My BEST Christmas present EVER!!

We had the best Christmas gift...we brought our little girl home! YAY!! I wasn't sure it was going to happen really. The dr. came in on Christmas Eve and told me we had a 75% chance of going home, but he didn't want to get my hopes up. He said he was going to put her back on the billirubin bed for the day just to get her billi levels down a bit more. We did that same thing with Little GB and it sort of set us back a few days...so I was thinking the same thing would happen with Little S. I came home on Christmas Eve to be with Little GB, since he is now aware of what Christmas is. We had a nice evening and we woke up to a phone call from the Dr. saying that he was comfortable enough to send her home. So we opened up presents with Griffen and let him play a little bit and then he went over to Grandma and Grandpa's house and away we went into the hospital to pick up our present! I was so excited. My (along with dozens of others) were answered!! It has been so nice to have my little family all under one roof. I took Little S to her regular pediatrician today and she is still on the little side. She weighs a whopping 4 lbs 9oz. So we are going to supplement her feedings even more. I was giving her a bottle with breast milk with formula added 2 times a day, now we are increasing that to 4 or 5 times a day to see if we can "bulk" her up. But all in all she is doing great!! Thank you to everyone for all of your well wishes, prayers, thoughts, emails, etc. We are truly blessed and know that we are being watched over and protected. This experienced has strengthened my faith quite a bit. Here are some recent pics of Little S and her big brother!!

Little GB and Santa Claus

There is just something magical about Christmas when you are able to share it with a three year old. This year Little GB really understood the whole concept of Christmas and our Christmas morning was full of excitement, smiles, and dreams come true. We had a very special visitor come over on Christmas Eve. Little GB wasn't quite sure what to do, his eyes were huge and he just stared at Santa. :) But he was really excited when Santa gave him new monkey "feety" pj's and a transformer car. Little GB had had a list of four items for about two months. I thought for sure he'd forget about a few things, but I underestimated him. He wanted Rocky the Robot Truck, Lightning McQueen Geo Tracks,a helicopter and a tractor. He must have a been a really good boy because he got everything on this list. He was so fun to watch his excitement. We were also able to share our Christmas morning with my brother Mac who was visiting from California. Here are some pictures...

Little S and Little GB

As promised, here are a few more pics of Little S as well as some of my Little GB. He is being quite the trooper. I think that he's getting more accepting of the factthat little sister is here. I can't wait until he can meet her and hold her. I am so thankful to have such wonderful children! (I'm still getting used to saying children instead of child). I am truly blessed!

Little S's first day

Little S's first night here in this world went rather well. I was able to feed her twice. She was awesome! She still had to get a little nose tube to supplement her feedings for now until she can eat on a regular basis and get enough. The dr's and nurses, and of course me are so amazed with how well she is doing! I hope that she continues on this path so that her big brother can finally meet her. I am not sure he'll like her too much at first, but I'm sure she'll grow on him. Here are few pics from her first day yesterday.

Here she is with her Daddy for the first time! I think the wrapping has begun. :)


Okay, so of course I'm not looking my best, but what can I say...I'm one proud Mama!


After a long and eventful night Little S is all tuckered out!

Our New Arrival

So...little Lem Lem has decided to break out of her meager little shanty! Little S She was born on December 14, 2009 at 4:09 am. She weighed in at a whopping 4 lbs 14 oz and was 18.5 inches long. So far she is doing really well. She is breathing on her own and is just resting and trying to continue her growing. She came into the world at 34 weeks and 1 day gestationaly age, she stayed in one day longer than Little GB. Here one picture that I took with my camera phone...not the best but for now you can have a little peek...will post more pics soon!

Home Again Home Again Jiggity Jig...

As Dorothy once said..."There's no place like home. There's no place like home. There's no place like home!" I would have to agree with her. I busted out of the hospital on Monday and boy was I ever grateful! My own bed never felt so good. One of the high risk doctors came in on Monday and said he didn't really see a reason to keep me, so I was to go home and resume my bed resting at home. So for now that is what I will be doing. I went to my regular doctor yesterday and she said that everything still looked ok. I am currently dialated to a 1+ and have been so for a few weeks now. I just need to keep taking it easy and staying down as much as possible to keep gravity at bay. I think that gravity is my sad, short, untoned, cervix' kryptonite. hee hee. But hopefully with more rest and anti-gravity positions Lem Lem will stay put for a while longer!

On a little side note.. Sunday my parents came in and I went down to the lobby to visit Little GB. Oh how I had missed my little man. I was so happy to have just a few minutes with him. I'm not sure how he felt about the whole thing, but I was sure happy. My dad brought me up an envelope and in it were letters from my first grade class. It was so cute. My teacher, Mrs. C had the class do interactive writing and write a class letter and then each student wrote one on their own. It was the cutest thing ever. They made a list of some girl names that I could use. Some from memory: Cutie, Mariposa, Lulu, Sarah. They were amazing. I miss my cute little first graders!

