JustinLindy* CooperAva*

Kindergarten

2012-02-07T13:06:00.003-07:00

I registered coop for Kindergarten yesterday. What?! Where did all that time go? I can't believe he is big enough to be going to real school. I don't think the reality of it will set in until I actually walk him to class the first day but I can't say that it's something I am looking forward to. I know it will be good but, oh my! What's he going to learn? From the teacher and the other kids. Mostly the other kids. Well, here goes. My babies actually are growing up!

Second cast

2012-01-18T20:38:00.005-07:00

Well, due to the bathtub incident, we ended up taking Ava in to get a new cast a few weeks earlier than planned. The cast was dry but just to make sure the Doc had her come in just in case. That was good and bad. We didn't know until Monday afternoon that we would be going in on Tuesday which meant Justin couldn't be there again and we had to find last minute babysitters for Coop but it was comforting to make sure her skin was ok under the cast. But my sweet Grandma Brown let Cooper stay overnight because we had to be there early in the morning which was a huge relief! The initial plan was to take the cast off and put it on the same day at the hospital but that would have meant no break for her and no bath at home either so we opted to take her to the pediatricians office Monday afternoon to get it off so she could have a little break and get a nice long bubble bath. And she loved it! She was bending all over, scooting on her bum, and running around like it was the best day of her life! I think I was just as excited as she was about it. It was nice to be able to see her move without as much struggle for a bit.

So, our day went a little like this: Wake up at 6:15 to get ready, wake Ava up at 7 and put her in the car to head up to the hospital, get there at 8 and get checked in and head to our room, get all the vitals checked and change into her little tiny gown, change 2 very stinky diapers!, play with Ollie the elephant making him do back bends and front bends until about 11:30 when they were ready for her, give her the meds to make her drowsy, talk to the drs, lay her in the little crib and watch them wheel her away, cry because I will never get used to that, wait until abt 2 to get her back, cuddle my baby girl, look at her feet and realize they were poked 11 times to get the i.v. in =(, she finally was able to eat some yogurt and jell-0, get an x-ray at abt 3:45 which looked awesome! She is now at abt a 20 degree curve instead of 54 degrees. Yeah! It's actually working! And they were able to do the cast under her armpits instead of over her shoulders like a tank top so that she is able to use her left finger which is awesome. We got the i.v. out abt 4 and left abt 4:30, got some food since we hadn't eaten anything all day, picked Coop up at my Grandma's and finally made it home abt 6:30. So, it was another long day but not half as stessful as the first time. We knew what to expect this time, I remembered the stroller! (lifesaver), Ava was used to the cast so it wasn't quite a shock when she woke up, she wasn't sick!, Coop was having much more fun at my Grandma's, and we didn't have to be there at 6Am this time. So it went much smoother and she's doing great. They think she will need one more after this to get her back where they want it. We both can't wait until they are done!

AAAhhhhh.....nice warm bath after 2 months!

Getting her oxygen checked in our room before the cast

Happy little nakie!

Cute in her little gown

Mom and Ave. They wouldn't have had to poke my head 11 times to find a vein! yikes

And I was determined to get more pictures this time but my camera froze and wouldn't do anything after this one. Good thing Costco will take anything back!

The doctors and nurses up there are pretty amazing and take really good care of us. We are done until after the baby comes (unless she falls in the tub again!) so we'll see how it goes with new baby in the mix to.

Just some stuff I want to remember: We were watching Utah Gymnastics on Sunday and the kids thought it was pretty cool and kept doing 'back bends' and 'front bends' that's why she thought it was so great when the elephant did it. She was standing on my lap while we were waiting and wanted to do a back bend so I held her and she did. She hasn't done it without the cast on and her back popped like four times. She gave me the cutest scaredest face I have ever seen her make and about cried! I think it shocked her so much! She wanted a love and wouldn't do another one after that!
She was much happier this time when she woke up and hardly cried at all. I was expecting a meltdown like last time but I think she was just used to the cast so it wasn't as big of a deal.
She teases and will say things like milk, juice, milk, juice so you don't know what she wants and she did that when they were asking her what color she wanted. pink, purple, pink, purple so they did purple with a pink stripe around her belly. Little stinker
And she looked so tiny after getting the cast off on Monday. She wasn't a little football player, which actually comes in handy sometimes when you have an older brother. I snuggled her as much as I could because it felt so good to have her be so soft and cuddley. We kept the cast and knew it was heavy but couldn't believe how heavy! It has to weigh about 5lbs and when you only weigh 24lbs that's a lot to carry around!

And it happened...

2012-01-14T12:18:00.002-07:00

When we first got Ava's cast I wondered how we were going to keep the thing dry for 3 months straight. I mean, she's 2. Nothing else really needs to be said. But we have done pretty good. We survived the 3 days of barf without getting too much on the cast, we haven't had food or drink spilled that got it wet, and not too many incidents with poop or pee getting all over it. So, with 2 weeks to go I thought we were pretty much home free. And then I put Coop in the tub. Ava likes to come play in the bathroom while he's in there but we haven't had any problems until yesterday. The little basketball was just a little bit too far away from her and while I was turned the other way washing Coop's hair I suddenly had feet up by my arm where a head used to be. She was in, cast and all! Luckily I pulled her out before the back of it got wet but the whole front side was pretty much soaked. So, needless to say we spent quite awhile last night with the blow dryer and one naked little Ava trying to dry it. We changed the shirt underneath last night and today so we'll see how much it dries out. If not she may get a longer break inbetween casts than we thought. Oh my. Well, at least it didn't happen 2 months ago!

That's why Heavenly Father sent me

2012-01-14T12:11:00.005-07:00

During the holidays Cooper was helping me make caramel for turtles while Ava was asleep and we were just talking about stuff. I don't even remember what now. But he started talking about how he is good at fixing things (which he is) and was telling me that if we had a flat tire then he could probably fix it for me since he has helped Dad so many times. And if he had the muscle to do it I have no doubt that he would. He continued about how he was strong and can fix stuff for me and then he said, "That's why Heavenly Father sent you boys Mom. So they could take care of girls. That's why Heavenly Father sends boys." True, true. My four year old knows something lots of boys don't. I remind him about that sometimes when he is bugging Ava. One of the best conversations I've ever had. Now if we can just help him to remember that the rest of his life I think we'll be ok!

2010 ChRisTmaS

2012-01-08T16:39:00.005-07:00

Christmas was awesome! December was a busy month. We had 5 Christmas parties 5 nights in a row, the live nativity in Alping which is always so amazing, got all the shopping done (because despite the fact I say I will get it done before December every year, it never happens), and were able to spend some good times with family and friends. I love Christmas. It's even better with little kids. They had fun buying gifts for each other and we had an elf on the shelf that watched them for the month of December. They loved getting up to find him every morning. Cooper helped me make the caramel for some yummy turtles that we took to neighbors. It was a great month!

The kids shoveling the one dusting we got. It didn't matter if they missed a spot, it was all melted in a few hours anyway

A car kit Coop got at our big family party

Ava got Squinkies. She loved them but I don't know where any of them are now. They are about the size of a penny

Mmmm...! Enjoying a red velvet cupcake at Justin's Grandpa's party

Coop and the cousins watching the train at Grandpa's

Grandpa Brent helping Coop with the train

Reindeer food one of my cute neighbors gave us. Oats and sprinkles. They sprinkled it on the lawn Christmas Eve to attract the reindeer

Sprinkling the reindeer food

Ava getting her present from Santa at Grandma Myrna's. She wouldn't sit on his lap but yelled form across the room,'Thanks!" and that she wanted a baby doll for Christmas

Coop getting his present and orange from Santa

Christmas Jams!

Coop's stuff from Santa. He kept asking Santa for a boat. What the? Not just a toy boat, a real boat you can sit in. Santa wasn't going to worry too much about it since he already had a remote control car for him but since that was the ONLY thing he asked for, He figured he should try. So, this is what he came up with. It was a hit! Bear Lake will be even funner this year!

Ava's desk, crayons, and colored pencils from Santa. Perfect! It's just her size. She asks me to color at least 10 times a day so now she has her own little spot. Notice the pink and puple crayons in her hand. They are her favorite. We've got a girly, girl!

We spent Christmas Eve at Justin's Grandma's. Had a yummy ham dinner and Santa came to visit. We all opened the presents from Grandma (ice cream maker-score!) and then the usual wrapping paper fight. Can't go a year without that! The kids woke up about 8:30 Christmas morning (hallelujah!) and we opened gifts. It was so fun to see their reactions. Coop kept saying, "I knew he would bring a boat!" We didn't even need to unwrap anything under the tree. They would have been totally content with what Santa brought. Both our parents and Justin's brother came over for breakfast at 9, we went to our Christmas program at 11, headed over to Grandma and Grandpa Brown's for fondu, Justin's Grandma and Grandpa, and then to his parents for their party. Busy day, but so fun! As usual the kids got too much stuff. Some of Coop's favorites were the boat, legos, and remote control car and a firetruck that really sprays water. Ava's favorites are the desk, and a baby doll she got from Grandma Myrna that she named Emma and she sleeps with her every night and sings her rock a bye. I got the keys to our Tahoe in my stocking (hee, hee) and a Kindle Fire. Another score! and total surprise. And Justin got a Ripstick. If you come by our house you may see Coop on his bike with a rope tied to it pulling Justin around. It's quite a sight! Even though there were lots of gifts and fun it's so good to be reminded of the greatest gift of all-the Atonement. We're so grateful for Christ's birth and sacrifice for us.

