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Christmas Fun

2011-12-28T15:26:00.006-07:00

We had an awesome Christmas this year. The kids got everything they could ever want and we spent a lot of time with family. My favorite is always Christmas Eve when we get together and have dinner, play games, and re-enact the Nativity. All the kids are at such a fun age. They are starting to understand the true meaning of Christmas and were so cute dressed up as the Nativity characters. My mom made all new costumes this year, so it was really fun to use the new outfits.My mom and dad always give the kids pajamas on Christmas Eve. They love matching with each other and hanging out in their new pj's at grandma and grandpa's house.For the last few weeks we have had some special visitors at our house. Some elves, Bobby and Suzie, have stayed at our house to keep an eye on the kids and report their behavior back to Santa. The kids have had a really fun time finding the elves every morning and it has been a good reminder for them to use their best behavior. On Christmas Eve the kids put cookies and milk out for Santa and the elves since they were leaving with him.Treyson asked Santa for a BB gun. I thought he was still too young, but Jared convinced me to let Santa bring him one. Ashten asked for Heelies. She really likes to roller skate, but heelies are way cooler. Traxton didn't really ask for anything. He has a serious interest in super hero's. He was always having me tuck his blanket into the back of his shirt, so I thought capes would be great. I made him a batman and superman cape and mask. He has totally loved them.Jared spent a lot of time on Christmas helping Treyson shoot his new gun. Traxton had to try it out too. Jared is such a good dad. :)
My dad and brothers made these diggers for each of the grandsons. They are awesome and the kids are so excited to use them in our sandbox.
Dressed for church. We love matching!

Happy Birthday Treyson

2011-12-23T21:04:00.005-07:00

Last week Treyson turned six years old. I'm amazed he is that old. Time goes by way too fast. He is such a carefree little boy who loves to wrestle and tease his brother and sister. He truly is so easy to be around. He doesn't care what he wears, what he eats, or what's going on. This is such a contrast from his brother and sister that Jared and I both comment on how nice it is to have a child who doesn't have such strong opinions on everything. As long as he gets something to eat every so often; he's happy.

For his birthday this year we decided to have a little "Polar Express" party. We invited some of his friends to come over in their pj's, made a candy train, played games, went on a train ride and drank hot cocoa. It was such an easy party to prepare for and the kids had a blast. I even heard "this is the best party ever" come out of one of the boy's mouth. :) It was actually really nice for me to enjoy the party and not be stressed out over it.

Playing a game of blowing the snowballs off the train track. They were so cute trying to blow the cotton balls.
They're ready to go. They all got tickets to ride the train.

Ashten was in charge of the decorations and she hung up the cute signs around the yard and house.

We love Treyson so much and are so thankful he is a part of our family. He mellows us out so much and we wouldn't be complete without him.

Gingerbread Houses

2011-12-23T20:45:00.005-07:00

Our family has a tradition of making gingerbread houses together. It is always so much fun letting our creative outlets run and getting to see what everyone else comes up with. Since the adults get so serious about decorating the houses, my mom decided to let the kids make their own this year. It was so fun for the kids to do exactly what they wanted. I loved watching them design and create a house with so many little details. Ashten had a sandbox and swing, while Treyson had a corral for his animals and a chimney for Santa. Traxton just loved being able to eat his frosting and stick his candy wherever he wanted.

Having the kids decorate their own houses was a huge success. They got their fill of decorating and then moved on to watch a movie. This left us able to get serious about decorating our own houses. This year Jared and I decided to create a beach house. We thought it would be fun to get away from the usual snow covered house. It turned out really cute and we had a blast designing it. I'm so glad we have this tradition and I hope we can continue with it for years to come.

Christmas Dance Concert

2011-12-13T11:01:00.004-07:00

Last weekend Ashten had her Christmas dance concert. She doesn't "love" dance because it means she has to get all frilly with the uncomfortable leotard and with her hair done up with bobby pins, but she does a really good job and look super cute.
She takes a ballet, jazz, and tap combo class but her favorite is jazz. She likes the upbeat fast pace, but my favorite to watch is ballet. She looks so graceful.

Grandma and Grandpa Taylor as well as grandma Bundy came to her recital. I love that they are always so supportive. It makes her feel so special.

Diversity Means...

2011-12-07T13:18:00.005-07:00

Ashten wanted to participate in her school's reflections contest this year. The theme was Diversity Means... We thought about what she could do for a long time. We talked about the word diversity and how it means things that are different. We talked about how people are diverse; big- small, black-white, brown hair- blond hair. We also talked about how people who have glasses and hearing aides. This brought us to Traxton and how he is different. I asked her if being different was bad, and she said "no". (insert sigh of relief) I then asked her if we should treat people differently because they have some quality that makes them different. She said, "no, we should treat them the same." So after our discussion, she decided diversity means loving and accepting those who are different. She wanted to take a picture of Traxton and enter it in the photography category. (This is the picture she took for her entry)
Her entry ended up winning 1st place at the school level and has also won at the council level. Now it will go to compete in the region contest and possibly state. I am very excited that her entry has done so well, but more excited and thankful that she is smart enough to understand how everyone is different and how it is so important to love and accept everyone no matter what differences they may have.

Wrestling Star

2011-12-07T13:05:00.003-07:00

Treyson participated in another season of wrestling and did really well. There were a lot more kids involved this year, which made it really fun to watch. He had ten wins and only 5 loses, which was awesome. He really enjoyed wrestling and is already looking forward to more opportunities. We have loved watching and supporting him every week.

One Year Later

2011-11-10T10:38:00.007-07:00

I've been thinking a lot lately about it already being a year since Traxton was implanted. It seems so crazy to think how fast the time has gone by. It also is incredible to think of how much progress he has made in the last year. I am purely amazed when I think of where we are now compared to where we were one year ago. I can remember the anxiety I felt with wondering if implantation was the right decision. Now there is no doubt in my mind that it was the right thing to do. With his processors on, Traxton can hear perfectly! I never thought I would ever be able to say that sentence.

We still do hours and hours of therapy to help with his speech articulation and language comprehension, but he progresses everyday with saying words more clearly. He talks in sentences and I love having conversations with him. My favorite lately is hearing him tattle on his brother and sister. Yesterday, Traxton hollered into the other room to me, "Mom, Treyson hit me". I loved it!!!

Traxton goes to Preschool four days a week and he seems to really enjoy it. I went with him a couple of days ago to observe and I was afraid he would cling to me and not do what he was suppose to do. I couldn't have been more wrong. He went with the other kids right away and jumped right in with the activities. He actually looked back at me a few times and said, "mom, go out". He knew it was his thing and wanted me to leave. I was excited to see him comfortable with his teachers and other kids.

When Traxton had surgery he lost all of his balance. That was an unexpected challenge, but it has also gotten better in the last year. Until recently, we took him to a physical therapist to help him slow down and get control of his balance. Things are much better now. I only notice his balance when he gets up fast and starts running or around obstacles. He does much better when he slows down. At night in the dark still affects his balance. The surgeon told us that your eyes help control balance, so he might struggle in the dark. This is definitely the case. He wobbles a lot when he gets up to got potty in the night. I think in time, this will also become easier.

Traxton is such an amazing little boy. He tries so hard to say things correctly. Most times I can get him to try to say words with the correct articulation 3-4 times before he starts to get frustrated. At that point I will tell him "good try" and move on. He has always done wonderfully with having his processors on. I am so grateful that he has never fought wearing them. I think it comes from the hundreds of hours we spent fighting him to keep his hearing aids on. Our Audiologist also says that he is making such fast progress because of the consistency he had with hearing aids before implantation. It's so nice to know my efforts have paid off.

I am so thankful for Traxton and his fun personality and the learning experiences he has brought to our family. I am also thankful for the technology we are blessed with that has made his hearing possible. I still feel that there is nothing sweeter than hearing him tell me that he can hear something. About a month ago we were walking out of the speech therapy building and he nonchalantly told me, "hear that". I had to stop and listen to see what it was that he was talking about. I discovered that it was the air conditioning unit. He could hear the air conditioning unit humming. This tender moment brought me to tears. The fact that our little boy can hear something as simple as the hum of an air conditioning unit is amazing. We have come so far in the last year and I am so excited to see how he continues to progress in the future.

Halloween Fun

2011-11-04T13:49:00.006-06:00

We had a great Halloween this year. Super busy between class parties, school parades, trunk-or-treats and visiting family, but fun to celebrate and see all the cute costumes. I couldn't come up with a theme for all my kids to dress up as this year, so they just have cute individual costumes. Ashten was Cruella de'Vill, Treyson was a musketeer, and Traxton was a Knight. They all looked great.

We love to get all the grandkids together to take pictures and go trick-or-treating. They are at such a fun age and love being together.

Some of the great-grandkids.

Autumn Time

2011-10-29T12:44:00.004-06:00

I love Autumn! I love when the weather starts to cool down and I can put my fall decorations out. I love when the kids can start playing outside again after the horrible heat of summer. I love the feel in the air as the holidays are approaching. I just love Autumn!

A couple days ago we took the kids to Staheli Farm to go through the corn maze. The weather was really cold, but we had a really fun time. Ashten and Treyson loved running through the maze and choosing the path for us to take. We even made it through without getting lost too many times.

The kids were really excited to carve their pumpkins and did a great job helping. At first they were hesitant to touch the "guts", but eventually they dug right in and each cleaned out their own pumpkin. They told me what they wanted for their pumpkins features and I carved them. They all turned out really cute and we are excited to put candles inside and watch them shine.

