Cute Kids, Christmas Jammies and Rice Crispies Treats

I love this picture! ^

Here are the kiddos in their traditional Christmas jammies. I like to get Christmas themed jammies for the kids to open Christmas Eve so they will have them the next morning, but I was VERY disappointed this year and could NOT find anything for Michael! If there was anything, I didnt like it (like the skulls with Christmas lights, or the bull dogs with antlers!). I finally just broke down and bought him Mario pajama pants!
I'm not much of a "baker" so the kids made rice crispy treats for santa this year with fun shapes. SOOO much faster than decorating cookies! Although, I bought green and red colored marshmallows, but that didn't turn out as well as I thought, so I probably wont do that again, or I will just use one color. The colors just blended together and almost looked grey.

Christmas Program and Gingerbread Houses

Michael had his first Christmas program at school. They sang a couple of songs and played the bells. It was so fun to watch! I was also able to go help them make gingerbread houses in his class. I love it when he gets excited that we come help out in the classroom! I pretty much let him decorate his house all by himself and it was a mess, but it was HIS. I noticed other kids who's parents were there had some pretty amazing houses.....just sayin'.....

Brock Had Surgery

When Brock was born, the doctor told me that he had an enlarged scrotum and that he may have a hernia and I would need to have the pediatrician take a look at it. The nurses were awesome and had a nurse from the NICU come over to look at it before the pediatrician had a chance to come over and they found that it was just fluid. When the pediatrician came, he just confirmed that it was fluid and that we would just need to keep an eye on it. Since then, every appointment we've had, they make sure it's just fluid. We also have had to have his weight checked because he's been underweight. He spits up often, but is developing fine. While in the process of trying to get that under control and finally having to be referred to a GI specialist, they checked his fluid and found that it had turned solid, which meant hernia surgery. So, we were referred to yet another specialist at the Children's Hospital in Madera. We went to see the GI specialist first and had to put him on special formula to add to his food. At that point, my milk started to dry up anyway, so we put him solely on the Nutrimigen (which is super expensive times everything we have to put it in!). But they have been so good about giving us free samples whenever we are in the area. We then took him to see the surgeon for the hernia consult where we found out that there was definately something on the left side, but he wasn't sure about the right side (our pediatrician in town thought there was a hernia on both sides). After hearing all the risks and options involved with surgery, we decided to take care of the left side and make an incision on the right side to make sure there wasn't anything on that side and to repair anything if there were. We scheduled surgery for December 13 and he was one of the first to go in, which means we had to be there by 5:30 am, and had to leave by 3:30 am! I didn't sleep much that night (mainly because I didn't want to oversleep). As you can see, Ron was pretty tired!

This was Brock before going back. The gown was so cute! They even gave him those little blue hospital socks, but they were huge and didn't stay on! It was pretty sad when I had to give my baby to the nurse and go to the waiting room. I had complete confidence in the doctors, staff and my Heavely Father, but it's still scary not knowing what will happen. They took him back around 8:00 am and by 9:30 am, the doctor was in letting us know that everything went great and he was in recovery!

This was just after they wheeled him in to the room so we could see him. It was pretty crazy because he was just laying on a hospital bed. Not a crib or anything. Just a regular bed! He had had a lot of fluid from the IV in him, so he was swollen and looked like a normal baby! He wasn't able to eat food yet, so we just gave him a TON of pedialyte! We were out of there by noon, but stopped at Chili's for lunch because we were starving! He slept most of the day.

He has been doing great after the surgery and only has 2 little insisions on his groin area. For an update on his weight, he is still going to see the GI specialist, but has been putting on weight, which is great! He is FINALLY on the growth chart! He still spits up, but as long as he's putting on weight, I'm happy. He does have to take a medication every morning. They haven't specifically said what he has, but think maybe it's acid reflux (which is what Ron has). I hope he wont have to do this for much longer, but we will see. The doctor wants to see him when he turns 1 and run some more tests. I just love that little boy! <3

Feeding my baby! :o)

School Lunch!

