Balloon Fiesta 2014

We LOVE living in the "Land of Enchantment!"

Hyrum's Arm Update

After a total of about 6 weeks since Hyrum first broke his arm, he got his cast off and the pins taken out of his arm.  X-rays show that he has healed well.  Hyrum still doesn't have full range of motion in his elbow, but that should come back over time as he uses his arm more.  Now we just need to help that skinny little arm get some beef on it.  :)  Hyrum is looking forward to being able to play the violin now that his cast is off.  In fact, even while he had his cast on he would get out his violin and play as best as he could.  We sure love this boy and his drive to achieve his passions.    

Hyrum's Broken Arm

About a week and a half ago Hyrum came into the house screaming and holding his left arm.  When I asked what happened he said he fell off the trampoline.  I took one look at his arm and saw that it was all out of shape and hanging funny.  I entered panic mode for a few seconds and realized if I showed signs of being afraid it would not help Hyrum at all.  I tried to compose myself and helped Hyrum over to the couch.  I immediately called Dave and asked him what I should do.  He said to call the pediatrician.  After speaking with the nurse she said they didn't have x-ray capabilities in their office so I should take him to the ER.  Our insurance isn't the best so we decided to take him to urgent care instead.  After x-rays they diagnosed Hyrum with a "comminuted supracondylar fracture involving the distal humerus with mild dorsal medial displacement of the distal major fracture fragment." Basically all they told us what that his arm was broken and we needed to be seen by an orthopedic specialist.  Unfortunately this took place on the saturday before Labor day so we had to wait the whole weekend before we could even call to make an appointment.  Hyrum was so tough to endure the wait.  A little tender mercy from the Lord took place Tuesday when I called to get an appointment and was able to get him in that same day (at first they told me I'd have to wait until their first opening on friday, a whole week after he first fell).  The doctor took one look at the x-ray and immediately told me that he needed surgery the next day to pin the bone back in place.  Yikes!  Our first broken bone and now our first surgery too, crazy!  Hyrum was very brave, but I could tell he was nervous as we sat and waited in the pre-op room.  I reminded him that if he felt scared he could say a prayer to Heavenly Father.  I told him that Mommy and Daddy were praying for him too and that seemed to calm his nerves a bit.  The staff at UNM children's hospital were amazing.  They were so friendly and welcoming.  They even let me go back into the operating room so I could be with Hyrum as they put him to sleep.  Once he was completely asleep I had to go sit in the waiting room all alone and just wait.  My heart ached as I thought of Mother's who watch their children suffer on a daily basis.  I don't know how they do it.  Luckily, the surgery went just as planned.  The doctor was able to place two pins through the skin without having to make any incisions.  I felt so much love for Hyrum as I sat in the recovery room waiting for him to wake up.  It took a bit, but he finally came around.  He looked over at me with eyes wide open and the first thing he said was, "You look funny Mom!"  I later asked him what he meant and he said that the last time he had seen me was in the OR when I was wearing the big white "bunny suit" (as the hospital staff call it).  Once the anasthesia wore off Hyrum was his old self again, hardly affected by the fact that he had just had surgery and now had a big blue cast on his arm.   I feel grateful that things worked out as well as they did.  Now we just wait for the healing process to take place.  Thank goodness kids' are resilient and heal so quickly.

Right after he fell off the trampoline....ughh still makes me queezy to look at it. 

Before going to Urgent Care, poor kid, he was trying to be so tough.

Getting x-rays, the nurse was impressed that he didn't complain when he had to move his arm into this position, even though it must have hurt like crazy.

Smiling in the waiting room before surgery.  The fun atmosphere helped calm his nerves.

Still smiling as he's prepped and ready to go to the OR.

And he's still smiling (or attempting to) even after surgery.

Dressed and ready to head home.  Still a bit drowsy from the anesthesia.  

After fasting all day for surgery this kid was ready to eat dinner when we got home.   

