Failure to thrive

I took Jaedyn in last week for her well-child check only to discover that she has only gained close to 3 pounds since she was born. Her weight at birth was 8 lbs 10 oz and on Friday she only weighed 11 lbs 6 oz. We have always gotten comments on how small Jaedyn is, and have ourselves been concerned with how small she is, but nothing scares you more than when the pediatrician diagnoses your child with "Failure to thrive". It's not that Jaedyn doesn't eat - because she does - a lot. Our biggest problem is that she refuses to drink from a bottle or sippy cup. She is fine to eat baby food, and really prefers to eat "big people" food from the table, but will only get her liquids from nursing. So, yesterday we spent the day up at Primary Children's Hospital drawing blood, doing a sweat test and trying to get Jaedyn to "go" on demand for a urinalysis. The doctor is running a bunch of tests to see if there is something else going on. Otherwise, Jaedyn is VERY active, reaching her milestones (she started waving "bye-bye" 2 weeks ago - so very cute) and is an alert and happy baby. She is also VERY stubborn (I think she got this from her Dad). I have an appointment this Friday to follow up on the test results and in the meantime am trying to feed her as much as she will eat and trying to coax her to drink from a bottle or sippy cup. As a mother I am feeling very guilty that this is all my fault. I hope that there is a logical explanation for her "failure to thrive" and that it is not a life-long issue she will have to deal with. I love my little Jadybug and hope all turns out o.k. with her - my fingers are crossed and my faith is in my Heavenly Father.

Happy Birthday Grandma Honey!

Today is my mom's birthday! I just want the world to know what an amazing person I think my mom is. She is such a giving person and would do anything for her friends or family! She is such a hard worker and tries to please everyone. I admire her talents in gardening, crocheting & sewing, decorating, cooking, budgeting, mothering & grand mothering and so much more. I have learned so much from my mom and know that I am who I am today because of all she taught me and the love and support she has given me. I am certain that raising 4 kids was difficult at times, but she always did the best with what she had. I also know that going from 1 Grandchild to 10 Grandchildren in less than 4 years has been a rewarding challenge, but she always manages to make each child feel special, no wonder they call her Grandma Honey! I love you Mom - Happy Birthday - May all your wishes come true!

Yuma Arizona Trip 2008

We took our annual (ok it's only the second time, but will soon become annual) trip to Yuma Arizona over the Christmas break to visit Mary and Fred who are now retired and have become "SnowBirds". We had such a great time and can't wait to go again next year!

We left bright and early the day after Christmas - 4:00 am to be exact! Scott and Michelle and their kids took the trek with us and made for an extra fun time! The drive down took 12 hours with only a few potty breaks and one Highway patrol stop (Slow down Scott!) Once we were in Yuma we began our adventures by hitting the large indoor Swapmeet. We all found "treasures" to buy and spent a lot of money.

Over the next two days we went to Los Alagadones Mexico to barter for some more "treasures". I think I got ripped off a couple times, but I guess that's ok - I got a lot of fun stuff. In Mexico we also enjoyed Nachos and Margaritas at the beer garden and eating at Mary & Fred's favorite mexican restaurant. We enjoyed the first day in Mexico so much that we decided to go back another day, which turned out to be an adventure. After spending the day spending our money we got in the looooooong line to get out of Mexico - 2 1/2 hours waiting in line with a 2 year old and 7 month old is not recommended. Dallin had found a couple of knives that he bought and wanted to bring them home. Grandpa Fred volunteered to take them across the border "just in case they give us any trouble". Well if trouble is what we were looking for- we found it! The border patrol did not take too kindly to the knives and gave Fred a lecture on California law prohibiting such items from crossing the border. After detaining Fred they sent him back in to Mexico to dispose of the items and a pass to get to the front of the line. Needless to say, all the rest of us left waiting and wondering what was going on was a little scary. Luckily everything turned out ok and we were able to get Fred back!

After spending the day in Mexico the kids wanted to go swimming, so we spent some time out by the pool. It is sure nice to see some 70 degree weather in the middle of winter! Mary and Fred also took us to their favorite restaurant LUTES so the kids could play the video games. Angie and Michelle really got in to playing the bingo lottery and even won a couple of bucks. Paul and Angie took Scott & Michelle (and Bryce - but don't tell security) over to the CocoPah Casino one night, where we lost a couple of bucks, but still had a good time.

