Rain Rain Go Away

We have a record: The Wettest May in Utah's History. The state of Utah has signed a declaration of emergency and is telling us all to prepare for the worst. Lucky for us, the river is right across the street; swollen and roaring and threatening to hop across the bank at any given moment. Thankfully, we're on the second floor. My car may float away, but my belongings will be safe! We've been wearing sweats and warm socks, and heating up the car before we go anywhere. Before leaving for work yesterday morning, I had to brush the snow off my windshield. Yes, I said snow. Tomorrow is June. I shouldn't be surprised- we do live in Utah. The weather is unpredictable and inconsistent but snow? in june? I wasn't prepared for this. I thought by now we would be in our swimming suits at the pool, at the zoo, going to the park everyday.. you know summer stuff. I guess we'll continue braving out the rain and hope for at least one sunny day. The forecast for tomorrow is 81 degrees! We will have to wait and see what actually happens though. I don't trust Mr. Weather Man anymore.

Because I haven't blogged (the rain is quite a downer, I've had no motivation!),
Here's what my little family has been up to the last few days:

Daddy has started guitar lessons! He already knows a thing or two about playing, but his friend is giving him more formal lessons. I had him look up the chords to twinkle twinkle little star so we could play and sing it to Kade but he was more interested in making up a tune of his own.

Kade and mommy had a fun night getting ready for bed while Daddy was out with his friends! We danced and wrestled for over and hour before I realized it was almost passed his bedtime. We took a bubble bath together, put on our jammies and read stories while we cuddled up in Mommy and Daddys bed.


We've continued practicing brushing Kades teeth! We brush them morning and night and he's finally getting used to it and even likes to "practice" himself! His two bottom teeth keep growing and growing and he has a few more on the way.

Kade's Heart

I started this blog after Kade had received open heart surgery to repair a VSD. Because it had already passed I didn't bother posting a blog about it; But I have had so many questions about what happened! So, I thought I'd answer them all here and post some pictures of Kade and his Primary Childrens Adventure.

Q: Did you know that Kade had a heart defect before he was born?
A: No. We actually had to go through hell to find out what was wrong with Kade. We took Kade to his doctor multiple times and went through many late night ER visits before someone could tell us what was happening. Since Kade was only a couple months old we started noticing something wasn't right. He was sweating profusely after feedings, was tired all of the time, and had a chronic cough that we just couldn't get rid of.

Q: How did you find out about Kade's heart defect?
A: One night, around six o'clock I took Kade to an after hours care doctor. The nurses assistant noticed something strange when listening to Kades heart. She alerted the nurse, who immediately pulled the doctor in. The doctor ordered a chest x-ray. After the results came back I was told that his heart was enlarged and that it would be best for me to take him immediately to the emergency room.

In the emergency room, they did more x-rays and labs. Eventually, we were told that Ogden Regional Med was not equipped for dealing with an infant with a heart problem. We were then sent to Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City.

The doctors at Primary Children's are amazing! They ran a few tests and right away knew what was wrong with Kade. Ventrical Septal Defect and Atrial Septal Defect. Pretty much, small holes in his heart. They put Kade on medicine to lower his blood pressure and take some of the work off his heart and sent us home- hopeful that we would escape open heart surgery.

After a few months on the medicine, we had a follow up appointment with Dr.Pinto at Primary Children's. She told us that the medicine was not helping and it was necessary to perform open heart surgery to mend the large VSD in Kade's heart.

Kade had open heart surgery on April 12th, 2011. Daddy smoked a pack and a half of cigarettes that morning. The hardest part was handing him over to the anesthesiologist and watching him be taken back to the operating room. He cried and reached for us- it broke my heart! After about five hours we were told that Kade had done beautifully and was recovering in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. We could finally see our sweet baby!

Kade spent just one night in the CICU. Once his blood pressure was gone, they moved him into a surgical recovery room where he stayed for just four days! He was so brave and such an inspiration to me. For having gone through so much, he always had a grin on his face and was flirting with all of the nurses.

Kade is now fully recovered. He has an echocardiogram scheduled for next month to make sure everything is still working properly. Since the surgery he has grown so much, so quickly! He has vast amounts of energy compared to before- my grandpa says you can see the piss and vinegar in his eyes. ha! He is doing so great. I can't believe what a brave boy he is.

