Thursday, December 31, 2009

Happy New Year! 2010

P1020722All of the Pendleton side of the family came to town today for the New Year and for Grandma Shirley’s 80th Birthday Bash. We ate a great dinner as always and then went to First Night downtown St. George.  We froze! Lucy got to ride some slides & swings and then dance a little to the music before heading home. It is tradition to have fondue just before the New Year strikes along with a little bubbly.

We are known for having bad things happen to us on this great holiday in years past.  The first year we got married the boys in the family were in a car accident that totaled my car and broke some of Dad’s ribs.  Then a few years later we spent the night again in the hospital for a blood clot in my arm.  We really try to stay close to home on December 31st!  Not without fail we almost had another tragedy.P1020725

Well Mom bought these new kind of sparklers from the store.  She showed them to me earlier in the night but I didn’t take notice to them or the warning sign.  They were labeled “Sparkler Whips.”  Just before midnight she took the grandkids out in the courtyard to do fire crackers.  Lucy was first.  Mom grabbed her sparkler and lit it…only to be followed by the loudest noise you have ever heard.  In come all of the kids running for their lives.  I think Cade even was high stepping!  Mom ran in after them laughing her head off.  Come to find out these fire crackers were more like fire works!  On the front of the package it read “do not hold.”  It burnt the concrete good and I can’t imagine what it could have done to Mom or Lucy if they wouldn’t have let it go.  We all laughed about it for hours…there is never a dull moment in the Pendleton house.

Eric on the other hand was so mad. You can see it in this picture.  Lucy didn’t want me to let her down for a while.  A little while later Lane grabbed my Mom by her cheeks and said …

“Grandma, don’t you ever, ever do that again!”

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This year we just might not even open our front door!

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Friday, December 11, 2009

 P1020594  And writing it twice.

Eric and Lucy sat down and got her list put all together on paper.  I tried to re-write it on green paper and red marker so it would stick out when Santa was going through all his letters…well Lucy picked up on it and wanted the original letter.  After a little bribing, she gave into her Mom’s stubborn personality!

P1020595 And no we did not put ideas into her head.  What 3 year old asks for socks and undies?  After this was sent Lucy decided that she needed a surprise too.  Not a surprise for her to find out on Christmas morning; she said that her and Santa were going to surprise Mom and Dad with her presents.  Eric and I are not too sure how that “Surprise” is going to work out.  Until next time…

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Santa's Lap

November-1  
Although Lucy was still a little under the weather, we could not pass up the yearly tradition of finding Santa to let him know what Lucy is hoping for this year.  It’s a good list.  Stay tuned!

Just take a close look on her face.  She practiced for days.  I think she is still skeptical, but so excited she wasn’t going to give up her opportunity to sit on his lap.
P1020583 Daniel and Jami had to sneak us into the private Christmas Dinner for the faculty at the college.  We acted like we were supposed to be there and all was good until we headed out to our car to leave.  Daniel took us down the private utility elevator and as I opened the door I saw Jami’s Dad talking to the campus cop.  Not thinking I said, “you caught us.”  I was talking about using the elevator.  This look came over Randy’s face and he said, “are you guys the Hansen that is parked in Faculty parking?”  Yep that was us.  It was so cold, and there were no parking spots so we took what came available.  Well our “free” picture with Santa quickly turned into an expensive night.  Don’t fear, Randy took care of our ticket the next day.  I doubt we will be invited to the secret party next year!
P1020586 Lucy and Cutler are best buddies.  Sometimes Cutler tries to hide it, but they truly are best buds!

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Corbin’s Blessing

P1020560  Since all our family was in town we thought we would take advantage and have Corbin’s Blessing.  Sunday we woke up to a very sick Lucy.  Poor girl was fevered and throwing up.  She was heart broken to think that she was not going to be able to make it to her baby brother’s blessing.  We debated and decided to take her to church just long enough to hear the blessing and I rushed her back to Ma and Pa’s to get ready for the after party.P1020535  It never can be easy on these special days.  I was emotionally & physically spent.  I felt so bad for Lucy.  She was locked in a bedroom and would have given anything to be downstairs with the whole family. 

All in all Eric did a wonderful job and Corbin was blessed with some really great things.  That is the most important part, right?! 
P1020547 Our family pictures turned out pretty dysfunctional with Moms breastfeeding babies, and impatient husbands, this is as good as it gets.

The “Circle” of PriesthoodP1020545

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P1020554 All worn out after a long holiday weekend!

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This baby boy is so special to us.  We are enjoying him and are so grateful he is in our family.  We are truly blessed.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Thanksgiving was spent with the Pendleton side of the family this year.  We were lucky to have everyone there…but just for the “Grateful” day!  Mom and I had spent many hours looking into photographers and trying to find a time that we all would be together to snap a family photo for Grandma Shirley’s 80th Birthday.  Given that not too many photographers don’t want to work on Thanksgiving we were running into a dead end.  Dad was talking to a friend and he just happened to be looking for a family that was willing to do a “shoot” for a commercial he was putting together.  We agreed not really understanding the whole intent. 