I really appreciate everyone's well wishes and concerns. Words can't say enough how loved me (and my little family) feel. I have been blessed beyond words.

Keeping It Interesting...

So..quick post. I am posting this post from my hospital bed at Intermountain Medical Center. No worries, Lem Lem is still where she needs to be. A quick little recap. I had an appointment with my preterm doctors on Fri. He did his exam and found what my regular doctor had found but wanted to do a Non Stress Test on the baby and start a 2 shot regime of steroid's just in case and to help little Lem Lem's lungs develop faster. So he sent me over to the NST and they found I was having contractions, although they were oblivious to me. But I was having them about 1-2 minutes apart but they were small and to me non-existent. So I was sent down to Labor and Delivery to be put on monitors and medication to stop the contractions. After being in L & D for a day they were able to subside the contractions enough to take me off the monitors and send me up the post-partem wing where I am just doing the bed rest thing and missing my little man. The plan (hopefully)will be to go home either tomorrow, but more than likely on Monday after the hospital docs confer with my high risk doc and regular doc. Due to the h1-n1 ordeal no one under 14 is allowed to come into the hospital :( So when I found out I was being admitted, needless to say the tears came. Not so much because I was worried about Lem Lem, I knew she was okay, but I just left Little GB thinking I'd see him in about 45-hour. But I know that he's in good hands with his Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle Jedders and family. Again my family is such a huge blessing and to me they are the greatest family in the world. Jed and my Dad came in today and gave me a very comforting and reassuring blessing. So that is my current scoop. I'll post more details when I get them. But just one question, why do they bring hosptial dinner at 4:30? I mean yes, I'm old but that does seem a bit earlier does it not? Oh well...all is well!

Halloween+Candy=VERY happy Little GB

I think we might have to buy some stock in Crest or Colgate for a very long time! Little GB scored enough candy during his Trunk or Treating and regular Trick or Treating to keep our little family stocked with candy for a few years!! I don't think he's complaining though. I was unable to actually participate in the Trick or Treating, but my family and of course Pfieffer stepped up to help my little man get lots of treats!! Little GB LOVED his costume, getting his blisters (that is how he said whiskers) painted on, carving pumpkins (his is the ghost), and saying Trick or Treat. Pfieffer told me that after he received candy and said his thank you's, his reponse would be, "Alright! That's my favorite candy!." Hopefully next year he will still be as polite and excited to recieve such yumminess!!

And then...He was 3!

Well it happened…Little GB has hit the big 3 and boy does he ever feel BIG! We celebrated his birthday yesterday, October 21 and he had quite the day!! From the moment he woke up he knew it was his birthday and was eager to open up all of his presents. I told him we had to wait for his little party that we were going to have later, but he managed to sneak in a few presents throughout the day. He felt special the whole day and pretty much grinned from ear to ear. He kept on telling me that it was his birthday and that he was now 3 years old. We just had a little family party and had dinner at McDonald’s and he was in heaven. After eating and playing we all came back to my house and had cake and ice cream and opened up presents. His cousin, Camden’s, birthday is the day after so we split a cake…I think Pfeiffer was excited to see what Little GB picked. I personally think it was more for the color than what it actually was. I just can’t believe that he’s three years old already. For a little recap of our Little GB:
He knows his birthday is October 21
He can spell his name
His favorite color is Red
He loves playing legos (or anything) with his Dad
Every time he sees a flag he says “Look there is a Grand Ol’ Flag” and then has to sing the song
He loves planes
He likes to read books
His favorite food (besides candy and chips) would probably be pizza
He LOVES to sing pretty much anything!!
So there is a little recap of my favorite little man!! Words can't even begin to state how much he is loved!!

Our first signs of pink....

Okay, so onto a much happier (and shorter) post. My new life of pink and girly items have begun. Thanks to my friends, M and J as well as my mom and sister, my collection of things girly, pink, and super cute have only just begun. My mom and Little GB bought us our first official pink item. It is a cute pink bib. My friend J (who is going to bring out every bit of girl in me) gave us these cute headbands that have attachable flowers. I love them, I can't wait to see little Lem Lem with these on her head! (Hopefully she will be blessed with as much hair as Little GB was) My friend M gave me this really cute and uber soft blanket that Lem Lem might just have to fight me for!! (Okay, I will totally share with her). My sister made us this cute hooded towel with the pink whales...I think I have the best friends and family in the whole world. My friend J-Dawg who lives quite far away has supplied me with almost daily little pick-me-ups. Thanks J-Dawg. Here are some picks of our new pink/girly items.



