Motivated

So just an update of what had been going on in our little family:



Kendra: I am still working hard to meet my weight goal-right now I am at 130 and hope to reach 125. Daniel and I successfully ran 4 and a quarter miles 2 times in the last week-and I am really proud of that. I teach the lesson in YW this weekend on Eternal Marriage-I will let you know how that one goes:)



Dan: He has been working on cutting out his sweets intake so his muscles can come out- It is going very well:) And he has made plans for us to go to the Ryan Shupe concert this Friday-this was our first date back in the day-I am VERY excited!



Tavin: Absolutely LOVING the nice weather and wants to spend every minute he can outside. He has also become quite the social bug when we go out-asking people what they are doing. We went to Johnny Corinos the other night and he hit the waitress in the butt with his foam sword:) We have also discovered he loved rain-he says it is "tickling him" when it comes down.

Story of the week: Daniel was surprised when the nursery leader brought Tavin with her to ask if Tavin goes to the bathroom on the toilet now-Dan replied- "No....he just goes in his diaper..." she proceeded to tell Dan that one of the other children asked to go potty and Tavin announced that he needed to go potty too. When she tried to tell him he didn't go on the potty yet-Tavin said "Please go potty too" that she was almost convinced he actually did go potty on the toilet now-and if not-he asked so sweetly that she couldn't refuse:) Silly Boy



Katie: Is our BIG eater-she wants to eat everything! Right now we are feeding her baby food, yogurt, bread, and juice. She is such a trooper whenever we take her out. We are working on her sitting skills.



Tuff: Can I just tell you that I love this dog! He is such a good boy-and a great companion-when we go for our runs he is right along side me. At first I was afraid he wouldn't be able to make it with his stumpy little legs-but oh man did he prove me wrong-not only did he make the 4 mile run-but he did it ahead of me:) And he wasn't about to be left behind-even when he had to poop-he just kept on running and it dropped out as he did:) That is a dedicated dog for ya. How does he do it....well he uses his back legs like a bunny does-moving them together instead of separately-don't ask me how-but it works-he is fast!



Well until next time!

What A Woman Wants Expo

One of the other major activities I went to UT to attend is the "What a Woman Wants" Expo with ALL my sisters. It has been a while since all of us have been able to go somewhere at the same time:) And I loved it. My sisters are some of the coolest people there are! We found fun treasures, got our toenails painted sparkly colors, ate at La Hacienda, and treated ourselves to some "Sweet Tooth Fairy" cupcakes. Was a really good day and Katie was amazingly great...I think it was because she knows my sisters are some of the coolest people too! Thanks Dad, Mason, and Seth for watching the other kiddoes so we could go-it is always a group effort.

There's Just Something About Flowers....

Katie and I had our first road trip alone together on our way to visit my family for a couple weekend events I didn't want to miss out on. One of these events was the Tulip Festival-there is just something about spring and flowers that reaches down inside and rejuvenates, energizes, excites, motivates, and wakes me up! It calls people out of the hibernation and isolation of their houses to enjoy the beautiful sunshine and new growth. Heavenly Father must truly love us to give us beautiful things like flowers to enrich our lives and encourage us to start fresh once again-a new beginning of sorts. There were patches and patches of all different colored tulips everywhere we turned. Katie really really liked them-right after this picture she tried to pick a flower of her own (wanting to eat it I am sure). I can't wait to plant my red tulips!

Pretty and Handsome

Katie and Tavin (they look so big) ready for Church-encouraging the nice weather to show up by wearing their spring outfits. It was 50 degrees today so cross your fingers spring is on its way. Enough with the snow already! I have tulips to plant (Pretty red ones).

A Week Late But Still Just As Great!

Since we were a little pre-occupied on Easter Sunday (the trip to the hospital) and Tavin didn't get to do an Easter egg hunt-we did one tonight. It was so fun to watch Tavin find eggs around our living room-he is a lot more aware this year and enjoyed the idea of finding the hidden eggs from the Easter bunny. Then it was a whole other fun surprise for him when he found out there was candy in those eggs! The first thing he wanted to eat was M&Ms of course.

