October 2009

Well, my list of things to include in our blog continues to get longer and longer so I figured I should go ahead and write it before the list gets too long and I can’t remember half the things on it. I’m thinking that this entry will be better broken up into parts. So we’ll start with….

Little Hayes is growing and growing (I guess babies do that)! There are some days that I wake up and can tell that he has grown overnight. Today was one of those days. At his last doctor appointment he weighed almost 11 pounds and was a little over 23 inches long. Since birth he has gained about 4 pounds and grown about 4 inches. He’s in the 50th percentile for his height and weight so he’s doing well! His next checkup is in December and by then he should weigh around 14 pounds.

We are getting to see more and more of his little personality which is fraught with smiles and even an occasional laugh. He is still a very content baby but despite his easy going personality he can be very picky. He hates having a dirty diaper. Sometimes, if he has a really full diaper I’ll lay him down to change it and he looks up at me with a big grin as if to say, “Thanks mama! I really needed that!” He also hates to be hot and he gets hot very easily! I never put socks on him and if I put a coat on him he’s burning up by the time we get out to the car. He also hates to be in a room alone. As soon as he realizes he’s alone he starts fussing until someone comes back into view. And finally he has to have a bottle at bedtime. All day long he goes to sleep with just a pacifier or even sometimes without but he knows that after his last bottle it’s time for bed and when he’s ready for bed he wants that bottle! Nothing else will satisfy him. He is also the biggest flirt! He loves new people and anytime someone new holds him he stares at their face for a few seconds and then flashes a big grin. I’m really hoping he develops at least a little bit of stranger anxiety! What’s really funny is that sometimes when he smiles he only smiles with one half of his face. I’ve decided that if he thinks you’re mildly amusing you get half a smile but if he thinks you’re really amusing you get the whole grin. Along with his smiles we get to see a lot of funny faces! Here's a few examples of his smiles and funny looks.









Yawn!












He's really good at raising one eyebrow. I didn't know babies could do that!


And here's a few pictures of Hayes doing what he does the most. Sleeping!







One part of Hayes's personality that Ben loves is that he really likes to watch sports. Seriously! He'll watch football and baseball for hours! I think its the different colors swirling around the screen...or maybe he's just truly Ben's son and is a huge sports fan (at 2 months old). Either way here they are watching football together.



He also loves to talk! Once you get him going he won’t stop. He just goes on and on and on and it’s as if he really believes that he is saying something to you. Even his doctor said that he talks a lot for his age. The other day I went to run some errands and when I got back I picked Hayes up and started talking to him. He started talking back and his eyes got all red and teary. It was as if he was telling me a sad story. Good thing his sister also likes to talk a lot. They should have lots of fun together! He has recently found his hands and now that he has a little control over them they are constantly in his mouth which is kind of funny because when I was pregnant and we went to my 20 week ultrasound he had his entire fist in there sucking on it. He is going to be one that I have to watch because he licks or sucks on anything that comes into close proximity of his mouth!

We took him to his first cardiology appointment last week and so far everything looks great. If you’ll remember he has what is called a bicuspid aortic valve. The aortic valve is a high pressure valve that pumps oxygenated blood to the body. It’s supposed to be made up of three flaps but his only has two. His is also mildly thickened. The complications with this is that because his valve only has two flaps it doesn’t close as effectively as it should, causing blood to leak back into his heart, which then makes his heart work harder to pump the extra blood back out. The cardiologist did an EKG and said that right now there is no leaking. She said that this is the most common birth defect effecting about 2% of people. They have no idea what causes it. Some think it’s genetic but they have found identical twins in which only one has the defect. About 2/3 of people with this defect experience some trouble with it at some point in their life. The most common times to have trouble are 1) in childhood when the child is growing so quickly that the valve sometimes can’t keep up or 2) in late adulthood when the heart has been working so hard for so long that it gets worn out. We will continue to monitor him every couple months for the first year of his life and then a couple times a year for the second and third years of his life and then at least once a year for the rest of his life after that. So far he has a nice loud click which means that the valve is closing effectively. The cardiologist said he should have no problem with sports (that should make Ben happy). Here's a picture of Hayes hooked up during his EKG.



