Poor Baby

Today was finally the day - my sweet little Tyler had to go to the hospital bright and early (5:45am) to have his nose worked on. It was really sad because he was so excited to be going out with daddy, and yet he had no idea what really lay ahead. He and Daddy (no I could not handle taking him) were at the hospital two hours early for pre-op, and at first he was having great fun climbing on equipment, playing in the curtains, watching the Disney channel, coloring in his new coloring book, getting vitals taken, etc. But it was a little downhill from there.


The doctor wasn't nice enough to invite PJ to watch. So we weren't sure how he would handle going back to the operating room without him, but he did fine. It was waking up and coming out of the anestesia where he was very upset and disoriented. When they took PJ back there were three nurses trying to hold him down so he wouldn't get up or take the IV out of his foot. He then also had to do certain things before he could leave the hospital including drink some liquid. They gave him a brand new pink sippy cup (yes that's all they had) and since he is addicted to "juice" you would think that would have been an easy task. But no, he refused for at least a half an hour to drink anything. But he finally came home. He was very lathargic for many hours but after a while decided to get up and play with Brynn.

Brynn woke up this morning and knew that Tyler was gone and in the hosptial. She climbed into bed with me and proceeded to shake a tin of her "monies" in my face which woke me up. She then ask me how many monies I thought were in there. I told her it sounded like a lot and asked her why she was wondering. She said because she wanted to know if she had enough monies to buy Tyler a truck to make him happy. I told her there would defintely be enough for that and so she went to the store and came home with an ambulance she had picked out for him :) Brynn was such a good big sister and took really good care of Tyler when he came home.


I guess I should explain what we were doing to his nose and why - for those of you who don't know...Tyler has a very severly deviated septum. It completely blocks the left side of his nose and it even has a 'kink' in it (this is the worst case the ENT has ever seen especially in a 2 year old). However, the nose is still forming so they cannot fix the septum for many many years. And because on any given good day he only has one side of his nose to breath out of, he's always had snorting, snoring, breathing problems, which also result in sleeping problems. So, in an attempt to clear Tyler's airway (as a temperary fix) they went in and burned his turbinates (three sets of bumps in your nose) to shrink them down; and then they cauterized his adnoids.

All I Want for Christmas...

...is not my two front teeth (even though Dylan may like his to come in so all the drooling can stop). But all I want - meaning all PJ wants and all he has wanted for a year now - cost us an arm and a leg. Yes, I got PJ his dream car for Christmas. Just call me the best wife ever! :) He says I surprised him and I hope he didn't lie!

Don't they both look so pretty!!!

Santa brought the kids bikes this year. Brynn is going to look pretty cool riding down the street in her Barbie bike (that has a mini bike attached so her Barbies can ride along). And Tyler got his first BMX - how cute is he?! We loved all our gifts and are so grateful for each and every one, and the person they came from!

We had a great day hanging out with family (Brynn and Tyler with Uncle Brandon) and eating good food (Tyler "helping" Grandma with Christmas Eve dinner).

Then after Christmas morning we took off on a road trip up to Grandpa Wilson's house (Northern California). The kids were OK in the car considering...Brynn kept asking why we didn't have enough money so we could just go on the airplane...one day honey...one day...

(Grandpa with Brynn, Dylan, and Cousin Jessica) (Dallin -yes check out the awful mustache, Richard, Kelly, Austin, Laura, Clinton, Grandpa) (Grandpa and BBQ taken by Brynn) (PJ, Austin, Richard, Dallin rocking out)

We loved spending time together, playing games, and of course Grandpa's famous BBQ (we finally got to bring home the secret ingredient!!!!).
Dylan was SO spoiled all week with so many people to love and hold him (Dylan with Aunt Laura). He is going to have an adjustment period now that things are settling back down.

Uncle TJ & Aunt Julia Visit!

Yea we had visitors! We love visitors! My brother TJ and his wife Julia drove down from Idaho to visit us. We did lots of shopping and visiting and somehow ran out of time to do everything we wanted...but we had a blast and are glad they took the time to come!

