What a Fun Halloween!

Oh my goodness, this Halloween was SO fun! (Hanna kind of looks like she has a humpback, whoops! She is still cute though!) (Don't mind the living room, its pretty messy, shocking I know!) Ry and I were taking the kids trick or treating at the river and were having so much fun. We went with my sister and her cute kids and my parents. My dad went as Donald Duck. Everyone had a blast with candy and face painting, it was great. (I really didn't get any good individual pics of the kids did I. Well I have some good videos, I hope that makes up for it. We couldn't figure out why this Halloween was SO much fun at first, but then it dawned on me, for the last TWO Halloweens we have been at Primary Children's Hospital with Ethan. Yea, the hospital as fun as it may seem to get a big bag of candy that someone donated to the hospital. (Which is amazing by the way that people give so much to those kids! Thank goodness for charity and service! People amaze me with their little kind acts of giving.) Anyhow the real deal is just so much better! We had an elephant, a cow ( Which was kind of sentimental because the nurses made Ethan a little cow costume on his first Halloween), and a lady bug. What a blast we had this year! We carved the pumpkins with the kids names this year just to mix it up a bit.
Yea for no snow this year during Halloween!
I have been working on my mom's quilt for Christmas and I would say that I am almost halfway done. Here is a little sample of one of the squares that I have just recently finished. I have found that I really like to embroider. Hope she loves it!
Hope all of you are doing well!

It Just Matches

I know that it is not Thanksgiving next, but it was the only background that I could find that would match my cute kiddos. Seth bought them these shirts in New York when I went to visit in August. They really like them. Isn't Hanna's cookie monster shirt fitting?
I finally just broke down and bought an elephant costume for Ty. He is really excited and tells everyone he sees that he is going to be an elephant. Ethan is going to be a bumble bee. My mom made the costume for my brother when he was little. It is super cute! Ethan will look extra good in it with his super skinny legs! Hanna is going to be a lady bug I think. The kids will have fun this year, but it will be hard to tell Ethan that he can't have any candy! I think that I am just going to get him a very special toy, or maybe just some coconut treat.
Ethan by the way has gained 1 1/2 lbs. in the past month! I guess the g-tube at night is the way to go for now! He also got his first "little boy accident scar." That may be confusing, but what I mean by that is all of his scars are from the hospital: central lines, surgeries, etc. And about two weeks ago he fell and had to get stitches, though it was sad we were excited that he just gets to be a little boy now!
Hanna does still weigh less than Ethan, surprising I know! I will post pics of Halloween next week. Enjoy the weekend and be safe!

Happy October!

Things are going good so far this month! I accidentally pulled out Ethan's G-Tube this morning. He screamed in pain. I felt like the worst mom in the whole entire world. You know such a good start to the fall. I have a love/hate relationship with G-Tubes. Yes they save lives, but they are such a pain for me and Ethan. I will throw a huge party when they finally take it out!
Other than that things are good. Ethan is gaining weight well. Thankfully Hanna still weighs less than him, not by much though, by only a few ounces. I wish that it could turn into fall without having the cold come along with it! I love the colors of the trees changing, and the whole season, just not the cold!
Tyler has decided that he wants to be an elephant for Halloween. Great! Except that the ones on the internet are not that cute and I don't know how to sew an elephant! Any suggestions?

Yea We Made it Home!

Ethan finally got released from the hospital yesterday afternoon. He is doing well. They changed his meds around and he weighs more then he ever has! They also put him back on his G-tube, but only at night. He is eating tons and is a happy little boy. Those doctors at Primary Childrens are my heroes! I love that they know just what to do and to try out with Ethan. I guess that's why they get paid the big bucks!
What a relief to be home! At home I don't have to worry about imposing on anyone. When we go down for short hospital visits we always stay with Ryan's grandparents. They are so sweet and hospitable! I just love those guys! It has been really fun getting to know them better! We packed up and cleaned up yesterday as we left their house and drove back to Idaho Falls, and as we pulled in our driveway we realized that we had left a load of laundry in their dryer. Whoops! Never a dull moment in our lives!

10 Months!

We made it 10 months without having to go to Primary Children's Medical Center with Ethan. Well I guess all good things must come to an end, right. We all got a tummy bug a few weeks ago and Ethan just hasn't been able to come back from it fully. He is okay, they are just working on his feeds and trying to get him back to where he should be. I could take a few weeks to get him back though. I am really sad that they are going to be putting him back on his G-Tube. I just feel like it is a step back, but it is necessary for him to get better so we will use it. :( We will do what we need to do.
I always feel such a rush of emotions when we have to go back to the hospital and remember the past 2 1/2 years. It is amazing what we can make it through! In the waiting room today I met a mom with her 9 day old baby, he weighed 4 lbs. 4 oz. when he was born and she was just trying to hold back the tears. I totally know how she felt! It is hard watching kids endure some of the things that they have to through to survive.
Anyhow, on a lighter note the rest of the fam is doing well. Ry is working hard and enjoying being done with school. . .well for now anyways. Tyler just started school last week and loves it! You can tell that his whole demeanor has changed. He is so cool now that he goes to school! He is so cute, especially with the dinosaur backpack that I got for him. Hanna started walking a few weeks ago and is everywhere! She is already climbing up everything that she can. (Yes, I am very busy, and yes I do still love it and yes, some do still call me crazy.)
I hope that everyone is doing well! Happy fall everyone!