Also last week we had a little bit of a scare and ended up in the emergency room with little Hayes. We were getting ready to go out of town for the day when he was acting a little fussy and felt a little warm. I took his temperature and it was 100. Because Maddie had come down with a head cold a couple days before I thought he might be getting that and decided to monitor him throughout the day and if his temperature went up anymore I would find an instacare where we were going and take him in. On the way out of town Hayes was asleep but hadn’t eaten in about 6 hours and wasn’t acting hungry. I called his pediatrician to ask if they thought I should wake him up to feed him or wait until he was acting hungry. After telling them that he had a temperature of 100 they were very concerned and told me I should take him to be seen while were out of town. We found a little after hours clinic (since it was a Saturday) where we were going and took him in. He saw a nurse practitioner who obviously had little if any experience with infants. His temperature had gone down to about 99.4 and after looking him over the nurse practitioner said that Hayes was teething. Ben and I left and Ben asked if I was satisfied with that explanation. An 8 week old baby teething? I don’t think so. I called his pediatrician back and they weren’t satisfied with that explanation either. They told me to get him to an emergency room right away. They didn’t even want me to wait until we would be home the next day. Ben’s mom Phyllis was in town visiting at the time so her and I went to the emergency room with little Hayes. When we got there his temperature was back down to normal but we proceeded to wait for four hours to get back into a room. Luckily the nurse that checked us in used to work in the NICU and had enough sense to put us in a separate waiting area by ourselves, away from all the coughing and puking people. After finally seeing a doctor we learned that they once did a study in Israel where a bunch of healthy people walked around for 24 hours with rectal probes taking their temperatures constantly. From that study they found that a normal healthy person can get a temperature up to 100.3 and not be sick. If his temperature had been 100.4 or higher they would have run a bunch of tests including a urine test, requiring that he have a catheter, blood tests, and also a spinal tap to check for meningitis. I cannot tell you how glad I am that he did not have a fever! After giving him a once over the doctor determined that he was fine and said to monitor him for the next couple days. We were finally free to go. An all day ordeal just to learn that a temperature of 100 degrees is not a fever. Here's little Hayes and his grandma hanging out in the emergency room together.



Sunday was a very special day for Hayes. He was blessed by Ben that morning at church. My mom Linda and step dad Victor, my brother Tommy, my brother Sean and his friend Mitchell, Ben’s dad Bill and step mom Vicky, Cameron Hayes (who little Hayes is named after), Larry and Gail Reaves (friends of the Friend family from Alabama), Ben’s friend from school Brandon Wilkins and his fiancé Alicia all came. Of those who were there Ben, Victor (my step dad), Bill (Ben’s dad), Cameron Hayes, Larry Reaves (friends of the family), and Brandon Wilkins (Ben’s friend from school), and Jake Nelson (a friend in the ward) all took part in the blessing. Ben did an amazing job blessing baby Hayes. He mentioned that Hayes has already shown us that he is a fighter and blessed him to continue with that spirit as he grows that he will be strong and healthy. He also mentioned that Hayes carries the names of two very important men (Hayes in honor of Ben’s friend Cameron Hayes and McClellan in honor of Ben’s dad Bill McClellan Friend) and that he should, throughout his life, remember those men and the impact that they have had on Ben. He also blessed Hayes that he would act in such a way throughout his life as to honor those men and make them proud. Ben blessed Hayes that he would someday serve an honorable mission for the church and that after that mission he would find a daughter of our Heavenly Father that he would take to the temple to married to for eternity. He blessed Hayes that he would have the opportunity to raise children and experience the joys that we have experienced so far in raising him and Maddie. After sacrament meeting everyone went to our apartment and enjoyed some yummy ice cream cake. Here's a picture of Hayes and all the men involved in the blessing (excluding Jake Nelson - he wasn't there).



Maddie has recently found her first best friend. She plays everyday with a little girl name Kaytee who lives in an apartment across from us. I remember my first best friend so it’s fun to see Maddie with hers.

