What We've Been Doing

Wow, it's been far too long since I've posted. Here's what we've been up to:


1. Hayden Turned 9!

What a smart, thoughtful, curious, respectful and cool young man. We enjoyed seeing the Toy Story movies in 3-D for Hayden's birthday and a family party at home.

2. Halloween

Hayden was Bill Nye the Science Guy and won "Most Creative Pumpkin" at school.

Emma was Snow White on Halloween (and most days since then).

3. Disneyland

Our favorite place to play together. We overlapped a few days with Carrie, Grandma, Gary, Amy, Garrett, Natalie, Sara, Lily. It was fun to be with so many cousins. Word to the wise: 8 weeks might be too young for your first Disney trip... the logistics of accommodating a nursing baby, a 3-yr old (who runs fast in any/opposite direction from mom) and a 9-yr old were more challenging than we anticipated. Lessons Learned. The new Villas were awesome! Laundry right in the room, and a nice roomy dining area with full kitchen. I think we've found our new favorite place to stay.

4. Thanksgiving at home.

It was fun to play host again this year, all the kids were so well behaved. It was as close to a stress-free day as I can think of (and yay for leftovers).

5. Erica's Blessing Day

What a special day. Thanks to everyone for supporting us. Dana gave a beautiful blessing to little Eri. We are so grateful to have her in our home. Hayden and Emma adore their new sis.

6. No more Primary :(

I'm still so sad about this. After about 5 yrs serving in the Primary music, I was released on Eri's blessing day. You'd think I would have been expecting it, but I was totally surprised and quite tearful. I will miss hearing the children sing. It was the highlight of each week to spend time preparing and teaching the beautiful Primary cirriculum. I will miss seeing their sweet faces, like the child who greeted me at the elementary school with a hug and the phrase "This is my Jesus song friend!"

7. Randy home for Christmas!

Glad to have Randy home from school in TX (as opposed to in Iraq last Christmas). Randy and Dana travelled to the Vegas Bowl to see BYU win (and to freeze in the windy stadium).

8. Birthday with the fam

Hayden was shocked to discover I'm really not 29 again (carried on that charade way too long). Another year older and wiser.  Sweet Sis took me out for dinner to one of our favorite spots.

9. Christmas Eve Poison

We held our traditional Bethlehem dinner with some "authentic trimmings". Little Eri woke up covered in HIVES on Christmas morning. And I do mean covered- even on her eyelids and toes. Apparently the ingredients in Bethlehem dinner are major potential allergens for nursing babies. Take your pick at which of these was the culprit: Fish, fancy cheese, nuts, etc, etc. Thankfully Benedryl was a wonder drug and cured the hives in about 10 mins. Newborn with hives=Worst Mother of the Year Badge. No pictures, it's just too sad.

10. Teddy Bears

My mom and dad gifted many sutffed animals and teddy bears to each other over the years. On Christmas Eve, Grandma surprised us by passing on a special bear to each of us and telling the story behind the gift. It was so special to have a gift to help us remember our Dad/Grandpa who passed away last year.

11. Christmas
Santa brought a telescope for Hadyen - he was totally surprised :)

Here are the girls in matching PJs (Thanks, Grandma Sharon!)

The kids gave pictures of themselves to Daddy. Hayden chose to give this picture showing the books he and Dana have read together - since April 2007. Look at this tower! And yes, Hayden remembered the order in which they were read, and the books are stacked in order

12. New Year's Eve

We continued our tradition of having fondue at home and letting the kids stay up as late as they want. This year we watched Harry Potter 6, and about 2 minutes of the NYE count down on TV.

13. Emma got a violin

The day we brought it home, she "played" for 40 minutes straight. To watch her from behind a window, she looks like quite the virtuoso, she really gets her whole body into the fun. The notes, not quite so virtuous.

14. Valentine's Day Highlights

Hayden decorated the house (as usual).
Beautiful flowers from Dana and kids to me.
I indulged Emma in her most recent princess obsession and made an Ariel cake
We celebrated with heart pancakes, pink milk and too many sweets.

Fishing

Hayden was really excited about learning to fish. We heard about this great place in Odgen where almost everything is provided (including fish!).

One afternoon on early-day from school, Dana took Hayden and Emma to check it out.



What a great fisherman! Hayden caught two delicious trout. Dana and Emma caught two more. Notice that Emma is petting hers in the bucket.

Emma came home with a great story to tell me: "Nemo took my POLE!". We didn't get a picture, but Emma's pole was last seen floating in the lake. After the fish swam away with her pole, what else could she do but try to catch fish with her princess blankey?

Yummy!

Best Photo Day Ever!

We had such a great time playing in the park and having pictures taken. Check out the amazing Kimber and her fine work. We'll post more about this later but just had to share the link.

She's Finally Here!

Announcing Erica Ann Morrey

Born Wed Sept 16th at 6:15pm
7lbs 1 oz 18.5 inches
She's such a cutie! Enjoy the pictures, we'll write more later.

Emma's Bruised Lip

Any guesses how my little princess wound up with this big purple bruise on her lip?

Did she fall off her bike? No.
Her bed? No.
Did she run into something? the door, the wall, perhaps? No.
Was she in a fight? No.
Is it make-up, or a chocolate milk-mustache? Nope.

Is it a "suction bruise" from a bottled drink? Yes! You win.
Apparently she got quite a seal around the little bottle and sucked with all her might. Thankfully, it faded quickly.

Have you ever seen anything like this?

Baby Face

It's amazing how technology has changed since Hayden was born in 2000. Here are some pictures taken today of our baby "girl". The gender-view picture today looked even less convincing to me than the one a few weeks ago. The tech and doctor today both said it's a girl (as did the others a few weeks ago), but honestly the picture just doesn't convince me. Doesn't the face look like Emma? Baby looks healthy and is growing on track.

PS - I think these super sharp elbows are the same ones that have been punching/kicking on my stitches. Don't they just look like they're aiming for something?

Breathing Free!

I'm SO glad to have that pesky cyst gone! It had worked its way up to 10cm in size, about the size of this pretty grapefruit. I feel much better having it finally removed. The surgery went well, the baby was closely monitored before, during and after - including every 2 hrs throughout the night - so much for resting in the hospital! In fact, I think this little baby is so excited to have the extra room to spin and kick - she's never been so active. She definitely wants us all to know she's awake and well. I actually wish she was a little less active, as kicking on my stitches is mighty uncomfortable, but I'm glad to know she is awake in there.





As soon as I woke up from surgery I could feel a difference in my breathing. It's wonderful to be able to breathe again. I still have some pain and swelling, but hopefully within the next week I'll be back to normal routines. Thanks to all of you for your concern, prayers, babysitting, meals, etc, etc. We appreciate all your love and support.