At 30 weeks...

2012-01-05T20:47:00.002-07:00

So, at 30 weeks I am feeling pretty good. I feel like I did at about 38 weeks with Cooper and I can't believe I still have 2 1/2 more months! Hopefully she won't be a 10 pounder but that's sure what it feels like. I am starting to feel like if something doesn't get done before she comes then it will never happen. I think I've been driving Justin nuts about getting beds for the girls, painting, cleaning out the garage and the basement and getting rid of all the junk in the house. So, I feel totally unprepared at the moment and ready to be done at the same time. So, even though it's not very comfortable and I feel like I weigh 300lbs, I am grateful for the opportunity every time I feel her move. 10 more weeks!

Bye, bye baby bye, bye

2011-12-09T12:14:00.005-07:00

Well, we bought our truck 6 years ago this month and now it belongs to somebody else! We put it on KSL and less than 24 hours later it was sold. Is that a clue we should have sold it for more? I guess I should be really excited that we are 'upgrading' to a newer car but I almost cried when I watched the guy drive away in our truck.

Last picture with our truck. And probably the only prego picture that will make it to our blog!

Holy journal entry!

2011-12-01T20:23:00.004-07:00

So, guess what?! Thanks to the young women needing pictures from my camera, I finally buckled down and figured out what the deal was. It took a call to customer service (luckily they weren't in India and I could actually understand them), a few minutes online and bam! My pictures are now on my computer! So, even though there is lots to catch up on, I am going to start with the most recent. Life has been a bit crazy the past few weeks. I mentioned in the last post that Ava has scoliosis so after many failed attempts to schedule a cast to help because she kept getting colds, it finally happened.
The hospital scheduled the cast and it ended up being that Justin was out of town that day for work. Yikes, I really didn't want to do it without him seeing as they would have to use general anesthesia but that's just when they could do it. Ava actually ended up getting another cold and me, thinking they would cancel it again because of the cold, didn't get a babysitter for Cooper. Well, the pre-op nurse said to come to the hospital anyway the next morning to have the anesthesiologist check her to see if they would be able to do it. So, the next morning Justin left for the aiport at 4:00 and I had to get the kids up at 5 and drive to Salt Lake to be at the hospital by 6. AM that is. They checked Ava in and took us to her room. We got x-rays, they took pictures of her back so we would be able to see the before and after, we put her in her little tiny gown and then waited for the anesthesiologist. The hospitla is awesome. Ava and Cooper got a stuffed animal with sunglasses, Ava got a princess coloring book and new crayons, Cooper got matchbox cars and a lego car to play with. The anesthesiologist came in to see if Ava's cold was too bad to do the cast. He had her do a breathing treatment and decided her lungs may be clear enough to do it. While they do the cast there is a little while where they can't breathe very well because it is too tight until they cut a hole in it, that's why it is so crucial she can breathe well before. So, they went ahead. Part of me was hoping they would cancel because I really, really wanted Justin there, and it was going to be such a long day for Coop, and I know it needs to be done but really? Who wants to see their baby girl in a cast from shoulders to hip?

I was so nervous I would have to hold her while they figured out an i.v. but luckily they did it while she was out. About 9 they took her in. They gave her some medication and we took her from her room to the another room where they put on mesh like dress that goes under the cast. She was getting pretty groggy and sleepy from the meds and I was close to tears the whole morning so that pretty much did me in. They let me hold her for a bit and then I handed her over to the PA to take to the operating room. I was crying before I handed her over. Then I watched her drugged up and being carried down the hall by some stranger. More crying. It was good Cooper was there to distract me. He was SO, SO good. No crying, no complaining. They gave me a beeper so when she was done we could go back to the room to talk to the dr to see how it went. So we went to the playroom. It's huge! Children's hospitals are the best! There were tricycles, cars, basketball hoop, pool table, soccer net. He loved it. about 45 min later they beeped me so we went back to talk to the dr. He said it went well and she was in recovery waking up. They wouldn't let me in the recovery room-argh. Not too excited about that. So we hung out for an hour or so until she was up and they gave her 2 more breathing treatments and they finally brought her back. She looked so tiny in her little crib and she started to cry for Mom. The nurse commented that she was a lot happier with me than with them. Huh, complete strangers or Mom? Well, they had her foot wrapped in purple tape to hold her i.v. in. She just kept saying, "Purple, off!" They had to keep the i.v. in for over an hour just in case they needed it they didn't want to poke her again. We also had to give her oxygen because it was a bit low for a little while. Her voice was raspy for a while because they intubated her during the cast but once they took the i.v. out and she got a popsicle she perked up a little. We were able to go eat abt 1:00 and then once they knew she was peeing and eating they let us go home. All of us exhausted we finally got to go home 8 hours later! Holy moly. I still can't believe Cooper did so well! They both crashed on the way home, I wish I could have and was majorly missing Justin. Ava was super cranky and Coop was a little to when we got home because they woke up when we got home. Ava would try to do something and get so frustrated because she can't bend down very well, and the cast is pretty dang tight she would just cry and say, "Brace off" She'd back up to me because that's how we would take her brace off. So, that week was pretty rough. She cried a lot and so did I, and wanted to be held, got really sick on Wednesday -throwing up which made it super fun to try to keep the cast clean and dry. Better Thursday, then the rest of us, minus Justin, got sick again Friday and went to my sister in laws wedding Saturday. Wow
I didn't get any pictures after she came back from recovery. A little busy you know? I will have to take one of what the cast looks like. It's purple of course! So, despite the major inconvenience we are really blessed to have such talented doctors so close to us. Her doctor was one of very few in the country who are willing to do this. They usually go to surgery. Yikes! There was no cutting and i was still a mess! People come from Canada and Japan to get this done by her doctor. Wow! We are blessed

Last bath before the cast, we had to make it special with bubbles and extra long!

In her little gown getting her blood pressure checked with big brother by her side

Playing with the new toys before getting the cast. They made out like bandits!

Filling up the cars with gas in the playroom. I love that smile!

Being sick a few days after. This is pretty much what she did all day. Throw up and sleep. poor kid!

Whew! That was long! We also had an awesome Thanksgiving, Justin and I were able to go to Park City for a night and enjoy a fancy dinner at Ruth's Chris (yummy), a little shopping at the outlets, and some quiet stress free time! Much needed. We are also in the process of selling our beloved Toyota Tacoma because we can't fit 3 in there. Kids that is. Because we are having a baby girl! Due in March in case you didn't know. So, that's what we are up to. What about you?

It's been awhile...

2011-05-06T23:22:00.005-06:00

So, I'm pretty sure I don't have any followers seeing as I haven't posted in about a year. Wow that has gone by fast! I just want to remind myself about what's going on with the kiddos and us. Coop is now 4!! Holy moly. He still LOVES riding his motorcycle and bike. He goes off a 6" jump with both and has figured out how to jump up the curb with his bike. Which I still am too scared to do. He loves digging in the dirt, fixing things, taking things apart, and playing with/bugging Ave, and playing hide and seek. We had a special trip to d.i. just to find stuff to take apart. My favorite thing to do with him is lay down and talk to him right before he goes to bed. Finding out what his favorite part about the day was, and seeing it through his eyes. There's always something I never even noticed that he thought was hilarious or interesting. And questions, always questions about the world around him. He's either very helpful and kind and willing to share or he's doing everything in his power to drive you nuts. He is shy and daring, interested and funny. We love him a bunch! He's our favorite little guy.
Ava is almost 2 which is so crazy because I swear I was in the hospital and staying up all night yesterday! We call her our sassafrass (even the neighbor kid knows she's sassy) and she is a total girl! She loves to try on shoes and put bows in her hair and will tell you whether or not she likes them, by shaking her head because we're discovering she's a bit stubborn and does things only on her time. We found out her Scoliosis has gotten worse (fyi she has scoliosos) so instead of a brace she will have to have a cast. We got two opinions just to make sure. She is saying Mama, Dad, bubbles, ball, hi, dog, bober (something like that, it means Cooper), Devin, more, no (her favorite), ouch. There are a few more but I can't think of what I'm missing. She signs please, fishy, snake, candy, drink, all done, dog, milk. She's a mama's girl and is pretty particular about who she'll go to. Nursery-not so much. She loves babies and little kids and likes to follow them around and laugh at them. She makes us laugh all the time and has the cutest smile and laugh! She gets really excited and yells every time we play hide and seek and she can hear Cooper coming to get her.
As for us...Not too exciting! Justin is fixing exercise equipment and working some crazy hours. We (Lindy, my friend, and her husband that is) planted our first tree in our yard! Yeah!! I smile every time I see it. And we are getting our garden ready to plant! Sometime in the future is a playground and sandbox. Sometime...
Anyway, that's just for me. They are so much fun! They miss each other when the other one is gone and are best friends. We love them like crazy!