Movers and Shakers

2011-10-18T10:55:00.005-06:00

Last week my kid's school had their dance festival. I absolutely love this school tradition. The kids work for weeks learning their dances and then perform them for all us parents at the festival. It is always so much fun watching all the kids perform.

Treyson's grade did a little hula-hoop number and shook their little hips for the entire song. I couldn't believe how well they did. Treyson has some awesome shaking abilities.

Ashten's grade did a hip hop routine and it looked awesome. They actually were pretty insinc with each other, which made it look great. I am super proud of both Ashten and Treyson for doing so well at their dances. It made our night a lot of fun.

Summer Reunions

2011-09-30T13:38:00.005-06:00

I'm really behind with my blogging of our family reunions. This past summer we went to the Bundy Reunion and the Taylor Tentout. We stayed at the Bundy Reunion for almost a week and had such a fun time. I love going out a few days before the activities start just so we can relax and enjoy camping before there are literally over a thousand people around. This year Jared and Talen went out a few weeks before the 4th of July to do some clean up and projects around camp. They decided it would be fun to build a tree house for the kids. They also attached a pipe to it to make a slide. The tree house was a huge hit and the kids spent hours playing in it. It wasn't just our kids either, a lot of stray kids showed up to play on the "playground".
Our family had a good year with the activities this year. Ashten and I won the roping contest and both Ashten and Treyson won the BB gun shooting in their age group. The dance was also a lot of fun this year. The kids were old enough to actually stay awake for a while and enjoy dancing.
Everything about the Bundy Reunion is always so much fun for me. It is so rich with tradition and I am so excited for my kids to enjoy some of the same things I enjoyed doing as a kid.

The end of August we went to Wayne County for our annual Taylor Tent out during the Wayne County Fair. It is always a lot of fun to get together with Jared's family for the weekend. The kids run around and play together so well. This year I signed up to run in their 5K and ran my fastest time of 28:01. We love going to the parade and stocking up on our sugar for the week. I love small town parades!
Grandpa Taylor sent the kids out to collect soda cans and then set up an assembly line to smash them all. Surprisingly, they had a lot of fun working together. Our unexpected project for the weekend was digging up the sewage tank because it was blocked and causing problems. That was not so much fun, but kind of enjoyable to watch the guys work in the mess.
We had a great time hanging out with family and are so lucky to have each of them.

School Boys!

2011-08-29T15:01:00.006-06:00

Treyson just finished his first week of Kindergarten and LOVED it. He was so excited for school to start and has been ready for months. After his first day, I was really excited and asked him to tell me everything that happened. He rolled his eyes a little and said "mom, you're embarrasing me". Since when does a five year old get embarrased by his mom? Ever since then I have tried to play it cool and not make a big deal about him going to school. I would hate to embarrase him again.

He is such a good boy and I'm sure he will have a great year in kindergarten.Treyson and Mrs. Stewart. We were very glad to get her as his teacher.

*Traxton started preschool today and he handled going off on his own a lot better than I did. I have been very anxious about him going because he is my baby, but he did just fine. He walked right in and didn't even look back.
This boy has been ready for school ever since Treyson started last week. He was very upset that he wasn't the one going to school, and super excited to finally get to go today. I hope his excitement doesn't die off after he realizes he will be going to school almost everyday.

Waiting very patiently for class to start.

Birthdays and back to school

2011-08-15T10:18:00.005-06:00

A couple of weeks ago Ashten turned seven. I thought I wouldn't have any issues about her age this year until my dad told her that she's half way to fourteen. Now that I have issues with!

For her birthday she has been telling me for months that she wanted to go bowling. I hate the bowling alley. It just radiates germs. I tried and tried but she wouldn't be talked out of it, so we loaded up all her friends and were off. They all had such a fun time. No one really cared about the score and each of the girls helped each other out. It turned out to be a really fun time.

Ashten is such a good girl and she will always help me out with her little brother. I love spending time with her, especially when it's just the two of us. Once in a while we will go on "girls dates" and her favorite thing to do is get pedicures. I love that I have a little girl to do fun things with.Ashten left for her first day of school today. She was really excited for 2nd grade. She has a really fun teacher and a lot of friends and neighbors in her class. It should be a great year for her. It's a little bit quieter at our house now that school started. For the next three weeks each of my kids will be starting school. Ashten today, Treyson next Monday, and Traxton the following Monday. It will be really strange that in three weeks, all of my kids will be gone four days a week for two hours. I am having an inner battle with my feelings of both anxiety and excitement for the alone time. I'm nervous to send Traxton to preschool on the school bus, but I'm also making lists of the projects I could get done in that time. We'll see how it all ends up.

Running in Bryce

2011-07-16T15:37:00.007-06:00

I went to Bryce Canyon this weekend with Jared, my sister, and aunt to run another 5k. We had a lot of fun staying together in a hotel. We woke up early for the race and when we went out to the car, we found that I had left the room key in our door. Yikes, I'm really glad there weren't any murderers on the lose up there.

So excited for the race to start.

It was pretty cold when the race started. I actually don't think I warmed up until it was over. Although, it was nice to not be dripping in sweat like I am when we run here. I felt really good both during and after the race. I was also really excited to beat my last time by three minutes. I ended up getting 3rd in my age division with a time of 29:34

Coming down the home stretch.

3 years old!

2011-07-06T19:10:00.005-06:00

I am a little behind in my blogging, but my baby turned three a couple of weeks ago. I know I shouldn't call him my baby anymore, since my older kids were not even the youngest child by his age, but I think he will always be my baby. It is crazy to think that he is already three. He has been through so much in his little life and he has made so much improvement that I am amazed everyday. During the first part of June I took him up north to do more hearing tests and he did so well. He was hearing at a "normal" range for all of the frequencies. It was the best so far. Once we got home, I pulled out his old audiograms and compared them to the new one and just cried. The results were not even close. His hearing has improved drastically. I have never doubted our decision to have the cochlear implant surgery, but seeing his latest audiogram just reaffirmed how right of a decision it was.His speech and language has also taken off. He consistently talks in 3-4 word sentences and more than just his immediate family are able to understand him. I also feel like his comprehension has improved. I can tell him to do something from across the street or upstairs and he understands me. This is something pretty remarkable because it means he is getting all of his information auditory instead of using visual cues like signs or lip reading.

Traxton is such a sweet little boy and I am so grateful that he still loves to snuggle with me whenever I ask. He also is quite goofy and loves to play and wrestle with Treyson. It won't be long until he can give Treyson a run for his money. I love this little guy so much and am so thankful to be his momma.

State Champion!!!

2011-06-16T21:55:00.007-06:00

Last week my little sister competed in the high school rodeo state finals. Because Traxton had appointments with his Audiologist in Salt Lake, the kids and I went to Heber City to stay with my parents and spend the week. We had such a fun time hanging out and supporting Aunt Dally. Her main event is the goat tying and she has been in first place all year so we really hoped that she could do well at state and qualify for nationals. She was amazing and ended up winning 1st place. We are all so excited for her because this is a huge thing. She has worked so hard and totally deserved to win. Good job sis!

This is all the stuff that she won last week at state alone: 1 jacket, two picture frames, 3 belt buckles, and 1 saddle.

Finish Line or Bust!

2011-05-30T11:25:00.004-06:00

Last weekend I ran a midnight 5K with my mom, aunt, and sister. I have been wanting to do one for a long time, but never thought I could. My sister called me a week before the race and asked if I wanted them to sign me up. I nearly had a panic attack because it only gave me one week to train, but I told them "yes" anyway. I ran with my friend every morning for the week and was excited, but also really nervous for the real thing. I was afraid I would need medical assistance.

The run was awesome. They had over 700 participants and everyone ran with glow sticks around them. I felt really good while I was running and I did a lot better than I anticipated. I am really proud of myself for doing it and we are even looking at running another before the summer is over. Hopefully my time will even improve with more than seven days of training.

Graduation Day

2011-05-21T11:37:00.007-06:00

Because of Traxton's hearing loss, he has qualified for services from "The Learning Center for Families". Since he was about six months old we have had therapist come into our home to help with speech and language skills as well as to monitor his developmental milestones. We have learned and benefited so much from having them come. Both Traxton and I have developed bonds with each of the women who have come to teach us over the last few years. I especially have cried a few times when they have made changes and assigned us a new therapist, but with each change we were given what we needed and learned even more valuable skills.

Because Traxton will turn 3 next month, he will graduate from the Early Intervention program from TLC and will move on to the preschool with the school district. This is a very big step for us. Instead of having therapist come into our home and work with him and me together, he will go to preschool and work in the school setting. I have so much anxiety over this transition. I have been center stage with him from the beginning, and now I feel like I have to give up some control and trust that he will continue to get the help he needs to catch up to his peers with his speech and language. He has made so much progress, but he is still behind with his vocabulary and articulation of sounds. All I can hope is that this is a positive experience and he can continue to progress.

Last week TLC had a graduation ceremony for the kids turning three. Traxton was adorable. He put the gown right on and even wanted to wear the hat. He got really frustrated because it was windy and his hat wouldn't stay on his head very well, but he still was so cute.

Stefani is on the left and she was our very first therapist. That poor lady came to us when Traxton was a baby and I was a mess. She was absolutely Heaven sent. I will love her forever for the strength she gave me. Diana came to us at exactly the perfect time. I was struggling once again with feelings of innadequacy and not knowing which path to choose for our little boy. She flooded us with information and helped us decide what would be best for Traxton's hearing. Traxton responded so well with Diana. He knew when she came it was time to settle down and work. I had never seen him make so much progress in such a small amount of time.
Ashley is one of our speech therapists right now and I get so excited when she comes because she is so amazing. I think of her more like one of my family members who is personnally invested in Traxton's future. She is so upbeat and creative and always so much fun. I was so excited to see her at the graduation.