They were incredibly helpful. Brynn taught Uncle TJ how to give a baby a bath and put a diaper on. And he even babysat so Julia and I could go shopping.

We hit up the Phoenix zoo for their annual Zoo Lights event. They underestimated the weather here and hence the baby blanket for warmth...

(TJ & Julia) (Abby Peterson, Grandma, Brynn)

We drank hot chocolate and played games...Dylan wanted to join in.

Grandma invited us to a work Christmas party that involved a warm cozy fire and horsey rides!! Very fun...thanks Grandma!

(Julia with Dylan) (Brynn, Tyler, and Mom)

Residency Announcement!

And the match process is complete!...finally! Today we got a call to hear that Preston will be doing his Family Medicine residency at...Scott Air Force Base in Illinois...but basically St. Louis.

This was our #1 pick, so we are very excited to be moving closer to my family, but sad to be leaving Arizona and PJ's family in a few months. We can't believe we are already at this point. Medical school really wasn't that bad and went by pretty darn fast. It's wierd to think how things will be changing drastically for us in the next little while. But still we are looking foward to the times ahead.

3 months

My baby turned three months old today. He's still our best sleeper (even when he has his nights or doesn't want to go to bed). He loves staying up after the other two have gone to sleep so he can sit there with mommy and daddy and just smile at us. He loves having his head rubbed (?) He still prefers his bouncy seat over the swing and has started sitting up in his "Bumba" chair. He loves his bottles and Brynn recently wanted to know why Santa didn't give him any milk when he was brave enough to sit on his lap (didn't know exactly what to tell her on that one).

Finally Thanksgiving

I'm thankful for darling faces that smile at me everyday.
I'm thankful for little boys who love their trains and hold on to them dearly. (Jack)

I'm thankful for education that comes in handy.

(PJ working on Steven)

I'm thankful for quiet moments and snuggling up with loved ones. I'm thankful to help cook and not be on clean up duty.

I'm thankful for family dinners and there always being room for one more.

I'm thankful for being on the winning team and being able to laugh at myself.

(Kelly, Clay, Jonah, Julia, the Mom)

I'm thankful for birthdays and the most wonderful combination ever of peanut butter and chocolate. (Happy Birthday Steven!)

I'm thankful for restaurants where kids can play while adults can eat in peace - and for big sisters. (Brynn and Dylan) I'm thankful for Gramma's loving touch.
(Gramma and Dylan) I'm thankful for a little friendly competition (TJ giving PJ a fat lip) among brother-in-laws.

I'm thankful for the opportunity to watch little ones learn and grow.

(Jonah with David & Clay with Jack) I'm thankful for a full house, complete family chaos, and lots of loud noise.

I'm thankful for Grampa's and funny times.

(Tyler, Grampa, Dylan)

I'm thankful for sweet little girls & wonderful homemade christmas gifts.
(Madison & Brynn with their look alike dolly's made by Aunt Katy)
I'm thankful for cousins who love to play together and for cute matching jammies.

(David, Tyler, Jonathan, Madison, Brynn, Dylan, Jared, Jack)

I'm thankful for brave little swimmers and daddy's who love to play with their kids.
(Jared, Madison, David, Jonah, Brynn)

I'm thankful for cute kids and airports with play areas.
I'm thankful for simple delights like discovering snow.

He found his thumb

For a while now Dylan has been sucking on his fists...well, he finally found his thumb...and it actually comforts him sometimes. Not real sure how I feel about this - mixed emotions - glad he can calm himself down but don't want the addiction to thumb sucking later on down the road. (It is a lot easier to throw away a pacifier than his thumb). But its cute ( especially the way the rest of his fingers cover his face) so I guess its OK for now :)
Ever since he was born Dylan has always needed to be holding things. If I'm holding him he grabs my shirt, and if I'm not, he's got those little fingers wrapped around his blankets. Don't know why but I love that about him.

Our Temple

The LDS Mesa Temple does an absolutely amazing and beautiful lights display ever year. Last night we went to see them with Grandma.
Its hard to tell in the picture but this was an almost lifesize nativity.
Look real close and you can see them shepards in the back ground.