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.