So Happy Together...Sometimes!

They have their good moments and their not-so-good moments, 
but little by little Eden and Noah are starting to get along.  

One thing that seems to have helped is their sleeping arrangements.  They used to have their own rooms, but right before they started sharing a room when Sarai was born, Eden decided she wanted to sleep in Noah's room because she was scared.  Then we moved them into the same room and they each had their own bunk, but Eden decided that still was not safe enough.  Now they both sleep on the top bunk (Noah's), one at each end with their feet in the middle (the pictures are actually on Dad & Mom's bed).  Occasionally, one of them has to fall asleep on Dad & Mom's bed because they are pesting the other one, but generally they get along up there and seem to be better friends because of it. 

Check out the pictures of them in the snow clothes...that actually fit them when they were 6-12 months old!  So silly, but silly together and that is a-ok!  They also love to take baths together, but don't usually get to because they make so much noise and get water everywhere!!!

Eden and Mommy made this fort and played in it for about an hour (Mommy was Eden's "number one helper!") and then Eden had fun showing everything to Noah when he woke up from his nap.

Sarai Month 5 & 6

Month 5

I'm getting big!  I have slept my last time in the Moses basket and am now in the crib.  I have the same silky blanket under my head to try to keep my hair intact and a silky bunny toy to stick my face into that helps me sleep.  Mom has let me suck on watermelon a few times and I love it!  Don't even try taking my fork away!  I can sit in the bumbo seat (called the bum-bum at our house) and play in my "jungle gym," as Daddy calls it.  I love playing with toys, hanging out with Eden and Noah, and being outside.

Month 6

I have now gone swimming and sort of thought it was okay.  I've started eating "real food" (like rice cereal, avocados, sweet potatoes, bananas, applesauce...yum!).  I learned how to make a new face--Mom thinks it means that I want something and am not getting it fast enough, but I also just seem to do it for fun sometimes and it makes everyone laugh...a lot!  I am starting to be able to sit up all by myself, Mom just has to be sure my legs are wide enough apart to give me a good base.  I'm way busy and have to be grabbing stuff all the time!  We got out some warmer clothes this month and I am definitely bigger than Eden was at my age.  I am a super happy baby and my family loves me!

Summer Fun!

Wheeler Farm

Does early May count as summer?  Probably not, especially when it was this cold, but I forgot to post this so here it is with the summer fun.  At the first hint of warmth and sunshine we headed to Wheeler Farm (in Murray) with "Aunt Brynn" and little Madi to check out the animals and have a picnic.  It was chilly, but fun!  The kids especially loved petting the bunny and hearing the turkey gobble.  Noah wanted to catch a chicken and loved seeing the tractors.  Eden thought the goats that stood up on their hind legs were pretty crazy!  

 Cedar Mountain

We went to the Sheffield's cabin on Brian Head for the 4th of July.  It was fun being with family, but we were all pretty sick, especially Noah.  You would never guess it from these pictures near Navajo Lake--he is such a cutie (a few days later he was ripping a syringe out of his leg at the Instacare in Parowan).  The kids all just love to be outside, especially out in "the wild".  

Lake Powell

The last trip to Lake Powell (in that houseboat. ever? sad!)!  It was a really fun trip despite the fact that we were all still sick after going straight from the cabin to the lake!  The kids loved playing on the beach which they named San Diego (because of the sand, ya' know?).  They liked riding on the tube until it swamped.  Eden managed to hang on and just get a quick dunking. Noah was not so lucky.  Good company, good food, good scenery, bad sleep!

Lillywhite Family Campout  

Camping with the whole Lillywhite Clan on Cedar Mountain was a blast!  The cousins all had fun playing and fighting together, Lou and Bryan found a gorgeous and roomy spot, we went on a perfect-for-our-group hike, and had fun talking, playing, and eating together.  Noah had fun wandering with his buddies (Koen, Brenden, and Zade) and fighting with them for the exclusive use of Brady's trucks.  Eden palled around with Ellie and Gaige, mostly exploring and playing "house".  Sarai and Eden slept like angels while Noah kept Mom and Dad hopping in the tent, especially the first night.  Better sleep next year!

Bountiful Peak

We went camping with Jeff, Carla, and Houston up on Bountiful Peak at the end of August.  We found a nice spot, got the dutch oven going, went for a little walk and found an even better spot just down the road!  D'oh!  Sooo...we finished dinner and moved to the new and improved spot!  The best part about it was the view!  You could look out over the whole valley and watch the sunset over the lake right from the camp spot!  The food was all yummilicious, the kids all slept pretty well and had fun exploring and getting dirty!  We drove over the hill the next day and checked out the beaver ponds.  Good times!