I am so grateful for the services we have been given by TLC. I think they have helped me deal with challenges just as much as they have helped Traxton. They have been a resource for me to go to with questions and each one of his therapist have been a shoulder for me to cry on at one point or another.

Stuck like Glue!

2011-05-09T23:09:00.007-06:00

3 kids and 9 years later; I love you more than I did the day we got married. Happy Anniversary babe!

P.S. How did we get so Old?

Easter

2011-04-28T11:29:00.004-06:00

I love Easter! I love everything about Easter. I love eating all the chocolate, decorating eggs, and I love being able to coordinate my family's church clothes with fun spring colors. I love that Easter means pretty flowers, green grass, and warmer weather. I love that it means new life. This year I not only loved the superficial side of Easter, but I experienced a spiritual high like never before. I was in charge of Sharing Time, so of course the resurrection of Christ was heavily on my mind. Our ward had the privilege of experiencing a sacrament program put on by the Special Needs Mutual. It was the most amazing thing to see this special group of youth singing and sharing their testimonies with us. There wasn't a dry eye anywhere. I love that I was able to feel the spirit so strongly and strengthen my testimony even more about the Savior and the absolute knowledge I have that He Lives. It was a wonderful Easter day.

After church we went to my parents for dinner and an egg hunt. The kids have a really fun time together and are such good friends. I love watching their excitement.

All the grandkids lined up in order of age.

Farwell Tonsils and Adenoids

2011-04-07T09:59:00.005-06:00

Ashten has always been our noisy sleeper. I don't remember a time where she didn't snore terribly. I didn't think anything of her sleeping habits until the doctor looked in her throat a few months ago and said her tonsil are huge and that we should have them taken out. I took this as a "someday" and didn't really do anything about it. Over the last few months Ashten has caught every sickness that has come to town, and the doctor finally said that I needed to get her into the ENT and get her scheduled for surgery.

Last Wednesday was the big day. She was pretty nervous and kept asking a million questions about what they would do and how it would feel, but she did awesome. When they asked if she wanted some medicine to help her relax, she told them "no". I really didn't think she would need it, so I didn't make her take it. The surgery only took about 30 minutes and she was brought back to me. Her pain levels were really low the first day, but she must not have agreed with the anesthesia, because she threw up CONSTANTLY the whole day. It was really rough. I am glad she wasn't in any pain, because she couldn't keep anything in her stomach and I wouldn't have been able to give her any pain meds even if we would have needed it. Her favorite part was having the wheelchair ride to our car.

She is actually in more pain now than she was last week. The hardest part for us is making her stay on the soft diet. She has such a small amount of things that she likes to eat and most of them are crackers and pizza, which are off limits for a while. I bought a bunch of yogurt and applesauce before her surgery, but they are only being eaten by her brothers. She doesn't even want to have Popsicles very often. Most of our arguments have been over food.

She has done relatively well with the whole experience so far, but we will still need to be careful for the next week to prevent any bleeding. All we need is another ER visit!

Pure Relaxation

2011-03-21T16:58:00.009-06:00

About a week ago Jared and I went on a four day cruise to Cozumel, Mexico. My brother and his wife went with us and we had such a fun time. We went to Cozumel about four years ago and loved it, so we jumped on the chance to go again. The whole trip was spent laying out and totally relaxing. I have been really stressed out lately with being so busy, so I was super grateful to have a break and be able to just spend an entire day laying in the sun. It was blissful.

We played mini golf. I was the winner!!!

We ate way too many ice cream cones.We enjoyed every last sunset. We snorkeled like professionals and saw some amazing fish.
We marveled at the beautiful, crystal clear water.

But mostly we ate way too much food.

We sat by some amazing people at dinner each night. Dan and Della are from Tampa and Dan is a Marine. We found out that he is pretty high up the chain of command. He was very modest about it, but he finally told us that he only calls ninety people "sir". Everyone else calls him "sir".

My brother and his wife have never been on a cruise before and they ended up being a lot of fun. I think we even have them hooked! We are already talking about where we want to go next time.

Peacefull Moments

2011-03-05T19:31:00.007-07:00

As a mom I find myself longing for moments of quiet and rest. They are few and far between. Although, maybe because they don't happen very often I am able to appreciate those moments more when they do come. The other night when I came home from work I checked on my kids, just like I always do, and this is what I found.Traxton was sound asleep half off the bed. He must have gotten out of bed to get a book, this is something that happens ALOT, and was just too tired to climb back in. Seeing this brought me peace.

*Last night after a date with my wonderful husband I checked on our kids who were already in bed. (We have amazing babysitters) They all were asleep in Treyson's bed. I especially loved seeing Treyson and Traxton snuggled up together.Traxton is such a little snuggler and I love that he would snuggle into his big brother. Seeing this brought me peace.

*My kids have the best dad ever!!! Jared will spend hours playing with them on the living room floor until they are all completely worn out. One of the things they love to do with their dad is wrestle and play fight. It usually makes me crazy when they do this because everyone gets so wound up, and chances are, someone usually ends up crying before they're done. Something about playing with dad makes them put down whatever they are doing to join in. They love it. My four favorite people loving each other. Seeing this brought me peace.

Fun in the Snow

2011-02-11T09:29:00.005-07:00

A few weeks ago we took the kids up to Brianhead to go tubing. They have wanted to go tubing and play in the snow all winter and we figured driving to Brianhead would be a lot easier than finding tubes and snow to do it ourselves. We had such a fun day and I loved that we didn't have to drag the kids and their tubes up a bunch of big hills.

The kids absolutely loved tubing down the hill. Ashten was a little nervous at first. She would only go on the kids lane, but after a few runs she was ready to try the faster, more advanced lanes. Treyson didn't care how fast he went, he said he kept his eyes shut the whole time anyways. And Traxton spent the whole time wedged in his tube. I don't think he quite understood why we kept pushing him down a big hill, but he didn't care either way. He actually fell asleep in his tube a got a good little nap.

The kids keep saying that next time they want to go skiing so they can ride the lift. It didn't really work when we told them that they were too little to ski since we saw practically toddlers skiing like pros all around us. I don't think we are ready to attempt skiing. Maybe we can hold them off with just tubing for a few more years. I'm crossing my fingers.

Home at Last

2011-01-25T16:11:00.002-07:00

Traxton was finally released from the hospital yesterday. He hadn't had a fever since Friday and nothing had grown out on the cultures, so we were kicked out. As we left the hospital, I realized that Traxton and I hadn't been outside for six days. We caught a flight and were home in less than an hour. Traxton couldn't decide what he thought about our ride home. He was really excited until take off, then he turned very serious and wouldn't talk at all. Once we landed, he became happy again. He had a weeks worth of energy saved up and pretty much let it go at the airport. People were staring, but I didn't care. I knew how much he needed to run around.
It was so good to be home and see our family. They picked us up with balloons and flowers at the airport. It was a sweet reunion.

Traxton's head is still swollen, but they told me it probably would be for a while. He is not suppose to wear his processor on that side because of the swelling, which makes me a little sad. He has to take antibiotics twice a day for three weeks to clear up all the infection. Other than the large bump on the side of his head, he is completely fine. It has been so fun to watch the kids play with him. Treyson and Traxton have been pretty much inseparable. I can tell that they really have missed each other.

Hospital update # 5

2011-01-23T21:55:00.007-07:00

I know I have said this before, but we are hoping to get released tomorrow. Traxton hasn't had a fever since Friday and his lab values all look really good. The only thing that hasn't come back is the cultures they took yesterday from the fluid on his head. The infection control doctors have been involved with his case and are saying if nothing grows on the culture, we can go home with oral antibiotics. If something grows out, they will place a picc line for him to continue the IV doses. We should know more in the morning.

Today was another rough day for me. For some reason I couldn't stop crying. Traxton and I went to sacrament meeting here at the hospital, and I think everyone was wondering what was wrong with me. I think being here for a week has really started to wear on me and having Jared leave was a lot harder than I thought it would be. He always holds me together. Every time I start to struggle and ask why we have to deal with one thing or another, he simply says, "because we can". He always helps put things into perspective.

Traxton is getting irritable with being here too. He has turned into a little diva. He won't do anything by himself and quite likes being waited on. I can't wait to fix that one when we get home. He has gotten a lot better with the nurses. He doesn't cry when they take his vitals anymore, but he still doesn't like when the IV is started. The only thing that makes it easier for him is the warm packs. We spend most of our time walking the halls and playing in the playrooms. Even that is getting a little old for both of us. I really hope this is our last night. I love my little man, but I am getting quite sick of being kicked in the back all night. We have to go visit these fish about 5 times a day. He loves them.

Change of Plans... Again

2011-01-22T12:51:00.002-07:00

We almost were released yesterday. We were actually packed up and ready to walk out the door; yet here we still are. The doctor came in last night and said since he hadn't had a fever all day, we could go home. We cleaned up our stuff and they took out his IV. Right as we were going to take a load of stuff to our car the nurse came in and wanted one more set of vitals. They took his temp and he had a fever. Seriously, talk about major let down. So we unpacked our stuff and stayed for hopefully our last night.

Well this morning the doctor came by and said we would not be leaving for maybe a couple more days. They want to continue him on the IV antibiotics and aspirate his head again. They also had been in contact with the infection control doctors and felt like sending him home now would make it possible for the infection to get the upper hand.

