Christmas 2018

I don't know who was more excited for Christmas this year: Ashton or the parents. We were just excited to see their reactions to the presents and all the fun we'd have celebrating. Ashton went to bed that night and wished it could be Christmas every day. This year was great with her. She was excited for presents but not too much that it annoyed me. She knows why we celebrate Christmas and thankfully wasn't too fixated on opening gifts.

We kicked off Christmas week with a dinner with the Coon's. We've had them over for dinner nearly every Christmas in Lake Jackson so we decided to continue that tradition by having it a few days earlier We love visiting with the Coon's as the four oldest kids just go play. Gemma even played and chased a little too. We decorated gingerbread houses and just played and talked. I'm already looking forward to it next year again.

First attempt at star bread. It was so good that I made two more for Christmas day.

Apple pie with Christmas lights on top. It turned out better than I thought.

Christmas eve was quieter at home. We took the kids on a walk to look at Christmas lights and then did our traditional "Jerusalem" dinner with pita bread, hummus, vegetables, grape juice, etc. Then we opened our Christmas Eve box of new jammies, a new movie, and yummy treats. I found the perfect pajamas for Tanner and Ashton this year and knew they'd be thrilled. Gemma got "new to her" pajamas from hand-me-downs. Good thing she doesn't care.

Found NASA rocket ship pajamas on sale and knew he'd love them. He wears them constantly now.

Christmas morning was great with the kids. All the kids slept much longer than I thought, which was a nice treat. Gemma missed the first gift opening so she got her own time later in the morning.

I didn't get many pictures and the ones I got are dark because that room doesn't have a big light. Tanner got a rocket ship for one present.

Ashton's excitement over a doll that you can do the hair and makeup for. She's been wanting it since we visited Wisconsin and saw it in a magazine. Thankfully, my parents heard her pleas for it and sent it as her gift.

As a family, we try hard to encourage our children to look forward to giving gifts, not just receiving. We do several things during the holiday season to encourage this such as purchasing gifts for a family in need and giving gifts to the parents and the siblings. We spent lots of time one-on-one working with Ashton and Tanner to think of what would be good gifts for each other, Gemma, and Mom and Dad. It was really fun to see their creativity and their ideas this season.

Ashton and Tanner made me a fleece tie blanket (Joseph did most of the tying). They each chose a fleece fabric and Tanner chose a rocket ship one while Ashton did a floral design. I loved it! Ashton got Joseph a special Wii remote that allows them to play certain Wii games together. She got Tanner a tool set, which he carries around fixing things. Tanner got Ashton a really fun game that they both enjoy playing together. Tanner spent a long time in the tool section at Walmart picking Joe's new tool out. He decided on a HUGE pipe wrench. I'm sure we will never use it but it's the thought that counts. Together, Ashton and Tanner decided to make a cardboard tunnel for Gemma and to get our old ball pit back out for her. I enjoyed watching them open each other's gifts and for them to see the joy in gift-giving.

The gift I was most excited about for the kids was our Grimm's gift. Grimm's is a German company that makes wooden toys. I've been eyeing them for a while and decided to make a purchase for Christmas when I found one on sale earlier this year. I look forward to adding more to the collection in future years. We've been enjoying building Grimm's creations the last couple days.

Christmas morning was spent playing with our new toys and cleaning up the house to host a Christmas dinner. We had two families over for dinner and enjoyed our time with them. I made our traditional birthday cake for Jesus Christ and we sang happy birthday to Him.

First attempt at decorating with chocolate. It went pretty well except for chocolate on the floor.

Gemma at 9 months

Weight: 20 lbs
 
Height: 29.5 inches
 
Clothing Size: 6-9 month clothes, which surprises me. Our older kids were always a size or two above their age.

Daily Schedule: We are down to two good naps a day, which I love. Gemma wakes up sometime between 7 and 8, takes a morning nap (between 30 minutes if I have to wake her up for something but typically 1.5 hours), an afternoon nap (almost always at least 1.5 hours, more often 2+ hours) and then goes to bed around 8 or 9pm. She either sleeps through the night or is up once in the early morning hours.

Special Outings: None that I recall.

Firsts: Lots of foods that she just sucks on and then spits out. Not a big fan of eating real food. She's got three months to figure it out. Over the past two months or so, she's figured out crawling, clapping, saying Mamamama and Dadadada, climbing a few stairs, pulling to stand, and standing for a brief moment before falling.