Yeah, we also got a new camera and I'm so tech savvy I can't figure out how to download pictures so those pics are both a few months old but hey, something's better than nothing right?

For Great Grandma Olsen

2010-06-26T12:23:00.004-06:00

(This is really long)

Ava can scoot! She learned this about 1 1/2 months ago and it's so cute! This is how she get around now and my suspicions about her being the one that gets into everything have been confirmed! She loves eating paper and playing with doorstops. Time to baby proof again!

Two Wheels BABY!

2010-05-22T21:33:00.006-06:00

My 3 year 3month old can ride a two wheeler! He jumped on our neighbors little bike without training wheels, the seat was held for about 2 seconds and he was off! If he were like one inch taller he would be able to start on his own. Soon! (I switched these videos around but it takes too long to change them so just watch the second one first. And they are really bumpy, sorry)

Cooper's 3rd day riding a two-wheeler. Didn't take him long to pick up some tricks. Going off the curb is his favorite! He got a little bit more graceful putting the bike down. Now he keeps asking to take the training wheels off his motorcycle so he can go up big hills. Cooper is our retirement plan, we're banking he's got some mad motocross skills also!

He had been riding for five minutes max. Holy cow I can't believe he's so big. Love this kid! Don't you love Ava's bike? She's ready to go to!
FYI: He's at our neighbor's house. Our house is the white one in the background-for those of you who are wondering. (Andrea that is your lot right behind us. OUR neighbors are really nice, I know you'll love it)

This is how pretty it was when he learned

Ava @ 10 Mos is...

2010-05-01T18:24:00.002-06:00

I know I did an update not too long ago on Ava, this is just for my own remembering because Heaven knows I need all the help I can get!

Nicknames for Ava at the moment: Lil' Ave, A-V-A, baby Ava, Ava Bava, Sweetpea.
Some of your favorite things: FOOD! watching Cooper play, anything small enough to put in your mouth, Mom, sitting in big kid chairs, and oh yea FOOD. It's a wonder you're so small

Ava you are honestly the best baby ever! The only time I hear a peep out of you is if you are hungry-and then it's just grunts or Cooper is being too friendly. Yep, that's pretty much it. Oh, or if my hands are cold when I'm changing your clothes! That is about it. I can't believe how content and happy you are. You give me a smile everytime you see me, yes everytime and I can't get enough of it. I just want to squeeze you and keep you like this forever. I know you're smart because you sit quietly and observe so much. You are saying Mama, Dada, and Hi but without the 'i', and waving.

Some new things that you're learning: You will sit on your bum and move your feet until you've gone in a full 360 degree circle to see what or who is around. You have been so laid back that if a toy was out of reach it was no big deal. Great for temperament, not so much for learning to get around! But you are now wanting to get moving a little more. You are trying to scoot on your bum but it's hard on the carpet. You are also starting to stand for a few seconds on your own! Yeah! You are rolling everywhere and we are working on those abs so you can go from laying to sitting. You have two new teeth and you know how to use them! Food is your favorite! You can eat nearly a whole packet of instant oatmeal. I usually split one between you and Cooper and you eat yours and then finish off half of Coop's because he is 'full' ie wants to play.

Cooper is still your best friend and is pretty much the only one who can make you belly laugh and he thinks that's great. Even though he realizes you are never leaving, he's now realizing you are somebody he can play with to.

I love that you are just happy and have no worries. I wish I could keep you this unaware forever but I fear the day will come when you realize not everything's perfect. So, I will keep you in my arms and kiss you as much as I can so that maybe when that time comes, it won't matter so much. We love you and can't get enough of you!

FYI

2010-04-27T22:29:00.002-06:00

I took Ava in for a weight check today and she gained 7oz in 2 weeks! So, maybe she's like the 4th percentile now. Yeah!

GoOD cLeaN fUn

2010-04-27T21:57:00.004-06:00

Cooper very proud of his motorcycle jump (the little mound of dirt on the floor)
The motorcycle getting ready to jump

Good 'clean' fun

That's my boy! He's always digging, building,and figuring out how things work. This plant is his usual building ground. I have found him here quite a bit during the day. You never know what they'll come up with!

So, this picture may not be a big deal to anyone else but to me it's huge! The other day there were a few boys around his age playing by our house (our whole block is a field aka playground) and I said, "you can go play if you want" Not thinking he really would. He's usually so shy I didn't think he'd chance it but he ran and got his shoes and put them on, ran out our door, hesitated for a few min at the bottom of the stairs, and then ran right up to them and started playing! What?! Since when is my baby boy big enough to go play outside with the boys and make friends that aren't at a playdate with their mommies? It was one of those make your heart ache because you know they're not your baby anymore kind of moments. I was glued to the window watching. I'm so excited to live in a neighborhood and watch him grow up with all the boys in our neighborhood. We have some great neighbors. Justin is still really good friends with his neighborhood friends so hopefully my kids will have some lasting relationships just like it! I love our house!

2010-04-23T16:50:00.002-06:00

I've had many entertaining conversations with Cooper while we were driving in the car but I think this one tops them all!

Coop: Look at those horses!
Me: What horses? (We were on the freeway so it was a quick glance)
M: Oh! (Shock)
C: What was that horse doin Mom?! (Lots of laughing)
M: Maybe it's getting a piggyback (also lots of laughing)
C: Why's it so tired? (laughing) It's gettin' a ride on the other horse! (laughing)

The above repeated until we got home with lots and lots of laughing on both ends. We had to call Justin and tell him about the funny horses getting a piggy back ride. Who needs the discovery channel?

Tulip Festival

2010-04-19T22:26:00.004-06:00

My good friend, Coralie, invited us to the Tulip Festival and I'm so glad we went! We were there for over 4hrs and the kids had a blast. I can't believe we've never done this before! This definitely won't be our last time. Someday I'm going to get a good camera. So many opportunities for good pictures

Oh my goodness I love her!

'The Boys'

Cooper~best friend Jaden~Carter

I don't know how many times they rolled down those hills but it was a ton. Cooper could barely move when we got home!

Feeding the fish

They were troublemakers the whole time. They ran around together like a mini tornado. I don't think we got one pic with all three of them looking at us. They were so cute to watch run around

My cute kiddles and I

Ava checking out Miss Bailey's bow, our little flowers (once again, another pic they're going to love when they're older!), my cute Ave, and Coop and his bff.

Thanks Coralie and Jessica! We had so much fun

ZoO

2010-04-18T23:20:00.001-06:00

We took the monkeys to see the kids at the zoo

We've been having lots of fun nights with Cooper trying to sneak into our bed at night so we told him if he got to mark off a number every time he stayed in bed all night and for naps, when they were marked off we would go to the zoo. He marked all the numbers off about a month ago but it's been so yucky we just made it to the zoo! Sorry buddy, but good work! The train was by far his favorite thing!

2nd Generation 'Brigade'

2010-04-18T22:54:00.003-06:00

Ava~Staeli~Oakley

Ava is the oldest of the three, can you believe it?! Look at how big Oakley is

Hopefully they won't get into any more trouble than their parents did in high school!

~9 Month Follow Up~

2010-04-13T22:01:00.003-06:00

Length 26.5" 10th percentile

Weight 13lbs 3rd percentile

Head 42.6cm 10th percentile

She's my dainty little peanut! She's tiny but full of life. I will give everybody an update on what's going on with her. It's just everyday life for us so I forget that people wonder about what's going on with us. Ave is pretty much the cutest thing I've ever seen. She loves food but will now look at her spoon to see if it's from my plate or hers. And then she decides if she will eat it or not. And she loves to feed herself which is so cute! She sits up like a champ. I think she will have to learn to scoot on her bum because crawling may be a little difficult. We'll just have to see what she comes up with! Justin says (and I agree) that we will have to put food just out of reach to get her motivated to move! Seriously. She is the most laid back, easy going baby. And she's an adrenaline junky. You can try to make her laugh all day and nothin' until you throw her in the air or push her in the swing. She loves it. And she's a total Mama's girl-I'm loving every minute of that-because how long is that really going to last? We will probably be going to Shriner's in the next few months to see about possible prosthetics and ortho stuff. But she's healthy, happy, and has eyes that make you melt. We love her!

Ahh...the simple things

2010-04-08T22:28:00.003-06:00

This is for you Andrea. (and Mom, maybe you'll believe me now that she laughs!)