When they did the aspiration, the fluid was all puss, which is not a good sign. The doctor wants to send it off to be cultured, which will take a few days. They are trying to decide if they want to send us home with a picc line so Traxton can continue his IV antibiotic treatments, or change to oral antibiotics.

Jared ended up going home today. All week we have been in limbo with having him stay or go home for Ashten and Treyson. We kept thinking one more day and then all of us could go home. This morning we both really felt like he should go home. Our kids have been well taken care of, but they need their mom or dad. Having him leave was not an easy thing. I knew he needed to go, and we will be fine here, but I'm still quite emotional about it. I really wish that we all could go home and be there together. I actually can't stop crying... I know that so many people have things 100 times worse off than me, but I keep wondering how I can be strong enough for the trials that seem to come. I wonder why my baby has to keep going through things. It doesn't seem fair.

As I sit here watching the snow storm out our hospital room window, I think how similar life is. Days like today I feel like visibility is limited and the conditions are a bit hazardous. But I know the sun will come out again and make things bright. In the meantime, I will have to rely on another Son, the Savior, to lighten my burden and help me continue on. I am so grateful for my testimony and understanding of the atonement. I know that Christ suffered for not only my sins, but also for my sadness and struggles. He loved me, insignificant me, enough to do that. That knowledge alone helps move out my clouds of despair.

Traxton's progress

2011-01-21T15:56:00.004-07:00

We really hoped to be going home today but because Traxton had a fever yesterday, our plan was changed. Our surgeon said Traxton has to go for 24 hours without a fever before we can be released. We are crossing our fingers for tomorrow.
The surgeon was a little concerned that his head still had some fluid in it, so last night he aspirated it with a needle. The fluid was mostly blood, which means that the infection was clearing. On Tuesday the doctor did the same thing and didn't get any blood out, it was all yellow fluid.

Traxton's blood levels looked really good this morning and he seems to be feeling much better. We have spent the day walking around exploring the hospital. Traxton is becoming much more comfortable with the nurses and he loves to see the fish painted on the walls and floors on our unit.
We are really anxious to go home and see the kids. Our family has been amazing to help out with them all week. I don't know what we would do without them.

Hospital update

2011-01-20T11:23:00.005-07:00

Traxton is responding really well to the IV antibiotics and they were able to stop one of the two he was getting today. His white blood count has continued to decrease, but it is still a little elevated as well as some other blood values. They want to keep us here a little longer to see how he responds with the lower amounts of antibiotics, and then transition him to an oral dose. We are crossing our fingers for a trip home tomorrow.

We've found out recently how serious Traxton's condition was and how lucky we were to have caught it so fast. Cultures had started to grow in his blood and he was starting to become septic. This means that the infection was on its way to becoming wide spread. If this would have happened he would have had to get his implant removed. We have been told over and over how close he was to being a really sick little boy.

Traxton has been a trooper during this ordeal. He hates when the nurses come in and he cries the whole time they take his vitals. He also hates when they have to hook up his IV. The only thing that makes him feel better is covering the IV site with a heating pad. He will lay really still and keep the heating pad on his arm long after it has gotten cold. The nurses are so nice and keep a box of heating pads on the counter for him.

This place is AMAZING!!! The nurses, techs, and volunteers are constantly checking on us and making sure that we don't need anything. They have brought Traxton coloring books, play dough, and a huge train set. He also has endless amount of choices for food and snacks with only a phone call. Yesterday I ordered him some chicken nuggets and asked if they had any ranch. The guy said, "mam, this is a children's hospital; we get ranch by the bucket full." They really know how to take care of little ones.

Traxton loves to sit in this window and look out at the cars driving by.

Unexpected & Unwanted Vacation!!!

2011-01-19T08:10:00.003-07:00

Last Thursday Traxton started getting an ear infection. Since he still had the tube in his ear, the infection simply drained out. His pediatrician started him on some antibiotic drops, which usually clear up his ear infections quickly. Since he didn't seem bothered by his infection, I didn't really worry that it hadn't cleared up as fast as normal. The odd thing about this particular infection was the amount of drainage. Usually it is just a thin liquid that would drain out at night. This drainage was very thick and came out all day long. By Monday morning when it still hadn't cleared up, I called our Dr. again and he added an oral antibiotic. By that night he was running a high fever and acted really lethargic. Tuesday morning he seemed fine, but I noticed his head was swelling on the side of his infection. This was the same side that he had the hematoma after his surgery. Luckily I was able to get him an appointment with his doctor right away. Our pediatrician was really concerned, so he called our surgeon in Salt Lake. The surgeon said he needed to be seen either by him or by an ENT in St. George. I opted to stay in St George and see the ENT there. The ENT was really good and worked us in almost immediately. As soon as he looked at Traxton he said we needed to go to the ER to run some tests. The ENT met us at the ER where they sedated him and drained some of the fluid through a big needle. Traxton also had a CT to check if the infection had compromised the implant or the bone where the implant is secured.
The fluid removed was infected and he had a super high white blood count. He also had signs that the infection was in his blood stream. Because of all these issues, our surgeon wanted us in Salt Lake. Thankfully, we convinced them that we could drive ourselves and didn't need to be flown.
We came to PCMC last night and they admitted us right away. They suctioned out his ear to remove some of the fluid and continued him on IV antibiotics. Originally we were afraid that he would have to go into surgery to either clean out the infection, or even remove the implant. This morning our surgeon said it didn't look like we would have to do that. His fever is gone this morning and his white blood count is down a little. We will just keep him on the antibiotics for a few days and wait for the blood cultures to come back.
He is feeling much better today and is more like himself. If he didn't have needles in his arms and was constantly being pocked and prodded, he might think this was a vacation.
On a side note, Traxton started whimpering and crying when we pulled into the parking lot. I think he remembers this place. Poor kid.

Sweet Voice!

2011-01-12T16:19:00.017-07:00

Lately we have been hearing so much of Traxton's sweet voice. He is hearing so well and he has made even more progress with his talking. He is hearing so many things around the house and it is so fun to watch him when he learns what is making the noise. Last week he heard something and he thought it was an airplane. I listened and couldn't hear an airplane, the only thing I could hear was our fridge humming in the other room. We ran in and sat next to the fridge for a few minutes so he could hear it better and learn what was making the noise. I couldn't believe he could hear something that soft from so far away. I love it!!!

He hears the phone ring and will now try to answer it. The other day I picked the phone up downstairs and he was already talking on the phone upstairs. The poor lady was asking him to get his mom. I have to race him to the phone when it rings. I love it!!!

My most recent favorite thing is that when you call his name, he answers with the cutest sounding "what". He actually can hear when you call his name from another room and will come towards you. I love it!!!

Traxton is getting much better with his talking too. He mimicks words when we prompt him and, although they don't sound perfect, he is getting a few of the right sounds. My favorite is when he says "see ya" it comes out "ee ya" and is always in the sweetest little voice. I love it!!!

We do hours and hours of therapy a week. Between the three therapists he sees and the things we do at home, he is kept pretty busy with practicing. He is such a good sport to cooroperate, most of the time. Considering all he wants to do is be a crazy, 2 1/2 yr old little boy, I'm quite impressed that he will sit still for our sessions. Part of me wishes he could be a crazy little boy all the time who didn't have to sit and pay attention through all of our therapy sessions, but I also know that it is these sessions that will help him learn to listen and communicate. I think that I am learning patience as much as he is learning anything.

We love our little guy more than anything and it has been so fun to watch his progress. It is so fun to watch him get really still, open his eyes wide, and point to his ear to indicate that he hears something. I get so overcome with gratitude when I watch him experience sounds and when he continually jabbers and sings in the car. His constant noise would totally drive me crazy if I wasn't so happy to hear it.

Even with all of our struggles, I wouldn't change anything about him. He is perfect. I love HIM!!!

Birthday Boy!

2010-12-22T15:56:00.005-07:00

I am a few days late in posting, but Treyson had a birthday last Saturday. He turned five years old!!! I know everyone says this, but I can't believe he is that old. He has always been a sensitive little thing and I love that about him. I love the endless amount of flowers he has brought to me and how sweet of a brother he is, especially to Traxton. He was the best early Christmas present I have ever gotten. Happy Birthday Treyson!Treyson's first Christmas at seven days old.

Treyson has always had an eye for the prettiest flowers.

Beautiful Ears!

2010-12-06T15:20:00.008-07:00

November brought three different trips for us to Salt Lake for doctor appointments. After Traxton's initial activation of his cochlear implants, we had to keep going back for them to be "turned up" and adjusted. It felt like we were constantly driving and staying in hotel rooms, but after our appointment last week, everything has been worth it.

We took Traxton into the sound booth for testing with his implants on to see what he is hearing. Poor Traxton has spent so many hours in sound booths over his 2 1/2 years trying to determine his current level of hearing. It is very safe to say that he has been less than cooperative in the past. This visit was different. He sat on my lap and turned to almost every sound that was made over the speaker as soon as even I heard it. It was such a neat experience to see his progress in only one month since he was activated. His hearing on the right side was pretty much at a normal level.

We took him back into the sound booth the next day to test his left ear and the results were not quite as good. We are not sure if he just didn't want to respond or if he really couldn't hear the sounds. (That's the worst part of the sound booth. We are always trying to analyze whether he really couldn't hear the sounds or if he could hear them and didn't want to turn his head.) So next time we will start with his left ear to see if the results are different. In the meantime, we are going to do some therapy with only his left aid on to help his brain rely on that side. We are thinking that the right ear may be the dominant side and his brain hasn't taken the time to learn to hear as well from the left side.

