11.30.10

Today was our one month appointment with the doctor.  Esther is now 9 lbs 12 oz and 21 1/2 inches long.  I hate that they have to get shots this first year - everytime you go to the doctor.  And usually the mom has to hold them down.  Sorry baby, I know they are good for you, but that doesn't take the hurt away.

11.29.10

Where did the month go??

11.28.10

Today was Esther's blessing day.  We decided at the last minute to do it today because we had family in town and really wanted them to be a part of it.  (I am so glad her dress was done earlier so I wasn't sewing it at the last minute - well, I did have to put the button and buttonholes on it last night, if you must know.)

How cute is that family?  After we got home, we took some family pictures and pictures of Esther and the kids.  They turned out pretty cute.

I love blessings for children - they are promised so many things and when I hear them I always think of the fact that each of us that had a blessing like this were promised similar things.  I loved that it said she would be a good well mannered child, she would have a strong testimony and that she would continue to have all the blessings that the gospel could afford her.  I am truly grateful for a worthy priesthood holder that can pronounce these amazing blessings on all of my children.  Thank you Dave for being worthy and able to give each of our children blessings.  In the circle were not just family, but many of our friends who have become our family.  Thanks to each of you for your examples and friendship.

11.27.10

Craft Saturday!!  Ho! Ho! Ho!  Oh what fun we had painting 2x4's to make snowmen and Christmas trees.  Our table was also being used to sew up some Christmas presents.  Joe was even helping (but don't let him know we all saw him sewing a little bit.)  Somewhere not crafting, but playing and playing and playing were the two little munchkins.  So glad the little ones were getting along so well.  Last time we were together it was a NO HOLDS BAR FIGHT every time they got together.  Glad they like each other again.

Did you see the cute snowman Kirsten made?  I let her have free reign on designing the face and everything after a little bit of a disagreement over making it.  (I had plans to give one to a neighbor friend, but I can really have Dave cut me some more 2x4's if I really need another one.)

11.26.10

We had a yummy dinner today as evidenced by the mounds of dishes the Kempes were doing.  Our dinner was complete with a meltdown and a bunch of hungry people who had to wait for that silly turkey.  It was really being a "turkey" and not cooking enough.  But all the food was yummy and the pie was everyone's favorite part.

11.25.10

The cousins are here!  The cousins are here!!  The Kempes arrived this afternoon and the volume in our house doubled.  It is already crazy and noisy here but now it is enhanced with 3 more kid voices.  Today is officially Thanksgiving but since the Kempes had to drive all morning to get here we are having our dinner tomorrow.  Of course the Kempe visit wouldn't be complete without a game of Acquire.  Those Kempes love to play games as much as we do and so we love it when they come up or we go down there.

(Did you notice Peter's socks???? They are his moms, but he loves to wear them - silly boy.)

11.24.10

Dave figured out how to hook up the new TV to the laptop.  So the kids had a great time playing with the webcam and watching themselves on TV.  Now the next time we skype some one we will really be able to see them great.

11.23.10

No we didn't win the lottery, but Santa did come early this year.  Dave's work gave us a bonus this year (first one in the last 4 years) and it was enough to buy that new TV we have been wanting to buy.  I am sure the one I was thinking about would fit in the TV stand we have already, but "this one is such a great deal" size doesn't fit.  Hmmmm, what are we going to do now????

11.22.10

Dad asked Kirsten to give him a list of what toys were in what boxes and he would make her some labels.  I thought - good idea - and while we are at it, I'll take pictures of each to put on the box for the kids that can't read.  It was fun to figure out what was in some of the boxes and how to label them.  Kirsten and Peter thought it was great to take pictures of the toys.  They kept wanting to add more and more, I just wanted a couple samples to give them an idea of what goes where.

11.21.10

I'm afraid this little girl is way too cute and I can't stop taking pictures of her.  Of course, I didn't take this picture but you know what I mean.  (No I didn't make the dress - it is a hand me down from some one else - too cute.)

Here she is ready for her first day at church.  Wow, I thought it was tough to get 2 kids to church - 3 is putting me over to the crazy side of life.  But that is just how it is around here - just an inch shy of C*R*A*Z*Y!!

11.20.10

Although it is only 3 cabinets that have been put in, it is sooooo cool to have them up and being used, rather then sitting behind the table.  They are really beautiful and potentially have so much more space then the ones that were up there before.  You have to be careful when you bend down to get things out of the dishwasher since the one on the side will eventually be over a counter and not the dishwasher.  Pretty cool to have them up there.  I keep coming in and staring at them and enjoying the view!!!!

11.19.10

Our Stake put on the production of Savior of the World again this year.  It was 3 years ago that I was singing in the choir.  Alas, this year we were able to get tickets and go to the production tonight.  I love that it starts our Christmas season out right with the story of the Savior.  I had to laugh when Dave told me what Peter had said during the production.  First he started with "is it over yet?" after every song, then he said "Are they going to sing again?" in between the songs.

At one point in the play, one of the main characters named Peter is looking for Thomas.  On the stage you hear - "Where is Thomas?"  We were sitting by our friends whose son is named Thomas and I looked over to see Peter pointing at his friend Tommy.  I kind of snickered a little, especially when they kept saying Peter and Thomas over and over again. 

Our home teacher Blake Billings was in the play and had a couple of different parts.  Peter and Kirsten both were whispering "there's our home teacher" at different times during the play.

The evening was wonderful and Esther was pretty good for most of the production.  I totally enjoyed a night out with my family.

11.18.10

So I wanted to show you how big my little girl is getting and also to show off this blanket I made.  I LOVE THE PINK FLOWERS.  They just jumped off the shelf and into my basket wanting to be made into a blanket.

