Life as a 3-Week-Old

This is Colby's life as a 3-week-old:

Sleeping, sleeping, and more sleeping... oh yeah, throw in a few feedings during the day and don't forget the diaper changes. What a life!

Actually Colby has been through a lot in his first 3 weeks of life. He has had IV's, chest x-rays, feeding tubes, about a thousand heel pokes and blood tests, and all of that was just the first week. The second week of life was a little better. He was able to come home and get settled into his new home and get used to being loved on all the time by an adoring big sister. Yeah life was pretty good for the second week until the 2-week doctor appointment on Monday... Then life was hard again. I made Russell come with me to this appointment. During this appointment, Colby was circumcised. This had to be the worst thing to watch your baby go through. The whole 4 days in the NICU were nothing compared to this 10-15 minute procedure. I hope I don't have to go through it again and I wasn't even the one under the knife! Russell and I felt so bad during the whole thing because we knew it was because of our decision that our son had to go through this. Russell and I were both bawling through the whole thing as we tried to calm our screaming baby. Needless to say Colby was in a lot of pain despite the anesthesia used to numb the area. The poor little thing even tried to defend himself the only way he knew how... He peed on the the doctor 3 or 4 times but to no avail, the procedure continued. I couldn't watch so I don't know what all happened but it was not pretty. After the torture was over, Colby was so exhausted he just curled up in my arms and fell asleep. Then to top it off, the doctor wanted another biliruben test and the PKU screening done. We took our baby to the lab to get these tests done and Colby didn't even flinch when they poked his heel. I guess that was not as big of a deal as the previous procedure! As hard as that procedure was to watch as parents, Russell and I have decided we will do it for all of our boys. We just feel it is more healthy and better to do it now as babies than when they are older and required to for health reasons. (Sorry sons, you have no choice.)

So week 3 has been a recovery week and we shouldn't have anymore painful situations. Hopefully just smooth sailing until the 2 month mark when we get shots.

Colby is definitely a growing boy. He has already gained 2 pound since he was born so as of Monday the 21st (his 2 week appointment) he weighed a whopping 9 lbs 12 oz! I am glad he is growing and doing well but I am also worried that if he keeps up this rate, he will be too big for his blessing outfit by the time his blessing day comes around on April 10! Well I guess he will just have to squeeze into it when the time comes.

Yes he is doing much better and as you can see gave his first camera smile today! Isn't he the cutest! Happy 3-week-birthday Colby!

Baby Photo Shoot

I got a new SLR camera for Christmas and I am still trying to figure out all of the fancy gadgets and settings. This week I decided what better model to try this camera out on than a cute baby boy named Colby. Here are a few (okay a lot) of my favorite pictures Russell and I have taken:

Colby is 5 days old in these pictures. I laugh every time I see this second picture because he looks like he is singing opera or something. I don't know I just think it is so funny!

I love the look on Colby's face in this picture. It really looks like a good football player face like "Don't mess with me our I'll tackle ya!" To tell you the truth though this is Colby's normal look. He always has a mean look on his face and his eyebrows are always down like he is scoping you out. It's great.

Every baby has to have the "naked" picture! Colby actually looks happy to be naked in the first picture. Then, there is that scowl face again. Too bad his eyes still look a little yellow from the jaundice but his biliruben is now down to a 5 so he is all better! Yeah!

I love these shots because he looks to peaceful, kind of like an angel, in his blessing tux. (Thanks Mom for making it for Emily before we knew she was a girl!) We need to have his blessing soon because he is almost too big for his outfit!

These are some good ones of Russell and Colby. I like how the black makes them stand out even more.

Ten little fingers and ten little toes. I love how small baby's feet and hands are. This is the best picture I could get of his hands because I couldn't get the camera to focus right. I will keep trying.

Emily was starting to feel left out so she wanted me to take a picture of her in the car set too. I love her little camera smile!

Even though I hate taking pictures of myself (which is why I am usually the photographer) I had to take a couple of me and my son. I love this last picture of me holding Colby's head. It really puts into perspective how small he is. (And don't you just love all that dark hair!) I think these pictures turned out good but I still need a lot of practice. Good thing I have cute kids to practice on!

