A little out of sorts

So these pictures are out of order.  I am WAY behind on blogging and my life is a little out of sorts.  But here I am, in the waiting room of Primary Childrens just waiting for time to pass until I can see my little man!  So, I shall blog!

Let us start with Paxton being 1 and being amazing!  He has really been growing and progressing how he should lately...he is healthy and HAPPY and OFF Oxygen!!  So many wonderful changes. 

 This is my sweet angel- my favorite picture!!

 I love this because it shows his curious face...what is this thing in my face mom?  Is it the camera again? 

 This shows how much poop I get to clean up every day.  Cause almost every day, when Paxton is in the exercauser, he works something out of his diaper.  His diapers fit, trust me, I have tried everything and we have finally figured out a way to get him to stop pooping down his legs- but when he does, its just so gross!!

 See?  I walked by the exercauser and this is what I see...EWWWWWWWWWWWWw!

 I know it's late to be posting the kids First Day of School Pics, but I just had to!  They are all getting so big!  Keaton started Preschool this year and loves it!  He especially loves to sing.

 Brayden is in 1st Grade, doing really well and loves that he gets several recesses every day.

 Kyler loves third grade and loves his teacher this year as well.  He loves earning points/fake money for "store" and every Friday shows us what he has bought. 

 It's hard to get three boys all focused at the same time, but at least they are all cute!

 Every year we go to a friend's Halloween party and it is a MUST to dress up.  This year Cort had the clever idea to be Richard Simmons!  So he went to DI and grabbed some shorty shorts.  I went to Walmart, saw this sparkly top and said "this is it!!" When Cort tried it on for the first time at home, we both knew it was magical!! ;) 

 And finally, this last weekend we took a good 10 minutes of family pictures.  I am not really in love with them mainly because it was really hard to get Paxton to even look up (although he does look super cute, doesn't he???) and I look so FATTTTTTTTTTT.  But, this is all of us together, and that means a lot to me.  So it will do for now.  I love my family!

Done, Done and DONE!!

It was a few days short of 11 months of Pumping and I am DONE!  DONE DONE DONE DONE!  This hospital grade breast pump was great and served it's purpose.  And my little lad will still have my milk for another month or two, but oh let me tell you how FREE and wonderful it has felt to be done- not to mention the extra time I have now.  Anyways, I am done.  And I couldn't be happier about it!  DONE!!

Catching Up

I have a LOT of catch up to do, so let's back up and start with Keaton's Birthday.  The DAY of Keaton's birthday AND birthday party, the poor kid woke up with croupe.  I felt so bad for him...being sick on his birthday and having to postpone his party- BUT since he is so little we just kinda shifted things so he didn't really know what he was missing and just talked about his party being a few days later.  Unfrotunetly by the time he was better, we were back in the hospital with Paxton having another UTI.  When we got home and both boys were recovered, we threw Keaton his long awaited Spiderman party.

 

Keaton wanted a water party AND a spiderman party.  He insisted on a spiderman cake.  I *tried* to get him to want cupcakes.  But the thing about that kid, and one of his very cute and also very hard qualities is that he is independent and knows what he wants.  So my little Keaton turned the big 4.  Can't hardly believe it!!

Here's his cake...I think it turned out pretty well if I do say so myself!

 

 Doesn't he even look older to you?!!!

 A few of his cute friends for a little backyard party...

 We set up a little pool, a slip n slide, had some water balloons and also put the hose down the slide and it was a BLAST! 

 It's funny cause a lot of the kids ran down the slip n slide jumping in some of the puddles rather than sliding down it.  But no matter what, they ALL loved it!!

 Keaton's big present from us was a bike with training wheels and a helmet.  He LOVED it!! 

 We took him out front and he seriously just took off and never looked back.  He rides it almost every day!

Keaton is a very sweet and loving child.  He is the most polite 4 year old you could ever meet!  He ALWAYS says please and thank you, he compliments people all the time (like telling some of my friends they look pretty or are wearing a pretty dress or something amazing like that), he is very nice to strangers and plays well with everyone!  He loves his brothers, loves his BYU blanket and spideman backpack.  He loves running errands with me and is always, ALWAYS hungry!  I love that kid and am always amazed at how smart he is.  Love my 4 year old boy!



