My 35th Birthday...

Friday was my 35th birthday (yep I'm proud to say that small number.) Before Steve left for work he sang to me a bit and then later when the kids woke up (I was still in bed), they both ran in and exclaimed "Happy Birthday!" It was so sweet! I spent most of the day at my sister Jamie's house making (well mostly watching) a cake for Avery's 4th birthday. Her birthday was technically Sunday (4/10) but we had her party with just family (I'm not doing friend parties until they turn 5) on Saturday. When I asked Jamie if she was up for making Avery a cake she said, "It depends on what you have in mind..." When I told her the picture I found was actually a fondant wedding cake I could tell she wasn't too excited... she just told me to email her the picture. Although it was fondant it was all white and most of the decorating would be "artificial." Anyway after seeing it she agreed (on one condition-I had to come and help so I could see the work that goes into it) and I was so excited. I couldn't think of a better way to spend my birthday...

Proof that I tried to help... I did one batch of the fondant :) And I have no idea why my fingers look so freakishly long... they really aren't! Must have been the angle of the camera or something LOL :)

Jamie and  her mad skills hard at work... it really is a lot more work than I thought! I now have a new appreciation for beautiful cakes.

Stacy was also there (didn't get her in a picture for some reason) and the two of us tried rolling those fondant balls that go around the cakes but ours were all different sizes... Jamie ended up redoing and finishing them all :) I picked out strawberry cake (with butter cream filling) for the bottom layer and lemon (with raspberry filling) for the top two layers and it was super yummy! Thanks so much Jamie! You are awesome!

I had a great birthday and got lots of love and birthday wishes from friends and family! Lots of phone calls, texts, emails and again I was overwhelmed at the love I got on Facebook (100+ wall posts and personal messages.) Thank you everyone! My Visiting Teachers brought me this cute little cake earlier in the week...

Thanks Jeanette and Kaylyn!

And my sweet friend/neighbor/co-worker/hair stylist/teaching partner Brooke brought this cake (and a card they all signed) and treats to our little Primary class on Sunday so we could all celebrate...

Thanks Brooke!

Besides cake making the rest of  my day was pretty normal...

Got my workout in and of course the kids have to hang out while I'm working out and Maddy was playing Avery's trainer for the day...

Too cute!

When I got home that evening after my cake adventure I was exhausted. Steve wanted to take me out for dinner and go shopping for a new outfit. I just wanted to go to bed and the thought of the energy it was going to take to get my house cleaned, decorated and ready for Avery's party the next day was too much. So I did, I went to bed around 8:30PM, cause it was my birthday and I could sleep if I wanted to. And guess what, I woke up to the best present ever... a CLEAN house! Steve stayed up late cleaning the house and I couldn't have been happier the next morning. There were cards on the counter from him and the kids and the house was clean. Like not just picked up, really clean. He did some organizing in the pantry (I'm really embarrassed at just how bad it really is-don't say anything Jamie!), he washed some walls in the pantry, cleaned all the floors, put away laundry, dusted, cleared counters and on and on. He kept cleaning all weekend and even did things like start (and finish) more laundry, clean mirrors, etc. This guy must really love me and I'm so lucky to be able to call him mine :) Thanks hon, you and the kids mean the world to me!

Oh wait, you wanted to see the finished cake??? Drum roll please...

She wanted butterflies and butterflies she got...
Friday 4/8/11

Finally Some Answers...

Once again more medical stuff for my record (I've included lots of links for your benefit if you're interested though)...

