Rice Krispies

They are sooo good I can't keep Luke out of them!

Delicious!

Surgery #3

Our sweet Luke had his third surgery this past Wednesday. He had a graft taken from the inside of his lower lip to help repair bladder exstrophy issues and he had a double hernia repaired. 

Presurgery

Waiting for the Doctors.

All dressed and ready to go!  He finally just about fits the outfit.  

You should have seen him try and wear it the first two surgeries!

Luke was great. He only asked to eat once or twice. 

The hand off. 

Off to surgery! He was fine until the nurse started walking away from me. Letting the nurse take him is always so hard. 

The surgery went well. Luke was in surgery for about 2.5 hours. He had a caudal block and so his lower half was comfy when he woke up, but his lip hurt really bad. The nurse gave him every bit of pain killer she could before we went home. 

Luke is such a trooper. He was able to nurse only a few hours after we got home. His poor lip was so sore, it was really hard to eat and to take medicine. Diaper changes are really hard, but thanks to Travis, Master of Distraction, we manage. 

On day three Luke started having bad bladder spasms. We got the Dr. to call in a prescription for meds to help the spasms. After a few doses he was able to relax better. Yea!

  

Wiped out after surgery. What an exhausting day!

Day of surgery

 Next day's fat lip

His favorite place to be over the last few days has been in the stroller. We push him all over the house, around and around. Thank goodness for strollers, for surgeons, for families and thank goodness for wonderful little boys!!!

Luke's First Words

Hat, followed closely by ball. He sure jabbers a lot, but mostly I have no idea what he is saying.

Slip and Slide

Spencer got a slip and slid for his birthday from Uncle Max. Luke loves it and so he makes is hard for everyone else because by the time they move Luke and back up to get a good running start, Luke is back on the slip and slide and they have to put on the brakes or crash in to him. It's so funny!!! I get to be the bad guy and keep Luke off long enough to let the kids have a turn. 

Birthdays

We just finished birthday season at our house. Since I'm so far behind I figured I'd put all the recent birthdays in one post.

First, we have beautiful Bria. Bria is our little princess. She lets her personality shine even though she's surrounded by all these boys. She loves dresses that spin and things that are pretty. Bria has a talent for organizing and likes things to be in order. Every night she asks me to make her blankets beautiful. Bria's favorite things are horses and chicken nuggets. 

 Next is daring Drew. Drew has the sprit of an adventurer. He loves to play anything with good guys and bad guys. He dashes around the house with his swords, making as much noise as he can get away with and play-fighting with any one brave enough to take him on. He loves stories and cuddles but NEVER kisses!

Third is loud and lovable Luke. Luke is such a joy. He is so noisy and so busy! Watching Luke at Spencer's baptism my mom commented, "It's like taking a monkey to church!" That is exactly what it's like! He jabbers away as he darts around the room. He even loves bananas. He isn't walking yet, but has taken a few steps and has super balance. His favorite things are his older siblings, Papa Lenny and Papa's music toys.

Fourth is Silly Spencer. Spencer is a great big brother. He has been teaching Drew how to count to 100 recently. He loves silly jokes, drawing, making up games and reading. He catches on to new ideas quickly and loves to have late night conversations about nearly anything. Of course his favorite things are cards (club penguin, pokeman....) and LEGOS!

Spencer is super excited to be a cub scout too!!! 

And finally is nifty Nana. Nana is nifty because she loves us all so much. She loves a good story, especially a good mystery or fantasy, but never anything sad! She loves to help others and most of all she loves the gospel of Jesus Christ and her family.

Well, that does it for birthdays around here for awhile, although Max has one coming up pretty soon....

AZ Museum of Youth

Travis and Spencer went to Southern AZ for the big end of year field trip so the other kids and I decided to go on a field trip of our own. We were lucky enough to score a culture pass (free tickets from the library) to the Museum of Youth. We stayed for over four hours, mostly playing dress-up. The theme was "Once upon a time." We went around to all the stations, read fairy tales and dressed up as the characters. There was also a baseball exhibit, several craft centers, and of course Artville. The museum has chairs that spin and these are probably the all time favorite thing to do at the museum. The kids all took turns getting spun and spinning Luke.

Bevell's Farm

I had the pleasure of participating in Montessori House's spring field trip to Bevell's Farm. It is only a mile away from school so we got to walk.

The flowers were beautiful! Luke wasn't sure what to think.

Hyrum found the tiniest praying mantis I have ever seen. 

  Warren showed off on the swings.

Hyrum, Warren and Spencer have great times together.

Aren't rolly-pollys the best bugs ever?

The kids got to hold the baby chicks.

 The blackberries weren't ripe yet, but they made my mouth water just thinking about them!

 After having time to explore, the kids were sent on a scavenger hunt.

The class all had a wonderful time.

Spencer gives this field trip an A+!