Two Cute Kids

My life is revolved around these two cute kids. Sometimes I just look at them and I can't believe I am their mom. It seems like a dream. I love it even though I get frustrated sometimes. Today Emily and I were singing Primary songs to Colby while he slept and I couldn't help but realize how truly blessed I am to have two healthy happy kids. When I look at Emily I cannot believe how big she has gotten. Before Colby was born, I always saw her as my baby but now I have realized she isn't a baby anymore but a little kid! It makes me sad to see her grow up so fast. Then I look at Colby and he is almost 3 weeks old and I realized that it seems like yesterday I was pregnant and wishing he would be born. Time just seems to fly by so fast that it kind of makes me sad but also makes me want to do all I can to enjoy them while they are still my babies. Here are a few fun pictures I have take of these two cute rug rats:

This first picture is one of my favorites, they were both sleeping so I had to get a picture of them while they looked so peaceful. Definitely a moment to cherish!

Here is Big Sister loving on Li'l Brother. St. Patrick's day was fun. I dressed the kids up in green so they wouldn't get pinched. I am still learning how to take pictures so my green backdrop was a little too small for the picture and kept falling down but I still think it is a good picture of these two. Colby is not too fond of getting his picture taken yet, hence the scowl he has every time I put the camera in his face. Emily, on the other hand, loves getting her picture taken especially with Brother.

Emily is a great helper. She doesn't mind watching Colby for me while I make dinner. She likes to read him books and even tried to teach him how to play Go Fish!. Unfortunately, he wasn't too interested, he was too busy sleeping his favorite pastime. That doesn't stop Emily though, she is constantly trying to play with him and tells me all the time to, "Wake up Brother! It's morning time." She loves giving him kisses and talking to him. She says "Hi little sweetheart!" or "Hi little guy!" Emily does get frustrated sometimes though. Today she was watching a movie and Colby started crying so she couldn't hear the movie and she yelled "Be quiet Brother!" We took Colby to the doctor yesterday and the nurse asked Emily if that was her brother and she said, "That's Mommy's baby and my brother. His name's Colby." She is so proud of him. I am glad that she is so good with him but I know she kind of feels neglected in a way too because when I am feeding him or holding him, she has to set on the chair with me. It is definitely harder with two to show each of them the love they need but I am trying. I love my kids and would not trade them for anything. They make me laugh, and they keep me on my toes as well as keep me in tune with the Spirit. I love you Emily and Colby! Don't ever think otherwise!

New Roof

It is finally done! After a month of hard labor, waiting for parts, getting the wrong order and then ordering again, our roof is finally finished! When we bought our house, the home inspector discovered a small leak in the roof so we needed to repair our roof as soon as possible. We debated on whether to just replace the shingles or put on a metal roof. The metal roof was a bit more money but the warranty was a lot better than the shingles. We decided to go with the metal roof and install it ourselves. With the help of my dad, brothers and brother-in-law, Russell was able to replace the majority of the roof over one week and it looks great.

This is what our roof looked like before the work began. It was not bad just a little leaky. Russell didn't have to scrape the old shingles off he just laid the metal over the top as an added insulation. He started work on the roof February 10th.

Saturday, February 12, the crew came over and began the reconstruction. That whole day, they worked on the valley portion of our roof. This was a difficult part because they had to cut the metal to match the angles of the roof. Putting all of their geometry skills to work they got the valley done and started on the front portion of the roof. This was much easier because all of the metal sheets were cut to size and all they had to do was lay them down and screw them in. Russell was worried that he used one of his long pieces on the valley by mistake so he thought he would be short on the back section of the roof so they saved that part for last. After getting everything laid; however, he had just enough sheets.

It was then on to the air conditioner, the most difficult part of the roof. Technically we should have lifted the air conditioner up and slid the metal underneath it but we were not exactly sure how to do that without hurting the air conditioner. Russell ended up just leaving the AC alone and cutting the metal to fit snugly around it. It took a little bit of brain power to think of a way to put this section together to prevent leaks but they did it.

For the next week, my dad came over and helped Russell finish laying the metal sheets and putting the finishing touches on the roof including under the eaves, and the ridge caps. Like clock work, right after this was done, we had a big rain storm. The roof held up so Russell figured they must have installed it correctly!

The last part of the roof was to put the gables along the sides of the roof to prevent wind from blowing up under the roof and raising it. These also put the final finishing touches on the roof. This part took the longest because we originally did not order enough gable pieces so we had to order more. Russell called and ordered four more pieces but when Scholzes delivered the parts, they only brought two! Russell was mad because the next day the price of metal went up so the gables each cost $5 more. Luckily, after talking to the guys at Scholzes, they gave us the original price because they realized they were the one's that screwed up. So finally Russell had enough parts to finish the roof. Russell completely finished the roof on March 21, one month after beginning. (Keep in mind he worked on it in his spare time but the majority of the work was done on Feb 12 and the few days that followed.)