When we took Hayes in for his 2 month checkup we also took Maddie in for her 5 year checkup. She weighs 39 pounds and is 43 inches tall. She proudly demonstrated that she can hop on one foot for more than 5 seconds and when the doctor thumped on her knees to check her reflexes she kicked each leg high in the air to show him just how good her reflexes are. She also spelled her name for him to demonstrate how well she knows her letters. She’s right on track developmentally and is in the 50th percentile for her height and weight (just like her little brother). I think that Maddie recently had a growth spurt. Not a physical one but a mental one. She is suddenly using a lot more facial expressions. She has become very animated in her speech. She has also been using words that are a bit bigger than the words she usually uses. This past week she used the words “possibly” and “destroyed” correctly in a sentence. Not only is she using bigger words these days but she seems to be forming more complex sentences as well. Also, this afternoon we were talking about the difference in age between her and Hayes. And this afternoon I asked her how old Hayes will be when she is six. She said, “One!” I asked her how old Hayes will be when she is seven. She said, “Two!” Then I asked her how old Hayes will be when she is ten. Without hesitation she said, “Five!” It’s apparent that she will be more than ready for kindergarten next year. Too bad her mama won’t be anywhere near ready!

Maddie has decided that she absolutely loves Hannah Montana, or as she says, Hannah Omtana. She has no idea that Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus is the same person so the fact that Miley Cyrus isn’t the best role model for a young girl is not an issue. Maddie just loves her music. She convinced me recently to buy her a Hannah Omtana wig and when she puts it on she turns into someone else. Usually she gets embarrassed pretty easily. She doesn’t like to be the center of attention and if everyone is looking at her she gets really shy but when she puts on that wig, and puts her Hannah Omtana CD in her CD player she’ll dance and sing at the top of her lungs. She is so funny! She always wants to wear her Hannah Omtana wig out in public and when I say no she says, “But mom! Everyone will think I’m Hannah Omtana!” I think what she loves so much is the idea of being a rock star. That might mean trouble later in life! Here she is in her Hannah Omtana wig.



Last week Maddie got a little virus. She didn’t have a fever but at around 5 pm she started throwing up and continued to throw up every 20 minutes. After she threw up the first time I called the doctor to get her an after hours appointment. They had an opening at 7:40 that evening. As time went on she grew more and more lethargic and more and more pale. She felt so sick that she wouldn’t even talk to us. She threw up about 7 times before we finally got to the doctor. He prescribed an anti nausea medication that dissolves on the tongue. We got her home and I went to get her prescription. Finally, around 9:00 I got home (there were some real idiots in line at the pharmacy!) and gave her the medication. As soon as it was dissolved on her tongue she threw up again (her 10th time in 4 hours). Luckily the medication took effect pretty quickly and within about 15 minutes she was sitting up, talking, sipping water, and watching her new movie (there’s a rule in our house that if you are sick enough to be in bed you get a present so while I was waiting for her prescription to be filled I got her a My Little Pony movie). She slept through the night and by the time she woke up the next morning she was all better! That (and the cold she got last week) are the first sicknesses she’s gotten since she got her tonsils out last year. Thanks heavens!

Here's a few pictures of my babies together.

Watching cartoons together.






And here's a few pictures of Maddie and our doggies. Sometimes she loves them and other times they drive her crazy!

Maddie and the dogs wrestling.


Maddie and Lily!


Of course this past weekend was Halloween. Maddie dressed up as a cute bumble bee. We curled her hair, put on some pretty makeup, and headed out to trick or treat! We were out for about an hour and filled her little pumpkin bucket about half full. She had SO much fun! She was a little awkward at first. She would walk up to a door, ring the doorbell, say, “Trick or treat!” when they answered. She then chose her candy. But instead of leaving she would just stand there looking at the person at the door. Usually the person would say, “You can take another piece of candy.” Maddie would take another piece and then continue to stand there. The person would then say something like, “Aren’t you a cute little bumble bee?!” Maddie would reply, “Thanks!” and continue to stand there. Finally, the person would say, “Have a good night!” and Maddie would say, “Thank you!” then turn and leave. Finally I told her to take the candy say thank you and then leave. After that there were much fewer awkward moments. Hayes was dressed up as a monkey/dog/bear (we bought his costume at walmart which was supposed to be a monkey but had ears on the top of its head. Monkeys have ears on the sides of their heads so we decided to call the costume a dog costume even though the face didn’t really look like a dog. Finally I bought Hayes a winter fleece coat that has a hood with a bear face on it so we put that on him and called him a bear) and slept the whole time. Here's some Halloween pictures!

Maddie!


Makeup!






This painting was hanging on the garage door of a house we trick or treated at.




Hayes was mad because we woke him up to take pictures.


But then he fell back to sleep and slept the WHOLE time!


Here's some pictures of our pumpkins!