More Miracles

This post is LONG, but I wanted to document this experience in my journal and did not want to forget a single thing...so for those of you wanting to hear the entire story behind Paxton's surgery, here you go!

Well, Paxton's surgery did not go as planned.  I woke up at 4:45 Wednesday morning to give Paxton an extra feeding before he had to go without food (starting at 5am).  I couldn't fall back asleep.  I laid in bed, looking at him sleeping.  And then I prayed.  I prayed so hard that the doctors would know the best way to help Paxton.  I prayed that all would go well with his surgery and that we would be comforted.  And then I slowly drifted to sleep for all of 5 minutes when my alarm went off (at 5:45) to get up and give Paxton his medicines, pump, get ready and head to the hospital.  We got there, checked in and then Cortney met us (since he styaed behind a little to help get the kids ready before a neighbor came over to watch them- THANK goodness for wonderful neighbors!).  The doctors and nurses then came in to do their assessments and talk with us.  Then came the anesthesiologist who went over all the details of sedating Paxton and intubating him so he will be completely safe during surgery.  Paxton has gone through this, unfortunetly, MANY times before.  Then we walked him down the hall where we had to hand him over and go to the waiting room.  I *hate* that part.  Cort and I went and checked in the waiting room, then went to get breakfast and check our e-mails.  When we walked back into the waiting room, roughly 30 minues later, the receptionist said the doctor needed to talk to us.  She told us everything was fine and Paxton was fine, he just had a simple question for us.  Okay.  So she called him back to let us know we were back in the waiting room.  2 minutes later, Dr. Snow, Paxton's urologist and person performing the surgery takes us to a private room to talk.  He starts with telling us that Paxton was very difficult to sedate.  He said Paxton was restless and waking up and difficult, which is not typical for him.  Then he said the anesthesiologist was having trouble intubating him.  She tried 3 different times with 3 different size tubes and finally got it to work, but Paxton was struggling with his saturations.  On a breathing machine?  What?  The doctors were concerned, and the anesthesiologist was especially concerned.  How could so many things be going wrong.  This must not be right, they all concured.  Maybe Paxton is coming down with a cold and his throat and pathway is swollen?  Maybe there is something else going on?  Either way, nobody felt right about proceeding.  So at this point, there was another small procedure they were doing on Paxton while he was there and they went ahead and did that because he was sedated enough and didn't need to be intubated for that.  He was going to go to recovery, then the doctor wanted us to follow up with an ENT to see if there is something going on that would prevent Paxton from being intubated.  He needs the surgery, and as soon as possible, but he needs to be able to handle it and handle sedation and intubation without any problems.  So he told us to wait until they take him to recovery, we can see him then take him home for follow up with ENT. 

  Now to say we were disappointed would be an understatement.  Cortney and I were soooooooooooo disappointed, discouraged and frustrated.  This surgery was the beginning of Paxton not being sick anymore.  Not having to take 10 different medications every day, not having an ng tube for those medications...not to mention Paxton would not be getting sick with UTI's anymore or be in any more pain. I mean really, I felt like this was the beginning of him being able to be a pain-free regular baby...and by regular I mean not having to focus on getting multiple things in his body to work right.  He should be able to just be a baby!!!  BUT at this same time, Cortney and I both felt that because so many prayers were being spoken in our behalf, that this must have been the right choice.  We called our families and waited.  I had to pump, so I left for about 20 minutes and while I was gone, they came and got Cort because Paxton was ready to be seen, but only one parent could go in at a time.  Lucky for him to be the first one!  So when I got back, I impatiently waited.  When he came back, he said that Paxton was bleeding really badly from the proceedure they had done and that the doctor is coming back in to stitch him up a little.  He also told me that the anesthesiologist came to speak with him and told him a few more details about why they did not do the surgery.  She told him that one thing after another seemed to go wrong. She explained how they NEVER (well, hardly ever) cancel surgeries...it is a big deal to do so.  She said that the tube that she was finally able to get down Paxton was meant for a 6 pound baby!  And that air only seemed to be getting to the top of his lungs, but not all throughout.  Then Cortney had tears is his eyes as he told me that she said "something told me to stop, that this wasn't right."  I felt immedietly this overwhelming feeling that stopping this procedure literally saved Paxton's life.  As disappointed as I was, I was so grateful that she listened to that voice and stopped!  The urologist and resident doctor (who have been working with Paxton from the beginning) both said they felt that things weren't right and when they all talked together, it was overwhelming that everybody felt the same way.  Wow.  So I tried to see Paxton after this conversation with Cortney (he had come out so I could go in) but when I walked into the room, everyone quickly shooed me out.  Paxton was screaming and there were nurses/doctors all around him and they were saying that they needed to sedate him again, take care of the bleeding and it would be best if I weren't there.  I am glad because hearing Paxton scream like that, of course I burst into tears as I left.