And here is our final product! Isn't it perty! I think the roof turned out really good and Russell did a great job. Our neighbors have even commented on how nice it looks. This roof is a great investment and we will never have to replace it again. After all is said and done, we ended up with enough metal to re-roof our shed in the back yard and possibly make a little lean-to for our four-wheelers. We also have a garbage can full of scrap metal that we are going to take to the recycle center and hopefully get a little money for. In all, our new roof cost us about $3,000 which is the amount the seller paid of our closing costs so we were not really out anything. Then we got $3,000 for our tax refund so really our roof was free! The nice thing about being a homeowner is that all of this money we are putting into this house is ours and we are just improving our investment every time we do.

Tyler's Eagle Scout Project

Russell's brother, Tyler has been working really hard toward getting his Eagle Scout Award and we finally finished his project today. Along with a group of Tyler's friends, Russell and his dad and even Emily helped Tyler complete his project of preparing the peach orchard at the Jacob Hamblin home in Santa Clara.

They cleared away the sod from around all of the trees creating 2 foot rings around the trees. This will help the trees "breathe" and allow them to dry out after the grass is watered. This will aid in more productive peach growth. The orchard at the Jacob Hamblin home will now be part of the church orchards and the peaches will go to the Bishop's Storehouse.

After cutting away the sod, they rolled the sod onto the roof of the bathrooms for more covering and insulation and to give the bathrooms a more authentic look.

After cutting away all of the grass, the grounds and trees needed to raked clean and all of the debris needed to be hauled away. All of the boys helped each other and the work went quickly. While everyone worked, Emily, Colby and I took a tour of the Jacob Hamblin home. The last time I had been there, I was in Kindergarten. Emily liked looking at all of the things in the house especially the doll in the cradle. Then after the tour, Emily got a huge map of all the trails Jacob Hamblin rode on. She carried it around proudly until we got back down to where the boys were working then she wanted to help them. Russell had brought her little toy rake and shovel from our house and she had a blast shovelling and raking alongside all the boys. She loves playing in the dirt and has recently been helping Russell get our back yard ready for landscaping.

After a day of hard work, we celebrated the completion of Tyler's Eagle Project with pizzas and cold drinks. The boys were so hungry from working, the 5 pizzas didn't last long. Tyler is glad to have his Eagle Project done and all of his hard work has paid off. He will receive his Eagle sometime next month. Good Job Tyler for getting your Eagle when you are 14!

Finally Coming Home

We finally made it home and Emily was so excited to see us. When we picked her up at Russell's parents' her eyes just lit up when she saw us. She knew we were finally going home all together!

The first thing she wanted to do when we got home was hold her brother. She doesn't call him Baby Apple like I thought she would. She actually calls him be his name, Colby, or she just calls him Brother. In fact when any one asks her if his name is Baby Apple she says "No, Baby Colby!" or if she is talking to someone she will say "His name's Brother." It is so cute. She doesn't quite understand that he is too little to play with her and her toys yet. In fact sometimes I will find her trying to feed him her play food or she will throw a stuffed animal at him. We have to keep reminding her that he is just little and she has to be soft.

Emily is also very motherly. She saw the spot where the IV had been in his hand and she ran and got him a band-aid because she thought he needed one. Then when I told her he needed to eat she ran and got him a piece of chicken out of her kitchen. When he cries she tells me about it or, against my wishes, tries to put the pacifier in his mouth. I have to keep a close eye on her sometimes!

The first night we were home, Russell went to change Colby's diaper and he was blasted with his son's fountain of youth! In other words, Colby peed all over him! It was so dang funny that I am laughing out loud as I write this! I have since also been peed on too but I think it is great that Russell got the first shot! HA HA HA!!! So after that, we gave Colby his first bath at home:

Emily wanted to help and kept turning the water on and off. It had been so long since I gave a baby a bath I forgot how to do it! So this was an interesting time for all of us. Colby bawled the whole time. Don't worry I have gotten better and Colby doesn't cry anymore, I actually think he likes baths.

Here we are all nice and clean ready for bed in our own home. As you can see we have been a little sleep deprived and Russell looks a little stoned in that picture. Emily loves giving Colby kisses and Colby loves being wrapped up tight in his blanket before bed. I am glad to finally be home and get back to our new normal life.