Clayton's Surgery

Well on Monday Clayton went in to have tubes put in both ears. We had to be there at 6:15 am, so Clayton and I left the apartment at 5:30am to head up to Primary Children's. It was a long morning. Clayton sure did look cute in his little hospital outfit though.

I must say that Clayton did great while we were waiting for him to get taken back for surgery. Compared to some of the other babies he was amazing. I couldn't believe how good he was for not having eaten since almost midnight the night before. I got him to sleep while I was waiting to talk to the Doctor before surgery. On of the nurses came up to give him some Tylenol to help with the pain for after the surgery. Well I had just gotten him to sleep, but as soon as he tasted that Tylenol his eyes just popped open. It was funny, he's got the same personality his sister has.

Well the anesthesiologist took Clayton to the room they were going to put the tubes in and I headed to the waiting room. I kid you not I was in that waiting room for maybe 15 minutes and I was already heading to the recovery room. Well before the nurse could even show me which one he was I knew because he was not happy.


I wouldn't be that happy either I guess. I got to give him some apple juice after the surgery to get something in his tummy. We hung out for anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour so that they could keep an eye on him before discharging him. When I finally got him calmed down enough he noticed a TV about us and he leaned back and just stared at it. It was so funny because he was so focused on it.

Now we're trying to remember we can't be as loud around him. I honestly think I'm noticing some improvement already. He seems more sensitive to sound and startles a lot easier now too. I have to take him back to the University of Utah hospital on April 15 for another hearing test to see what's going on after the tubes. He'll get sedated for the test because I didn't think he would sleep for an hour or more without waking up. That will be a fun way to spend my anniversary. But it's not like James and I were planning to celebrate that day anyways.

James propped him up on the Boppy pillow against the couch and he fell asleep later that day...

And of course Elizabeth thought that was the perfect time to go and give him a kiss. And I think she tried to steal his pacifier too.

Happy Easter!!

Well we had a very nice and quiet Easter. We decided to stay home this year and celebrate because we were all still tired from our trip to Tahoe, James had worked a 12 hour shift the day before, and Clayton had his surgery the next morning. So with all those factors we felt like being bums. We had church at 9am that morning.

Here is Elizabeth in her pretty lilac Easter dress. James actually picked this out when we were shopping at JCPennys one day. I think he did very good. Elizabeth loves getting dressed up. I made her a cute headband to wear too, but it didn't stay in long. So now I think I'll have to start making her bows. Easter Sunday was her first time in nursery! YEAH! She wasn't sure of it when we went to drop her off but once one of the nursery workers started playing with another little boy she was very interested. She didn't even notice when we left. And went we went to get her she looked up at us from the table said, "Hi" and went back to eating her animal crackers. She didn't even come over to us until she saw Clay, then she came over and gave him a kiss. The nursery workers told us she was so funny and cute. She's very sociable (don't know where she got that from), and laughed and giggled when they turned on the music. And thankfully she didn't try to bite anyone!

Here is Clayton in his cute Easter outfit. James picked out his outfit too at the Carter's store in West Jordan. All 3 pieces of the outfit are a size 3 month and they were all way too big for our little man. At least we should get plenty of use out of them.

The kids' Easter baskets

Our Easter baskets. The Easter Bunny was good to James and I too!



Elizabeth loved going through her basket. She got some ABC bath toys, some toy keys (she's always trying to play with ours), and these pretty shoes. She also got a chocolate bunny, some peeps, and mini m&ms. Clayton got a 3 set of 49er logo plush balls and a bear dressed up like a bunny that says, "Baby's 1st Easter". James and I got candy of course! I got "First Wives Club" DVD and I bought a nice air freshener to put by the diapers. James got a book and "West Side Story" DVD.

We had fun bumming around playing our Wii and just relaxing. We had a Ham (8 pounds for just us!! It was the smallest I could find at Costco), funeral potatoes and carrots. Elizabeth loved it all. She wasn't sure about the ham at first but she came around.

Elizabeth didn't get a nap, so around 5 she crashed while James was playing Wii. We let her sleep for 30 minutes and then decided to wake her up so she would sleep that night....
Let me just say that wasn't the best idea. She was not happy with us, but she did still go to bed around her normal time!

18 Month Check-up

She loves that car seat

She was trying to put one of her diapers on her baby, but I wasn't quick enough

She loves hats. Here she is sporting a Fabrizio hat! Giving Grandpa some publicity.