   About 15 minutes later, the doctors came back into the room to tell us that he had a clot that had stuck to the incision of the procedure they had done and though they thought he was sealed, once they wiped the clot he started gushing blood again.  So they stitched that area and the bleeding had stopped and Paxton was fine.  However, he had lost quite a bit of blood, so they wanted to check his levels to see if he might need a tranfusion. Finally I got to go back and see him and by this point he was sedated and VERY pale.  He was so weak and it broke my heart.  I was just sad.  Sad that this was what it came to for him, without even having the surgery he was supposed to be having!  His first set of blood levels came back and he was really low, but they wanted to wait a few hours and check again to see if they would go up on their own without a transfusion.  So we we waited, and this is the point where reality really clicked in for what could have happened to Paxton.  The anesthesiologist came in to talk to me.  She told me basically the same thing she had told Cortney.  She told me that it seemed like so many things were going wrong that don't typically go wrong and that she never cancels surgeries like this.  She said similar things have happened before, but usually they can be fixed and then they moved forward.  Then she looked into my eyes and said, "I know this sounds crazy, but I think God told me to stop." She followed that with the fact that she was so worried about Paxton and thinks that maybe the fact that he lost so much blood from his other procedure means he would have bled too much in his major surgery, causing the unthinkable. 

   My heart was overwhelmed.  She DID save Paxton's life in my eyes by listening to that voice!!  I knew all the prayers that have been poured out to our family, all the different temples our names have been put in (so many people have told me they have done so!), all the fasting and well wishes and thoughts for us were the reason those doctors chose to stop the surgery!  I am SOOO grateful.

  So after the 2nd set of blood work came back, his levels had gone down even more and there was no question he needed a transfusion.  It is amazing how halfway into the transfusion Paxton's coloring came back and he was sleeping more comfortably.  I was so relieved.  In the morning I made an appointment with the ENT for Thursday, the soonest available and we packed up and headed home.  Paxton has still had some pain from his other procedure and has been fussy, but is mostly himself and we are so glad that he is WHO HE IS.  I was thinking about how particular Paxton is and the Urologist and his Resident, both whom we love, have said so many times that Paxton truly runs the show and does things differently than any other child under the same circumstances....which makes things both difficult, but also thats what makes him extra special.  And I can't help but think how Heavenly Father knows each individual person and their needs and how lucky we are that he knows Paxton and could help him through this difficult situation.

  So now we still have a PICC line, he will continue to have it until they decide when something else will be done. We see the ENT on Thursday and we will go from there.  I am SO glad last week is over, so overwhelmed with gratitude for this precious gift we have and just grateful for life.  A special thanks to all those who helped us get through this week- from babysitting, to meals, to prayers, to more of all that!  We could not have gotten through this without your help.  Thank you, thank you and God Bless!

~Prayers~

Sooo much has happened over this past month and I don't nearly have the time to write/blog about it all.  But what I am going to blog about today is important.  I know I have shared bits and pieces here and there about Paxton's health, especially his kidneys, so forgive me for repeating some things I have shared in the past. 

