Memories

Staci, Quinn, Troy, Marci

I've had a lot of memories running through my head lately. I am very grateful that I have these sweet memories that can help lift me up a little bit, during the hard parts of life. This Easter season I have had the chance to really reflect upon the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I am so grateful that he was willing to die for us, so that we may all be resurrected one day.

Easter festivities

We had an Easter egg hunt with friends from church.

Corbin and Avery received presents from grandparents. Corbin's favorites were the hard hat in the picture below, and a tootsie roll bank. He carries the bank around with him everywhere. You will see both items in the video below.
And the rest of the pictures are of Corbin and Aves in their Easter clothes.




Corbin woke up at 6:45 am on Easter morning. I told him to go back to bed because the Easter Bunny had not come yet. The sad look on his face just about broke my heart. So, when he came in again at 7:20, I told him it was late enough that we could go downstairs to look for baskets.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

crafty

Here are a few crafty projects I have completed recently :

Before:

I found this 16 x 20 canvas on clearance for $4. Not my style. So I painted it using this tutorial

After:

So pretty. It is hanging in the master bath, and I love it.

Using this tutorial, I made an Easter bow tie for Corbin. I love bow ties! I can't wait to see him wearing it.

3 generation dress

Today, Avery wore a special dress to church.

Here is the background story that my mom gave to me, regarding the dress:
"I was the 5th child...after 4 boys. My neighbor Gertrude Smith crocheted this little dress and gave it to my mother...for her first daughter...me!

When my daughter Staci was born...also the 5th child, and only daughter...I dressed her in this dress. The dress will then be passed onto Staci...for her first daughter to wear"

It is a beautiful dress, and it is in amazing condition! It was so fun to have Avery wear a dress that I wore as a baby, and that my mom wore as a baby!!

policeman

On the way home from the hospital, we stopped at the Dollar Store to let Corbin pick out a prize for being so brave at the hospital. He picked out a police kit with handcuffs, a badge, and a toy gun. Corbin LOVES it. It got to the point where I almost regretted buying it for him because for 2 days straight Corbin was constantly begging to play policeman. Corbin loves the stories in the scriptures about the bad kings who would punish the people that did not praying to Heavenly Father (he especially loves the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego getting thrown in the fire). So, as we would play policeman, Corbin would run around saying, "You didn't stop praying to Jesus!" And then he would either hand-cuff me, or he would shoot me with the toy gun. It was really cute.

Corbin even locked up Avery.

Corbin had his stent removed yesterday. He is such a brave kid. He knew ahead of time that the doctor would use the gas to help him go to sleep again, and even though the mask really scares him, he didn't cry until they put the mask on his face. I have always been the one to go back with Corbin when he get the anesthesia (this was his 5th time being put to sleep!) However, this time around, Corbin asked his daddy to go with him when he goes to sleep.

And, here are a few fun pictures from the last few weeks.

Making a blue fruit dip for BYU's sweet 16 basketball game.

pipe-cleaner glasses

Bike

I found a bike for Corbin at Goodwill a few weeks ago. It took him a few times to get the hang of it, but now he's a pro! He wanted me to take this video so that he could show his grandparents. (Actually, Corbin asked if we could bring the bike to the airport. I asked him why he wants to take it there, and he said it was because he wanted to show his bike to Grandpa and Grandma. I told him that we couldn't take a bike on the plane, and then I suggested we take a picture or video instead, and he agreed that a video would be good. And now you know the rest of the story.)

5 months

Avery at 5 months:

* Can roll over both directions (although sometimes she forgets that she knows how to roll, and she gets stuck on her tummy).

* Eyes are little more brown in the center, but still rimmed with dark grey.

* Thinks Corbin is hilarious. I am sometimes a little jealous that she laughs so much for him. But I am really happy that they get along so well.

* Has figured out how to put her toes in her mouth.

* We started rice cereal about a week ago. Pretty much all of it just ends up getting spit out. We tried squash yesterday, and she actually swallowed a 2 or 3 spoonfuls. So maybe she just doesn't like the rice cereal.

Avery can now roll over from her back to her tummy. The first time she did it was two nights ago. I had just gotten both kids out of the bath. Avery was laying on her towel and I was busy putting a new bandage on Corbin's back. The next thing I know, Avery has rolled over, off of her towel, and then she wet the carpet. It was pretty funny.

And speaking of funny, Avery thinks Corbin is the funniest thing ever. Check it out.

No more drain

Today I feel pretty proud of myself. I removed Corbin's drainage tube. The doctor told us how to remove it, but I was pretty nervous about it. The hardest part was cleaning around the stitch, so that I could cut the stitch out. After I did that, the drain was really easy to pull out. Corbin didn't even flinch during that part! It definitely helped that he was watching "The Jungle Book" and so he was nice and distracted. I am glad that I was brave enough to remove the drain (and it took me a day to build up that bravery). I think it would have been more traumatic for Corbin to have the doctor remove the drain.

Corbin is really happy that he doesn't have to wear his big bandage anymore. It was kind of annoying, because it was always falling off. Here's to hoping that he continues to heal well. I am still nervous about infection, because there is now a hole in his back from where the drain was located. I will be so glad when Corbin is 100% again!!

Here is a picture of the tube yesterday.

This gives you an idea of the total size of the drain.