Scott and Michelle made the trip so much fun and were were sad when they left a few days before we did, but we were able to spend a few days with Mary and Fred visiting the old prison and the Quartermaster park in old Historic Downtown Yuma. We also went out to an old mining Ghost Town. We spent New Years Eve with Mary & Fred grilling some steaks, eating shrimp and blowing our horns. We went back to our hideous hotel room early and none of us saw midnight, oh well, I guess that's how you know you are getting old! The whole trip we had been driving around town seeing signs for a "Date Shake" - so Paul made me promise to get him one. As we were heading out of town we stopped and got a Date Shake - they were really yummy!

After leaving Arizona we drove a few hours to Boulder Nevada (Just outside of Las Vegas) to see my Grandma and Grandpa Lundeen (the kids' Great Grandparents). We drove over the dam for the first time and it was quite a sight - they are building an amazing bridge! We visited with my Grandparents and then they took us to dinner at the Railroad Pass Casino. I think they were as excited to see us as we were to see them. We then spent the night at the Virgin River Casino in Mesquite - this room was a lot nicer and quieter than the room in Yuma! But alas all good things must come to an end ... and so we are home again - catching up on laundry, taking down the Christmas decorations, fighting the cold, shoveling snow and back to work. Well, at least we have next year to look forward to!

Christmas 2008

Christmas came and went really fast this year! I don't feel like I got to do everything I wanted to do this Christmas, but we were able to enjoy the holiday season. Carson really started to understand what Christmas was this year. He was so excited any time he saw Santa Claus, he enjoyed saying "Merry Christmas....hohoho!" and he knew which presents were his under the Christmas tree. Carson was also able to recognize Baby Jesus and got so excited about the lights and everything to do with Christmas. This was Jaedyn's first Christmas and she didn't really care to much about everything going on, but did like eating the wrapping paper Christmas morning. Kelsi was so excited this Christmas and kept adding items to her list almost every day up until Christmas. Kelsi earned money this year and was so thoughtful about buying gifts for her friends and family. We also enjoyed some holiday fun by going to the Larry Miller Carol sing along - Angie wasn't too sure about this at first, but once we got there it was REALLY fun. Larry Miller's dream is to fill the Delta Center (it will always be the Delta Center to me) with carolers. He provided free soft drinks, Hot Dogs, passes for the Speedway, and a ticket for free popcorn at his movie theatre. Santa Claus and the Jazz Bear were there also. Next year I hope we can plan a little sooner and get some more members of my family there.

We also went up to This is the Place Heritage Park for their Candlelight Christmas. We always enjoy going up there, and even though it was so cold, we enjoyed all the crafts and displays they had. We got to see Kris Kringle and his reindeer and enjoy a train ride.

We didn't make it to see the Temple lights exactly. We did drive around downtown and see the lights - so I guess it sort of counts. We also drove around to some of the neighborhoods around town to see some lights.

We also went to a live Nativity in Alpine. All the Swanson family went together. It was such a bitter cold night that we had to bundle every one up. The nativity had a camel, donkey, street vendors, sheep, goats and of course Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus. The Navtivity display is very neat to see and gets you into the Christmas spirit.

Christmas morning didn't get started too early at our house. Kelsi isn't a morning person (I think I have had to wake her up every Christmas morning since she was born) and the two little kids didn't really understand what morning it was, so we got to sleep in. I guess we better enjoy it while we can because I am sure in just a few years Carson and Jaedyn will be getting up bright and early Christmas morning! The kids opened their presents, we ate breakfast casserole and sweet rolls and then tried to tame the pile of wrapping paper. Grandma Honey and Papa came over with gifts for the kids. My Dad was so sweet and on his own got charm bracelets for all the girls. He is such a sweet Dad! We went over to my mom and dad's house for Christmas dinner. Everyone was there and the kids had so much fun playing with each other. We decided to do a gift exchange just for the kids and that turned out really well, since Christmas is all about the kids. I got spoiled this year for Christmas and got my new car (a 2005 Chrysler Pacifica) and Paul's present was to go to Yuma Arizona (well - that was really a present for us all). Next year I hope to be more on top of things and start some new family traditions as well as keep some of our old traditions alive- I am still trying to get a hang of all of this! Some of the traditions we were able to do was the baking of the Christmas cookies for Santa Claus, a book and Pajamas from Mom and Dad on Christmas eve. As our kids get older I hope that they will enjoy their Holidays as much as I enjoyed mine when I was growing up.