Tonsils

Maggie had some really sweet nurses! This was on the board, when we came in.

Getting a little loopy...

After the surgery enjoying a slushy!

She had to bring her Minnie and her princess blanket with her

Maggie's good friend Miley brought over some presents for Maggie tonight.

Meme and Papa sent both me and Maggie flowers...so sweet! Maggie was so excited to have flowers for herself!

Maggie got her tonsils and adenoids taken out today.  She has always had over sized tonsils, but since she wasn't having any breathing problems they weren't too worried about it.  But over the past month her breathing has been really heavy and she has been breathing mostly through her nose.  She also hasn't been sleeping well for a while, so last Friday I called our ENT and they set her up with an appointment for Monday. We went in and he had us scheduled for the operation for 3 days later.  So today Maggie and I headed to Riverton Hospital at 7:00 a.m.  She got changed into the hospital gown and then the nurse came in and gave her the medicines to get her all calm.  I love this medicine...it makes the kids so dang funny.  Maggie had on the hospital socks too and she kept looking at the socks and asking if the socks were hers and if she could keep them.  She asked this every couple of minutes. She would also see someone walk by and would say, "that doctor is just silly!" She thought everyone was a doctor and they were just being too silly in her mind.  She was laying down too and kept saying, "Mom, can I lay down?"  I told her she could and she said ok...she is very entertaining! Then about 8:30 they came and took her back.  An hour later they wheeled her back into the room and she was hiding under her blankets.  The nurses said she did amazing. She didn't shed one single tear and was very brave.  They said when she woke up she looked around then slid the blanket over her head.  When they brought her in, I tried looking at her but she just kept sliding further  and further into the blanket. Then the nurse asked if she wanted a slushy and she was so happy.  She ate her slushy pretty fast and then by 10:30 they were releasing us.  You would never know that she had just had her tonsils removed. She was just as happy as could be and was so excited to show everyone where they put the IV in her leg.  She is pretty much the bravest girl I ever met!  We have been keeping her on pain medicine every four hours since we got home and they gave us this lollipop that numbs her mouth, so she has just been great today. They say that the worst part is 3-5 days after the surgery, so I told her she wouldn't be going to church this week probably and she asked if I was going to tell her teachers (Brother Bryan and Sister Heidi) and Miley that she wouldn't be there.  I told her I would then she asked if Miley has been praying for her...so sweet.  I had been telling her how Olivia and everyone in the family had been praying for her this week, so I guess she assumed everyone was praying for her!:)  Maggie's other good neighborhood friend, Gracie's Grandma brought over a lifesaver for us. It is a snow cone maker! It is perfect! She said she used it with her kids when they had their tonsils removed.  Then later that night we had another visit from Miley bringing Maggie a special gift! We also got flowers from Sherrie and Dave for both me and Maggie. It was just so sweet! We definitely felt loved today and felt all the prayers for sure! We are so lucky to have so many great friends out here in Utah.  We really do love it here with our neighborhood and friends and church.  Such great blessings! Thanks again to everyone that helped Maggie (and the rest of the family) today! Y'all are all great!!

Pictures at the Pond

 Yesterday we went over to Daybreak over in South Jordan.  They have some really neat parks and ponds and trails and stuff! The kids loved playing in the sand. Parker wasn't quite sure about it though, so he liked to watch on the sidewalk. It was pretty cute.  Parker was in no mood for pictures though.  So I had to do some candid shots of him.  He is a cute little man though. 