2010-04-08T21:01:00.004-06:00

So, we are alive for those of you who still check our little blog! And LOTS has changed in the last 6 months. We went on a trip to Cali for Halloween-didn't want to come back, sold our condo in a week, and MOVED! Oh yeah baby! We are currently the only people on our block. Nice change from being surrounded on 3 sides. My little boy turned 3, and my baby girl is 9 months old! Ava is now saying Mama and Dada and has one tooth with more on the way. Coop is a daredevil on his motorcycle. Coop and Ave also started swim lessons by our house. Crazy. We also took a little trip to Moab for Easter weekend. I'll post pics of the house soon but for now these will have to do!

Sand mountain in moab, Coop rolled down the whole thing and had sand in every cravace

Check out Ava's face. Not quite sure about that bit white bunny

Ava had much more fun on this trip than her first one in August. Love this girl

Ava and Brooke

He's going to be so mad about this picture when he's older but I love it!

Potty Training

2009-10-09T14:45:00.003-06:00

Oh the joys of potty training! The only thing that has worked so far is bribery. And it works well! So far we've used mini cars, candy, and mini golfing. We told Coop if he sat on the potty 5x and peed then we could go mini golfing. So we went and had a blast. He's surprisingly good for 2 1/2. He definitely didn't get my coordination thank goodness! We also rode the bumper boats and Coop squirted everyone in line. It was pretty dang fun. So, we'll see what else we can bribe him with...

2 Mos and so cute!

2009-10-09T14:16:00.003-06:00

These were done in August, but better late than never right?

Jackie~check out the tutu!

Cooper 2 1/2 yrs, Ava 2 mos

2009-09-18T14:28:00.001-06:00

Ava slept for 6 1/2 hrs last night. Oh yeah baby

"Shot deer with arrow?"

2009-09-13T10:06:00.011-06:00

For those of you who don't know, we go on a yearly campout for the opener of the bow hunt. It's pretty dang fun. There are a ton of people there and we do things like candy hunts, play cards, animal hunt for the kids, testimony meeting, ambushes on the way to Blue Lake, and pretty much just have a blast. Here are a few pics of our adventure this year!

The hippos Coop found on the annual animal hunt. He's sharing the baby hippo with Ava and you can tell she's loving it! What a good big brother

Coop and Izzy are only 2mos apart and they were pretty good buds the whole time! They just followed each other around and played. I'm not sure if the bottom right pic is a hug or a tackle by Coop but it was cute either way =)

Little Ave's first camping trip! She even had some camou for the event. She didn't love camping like Cooper does but maybe next time when it's not quite as windy. Hopefully...

Candy hunt-Justin and I like this just as much as Coop does. We always get to share a few pieces of his candy

It's hard to see but Justin's relative set up a zipline for everyone. It was awesome! This year we actually had a harness which made it much easier to jump off the rocks! Coop picked some really pretty wild flowers for me with aunt Britney and he also got to use his new fishing pole.

One of Justin's cousins got a deer this year and Cooper went to see it. He still says things like, "Tyler shot deer with the arrow?" "Me touched it!" "That deer must be scared we get him with a arrow!" For a girl not raised in a hunting family I sure have one little hunter in the making. Uh-oh

2009-09-13T09:55:00.001-06:00

Cooper has discovered that if he doesn't wake us up when he comes in our room that he doesn't get taken immediatley back to bed. This is how we found him one morning dead asleep. I love those jamms!

2 Months!

2009-09-09T16:22:00.005-06:00

I can't believe two months have already gone by! Here are Ava's latest stats:

Length: 22.5" 50%

Weight: 10lbs 4oz 25%

Head Circ: 38.8cm 50%

She's only 25th percentile for weight but her cheeks (on both ends) make her seem higher than that. Cooper calls her 'little chubba chubba'

Blessing Day

2009-08-04T16:49:00.005-06:00

We blessed our little Ava on Sunday and we had tons of family and friends join us. Justin did such a good job. I'm so thankful for the priesthood and that I have a husband worthy to hold it. We are truly blessed!

Our cute fam and Coop cheesin'

All her grandparents except for two. Awesome huh?

Her little booties. My great grandma Blackburn made these for my sister who Ava is named after and my grandma Brown embroidered the little flowers. She also made the blessing blanket for her. Good thing we have talented people in the fam otherwise it would all come from the store!

Auntie Necia made her adorable dress-Thank you Necia!!

~Four generations~

Almost everybody who came

It was pretty hot at the luncheon after and this is who Coop ended up and soaking wet! Love the saggy drawers

2009-07-23T16:37:00.001-06:00

My aunt's friend, Kimbra, played around with her camera and took pics of Ava and they turned out pretty dang cute! It helps that she's so cute though. Thanks Kimbra!

2 Week Follow Up

2009-07-23T15:21:00.007-06:00

Length: 21in 50th percentile

Weight: 7lbs 11oz 10th percentile

Head Circ: 37cm 50th percentile

We went to Ava's 2 week follow up (she is actually 3 weeks old) and she's doing great! She has gained abt a lb since she was born-FINALLY a kid that eats! and is getting stronger and more alert all the time. We got a referral for the geneticists but when I called to make the appt they don't have any availability until this time next year-Wow! They must be busy. So we won't know more about the genetic part of things until then. She also has mrks on her forehead, eye, and nose that I thought was bruising but it hasn't gone away so I asked the dr about it and she said it was an 'Angel kiss'. It is just thin skin that you can see the capillaries through. It will go away as she gets older. I'm pretty sure my sister who passed away was the one that gave it to her! Just a good luck kiss on the way out of heaven right? =)

I said I would update on her arms and how that is all going. When she was born everything was pretty much as we suspected as far as the length and number of fingers on each arm. When they laid her on my tummy after she was born we noticed that one of her fingers on her left arm (they were both tiny-I will post pics) was just hanging by a thread pretty much. It turns out that it wasn't functional so they decided to remove it. We cried for a little bit about the loss but were just thankful that everything else was ok. Other than that it is good. Her right arm is about half the length of a normal arm with 2 fingers on it and her left arm is about a quarter of the length with just the one little finger now. We just love her so much and hope that she will be able to do as much as Justin's brother. I am so glad that we knew before hand because it made it much easier but sometimes when I am holding her I am overcome with what challenges might be in store for this sweet little girl. I am still so grateful for all of the prayers on our behalf. It has made it much easier. We are just thankful that she is dong well!

It's kind of hard to see but this is the best pic I have of her fingers before they removed it. It was the finger closest to her body that they took off.

Bear Lake Baby!

2009-07-23T15:17:00.002-06:00

We survived our annual trip to Bear Lake once again! Even with a 2 week old baby. It was awesome and Coop had a blast with all the family he had to play with. He was pretty sad when we got home actually. Check out Ava's little swimmy. Cute huh? I didn't get as many pics as I wanted because it felt like I was feeding babies most of the time but here are a few. I even got to wakeboard so it was great. I'm always sad to leave but we'll be back next year... =)

Happy Independence Day

2009-07-23T15:09:00.002-06:00

We had a great 4th! Justin and Cooper went to the big parade, we had a bbq, picked fresh peas, hung out with fam, and watched the fireworks! We are grateful for the opportunity to live in this great country!

2009-07-05T16:05:00.005-06:00

Introducing...

Ava Marne

June 28, 2009

6lbs 12oz

20in

( Cooper picked out her bow)

In between contractions, anxiously awaiting Ava's arrival!

Ava and Daddy

Mom and Ava

Proud big brother! He thought she was so funny! He's going to be such a good big bro

The pink flowers are a lei Cooper brought Ava from my Grandparents 50th anniv. luau

He even got to help with her first bath!

Some of our visitors

Jackie~Oakley~Ava~Lindy

One of my best friends from high school had her baby the day after me and was in the room across the hall. We couldn't have planned it better!

Birth Story~if anyone is interested

I know some people will be curious to know if I really went through with an all natural delivery and I'm proud to say...Yes! We did it! Thank goodness labor wasn't too long otherwise it would have been a little more difficult. Justin had been out of town camping (I know, it sounds bad but he wasn't far away and I figured I'd be late so I wasn't too worried) so I was all ready to sleep in with no kids at home, but plans changed a little! My water broke at 6:45am so I called Justin and told him to come home. I just started washing clothes and getting last minute stuff done so it would be ready for when we got home. Justin got home about 8am with Cooper who had been sick all night =( We just hung out at home because I only had a few contractions. I started to get a little worried because she wasn't moving very much so we called my Mom to come over. She got there about 2:30 and the contractions started to get closer together and more intense. We got to the hospital at about 3pm and they hooked me up to the monitors just to make sure everything was alright, which it was so they took me off of them so I was able to move around. I was dilated to a 5 when we got there. I was surprised because I hadn't had too many contractions. We were able to just hang out in between contractions and then when one would come Justin would push on my back as hard as he could because most of the pain was in my back which helped a lot! He was a dang good coach actually. After a few hours they got really intense and much closer together. They hooked me up to the monitors again and all of a sudden the contractions were VERY close together and VERY intense so I was pretty much begging to get off the monitors and into the tub. They came and took me off a few minutes later but it felt like forever and I was able to get in the tub. I was hoping it would take all of the pain away (ha, ha) but it definitely helped. I was in there for a few contractions and then I had to push so the midwife made me get out (we weren't such great friends at that point!) I didn't want to have her in the tub but when you are in pain it's so hard to move! So I was able to get to the bed and about a half hour later she was here! Pushing-not so much fun but thankfully it didn't last very long. She's perfect and adorable and healthy. We are so in love with her it's not even funny! I will tell you more about her arms and all those details a little later since this post is forever long. Thanks to all those who have helped us this past week! We love our little girl!

