Surgery

Cute Whitney had surgery yesterday. She had an adenoidectomy and a bilateral myringotomy with insertion of ventilation tubes - or her adenoids removed and tubes put in her ears. There is a HUGE difference in her hearing!!! Hooray! She was such a trooper. She was never nervous and was giggling the whole time at the hospital. The only negative thing she ever said was she didn't like how long we had to wait for the doctor and when I told her Brooke was going to want to have surgery because of all the fun Whitney was having (she got a new stuffed animal, flowers from Baka and Bakamama, earrings - they drew on her ears, funny slipper socks, a mug she got to bring home, etc.), Whitney replied, "She wouldn't like it." She is right, but the doctors and nurses and of course her mom really tried to make it a positive experience. Even when she had the anesthesia, they told her she got to blow up a balloon for a party. Have you ever seen the movie, "Life is Beautiful"? It reminds me of that movie, turning a traumatizing experience into something wonderful. Of course with that comes ignorance, but she didn't need to know I ever left her during the surgery. She thinks I was there. I wish I could have been.

I know this was a minor surgery, but I hated giving up that control and leaving everything in the hands of the doctors. Although, they were fantastic doctors with great bedside manner, especially for Peds, and the results are fantastic. Whitney can hear now and won't be left out of life anymore and she's feeling great and very special. She is very special. We love you Whitty Bitty.

Funny Monster

Adam volunteered at the Bratfest for Boy Scouts and has done it for quite a few years. I'm not even sure how we got this idea, but we made the family into a funny monster. This was such a fun activity. Every time Liam sees these shirts, he says, "Funny Monster!!!"

First day of school

Kindy and second grade. It was hard to say good bye to Whitney, just like it was to Brooke for Kindergarten. But, Whitney seriously had THE best teacher ever. She has her class running like a machine and is always calm and kind to the children. They both love their classes. Liam loves staying home too. He has now gotten into asking me to do something with him constantly, all day long, never stopping. But I love it, and he does take a nap. A pretty good one!

Mermaid and Fairy

I made these costumes for Halloween and we decided to take some pictures in character.

First Half Marathon

I ran my first half marathon with my sisters-in-law in Utah. I certainly didn't break any records with my slow pace, but I finished and that is ALL I was going for. It was so great to do it with some of my best friends and the kids were so proud. They were very involved in the training with me, which included them sitting in a jogging stroller and/or on a bike for miles at a time. Whitney even ran a full mile with me at a decent pace. In a couple of years, she'll whip my bum. I plan to run another this year (2011). Someone hold me to it!

Aspen Grove

We had a Nielsen family reunion at Aspen Grove in July. There were close to eighty people there. It was so fun to spend time with everyone in such a no-stress environment. We even had babysitters take care of our children for a good portion of the day. They took the kids swimming, had lessons, did arts and crafts, etc. There were also plenty of whole family activities, so it was a good mix, but overall very low stress.

Painting the basement and Eating cherries

While the adults painted the basement (in June), the kids painted the floor, with water. I need to post a pic of the finished basement. We LOVE it, especially during the winter. My dad always used to sit outside with his grandfather and eat cherries, so my parents got cherries to eat in the backyard with their grandkids!

NO WAY - Its back!!!!!!!!

I lost my Google account at the beginning of July. I tried and tried and emailed them a million times, but to no avail. I just decided to try it randomly today and tad-ah! Yay! I was dreading setting up another blog. Now to play catch up....