Five Years Old

Thomas has been anxiously awaiting his 5th birthday all summer.  He's been talking about it and making "big" plans for his special day complete with Ninja piñata, ninja fights and a ninja cake.  I'm not sure where he got his ninja obsession, but I'm pretty sure it has something to do with his two older brothers reading Ninjago books.  Luckily Thomas is easy going and was ok ditching the whole ninja theme.  He settled on a fun day at Hoots (an indoor inflatable jumping place), followed by a trip to the swimming pool, homemade cotton candy with good friends, homemade pizza for dinner and cake and ice cream to top the day off.  It was fun spending the whole day doing things to make Thomas happy.  What a special boy he is.  He is so full of love and finds joy in the simple things of life.

Here are some things about Thomas at this age:

• while he enjoys help in some things, he is very independent and wants to do things his way
• he is very focused and determined when working on a project or coloring activity
• he loves to build and create

• he loves to share and make people smile  
• he can be sweet and soft one minute and crazy and wild the next
• his whole face lights up when he smiles
• he loves to catch lizards with his big brothers
• he absolutely loved preschool and really developed academically and socially during the past year

• he knows all his letters and their sounds and can read simple books by sounding the words out
• his drawings are very intricate and often symmetrical

• he is a sweet big brother to Emily and loves to give her random hugs and kisses

We love Thomas and are so grateful for the light and happiness he brings to our family.  

Annual birthday video will be posted later (whenever I get the time to finish it). 

Hearts for Honduras Run

We spent Labor Day up in Santa Fe running in the annual Hearts for Honduras race.  Dave and ran the 10k, the kids all ran in the kids 1k and I got to be the proud wife and Mom cheering everyone on.  Dave ended up finishing 2nd in his age division.  He's amazing!  William ran his heart out and finished 2nd overall in the kids race.  Thomas and Emily ran the whole race holding hands while smiling from ear to ear.  Hyrum was our superstar and ran the whole race despite having a broken arm (post about that to come shortly).  He was determined to finish the race even though he was the very last runner.  He was the real winner of the day.    

First Day of School

 All three boys started school last week.  There was a lot of excitement as the boys got ready for school the first day.  Thomas was beaming, so excited to finally be going to school with his big brothers.  Seeing his excitement lessened my sadness a bit, though it was still hard for me to leave my little guy, knowing he'd be gone all day.  Poor Emily had a really hard time with her brothers going to school.  As we walked to the van after taking the boys to their classes I told her that we were leaving the boys at school and we'd come back and get them after quiet time.  She was so sad as she said, "No! No leave boys as school! You mean Mom! You mean!"  As we drove home I even heard her saying to herself, "Hyum, miss you."  It was so sweet to see how much she loves her brothers.

Here are some pics of our handsome school boys.

Another Little Miracle

Here SHE is, our sweet little one.  Twenty one weeks along and growing/developing right on schedule.  We feel so blessed to have this precious baby coming to our family.  It was quite a shock to find out that she was a girl.  We were convinced that we were having a boy.  Emily is happy to have a little sister to play with.  She softly rubs my tummy as she says, "baby dister."  Hyrum and William are warming up to the idea of another girl.  They both were hoping for a brother.  Thomas was delighted to find out that his prediction was right.  A while back, in a very matter-of-fact voice, Thomas said, "It's a girl.  I know it.  Jesus sees and he sees that we have more boys than girls, so it's a girl.  That's why!"  What simple faith.  Now we just  anxiously await her arrival in December. 

Kids in Saturday Sports

Our kids have begged and begged us to put them into sports but we have never wanted to give up our saturday family outings.  We finally gave in this past spring and put them in a program that practiced only on Saturdays from 4-5 (all three kids at the same time, same park, in their various sports).  Thomas did soccer and Hyrum and William did flag football.  There were no real games, just skill practices and scrimmages.  The kids loved it and it allowed us to still have most of our Saturdays to spend doing other activities as a family.

  

"Let it Go"

Our sweet little Emily has picked up on the latest craze (thanks to her brothers singing this song all the time).  I love her shoulder shrugs and hand movements as she sings.  What a cutie!