Daddy Time

2009-07-05T15:58:00.002-06:00

Coop and Justin went on the annual June Safari with the guys in Justin's fam. This is what they did on my due date. I'm sure Coop loved every minute of it. Before he got on the horse he asked, "Horses buck us off?" We went to the rodeo the week before. He was a little worried but once he found out they were nice horses he was in for a ride!

Top of the 'D'

2009-07-05T15:50:00.002-06:00

Justin and his bro derick entered the men's doubles tennis tourny for Strawberry Days and won first place in the 'D' Division! Me, Cooper, and Derick's fiance Sheryl were there to cheer them on when they got their trophies! Maybe next year Wimbledon...

This is how our garden grows

2009-06-18T23:18:00.001-06:00

Ok so he looks a little drugged but I couldn't get a good picture! This is our first baby carrot we found! I went to thin them out again and-Surprise, surprise we had a carrot! He was so excited and he even ate it.

Jump On IT!

2009-06-18T22:59:00.003-06:00

What do the kids do in a building full of trampolines?

Ride the elephant

Aren't they cute?

That's Coop's cheese-it was the longest elephant ride ever!

The 3 little monkeys

(Spencer, Jaden, Cooper)

and go down the slide!

The only way Cooper dared go down the slide without holding Jaden's hand

I should go back and jump around just to see if we can get this baby here!

HolY mOLy!

2009-06-15T14:30:00.004-06:00

So, take a look on the right hand side of your screen. See the little baby swimming around and then look at the number underneath. 12!! Less than 2 weeks until the due date. Once again-HOLY MOLY! I am so ready to be done. As my good friend Becky said, "Ready to not be pregnant but not quite ready for a baby". Yeah something like that! There's still a bunch we need to do but if I started having contractions today I think I could get it all done before she actually got here. =) I mean I'll probably have like 10 hrs right?

I am a little nervous about the whole having 2 kids thing and other stuff like making sure everything else is ok but I am so ready to just have her in my arms. I know there's a couple people out there that feel the same way, some of which will probably have their babies before me (dang you) so good luck to ya! and I know how you feel!

p.s. Whoever made that little widget with that much room for the baby to 'swim' with 12 days left has definitely never been prego

2009-06-11T15:53:00.000-06:00

Rain, Rain go away! Come again another day!

3 little pregos...

2009-06-05T00:33:00.003-06:00

My sweet Aunt Louise threw me a shower (I will have to take pics of some of the stuff I got-seriously girl stuff is so cute) but these are some of my best friends from high school. We are all prego at the same time and 2 of us are due a week apart and 2 of the 3 are having girls! How awesome is that? We had to document it. Now if Jackie would just find out what she's having...

Kristin: due Oct, Jackie: July 5th, Me: June 27th

p.s. for those of you who have been mad I didn't have many belly shots-Here ya go!

The Love of Justin's Life

2009-06-05T00:25:00.002-06:00

Nope, not me

Her...

My Mom got us tickets to Taylor Swift for our anniversary/birthdays. Justin was just mad we didn't have backstage passes. =) She did such an awesome concert though! For real one of the best I have ever been to. They used water to make it rain at the end, she changed where she sang in the audience, and had some great dancers. I think she genuinely loves performing which makes it so much better. Thanks Mom! We had a blast

Girls Night

2009-06-05T00:21:00.002-06:00

Justin's Cousin Chelsea and I planned a girls night since the boys all go camping the last week in June, but since I'm due then we did it a little early. We packed up and headed down to good old st. George for a night. It was such a needed break!! Hard to leave Coop but I'm pretty sure he didn't even miss me. We hung out by the pool, shopped, went out to dinner, and fell asleep at like 10pm. I know-we are such partyers. It was so fun though and we didn't even crash on the way back =)

Our little Monkeys

2009-06-05T00:19:00.000-06:00

Auntie Mandi invited me to a playdate with some of her friends and their kids. Coop loved it! This is definitely one of my favorite places.

~Mother's Day~

2009-06-04T23:59:00.002-06:00

I even got a special 'massage' from Cooper after church. He's a multi-tasker

I wish I could have gotten a picture of his face when he was giving me my present! It was priceless-he was so excited for me to open it. He had no idea what it was and it was probably pretty boring to him but it was the best present ever! A massage at The Grand America Spa. Oh yeah. I can't decide if I want to use it now or after little Ava comes. How do massages work when you're prego? Scary. It was the best Mother's Day ever.

Golden Anniversary

2009-06-04T19:38:00.002-06:00

So, my awesome Grandma and Grandpa Brown had their 50th wedding anniversary in February and this is their present that I made. Holy Moly it was a lot of work but totally worth it! My Grandma makes quilts so I knew she would appreciate it. 773 pieces later it was finally done! My only regret is that I wasn't able to hand quilt it but my sister in laws Mom did such an awesome job with her machine quilter.
Happy Anniversary and I love you guys!

Another Moab Easter =)

2009-04-19T16:19:00.013-06:00

Another great year in Moab! We love our annual Jeep Safari trip it's always so much fun and now Coop is actually easier camping because he's so occupied and everything is new and cool. The Jeeps are also a hit with him, as long as they don't get too close or he starts to get nervous and say, "Mama, get me?"

Every year they do a big Easter egg hunt in a park down there so this year we went and checked it out. Coop thought it was cool and loved the Easter bunny. We couldn't find him after to get a picture though.

We also did a little Easter egg hunt for him and he didn't get off his bike for the whole thing. Good present Grandma! He even learned to ride with both feet on the pedals while we were there

That's how he puts his hat on by himself. Snicker, snicker

Love him! Chillin' by the campfire

He got some ideas from the Jeepers

Coop and uncle Devin. He was always saying, "Demin come on!" or "Demin this way!" Good thing Dev is such a good sport!

The Gang

Back: Cooper, me, Justin, Kristin, Vance, Derick, Jeff, Kyle, Matt, Devin, Andrew, Sarah

Front: Petra, Poli

April Showers bring...

2009-04-19T15:44:00.003-06:00

Baby carrots! (hopefully)

I thought it might be fun to plant a thing or two to teach coop how it works and he loved it. He did really good only putting 1 0r 2 seeds in each hole until the end and then he dumped a whole handful so we'll see what happens! Maybe this will get him to eat his veggies

That's Coop's cheese

Watering our little seeds

We planted some pear tomatoes to and they are actually growing. Yeah! We'll see if the baby carrots can withstand being snowed on a few times. Where is summer?

28 weeks and counting!

2009-04-19T15:38:00.002-06:00

I had my 28wk follow up with our new doctor a little while ago and things went great! Except for the scale but I guess that's a whole other story-ugh. First off Ava is doing well, her heart beat was normal and she's growing great which is always comforting. I love to hear the heart beat. And I really like the new doctor to. When I brought up going all nat-ur-al he was like,"yeah whatever you want to do, we do that all the time." That's much better than, "Maybe you should just tell your husband to get another job to pay for the epidural" or "anybody can have a baby without an epidural-you just lock them in a room" like the other doctor. So, I'm so glad that I switched! I'm down to 2 wk appointments which makes it start going so fast. Crazy! Now only 10 more weeks to go.

2009-03-29T16:47:00.003-06:00

Coop bein' crazy-Justin had his sunglasses on his head like this so he had to do the same thing. Seriously-I really do have a mini Justin! FYI it was BBQ/karaoke at our friends house, we don't usually listen to Johnny Cash just for fun =)

Cooper and his girlfriend

2009-03-29T16:44:00.002-06:00

Cooper's first love? You never know! He thinks Baby Kate is the cutest thing ever. He loves to hold her and even shared his dancing bunny. Who knows, we might actually be related to Mike and Becky someday!

A visit from...

2009-03-29T16:32:00.005-06:00

Great Grandma Olsen!

Uncle Dave, Cindy, Cooper, Grandma Olsen

Awesome rocking motorcycles at the Harley store. He's a natural

My grandma, uncle, and his wife came from Oregon to visit. It was so fun! Cooper has never met them and we haven't seen them since I was prego with Coop. They only stayed 2 days and completely missed the 75 degree weather =( but we still had a good time. Cooper loved having everyone at our house. He has been asking to see Grandma Olsen and wondering where they went since they left. Poor kid is stuck with just me now and I think he gets a little bored! We went to the Harley Davidson store, Justin took Dave and Cindy shooting in the mountains (pretty much what Dave came for. He has an elephant gun that gave even Justin a bruise!), Sundance, and just got to hang out. Cooper has 7 Grandma's and this was the only one he hadn't met yet. We wish they were closer but hope they will come again soon. Love you guys!

