 13, Garret was watching Syd so I could go to a church meeting, and lo and behold, I found my teary-eyed daughter in her Daddy's arms cradling her left arm not wanting to use it, and a very pissed husband whose only comment was, "why do you even have a cell phone?!" (The batteries went dead.) Let's just say it wasnt the most pleasant evening or night. She had jumped off the back of our couch while... now what was Garret doing? Oh yeah... watching TV. Okay, I have been making him feel bad about it lately, not like he needs any help with it, but she is a pretty fast kid and has little fear! I will give him that.

When I took her in the next morning, they told me she had broken both the bones in her left wrist. We went and got a neon pink cast right away. She was a trooper through all of it, and I have to say the whole ordeal wasn't too bad. It could have been a lot worse, and we count ourselves very blessed.

Christmas 2008

Sydney's first Christmas was full of fun and happy memories. We went to Sacramento to visit my family. We stayed with my mom, and my dad and Tish stayed with Dianne and her family. One of Garret's favorite places to visit is San Francisco, so that was a must-see on our vacation. We also decided to visit Muir Woods, which is a National Forest maybe 45 minutes away from San Francisco. Dianne and her family, dad & Tish, and Garret, Syd, & I ended up going. The Northern Pacific Redwoods are one of the most beautiful places on earth, in my opinion.

Since Dianne's daughter Alivia, and Sydney are 6 weeks apart (Alivia- Nov. 07, and Sydney- Jan 08), we decided to have a first birthday party together for them while we were visiting. Dianne came up with the theme of "woodland fairies" for the girls (maybe the idea came from our Muir woods visit!). Dianne is an amazing baker. She made a "Bouche De Noel" birthday cake for them. It was a chocolate cake that looked like a wood log, with sugary-merengue mushrooms sprinkled with cocoa on top. it was almost too pretty to eat- really. We got matching pink dresses for them. Then, Tish, Dianne, and I made them tutus and flowered wreaths for their "fairy" outfits. It turned out so cute and we all had a lot of fun!

We were also able to visit my Grandma, affectionately called "Grr" by us grandkids. We had pizza and got to catch up a bit. It was Sydney's first visit to Grr's. It's good to know Grr is still as spunky as ever!

Favorite Photos from 2008

Here are some of my favorite photos of Sydney from her first year. She was so red when she was first born. In fact, Uncle Justin (the one in Waco), thought she looked like a Hot Tamale. So, here's a photo of my little Hot Tamale baby! (She got even redder than this, but mommy didn't look too "hot" in those pics!)

A group photo on Sydney's blessing day. We are so grateful to everyone who was able to come. We had a blast having so many family members in town at once! We wish we could have had everyone there, but that's what we get for moving half-way across the country!

Mommy and Sydney on her blessing day.

Sydney all bundled up after a bath.

Her first 2 teeth, 6months old.

How are we going to live without the binky?!? I am not looking forward to weening her of it!

Bathtime!

Halloween Party at Courtney's. Lacey and Sydney dressed up as ladybugs together. They looked so cute in their tutus and bows! I really wish I took more pictures.

Our First Family Picture

This picture was taken when Sydney was about 3 monts old. It's not my favorite picture, seeing as how I had recently had a baby and all, but what can I say? We are all a work in progress, and I look forward to posting better family photos in the future.