Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Drew's 1 Year Stats

I Think the first year of a child’s life is the worst when it comes to the doctor’s visits.  Every time he went for a normal check-up he had to get at least one shot.  This one was no different.  Before the appointment began he was so happy and looked so good in his new outfit that was given to him by his aunt and uncle Chelsea and Darren for his birthday.
He was quickly called back and we stripped him down so we could see how much weight he had gained and then measured his head and body.  He was so good and stayed still for the entire thing.  Here are his 1 year stats.

Weight: 21lbs 2 oz (25%)
Hight: 30.5 in (73%)
Head: 48.6 cm (96%)

He is one skinny, semi tall, big headed kid, but looking at where he came from he is doing very well.  Soon the Doctor came in to look at him.  From all stand points he looks like a healthy child.  He still had a little fluid in his left ear, but we will just watch it and see how he acts.  The next part was what we were dreading.  The evil needle.  It is so mean the things we do to kids, but its for the better in the long run.  I think he had a feeling about what was coming.  First their was a little wimper and then a wail.  It was so sad.
Within a few minutes of cuddling and his sippy cup, he was back to normal and on his way home with his mom and I was on my way back to work.
I was glad I was able to be there for support.  My work has done a great job at allowing me to attend these types of things.  Not everyone is that lucky. 

Monday, January 24, 2011

One Year Older and Wiser Too, Happy Birthday to Drew!!!!

Where has the time gone?  This past week Michelle and I have been talking about the different events that led to Drew’s birth.  The past year has been full of stress and plenty of adventure, but mostly of happiness and joy.  It is amazing how time flies, but especially how much a child can change your life.  We are amazed every day at the progress Drew has made.  He no longer looks like the small little baby he was, but more like a little boy.  
He has made a lot of progress over the year and even more in the last few days before his birthday.  He has been army crawling for the last few months, but he has just started to crawl on his hands and knees.  He doesn’t do it all the time, but it is now about 50% of the time.

He also loves to cruise the furniture and has gotten good at going from one couch to another and then to an end table then to a chair and then his jumper.  He also pulled himself up to stand for the first time on his big day.

He has started whole milk without any problems and he has been using a sippy cup during the day (because his Dad makes him) and only having a bottle at night (because Mom doesn’t want to deal with it). He is still a very well behaved kid and we couldn’t tell you the number of times people wish they had a kid like him.  He starts out shy when he first meets people, but with time he opens up and loves to do his fake laugh and smile.  We love how when he sees us he gets all excited and the best is when his mom comes home from work and if she doesn’t come right away to pick him up he starts to get upset.  
To celebrate his birthday we had a little party on Sunday with Grandma and Grandpa Woolley, Nana, Glenn (Carol is in California with a new grandchild), Nettie, Brett, Bracken, Tina and Ben, Chelsea and Darren, Rachael and Steve, and my Brother Scott’s fiancĂ©e, Megan.
It wasn’t a huge group, but it was a fun one.  We had soup and bread sticks for dinner and then had peanut butter bars and cake for dessert.  Before the cake we opened up Drew’s presents.  He still hasn’t gotten the hang of it, but he did much better than Christmas.  I think Bracken enjoyed opening them more than Drew.  He got so many great gifts.
Michelle made a nice little cake for Drew, but without a candle.  We were interested to see how Drew would respond to the cake, but after singing him Happy Birthday he didn’t have any trouble digging in.  



The party turned out to be a good one and we thank Grandma and Grandpa Woolley for the use of their house once again.  His first year has been a good one and we are so proud of him and can’t wait to see what progress he makes in the next year of his life.  He has his one year appointment on Wednesday and we can’t wait to see if he has grown any in the last three months.  We will let you know more then.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Pool Party in the Winter

For the last few weeks Michelle has wanted to take Drew swimming.  Since it is winter in Utah and a little hard to find a pool open when we both have time off, it has taken a while to make it happen, but we finally did it.  Dy and Bracken were in Salt Lake for an appointment and they decided to join us.  Unfortunately the only pool open at the time we wanted to go was in Lehi, but the trip down was well worth it.  They have a very large pool and it has plenty of room for little kids.  It was even better because school wasn’t out yet and we didn’t have to deal with a lot of people.   
The kids loved it and I can’t wait till Drew can walk and have a little more fun.  I’m sure by the time summer comes around he will have lots of fun.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Arizona Funeral

We left Wednesday afternoon to make our way down to Arizona.  The weather was great and it took us no time to get down to Mesquite, NV to stay in our favorite low cost hotel.  We made it to Gilbert early Thursday afternoon.  That night we had a BBQ at Emily and Ryan’s place.  The weather continued to be beautiful on Friday, so we took a little trip to the park.
Friday was the viewing.  It was great to see Mita one more time, although it was only her body, and also get together with so many family members and friends of the family.  It was much like the viewing of Mita’s late husband Stanley (Papa) almost exactly 8 years earlier.  
That night most of the cousins went out for a little late night dinner and spent a few hours talking about Mita and catching up on life.  Saturday was the funeral and it was wonderful.  It started with all of the grandkids and great-grandkids singing a medley of Mita’s favorite songs.  I Love to See the Temple, a short French song she use to sing when we were young, Popcorn Popping, and then I am a child of God.  There was both laughter and crying through the whole thing.  My father gave the eulogy followed by my Aunt Francine who gave her life story.  I hope to get a copy of her talk.  Then my cousin Jacquelen and I sang her favorite hymn, Each Cooing Dove, from the old Hymn Book and it closed with my Uncle Kirk giving a more gospel oriented talk about our journey on Earth.  We then filed out of the church and waited for the procession of cars to form to take us to the cemetery.  
The grave side ceremony was just as sweet as the actual funeral service.  Mita was loved by many and she created a wonderful family that is very close.  We may not see each other often, but when we get together it’s just like old times.  It was good to see all of her living children, including their sort of adopted son, Don, who lived with them for a few years.   










After the graveside service we returned to the church for a small luncheon that her ward put on for us.  It is wonderful to see the support the church gives to so many people. 
After it was all over we headed to my Aunt Josette’s house and then to Nicole’s house for a little more time together.  My cousin Candice who just had a baby several days before this all happened, made a surprise one day visit for the service.   It was great to have 14 of the 17 grandkids all together.  
During the whole weekend Drew was having a little trouble breathing so we borrowed a nebulizer and some albuterol so he could breath a little easier.  He took to it well and even enjoyed holding it during his treatments.  On Sunday Michelle and I packed up the car and after taking a picture of Drew with my parents we headed home.   
We were really eager to get back so we didn’t stop in Mesquite.  We went all the way home by one in the morning.  It was a quick trip, for a sad reason, but it was a good trip and one that will be remembered.

For family members that want all the pictures that I took during the viewing and funeral go to the following link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/drslice3232/MitaSFuneral?feat=email#