Hayden's first NFL Game!

Hayden was thrilled when Andy told him he had won tickets to an Arizona Cardinals game. Hayden has grown to love BYU football and Cardinals football, and guess who was the starting QB for this game - Max Hall (Former QB for BYU). Going to the game was all we heard about for weeks leading up to it. The morning of the game Hayden got dressed in his Cardinals shirt and hat and made a sign to hold up during the game.

The Cardinals happened to be going against Superbowl Champions the Saints and we didn't really think there was a chance of us winning. Well, what do you know - the Cardinals won!!! This was a great first game for Max Hall, even though the game was won mostly due to our great defense!

Hayden had a great time taking pictures throughout the game. He even got a chance to meet the cheerleaders before the game but he was too shy to get his picture taken with them.

Andy and Hayden had a fantastic time sitting in the end zone - thanks to Intel for letting them have these great seats and a little bonding time!

Never too young for a boyfriend!

Our awesome neighbors, Jeff and Diana, had their first baby in August. There little boy, Ty, is just 5 weeks younger than Mia. They had their first "playdate" a few weeks ago when we had them over for our traditional conference brunch. It was so fun watching the two babies start to interact a little. Mia was getting fresh the whole time trying to hold his hand!

Isn't it cute, they are five weeks apart and almost the same size! We hope that These two get to grow up together but we have to convince Jeff and Diana to live here forever... Hmm, maybe if I keep inviting them over for dinner it will give them a reason to never move away!

3 Months Old

Mia is 3 months old and finally starting to respond to us with smiles on demand. I still have to try pretty hard but she has the cutest smile when she finally lets one out! Mia is babbling a ton and loves to sit up and stand (with help of course). She is sleeping really well at night but will still only take a 45 minute nap at a time unless I am holding her or if we are in a moving car. I tend to plan my errands around when she needs to fall asleep since I know she will sleep well in the car! We love our little munchkin so much!

All dressed up for church

I have been so bad about blogging lately and realized I have such a great pictures and memories I want to share. These are pictures of Mia her first Sunday back at church after the hospital stay. This is by far one of my favorite dresses I have for her. Isn't she such a doll? Oh how I love this little girl! These pictures were taken when she was 7 weeks old - what a cutie!

Trying really hard to smile

Mia is not a smiler - at all. I try so hard to make her smile everyday and usually I get a few small ones. She's not unhappy or anything, she just doesn't smile much. I read in a book that this is actually not something to worry about, it just means she is always content - sure I'll take that. Her neurologist was asking me last week at her appointment if she is smiling yet, I told her not much. They worry if the baby doesn't smile at all but since Mia smiles some, there is nothing to worry about. As I told her doctor this, she picked Mia up and started talking to her, within seconds she turns her around to show me some big beautiful smiles! Little stinker!

So, a few weeks ago Mia was having a grand time smiling in her bouncy seat so I grabbed the camera. I tried desperately to get her to continue but she wouldn't. These were the best I got:

We sure love our little Mia... I know I complain about her a lot but really my only complaint is that she will not nap during the day in her bed. I am finally just trying to accept it and move on - she takes great naps in her carseat when we are out or in the Baby Bjorn. So, that is where she is taking many of her naps. It saves my sanity a little to just let her do it, eventually she will have to learn to nap in her bed, we will get there.

She also has a milk protein allergy so I have had to cut out all dairy from my diet. It has been hard... but it won't last forever and eventually I will be able to eat cheese and sour cream again, even if it takes a few months!

Cousins!

We love living so close to cousins (wish the rest of the cousins lived here :( ). Meredith's and my kids have so much fun together - they are so imaginative and can play and be happy for hours on end. Zac is particularly enamored with Caroline right now, he loves Kate of course but he is always asking if Caroline can come over - it is so sweet because she is so cute with him! Anyway, a few weeks ago they came over to go swimming but a storm quickly rolled in and we decided that swimming was not the best idea with a lightening storm. So the kids did what they do best together - played dress up. They had some pretty great costumes!

Zac as the go-go boot wearing Chicken Little

Caroline as the fire woman

Lindsay dressed as I'm not sure what and Kate as Tinkerbell

Brynley as the Superman cape wearing Princess

And Hayden as the Coyote's Hockey player sporting rain boots and a Superman cape

I love watching these kids learn and grow together - we are crossing our fingers that they decide to move even closer to us - like bike riding distance, that would be awesome!

Oh the joys of a 2 year old boy

Yep - that's our Zac! We can pretty much count on him looking like this after every meal, especially if he has a captive audience in his biog brother or sister. They think he is quite funny, I think he is quite messy. This instance however, he was by himself "eating" his cupcake when I come in to the kitchen to see his face covered. He literally was just wiping frosting with his hand all over his face - nice. Ranch dressing is another favorite face mask of his!