Baby Update

2009-03-13T11:22:00.003-06:00

I had my 6mo (holy moly it's gone by so fast!) appt last week and thought I'd give you an update on what's going on with our baby. I guess really nothing new, the dr said it should be just a normal delivery and he doesn't expect any complications due to the birth defects. We actually canceled the appt with the perinatologist (specialist) because we didn't feel that he was going to tell us anything we didn't already know and he said it was pretty much optional to come in. I really wanted to get another ultrasound just to see but since our maternity co-pay is $7500 we couldn't really justify it just for curiosity sake. So, everything else is good. She's growing normally and will hopefully come on time! Cooper was 2 weeks late so we'll see but we are going to Bear Lake 2 weeks after she's due so she better not be too late!

I also decided to switch doctors after my last appt. I have really liked him up until that appt and then I brought up wanting to do a natural delivery (scary! anybody who has advice feel free to give it!) and he acted like it would be a real inconvenience for him and he just kind of blew it off. He's really nice, I just think we want my delivery to go 2 completely separate ways. He wants convenient and fast and I want as little medication, forcepts, c-section etc as possible. I promise I'm not one of those crazy have my kids at home kind of people! I wanted to wait as long as I could for an epidural with Cooper to. We'll see how it goes! I just can't wait until she gets here. Sometimes I want her here so bad it hurts ya know? But on the other hand it has gone by so dang fast and we still have so much to do! All in time I guess

Typical Big Brother

2009-03-13T11:18:00.002-06:00

So, last night Cooper ran into our closet to hide (this happens a lot at bedtime and he thinks it's so funny!) and this was the conversation...

Me: "Who's hiding?"

Cooper: "Ava!"

Poor girl isn't even here yet and he's already blaming stuff on her! I have a feeling that won't be the last time it happens...

2 year Pics

2009-03-04T22:00:00.003-07:00

I really can't believe he's TWO! It has gone by so fast and he is learning so many things. He really does make us laugh everyday with all the things that he says. Today I told him the birds pooped on our truck and he insisted on seeing it and kept saying over and over, "Birds pooped truck. wash it" And then he'd laugh and say, "No, no birds!" I heard about it all day long and I don't think I'll hear the end of it until I wash it off! The mind of a 2yr old...I love it!

He looked pretty innocent in these pics but don't let him fool you. That poor bear got tossed around more in the 20 min we were there than it probably has been in its whole life!

Pay It Forward

2009-03-03T17:50:00.003-07:00

{The Rules}

1. Be one of the first THREE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me~something crafty or yummy, who knows?!

2. Winners must post this challenge on their blog, meaning that they will 'Pay It Forward,' creating a handmade gift~anything, for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on their post about this giveaway!

3. The gift that you send to your friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts.

♥ ♥ ♥

I have found this on a few of my friends blogs (and I've been lucky enough to leave a comment on all of them!) so I figured I better get it on my blog. I don't know what it will be, if you leave a comment and have a request-feel free otherwise it's a free for all! Have Fun!

LiOnS, and TiGeRs, and BeArS- OH MY!

2009-02-19T13:47:00.006-07:00

Alright, it was just lions but still pretty cool right? Justin had to go to Vegas for work so Coop and I decided to hitch a ride since we always miss Justin and we needed a break from the snow. While we were there Justin went to somebody's house who worked with the lions at the MGM, he actually got attacked a few weeks ago-yeah, while people were watching! Scary! But anyway, he told us that they feed them at 8pm every night and to go because that's the only time they do anything, otherwise they sleep. So, we took Coop and went. He loved it! The crew throws balls of ground meat at the glass right in front of the kids so the lions lick it off and they get to see them. He thought it was pretty funny. Sticking a meat soaked hand in a lions mouth wouldn't exactly be my dream job but it was pretty cool to watch and no one was attacked while we were there!

This is supposed to be a video of them feeding the lion but I'm not what you would call 'computer savvy' so I guess it will just be a pic (Jackie I will probably be giving you a call!)

We also made a few trips to the park while Justin was working. Not exactly warm, but so nice ot get some sun and be outside! Thanks Todd and Kim for lettin us crash at your house. Don't you love how Coop goes down the slide? He puts the skids on if he gets going too fast! =)

2009-02-17T21:07:00.005-07:00

2 year check up

Length: 36" 85th percentile

Weight: 24.4 lbs 10th percentile

Head Circ: 47.2cm 10th percentile

He's still tall and skinny! Where that gene came from nobody knows but hopefully it will stay with him. He got one shot and didn't cry, not one tear! I couldn't believe it! So he got to pick a sucker and I'm pretty sure that erased all the bad feelings about the doctors office. Kids...

Look Who's

2009-02-16T12:52:00.012-07:00

TWO!

~Not even 24 hrs old!~

~About 4mos~

~One year~

~Crazy at 2!~

~They grow up so fast!~

We had cake and ice cream at our house for Coop's birthday and it was a blast. He loved all the presents, especially his Cars Laptop, and we had fun with all our family and friends. Thanks everyone! We can't believe he is already 2. I swear he was just born yesterday.

IT'S A...

2009-02-05T13:19:00.003-07:00

GIRL!

Our cute little girl's profile

We had our 20wk ultrasound yesterday and found out that we are going to be having a little girl! We are so excited and I do know what we are going to name her but I will let that be a surprise for when she is born.

During the ultrasound we also found out that our precious little girl is going to have some very tough times ahead of her. Hopefully I will be able to write all of this and still see the computer screen! The ultrasound went fine and when she was about finished she asked if there was anything she hadn't looked at that we wanted to see. I couldn't think of anything and was ready to jump up but Justin asked about her arms. It hadn't occured to me that we hadn't yet seen them. I just figured it was because of how she was laying. When she looked around for a little bit she said, "Ok Lindy, let me just explain some of the things I saw" I knew something was wrong. Apparently her arms have not developed normally. She has one arm that goes to her elbow with 2 fingers on it. The other arm is shorter, they are not sure by how much but it looks like about half the size and it was too hard to see whether or not she will have fingers on that arm. She called over to the hospital and got us in with a specialist and a second ultrasound to verify what she had seen. She just said she hoped that she had made a mistake but I knew she hadn't.

The Specialist looked at the second x-ray and then did one of his own and explained again what he saw to us. They don't know what the cause is or why it happened. Justin's brother actually, from what we can see on the ultrasound, has about exactly the same thing. It is very rare and they don't think that it is genetic but Justin and I have a feeling genes might have something to do with it. I know I hadn't taken any medication since being pregnant but I was teriffied it was because I hadn't taken prenatal pills all that great but he assured us that definitley wasn't it. Wee are thankful that everything else looks ok. It's comforting to have Justin's brother in the family because he can do everything so that helps us know that she probably will be able to also.

I don't think all of the tears are necessarily dried, although today has been much easier than yesterday. Thanks to our family and friends who are so supportive and loving. We know that this is Heavenly Father's plan and are just thankful for the opportunity to have this sweet little girl come into our lives. It's hard for me to ask for things but I will ask for your prayers in behalf of our baby. We are ok but we are just praying that she will have the strength of spirit and character to get through all of the struggles we know she will inevitably endure. Again thanks to those who are constantly lifting us up. We love you all

Thankful

2009-01-29T13:08:00.005-07:00

I was reading a friend's blog who is an adoptive mother and I just have to recognize how thankful I am for the kid(s) that I have. I never knew before having Cooper how much you could really love somebody. I love my family and I love my husband but nothing is like the love that a parent has for their child. Even now when Cooper reaches out to hug or kiss me it almost makes me cry. How blessed am I to have been entrusted, even for just a little while, with this precious little spirit. How blessed to know that I get to teach and take care of him. Even with all the stresses and messes it is the best thing that I have ever been able to do. I feel my Heavenly Father's love more because I have him. How sad for those people who think their careers and personal aspirations are more important than their children. They will never know the joy that they could have no matter how much money or fame they acquire. Thanks to those who constantly remind me of this.

Jazz vs. Cavaliers

2009-01-26T22:29:00.004-07:00

We went on a date night with a few of our friends to the Jazz vs. Cavaliers game. We sat about 6 rows from the top but it was still so fun to be there. We were pretty sad the Jazz didn't win but there were some amazing plays by Lebron and the boys (and the Jazz to of course). It's always fun to go support our team!

High School Tag

2009-01-24T14:51:00.004-07:00

Ok, I am a such a nerd and wasn't tagged with this but it was so dang funny on my sister-in-law's blog that I stole it (sorry Andrea!) Definitely brings back lots of memories and makes me laugh!