Paxton was born with obstructed kidney's.  That means there is something in his kidneys blocking urine from going through the uriter to the bladder. There were all kinds of things they did in the NICU to help him be able to pee normally, but all of them were on temporary fixes until he was big enough to have the obstructions surgically removed.  Right before Paxton came home from the NICU, they put stents that run from his kidney, through the uriter into the bladder.  They are uncomfortable and cause all kind of issues for Paxton.  The biggest issue has been getting urinary tract infections.  The poor kid has had 3 since he has been home.  Even with the UTI's, which are common when you have a foreign object in your body, like stents, the doctors have felt that Paxton has done really well and weren't going to do anything until at least September.  However we recently discovered that Paxton has become resistent to oral antibiotics and now need IV antibiotics for his UTI's.  So this last one, we ended up in the hospital where they planned to do a PICC line and send us home.  Well, once they did an ultrasound of his kidneys and really looked over his history, Urology decided that it's time for the surgery!  They think that the bacteria from his infections have been living on his stents and they really, truly believe that he has had one long continuous bladder infection for the past several MONTHS!!  WHAT???!!! This poor kid, who has smiled and made the best of the pain he has had to live with is so sweet and so not deserving of pain!  It broke my heart.  So the stents have to come out...but they know that if they take them out, he needs something else.  And rather than doing another temporary fix that could possibly cause more UTI's for Paxton, they are going to do the surgery- next week on August 1st!  I couldn't be happier because I believe that although this won't solve everything, and I know we will still have a long road ahead, I KNOW this is the answer to so many of his issues. And I know he is ready!!

   So for those who can and will, please imclude our little man in your prayers next week, especially on Wednesday!  And for those who would also be willing, please join us this Sunday in fasting for Paxton that he will be strong and his surgery will go well.  Thank you in advance and thanks to those who helped us so much last week while Paxton was in the hospital.  I will keep you posted!

What 've been up to!

So my hubby is a big BYU fan, as is his father and brothers.  So Kyler especially has gotten into it as well.  Recently we moved Kyler into our old guest room to get Paxtons room ready for him.  We gave him the guest bed so company can stll stay in it when they come...It's a big room with a big bare wall that needed something and Cortney came up with an excellent design for the wall.  I was hesitant to do the Y's (not just because it is a lot of work), but in the end it turned out GREAT!  I love it!  But more importantly, so does Kyler!  More later...

Changes and Miracles

We have been making a lot of changes in our house the past few months, but these past few weeks have been crazy.  I decided that I *have* to let the house go.  I mean seriously, it IS a big house, and there is a lot to clean, and A LOT of laundry.  I just cannot keep up.  I have a new standard of what I consider clean.  It used to be when everything was clean, EVERYTHING was clean.  Baseboards, walls, and all the like.  But now, I am happy if the house LOOKS clean.  Meaning, dishes are done, floor is swept and rooms are picked up.  If I can vacuume, that is a bonus. I simply cannot seem to get it all done.  And when I say that I am letting the house go, what I really mean is that I have finally decided that it is okay when I cannot keep up with it.  I am doing the best I can and spending lots of quality time with my kids- more than I used to, because it is needed!  And now those days when the house is nice and clean, they are BLISSFULL!  And now that the kids are out for summer, they can pitch in more and help more.  But they can also mess up more, so i figured it might end up being about the same.

Now with all this new profoundness of me excepting the fact that my house is mostly messy most of the time, also comes a new understanding of my children.  We have made a lot of changes with them too- and I am really focusing on giving them all individual time and playing with them more.  Why am I always in a rush to get something done when what I really need to focus on is spending each precious day with my kids.  I am trying anyways- we are all trying to be a more united family.