P.S. And who knows what he was talking about when he freaked out about a bird being in our fake tree:)

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P.S.S. We had to keep an eye on Tuff through it all-he would try and take eggs we already hid and open them with his teeth to eat the chocolate inside-what a sneaky sneak!

Marble Madness

Tavin LOVES marble sets and will play with them for hours. We have started a little collection for him and Dan found this particular one on Ebay (of course) for a great deal. I think he got it for himself just as much as he got it for Tavin to tell you the truth:) They have made some awesome tracks-check this one out. Isn't it funny how engrossed he gets when the marbles come down!

Thank U Concerned Neighbor But There is Nothing to Worry About Here

I am up a little earlier this morning since Katie decided she isn't tired anymore-she is jumping her little heart out in her jumparoo right now. And what better way to start off the day than a firm knock at the door. Thinking that Dan left something and was returning for a quick pick up-I opened the door (in my fluffy purple bathrobe and bed head hair) to find a police officer standing there.

He was coming to inform me that a neighbour called in a complaint about Tuff (our dog) being neglected! While we were visiting my mom and dad in UT we had one of our friends come and put Tuff in and out so that he wouldn't have to sit and stare at the kitchen wall all day long. I guess one day it snowed while he was out there and that was neglect. I just stared at the officer for a second and then said as nicely as I could " As you can see (Tuff was at the door with me) my dog is very healthy-even a little too fat-and VERY happy-so there isn't any problem here! Next time they call to complain-please remind them to mind their own business." The officer laughed and stated that he could see Tuff was just fine and that he was well taken care of but he had to make contact when a complaint was made.

I know that it must be a neighbor who doesn't know us-because of they did, they would know how well I treat my pets and what good care/love he receives. I told Dan that maybe I should put a sign out side saying-Dog neglectors live here! Or maybe I should bake the neighbor I know called- a plate of dog bone shaped cookies...

Ok now that I am done venting-I can move on...Katie is now dosing off in her bouncer so I am off to catch a little more shut eye before Tavin gets up. Thank you concerned Neighbor but there is nothing to worry about here.

The NOT So Fun Easter Surprise...

On Easter Sunday, we found out-in a not so fun way-that our little guy has Asthma. All morning he was wheezing and coughing-very lethargic. About six months ago we found out that my mom's cats cause these types of reactions and got an inhaler from the doctor to prevent it.

My mom sends the cats to stay with my sisters when we come to visit-but even that did not help this time.(note: if anyone is interested in 2 wonderful cats-my mom is now looking for a good home for them) After taking a nap, he was doing even worse-straining his neck to get air. My sister and I headed to the Insta-Care in Draper UT-where the doctor was very concerned-they immediately put him on oxygen and started giving him breathing treatments....as soon as they started the first treatment, it was like Tavin all the sudden woke up from a deep sleep-"Hi mommy, where is Katie at?" at that moment I realized how close I was to losing my precious Tavin boy-he wasn't getting enough oxygen in his system to know what was going on until they started giving him oxygen treatments! How scary for a mom-I was on the verge of tears-and stayed that way for the next 24 hours as he got steroid shots and oral medicine, breathing treatment after breathing treatment...finally we were admitted to the Primary Children's Hospital for 2 nights and three days. I lay next to Tavin in his hospital bed as he clung to me crying and I wished I could take it all away...trade places with him-cause I would do it in a second for this special little boy.

At a class that we attended we found out that Asthma is considered a disease and Tavin will have it for the rest of his life. We will need to get him tested for other triggers so that we can be aware of what to avoid. He will have to take treatments before hand to prevent attacks when we know we will be in the presence of these triggers. We now have what is called a chamber as well as steroids to give him. There are 5 warning signs or conditions that occur from not critical to critical during an asthma attack and Tavin was in the last stage. I hope we will never get there again.