Zac just loves to color - on EVERYTHING! A favorite coloring spot (besides the back patio or outside wall of the house) would be the computer monitor. on 2 occasions he has taken a ball point pen or a pencil to the computer monitor while I sit nursing a baby in the other room. He also enjoys coloring on the tile or carpet or ottoman - you know, any surface besides paper of course! If Zac sees anyone writing or coloring he immediately is yelling that he wants to color too, it is super cute!

I love this little guy so much, he gives the best kisses and the sweetest hugs ever. If he or someone else toots, he immediately says, "Monster!" with a growling voice. This is because we would always call him a tooty monster and for some reason he picked up on the monster part!

Even though he almost floods the bathroom on a daily basis and does a great job of dumping all of the toys in the playroom, I cannot imagine a day without this sweet little guy. He is truly a joy and I am lucky to be his mom.

Last Night

As we were driving in the car last night we were talking with Hayden about what he wants to be when he grows up. Well it started with him wanting a Lincoln Navigator and us telling him he has to make a lot of money to buy one. He said he really wants to be a police man when he grows up so he can help people. We then encouraged him to maybe be a doctor who also helps people. He settled on being a dentist... We shall see.

Brynley pipes in from the back, "When I grow up I want to be a mom so I can go to meetings!!!"

Funny Girl. As if going to meetings is all I do...

Payson, Arizona!

Back on June 26th we headed up to Payson, AZ to celebrate my Dad's birthday with him. His wife, Debbie has a family cabin that they spend a lot of time at when it is so hot down here in the valley. When they extended the invite we were happy to get out of the heat for a few days! We had a ton of fun, between the clubhouse and zip line in the back yard, to fishing (and actually catching fish!) to the fun little nature walks and throwing rocks in the stream. Our kids spent the weekend pretty filthy but who cares, they had a blast!

The biggest highlight was the zipline. Luckily we had some strong dads to help the kids by lifting them up and giving them a good push! Andy got a little too fast a few times and fell flat on his face!

Their other favorite thing was the clubhouse right next to the zipline. They spent so much time up there, coloring, cleaning and decorating (they tied the pinecones to long blades of grass and hung them from the ceiling - so creative!)

Meredith and I enjoyed a few games of Scrabble - I was too huge and pregnant to do much else!

The 4 big cousins hanging out together! Love these kids!

Here they were searching for flat stones to try to skip in the stream. It was so nice to just be able to be out in nature enjoying the cool weather and water from the stream.

The kids loved Grandpa and Debbie's new dog Manny. He's a good dog even if he has stinky toots - the kids got a kick out of that!

We all went fishing together. Kate and Zac spent most of the time throwing rocks in the water. Zac started trying to pick up the largest boulders he possibly could, it was very cute. Luckily all of the kids were able to eventually catch a fish. I think Hayden ended up catching 3 or 4 (with a lot of help from Grandpa). Debbie had the honor of cleaning the fish while Andy fried it up for breakfast the next day. It was really good!

Brynley with her fish!

Hayden with his first fish

Hayden and Brynley with Grandpa and Debbie and their fish!

Towards the end of one of the days Zac was pretty tired so he camped out on this chair watching a movie on my ipod Touch. I loved his little jeans and white shirt look, such a cutie!

We had a great time in Payson and can't wait to go back some time!

Janie and Zac

I have a great, amazing friend named Kristen. Well I have a couple of great friends with that name but this one in particular was an amazing blessing to our family over the last week. She offered to drive out from California with her cute daughter Jane (19 months) and help out around the house while I stayed at the hospital with Mia. She was such a huge help, she watched the kids any time we needed her to, did laundry, mopped the floor, picked up after the kids, etc.... Andy was especially grateful!

We (well I) have decided her daughter Jane will need to marry Zac. They were super cute together (and I only got to see them together a few times) but Kristen said they would just play and chase each other. She snapped these pictures of them watching DVD's together on the guest bed. They are so cute!

Monday Girl Date

Brynley had been looking forward to our girl date last Monday while Hayden went on his boy date with Dad. Luckily for Brynley Mommy's take pictures on their dates, Daddy's not so much. Sorry Hayden - no pictures for you!

This is what Mia did while Brynley and I got our pedicures

Brynley getting her little foot massage

She was loving every minute of the pampering!

I let Brynley choose the restaurant for lunch. It was a hard choice but she settled on a
Mexican restaurant with her favorite bean dip, yum!

Brynley got to get her first real haircut (I have cut her a hair a few times but this was way more fun!)

It was a super fun day and I am so glad we had the chance to go out together!

Of course we all know how the day ended... Meredith took this picture for me after I had already left in the ambulance with Mia. Funny, as the paramedics, police, etc. were all huddled around Mia in my family room, I had this urge to take a picture and document it. Of course I didn't but there were at least 12 men and women in my family room, it was quite a sight! Anyway, Meredith had the same thought to document it so she snapped a few pics of the fire truck before it left!