Another big change that has happened in our household is that our little man Paxton got glasses.  One of the MANY MANY Miracles we experienced in the NICU and with Paxton is regarding his eyes.  I will never forget in all my life the day I learned that Paxton would go blind if he did not get eye surgery on his eyes. I was devestated. Everything in his eyes looked great for so long, but then they started developing ROP (retinopothy of prematurity).  It's where vessels form on the outside of the retina and start to grow to the outside of the eye.  Once they hit the outside of the eye, they start to leak and the leaking is what causes blindness.  Paxton went from stage 1 to stage 3 (out of 4) in 2 weeks.  They did a laser surgery where they zap the vessels that are growing.  After 2 weeks recovery they determined that it worked in one eye, but not the other.  They did the surgery again.  Better results, but not what they were hoping for.  Then they did a vetrectomy, which I probably spelled wrong.  It is where they take a tool and hand scrape the vessels.  OUCHHHHH.  My poor POOR sweet baby and all he has been through.  Thankfully this surgery worked.  They could not have been happier with the results.  They told me that eventually some kids with eyes that were as bad as Paxton's will end up near-sided.  I was surprised it was so soon, but at his last eye exam, they determined he was near sided in his left eye.  His right eye looks great.

So off we went and picked out the most adorable tiny glasses you have ever seen! 

Move over Harry Potter!  Paxton Potter is taking over!!

I will say that I know without a shadow of a doubt that we are so lucky to live in a time where they can find things like this before it is too late and fix them!  What an incredible miracle!  We have seen countless miracles in our lives, especially when it comes to Paxton.  And it makes me extra grateful for modern technology. It makes me grateful that there are doctors out there who devote their lives to helping babies like mine be able to SEE!  We are so lucky.  And I am so grateful. 

Worried Sick

We recently got a swing set for our kids.  It is life changing!  We are loving it!  So the boys were all out playing on it yesterday and when I went out to check on them, Keaton was gone.  I didn't panic at first.  Keaton is pretty responsible- he is constantly coming in and out of the house and telling me every little thing he does and so it is seriously never more than 5 minutes I go without seeing him.  So I figured he had gone into the house when I wasn't looking.  I went in the house, calling his name, looking everywhere.  Back outside, looking everywhere, calling his name.  Then I started going to neighbors houses.  I am starting to worry.  He has never done this before.  Never.  I decide it's time to get in the car and drive down the block- I still wasn't panicked, but I was worried by this point.  That's when I noticed the car door slightly ajar on the car.  That's not normal.  I open it, and this is what I see. 

Yes, he is sound asleep.  I checked to make sure he was breathing!  How could he fall asleep like this?  Why was he is the car?  I laughed out loud (and breathed a sigh of relief that I found him!) and grabbed the camera.  Notice the costume?  Yeah, he's "super incredible" NOT Mr. incredible.  And he will save your life.  He told the worker at walmart that he saved her life when she talked to him.  It was the cutest thing ever.  I just love that super incredible boy of mine!!

Imagine This

Imagine the following scenerio: You are taking care of your child who is under the weather.  They have been throwing up.  At the exact moment that you are holding the bucket for him so he can puke, your 3 year old comes walking up holding the bowl from his little potty seat and it has POOP smeared ALL OVER it.  He is happily proclaiming "I did it, I did it." Now, if this story could not get better, at the exact moment that all of that is happening, your little baby's monitor starts going off because his nose prongs have come out of his nose and therefore he is not getting enough oxygen.  So while you are telling the 3 year old to go in the bathroom and wait for you, and telling your sweet child throwing up to make it in the bucket while you will be right back...as you are walking up the stairs you see POOP on pretty much every stair that must have come out of the bowl.  THEN you get up to the babies room only to learn that he TOO has POOPED ALL OVER his bed! 
True story.