This past Wednesday I had my appointment with Dr. Foulk. He's a Reproductive Endocrinologist at Utah Fertility Center. The appointment went really well and I finally got some answers as to why I'm having such a hard time staying pregnant. I told him my entire fertility/pregnancy history and had him pretty curious at that point. I've had so many different complications over the years and I think his medical brain was trying to piece everything together-I'm quite the complicated puzzle :) As soon as we finished reviewing my history we went right over into the next room and he performed a "water ultrasound." Pretty much right away he determined that I have an incompetent cervix. None of the water he was injecting was staying in my uterus, it would just come right back out. Ttalk about feeling like you majorly peed your pants... he said something to the fact that I was getting a major douche and would have the cleanest vagina in town... LOL! Sorry if that's tmi, I couldn't help myself! He also said it's usually pretty hard to get the catheter through the cervix (because it's suppose to be really tight and closed) and it went in really quick and loosely, pretty far into my uterus way too easy. He tried three separate times to inject a huge syringe (and all those other fun tools) full of water with no luck of it even staying in long enough to capture pictures on the ultrasound screen. Usually a incompetent cervix can't be diagnosed until you are pregnant (and having complications and dilating prematurely) and so it's crazy that mine is already in that state while I'm not even pregnant. He finally had the nurse get a big cup of water and she kept injecting water as fast as she could so he could capture some images real quick. Talk about a workout for my cervix... I was cramping pretty bad the whole time and he felt really bad that my day was starting out this way. I was actually happy though and told him to do whatever he needed to do because I was finally getting answers, finally everything was starting to make sense. During the ultrasound he found that I have a Septate Uterus which is a wall that partially or completely divides the uterus longitudinally into two cavities on the inside making the capacity a lot less, less room for a baby to grow. Mine is 1.51 cm long (the average non-pregnant uterus is 4 cm long) so it is in between 1/3 to 1/2 divided which he said is pretty significant. Also the right side is a lot smaller then the left side, so if a pregnancy were to implant on the right side there is even less capacity than half of a normal uterus. I know for sure that this last pregnancy I lost at almost 16 weeks was on the smaller right side :( I specifically asked the ultrasound tech. during one of my ultrasounds and was told it was on the right side. I'm not sure on the two I lost before this last one, both at almost 11 weeks. He also saw some Uterine Adhesion's while performing the ultrasound. The combination of these issues makes for lots of complications during pregnancy :( Also he dispelled a couple former diagnosis's that I've had. He wasn't able to see the Fibroid that I was recently told I had and that we thought might be a big issue... still a bit confused about that one, I can't imagine it could go away that fast. Also for years I've thought and been told I have a Bicornuate Uterus and it turns out I don't, I have a Septate Uterus. I guess with regular ultrasounds they can't really tell the difference, and so they just always call it that because it looks kind of heart shaped but bicornuate uterus's are heart shaped on the outside and septate uterus's are normal on the outside (like an upside down triangle) but divided on the inside. He was able to get a clear picture and distinguish between the two during the procedure. Which is good news because a bicornuate uterus can't be fixed but a septate uterus can. So I'm scheduled to have surgery early next month and Dr. Foulk will remove the septate wall and open it all up so I have a normal full capacity uterus. He will also remove any adhesion's or anything else that isn't suppose to be there. Then if I become pregnant I will have a Cervical Cerclage placed (ouchie!) pretty early during the pregnancy to (hopefully) keep my cervix from dilating prematurely and miscarrying as a result. I know it sounds weird but I'm really happy and at peace with all of this. It's so exciting to have real answers and feel hopeful at this point... here's to a happy surgery day!

Wednesday 4/6/11

Just Do It!

If you're not wearing a heart rate monitor while doing cardio then start! I finally did and found out I'm pushing myself way too hard (and possibly burning muscle as a result.) My heart rate was 170+ less than a minute into my cardio session. And I was just getting started, normally I'm about ready to pass out by the end of my session... I shutter when I think about how high it must've been getting all these months. I have Exercise-Induced Asthma and so I really struggle with cardio. Well turns out I've just been making it worse. I'm now going at a lesser speed and am able to stay in my target heart rate zone (with lots of deep breathing to help me out) and I feel much better throughout the day as a result. Less ongoing chest tightness, exhaustion, etc. I'm really focusing on being a better breather... HA! So just do it! Wear a heart rate monitor. It may tell you that you need to push harder or maybe not so much like me, but at least you'll know and be able to maximize the productivity of your time.

Note: The picture was taken shortly after I realized I was pushing too hard and had lowered my speed and started to try and get my heart rate lowered down to where it should be. Sorry about the poor picture quality, it was taken with my phone while I was doing cardio :)

Tuesday 4/5/11

Snow in April...

After three beautiful Spring days we woke up to snow Sunday morning. As ready as I am for Spring and as much as I wanted to be annoyed with Mother Nature, I just couldn't because it was so beautiful! Seriously, for some reason as I was driving all my myself on the quiet Sunday morning streets I was kind of taken back by how beautiful everything looked covered in white. You would've thought I'd never seen snow before! It made me think about how quickly things can change in life and that change is constant. We went from 70 degree weather to snow overnight. I know I'm a big cheese ball and I'm also a big nerd, so of course I pulled out my camera and took some pictures along my drive. I wanted to have some pictures to remind me of this beautiful morning (I was so distracted I even missed my turn lol!)...