Hangin' with Noah

Some Random Shots of Our Little Man!

Noah is a very good boy!  Here's some examples:
He loves "Sweet Sawai", shares even his favorite toys with her and gives her lots of love. 
He sits still for haircuts and turns his head how Mom wants it (he very occasionally wants rubber bands in his hair like Eden, but they have to be yellow and green--his favorites).
He plays REALLY well by himself if he doesn't get pested.
He only cried for about a minute when he got stung on the forehead by a wasp--killer!
P.S. One picture is him showing off his "holito" (holy toe) as Aunt Weed called it.  Now he always tells us, "I'm not Holito" whenever he puts on something with a holy toe.

More Random Shots!

Noah loves reading books (we get a lot of "boy books" from the library these days), playing with cars, trucks, and airplanes, building tons of creative things with megablocks, taking care of his critters (his favorites are Rocko the lion, Bay-er the bear, and Dog the dog that Sarai gave him when she was born), swimming in the bath, etc.  He has a great imagination and a smile that melts his mom's heart! 

A Few More Randoms!

Noah also loves to ride his bike, especially with Grant, his friend next door.  He loves dirt!   He thought swimming this summer was okay and camping was even better.  He gets away with a bit more than he should because of his big, blue eyes! 

A few excerpts from a recent interview in his journal:

What is your name?  Noah Bahdoo

What are you?  A car...a yellow Jeep.

How old are you?  Fwee (three)...i'm fwee to jump on the trampoline (he's actually still two).

What is your favorite color?  Yewoh and dween (yellow and green).

What is your favorite toy?  My cars and my bear.

What do you like to do with Daddy?  Help him with his tools. 

What do you like to do with Mommy?  Cook and read books...I want to read books right now.

What do you like to do with Eden?  Play with her.

What do you like to do with Sarai?  Play with her and sing to her.

What do you like to do outside?  Ride my bike and ride Grant's bike.

What do you want to be when you grow up?  A boy.  Or The Lion King!

Where is your favorite place to go?  To the doctor to play with his toys.

Should we keep you?  No, give me to grandma.

It's All About Eden!

Chillin' Eden Style:

Even though she is not prissy, Eden loves all things girly.  She loves putting on her makeup (the white under her eye is to help her "not look tired"), wants her hair down and with a headband everyday if Mom will let her and would love to wear a dress or skirt everyday.  The chubby cheeks are a bad case of grapes!

Workin' Hard:

Eden is Mom's #1 helper!  She helps a ton with Sarai, is Mom's main "goffer", and helps with cooking, cleaning, and folding laundry.  She cooks all the tortillas these days and sometimes cooks 20 or more!  She has learned about using tools from helping Dad with the perpetual remodeling.


Sparkly!

Eden obviously loved doing sparklers this year.  She is such a fun girl with a lot of personality who keeps us laughing and on our toes.

Eden (Camera) Bug:

Eden loves to take pictures!  The self-portraits are particularly lovely!  Imagine this in the days of film!

A few excerpts from a recent interview in her journal:

What is your name?  Eden Bug

How old are you?  Four in a whole.

What is your favorite color?  Purple and pink and blue and black and brown...all of the colors in the world except white because white is not a pretty color.

What class are you in at church?  The very front...the four-year-old class.

What is your favorite toy?  Polly and Chrysanthemum (my bears).

What is your favorite thing to do at home?  Take a bath in my swimsuit...I also like swimming in the swimming pool with Carla and Houston and my life jacket.

What do you like to do with Daddy?  Talk to him and sit on his lap.

What do you like to do with Mommy?  Read library books.

What do you like to do with Noah?  Play the money game (connect four) and pretend to go places in our pretend cars, trucks, and boats.

What do you like to do with Sarai?  Play with her and make her stand up and make her laugh.  When I play patty, patty cake with her it makes her smile.

What do you like to do outside?  Ride my bike and play with friends.

What do you want to be when you grow up?  A mom.

Where do you like to go?  To the grocery store (because it is my favorite candy store and I love getting candy at the end) and to the library to get new books and to the park and the "equarium".

Sarai: Months 2-4

Sarai Says

Mom is still a month behind (gotta' download more pictures), but here is a bit of an update on ME!

Month 2

I've been growing like crazy!  I spend a lot of time eating, sleeping, and being cute!  I also go all over the place with Mom, Eden, and Noah--shopping, the aquarium, the farm, the park...!  I like hanging out with our family and using them as beds!  I'm learning to smile and just broke out in baby zits--boo hoo! I am just starting to sleep through the night!!