Clayton sucking his thumb :( It's cute, but it's a headache I'd like to avoid

Elizabeth always at Clay's side

Weight: 23.6 lbs (40%)
Height: 32 inches (62%)

Well Elizabeth had her 18 month check up last week. I still can't believe she's 18 months old. She's so funny too. She's doing great! Since she's been talking so much already the doctor said that he wouldn't be surprised if she started to form word combinations and sentences soon. She's been doing that a little already. She says, "Gotta Go". I wish I could write down everything she says. She's hilarious. The doctor also told us that we could start trying to potty train her whenever we felt like now. Usually they don't talk to parents about it until the 24 month check-up but he just mentioned it to us in case we were feeling ambitious. I think I'll wait.

She loves to walk to the car now. She doesn't know how to go down the big stairs we have outside our door, but she loves to walk when we are going to the car or heading in or out of a store. It's pretty funny to watch because her legs still aren't long enough to actually step down, so she more jumps. She'll hold one of our hands and then just walk and laugh and giggle the whole way. It's funny to see people smile because she's so happy. Her personality is sure contagious. She's also my big helper now. She likes to put the milk gallons away after we get them out of the fridge. The milk is almost as big as she is, but somehow she manages to get it back into the fridge every time. She also likes to help with the laundry, handing me one item at a time, and she'll help with Clay too. Sometimes she's try to give him his pacifier. Or she'll wipe off his mouth. I'm just glad she loves him so much.

Tahoe Trip

Rhiannon holding Clayton with Great Grandpa

Shawn, Clayton and Great Grandpa

She found this toy that made lots of noises, she also found a toy drum machine and she was dancing to the music with that one.

Well we went to Tahoe in March (14-17). Even though it was a very short trip it was very fun. We flew there and Elizabeth and Clayton both did great. We fly on Delta because they were the cheapest we could find (I know we were surprised too!). James and I couldn't sit together because we each had one of the kids on our lap and so we had to sit on a certain side of the plane so that we would have an extra oxygen mask for the kids. We both have decided that flying with both kids isn't worth it though and won't be flying again until the kids are older. Just all the stuff you have to take makes you feel bulking. And then dragging it through the airport.

Anyways, we went out because James' family was being sealed in the Reno temple. It was such a great experience and I was glad that we decided to just spend the extra money so I could go out too. It was hard leaving the kids with a real babysitter for the first time that wasn't family, but Elizabeth did great and Clayton is mellow to begin with. Unfortunately I got sick while we were in Tahoe. It was not fun, but James was nice enough to let me get some rest and took care of the little ones for me. I was worried for a while there because we thought maybe I was pregnant again!! But I'm not so that was a relief...we have at least another 8 months before I'll even think about another baby!

Elizabeth had fun playing with her cousins and exploring. I didn't get many pictures with being sick and having the rug rats to keep an eye on. But I thought I would let you all see the ones I did get!

Elizabeth's New Bed!

Well the other day we decided that since we still had money left from one of our tax returns that we would buy Elizabeth a toddler bed while we had the money. The crib she had was falling apart (can't complain since we got all of her nursery furniture for $200 new). Elizabeth was so excited and as you can see wanted to help. She helped pull out the smaller wood pieces for James.

She was so interested in what James was doing that she somehow managed to get her head stuck between two of the boards that would hold the mattress up. Luckily we managed to get her head back out without soap or anything like that. Silly girl, right after we got her head free she tried to push it through the gap again!

Clay tried out the Johnny Jumper while we built the bed. He liked it a lot, but is still a little small for it on his own. He loves to sit up and look around now and isn't very happy about laying down in his bassinet. He also rolled over for the first time about 2 weeks ago. He just leaned over and did it over and over again. It was funny to watch.

Elizabeth LOVES her new toddler bed. She's taken to it immediately. We finished putting it together and making the bed with the new bedding she picked out (she went for pink princess rather than purple butterflies) and she started climbing all over it and laying on it. It was hilarious to watch. She did awesome last night sleeping on it. She slept for 5 hours before waking up and wanting to be held....of course it took us forever to figure that out so she was up for almost 2 hours, but then she slept on it again until we came into her room this morning. And she slept on it again for her nap today. It's kind of nice how change doesn't really bother her....I'm hoping when potty training comes along she's takes to it too (I know I'm dreaming).

Fun Pictures

Clay trying to suck his thumb