Then Andy of course thought I was insane when I asked him to snap a picture in the ER...

First Day of Preschool

Brynley started her 4 year old preschool today! She has really been looking forward to it and was super excited to be able to choose a new backpack for the occasion. She loved the one with "pirate" faces on it because she said Caroline likes pirate faces. (Skull and crossbones)

I helped her pick out her outfit a few days ago and thankfully Meredith came over to fix her hair for the first day. Andy has done a pretty good job with her hair but she needed something a bit special for the first day!

Striking a pose!

Outside with Kate heading to the car

Our cute neighbor Hannah is in Brynley's class, here they are together

Here they are in Miss Allison's preschool class. I am super excited for her preschool this year and I know she will have such a great time! Brynley didn't seem to notice that I wasn't with her this morning - glad she has an awesome dad and a great aunt to make her feel special today!

7 days in the hospital...

... and she is more alert than ever! Mia has really started tracking objects and she seems to recognize voices and faces now. She is really growing up and it's all happening before our eyes in our little hospital room. She is getting cuter and chunkier by the minute!

A Little Perspective

One Week ago today, Andy and Hayden were having a Father/Son Date at Sunsplash. Hayden was beyond excited and enjoyed a super fun day with his Dad.

One Week ago today, Brynley, Mia and I had a fun girl's date planned. First we took Zac to a friend's house and then we went to get pedicures, lunch and a haircut.

One Week ago today, we put Zac down for a nap, Brynley was watching a movie while I went in the other room to sew as Mia napped in her carseat.

One Week ago today, our sweet babysitter Jagen asked if she could come and hold Mia while she slept and so she did.

One Week ago today, Mia began to shake, her lips pursed, no air was going in or out, she looked at me with panic in her eyes and I couldn't help her. Liquid began to stream from her nose and saliva started oozing from her lips. I was terrified, screamed, begged the 911 operator to help her; that she was not breathing. I held her as she turned her head, went blue, and went limp in my arms.

One Week ago today, for a few minutes I imagined my life without one of my children in it. As I looked at poor Mia's lifeless body, I pleaded with my Heavenly Father to save her. I begged him, telling him that 4 weeks was not enough time for me to have her here and I prayed for more time.

One Week ago today, Mia took a shallow breath and I sobbed. She was alive. I thanked my Father in Heaven for saving her, for entrusting me with her a little bit longer. I did not know how I would go on if she has been taken from me. That is something I hope to never experience.

One Week ago today, I experienced the most terrifying event of my entire life. Our 4 week old baby Mia was rushed to the hospital after an apparent seizure and going 3 minutes without breathing.

One Week ago today, I spent my first night at the hospital with Mia. And here we sit today... still in the hospital for 5 more days but knowing that she is going to be okay and knowing that the seizure was apparently caused by a bacterial infection in her blood stream. An infection that began with no other symptoms, an infection that was detected 24 hours after entering the hospital when Mia spiked a fever and when her blood results came back.

Today I realize that had it not been for that life threatening event which brought us to the hospital, the infection may have gone untreated too long and Mia would have suffered severe long term effects. I am thankful for divine intervention that caused the events to occur the way they did that day. That brought Mia where she needed to be for the help that she needed to receive. She will be ok.

I am grateful for that day. For the fun that Hayden and Andy got to have and for the special day that Brynley and I shared with Mia. And for a Father in Heaven who answered my prayer, one week ago today.

Amazing Jakes!

I started this post a few weeks ago and didn't finish...

About two weeks before Mia was born, we took the kids to Amazing Jakes! It's an indoor kids amusement park and arcade. Intel rented the place out so it was really fun because we didn't have to pay the crazy prices to get in! Hayden has been asking to go to Amazing Jakes forever... unfortunately the thing he wanted to do most - bowling - we didn't get to do because it was too crowded. Oh well ,they had fun any way.

They got a kick out of this ride that went around and around. I was sick just watching it!

Hayden loved the carousel!

Zac wanted to go on this little train over and over... notice how I hardly fit with my big old belly?

Hayden and Bryn on the teacups, Brynley loved making it spin super fast!

Zac and Daddy on the carousel

Hayden and Brynley waited in line for these bumper cars for almost 45 minutes. I was amazed at their persistence! Then I couldn't even get a decent picture, oh well.

Zac loved the miniature golf

Hayden did pretty well on the rock climbing wall. Unfortunately a lot of the hand holds were missing so he was doomed from the first step. He didn't seem to care too much!

Poor Bryn really wanted to try the rock climbing wall but she was wearing sandals. So we put Hayden's shoes on her, it was very frustrating for her and she was too scared to let go of the rope holding her so she couldn't grab the hand holds to actually go anywhere.

It was a fun night out with just the 5 of us before Mia got here!