1. Did you date someone in high school? Yes.
2. What kind of car did you drive? Unfortunately none, except if you count the green Saturn that was supposed to be mine but I didn't have a license (uh-oh)
3. Did you pass your driver's license test the first time? Of course.
4. Were you a party animal? Not unless you count h.t.ing at BYU approved housing at 2:30am
5. Were you considered a flirt? Never.
6. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? Nope
7. Were you a nerd? I wish I would have been
8. Were you on any varsity teams? No
9. Did you ever get suspended or expelled? No
10. Can you still sing your fight song? I should be able to considering how much we sang it but no
11. Who were your favorite teachers? Mrs. Brown and you gotta love Schoonover
12. Where did you sit at lunch? Commons, Taco Bell, football field
13. School mascot: Bulldogs baby
14. School colors: Kelly green and white
15. Did you go to homecoming and who with? Yes, Geoff Brown Jr. year and Alex Scobell Sr year
16. If you could go back and do it again, would you? Yeah, I would do a lot of things different but high school was pretty fun
17. What do you remember most about graduation? Not much.
18. Where did you go on Senior Skip Day? I don't think we had one.
19. Were you in any clubs? Clubs? With sports med but now I can't remember its name
20. Have you gained weight since then? Uh yeah. Unfortunately.
21. Who was your prom date? Dan Stevenson, Matt Goddard
22. Are you planning on going to your 10 year reunion? Probably, I would have gone to my 5 but they are gay and sent e-mails instead of real invites. Seriously whose e-mail is the same as when they were in high school?
23. Did you have a job while in high school? Janitor and telemarketing
24. Worst class? Chemistry
25. Favorite class? Sports Medicine and First Aid

Ok I nominate Jackie, Alexis, and Marianne. Have fun!

It's True!

2009-01-22T14:01:00.004-07:00

We are having a baby! I guess I should officially announce it on the blog since I have the little widget of a floating baby-yes I am pregnant and due June 27, 2009, 2 days before Justin's birthday. I am 18 weeks right now so that's about 1/2 way. CrAZy! It has gone by so fast. This pregnancy has been quite a bit different than Coop. I haven't been as sick but now it is mostly at night. I'm ready for bed at like 10 o'clock! We are going to find out what it is Feb. 4th. Cooper doesn't know what is going on yet. I tell him, "Mommy has a baby in her tummy!" and he looks at my stomach and says, "Where'd it go?" So, maybe when the baby gets bigger but that would be a pretty hard concept for such a little kid! The baby is moving quite a bit now which I love-that's the best part about being pregnant. We are excited and wanted to share the news!

Baby's first picture (abt 10wks). Cute huh? It is a profile with the head on the left, little tummy, and one little leg. Can't wait to meet them!

Winter Fun

2009-01-21T16:42:00.004-07:00

Oh baby-here I go!

We had to keep his face warm somehow on the snowmobile

He loves to be pulled around on the sled

We're BaAck!

2009-01-21T15:40:00.002-07:00

Alright, I have been the biggest slacker with this blogging thing but we finally got a new computer (before Christmas but that can count as "just" right?) so that we can download the pics directly onto it. Before we had an ancient laptop from the 1990's so that is a major improvement. So, hopefully now that things have settled down after the holidays we can start the blogging once again. Lots has happened and we've done tons of fun stuff this summer and winter but I won't try to catch up or I will never get to the present. Anyway, we are finally back and ready for action. Sorry to those of you who lost interest like 6mos ago when we kind of fell into the black hole! But enjoy

Bear Lake 2008

2008-11-25T15:22:00.002-07:00

We LOVE Bear Lake! It's definitely one of my, maybe even my favorite, trips of the year. We get to swim, play mini golf, dodge the Bear Lake Monster, and wakeboard (my favorite). We were even able to put Coop to bed and go boarding at sunset. Can't get much better than that. We go with Justin's whole family and it's a blast! We even saw Elder L. Tom Perry there. He walked by and it was all I could do to stop myself from suffocating him in a hug. I had a pic but once again it got erased. Seriously, so mad

Such a stud. Even while he's chasing the seagulls. One of his favorite pastimes.

Haylie and Cooper are only about 5mos apart and have fun playing together~especially if they are making trouble. They chased the birds, tore all of the tassles off of a little girls bike and jumped like monkeys on anything they could find.

Cooper was also very concerned about the sand on his arm that he couldn't seem to get off. We had a blast and even survived family pics! I can't wait to go back next year!!!

p.s. I really do have a husband but for some reason we are never in the same place to get pics at the same time!

6 years and counting...

2008-11-25T15:06:00.003-07:00

Happy Anniversary Baby!

For our 6th anniversary we stayed at Anniversary Inn in the Jungle Safari room. It was pretty cool. The trunk of the elephant was a shower that went into a jacuzzi tub and the bed was set up in a tree with a waterfall coming down it. We got to go to dinner and a movie and sleep in! It was awesome. We had some other cool pics but they got erased from my camera and I was so mad! Oh well, that's why one year olds shouldn't play with them. I can't believe it's been that long but it has been awesome and we're looking forward to many more.

Independence Day

2008-11-25T15:03:00.001-07:00

We went to the annual parade in Provo, which Cooper loved! I thought he would be running everywhere but I guess there was enough to keep him entertained that he just stayed put with me and sprayed people with the water gun! We also had a picnic in the park where they played in the little pond, and watched Thanksgiving Point fireworks. It was fun. Hopefully next year Justin won't have to work during the day!

ThE zOo

2008-11-24T15:09:00.009-07:00

We had so much fun at the zOo with Hayden, Haylie, Andrea and Grandma Milne! The kids loved the animals, the zoo train and squirting each other with water guns. It was a great day. We will definitely do it again next year.

Forget taking a picture, they are ready to get started!

Spraying Grandma with the water gun (I love that picture)

The giraffe's were so cool. They even had a pretty new baby one

Luckily we didn't have to heed this warning

Coop a little nervous about the water spraying elephant

June

2008-11-24T14:30:00.006-07:00

June was a great month! We had my 25th birthday (I know I'm so old!), Justin's 28th birthday (at least I'm not as old as him) and lots of other fun summer activities to keep us entertained. Here are a few pics from June...

Cooper discovered his LOVE of lawnmowers. Seriously he talks about them at least 3 times a day!

We had fun swimming with the cousins

Justin's annual birthday pool party/BBQ

top: Devin, Mike, Becky

bottome: Justin, Lindy, Cooper, Kristin, Vance, Barbara, Hannah, Matt

Playin' with Sadie

2008-07-18T21:16:00.003-06:00

Lake Powell sandsunsunscreen

2008-07-18T18:59:00.014-06:00

This trip was complete with sun, rain, 5ft swells, sand, fun and illegal fireworks!!! Can it get much better than that?

Not the usual sunny and 100 degree weather but we didn't sink on the way to the houseboat and Cooper slept through the 5ft swells and rain!

Just sunscreened+sand+shovel=hours of fun!
Cooper loved it. I was so worried about him running straight to the water but he barely even tried. Give him some sand and a shovel and he's good to go for hours!

Good Morning!

It was close quarters for everyone that didn't have a room because it was too cold to sleep up on the deck. These are all of Cooper's cousins and a couple of their friends.

*Lizard Habitat*

This is a yearly tradition for all of the kids. They catch as many lizards as they can, name them, and play with them until the lizards are no longer responding. You can see Cooper 'pointing' (actually trying to squish) the lizards in the bottom picture. He thought they were so cool. They actually caught a baby duck one year to!

Captain Cooper

There is a steering wheel up top and in the houseboat. Both kept him occupied for all the time he wasn't in the sand. And he found out where the horn was (left picture) I'm sure our neighbors loved that!

Cooper in the giant hole he dug out with his tiny shovel. =)

This is really how it was dug. Uncle Devin is his favorite

The Fam

The houseboat and Justin apparently shotputting a rock

Hide-n-Seek Animals

2008-06-02T09:22:00.003-06:00

This book is one of Cooper's favorites. It's from our ultra touchy-feely (I know it's cool) so it has multiple touchy-feely's on every page. It also has flaps that the animals are hiding under. My favorite part are the little chicks with fuzzy bellies. SO CUTE!! This is a top 10 best seller and one our family's faves.

2008-05-29T23:27:00.000-06:00

I CAN'T HELP IT!!

I love change!

Awesome Find

2008-05-29T11:54:00.003-06:00

Alright, I found the coolest swimsuit place! I always have such a hard time finding swimsuits that I like and my aunt-in-law told me about a place called Hapari so I went to the store and I love it!!! I wish they were a little cheaper because I think paying much for that little amount of fabric is ridiculous. But quality (and support=)) does go a long way, because after kids-let's face it-nothing is quite the same! They have regular length and long which is so great. I guess they used to do parties but it got so busy they opened a store in AF. Check it out

2008-05-27T12:23:00.002-06:00

The Science Experiments are so awesome. It says 10yrs and up but kids even as young as 4 would love them. Just a few of the experiments are the crystal rock candy you can grow (awesome!), light bugs that you make out of batteries, and monsters that erupt from a bottle! It's great for the 'summertime slump' when you need things to keep 'em occupied.