Inspiration

I am so grateful for the inspiration and intuition we have as mothers.  It is a gift from God.  And it has guided me through many events in my life- including 2 weeks ago on Sunday when Paxton was acting "off." He wasn't himself, he was really irritable, woke up crying and acting unusual for him.  He is hooked up to a monitor so we can make sure he is getting enough oxygen and it also shows his heart rate- and that morning his heart rate was WAY UP.  After he was done screaming and was able to calm, it went down and so I thought he may be getting sick, but wasnt really sure.  Either way, I was going to wait and see what happens.  He didn't sleep well all day and I knew something was going on, but I did not really know how serious.  Around 3 or so, his heart rate started going up and would not come down.  He felt hot and when I took his temp, he had a fever.  With any other child, this is something I would have said "oh, they are sick, lets watch them, get their fever down, etc."  But not with Paxton.  He has stents in his kidneys.  They are a forgeign object that can cause illness.  I am always scared of all the little things that happen to my sweet fragile Paxton.  Anyways, it hit me like a TON of bricks that he needed to go to the hospital right away.  It was sudden and strong and I just told Cort "we need to take him in right now, something serious is going on." I took him in and Cort got the kids arranged and met me there later.  By the time I got to the hospital, his heart rate was 240!! (normally 150ish).  His temp was 103.6 and later that night was 104!!  He met "shock" criteria so they had him on shock protocal.  Luckily once they got some Ibuprofin in his system, his heart rate and temp went down.  But in the meantime, I told the doctors I thought he had a UTI from the stents and it was confirmed.  UTI AND Kidney infection.  They started him on antibiotics right away, but they were general until they knew specifically what type of bacteria was in the urine so they could treat it with a specific antibiotic.  That took 48 hours!~  And while he got better the first day, he didnt really get better until the second day when they changed his antibiotic.  Poor little man was so sick.  So I camped out- and I am not going to lie- I got more sleep than I have in a long time!  Because my kids were being watched here, I slept when Paxton slept.  It wasn't great sleep because it was on a couch, but I actually felt slightly refreshed by the time we came home three days later.  BUT I never would wish to get sleep THAT way...I am just pointing out the ONE positive thing in the situation. 

So what is the bottom line now?  Paxton's stents probably MADE him sick and need to be replaced.  They want him to be over the infection before replacing them- but yet he may never get over the infection until they are replaced...so we are still working out what to do.  He goes back in on Thursday and I am gearing up to fight for whats best for my son.  (with these urologist...lets just say sometimes I have to raise a fit to get things done in a timely manner).  So a surgery we thought would be good for 6 months has only lasted for 2 1/2-3 and now he has to have it again.  And then it should be the last time, we hope, until his obstucted kidneys can get fixed permanately.  He has been through SO much in his short little life that we are really hoping he does not have to go through much more.  Poor kid!  I just love him so very much!!  And I just want him to be completely better without surgeries or anything else.  I want him to be able to live as much of a normal life as possible.  We are hoping to get to that place soon.

In the meantime, thanks for all the prayers- we sure can feel them.  And I am sure grateful for that voice that told me to get to the hospital when I did.  So grateful for Modern Medicine.  JUST SO GRATEFUL! 

Kyler turns 8 and a few other great things...

I cannot even believe that I have an 8 year old! Where has the time gone??!! My sweet Kyler turned 8 last month and has two front missing teeth to prove it! From the moment he was born, he has brought a sweet and tender prescence to our home.

Man I LOVE this picture and I love him in RED (not just because its my favorite color, but look how good it looks on him!)...So this past month has been CRAZY with all things Kyler!

Kyler is so unique. He can be easily satisfied with just about anything, but would live outside if he could. He loves camping and police men, firemen, all kinds of emergency people. He says he wants to be an ER doc when he grows up. Kyler is fascinated with tornados and hurricanes. He has a sweet countenance about him. His teachers every year rave about how sweet he is. He DOES have him moments at home where he is...well, rough and tough with his brothers. I really truly believe that it is because he loves them so much and wants to hang out with them any way he can! ;) He really is a sweet kid and I am so proud of him.
So last month we started with a small family party at our house, just us. Then the Saturday after his birthday, Cort took him and a few friends to Chuckee Cheese. They had a great time.

If you think you see more and more teeth missing with each picture- you are right! Within a week he lost both his front teeth. He seriously has some funny smiles showing every stage of his teeth getting loose. Then finally after they fell out, the toothless grin. Then after that, the new teeth now growing in!Along with turning 8 comes cub scouts! Kyler is LOVING it! He had his first pinewood derby last week and his car took second place! It was like .0004th's of a second off from getting first. He ROCKS! (And in case you were wondering, his car was BYU themed, of course)

The tracks have come a long way over the years...the boys loved watching the cars fly down!