Month 3

Look at me!  I am now an amazing smiler and spend a lot of time doing just that.  I can laugh now, too!  I have discovered my toes and like to grab them and taste them and am just starting to grab toys.  I like hanging out with Dad and Mom in the evening and like to look at all the pretty colors on the TV!  I like my swing still and sometimes fall asleep in that magical thing!  Mom and Dad think I'm an "angel baby".  After my rough start it is a huge relief to Mom how much weight I keep gaining and how quickly I'm developing skills!

Month 4

I'm getting some sweet skills!  I love toys and sit up in the bumbo (called the bumbum at our house) and play with/eat them.  I am busy all the time grabbing stuff and putting it in my mouth.  If I'm awake I won't lie flat, even to see if my little cousin, Houston, is as big as me.  I went to Lake Powell this month, but didn't get any pictures of that.  I bring a lot of joy into our house!

Anniversary #9!

Has it really been that long?  A fun, relaxing evening:

Happy Birthday #33, LB!

For Lance's birthday what would you do other than head to the hills?  Good thing he was born in June so the mountains would be beautiful and calling his name, right? 

One year we drove over the Continental Divide in Colorado right around his birthday and it was soooo cold!  Kind of a shocker for us (we are even colder than we look!)!

Well, another good thing: we don't live on the Continental Divide, so we should be good, right?  Wrong!!! Our mountains were freezing and still covered with snow for Lance's birthday--and that is just wrong!  Instead of heading to the mountains, he headed to the basement to hang Sheetrock on the ceiling--loads of birthday fun!  Thankfully, Jeff came over to help him so it was slightly less miserable.  He did get a birthday breakfast (apparently way too early) and then we had Pizza Factory and ice cream cake with Jeff and Carla. 

Check out how intensely Eden and Noah are pounding the oreos for the ice cream cake crust!  

Hanging drywall all day on his birthday is just one example of what a self-sacrificing, loving dad and husband Lance is.  He always puts his family first and we think he is amazing and the best ever!  Hopefully next birthday is a whole lot more fun!

Sweet Sarai

Sarai is now over 4 months old and is as angelic as she looks in this picture.  Aside from a tendency to spit up she is practically perfect in every way!  She is definitely thriving!

(This is my favorite picture Weed took--so cute, eh?)

P, p, P, p...What Begins with P?

....Presents, Pink, Princess, and a Birthday Party!

Eden is FOUR (and has been for about 1/2 a year now)!

She is quite the big girl now and can do things like comb her own hair (the more decorations the better, obviously) and get dressed by herself (notice she chose the exact same shirt as her last birthday).  She is a super fun girl who adds a lot of smiles and laughs to our family!

She was way excited about her presents (a princess puzzle from Jay and Brynn, new makeup, clothes for her babies, a pink wireless mouse of her own that fits her hand perfectly and...

Princess Clothes!:

Eden's big day was lots of fun.  Grandma Dorothy came over in the morning with Keumyeo, Sienna, and Raiden.  We had presents and cupcakes and went to Kangaroo Zoo, a big warehouse with tons of bounce houses that Eden and Noah love!  Eden had tons of fun "showing the ropes" to Sienna.  In the afternoon, we got to watch Beauty & the Beast (from Grandma).  Dinner, presents, and dessert with Jay, Brynn, and Maddi was a super fun finish to the day.  Also, Eden had her own little mini party at Grandma and Grandpa Lillywhite's while we were down there for Christmas and New Year's.  We decorated cookies and she got her own Genghis Khat, the cutest tiny doll, and some fun books.  She loved that too!  Pictures of that here!

Winter Fun (it is possible, Lance)!

Winter is currently a thing of the past (and hopefully the far distant future--no early winter, please!), but I wanted to post some pictures of some of the winter fun we did have.  Maybe it will be the reminder we need next winter that fun is perhaps possible despite the arctic conditions.

Temple Square:

Temple square with the lights: crowded, cold, impossible parking, and absolutely magical!  This is the second year we've taken Eden and Noah and it was way warmer (although probably not above freezing) than last year.  We drove around like maniacs trying to find parking (a difficult feat with a Jazz game going on), parked illegally, oooh-ed and ahhh-ed at the lights, met up with Jeff and Carla and then hurried off for some secret Santa shopping with Jay, Brynn, and Maddi. 