Michaels school does Santa's Secret Shop to help the kids buy inexpensive gifts for their loved ones at Christmas. I remember doing it as a kid, so I decided to volunteer. Michael's class had already gone, but I still had fun. I worked 2 days. It was pretty sad, though, when you see kids come in wanting to get stuff, but they didn't have any or enough money. I did pretty good, though, and was only out $1.40! On one day I left for a little bit and had lunch with my boy! It was fun! He showed me where to stand and he and his friends put the items on my tray for me. And the food was actually pretty good. (Even though I had to pay twice as much than he does, but I got the same portions!)

This is Michael's friend. I don't remember his name, but while I was holding Michael's hand in line, he snuck his hand in there, too. They love it when parents come to visit!

Emma's First Dance Recital

Emma had her first dance recital on December 3rd at the Kern County Museum for the Lamplight Tours. I'd never been before, so it was pretty fun. She had a good time and it was fun for me to be on the "mom" end of the recitals! It brought back a lot of memories just watching the dancers backstage. She did great! Ron got video on his phone, but it was too long to try to email. She was "Susie Snowflake".

Here's some of the girls in her class. Compared to most of the other girls, she STILL has no hair! They just said to do the girls' hair as if it were a special occasion. Yeah.....okay! "Pigtails" it is!

We have since changed her class to a different day, so she isn't dancing with these girls anymore. I think the new class is working out better for her and she's enjoying it. Her next recital should be in June! This one will be the BIG recital!! I'm pretty excited! :o)

Christmas Came and Went

We had a great Christmas, as usual! We had a first for us this year. I am normally very adament about not decorating for Christmas until December, but with Ron's work schedule, he started getting the stuff down and we decorated early. We waited on the tree, though, since we don't have an artificial. The kids had fun decorating. It seems every year by the time we get home with the tree, it's too late for the kids to decorate the whole thing, so I take a couple of pictures of them putting an ornament on the tree and then we finish decorating it after they go to bed! :o)

The tree Christmas morning.

I learned that the grandparents will spoil the kiddos on Christmas, so we usually don't do anything big for them. The extent from us were Christmas Eve pj's for all the kids, Michael got a Bull's jersey and Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii, Emma got a LaLa Loopsey doll and princess castle with princesses, and Brock got an activity walker. Of course, we stuffed their stockings with various things. I always feel bad because I don't get them much, but then we visit the grandparents houses and we come back with tons of things and I'm reminded why I don't do a whole lot! We are so blessed with lots of family who love us!!

Group shot before church!

November 2011

November was a very special month! Not just because of Thanksgiving, but our little girl was born and turned 4 this year!! I was due on Thanksgiving with her (the 22nd), but she was 3 days late. Last year her birthday was on Thanksgiving, but this year it was on Black Friday! We had made a tradition the last couple of years to go to the beach for Thanksgiving, but this year we decided to stay home and plan a party for our sweet little girl! She wanted a Rapunzel birthday, so that's what she got! Aunt Amanda did her cake and it turned out amazing!

Of course, the day of the party it was SUPER cold!!! And we were having her party at the park! I ended up going home and getting a bunch of blankets. The kids had a blast regardless, but the grandmas were pretty cold! :o)

She was like this the whole time!!

This little girl has been the most difficult thing I have EVER had to deal with!! She is so stubborn and can be mean at times. She gets something in her head and HAS to follow through! She is a little on the daring side and will eat just about anything (especially if it's not edible!) She has gotten into so many things that are dangerous and has done so many things that are dangerous and I've always said if she makes it to 5 it will be a miracle!! (One more year to go!) BUT, aside from all the challenges she brings, she is the sweetest, kindest, most sensitive little girl and she melts my heart daily! (When she's not raising my blood pressure!) I love her to death and wouldn't trade her for anything in the world! Happy Birthday my little 4 year old!!!

I also wanted to put this picture of all my parents grandkids. My dad LOVES "grandpa" shirts, so for Christmas this year, I bought shirts for all the kids and used iron on transfers in which order they came in, took their picture and put it on a shirt for my dad that read "Grandpa's Lucky Seven!!"

Starting with #1: Jordan, 8, Jarom, 6, Michael, 5, Aaron, 4, Emma, 4, Abby, 2, Brock, 7 months.