He is more vocal than ever and we love hearing his little voice. He definitely knows what he is saying and I look forward to the time when I will know what he is saying without relying on signs. Although, he is pretty good with his signing and he's making multiple word sentences. We are so excited for his progress and are so thankful for technology that makes his hearing possible.

Giving Thanks

2010-11-25T21:55:00.004-07:00

I love holidays, any holidays, with the excitement and festivities. I love getting excited and feeling like something big and special is coming. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays because it always reminds me of everything I have to be thankful for and it also puts me in the mood for Christmas. I was a little worried about how today was going to be when our morning was full of multiple breakdowns from our super dramatic little girl; and I'm sad to say, her mom too. Thankfully, we both got things under control and headed over to the Taylor's for an awesome feast. After our fun day with cousins, I decided to ask everyone what they were thankful for. I love how some of their answers are so innocent and simple.

Treyson: Family

Honey

Heidi (our dog)

Car

Ice Cream

Ashten: Family
House
Car
Grandmas and Grandpas
Cousins

Mandy: Beautiful, healthy kids
Amazing husband
Living so close to family
Jesus Christ
Traxton's new "ears" so he can hear me say "I love you"

Jared: Family and Friends
Free Country
Church
Home
Bees

We have so many things things to be thankful for!!!

One-Two-Three...Pinned

2010-11-22T12:02:00.007-07:00

A couple of months ago Jared signed Treyson up for little league wrestling. He loved it right away, but I was a little nervous for his first match. I felt like it could be pretty dramatic if he lost, since it is such an individual sport. At least with soccer and t-ball when you lose it was a team effort.

Watching him at his first match, I was amazed with how natural wrestling came to him. (I guess I should have known since I am constantly telling him to quit wrestling with his brother and sister.) He was surprisingly really good, especially considering he only went to one practice before the first match.

The wrestling tournament lasted for five weeks and he was never beat. 15-0. It was so fun for our family to go watch him and to practice with moves at home. Thank goodness Jared wrestled in high school so he could teach him some cool moves. Last week both sets of grandparents were able to watch his last match. It was really neat for them to all be there supporting him and to see him pin all three of his matches.

Since Ashten was his practice partner at home, she has gotten pretty good too. She was such a good sport to let him learn on her. So far she is the only person who has been able to pin him. :)
Treyson's trophy for winning the tournament.

Activation!!!

2010-11-04T15:19:00.006-06:00

We took Traxton back up to Salt Lake this week to have his post-op appointment with the surgeon. He said everything looked great and cleared us to have the implants activated. Once we met with the audiologist, she gave us the outer devices and programed them for the lowest level needed to initiate a response. Because the implant creates such a different sound than he had before, it takes time for the brain to learn what it is and how to interpret it as a language. We were told that some kids start to cry when they are activated because it is loud and scary. We really wanted to see a big exciting response from him, but it never happened. Jared and I felt like it was a little bit of a let-down. At one point he turned his head to a sound, but that was it. He was so good and patient while everything was set up, even though it was a little scary. The sound is quite minimal right now because his brain needs to adapt to the change. During the next week we will continue to turn his mapping up so that hopefully with each increase we will see progress.
Now that we are home, I feel like we have a huge amount of work ahead of us. We have to teach him that the new sound has meaning and how to interpret it. I am struggling with feelings of being overwhelmed because I feel like his success depends on me. We have such a long way to go and right now it feels like there is no light coming through at the end of the tunnel. I know I need to keep my expectations reasonable and take every day at a time.

He is such an amazing little boy. He is so strong and resilient with everything that he has been through. Even though we have dealt with some challenges in his little life, I am so glad I'm his mom and I wouldn't change anything about him.

Happy Halloween

2010-11-01T15:42:00.009-06:00

Cutest Cleopatra, King Tut and Mummy ever!!!

I Promise It's Not Bambi!!!

2010-10-26T11:29:00.005-06:00

This sweet thing may be small, but shooting him got me out of hunting for another four days

Thanks babe for being my guide. I had an awesome day.

Dance Festival

2010-10-21T09:50:00.004-06:00

A few weeks ago Ashten's school had their annual dance festival. The theme of the festival was Western so they all dressed up in their cowboy and cowgirl attire. I tried to get Ashten to wear a hat, but she refused. "It felt weird". She did agree to the little bandanna on her head. At one point I thought she looked more like a gangster than a cowgirl. Either way she looked pretty cute.

We had a really fun time eating pizza and watching all the kids do their fun dances. Ashten is such a good girl and even though she creates a lot of drama with her need to have everything perfect, we would be lost without her. She is always so much help to me with her brothers, especially Traxton. I know if I put her in charge of something, it will get done. We love her so much!!!

Recovery

2010-10-17T16:17:00.004-06:00

What a crazy few weeks we have had! After posting last we have made considerable progress with Traxton's coordination and balance. It didn't come as quickly as I would have liked, but he is walking again. It seemed like every few days he would get a little more balance and be able to get around more easily. It was a little odd seeing him crawl around everywhere like he was a baby, but I was so grateful when it happened. We didn't have to keep a constant watch on him once he was comfortable with crawling around. He is still a little wobbly and he struggles on uneven ground, but he is walking. More than anything is that this experience has taught me patience. We had to carry him everywhere and give him 100% of our attention or he would try to get up and fall back down. It was such an exhausting time. I even had moments of weakness where I would break down and wonder if he was ever going to get his balance back. I questioned and feared that it would be permanent. Our family prayed constantly for him to get better. This has also been a teaching experience for me to be reminded that our prayers are always heard. Our answers might take longer than we would like, but they are always heard. Obviously, Heavenly Father thought that I needed some more practice with patience.

Traxton's incisions look really good. They are almost completely healed and his hematoma has gone away. His crazy personality is back and he doesn't seem to be bothered too much by his lack of sound. He is doing really well with his signing and most of the time I know what he wants. He also is able to understand when I sign to him. Ironically, we were so worried about him being frustrated with communication, and that hasn't been a problem at all.

We have been so grateful for all of our friends and family who have been here to support and offer help to us. The daily visits and phone calls to check on his progress provided such a strength to me. We are surrounded by so many amazing people.

Now we only have two more weeks until his implant is activated and he can start hearing again. I can't wait to get things started!!!

Traxton playing outside with the hose in his underwear.

Surgery

2010-10-04T14:15:00.005-06:00

Last Friday Traxton had his cochlear implant surgery. Even though I had been planning for this and preparing myself for the last few months for what was going to happen, I was nowhere near emotionally ready for what actually took place. What mother can really be ready to have their child undergo major surgery?

Thursday afternoon we met with his surgeon to go over all of the pre-op instructions and find out what time his surgery was scheduled for. The appointment was quick and easy and we left with instructions for the next day and prescriptions that needed to be filled before surgery. We were able to swim and play with the kids at our hotel Thursday night with Jared's sister and her kids. Everyone had a really fun time together. Having the surgery so close made me really emotional. I couldn't help but worry about everything that may possibly go wrong. I spent a lot of time crying.

We were told that Traxton would need to be fasting after 7:00 am, so Jared took him down for breakfast at 6:00 (yes he was already awake), then we just hung out for a few hours before we headed for PCMC. Jared's sister had agreed to watch Ashten and Treyson for the day while we would be at the hospital. Originally we were under the assumption that we would have the surgery in the morning and be discharged the same day. Since he wasn't scheduled until 3:00 pm, we were told that we would be staying the night for observation. Thankfully, Jared's sister was more than happy to keep the older kids over night as well.

Once we got to the hospital they told us that the doctor was an hour behind schedule, so instead of us waiting two hours for the surgery we had to wait three. Traxton did so good considering the fact that he hadn't eaten all day. He played in the little toy area with another little boy who was scheduled for a surgery as well.

They finally came and took him from us at 4:30. He didn't even cry as he was taken down the hall in the opposite direction from Jared and me. I was crying enough for all of us. We were directed to a waiting room full of parents experiencing the same thing as we were. The OR nurse called around 6:30 to say that they had just finished the first ear and were starting the second side. She said he was doing great and everything was going well. I felt like that phone call was a lifeline to my baby and I didn't want to end the conversation. An hour later the surgeon came out to tell us that everything went well and he was all done.

Seeing Traxton in the recovery room was one of the hardest things I have had to do. He didn't even look like my baby. He had his head wrapped up like a little helmet and he looked so pale. It was heart breaking to see him like that.

Our night in the hospital was awful. Traxton woke up every hour and become combative. When he did this Jared would have to take him from me to settle him down. I couldn't control him when he was kicking and hitting. He also kept getting bloody noses. They said the oxygen he had during surgery probably just dried out his nose and was making it bleed. In addition to his nose bleeding, one side of his head kept bleeding through his bandages. We had to add more bandages to his head throughout the night. As if all this wasn't fun enough; Traxton threw up multiple times in the night. I'm pretty sure none of us got very much sleep.

Saturday morning Traxton started to do a little better. He was given some anti nausea medicine and that helped a lot. He was able to start drinking some juice and eating crackers. After a few hours the resident came in and removed his bandages and said everything looked good and we were free to leave whenever we felt ready. Normally, I am very anxious to leave the hospital and go home but I didn't want to leave until we were sure Traxton felt well enough to make the drive home.