Ginger Bread House:

Isn't that cute!?  Carla made ginger bread house kits for us, Aaron and Keumyeo, and her and Jeff and got all the stuff together for us to decorate so we could carry on the Weaver tradition.  Too bad we forgot the camera for the decorating.  It was super fun!  The kids acted excited to help, but just stuffed themselves with treats until they actually complained how much their tummies hurt!  I like our psychotic snowman!

Once There Was A Snow-Woman...

Tall, Tall, Tall!

From my personal journal:  "We spent the morning outside building a 7 1/2 foot tall snowman together!  Eden loved it!  Noah is pretty sketchy about the snow even though he has all the warm gear, so he wasn't as excited.  It was sunny for a lot of the morning and after the snow-woman was complete we sledded down the side of our yard from front to backyard a few times and played with the kids on the slide.  It was nice." 

Let It Snow?

Eden loved the snow this year!  We would bundle up and she would stay out there until her feet (stuck in plastic bags and then into her shoes) couldn't take it any longer.  Noah wasn't so sure about that white stuff and tried to hide out on the porch most of the time.  Maybe this next winter we'll have to invest in some snow boots for the both of them and see if it helps!

Christmas 2011

When I worked at the pool in St. George we had an event called "Christmas in July".  I guess that is what this is since I'm seriously slow posting pictures of that holiday of holidays!  Oh, well...I just really want to be able to look back at these pictures and memories even if they were posted 6 months late!

The Dressing of the Tree:

I woke up early one morning, got out our little tree and got it ready to be decorated: fluffing the branches, adjusting the lights, and putting on the ribbon.  Noah woke up and caught me in the act.  He was super excited!  

Eden was quite the little decorator this year (and redecorated the bottom quarter of the tree pretty much everyday in December).  Noah liked trying to break things.  The Christmas Tree somehow makes the cold outside bearable, doesn't it.

Nativity "Puffets"

Grandma Lillywhite sent the cutest little nativity finger puppets and the kids loved playing with them (when they weren't missing in some very random spot).

Christmas Morning:

Christmas morning in the casita again this year.  We woke up, had a little breakfast in bed (don't tell Dorothy), opened a gift with a "little people" nativity set and arranged it piece by piece while we read about each one in the Bible.  Then it was time to open gifts to each other from each other.  Then Grandma and Grandpa Lillywhite and Grandma Kurtz came over (where was the camera?) and more presents.  Grandma Kurtz shot me in the eye with a ping pong gun!

Loot!

Eden and Noah got these little 4-wheelers obtained by Brynn and Christie at the midnight madness thing at Wal-Mart back at Thanksgiving (thanks, ladies).  Once Noah finally got the hang of his he liked it as much as Eden did!

We had a fun late-morning present opening at the Sheffield Casa, complete with a fun twist on white elephant, followed by a complete "Thanksgiving" dinner.  Then it was over to the Lillywhite homestead to visit all the cousins there.  What a fun, full day!  Too bad we didn't get a few more pictures!

Two!

So, about 6 months ago our little guy had a birthday.  I love looking back at the blog at special events in our lives so I'm posting these pictures even though they are from forever ago.

NOAH!

This little guy stole his mom's heart the moment he arrived and melts it pretty much every day with his sweet little personality.  

Look how ecstatic he is about these candles!  He was so excited for it to be his special day!  He got a tiny bit bummed out when his blows didn't seem too effective (all the air goes straight up to his eyebrows instead of forward) so we hurried and helped him out.

We had gourmet pancakes for his birthday dinner (trying to find something this little guy would love) and a chocolate cookie cake (he's not a big fan of the typical kind) for dessert.

Presents were hilarious!  He opened and sound-making, go-on-its-own car from Jay, Brynn, and Maddi first and it completely captivated his attention.  He held it for the rest of the night and had only one hand available for the rest of his presents (tool set, bear, skooty, stroller, cooking set)!

 

Here's the folks who helped him celebrate his big day:

Sarai's First Week (or so) "By the Numbers"

Here's a summary of Sarai's first week (plus some) of life "By the Numbers" (like the segment on Nightline) and a ton of pictures finally (click on the collages for a larger view)!

69: # of hours Sarai got to spend at home before going to the E.R. at Primary Children's

12: approximate # of hours spent crying by Sarai's mom during their hospital stay (most of which occurred in the first 24 hours)

10: approximate # of hours slept by Sarai's mom in the 72 hours surrounding Sarai's birth and hospitalization

12: approximate # of gowned, gloved, and masked doctors and nurses in Sarai's room upon her arrival in the PICU (freaky!)

