Cousins

Aidan & Seery with Shane at BYU by the new Smith Family Living Center building. (Notice Seery wore her BYU cheerleader outfit)

Shane with the Meyer cousins, except for Katie

The crazy haunted house we went to in Salt Lake

From September 13-20 my family was lucky enough to have our cousin Shane come visit us in Utah all the way from Australia! This is the first time the Meyer cousins were able to meet Shane. We were able to hang out and have fun. Sean, my kids, and myself took Shane down to BYU one day. Our last night together we all went up to Salt Lake to go to a huge haunted house. I have never been to an indoors one that large. I have to admit I was scared and found that I have one of those horror movie screams. It was so nice to have a fun adult night out with my brothers and sister and our cousin. Thanks for stopping by Utah Shane!

Happy Columbus Day!

Aidan made the Santa Maria which Columbus sailed. Aidan loved learning that people actually believed the world to be flat up until the Columbus' discovery of America. He said, "Did people think they would fall off the world if they sailed too far out in the ocean?"

Monster Painting

Aidan painted this picture of a monster last Friday. I love his use of color and the texture of his painting! Happy Halloween everyone!

Success!

Today was the day we have dreaded since mid September. The kids had to go back to the dentist. Seery had 1 cavity and Aidan had 3. Crazy since I am a stickler for flossing everyday. Plus they have seen a dentist since they had their very first tooth! The theory is, according to the dentist, that early babies often times have calcification and enamel problems. So good thing I am so fanatic about dental health, I can't imagine how bad their teeth could be otherwise. David and I both went. We opted to have them take oral conscious sedation medication with nitrous oxide. Seery's was fast acting so she went first. She put on the headphones to watch a movie and laid there very still. Her one filling was done in no time, and she left feeling like she had "princess teeth". Aidan was up next. I was most worried about him after last year. But what a difference a year makes! He was great! He watched his movie and was completely still. Every couple of minutes he would give the "thumbs up" sign to me and wave to the dentist. I was so impressed as was the dentist who thought he was a "cute kid". They both crashed in the car. The medicine stays in their system for a day. So when they woke up it was a movie day which of course is so exciting and such a treat. And it kept them still, they were a little loopy and off balance for the rest of the day. If you want a great pediatric dentist, and trust me we have looked and been to more than one, I HIGHLY recommend Southridge Pediatric Dentistry in South Jordan.

A Children's Classic

One of our favorite children's books


Aidan's painting of Brown Bear from the Eric Carle book.


Have you read the Eric Carle books to your children? We have read them all. My sister-in-law gave me "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" for a baby shower present when I was pregnant with Aidan. I have been in love with his books ever since, and so have our kids. The illustrations are beautiful and vibrant. "Brown Bear..." has always been one of Aidan's favorite stories. This past Monday, September 29, Aidan painted a picture of brown bear. Isn't it great?! He is so artistic! I love that my kids love art, that they love to create things, and that they use their imagination. I mean it's bound to be in their genes with all the Humanities classes I took at BYU, and my passion for art and going to museums. Not to mention their Dad's amazing talent when it comes to drawing. Seriously though, his brush stokes in this painting are flawless for a 4 year old. Just had to share his latest masterpiece with you!

5 Tag

List 5 fears, 5 joys, 5 obsessions/collections, 5 surprising facts about you. Tag 5 people.

Five Fears
1. Car accidents
2. Identity theft, credit report mistakes
3. Miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, and still birth
4. Sudden death
5. Job loss and/or financial ruin (I agree Melissa!)

Five Joys
1. Morning cuddles with my kids
2. Eating ice cream with David late at night in the kitchen as we talk and laugh
3. Traveling (Fingers crossed, some miracle will occur and we will go to my family reunion in Australia in 2010!)
4. Christmas, starting the day after Thanksgiving the season is on!
5. I love projects. Sometimes I get crafty, other times I am all about organization and simplifying, and other times I try to come up with projects for the kids to increase their fine motor skills and artistic abilities.

Five Obsessions
1. Bargains (Me too, such a thrill!)
2. Exposing my kids to many activities. They love the BYU Art Museum. I try to go to as many different places as possible. I want them to see that there's a big world out there.
3. I am an avid reader, and if it's really good I can't put the book down
4. Honesty (I HATE phony or dishonest people--and the fact that they all THINK they are getting away with it) [Again, I agree 100% with Melissa in this one, you hit it right on!]
5. Keeping up routines with a schedule for the kids, household chores, etc.