We loaded up our stuff and headed to pick up Ashten and Treyson around noon. Traxton seemed to be feeling better, however, he was really wobbly. He actually couldn't even hold his head up without it bobbing all over. We were a little worried about the drive home, but he did really well. He slept most of the way and didn't seem bothered by things when he was awake.

Now that we are home, we are dealing with things that we weren't prepared to deal with. Traxton completely lost his balance. The first few days we have felt like we had a newborn again. We literally had to hold his head when we held him, otherwise it would flop around. He has slowly regained some of his balance. He can now sit up unassisted and crawl around, but he is nowhere near walking yet. I feel like we hit the rewind button and am back to being excited and anticipating the milestones of a baby. I think I am more excited for him to start walking now compared to how I was when he started the first time. The hardest part about his loss of balance is that he thinks he should be fine. He remembers that he could walk and climb so he tries to do it now, only to fall on his face. I can't just leave him on the floor like I did when he was a newborn because he will try to stand up and walk around. Someone has to constantly be right next to him making sure he doesn't hit his head.

Besides his lack of balance, I have been a little concerned with one of his incision sites. It has been pretty swollen, so I called the surgeon and he suggested we take him in to be seen by someone. I took him in to our ENT yesterday and we were told that he has a hematoma, which is a collection of blood under the surface. It's not very big so they want to just keep an eye on it, but if it continues to get bigger we will have to have it drained. I feel like my anxiety level is constantly through the roof. The older kids make me nervous when they are around him, because I'm afraid they might bump into him and hurt his head. I'm hoping once the swelling goes away and the incisions heal up a little bit I'll relax. I think everyone is hoping the same thing.

Overall, I think Traxton is doing pretty good considering everything that he has gone through. Hopefully in the next few days he will continue to make progress with the healing and his balance. I am very anxious to get my crazy, fun loving, little terror back.

Approved!!!

2010-09-22T12:01:00.006-06:00

It's Official.

Traxton's implants have been approved by our insurance and his surgery is a go for next Friday.

We are so EXCITED!!!
(I will admit I'm still feeling a little anxious, but I am working on that.)

Eliminating Fear!

2010-09-13T18:29:00.012-06:00

A couple of weeks ago we took Traxton back up to our audiologist at PCMC. After more testing, his hearing was declared severe enough for him to be considered a candidate for cochlear implant surgery. Even with his hearing aides he can't hear well enough for speech articulation. This information makes him qualify as a candidate. So all of his records were compiled and sent on to our insurance to see if they will cover the implant surgery. I think it is a little ridiculous that it comes down to an insurance company getting to decide ultimately if a surgery, that is medically necessary, will take place or not. They hold the power: not the doctors who have the expertise and skills to perform the surgery. Since the surgery is $80,000 per side, the insurance company holds all the power.

Now we are in limbo. His surgery date has been set for October 1st if it is approved. I am struggling with the uncertainty of it. Should I just plan on it happening and make arrangements for our family? But then if it doesn't happen I'm afraid I will be super disappointed. I'm not really doing anything at this time and that freaks me out too. I am such a planner!!!

Not only does the idea of my baby undergoing surgery stress me out, but the month after will be such a struggle. After they place the implant his hearing aides will no longer work. The implant, however, won't be activated until a month after. This means we will have four weeks of no sound for him. We have been really working on our signing, but we are nowhere near proficient enough to rely completely on it. I am really afraid of the frustrations he will experience and how it will make him feel to be completely without any sound. I think it would be lonely.

Before we made the decision to do the surgery, we talked a lot about this transition period and how much of a struggle it would be, and we decided that the positive points outweigh the negative and to just go for it. Making this decision was really hard and I have doubted myself a lot. I have wondered if it is the right thing and even if it is the right time to do it. Since making this decision, I have had so many little thoughts and impressions that have reaffirmed my decision and I know that this is best. In church the other day someone reminded me of the fact that fear is the opposite of faith. I really needed to hear that and to be reminded that I have to have more faith. Yes it will be a trial, and yes we all will get frustrated at times, but I can't be afraid. I need to have faith that this is the right thing and everything will work out for the better for Traxton. I know that it really is the right thing to do! We love this little guy so much and we love everything that he has brought to our family. I couldn't imagine things being any different. I am excited for the future and all of the possibilities and new sound that will come with Traxton's new ears.

Taylor Tentout

2010-08-25T21:18:00.007-06:00

For the last few years Jared's family has been having a mini-reunion during the Wayne County Fair. This year we decided to not just sit by and gather candy at the parade, we wanted to be in the parade. The train Jared made to be pulled behind the 4-wheeler last fall was modified a little bit to go with our theme. I'm sure to no ones surprise we had a beekeeper theme for our float. All of Jared's sisters helped out in putting the float together and we were so excited to find out that we won first place.
All of the little honeybees after riding in the parade.

A four generation picture with Jared's grandma and grandpa, parents and our little crew.

Last week we bought a little 4-wheeler for our kids so they got to spend the weekend riding it around. One of the many perks of being in a tiny town is that you can drive an ATV down the middle of the road and no one cares.We went for a ride up to the mountains and the little 4-wheeler did so good. At one point it needed some help to get up a big hill, but totally worth the work to see the amazing view from the top.

Jared's grandma is in her eighties and she spends a lot of her time crocheting. She has made a blanket for all twelve of the great-grandkids over the last few months. They are so lucky to have a blanket made just for them by her.
We had a really fun weekend hanging out with all the family and escaping the heat for a few days.

Summer in Review

2010-08-11T11:39:00.017-06:00

Like I said in my last post, I have been horrible at blogging this summer. We really did do a lot of fun things even though I never posted anything about them. I thought I would do a "brief" overview of our summer.

*Traxton turned two. He is our little wild child. I struggle to keep up with him everyday. He loves his brother and sister and will do anything to mimic them. He also loves to be a lion and crawl around growling at everyone. We had a family party for him and he loved being the center of attention, just like always.

*We went camping at our annual Bundy Reunion in July. It is always a lot of work to pack for the long weekend of camping, but I absolutely love going. Its so fun to be around so many loved ones and there is nothing more relaxing than sitting around camp and not having to worry about getting to appointments or running errands all over town. All the grandkids in their Bundy Reunion shirts. Even the moms got matching shirts this year.
This rock pile is always amazing to keep the kids entertained for hours at a time. It also always attracts quite a few stray kids.

*We took multiple trips to Salt Lake for doctor appointments this summer. Traxton had a MRI of his temporal bone to make sure all of the anatomy in his inner ear was intact and compatible for an implant. So relieved to know everything looks good there. The fun thing about these trips is that it gives us some one-on-one time with Traxton. We learned that he is quite the little jabber box when he doesn't have to compete with his two older siblings. I don't know what we would do without family to help us out with the older kids while we travel back and forth. Thanks so much. Waking up from being sedated for the MRI. We are so thankful that he comes out of sedation so well. It's like he has just woken up from a good long nap. The only problem he had was when he found the IV still in his little arm. I had to hide it under his blanket.

*We are so lucky to have all the cousins live so close together. It makes it easy to get together and let the kids play. We took all of them to the splash pad for a few hours and they had a blast. They are all close together in ages and have also started to play together really well. Instead of fighting with each other, they protect one another and fight with other kids. All seven of them were ready to take on an older kid who wouldn't stop spraying them in the face with a squirt bottle.

*Lastly, Ashten turned six. I love having her birthday in the summer. It is fun to end off the summer by having a party before heading back to school. It's also really nice to combine her school clothes with birthday presents. She had a swimming party with some of her friends and we had a family party. I can't believe she is six! She is such a big helper and we love her so much.

It's been a pretty busy summer and now that school has started up again, we are getting back into the groove of having a schedule. I love having a schedule!!! As excited as we always are for summer to get here, it's even more exciting for it to end and for fall to arrive.

Back to School

2010-08-11T10:14:00.005-06:00

I can't believe how bad I have been at blogging this summer. Now before I even realize it the summer is over and another year of school has started. I have so many mixed emotions about sending Ashten off to 1st grade to be apart from us all day. I feel guilty for wishing this day to come for the last two and a half months. I pretty much started counting down the days for school to get back in session since the doors opened for summer break. I longed to have the luxury of grocery shopping again without all three "helpers".

I now feel like I didn't enjoy the summer break and time with my kids like I could have. We did a lot of fun things throughout the summer, but I didn't really enjoy them like I should have. Many of my days were spent looking forward to nap time and then bed time. Some days it felt like all I could do was count the hours until I could have a break. Recently, I have been struggling a lot with feelings of inadequacy. I was feeling like I just couldn't keep up with all of the demands placed on me by others, and even myself. A lot of my feelings were stemmed from all of the responsibilities of keeping up with all of Traxton's therapy sessions and doctor appointments. We have multiple therapist come to our house throughout the week and I take him to an additional speech therapist. I just have felt like even though we are working so hard with him, I'm still not doing enough. Like I am failing him as his mother. I am his number one advocate, but I am also mainly responsible for whether or not he has success. His progress with speech and language relies on whether or not I take the time, and have the patience, to work with him. Some days we do really well, but others are rough. He gets frustrated really easy when I don't know what he wants and he can't construct a word or phrase to tell me. I admittedly, get frustrated a lot and don't take the time to figure out what he is telling me so he gets upset. Having all this responsibility has been weighing heavily on my shoulders. I have known where these feelings are coming from all along; the only person who wants me to feel like a failure. But even though I have known that, I still have had a hard time getting rid of them. My poor husband who would call to see how our day was going, would end up listening to me break down and cry. Thank you babe for being so loving and understanding. At stake conference on Sunday our stake president spoke, and although I really didn't get a lot out of the meeting thanks to my kids who seemed to have a hard time remembering that we are suppose to whisper in church, I heard one thing that I felt was directed entirely to me. He said that if we look at ourselves the way the Lord does, we will be able to love ourselves more fully and then see the potential in ourselves that the Lord sees. I really needed to hear this to put things in perspective and get out of my depressive state.