1 Year Old

I can't believe Parker is one year old today!! This time last year I was still having a very hard time remembering for one that we had a boy and not a girl and the harder thing was remembering his name! I had to write it down because all the nurses kept asking what his name was and I couldn't remember for the life of me.  Good times!  The pregnancy with Parker was definitely my most challenging. I was so sick for the first few months and then I had to get the progesterone shots every week from 20 weeks until 37 weeks and let me tell you sometimes that nurse had it out for me and would put the shot in the wrong nerve and I would be sore for days...I do not miss  those weekly shots at all.  Then we were all expecting "her" to be here early and I had my mom come out when I was over 37 weeks along.  My mom came out from April 2-April 9 and no baby in sight.  On April 4th I did go into labor and delivery because I was having contractions and they were intense and about 2-3 minutes apart, so we thought for sure I would be having a baby, but after a couple of hours and no change in dilation (I had been a 3 for about 2 months), they gave me some drugs and said I should go home.  The drug they gave me made me sooooo loopy...I couldn't even walk and I was laughing hysterically at everything and was completely out of my mind.  I laughed for about an hour because I kept telling David to be quiet, when we got home even though I was the one being loud.  The next day I slept for most of the day and then when I woke up I was so depressed and sad and mad. My mom had come all this way and she didn't get to meet Parker or be here when he was born.  So that whole week my mom and I spent cleaning and rearranging things. It turned out to be a GREAT visit from her and she was such a huge help getting all that last minute stuff done.  Then mom left on Saturday morning and by Monday morning at 4:00 I woke up and thought I had a little accident on myself, so I changed my clothes very quietly and tried not to wake David.  I was grabbing a sweater and my laptop when David woke up and asked what I was doing. I told him to go back to sleep and not to worry...he asked what I was doing and I told him that I thought my water had broke, but not to worry because I was sure we had plenty of time.  He jumped out of bed and said that we were going to the hospital right away.  It was about 4:30 and I had started having contractions about 2 minutes apart.  So I agreed.  David went and told Gabe (who was thankfully staying with us that week during his semester break) that we were headed to the hospital and to watch the kids.  We got checked into the hospital and then by 6:45 I told the nurse that I felt like I needed to push. I was indeed ready to push. At 7:00 the doctor got there, but we had to wait because David was in the bathroom...when he finally came out 11 minutes later we prepped and after pushing through about half of a contraction, the doctor said, "It's a Boy!" David and I looked at each other and said, "you mean a girl?!" The doctor looked at us like we were crazy and repeated that it was indeed a boy...Then they handed Parker to me and I held him for the first time.  He was born at 7:19 a.m. weighing 8 pounds 5 ounces and a little over 20 inches long. 
Since that day one year ago, my life has been a roller coaster.  Parker has not exactly been the easiest baby in the world.  He wanted to eat constantly (and still does) for the first 5-6 months.  Even when I started him on solid foods that didn't help too much. He still wanted just me and would let everyone know it too.   I would usually be able to leave the house for an hour tops before I would get the dreaded phone call from David telling me that Parker has been crying the whole time and I needed to get home asap.  I couldn't even go to church with him for the first few months because he would just cry bloody murder the whole time, so I would end up in the mother's lounge for most of church.  He demanded all of my attention for the first 9 months of his life.  I went so many months with so little sleep and I do not miss those days one bit...once he started getting mobile he got a lot happier! And then he started walking a couple of months ago and he has been a much happier baby since then.  He is a very funny and cute little guy.  He loves Biscuit and you can tell.  He calls for Biscuit, when he can't find him.  That was his second word.  His first word was Dada.  He has said Mama a handful of times.  It is very rare for him to say it.  He loves being outside and is an excellent climber. He loves balls. That is the favored toy in our house.  He chooses balls over anything else.  He loves to eat and isn't too picky, but is somewhere between Maggie and David on that one.  He loves being around other people and turning on the charm. Everyone always asks if he is this happy all the time...sad to say no.  He is a great sleeper.  He has been sleeping through the night for the past few months and loves to turn on his little glow worm right when he hits the bed.  He will find it and then fall straight onto it and lay on it for a good portion of the night.  He hates being in the car and hates shopping. I have a good 5-10 minutes at the most that he will sit in the cart at the store, before he starts standing and kicking and screaming for me to hold him.  He is very vocal and loves to be heard.  He loves church to watch the chorister and start yelling and pointing at her, "ya! Ya! Ya!!" It is hilarious.  He loves his belly button and has made that his little comfort.  He always has his shirt up and his finger right there on his little belly.  He can wave and blow kisses to everyone.  He also loves to clap.  He is still just changing every day and I love watching him learn and grow. He really is a sweet little man and we love having him in our family.  Happy first birthday Parker!! We love you!!

His Growth
He is 20. 4 pounds and in the 20th percentile for weight
He is 28 inches and in the 25th percentile for height

A Present for Meme!