And I guess I will have to throw in some of little GB, just because I want too. :) Oh and also a little video of him showing off his cute self. :)

Never A Dull Moment

I think ol’ Murphy’s Law came into play last week here with our little family. All three of us were seen by someone in the medical profession. Here is a recap of our not so good week.
Wed: I went to my regular OB doctor. She had received word about my situation and wanted to check things out for herself. She agreed with doctor’s orders and seconded the notion of placing yours truly on bed rest. She told me I should take up needle point to kill some time. Ha ha. That doesn’t sound like me at all right? Upon arrival to pick up Little GB from my brother’s house I came home to find him crying and covered in vomit. He was getting down off of the trampoline and instead of using the chair that was there he wanted to get down the big-boy way. He somehow managed to lose his balance and fell. My brother said that he did not land hard so we didn’t really think anything of it. When Little GB gets hurt, he sort of gets mad. I wasn’t sure if he had vomited because he was so worked up or if it was more serious. So my mom got him cleaned up and I settled him down and just held him for awhile. He fell asleep and I just held him. When he woke up he was a little playful, but wanted to be held and kind of lethargic. For the rest of the day he just wanted to be held, until around 4:30 when he started to complain that his head hurt. My mom didn’t have any medicine so we went to the store to get some and while my mom was in the store Little GB threw up again. I (Pfeiffer had gone to Elko, NV on Monday for work and wasn’t supposed to be home until late Wed night.) decided that it was time to take him to the doctor. His doctor said that it looked like a concussion but didn’t have any equipment for x-rays and such so she sent us over to the ER. Little GB was such a trooper and big boy. The ER doc was nice and they took some pictures (a CT) of his head. My dad took him for the test, because me being prego couldn’t go back. All of the nurses were amazed; I guess they usually have to strap the little ones down, but not my big boy. By this time Little GB had medicine in him and was almost as good as new. The ER doc came back and said that he didn’t really look at children’s cat scans all that much and to him it looked like there was a little bit of bleeding on his brain and that it was to Primary Children’s Medical Center that we must go for a 2nd opinion, well no a 3rd opinion at this point. So an ambulance was called, a neck collar was worn and Little GB and mom went for a 40 minute drive into SLC to the children's hospital. Little GB was so brave; he thought it was cool when they sounded the sirens. After being there for a few hours the team of doctors agreed that Little GB did have a slight concussion, but there was no bleeding on the brain. Whew!! Pfeiffer arrived at the hospital shortly after we got a clean bill of health. Poor Pfeiffer had to drive nearly 200 miles to get to us and by the time he had gotten to us his mind was in over drive. By the time it was ready to go Little GB was ready to go home and was trying to get into everything. Thursday we took it easy and kept him medicated and he was pretty much as good as new by Friday. It was a long day to say the least!! But we had many prayers said in our behalf and for that we are thankful. My parents had driven in to the hospital and my brother Jed also came up. As I have said before, I have the best family ever!!
Pfeiffer did not escape the medical profession either. He hiked Lone Peak with his buddy Rich and on their decent he took a spill and ended up cutting his leg pretty bad. Stitches were in order and he came home with a whopping 7 stitches and his muscle stuck back into his leg. His leg looks pretty awesome with the stitches and the big bruise.
So all I can say is whew!! And thank goodness for medical insurance!! Here are a few pictures of our tumultuous week! (The pics were taken at a later date, as you can tell that they are taken at our house.) Little GB still likes to play with them. The one we refer to as darth vadar.

A Little Snafu

Well....we have encountered a little snafu in the our little game plan. As stated in my previous blog I am involved in a pre-term study to see if they can find reasons that might trigger preterm babies. With the study comes a little tighter observation than that of a standard pregnancy. Well, as of Friday afternoon I have been placed on bed rest. I guess things are progressing a little faster than they would like so for now I am being planted upon flat surfaces. My student teaching, which was going so well, has been placed on hold and we are checking with Utah State to see what my options are. I am keeping my fingers crossed that this might be only temporary. The dr. said that it could be if my numbers and my weeks of pregnancy catch up to each other. So we are keeping our fingers crossed that they do. But little Lem Lem seems to be doing just great, despite the fact that her termporary living situations are comparable to that of shanty (that is how Pfeiffer refers to my "house"). But she is active and looks great! I have another dr. appointment on Friday and hopefully I will be reporting better news. But for now..all is well. We are all healthy and happy!! :)

Time for Expansion

Well, as many of you may already know, our little family of 3 will be expanding in a few months to a family of four. Although in little GB's mind the baby is going to be both brother and sister, our ultrasound proved differently this week. Our numbers will be even with the addition of a little sister. Little GB along with Grandma went right out and bought our first pink item...a bib. He had to hang it on my belly as soon as I saw him. :) No names have been decided on, that will take awhile for us to agree on one. For the mean time we are going to call her Lem Lem. Along the same lines of Little GB being called Skittlez, Lem Lem is Little GB's way of saying M & M's.