So now as I sit here after dropping Ashten off at school to be gone all day, I am seriously missing her and how much help she is to me around the house. Maybe it's because she's the oldest or maybe because she is the only girl, but I get a lot of strength from having her around. I am sad to have that stage of our life over. Ashten will always be a full-time school girl and for now I get to be outnumbered by the boys at home.
Traditional 1st day of school photo.

Diaper Free Zone!

2010-07-15T15:34:00.007-06:00

We are officially a diaper free zone at our house. Yeah!!! A couple of weeks ago I decided to potty train Traxton. I have been planning on potty training him during the summer for months. Although, as the summer started I was having stress on when would be the perfect time to stay near the toilet for days at a time. Somehow I wasn't able to find a time where we didn't have something scheduled that would prevent me from directing every ounce of attention to Traxton and his bodily output. Finally, I decided to just do it and hope for success. I sent Jared and the big kids away for a Saturday, and Traxton and I literally spent the whole day in the bathroom. I am not exaggerating when I say that he sat on the toilet for over four hours straight. Poor kid! Who would have known that he had the largest bladder in America? I had to eventually get him off the toilet just so that I could use it. Since he rarely even went pee that day, we didn't have too many examples to learn from. He had quite a few accidents in the next couple of days and I was beginning to wonder if we weren't ready. I also was missing my happy little boy since pretty much all he would do on the toilet was cry.

On day four of our potty training extravaganza we headed out on a four day camping trip. I was so worried about how camping would affect the little progress he had made, but it turned out to be the best thing ever. He suddenly understood the concept and had no problem with "watering the trees".

It has been almost two weeks since we started in the big boy pants and he has been amazing. I could probably count how many accidents he has had on one hand and I absolutely love not having to change dirty diapers anymore. I am so excited to have this milestone past us and I gotta say his little bummie in underwear is the cutest thing ever.

The Inevitable!

2010-06-15T13:06:00.011-06:00

Last week we took Traxton to Primary Children's Hospital for tests to check his hearing. The results we were given was the very thing we have prayed and hoped against since he was diagnosed with a progressive hearing loss as a newborn. We knew the odds were against us in hoping that his hearing wouldn't get worse, but for the last two years that is exactly what I have been hoping for. Last week that desire for my child to be able to hear adequately with only the help from hearing aides was crushed. We were told after a series of tests where he was required to be sedated that his hearing has dropped substantially. He is profoundly deaf on his left side and severe to profoundly deaf on the right side. Basically, this means that without his hearing aides he cannot hear a thing. Even with his hearing aides a lot of sounds is being missed. We were told that he can only hear at the level in which we talk if it is loud and within a few feet of him.

Sadly, this information did not come as a shock to Jared or I. We knew it was the most probable likelihood from everything we have read about LVA. I also have been able to tell during the last few weeks and months that his response to sound had gotten worse. There have been times where he had his hearing aides off to swim or play in the water and I would yell at him to get his attention. When I would finally get him to look my way, I could tell that he hadn't heard me call his name even though I had been yelling it multiple times. Even though deep down I already knew this was happening, hearing the audiologist tell me the definitive news made me just sit there and cry. It made all my fears a reality and took me right back to the first few months of his life when everything we had anticipated with a newborn was turned upside down and all I could do was cry to my friends and family.

Thankfully, having my gut warn me of the tests outcome made it so much easier to bounce back from my tears and despair into the role as my child's advocate. I needed to know what all this would mean for Traxton and where we go from here. All of the audiologist with Primary Children's were so amazing and have been so supportive of our family and of the hundreds of questions we have had. We had to get Traxton some new "high powered" hearing aides to use for a trial period so see if he makes any progress with his speech and cognition. They also told us that the most likely and most beneficial response to his profound hearing loss will be a Cochlear Implant. Part of the cochlear implant is surgically placed under the skin embedded into the skull. A device similar to a hearing aide is worn externally to pick up the sound and then filter and digitize it into coded signals which are sent as FM radio signals to the cochlear implant under the skin. The implant then sends the signal through electrodes inserted into the cochlea and up through the auditory system to the brain for interpretation. It's pretty amazing that because of technology, there are still options for individuals and families who are dealing with a profound hearing loss.

There are still tests that Traxton has to have before he is considered a candidate for cochlear implants. We have to go back up to PCMC in a few weeks to have a few more tests and meet with a surgeon, but I am really praying that everything will look okay and he can be considered for the implantation. I feel like this is the best thing for him and our hearing family. He is such a sweet little boy who still loves to snuggle even though he is almost two years old. He has such a fun personality and always has everyone laughing. I can't wait until we get to see even more of his personality as he grows.
Traxton sleeping soundly during the ABR.

Waking up from his sedation to his biggest fans.

Traxton's new hearing aides. When Treyson saw them for the first time he said, "cool new ears bud"! Too cute.

Our little Graduate!

2010-05-24T10:31:00.004-06:00

Last week we had Treyson's Joy School graduation. Joy school is pretty much the same thing as preschool, except the mom's of each of the children take turns teaching at their own home and the curriculum focuses on teaching the children important values as well as the academic side. This was my first year ever doing joy school and it worked out really well for the most part. I did get a little stressed when it was my turn to teach, but Treyson had a lot of fun and most importantly, it was FREE. He is going to a preschool next year since he has another year before Kindergarten. So I have a few years to decide if I want to do the Joy school thing again.

Truth or Tale?

2010-05-06T21:17:00.015-06:00

All the advertisements try their hardest to make you to think that Disneyland is the happiest place on earth. I wanted to know for sure, so this last weekend our family loaded up and headed to California to find out once and for all.

Getting packed and ready to go was all smiles for the kids. I guess even just the anticipation of seeing Mickey and the gang will make the young at heart beam with excitement. (Don't think they realize how long the drive is going to be)

The kids were doing all they could to contain their excitement as we entered the park and began to take in the surroundings.

Then it happened!!! We started riding the rides and seeing the stars and before we knew it everything was magical.

The kids even managed to enjoy themselves as we waited in the long lines. (why can't this happen at the grocery store?)

Inevitably; we did have a few tears and got a little tired, but we didn't give up on our quest to find the truth to the advertisement hype.

Is it truth or tale? I will whole heartily say TRUTH. Something about that place just makes everything wonderful. I think it must be the pixie dust spread around by Tinkerbell and her fairy friends.

Or maybe its being able to walk around with hearts and a fiery dragon painted on your face that makes everything seem magical.

I actually think the real reason for making Disneyland the happiest place on earth is that families are together and everyone feels carefree. I kinda wish I could bottle some of the magic and excitement up to bring home.

We also went to the beach and had an awesome day. Loved being able to let my kids roll around in the sand without any worries of it being tracked into my house.

Our Super Soccer Star!

2010-04-23T15:19:00.003-06:00

Ashten has been playing city league soccer the past couple of months and it has been so much fun for us. Aunt Dally plays soccer for Dixie High school, and of course Ashten wants to do what she does. I have to admit that I was a little worried about how it was going to be. Everyone who knows me can easily say that I am a little bit competitive. I wanted to be able to go to her games and not make her feel like she was under a lot of pressure to be awesome. I also know that she got her super fast speed from her mom, ha ha, so I worried about how aggressive and into the game she would be. Well, she is not the fastest player on the field, but she has been so fun to watch. She is always right into the action and even can look ahead to where the ball might be going. The hardest part for me is when she is the goalie. For some reason she loves playing that position and it is so stressful for me. The first time she played goalie it didn't go too well, but every time she missed a block she would look over at us and we would just smile and give her a thumbs up sign. That's what parents are suppose to do, right? This week she volunteered to be the goalie again and I was amazed with how good she did. She was so aggressive and not afraid to jump on the ball at all. She literally did jump on the ball to save it from going in. They didn't score at all on her. I was one proud momma! She has made two goals and has totally loved being a little soccer player. I wish I could say that I have taught her everything she knows, but thanks to dad and aunt Dally's Sunday practices at grandma's house she is turning into quite the little player.

Happy Easter

2010-04-07T12:56:00.005-06:00

We had a really fun Easter weekend with lots of family, candy, and belly aches. Jared's sister was in town, so on Saturday we decorated eggs and had a little egg hunt. The kids are all about the same age so it is always a lot of fun to spend time with them.
The excitement for Sunday morning was that the Easter bunny brought us a trampoline. The kids were so excited and it has been a blast so far. I loved being able to stay home and watch conference on Easter and to hear some of the talks focus on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. I also loved the fact that I didn't have to compete with the sugar highs with every child in primary.
We went to my parents for dinner and had another egg hunt. My mom had different sections for the big kids and little kids to hunt, which worked out really well. The kids also got silly string in their baskets and loved chasing everyone around. Even the adults got into the silly string action. I always love the Easter holiday and the warm weather that usually accompanies it. Too bad the warm weather doesn't last longer before it turns blazing hot.

Grandpa and the kids in our traditional Easter photo.

Easter Campout!