The first pumpkin is my brother Sean's (it's a peace sign made out of bones), then is Maddie's (a person in a bed hiding under the covers from a huge eye looking in the window), then Sean's friend Mitchell's (a mummy looking into a window through some blinds), then mine (a Marilyn Monroe witch), then Ben's (a pumpkin fire guy?), then Hayes's (it just says "trick or treat")


Benjamin is still plugging along in school. He is looking very forward to winter break! This semester has been a little more challenging as he is taking some classes that require some tedious homework. I have gotten used to him saying, “I have one more problem left.” An hour and a half and three pages later he is finally finished.

Ben turned 30 on Sunday (November 1st)! 30!!!!!! That makes me feel old.

Julia (I’m not going to talk in the third person). I enjoyed hosting Ben’s mom Phyllis in our home last week. She traveled here from Arkansas to meet her new grandson. She got here on a Wednesday and we kept very, very busy shopping, visiting friends that she knew from Alabama who now live here in Utah, going to Bear Lake to enjoy some yummy raspberry shakes, and carved pumpkins! We were sad to see her go but just a couple hours after her flight left Ben’s dad Bill and step mom Vicky flew in, also to meet Hayes. Since they have been here we have gone up to Bear Lake for raspberry shakes (again) and celebrated Hayes’s blessing and Ben’s birthday. They left this morning and we were sad to see them go!

I’m also still plugging along with school this semester and am enjoying my very easy classes!

Recently I woke up on a Saturday with a sore throat. At first I thought that breathing the cold, dry air in our bedroom all night might have made it sore but it continued to get worse and worse throughout the day until finally I could hardly swallow and definitely couldn’t talk. I went into instacare to see if I was sick. When the doctor came in I was sitting on the little table. She walked in looking at my chart. Before turning around to look at me she asked when the sore throat had started. I replied, “This morning when I woke up.” She turned to look at me and immediately came over and began feeling the front of my neck. She asked if that hurt. It didn’t. She then told me that my thyroid was enlarged. She examined me for the sore throat and decided to do a blood test to test for mono (a strep test had already come back negative) and also to see if my thyroid was functioning properly. The mono test came back right away. I didn’t have mono but my white blood cell count was high so she prescribed me some antibiotics. The thyroid test would be back the next day. One of the nurses called when the thyroid results came in and told me that it showed that my thyroid was functioning normally but that the doctor who examined me wanted me to follow up with my regular doctor. She suggested that I make an appointment right away. I called my doctor the next day and was finally able to get in for an appointment this past Friday. Ben and I went in together and my doctor (Dr. Hildahl) did a small exam (checking my throat, ears, etc.). He then felt my thyroid and said that it felt slightly enlarged on the right side. Since the blood test had come back normal he wanted me to get an ultrasound done so that we could rule out any masses or nodules on it. He said that if there was a nodule we would need to do a biopsy to determine if it was benign or malignant. He continued to talk about thyroid cancer saying that it can happen at any age. He said that thyroid cancer is not a “treat and wait” sort of cancer. There are a few different kinds and they are either always fatal or always not fatal. He seemed pretty confident though that the ultrasound would reveal nothing and we would just forget about the whole thing. Ben and I went over to the hospital that afternoon to get the ultrasound done and later that evening Dr. Hildahl called to tell me that they did find a nodule on my thyroid. I go in next Monday to have a biopsy done. With the guide of ultrasound they will put a needle in my neck (yay!) and remove a piece of the nodule for testing. Hopefully by the end of next week we’ll know if I have cancer or not. Needless to say I’m a little scared! Although, the more I read about it the better I feel since only about 10% of thyroid nodules are cancerous and of those only a small percentage are the “always fatal” kind. Typically this kind shows up only in people in their 60s and 70s. If they did find cancer there are several options including taking out the thyroid and any surrounding lymph nodes that the cancer may have spread to. There is also radiation therapy or medication that can be taken to kill the thyroid cells. Obviously we would only talk about this if the biopsy comes back malignant. Of course, I’m really, really praying that that is not the case!!!!!

It is officially winter in northern Utah. For those of you who know me well know that I HATE cold/snow/anything that has to do with winter but Maddie and Ben were in heaven when it snowed last week. I have to admit….the beauty of Logan under a blanket of snow makes the winters here worthwhile. Here are a few pictures of our beautiful Cache Valley.

After our first winter snow!


Dry Lake in Sardine Canyon


Bear Lake