A note about the hospital: What a wonderful place, Our family will always donate money to the Primary Children's Hospital after witnessing what the nurses and doctors do for the children and parents there-they go above and beyond what they are paid to do! As a mother-it gave me a sense of comfort to know that my child is in such good hands. The pictures above are of the children's play room-a place where children can go to forget their pain and suffering for just a little while and be a kid again. I was humbled by the things that I saw....a bald boy-a cancer patient-hooked to his I.V. stand-in just his gown-sitting at a grand piano in the lobby-playing so beautifully-playing his cares away-I could see that his music gave him the strength he needed to face what was ahead....a tiny infant-younger than Katie-laying in a crib-with multiple tubes
and cords protruding from his body....dozens of "In memory of" plaques of children who's journey has ended. What stands out the most in my mind is a mural of Jesus blessing the children one by one-each being just as important as the next. I know he is present in that hospital-watching over the families and children who are there.

A special thank you to my family for all their love and support. My mom and dad were at the hospital with us each day-taking Tavin for rides in the wagon up and down the hall-and pushing his oxygen tank around the play room so he could get out of bed for a little while-bringing him chocolate chip muffins to con him into eating (note: he wouldn't eat but you better believe he downed the chocolate milk one carton after the other) and helping with Katie so I could cuddle with my boy.

Tell your kids and family you love them as much as you can-cause who knows what tomorrow will bring. They are what matters in this life and will be what matters in the next! I hope I never forget that.

Our boy is now back at home and much much more himself. Today we played multiple games of "Ring Around the Rosie" and baseball. He even started to pick at solid food again-as long as I promise he can have chocolate milk with it:)

Cousins Are So Much Fun!

We got to spend lots of time with our cousins while we were in Utah for a week. And can I say "WE LOVE OUR COUSINS!" Tavin and Katie already miss them. We got to go to Madison's dance class and watch her twirl around-Tavin had so much fun trying to imitate her and dance to the music. He especially liked that he could see himself in all the mirrors.

We also went to Ti Pan with Ethan and got to throw pennies into the fountain, see baby chicks, and relax on a swing while mommy and Auntie Krisha looked around. The boys were so good for us!

Aidan can always make Tavin laugh uncontrollably and Brendan is his wrestling partner. Mason is so good about playing with him when he asks-I think Tavin's favorite game to play was baseball. All the cousins are wonderful with Katie-singing and holding her, playing with her and talking very sweetly to her.

Are You Sick Of Boiled Eggs Yet?

Tavin Loved dying eggs with his cousins this year-I loved watching his face. His hands were stained multiple colors for a while afterward-but that is part of the fun right! He wasn't quite sure of the Easter Bunny when we saw him at the mall-but as long as mom held him, he would wave to the Easter Bunny and blow him kisses. We even got close enough to pet the Easter Bunny-I wanted to show Tavin that the Easter bunny is a nice bunny! That is all I heard from him for the rest of the mall trip- He would pet my head and tell me "that's a nice Easter Bunny." Maybe next year he will be ready to hug the Easter Bunny:)

We had a nice Ham dinner with potatoes, green beans, rolls, and deviled eggs(one of the ways we used the 40 eggs we boiled and colored). I love the way my mom decorates her tables for the Holidays! She makes dinner so fun and yummy!

Events Of The Past Week

So I had a blast at the Scrapbooking Expo with my mother-in-law and am already looking forward to next year. It was so nice to just relax while doing something I enjoy for an entire day and snag some awesome deals all at the same time! I highly recommend this event for anyone who enjoys scrapbooking.

We also celebrated Dan's birthday while we were in Utah-he got some fun presents, Mexican food (his favorite), and a cookie pie-He is an old man now 26 years old:) And still as handsome as ever( I am loving his new muscles from working out!)

Our anniversary of 4 years has come and gone-Daniel and I got a night out on the town while my mother and sister watched the kids for us (Thanks guys!) We enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Ruby River Steak House-I was so stuffed afterward! If you live by one-the Salmon and Raspberry Chicken were delicious. Time has flown by but I have to say-it has been well spent with my very best friend-living-learning-growing-and enjoying life.