2008-05-27T12:14:00.003-06:00

15 mo Follow Up

Length: 32" ~75th percentile~
Weight: 20lbs 7oz ~5th percentile~
Head circ.: 46.2cm ~25th percentile~

He's so skinny! We're still doing 2-3 Pediasures a day! (That's pretty much baby Ensure) Hopefully he'll chunken up sometime soon. Maybe he just has a skinny gene-although I'm not sure where he would have gotten that from! =)

2008-05-18T17:07:00.002-06:00

A little about the 'pick of the week'. There are 50 cards and one dry/erase marker. There is an activity to do on each side of the card. I just saw these and they're awesome!! Someday Cooper will be old enough to play with them. They have mazes, matching games, activities, and things to draw. It's awesome for a road trip or church!

2008-05-18T17:03:00.002-06:00

So, I was getting ready one day and I went looked down the hall to see what Cooper was doing because he had been quiet for awhile (never a good sign) and this is what I found...

On the right foot and everything!
The learning curve

2008-05-18T17:01:00.000-06:00

The difference between boys and girls...

~Mother's Day~

2008-05-18T16:42:00.003-06:00

I LOVE being a Mom!! Cooper is the best thing to ever happen to us! I would not trade being able to stay home with him for anything in the world-lovin' or $$! I have the best hubby ever. I got to sleep in, had breakfast made for me, got a dang nice sofa table that I've been wanting for a long time, and a book by President Hinckley. It was an awesome day

Here are some of the girls in my fam

Sadie~Grandma Brown~Auntie Mandi~Starr~Camille~Mom~Cooper~Me (no I'm not pregnant!! It's one of those questionable shirts that you think are cute in the store until and then you see them in a picture. I'm pretty sure I'll never wear it again!)
Me and Coop (he gave me this flower-with a little help)
My sister passed away when she was 18 yrs old and my grandparents planted this tree in memorium. It's so pretty huh? Perfect Mother's Day backdrop

-Vegas-

2008-05-18T16:41:00.000-06:00

Justin had to work in Vegas so Coop and I went along for the ride. Luckily he has an aunt and uncle there with a pool (Ahhh...) so we got to have some fun in the sun and Cooper got to rock out to Guitar Hero. He's a natural

2008-05-18T16:22:00.002-06:00

I LOVE this picture! This is Cooper (I promise that's not his hoodie-I forgot one and that was a spare at my Grandma's) and my cute Grandpa Brown. He got to hang out with my grandparents for awhile and loved being in the swing and watching them work. I'm glad he has such good role models!

lil' G

2008-05-18T16:17:00.002-06:00

My friend, Jackie, and I went up to the outlets in Park City (don't waste your time the deals aren't any better!) and I got these cute glasses for Cooper. I don't know how long they'll stay on this summer but he'll be stylin' while it lasts =)

Gettin' Ready

2008-05-18T16:10:00.002-06:00

This is what happens while I get ready. Everything that I'm not using ends up just like this with Cooper trying to figure out how it's used. Usually he holds the blow dryer or curling iron up to his head. Monkey see, monkey do! At least he doesn't have a razor right?

Softball Wifeys

2008-05-18T16:02:00.002-06:00

Cooper~Me~Melissa~Carly~Andy~Marianne~Spencer

These are all the cute softball wifeys and my favorite reason for going to watch the games-sorry babe! Our husbands (and before we had babies-us) have been on the same league for a few years now so it's always fun to hang out.

HeEEee

2008-05-18T15:57:00.003-06:00

This is Cooper's new horse! He loves the Swiffer. He'll often come to Justin or I saying, 'Hmm, hmm' (which is what he says when he wants something, along with the sign for please) and pointing to the pantry door. Not a bad way to keep him entertained, until of course, my walls are green with scuffies

2008-05-18T15:45:00.003-06:00

All for...

Pick of the Week

2008-05-07T22:18:00.002-06:00

I just have to tell you a little bit about 'Mouse About the House' (my book pick of the week) because it's so hard to tell from the pics. The mouse comes out of a little plastic pouch and there is a slot on every page that he goes through to the next page. Kids love it because it's really hands on. It is Cooper's FAVORITE book! He always does the sign for 'book' when he sees it and points to it because he loves to read it. Anyway, I thought I'd tell you because the pictures don't do it justice

I Can't Imagine

2008-05-02T21:40:00.006-06:00

So, I am watching 20/20 and they are interviewing the McCann's, the parents of the 4 year old girl who was taken from her hotel room while they were on vacation in Europe. It makes me want to cry. Whenever I see stuff like that. Before you have kids you think, "Oh that's so sad..." But after you have kids and you know how much you love them and what it would be like if anything ever happened to them, I don't think there are words to express what you feel. I probably get a little too paranoid about stuff like that. I think I'm going to have to take some kind of Valium to send Cooper on the bus by himself! He'll probably be the poor kid that makes me drop him off a block away from his high school because I'm too paranoid to let him go by himself. =/ I never thought I would be an overprotective mom but now I don't know if I'll be able to help it! Anyway, we're so blessed to have our sweet little baby sound asleep and safe in his room. Count your many blessings...

2008-05-01T17:27:00.000-06:00

It's been forever but I finally posted new stuff. Have a ball ya'll

Loungin' with Dad

2008-05-01T17:24:00.003-06:00

I got this chair awhile ago but it has always scared him because it has the foamy beans inside that make a lot of noise so he'd never sit on it. He's finally gotten his courage and this to chill on his little Madagascar Chair

~Four Generations~

2008-05-01T17:20:00.002-06:00

Grandpa Brent, Dad, Grandpa Mark

and Me!

Petting Zoo

2008-05-01T17:15:00.001-06:00

Or as Mandi say, "Germs, germs, and more germs!" We had fun despite the germs. Check out the baby goat. It's pretty much the cuttest thing ever (except Cooper of course)

WHO'S birthday is it?

2008-05-01T16:50:00.006-06:00

No, that's not blood on Cooper's mouth. It is delicious, whippy, creamybuttery, elmo icing. Cooper got into it just as much as Sadie (my cousin who is 10 mos older than Coop). I will have to remember that next time he has a meltdown...

ker...BONK!!

2008-05-01T16:45:00.004-06:00

How sad huh? He missed a step and fell down 2 CEMENT steps and landed on his head. It's kind of hard to see in this picture but he had the biggest goose egg I've ever seen. He hardly even cried. He's my tough kid

Dad's little buckeroo

2008-05-01T16:41:00.003-06:00

CoOPer's FiRSt JaZZ gAMe

2008-04-15T20:03:00.002-06:00

He actually had a fun time at the game. I'm sure the people in front of us who got 1/2 a hamburger thrown at them had a good time to...
Jazz totally killed the Spurs. It was awesome

Story Time With Grandma

2008-04-15T20:02:00.000-06:00

Sunday Entertainment

2008-04-15T19:56:00.002-06:00

This camping table came in handy while I was getting ready for church. This is how Justin kept Cooper occupied. I would never have thought of this so it's a good thing I have Justin! Cooper loves it. I pull it out still every now and then. He has figured out how to walk up it in bare feet to=)

*Justin*Lindy* *Cooper*Ava*

Kindergarten

Second cast

And it happened...

That's why Heavenly Father sent me

2010 ChRisTmaS

At 30 weeks...

Bye, bye baby bye, bye

Holy journal entry!

It's been awhile...

For Great Grandma Olsen

Two Wheels BABY!

Ava @ 10 Mos is...

FYI

GoOD cLeaN fUn

Tulip Festival

ZoO

2nd Generation 'Brigade'

~9 Month Follow Up~

Ahh...the simple things

Potty Training

2 Mos and so cute!

"Shot deer with arrow?"

2 Months!

Blessing Day

2 Week Follow Up

Bear Lake Baby!

Happy Independence Day

Daddy Time

Top of the 'D'

This is how our garden grows

Jump On IT!

HolY mOLy!

3 little pregos...

The Love of Justin's Life

Girls Night

Our little Monkeys

~Mother's Day~

Golden Anniversary

Another Moab Easter =)

April Showers bring...

28 weeks and counting!

Cooper and his girlfriend

A visit from...

Baby Update

Typical Big Brother

2 year Pics

Pay It Forward

LiOnS, and TiGeRs, and BeArS- OH MY!

Look Who's

IT'S A...

Thankful

Jazz vs. Cavaliers

High School Tag

It's True!

Winter Fun

We're BaAck!

Bear Lake 2008

6 years and counting...

Independence Day

ThE zOo

June

Playin' with Sadie

Lake Powell sand*sun*sunscreen

Hide-n-Seek Animals

Awesome Find

~Mother's Day~

-Vegas-

lil' G

Gettin' Ready

Softball Wifeys

HeEEee

Pick of the Week

I Can't Imagine

Loungin' with Dad

~Four Generations~

Petting Zoo

WHO'S birthday is it?

ker...BONK!!

Dad's little buckeroo

JustinLindy* CooperAva*

Lake Powell sandsunsunscreen