Picture Day and Random Thoughts

We took the kids to get pictures today, and we are lucky we got any good pictures! Ethan cried all morning, and didn't want to smile or cooperate at the portrait studio. Ty was just being such a goof ball! He took one picture with his jaw stuck out, yea, really handsome! When he questions my pictures of him when he is 20 and says, "Why didn't you get a better picture of me?" I will simply tell him that that was the best picture and yes I am still a little annoyed about it! :) Hanna did pretty good, except she did not want to sit still which is not ideal for a photo shoot. In their group photo it was so hard to get them to cooperate that the only decent picture is of them all just simply looking in the direction of the camera. No smiles, just looks.
Those three have been keeping me on my toes lately! I am learning that it is quite impossible to have your house spotless with three kids 3 and under. It feels like I am playing catch-up all day long! With school done for me and school starting for Ty, I think that I will be able to start making some good headway in the housework department.
On Monday I leave for New York with my sister in law Leah to visit my brother Seth. I am so excited! I will be gone for 6 days, count them 6! No kids, just fun! I am sad to be without Ryan though, I hope that he survives with all of the kids! Don't worry, he will get even! He goes to Dallas for the BYU football game over Labor Day weekend.
Tyler is starting to say the funniest things! I wish that I had a video camera on him all day like with a reality show.He is just starting to get grammatically correct, and so I just don't expect the things he says. For instance, I will ask him is he wants something and he will say yes and then say,"well, actually. . . " He is also joking around now to, he makes me laugh and I love it!

Tons of fun!

For Ethan's birthday Grandpa and Grammy Later came to visit with uncle Jared. We had so much fun with them all! We made Ethan a Beach Ball Cake. He loved it!
We also went to Mesa Falls to enjoy the scenery, it was so beautiful! Everyone kept asking if Hanna and Ethan were twins though. I had to tell them, "no they are 11 months apart,"
and I would get the "you are crazy" look with "oh you must keep busy." Yes I am busy, but I love every (well almost every) minute of it.


The boys took Ty on his first fishing trip! He loved it! He caught 6 fish. Good job boys!
This summer has been so fun! Here are just some random pics of the kids.

You've gotta love story time with Daddy!

Oh and I finished the sweater that I was making for Hanna. I still need to weave in the strings but here are some pics of it. In one of them Hanna is wearing it and smiling but has her eyes closed.

We also had a really fun date on Segways with our neighbors. We rented them for the weekend and had so much fun! They are such a blast! Although they can be dangerous, Ryan hit a drunk guy in one of his "accidents." He wrecked a lot but he was a very risky driver! Oh and last but not least, a pic of our new car. a 2006 Toyota Sequoia. We love it! It has so much room for us and the boys love being in the way back together. (And to be honest, so do we! ;) They don't seem so loud anymore! )

It has been a busy month but its been fun!
Candis and Deven just had a Baby boy this last week named Trenton Townley Later too so congrats to them! The kids are excited to meet their new cousin!

Graduation

Ryan and I both graduate on Thursday this week. We are so excited! He will be getting his bachelors in business with an emphasis in finance and I will just be getting my associates in generals. Both of us have been going to school this summer and it has been so busy and crazy, but at least we are done. . . . .well for now anyways. :)
Thursday is also Ethan's birthday! He is such a fun little guy! He has been off of his g-tube for about 3 months now and is maintaining his weight! Big milestones for that guy! He is also talking tons, some that you can understand and some that is just plain gibberish. He is eating well too, and both of his therapists say that they won't be working with him much longer because he is almost right on track! When he was 6 months old, this part of his life that he is at right now seemed so far away and I wondered if it would ever come! Heavenly Father has blessed us and our family so much!
Tyler is starting to talk more with a better and more expounded vocab. It is so funny to talk to him and hear from his perspective how things are or how they should be. It is really hard not to start laughing, well lets be honest, I do sometimes! He is getting so grown up!
Miss Hanna is just such a fun loving girl! This week she started walking with her little play stroller. She always wants to walk, and if she can't she gets so sad. She can't walk on her own yet, but she has got a lot of determination and I think that any day now she will.
Hope that you all enjoyed the update!

Bittersweet Birthday

My Baby turned 1 this week! It was fun, but also sad to think my baby is growing up. I love my kids, and while things can get busy sometimes I wouldn't trade it for anything. I'll have to post some pics of the party later.

The Past Month

This last month Ty got to sit and play in one of Uncle Jared's planes that he fly's. It was so cool to see what he gets to do for school! You go Jared!





We had such a good time in April with Easter and going to Houston to see Ryan's family. Ryan has one more semester ending in July and then he is done with his bachelors! Yea for you babe! I also decided to go back to school and finish my associates so that I don't lose all of my credits when in a few more years I might decide to go back and get my bachelors. The kids are growing like crazy! Tyler is as energetic as ever, Ethan is slowly getting weaned off of his g-tube, and Hanna grows every day. I can't believe I have three kids! Time has gone by so fast! Here are some pics from the last month. Enjoy!

Sick of Being Sick

This week we have all been sick, well all except of healthy old Ethan! What a stud! The kids seem to be recovering faster than Ry and I. I just don't think that that is fair!
We don't have any recent pictures of our family all together I just found out, so its just a picture of Ry and I for now. Here are a few pics of just the cute kids!
I don't know how to fix my sideways kids, so bear with me until I figure it out!

The Fam This Month

We have been so blessed to not have to go to Primary Children's Hospital in 3 months! Ethan is doing so well, he is off of his tummy tube for 5 hours a day now. Hanna is growing like a weed! Way faster than either of my boys did at that age! Tyler is just fun and so full of life. Yesterday I put him down for a nap (Which he did not take) and came out with his two front teeth chipped. Yea pretty awesome.
Ryan is taking 21 credits at BYU-I and is busy but is so excited to be nearly done with school. I am just trying to not go too crazy raising three kids under the age of three. Life is busy but we love it and wouldn't trade it for anything!
Our computer is getting fixed so I can't add pics right now but I will when it's finished.