Everyone arrived in town Wednesday night.  We all laid our clothes out for colors coordinating and set our alarms for early morning.  “8:30am” we were told, “in the driveway.” 

Well this is what we found!

P1020475 Dad had borrowed a 30 passenger bus to drive us to our destination.  The kids were so excited…and the truth be known, so were the adults.
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We show up at the “shoot” and to our surprise they have called in professional videographers on top of the photographer.  We had no idea.  Dad probably was told this but he has selective hearing these days.  Mom, Dad and Shenise were hooked up with microphones and we were given a little direction.  Come to find out this commercial is for a book that is called “Upon my Passing.”  This is a product you purchase and fill out all your wants and wishes if you were to die.  Dad didn’t understand why we were taking pictures without him in them…well this is the end result.

MOVIE CLIP

Family Magic2

All 23 of us.  Whoa, can’t believe we all made it through the ordeal.  We even were able to snap a few others too.  Lucy is so lucky to have her great grandmothers still alive.  Four maternal generations…pretty neat!

Family Pictures

I do have to admit that it was great being up and all ready for Thanksgiving Day by 9am.  We snacked, ate, ate and ate.  Family tradition is to go to the movie, but we passed due to our nights being a little short with a new baby.  Did I just say “our”….excuse me…”my” !!!!

The next day Mom and Dad had a hike planned in Snow Canyon.  We just don’t take advantage of the awesome surroundings we have here in Southern Utah.  I was not too excited, but Corbin was a trooper.
P1020516P1020531  5 Weeks old, all wrapped up and happy as can be.  It felt so good to be out in the cool air taking it all in.  Lucy also was a trooper.  She walked, well ran the whole time.  She has the shortest legs, but sure did a great job keeping up with her cousins.

P1020521 P1020528 

Friday night we spent some time with the Hansen side.  It is so hard having both families in the same town.  We are always running back and forth, being pulled both ways.  But when all is said and done, we enjoy the family time.

Saturday was the BIG game day.
BYU vs. Utah
P1020534 Lucky for Corbin, he was rooting for the right team!  By the looks of this picture he just might end up being a Ute fan.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Friday, November 6, 2009

Corbin's belly button finally fell off this week. We waited a couple days to bath him so that it could dry out. He has always loved his sponge baths, but from the look of this...
he wasn't so sure this was a fun activity. But Dad and Lucy carried on and washed all the cracks and crevasses(as Lucy would say)!
Lucy's snapshot of us. She has become quit the photographer.
Snuggle time with Dad! I can't decide who likes it better, Dad, Corbin or Mom. It melts my heart!

And on an ending note. Meet "soothie" the big ugly green/blue Binky.
This was given to Corbin during his circumcision. There was a little mishap and we needed something to "sooth" him(that story is for another time!). Then came the BiliBed. We once again needed something to "sooth" Corbin...so out came the Binky. Oh my, what have we started. I have tried to change over to a Nuk, but he doesn't like it as much. Life goes on I guess!

Thursday, November 5, 2009

DING, DING, DING!

Round 2
Corbin had his 2 Week visit this week. All was well and I was about ready to leave when I happened to ask Dr Marsden about the whole Jaundice thing. So glad I did!...I think.
We decided that we better check his bili levels one more time. Well sure enough, they were back up to a 16. His 48 hour levels were at an 18.5, and they hospitalize at a 20. Last week we were able to get it down to a 14.3 and were feeling good about that. So when I got the call and was told to stop Breast Feeding AGAIN for 4 days and repeat the test, this is how we felt...
"Ohhhh man."
Poor boy! I wish we could just get past this and move on. What a pain. I sure hope Corbin still is wanting yummy breast milk after this is all done.
His stats @ 2 Weeks
...7 lbs 14 ounces...
26%
...21 inches...
66%
...he giggles in his sleep so loud...
...trying so hard to lift his head...
...stares at faces and lights...
And lookin' cute as can be!

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

...HaLLOwEEn...


We had a great Spooky Day this year. Lucy really understood, and could not wait.
We started the day by delivering treat bags to Lucy's friends. Lucy got all dressed up in as "SUPERGIRL"&
Corbin as a "SkeLEtoN"
and they were ready for the festivities to begin.

I told the Grandparents... that if they wanted to see Lucy and Corbin that they were to come to our house. We usually spend all night making the rounds and are exhausted when the night is over. This year was perfect. Great chili, cornbread and cupcakes for dessert.
Tayden, Cutler & Ryker stopped by and we are so glad they did.

Eric and Daniel took the kids around the neighborhood Trick-or-Treating while we relaxed on the couch. Lucy had a blast with her cousins. They ran the whole time and Lucy thought she was so grown up.
We ended the night with a quick family snap shot. As you can see...I was so tired and ready for my bed!
Until next year...