Right after surgery- the drugs hadn't worn off yet.

Resting after surgery

No more Oxygen or Chest Tube!

Finally holding my baby after four long days!Kade and Daddy

My first attempt at Baby Food

I always wanted to make baby food for Kade, instead of buying it jarred. Well, because WIC gives us free baby food I never attempted to make much "home made food" for Kade. Last night at dinner, we were having mashed potatoes and vegetables. I thought that Kade might like some mashed potatoes with veggies mixed in- baby food texture. He absolutely hated it. With every bite he made the most ridiculous face. It was a face that said, "Mother. Put the spoon DOWN." I was amused, but determined to keep trying. Eventually, Daddy saved the day and cracked open a bottle of Gerber's "Chicken Noodle" (much to Kade's delight). He ate every bite, plus a jar of Gerber's "Mixed Vegetables." I was still determined that he try something new, so I cut him up some strawberries. He loved them! But eventually, he was distracted and threw them all onto the floor. Oh well! I tried.
Mommy's concoction of mashed potatoes and veggies.

Daddy saving the day!
Kade eating his strawberries.

Kades Room

When Kade was born, we had to share a room. So I didn't get the "decorating the nursery" experience. Sure, I got to pick out his things and attempt to stuff them in with ours.. But its just not the same. I felt like I had missed out on a big part of preparing for a new baby. Now that we have our new place, I've been slowly adding things to Kade's room in hopes of making it a special place of learning and playing for him.

Grandma bought the wall decals that are up around the room. They go with his "jungle baby" theme! My most recent purchases are the rug and the cork board. We're hoping to eventually tile the wall in cork board to display his pictures and keepsakes. Next on our "things to buy" list is a dresser (even though the kid has a walk in closet, we're out of room!) and a new lamp. The one he has is in bad shape. But it is making progress!!

Mentally strenuous week

The past week has mentally strenuous, to say the very least. On Sunday morning we found out a friend of ours passed away and on Wednesday a very dear resident of mine passed away. I worked grave shifts Sunday and Monday, went to a candle light vigil on Wednesday, work on Thursday, a viewing on Friday, a funeral on Saturday and a wedding today. I haven't had a moment to breathe. On top of all of this, Kade has been a very clingy baby. He just wants mama and doesn't hesitate to communicate that to every one around him. I love the attention, but a girl can start to feel suffocated. And, he's teething like crazy still. I'm just hoping that this week will prove to be better than the last. I'm not sure my brain could handle much more.

My grumpy baby, chewing on everything!

Finger Paints

Edible Finger Paint:

1 cup flour
1 cup hot water
1 1/2 cup cold water
2 tbsp salt
food coloring
saucepan
whisk

Mix flour, salt and cold water. Stir well- smooth out the lumps. Add hot water and stir well. Put saucepan on stove and let boil on medium heat. Turn off heat as soon as mixture thickens. Whisk mixture until very smooth. Divide into several small cups and add food coloring to each mixture.

Kade loved this activity! It was great entertainment for a very rainy afternoon. He loved mixing the colors around and feeling the paints slimy texture. And since its made entirely out of food, I didn't worry when it went directly into his mouth. I gave him free reign, which meant him dumping all the paint out onto the floor- but hey, that's what the paper is there for! He learned that the bowl was the same size and shape as his belly, and had to be super clever to pick up the slick glass with his slippery fingers.

Putting the bowl on his belly


Our blank canvas.


Getting super messy!


My very handsome boy!

Mommy and Kade in the bath getting all the paint off.

dolce far niente!

When I got off work this morning I had an impressive amount of energy for having worked the graveyard. I went to the store and bought myself flowers, a muffin tin, and blueberry muffin mix. When I got home, I set the flowers in a vase, closed the door to the bedroom so Kade and Ian could sleep peacefully and set off making batter. While the muffins were baking, I sat in the middle of the living room floor with a piping hot cut of coffee and just sat. It's funny, I honestly couldn't think of the last time I had just sat. Dolce far niente. The art of doing nothing. It was incredible to sit in front of the window, sip my coffee and just take in the crisp morning.
It didn't last long; Kade awoke demanding breakfast right as the oven timer started.