I snapped this picture of our house as I left.

The sky was doing crazy weird things and constantly changing.

Sunday 4/3/11

Matched...

I recently finished reading Matched by Ally Condie. It was a great read! Especially if you liked the "Hunger Games" series. There is a sequel coming out in November this year and the third book in November of 2012. I would definitely highly recommend!

When You're Done You're Done...

Thursday 3/31/11

Finally...

This past week we had three days in a row of beautiful warm sunny Spring weather, finally! Steve and I were able to get the lawn mowed and edged (after we replaced our edger because I didn't see it laying in the garage and ran over it-opps!), lights replaced and all the weeding done. Now just to maintain the rest of the year! After I dropped the kids off at school on Thursday I ran some errands and went and had a bunch of "specialized fertility" blood work done. I've never had so much blood drawn-8 tubes worth. They are running a bunch of different tests in anticipation of my upcoming appointment with a fertility specialist at the Utah Fertility Center on Weds. After I picked up the kids from school Maddy had a "great idea"... he and Avery should put on some swimsuits and have a water gun fight...

Avery thought it was a great idea until Maddy blasted her with water the first time. She spent the rest of the time here...

Steve came home and decided to join in on the fun...

Which of course sent Maddy running this time...

Here's to more beautiful Spring weather!

Thursday 3/31/11

His Grandmother, Their Great-Grandmother...

Saturday after we left my parents house we took the short drive to Manti and stopped to visit Steve's (maternal) grandmother. We've been trying to go visit her since Christmas and kept having sick kids and other obligations come up. We finally made it! Don't you just love how she just hopped right up on Steve's lap in the picture above!

It was her first time seeing Avery and they bonded pretty quick.

Maddy is pretty shy and it took a little while for him to warm up.

So cute... she asked Avery if she wanted some dolls and then they walked hand in hand to go get them. She gave her several little fairy dolls and ponies... she loves them and has been playing with them nonstop and insisted on taking one to church today. Maddy didn't want any fairy dolls or ponies but she did let him pick out a car to take home.

The picture above I actually took right after we got there. Steve kind of played a joke on his grandma and called her from my parents house to make sure she was home, but didn't tell her we were coming. We showed up a few minutes later and of course she was shocked... besides hugs and what not she actually gave him a nice little slap on the cheek. So funny, she is so tiny, but feisty for sure :)

She wanted me to take a picture of Steve and the kids.

We actually waited out on her porch, knocking and trying to call her for a bit (I guess she was getting ready to mop the floor and didn't hear us knock and was just going to let the machine answer the phone-we finally just went in and called her name) so I took this picture of the Temple while we waited. She lives right across the street and has an amazing view...

It was so nice to take the kids to see her finally... she really enjoyed seeing them and we enjoyed visiting with her. I wish we could've stayed longer, we will have to make sure we get down to visit her more often.

Saturday 3/26/11

March Get Together...

We had our March family get together at my parents house on Saturday. All of my siblings (and families) made it except Jennifer (who lives in Texas) and Stacy's husband Justin. My parents made Navajo tacos, which is a family favorite. We used to have them a lot growing up. They make homemade scones and have all the fixings to put on top... it is so yummy! There was also chips and salsa (our favorite from a local restaurant) and fresh fruit. The good thing about scones is they make the perfect dessert as well... homemade strawberry freezer jam, honey butter or whatever you'd like on them (in my niece Claire's case it was whipping cream and sprinkles.) They also offered several different kinds of ice cream but I think everyone was pretty full at that point. Of course the kids didn't turn down Creamies :)

My Dad showing Jamison (Shalane's boyfriend) his gun... I think he did this with all of us girls while we were dating growing up. But if you know my Dad at all you know he's not really a very intimidating guy... I think he uses it more as a bonding experience :)

After everyone had full tummies, we all just hung out and then my parents let the kids grab for money. We used to do this as well growing up. We all loved it! How ever much money you could grab with one hand you got to keep...