20: # of hours straight that Sarai was too lethargic to eat anything

2: # of rooms in the PICU that Sarai stayed in

2: # of days spent in the PICU

7: # of days spent by Sarai in the hospital

11: # of visitors Sarai had in the hospital

5: # of wires coming off Sarai while in the PICU

3: average # of wires coming off Sarai while on the regular floor

 7: approximate # of times new IV's had to be started in Sarai's hands before she got her PICC line

2: # of lumbar punctures Sarai endured

79: # of labs done on fluids taken from Sarai

45: # of IV antibiotic doses given to Sarai in the hospital

3: # of antibiotics Sarai was on in the hospital

1: # of MRI's Sarai recieved

2: # of times Sarai was sedated for a procedure

4: # of failed attempts to insert Sarai's PICC line without surgical procedures

1: # of times fluoroscopy had to be used to insert a successful PICC line in Sarai's arm

15: approximate # of nurses who watched over Sarai in 12 hour shifts

2: # of teams of doctors involved in Sarai's care at all times

3: # of doctors on each team at any given time

3: # of times Sarai's mom got to leave the hospital to go home and shower

2: maximum # of consecutive hours of sleep for Sarai's mom

0: # of days it didn't snow while Sarai was in the hospital
13: # of temples in which Sarai's name was on the prayer roll

Thousands!: approximate # of prayers said for Sarai

9: # of dinners brought to Sarai's family after her birth

12: # of days at home with PICC line in Sarai's arm

39: # of IV antibiotic doses given to Sarai at home

1: # of antibiotics Sarai was on at home

2: approximate # of pounds gained by Sarai since her birth in the first four weeks of her life!

Despite the above list having some pretty gloomy numbers, after the first day (during which my eyelids were so swollen and purple from crying and not sleeping that they sort of resembled bruised hot dogs) we felt very peaceful knowing that the outcome of our hospital stay was truly in God's hands and that whatever the outcome would be was what he intended for Sarai and our family.  I was overwhelmed by feelings of gratitude for the little daily miracles we saw, most of which had nothing to do with Sarai's medical progress.  We felt (and continue to feel) truly blessed. 

Pictures of Sarai & Family Before the Hospital:

Pictures of Sarai & Family at the Hospital:

Pictures of Sarai at home before Eden & Noah got back:

Here's what life was like while we had to do the IV at home:

There's me in my sterile stuff getting ready to do the IV; there's Sarai showing off here PICC line after a bath; and there's all the stuff set out to do the IV every 6 hours.

Pictures of Sarai & Family since Eden and Noah's return:

For more pictures of what Eden and Noah were up to while Sarai was in the hospital visit here: http://lillypadgoodtimes.blogspot.com/2011/04/very-busy-and-fun-time.html

Happy Birthday Little One!

I'm not going to put all the details on this blog because it is not private (if you want more info just e-mail me), but just wanted to announce that our little sweetie arrived about a week ago!  Her name is Sarai, which comes from the Bible (it was Abraham's wife's name before it was changed to Sarah) and means "Princess". 

She was born at home at about 4:30 a.m. and everything went perfectly.  She was 7 lbs. 2 oz. and 21 inches long.  From the time we knew she was on her way until she made her entrance was only about 4 1/2 hours long.  She was born in a birthing pool and I put this next picture in so you can sort of see part of it because everyone seems interested in what exactly that is like.    

I was only in it for the last 1/2 hour and wore a swim dress.  Being in the water was really comfy.  I sort of fell asleep in there between contractions, even the last ones in between pushes.  I don't have a lot of pictures because we are not at home right now (more on that later), but will post more later.  I think she came out looking completely "unsquished"--so pretty! 

Eden got to see her moments after she was born.  The kids were both sleeping peacefully until about the time I got in the pool and could tell things were getting to the end.  Eden somehow must have known and came out of her room.  She wouldn't go back to bed and just hung around in the entry (we were in the living room) for a half hour until her sister arrived and she was able to come see her.  She was a little nervous for a minute and then really excited and so in love.  Pretty cool. 

Eden ended up waking Noah up around 5:30 or 6 and convincing him to get out of bed and come see the baby.  He was totally out of it and not really interested and went back to be immediately.  Even the next day he was much more excited about the little stuffed dog that Sarai gave him than in Saria herself.  So funny.  Pretty big difference between him and Eden who just could not get enough of her new baby!

Noah & Lance

I was looking through my old family pictures a couple of months ago and was a bit surprised when I found this one of me at about Noah's age (its actually the only picture I have of myself before age four I believe).  I thought I would post it to let people decide if Noah looks like me?  What do you think?   I think it's kind of crazy.

click on the image for a larger more crisp view.

(Posted by Lance, even though it says by Julene at the bottom)