Sunday Update

It was a pretty uneventful weekend. Ian did laundry, I worked and Kade teethed. We got some home videos of Ian when he was a baby from his grandpa. I'm so excited to see them! I haven't seen many pictures of Ian as a kid. We also had Sunday Dinner at my grandparents house as we always do. Grandpa made navajo tacos and Kade played in the walker while my uncle looked at my car (Its been making a weird noise.. apparently I needed oil. Didn't realize how badly; Oops). I also went to the mall to get summer clothes. All of my clothes from last year are huge on me; I was eight months pregnant at the time. I'm working graves for two more nights, then I get two days off! I'm so excited for my real weekend. Hoping the weather will hold up.

My new pair of Toms! I love them.


Kade and Mommy playing in the mirror this morning

RIP Jesse Taylor Beeman

This morning I found out about the death of a dear and great friend, Jesse Taylor Beeman. I grew up with Jesse, as did Ian. He was a very good friend of mine and my brothers. I'll never forget his ability to make people laugh or his knack for sticking up for me when I was the center of his friends jokes. Although the details are vague, it seems he died from an accidental overdose. His father found him this morning. My thoughts and loving prayers go out to his family during this hard time. He will be forever missed. Rest Easy, Jesse.

Weekly Update

I've decided I'm going to do a weekly update on Fridays, and a Weekend update on Sunday nights. It will be a good way to keep everyone up to date on what is going on in our crazy lives! This week Kade tried some new foods, like celery! He has eight teeth coming in, and I thought he'd like the cool crisp celery on his gums. We've also made some home made toys (refer to previous posts), and have gone to the park with our friends Athena and Shyeanne! Kade also got a tooth brush to start brushing those cute little stubs of his. It's been a week full of dancing and teething.

Kade and Athena

Today we had a play date with Athena at the duck pond! We had so much fun feeding the ducks, playing on the swings, and lounging in the sunshine. Can't wait for lots more summer play dates!!

May ninth

Kade and mommy went out and bought his very first tooth brush! Although it was a nice thought, he absolutely will not let me brush his brand new little teeth. I had to pin him down and finally thought, "Is it worth it?" So instead I let him suck on it and play with it. He had the wrong end in his mouth but it was worth a try.

We are beginning the long process of weaning Kade off of the bottle. Our goal is no bottle by 12 months. Easier said than done.. Really he only has the bottle for night time feedings and his first feeding of the day (usually around six o'clock). But that's exactly the problem. If he wakes up, instead of giving him a bottle, I'll have to give him a tippy cup. and he isn't too thrilled about it! He's never had a bottle in his bed, I'm so against the idea: rotting teeth, ear infections.. a mess of trouble easily avoided. But I do give him a bottle when he wakes up at night. I'm not so sure a tippy cup will suffice. I'm just hoping that he'll go back to his normal self again and start sleeping through the night! Since he started teething he's really been off his sleep schedule.. not sleeping through the night, hardly napping and hating his crib with a dire passion. If I'm even holding him and standing next to it he lets out a "Mommy pleeeease don't put me in there!" howl. Today we also tried eating smooshed green beans instead of baby food green beans... he hated them. Poor thing threw them around, threw a fit and I threw in the towel. It isn't worth the alligator tears.



Also! We made a toy today! We don't really have any shaking toys and Kade has learned how to dance! So I put some bow tie noodles in a bottle and let him shake them all around. He shook them while I danced, then we traded and he bobbed his head and kicked his legs. Thinking of making him some other home made toys... Anyone have any good ideas? I'd love to hear them!

Mama

Today was my first official mothers day, and I was thinking about what it means to be a mother. The first word that comes to my mind is Nurture. I can only hope that I can provide Kade with the drive to live life to its fullest. I can only pray to be capable of providing him a solid foundation to jump from when he's ready. As I go through the days, sometimes I feel like I'm not doing what I should be; my house is often more of a mess than I'd like, we sleep in some days, and I plead guilty to putting Kade in his jumper in front of a movie to have two seconds of me time. I get so frustrated with myself, because he deserves nothing but the best. I often have to remind myself that everyone has a different way of parenting and that this is mine and I have to embrace it and grow with it. I am not the cookie cutter mother. I don't always go by the books, and sometimes Kade is in his pajamas until noon. But he's happy and he is fed and he's comfortable. I have to remind myself: That is all that really matters.