Families are Eternal

So we took family pictures last summer with the Torgersons. It was long overdue.  I think we were all very excited to get a picture of all of us together! There was just one thing missing, David's brother Eric.
Eric passed away on April 7, 2000.  He was 9 years old.  He had been battling cancer for a while and was taken from his family here on earth and went back to his Father in Heaven. I had been very lucky in my life to have never dealt with losing someone close to me growing up and when I met the Torgersons, I couldn't exactly grasp what it felt like to lose a sibling or child to such a terrible disease.  I met David about 4 years after Eric had passed away, but even then I could tell that the wounds were still very fresh from what the whole family had gone through with it all.  I felt so sad at first that I didn't get to know or meet Eric, but the family soon informed me about all of Eric's amazing qualities and talents and some of the funnier times in his life, like his extreme biting phase that he went through when he was about 2 years old. I think they all have at least on scar from that fun stage in a toddler to show.:)  They also told me about his amazing attitude that he had through the whole battle of cancer.  One of his favorite quotes was, "It's all about attitude." He was an amazingly strong child and I know had to have an even stronger spirit.  After being in the Torgerson family for 8 years and seeing pictures, videos, and hearing stories I sometimes forget that I have never met Eric in this life.  The Torgersons do such a great job at keeping his memory alive and letting us that didn't have the opportunity to know him in this life, feel like we did know him in some way. 
After having 3 kids of my own now, I can almost grasp a tiny bit of what Sherrie must have felt being the mother and losing your child at such a young age.  I have a huge respect for her.  I look up to her for so many reasons, but one of them is her ability to do what she had to do for her family still on the earth after such a great loss. So in honor of remembering Eric and making him apart of our latest family picture, David came up with the idea to put the 2 family pictures together, so that we could all be together in some way in the picture.  
Sherrie is such an amazing mom and grandma.  She is always there with a helping hand and never thinks of herself.  She lives for her family and especially her grandkids these days and would do anything for them.  She is always there with the time to listen at least 3-5 times a week when Maggie wants to call and talk to Meme and tell her about just the everyday things that go on in a 4 year old's life.  She remembers all the holidays and the kids are always excited to get a card in the mail from their Meme and Papa.  She makes the kids feel like her  world revolves around them and they are so lucky to have her.  I am so grateful to Sherrie for raising David the way she did, because it made him who he is today.  I am so glad to have a mother-in-law that I feel so close to and that I can talk to.  We have had so many great and fun times with too many laughs to count. 
So on your birthday, I would like to wish you a Happy Birthday!! You deserve an amazing day! I hope you know how much we all love and miss you.  Hugs and kisses from your family out west!!

Maggie Leigh

Maggie looked so pretty today that I just had to take some pictures of her!! Doesn't she look so old and cute?!!  She is such a sweet little girl and was so excited to pick out this dress. She knew she wanted a purple one, so on Thursday we set out to find one. We went to a few stores and then she told me she liked the one at the first store the most and so we went back and got the first one we found.  I think she just wanted to to the most shopping that she could get away with!:) She gets that from her Dad...;)

Easter 2012

 Decorating Easter Eggs on Saturday

What the Easter Bunny left for the kids!

Look how dang cute!

The kids anxiously waiting to go into the living room in the morning to see what the Easter Bunny left for them

All Parker wanted was an egg for each hand! He was so proud of himself!!

We had a great Easter this year! It was pretty low key, but filled with lots of food and lots of fun! We had Gabby stay the night, because they were going to church with us and Trish was hanging out with a friend Saturday night. The good news is that the kids went to bed at about 8:00 because they were so excited about the Easter bunny coming. The bad news is that Gabby was up by 6:30 this morning…and wanted the other kids to be up too. This was the one morning that Parker of course slept in, since I was up early doing things and we were all wanting him to wake up! That’s always how it goes. We got the kids dressed and then Parker finally woke up and we went into the living room and found what the Easter Bunny left for them! Then we finished getting ready for church. Church was great as usual! Especially since we had Trish to help with Parker. She also took him for us, while David went to Elders Quorum and I went to Young Women without a child attached to me. We had a great lesson in Young Women. Our secretary, Deserae gave the lesson and talked about the true meaning of Easter and the symbolism that we can remember each year to remember the sacrifice that Jesus made for us and why Easter is such a special day. After church David had to go collect fast offerings, so we had to hold off the kids from finding the eggs the Easter Bunny left outside. After waiting until 1:00, we just couldn’t hold the kids back any longer. So we let them loose outside! This was the first year that no one had a melt down and no one shed one tear. It was great! Parker went straight to his favorite place and climbed right up the little pirate ship and found his eggs that were hiding there. The other kids just had a ton of fun finding all the eggs. It was fun this year, since the kids were older and they got some more challenging hiding places for eggs. After that we went in for a yummy lunch of Grilled pork tenderloin, baked potatoes, homemade bread, homemade macaroni and cheese and corn on the cob! Oh how we love the food! :) Then we had nap time for the adults. Trish and Gabby headed home after that and then we took a nice walk and enjoyed this beautiful spring weather. It was a great end to a great day!