The kids faces lit right up when they found out they got to do this and KEEP the money. This time it was a bowl of nickels... Maddy made out with $2.30

Avery $1.10...

Stacy did a pretty good job of getting somewhat candid pictures of everyone there...

Jamie just found out a few days ago that she's having another girl... we are so excited!

Ben usually sneaks away to take a nap... doesn't he look so cute all curled up in a pink teddy bear blanket!?! HA!

Dallin, being the oldest grandchild there of course got the most money... $3+

My parents & my niece Claire.

Lola

Stacy & Cole

Jace

My brother Shawn... can you tell where he stopped along the way???

My sister Shalane (and boyfriend Jamison) and my brother Justin

Nana & Avery

Thanks for having us Mom and Dad! The food was super yummy and we enjoyed spending time as a family!

Saturday 3/26/11

Cardiologists, Dentists & Family Dr.'s...

Last month Avery had her NICU follow up appointment. The Pediatrician recommended we have her see a Cardiologist to check her heart murmur. Her appointment was this past Thursday. I was expecting a quick appointment (maybe thirty minutes to an hour), but we ended up being there over three hours. Needless to say it was a long day! Being stuck with three and five year olds in a room for that long isn't fun at all. I had planned on having time to go back home and feed the kids lunch before taking them to school. The appointment went through lunch time, I had to reschedule my hair appointment and the kids were an hour late for school. OK, enough complaining-on to the appointment. After we got signed in and I filled out some paperwork Avery had an EKG...

After the EKG Dr. Judd's assistant of the day came in and did an exam and listened to her heart very thoroughly in several places. Then Dr. Judd came in and reevaluated her. They both heard a pretty significant heart murmur. Avery had a PDA shortly after she was born while she was in the NICU. It was successfully closed with Indometacin. According to Dr. Judd, PDA's reopen 30% of the time. They were pretty sure this was the case with Avery. The Dr. decided to have Avery get a Echocardiography to determine the size of the PDA and more importantly get a better picture of, and accurate measurements of her heart to make sure her heart hadn't enlarged as a result. If it had enlarged she would need surgery to close the PDA because overtime the heart would be working too hard and keep enlarging and eventually give out. The ultrasound was over an hour long but Avery was a trooper...

When all the testing was complete the Dr. informed us that the PDA was really small and her heart wasn't enlarged at all. Everything was functioning perfectly and that she wouldn't need surgery. It was a huge relief! She recommended we just follow up and have her checked every year... that I can handle!

You can read more about Avery's delivery and NICU stay here, here and here.

Note: Her PDA was originally found when she had her first Echocardiography in the NICU on 4/18/07 when she was 8 days old.

Thursday 3/24/11

On Friday (the following day) Maddy had a Dr.'s appointment. Tuesday evening he and Avery were playing in Avery's room and Maddy came out crying saying he swallowed a penny. We did our research online but called the Dr. the following morning to get his advice. We were told if it "hadn't passed in 48 hours to have him seen so they can make sure there wasn't any kind of blockage." We never "found" the penny so we were back at the Dr.'s office (we had been there a couple weeks earlier with him due to stomach problems)...

They did an exam and were pretty sure he is fine. We were told we could get an x-ray if we wanted to but we opted to just watch him and make sure everything stays normal in the up coming days.

Later that day Steve and I had Dentist appointments. The kids had Dentist appointments the week before. So in a 10 day period we all four had Dentist appointments and both Maddox and Avery had Dr. appointments. I think we've had our share for awhile (hopefully!)

Friday 3/25/11

Day at the Park...

Mother Nature has been playing mean games lately but we finally had a pretty nice day on Wednesday. We were excited so the kids and I decided to pack a picnic and head to the park. We invited my sister Stacy (and kids) to come along and we had a really fun time. The Easter Bunny gave Maddy this super cheap kite that we never used last year and he's been dying to try it out so we brought it along with us. He tried really hard but never got it up very high (the picture above was probably the highest he got it-you have to look close, the kite kind of blends with the sky.)

He sure had fun trying though!

We also brought some bubbles...

As you can see Avery hasn't quite figured it out yet. Maddy fared much better...

The kids can't ever get enough of the slides!

The kids absolutely loved feeding grass to the horses and were laughing so much at the noises the horses were making.

Dirty fingers!

Stacy & I being goofy :)

Wednesday 3/23/11