Today we had an appointment with the cardiologist, I'm not exactly sure what to take from the appointment.  First off - this kid is an eater- she is now 9 pounds.  She will be 3 weeks tomorrow and I have been worried about her weight, there really isn't a way to know if they are gaining weight until you either have a doctor's appointment or if they grow out of their clothes.

The part I am unsure of is the part about her heart.  The doctor has been concerned about her from before her birth because of our family history.  We are not naive anymore when it comes to heart murmurs.  So in the hospital they said she had PPS (Peripheral Pulmonary Stenosis) which is a murmur that is from the arteries leaving the heart and going to the lungs.  Because of our family history the cardiologist wanted us to be seen in two weeks from our discharge date.  So that was this week.  We went in and he listened to her heart and said he still heard it and wanted to do an ultrasound.  So we went in the ultrasound room.  It seemed to take forever, which started to concern me.  I can see some things on the ultrasound machine but have no idea what they mean or if they are of any concern.  Finally after what seemed like forever he sighed - Not a good sign in my book.  Well he says "her pulmonary arteries still have the PPS.  They are narrowed for a child her age.  If you didn't have such a strong family history I would just tell you to come back in 3 or 6 months and we would check her again, but I want you to come back in a month."  As we talked some more we discussed that Kirsten had had PPS as an infant and had been cleared within a year or so from the cardiologist in Utah.  He seemed to relax a bit when we told him that.

I am not as concerned about her considering that it is something that Kirsten has had before and also it is only because of our family history that he is so concerned.  We will return in a month and see what is happening then. 

I'm not exactly sure what to take of the whole appointment.  In my heart I want it to be just a simple thing like PPS that will go away as she grows, but my mind also can run wild with thoughts of what has happened in our past with Hanna.  I have chosen to think positive and pray that it will just go away like it did with Kirsten.

11.17.10

This kid is a creator.  Kirsten made each of these trees for me.  They were her own design.  The back one stands by itself and the front one has ornaments, an angel and a star on top.  I am always amazed at what she creates . . . and what messes follow in turn when she is done creating.  I just had to post these since she designed them and then created them.  She has done that forever.  I see an amazing future for this girl.  She can see things and create them.  I guess sometimes I am like that too.  She always wants to learn and is willing to try all things.  Now we just need to work on the clean up skills.

11.16.10

Someone finally lost her umbilical cord.  Or is it the "un billie cord" as Peter said.  I think she is going to have an outie bellie button.  Poor little girl was freezing as I was trying to take this picture  . . . her tummy is not normally purple.

11.15.10

After a very trying day, we had a wonderful family home evening all about becoming more like Jesus.  Each of us needed the lesson in different ways and I think the spirit in our home was better then it had been all day long.  After the lesson we played a couple of games. . . I had to stop them at three or we would have been there all night. . . those two kids love games as much as their mom and dad.

11.14.10

This is one of the pictures that would be better as a video.  The kids turned on the keyboard and were dancing around like crazy kids.  It was pretty funny to watch Peter try and bounce out to the beat.  It was really fast.

11.13.10

Grandma found these cool seed pods on one of her walks last week.  Today they opened up.  They looked like they were dormant or dead and I was a bit surprised when the seeds popped out!

11.12.10

Our first morning without grandma to help us out.  Kirsten loves helping me pick the outfits for Esther.  I don't mind since it makes her happy.  We are really lucky that our neighbor is willing to walk Kirsten to and from school everyday with her son.  It is soooooo nice for me.  I really don't want to be out with my newborn and also it is only going to get colder and colder and trying to get all three of us out the door would be a joke.  Thank goodness for small miracles.

We almost were ready by the time the boys were knocking on the door this morning.  Kirsten had to put her coat on and out the door she went.  Such a busy morning trying to get her out the door by 8.  Phew!!  Time for a nap?!?!?!

11.11.10

With fear and trepidation we send grandma on her way back home.  She has been our cook, our maid and our friend.  We are really going to miss her - OR should I say I AM REALLY GOING TO MISS HER!!!!  It has been so nice to have her around and talk to her, to pass off the kids to her or even just have her hold her grandbaby so I can take a shower.  I guess we will be okay once she leaves and I think my sister Alicia will appreciate her at her house since her baby was born last week.  Welcome Everrett Colin Woodruff!  You are getting to see grandma real soon!!!

11.10.10

Somedays I feel like I am swimming in papers from school.  I think Kirsten brings 2 or 3 home everyday.  Sometimes it gets a bit overwhelming - do we have to save everything???  I'm not one to save everything and Kirsten seems to think we need to.  We are going to have to come to a compromise eventually or we will be buried in paper real soon -   I'm NOT kidding!!

11.09.10

Don't you love a beautiful fall day?  One that helps you to forget the impending winter weather.  One where it is almost 75 degrees.  Yeah, I like it like that!  Grandma realized that we aren't trying to freeze her, the weather just changes from day to day.  Two days ago we were wearing our winter coats, today no coats and probably in a couple days winter coats again.  OH how we love fall!!!  Especially days like today!

11.08.10

Aren't these three the cutest kids ever???  Love them!!!

11.07.10

We had a nice nap while everyone else went to church.  It was peaceful and quiet around here.

11.06.10

Grandma and mom were getting a little stir crazy, so we took Esther out for an outing.  We stopped and had lunch at Portillo's and had hot dogs (except Kirsten) and chocolate cake (see Peter's face.)  Then we went to the Odyssey Fun Zone so the kids could wear out some of their energy.  It hasn't been real warm around here and so we haven't been able to go outside.  The nice part was they had a indoor play place the kids could climb around, bounce in and play in the balls.  They had a fun time and mom and Esther were able to hide away in the quiet room with Grandma.  It was a bit exhausting for me but I know the kids loved it.