Five Surprising Facts About Me
1. I have a unique laugh, that is when I really get laughing. In fact I think I have been teased quite a bit for it by the old roomies.
2. I will drive an hour away to the London Market just to get really good chocolate
3. I am an Irish Citizen
4. I have had 3 surgeries in under 2 years
5. My favorite place in the world is the beach in Balbriggan, Ireland

Tag
1. Kristine
2. Kayla
3. Tiercy
4. Amy
5. Andra

Seery's Surgery Update

After registering for the umbilical hernia repair surgery at 6 am, Monday, September 22, Seery was examined by the Nurse Practitioner. She then put on pajamas. We went into the pre-op room to wait for her surgery. We met with her surgeon, he told us how the surgery would be performed. The Anesthesiologist met with us next. Seery was really scared and nervous, so the doctor gave her some medicine to help her relax. At that point she was pretty loopy and had to sit in the wagon. She looked at her book until it was time to go back into the operating room. We were able to walk with her down one hallway and then said good-bye, and the Anesthesiologist pulled her in the wagon the rest of the way. We waited in the waiting room with all the other parents. Her surgery took twice as long than estimated. Her umbilical hernia was actually worse than the surgeon had anticipated. Her surgeon met with us and told us how the surgery went. I then was able to go to the Recovery room to see her.

After a few minutes Seery was then moved to post-op where David met up with us. Seery had a hard time waking up. This her fast asleep after her surgery.

When Seery finally did wake up she was upset that she wasn't wearing her pajamas so we quickly got her dressed. She was not happy about having an IV in her hand. She finally had a Popsicle and a sippy cup of apple juice. She was able to keep it down and then the nurse removed her IV. When she was finally discharged Seery insisted on getting dressed up, in a dress. She refused to ride out of the hospital in the wagon wearing pajamas! We got her home and she fought the need to sleep and would not take the prescribed pain medication. Luckily she took the Motrin.

Here is the picture of her surgery site.

It has been a challenge to keep our 3 year old still and resting this past week. It will take months for the internal stitches to heal, so we will keep a close eye on her to make sure she does not have too much jostling to her abdomen. She has had belly pain, but has been such a trooper. She has not been able to take a full bath yet. She has only had sponge baths. Yesterday afternoon however, she spiked a fever and was in a lot of pain. She had a hard time sleeping. Today she wasn't any better. She still had a fever even with medication. She was also in a lot of pain. She cried all day and wanted to be held. So I called her pediatrician they said to go straight to the hospital. Luckily, her incision is not infected. Her belly area is not too hard, there is some extra gurgling in her digestive track. Most likely it is a coincidence. She probably just contracted a virus, she is more susceptible to getting sick post surgery. So at this point we will keep a close eye on her. Hopefully she will feel better soon! She will see her surgeon at Primary Children's Hospital next week for another post-op evaluation. So we will see where the healing stands at that point.

The Actual Birthday

On Seery's actual birthday, Sunday, September 7, we had all the family we have close by come over for a family party. From my family we had my mom, Kristin, Sean, Mallory, and Katie. From David's family we had Brian, his girlfriend Whitney, Diane, and Ben. We all had dinner together, Lasagna since it's Seery's favorite. We are lucky that my sister-in-law Mallory is very talented when it comes to making cakes. Seery really wanted a princess/castle cake. So Mallory made her 2 cakes! She got one of each. They were beautiful and tasted so good. Everyone was so generous with their gifts. Thank you to all of you for coming, calling, and mailing presents. You made her day. David and I are truly blessed to have such caring, involved, and supportive families.

Family Night Out

Saturday, September 8, after Seery's friend party we asked her what restaurant she wanted to go to for dinner. Our family tradition is to let the birthday person pick where they want to go to eat out. She chose Archibald's restaurant at Gardner Village. A girl after my own heart. She liked the fried green tomatoes for the appetizer and her pasta. All the servers came to sing "Happy Birthday" to her after we ate, (Something this restaurant does not do. But who can resist a 3 year old dressed up as a princess??) and gave both her and Aidan huge ice cream sundaes. After dinner we fed the ducks and walked around the stores. Seery loves the store, Just Us Girls, she calls it the "pretty store". It was such a perfect night. I love my family.

After the party....

After Seery's birthday party with her friends we went up to West Jordan. Of course as soon as Aidan and Seery were buckled in their car seats they fell asleep. They were totally worn out and needed a little nap before our family night out.