Heart Update: No update until February now.

It's fun to see how Gemma compares to her siblings as far as personality. Gemma is a lot like Ashton as she has separation anxiety to the max. Gemma must be near me or see me at all times. Tanner was the opposite of that. Like Ashton, Gemma also is hesitant to eat real food; whereas Tanner would eat anything and everything at this age. However, Gemma is definitely happy and a better sleeper like Tanner was. I see certain traits from each sibling in Gemma. She's a good mix of the two. It's also fun to see the siblings play together. Ashton and Gemma love to play peek-a-boo all the time. And Gemma quickly joins in when Ashton and Tanner play chase around the house. I look forward to seeing Gemma's personality come out more as she reaches her birthday and beyond.

Monthly Pictures:

Fall 2018

Here are some highlights from the fall months in Texas now that it's almost Christmas time.

One of Joseph's brother and his family came to visit over Labor Day weekend. We had fun playing with cousins. It was a very rainy September so most of our fun ideas got tossed out for rainy day weather. We managed one day to visit a park and play at a splashpad. We also visited a trampoline park since it was rainy.

Ashton was brave and got to the top of the climbing totem poles. She turned out to really enjoy rock climbing.

 We played outside as much as we could. Tanner found the muddy spot on our street. Good thing we have hoses and bathtubs.

 We met up with some friends at Froberg's Farm Festival. We've never gone before but I decided to be brave and take the kids. Joseph had to work that Saturday for his turnaround so being a solo parent, it wasn't too bad.

Loved the duck races.

 Halloween came and went. I'm just happy the candy is finally gone. Ashton was a unicorn. Gemma was supposed to be a BYU cheerleader with a hand-me-down costume but she ended up super sick that day and the costume was forgotton. Tanner was a rocket ship but gave that costume up and went as a super hero for trick or treating. Our neighborhood was wonderful to go around a few streets and see our neighbors.

Tanner helped make the pumpkin graveyard dessert.

Kids found a butterfly in our backyard one Sunday. I think it was halfway to dead and that's why it was okay being held the whole day. It "flew away" during the night though.

Took the kids to a jumping place in town for their toddler morning. The kids loved it! Here's Tanner finally mastering one of the bounce house obstacles.

 We ventured out the zoo in November. It's fun to visit but I think we're getting Zoo-ed out. The kids really just want to ride the carousel, play on the playgrounds, and see the petting zoo. They like the animals but aren't super into it.

Gemma liked the carousel.

Tanner would rather watch the construction going on instead of looking at animals.

 We hosted Thanksgiving with a family from church. I always find joy in making the turkey and this year was no different.

We also did a thankful tree during the month of November.

I am teaching (almost done) two classes this semester, which has been a challenge. I am also serving in a leadership role for course development so that has added a little extra to my plate. I enjoy teaching and love finding ways to improve my teaching skills. I also love that it is very applicable to my church calling right now (in the primary presidency).

I'll do anything to keep Gemma occupied while I quick grade an assignment or respond to emails.

Wisconsin Trip 2018

We traveled to Wisconsin again this fall. Joseph had an extremely time-intensive turnaround from the end of September through mid-November. His hours were 5am to 6pm for 13 days straight and then one day off. This day off was on every other Sunday, which was nice but we still missed him around. To break up the long six weeks, I decided to head to Wisconsin with the three kids. I flew again as I can't fathom driving alone with all three yet. One year...  Although, I like to think I have the flying thing figured out so switching it up would be odd. We'll try a road trip next summer.

The kids did great on the flights and traveling. Ashton is a pro and Tanner is almost a pro. The only things he needs to work on is a quiet voice on the plane and not kicking the seat in front of us. And Gemma seems to follow suit with being a great baby while traveling. We only went for six days so if the trip was terrible, it was at least short. We had a great visit and enjoyed spending time with my family. Here are some highlights:

We fly to and from Minneapolis now, which is a great airport for kids. The Chick Fil A is right next to a large kid's play area, which is also right next to the tram. I know they did that on purpose.

My sister is at my parents' home for a few months while they transition to new jobs. It was a blast to spend time with her too.

We ventured out to a new park by the Wausau airport. Best park ever! Plus we got to see lots of small planes land and take off, which was a dream come true for Tanner.