Talent Extravaganza

This is the first year our school has done a talent show and both boys were excited to participate.  William's kindergarten class performed a dance and Hyrum played a violin/piano duet with his good friend Jay.  Though not perfect, we were so proud of how hard they had practiced and all the effort they put into getting ready for the big night.  The show was in a big auditorium with a stage and lights.  When I asked the kids if they were nervous at all they just said, "No it was fun!"  Here are a couple of videos of their performances.

School Jog-a-Thon

Hryum and William both participated in their school jog-a-thon.  I was so proud of how they pushed themselves and did their best even though it was hard.  Will completed 6 laps which is equivalent to about a mile and a half.  Hyrum set a goal to do 12 laps and was determined to not stop until he reached his goal.  The teachers told the kids time was up as Hyrum was finishing his 11th lap.  Instead of giving up on his goal he asked if he could just do one more, which they let him do.  He ended up running over 3 miles.  It's amazing what these kids can do, especially without any training.

Two Front Teeth

William finally lost his first tooth and a couple of weeks later his second one came out as well.  He was a brave boy and pulled them both out all by himself.  He waited until they got really loose and then excitedly called us into the bathroom to watch as he pulled them out.  He was thrilled to receive a visit from the tooth fairy.  Now he's missing his two bottom front teeth and talks really cute.  It's rewarding as parents to watch our kids delight in the simple stages of growing up!

Hyrum's Baptism

Hyrum was baptized on Saturday April 19th.  It was such a special experience to witness the baptism of our first child.  I don't know if I can really describe the feelings that were present that day.  Hyrum was proud to have his Daddy perform the baptism and confirmation.  What a bonding experience for them.  I couldn't help but smile as Hyrum came up out of the water, so clean and happy.  He is a special boy.

This is what Hyrum wrote in his journal about his special day:

"Today Daddy baptized me a member of the church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints.  The water was really warm but when I got out it was cold.  When we went to change in the bathroom I realized I had forgotten to take extra underwear but daddy dried off my wet ones.  After, we went into the chapel  and I got the gift of the holy ghost.  When he gave me the holy ghost I felt the holy ghost.  After I got the holy ghost my dad's friend gave me 20 dollars." 

It's fun to see what things left an impression on him.

We love Hyrum and are so proud of him!

Growing a Foot or Two

Hyrum's annual birthday video is finally done!  Yay!  Instead of scrapbooking I make these videos each year.  In the moment of making them I question whether it's worth my time, but when I hear how excited the kids are to watch their video I realize how worth it it really is.  They love them.  In fact, I told Hyrum that this might be the last one I make for him (since each year I take less and less pictures of him) and he was really sad.  Maybe I'll keep going until he gets a little older.  For now, hear's to Hyrum's 8th year......

Hyrum's 8th Birthday

Well, whether we like it our not, Hyrum turned 8 years old.  It is crazy how quickly he has grown up.  He has been so excited to turn 8!  He has been talking nonstop about cub scouts and even wanted a cub scout birthday party.  This kid was made to be a scout!  We bought his uniform and scout book about a month or so ago and I will often find him reading through his book, planning out what things he wants to work on first. He already plans to work on getting his bobcat by his first pack meeting.  It is fun to see him so excited and it melts my heart to see him dressed in his uniform.  Can our little boy really be this grown up!

I'm not a fan of hosting birthday parties; however, I do love the time I get to spend with my kids planning and preparing for the party together.  Hyrum came up with the games/activities and loved working with Dave to build a "hot wheels" derby race track.  The finished product was awesome and the whole party was a hit with all his friends.  Here are some pictures of the celebration.

It has been a true joy to watch Hyrum grow and develop his talents over the past 8 years.  He is a happy, easy going and self-motivated boy who brings a great spirit into our home.  He has a desire to do what is right and is a great example to his younger siblings.  We love him and look forward to his upcoming baptism into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  He has prepared himself for this special day and we are so proud of him.