For me, a mother is a friend: someone to count on, call and spend many days of laughter with. I hope Kade will see me as a mentor. I'm so looking forward to many days of adventures with my beautiful little prince. This has been the most amazing experience, and I can't wait to see what he has to teach me next.

Summer Gear

Today, mommy and daddy went shopping with Kade for all of his summer clothes! We got a lot of clothes for him at my shower, but the sizes end at about 9 months. Summer is approaching faster than we realized, and at the rate he's growing he soon will have no clothes to wear. So, we went to good ole Target and splurged. We got so much stuff for so cheap. Almost everything was on sale, if we would have gone to Carters we would have spent a fortune. It's so funny taking Ian shopping for Kade; Every time I hold something up to show him, he says "put it in the basket!" Now, Kade has a large summer wardrobe and some new toys. We also got him sun glasses because he hates when the sun gets in his eyes in the car and because we've been spending so much time outside enjoying the weather. Now Kade has his summer clothes, sunglasses, new toys, a new swimming suit and a stock pile of sunscreen. Now, all we need is lots more nice weather.

Front Bottom Teeth

I figured out why Kade is so grumpy. As of this morning he has his two bottom teeth, and they are SO sharp!! He about bites my finger off when I try to give him orajel. While at the grocery store today, he insisted on being held. If you can imagine: I was holding a baby, pushing a cart, and putting things into the cart at the same time. Then, at the register I was holding a baby, putting groceries onto the counter, ripping out WIC vouchers, signing WIC vouchers and attempting to apologize to the cashier for my extremely whiny 9 month old. Luckily, she was sympathetic and turned off the light at her register so no one would be waiting behind me.

My work day was just as entertaining. I won't go into any detail for the privacy of my patients, but it was messy and it was stressful. Today was one of those roll-your-pants-up-to-your-thighs and oh-god-I'm-wearing-new-shoes kind of days. I guess things have to be shaken up a bit sometimes, or my job would be boring. Tomorrow I work a grave yard so I'm going to attempt to pull an all-nighter and sleep tomorrow so I can try to fall into the grave yard rhythm again.

Some pictures to make you smile:

Grumpalumpagus

Kade is grumpy today! Right now he is sitting in his bouncer scowling and chanting "mamamamamama." I tried everything to make him happy, to no avail. He isn't hungry, he doesn't need to be changed, he doesn't want to be held, or rocked, or put down to play. He's got orajel and a pacifier in his mouth and he is just plain grumpy. My silly little man. Maybe mommy and Kadertot will go on a car ride, that always seems to calm him down... We could go visit Girlfriend for a while. But then again I wouldn't want to unleash his wrath on anyone ;) Of course he smiles when the camera is on him! He goes right back to whining the second I put it away. This calls for a photo session! ha!

I'm smack dab in the middle of a 50 hour work week, and am running low on energy. When I got off work today, I couldn't even keep my eyes open. Luckily, Ian is amazing and watched Kade for me so I could get some rest. I took a two hour nap but I'm STILL exhausted. I just can't seem to catch up on my sleep. . have to go back tomorrow at 6:00, then I work a graveyard on friday night!

Outside Adventures

Kade and Mommy had an outside adventure day! It's been so cold that he hasn't really spent any time outdoors. But today was just warm enough to soak up some sun. He was fascinated by everything and kept sniffing at the freshly cut grass. We laid a blanket out and he played for over an hour in the sun (wearing lots of sunscreen of course). Then, after a short nap, we went on a walk around the neighborhood. He talked the whole way, telling me lots of good stories. He is so vocal lately! When we got back, we played with newspaper (one of his favorite things to do!) and Mommy made him a newspaper sailor hat, which he promptly crumpled up. Great grandma also got him a walker to play in while at her house! He hasn't quite gotten the hang of how to move it around yet, but he did glide backward a few times. Although he was in a great mood all day, he didn't want his picture taken! Everytime I tried to take a picture he would look away, make a mad face, or put a toy in front of him. Silly little bug! He just wasn't feeling photogenic today. I love days off with my Kadertot. I'm so thankful for him. He makes my days so bright! I can't wait for the next sunny day off work with my handsome little prince. Now he's bathed and in bed and I'm eating a cardboard pizza. This day couldn't be better.

Kade Giggles

We took this video FOREVER ago! But had no way of sharing it until now. This was right after Kade really started laughing, instead of just cooing and smiling at us.