Typical Gemma- always happy

I took the kids to the Stevens Point Children's Museum one day and met up with my sister at her new job at UWSP. It was a fun museum but children's museums are difficult with multiple kids at different ages. It's hard to keep track of everyone at the same time as they spread out. Thankfully, this one was smaller so it was a little easier.

One of my favorite pictures. The kids loved running outside and riding the lawnmower with my dad.

Gemma at 8 months old

Weight: Right around 19 lbs. Still our smallest baby.
 
Height: Around 28 inches
 
Clothing Size: 6-9 month clothes

Daily Schedule: I was really excited for daylight savings with Gemma because I thought it would bump up her bedtime. Nope. She adjusted just fine and didn't seem to notice a difference. She still wakes up between 7 and 8am. She really prefers three naps a day and squeezes in her third nap around 6pm. No matter what time her third nap happens, she is almost always ready to go down for the night around 9/9:30pm. I wish it would bump up a little so I could get more work done but it is nice to put the big kids to bed first and then Gemma.

She has also slept through the night again quite often over the past few weeks. I'm hopeful it keeps progressing. I can't really sleep train her with her heart condition so I just keep hoping she "gets" it eventually.

Special Outings: Wisconsin! She did AWESOME with traveling by plane and car and sleeping someplace else. Gemma is the easiest baby traveler so far. She was very clingy while visiting but still smiled at everyone.

Firsts: More foods that she doesn't like. She likes to gnaw on food and then spits it out rather than swallowing it. I keep hoping one day she'll suddenly wake up and love food.

Heart Update: We had a heart check up finally! Waiting three months was rough. Here's the update as best as I can explain it. Gemma's main number that signifies if intervention is necessary rose a little bit. In August, she was upper 40s/low 50s. This time, she was at about 55. This number is slightly flexible as Gemma moves around during the ECHO and such. Typically, doctors use 60 as the line for surgery or not. Some doctors use 50. It varies a little bit from doctor to doctor or practice to practice. We're grateful the increase was at least a slower increase than the past three visits. However, living right on that fine line is worrisome. The other issue that presented itself at this appointment is her artery coming off of that valve is showing distress. Sometimes, the artery can thicken or dilate due to the blood flow hitting it harder in one spot rather than flowing freely. This is the first time we've seen issues with that artery. This signifies that her blood flow is not flowing properly and could lead to bigger problems later on.

When our cardiologist is telling me this, I kept thinking that we'd just go get a second opinion. We'd discussed doing this as a safety precaution to ensure measurements and opinions matched between doctors. I trust our doctor but would still want to have another opinion before pursuing further treatment. However, our doctor said she wanted to take our case to a cardiology panel in Houston that meets every 6 weeks. There, many local cardiologists meet to discuss certain cases and decide together what would be best recommended. I loved this idea but was not looking forward to waiting a few more weeks.

Well, fast forward a few more days and our cardiologist calls me. She was able to talk to the panel early and discuss Gemma more. They all agreed that the surgery has better outcomes if we wait for Gemma to get bigger. The biggest the baby, the bigger the heart. This allows the doctors to do different interventions, which have better results/outcomes. So, unless Gemma starts showing symptoms associated with this defect, we are having another check up in February. At this point, we are fairly certain she will have surgery. What kind and how invasive will depend on how her heart looks in February.

Monthly Pictures:

Gemma is 7 months old

Weight: I'd guess around 19 lbs.
 
Height: Around 27-28 inches
 
Clothing Size: 6-9 month clothes for the most part.

Daily Schedule: Wakes up between 7 and 8:30am. She's working on transitioning between two and three naps a day, so that changes the schedule each day. Aside from that, she's pretty predictable. Awake for 2.5-3.5 hours between naps. Goes to bed between 8 and 9 depending on how many naps she took that day. She's then up about once a night.

She has successfully dropped her swaddle and is doing better with naps and nighttime sleeping.

Special Outings: I can't recall anything specific. But I'm sure she did something cool.

Firsts: Tried lots of foods this past month but still isn't very interested. She sucks on food but then spits it out once she's done mushing it around in her mouth. She does like straw cups with water.

Heart Update: Check up is next month. Can't wait to find out more.

Monthly Pictures:

She's a good sport when the big kids want to help.

Her favorite play activity is to dump the toys out of the clear bin and then play with the bin.

Gnawing on tortillas at the grocery store.

Enjoys sitting in the grass watching the big kids ride bikes.

She gets to her hands and knees and then just hangs out there.

Examining the broccoli