And thanks to my mother-in-law for watching Paxton so we could be there together to see the big event.Then on Saturday was Kyler's Baptism! We are so proud that he made the choice to be baptised into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He always wants to host Family Home Evening on Monday nights and tell us everything he has learned and why we should choose the right. From the time Kyler was given his first CTR ring (given to him by his first primary teacher), he has never wanted to take it off! He has lost it several times and prayed on his own to find it--and HAS! What faith!! So for his birthday we got him a nicer CTR ring in navy blue, which he loves. And this is why I themed his baptism/decorations on "Choose the Right."Before the big moment- look at how handsome these men are!

We invited our small crew of family over for lunch after at our house...and another very special event. Just ignore how incredibly HUGE I look in these pics- what gives?We decided since family was in town that we would make the whole weekend complete by blessing Paxton at our house after the Baptism. It was so special. The spirit in the room was so strong and there was not a DRY EYE there after the blessing. (yes, even the men cried!) It was so special and I will never forget it.

I really worked as hard as I could to make the event special- including decorating more than I ever have. And although a lot of the stuff was made by some of my friends (Kenzie!!!), and it was A LOT OF extra work....I love how everything turned out so it was totally worth it!. I attempted to make this cool CTR cake I saw on pinterest. But at 10:30 at night...one can only be so creative. At least Kyler loved it!Amazing cupcakes- seriously, everyone always wants the recipe!

Yummy food! My mom stayed up till midnight the night before mopping my floors and helping me with the food and everything else. We did have several others bring things to help (my MIL and SIL), but my mom really went above and beyond and I could not have done ANY of it without her! Thanks mom, Love you!Look at the amazing POM-Poms Kenzie made! They just made everything extra special!Here is my chubby little monkey! He was blessed in the same outfit Cortney was blessed in as a baby. I have made all my other's blessing outfits and this time I was so tormented. Paxton wouldn't let me put him down for two seconds the first 2 weeks he was home, let alone give me enough time to make the outfit. I wanted to do the same for him that I did for the others- but I was so exhausted. And then one day I SAW it in the closet and it hit me. Paxton Cortney Larson...blessed in his Dad's blessing outfit! How perfect was that! It was amazing. Paxton is quite the sweet talker now. He tries so hard when he smiles to talk. It is so incredibly sweet. And as I said before, the blessing was amazing.

Our first family picture. I am seriously having issues with myself in these pictures- do I really look like that in person?!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It just wasn't working for me. But here we are.

My mom was here for everything and it was so special. I just LOVED having her here and Paxton loved it too! He could not get enough of her nor her of him! ;)I'm already ready for her to come back!!All in all, an amazing, special weekend that I will never forget! And I am especially grateful for all the love and support our family has been shown over the past year! To be at this moment this past weekend...something at one point we werent sure would ever be able to happen, is amazing. My miracle boy got blessed and my eldest son got baptised! We are so blessed!!

Sisters!

My sister came a week after Paxton came home from the hospital, and it could not have been a better time. Honestly, I cried the whole way home from the airport after I took her (for her to go home) because I don't know how I would have survived that week without her help. She cooked, cleaned, helped with homework, helped the kids and held and took care of Paxton. It was awesome. PLUS, Paxton got really congested that week and I was so worried about every little thing- she was a great sounding board for my worries and helped me figure out the best ways to help him, the things I really need to freak out about and helped me relax and just take things one day at a time. My kids loved every minute of it and so did I! And so did Paxton!Just look at how my kids are crowded around her- I LOVE when they do that!

Um...well Paxton wasn't too happy mainly because he wanted to be cuddled and not faced out, and hes just kind of a crier. BUT as you can see, all the kids had a great time!I am truly blessed to have wonderful sisters. I know not everyone is so lucky. I am. I don't ever want to take it for grated either!Paxton sure loves my sis. Seriously- she could get him to do things that he doesn't do for anyone but ME...it was awesome. He just folded up into her arms and it was awesome. He misses her...and of course, obviously, I really REALLY miss her already!!

I came to the conclusion on Saturday that I either need to hire a maid, a cook and a nanny...or I just need to have my sister come back and take care of us again!! Thanks again Sarah for helping out so much, especially at such a critical time! LOVE YOU!!