To help avoid another preterm baby I have begun a weekly shot regime to help keep my "house" for the little one a little bit more hospitable. I am also involved in a pre-term study that will help monitor us a little more in depth than just the standard/routine care. I have been instructed to take it easy so no more excercising for me for the moment. That will be difficult, but it's temporary and it's not really about me so I will follow doctor's order to ensure Lem Lem's health and safety. So we'll keep our fingers crossed that all goes well.

I am well into my student teaching. Let me tell you this...first grade is HARD. Especially at the beginning of the year. It's hard, but definitely worth it and very rewarding. I have been placed with an excellent teacher and I'm enjoying my time. I have four more weeks of first grade and then I will start in 4th grade. Although I miss my Little GB very much, I feel better that he's in excellent care with his Grandma!

As for Pfeiffer...he just got back from a two week stint to Singapore, Tawain, and China. We missed him very much and are very glad he's back. He already has a hike planned for next weekend.

I will include pics in my next post!

Big Boys-Binkies-and Bikes

Well...summer is almost officially done. All I can say is where has it gone? We have had a lot of fun this summer and our little GB, it seems, has changed overnight. He officially decided wearing big boy underwear was more exciting, so he gave up his diapers. Wow is all I can say!! Next he decided that he wanted a big boy bike (see picture) so he gave up his binkies and traded them for his rocket bike! He went down to the store and picked out his Rock It bike all by himself. It amazes me that he is not even 3 years old yet. Sometimes I have to remind myself that he is only 2 ½.
I have enjoyed my school free summer. It took me a few weeks to realize that I didn’t have to do homework every night. I must say that I have thoroughly enjoyed it. My student teaching will start in about two weeks. I am both dreading it and excited for it. Dreading it because I don’t want to have to leave little GB every day, but excited to be one step closer to being done! Yay me!!
Pfeiffer has been quite the mountain man. He has conquered many a mountain peak this summer. He has even acquired a few new hiking buddies. He has the goal of hitting all of the high peaks in every county in Utah, he’s done quite well. He has also hiked most of the peaks along the Wasatch. Good Job Pfeiffer! You’re quite the hiker. Little GB always asks him when is it his turn to go on the mountain. I think the two of them will be quite the hiking buddies!

On a sad note..We did lose a family member this summer. Pfeiffer decided that it was time to upgrade Gus (his 1999 F-150). He no longer wanted to be a 4wd mooch, so he traded in Gus for a 2009 Ford Escape. Although Gus has been with us for our entire marriage, it was time to trade him in. I have yet to come up with a new name for his new vehicle. These sorts of things can’t be rushed.
Okay…sorry for the long, but way over due post. I think I did state in the beginning that I am not a very good journal/blog keeper. But at least you get little snip-its here and there.

Marathon Memories

Well, I did it! I ran my first marathon on April 18, 2009. And yes, I am still very much alive and very much still running. I thought my first marathon experience was awesome! I ran the first 4 miles with my friend Stacie and then the last 21 ½ I was solo. My wonderful husband found me when I had just a half of mile to go. He helped me finish my race. He was so great; he encouraged me to push it and run faster and helped me to a sprinting finish!! My official time: 3:57.03. Yay! Going into it I did not really set a goal for myself, but I am very pleased with my efforts. My brother Mac came in from California and he and Pfeiffer ran the ½ marathon. Both of those guys did awesome too!! My sister came down from Boise to help support. She, my mom and Little GB found me during my run 4-5 times to cheer me on and give me little extra boosts. Mac had sign made (see pics) and they would hold it up and Ann would yell “Keep going keep going” (which is a little joke from when we were young.) My brother Jed was working as an EMT in SLC that day and he spotted me a couple of times and the pictures are courtesy of him. (and my sister in law Bella) Thanks Jedders and Bella! I stripped my fuel belt at about mile 23 and gave it to him! Whew it was nice to be rid of that thing. My finishline support was so incredible. My parents, husband, sister, son, brother, sister –in-law and family where there to cheer me on! I could hear them yelling and it helped! I could not have completed this milestone without their support! I have the greatest family in the whole world!! Everyone helped, from my Dad getting up at the butt-crack of dawn to give us runners a ride to the starting line, to my brother’s sign, my sister’s cheering, to my J-Dawg’s awesome running mix, and to my mom watching little GB while I trained! They are so awesome! I am truly blessed. Here are a few pictures for your enjoyment! Thanks again guys! I love you all!