Monday, November 2, 2009

The Proud Grandparents...




Sunday, November 1, 2009

The story begins here...
Saturday, October 17th started with lots of cramping and contractions. With my Mom and Doctor out of town until Monday I was beginning to worry. I showered, packed my bags and waited to see what might happen. NOTHING. So we carried on with our weekend and started the new week. Tuesday I went to the Doctor...
Labor and delivery was packed so he decided to put me on the schedule for Wednesday. I was #4 on the list and was told to be ready by early morning. I promptly called the family and set up the "last supper" lunch at Cafe Rio. The rest of the day was spent getting ready for the big event.
Around 9:15pm the Charge Nurse called from Labor and Delivery. She said that they were going to start calling in the inductions at Midnight. In anticipation of a middle of the night call we called my Mom and Dad to see if they would like a visitor for the night.
What we thought was going to be a great night sleep turned into a restless night. 7:00am rolled around and no call. I called L&D and the Nurse said that my Doctor had called and said not to call me until 12:00pm. That would have been great to know!
So the wait started all over. 12:00 came and went. Eric and I decided to get a sandwich. In walked a Doctor on the phone. He was telling the Nurse to check his patient and see if she was really in labor. Sure enough...she was... and sure enough she took my room! What are the chances? We headed back home for a nap.
I had given up on not eating and I was thinking we might be pushed to the following day. We all went to Pasta Factory for dinner. Once we ordered my phone rang. Of course...they wanted me in right away before someone else took my bed.
A CNA hooked me up to the monitors and said I will be right back with your Nurse. She was never seen again.
6:45pm Finally, Nurse #1 arrived.
7:30pm the pitocin was started and I was on my way.
9:30pm Doctor Ott broke my water. Not much change. Dilated to a 3 plus, 75% effaced.
11:00pm Epidural!
12:00am Nurse #2 arrives. Loved her. Started getting hot sweats and my blood pressure keep dropping due to the epidural. Trying to cool off with a washcloth and hide the double chin from all of the fluid they were pumping in me.
1:30am Doctor Ott was sleeping in the on call room, but decided to go home because of no progress.
2:30am Starting to dilate more...but this kid was not dropping.

2:31am-4:00am Finally at 7cm.
4:30am Nurse #2 tells me to hurry and have this baby before she goes home. I sit up and re-apply my make up for the big delivery only to wait longer!
6:00am Nurse #3 arrives. Loved her too! She was just in time for me to start getting sick. She walked in the room to me throwing up. Nice welcome.
7:00am Still at 7cm. 100% effaced. Baby dropped.
7:10am Started telling Eric and Mom to get the Nurse I was going to have this baby. They didn't move very fast because Dr. Ott was going to be doing rounds any minute. Eric finally went out to find someone.
7:14 am In came Dr. Ott and he set up the room himself, sat at the end of my bed (yes, he didn't even drop the bed) and coached me through 4 or 5 contractions.

What a long night it was, but it was a really easy delivery. We were so relieved that he got here safe and sound. He was covered in the white stuff(don't know the medical term) but healthy as can be.
Corbin was born with his...
AND

Due to the Swine Flu, I had to pick 2 visitors for my whole hospital stay. They were banded and could not switch. This was so hard. Lucy and all the Grandparents could come up and look in the Nursery window at Corbin, but that is all. In the end it turned out pretty good because I was able to sleep that first day. Eric would roll Corbin into the Nursery when visitors were there to see him, and I just slept in my bed.
We were all feeling pretty good by Friday morning so after Corbin's long circumcision(no pun intended) we were discharged.

It was good to be home. Lucy did pretty good with the new addition, with only a few melt downs. She was recovering from a cold and being away from Mom and Dad for 3 long days.
Corbin's color looked so good. He has a very red complexion so I never would have thought that his repeat Bilirubin(spelling?) test would come back high. Sure enough it did. So Sunday evening...
was delivered. I was so sad, but glad he didn't have to be hospitalized.
What a nightmare this bed turned out to be. We didn't sleep for 4 nights straight. He had to be in it 24 hours a day unless he was eating or getting a diaper change.
Day after day we took Corbin in to get tested and we kept getting told to repeat the test in 24 hours and continue the lights.
All dressed up...only to go to the hospital to get his heel pricked and then back under the lights.
At Corbin's Dr's appointment on Wednesday I was hoping to hear that we could get rid of the bed. Dr. Marsden looked up the results of Wednesday's blood test and it was not what he wanted to see. Corbin's #'s actually went up. How could this happen? Long story short...I had to quit breast feeding for a couple days. My breast milk was causing his Jaundice to get worse.
Friday night we finally got the great news that there was no need to retest Corbin and that the Bili Bed could go back to the medical supply.
I finally have my perfect baby boy back. He sleeps great, eats great and is so much fun. Lucy cannot get enough of him. She is awesome to hold him, change him and try to comfort him. We are so happy to have him in our family.
THE END