Parker's 1st Birthday

Present time!! Maggie picked this ball out for Parker for his present!

Parker LOVED his cake! He couldn't believe that it was all for him!

Playing with his new toys!

We decided that since Mom and Dad were going to be out here so close to Parker's birthday, we would have his birthday party a little early.  It was so great to have so much family and friends here to help us celebrate.  Parker loved having all eyes on him! He was just as happy as can be that whole day.  I can't believe a year has almost come and gone so fast.  He has changed a lot and grown too much.  He is running around like a pro.  I will put more next week on his birthday about what he is up too.  It was just so much fun seeing all the progress and changes a year can make in a baby.  We were glad to celebrate it, but we definitely missed the Torgerson side of the family. :(  There's always next year!:)  Thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate his birthday and for making him feel so special!!

Conference Weekend

Mom, Gabby and Maggie played keep away with Biscuit. It was hilarious to watch!

The kids were begging Deedah to take them on the train in the mall...so off we went!

 Then we went to the park, since I had plenty of extra eyes to watch all the kids, we went to the big park.  Don't Molly, Parker, Gabe and David look cute?!

More train ride

Parker was a little worried about the train at first, but he ended up loving it!!

Molly and Gabe practicing for engagement pictures?!:)

We had a little incident with Parker and Gabe. Gabe was holding Parker and then he told me that he smelled something yucky, so then I finished what I was doing and went to grab him and noticed something leaking out of Parker's diaper and onto Gabe's arm...it was pretty gross and yet so dang funny!

Our Hot Springs crew! We had so many good laughs

This is Gracie (Ranie's Daughter), Maggie, Gabby and David. They played outside pretty much the whole time and loved playing restaurant. It was great to add a new face to the kids' group.  

We had the best days, while my mom and dad were here.  They got in on Thursday afternoon and we had just enough time to let Mom play with the kids and get their Deehah time, before we went downtown to meet David at The Roof for dinner.  It was delicious and amazing and so nice to have uninterrupted adult time.  Then that night Gabe and Molly got into town.  We drilled Molly pretty good and had a ton of laughs. Then the next day, Dad headed downtown on the trax with David and spent the morning there.  Mom, Gabe, Molly, the kids and I took the kids to the mall to let the kids ride the train at the mall and play at the playground there. Then since it was such a pretty day, we went to the big park. I hardly ever take the kids there because it is such a big park with a lot of places to hide.  So we played there and then headed home. Some of the girls went to see a movie. I stayed home to prepare the fry fest for that night for the Arkansas get together.  It was a lot of food and it is always such a great time having everyone get together and reminisce about the old days.  We were lucky to have our usuals, Rusty and Jerianne, Ashlee and Nick and all of us DeVauxs, but this year we had Ranie there too. Ranie and Rusty are brother and sister and our families were close growing up.  We always have our poor spouses there listening to all of our stories of the past.  Then Saturday was full of watching Conference. Gabe, Molly and Mom went to the Saturday afternoon session.  Trish did the dinner  for that night, which was delicious as usual.  All the guys went to the Priesthood session, which gave us girls some time to get to know Molly without Gabe there. We also got to break out the childhood pictures of Gabe and give her the uncensored stories of him.  We all laughed pretty hard at Gabe's "husky" phase photos.  We had a lot of laughs at Gabe's expense.  Molly got to know a lot about Gabe that he never would tell her because it was too embarrassing.  Then Sunday we had more conference. Trish and Ranie took Gabby and Gracie to the morning session.  Then we had Parker's birthday party that afternoon between conferences. It was a fun little family party.  Then that night everyone headed home and mom and Dad went to visit some old friends of theirs that they knew, when they lived in Austin, Texas.  They went to Orem and visited with them, while David and I tried to rejuvenate from the crazy busy past couple of days.  Then today(Monday) Mom and Dad had their flight back home to Arkansas and life got back to normal...although Parker cried the whole way home from the airport and when we got home, David asked if Deedah could come live and work with us.  It was pretty cute! So today I had to catch up on some much needed rest and downtime.  I love having mom and Dad come for a visit almost as much as the kids do.  Can't wait until their next visit out here!!