2010-03-31T11:10:00.004-06:00

It has been a family tradition since I was a little girl to go camping on or around Easter weekend. Because of different family members schedules, we went a couple of weeks early this year. My sister and her family were also not able to be there because of a funeral. Besides missing having them there, we all had a really good time. We spent the night at my grandpa's cabin on the Arizona Strip and on Saturday we went on like a five hour 4-wheeler ride. It was a little cold so everyone had to bundle up, but once the day went on it turned out to be great weather. Because the size of our family is bigger than what would comfortably fit on our 4-wheeler, the kids rotated around riding with grandma and grandpa and uncle Trumbull and aunt Dally. Thankfully they were okay with having extra bodies ride with them.

We stopped at this old cabin that was built in the 1940's for some of the sheep herders. Inside the cabin many of the original items were still there. We found newspaper articles and magazines from the 1950's. Along the concrete walls people had carved their names and dates of when they had visited the old cabin. It was really neat to see so many names carved into the walls.

We had lunch at the base of a bunch of boulders. Everyone loved climbing around the rocks. I couldn't believe how well my kids did with climbing. It actually made me a little nervous to have them so unafraid of the heights. Some Indian writings on the rocks.
Grandma and Treyson on top of a big rock.

We spent most of the day riding on the 4-wheelers and the kids were such troopers. Even Traxton did great and took two naps on my shoulder. I am so grateful to have such fun family traditions that started when I was young and have continued on so that my kids can enjoy some of the same things I enjoyed as a kid. I am also so lucky to have Jared who enjoys these type of things and is willing to go along with some of these crazy adventures that my family comes up with

Family Fun!

2010-03-06T18:54:00.004-07:00

Our kids had worked really hard with their homework and obeying all our rules, so we rewarded them with a trip to the bowling alley. They had a blast and were so funny to watch. Ashten came up with the idea that pushing the ball was easier, and it must have worked because she ended up with a better score than me. Pretty sad!

I thought it would be easier to just put all three kids in the bathtub together, but I was wrong. They had a lot of fun playing with the bubbles together, but it took a major strategic effort to get them all out without any of them drowning.

Anytime Jared is busy doing anything Traxton has to be right there "helping". Jared loves having him be so interested, but the down side has been that a lot of tools and parts have gone missing. Jared was changing the shocks in his truck with his little helper right there waiting to help out.

Busy little Bees

2010-02-15T19:35:00.006-07:00

This past weekend I went with Jared and his dad to take a load of bees to California. As most of you know, Jared and his dad are beekeepers and they have a contract to pollinate one of the farms just north of Bakersfield, California owned by the LDS church. They have been taking bees down there for the last five or so years and I have never been, so I thought it would be fun to go and check things out. When you travel with bees, you have to travel at night otherwise most of the bees wont be in their hives and you would just move a less than full beehive. So we left town around nine with the trailer loaded. I think my role was to help keep the guys awake while they drove, but sadly, I failed. I pretty much slept the entire way. (The trailer loaded with beehives)

We got to California early in the morning and the guys got the beehives unloaded in the almond orchards. Jared wanted to show me around a little since it was my first trip, so we went over to their processing plant and had a little tour. I was amazed with the efficiency of the process. Although, being as it is owned by the church, I shouldn't have been so surprised.

Here are just a few items that I found very interesting.

*The almond orchard where we have a contract is over five miles wide and they want every blossom to be pollinated by bees. Over 25,000 beehives are brought in for about six weeks every year by different beekeepers. It costs them over $5 million to pay for the pollination. We were also told that this is the cheapest expense the farm has. (Jared and I standing in the almond orchard. The trees were just starting to bloom. I only wish I could have seen the orchard in full bloom. Jared says it is beautiful)

*Every part of the almond nut is used in some form or another. The shells are separated and used in animal bedding, like what you would buy to fill a hamster cage. The spongy thing that surrounds the shell is blended together with other stuff to make cattle feed. They make about as much money on these parts of the nut as they do on the actual almond. The almonds are shelled and sorted, they actually had a bin full of almonds that were "flawed". After they are shelled and sorted, they are boxed up to be shipped out. We were told that most almonds are sold to countries like India and china. (One of the piles of shells taken from the almond nuts)
(Almonds being dumped into the boxes after being processed)
(All of these boxes were full of almonds that were ready to be shipped out)

From the planting of new trees and the pollinating of the blossoms, to the finish product of shelling the almonds and sorting them and their by-products for purchase was such a detailed process. I was totally amazed with the efficiency of how things were ran and organized. It just reminded me of how inspired our leaders are in many different areas.

I loved being able to go with Jared to see where he has been taking the bees and to be able to spend that time with him, too bad I slept most of the trip. I couldn't think of a better thing to do on our Valentine's Day weekend.

Our Super Student!

2010-02-03T19:36:00.007-07:00

Ashten's school has monthly winners in each class for different outstanding qualities. Last month she was the winner. Her teacher told me that they would be awarding the winners during an assembly, but that it was a secret to the students. It was so cute to see her walk in with her little class and then to be called up in front of everyone. We are so proud of her and how hard she works in school. She is such a smart little girl and has become a really good reader. She loves going to school everyday and I hope she always has her same desire to learn that she has now.

I am Ashten's room mom, and I also go into her class once a week to test the kids on different things that they have been learning. I love having a child old enough for elementary school and to be able to be involved and experience all of the fun things that go along with it.

*Traxton wishes that he went to school. He loves to wear his brother and sister's backpack so much that I finally went out and bought him his own. I love this boy!!!

Better late than never.

2010-01-25T11:03:00.003-07:00

I am way out the the blogging groove right now, but hopefully that can be one of my new years resolutions and I can do better. I'm really late with posting about Christmas, but here it is anyways.

On Christmas Eve we get together with my family and have dinner and a fun gift exchange. This year we went to my sister's house in Gunlock. It was a lot of fun to spend the evening together and the kids had a blast. They are at the fun age where they all get so excited about everything, even new pajamas.

Santa was way too generous with us this year and the kids got a lot of fun things. Ashten told my mom later that day that she got everything she wanted and she wasn't even good. I guess we need to re-evaluate that threat for next year. The fun thing about having kids is that your focus shifts from being excited for what you get, to watching them and being excited for them.

Traxton got this cozy coupe car and he absolutely has loved it. Ashten and Treyson got these wiggle cars and they have also been a lot of fun. Jared and I rode them around the kitchen for almost an hour on Christmas Eve. :)

Jared got this air soft gun and it has brought back his inner child. Some of our neighbor kids have guns as well, so they have wars quite often. Its pretty fun to watch Jared take on the whole neighborhood.

My absolute favorite gift this year was one we gave to my mom. For as long as I can remember, she has said that she wanted a two-seater bike. A few years ago I looked at them around town, but I never wanted to spend the money to buy a new one. One of our seasonal neighbors has a hobby of fixing up old bikes, and Jared talked to him about bringing us one back from Colorado. It was the neatest thing for me to see her surprise when she saw the bike.

I love the Christmas season and all the fun activities that we find ourselves busy doing, and I always get a little depressed when it's all over. This year is no different. January just seems like a gloomy month with nothing really to look forward to. Thank goodness it is almost over.

Early Christmas!

2009-12-17T13:02:00.007-07:00

Yesterday my little brother came home from his mission in Argentina. It was such a long anticipated day. We had our signs made and went up to the airport around noon to wait for his flight. All the kids were so cute holding their signs up through the window. For the last six months he has been telling us to get our kids ready to give him a hug when he got home. We tried to tell him that it has been two years and they would probably be afraid of him and wouldn't give him any hugs. The kids did so well. All but the youngest ones went right up to him and hugged him. They didn't even act like they haven't seen him for two years. It is so good to have him home and to hear his spanish accent.

The kids were so excited to show their signs. As soon as we saw the plane on the horizon, they started waving their signs. I'm sure he saw them. :)

Welcome Home Elder Trumbull Bundy!

Hugging the big boys.

There's a few more kids than when he left! Everyone was excited to see him, except for Traxton. Big surprise, he doesn't like anyone but mom or dad.

The picture we took a few days before he left. Wow, look how little they all look.

My Husband the Innovator

2009-11-18T10:23:00.005-07:00

Anyone who knows Jared knows that he is quite the handy man. He can build or fix just about anything. This has been both a blessing and a curse. For example, a few years ago our roof leaked, a lot. Jared refused to let me call a "professional" and claimed he could do it himself. After a lot of tension, a tarp nailed to our roof, and a hole in my living room, I think it is finally fixed. Although, I cringe a little every time it rains. Jared has also saved us and many friends and neighbors a lot of money with his handy skills. I had a friend ask me if Jared knew anything about installing water heaters. I was pretty doubtful, but told her I would ask. Randomly enough, he did know how to install it and saved them the installation fee. Jared's famous line is "I could make that", whenever he sees something that he likes. I will admit that I have used Jared's skills to make many things for me. Remember the cows he made for Enrichment.

Well a couple of weeks ago Jared decided that he wanted to make a train to pull behind the 4-wheeler. The kids had seen one of these at Staheli Farm, and were really excited when Jared told them he was going to make one. One thing I have learned about Jared is that when he gets an idea in his head, he has to get busy on it right away. It only took him about a week to get the whole thing put together. It turned out awesome, and lets just say that he is the most liked parent in the neighborhood now.

The kids from our neighborhood, and a few who weren't, were lined up in our circle for hours getting on and off the ride. We had such a fun time.

Seeing how well this little project turned out, and how easy it seemed to be for Jared to make, just reminds me of how lucky I am to be married to such a handy man. Jared works so hard to make us happy and to provide for us. I love you babe.

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-02T11:08:00.004-07:00

Halloween seemed to be a lot of work this year, but was still a lot of fun. With all the parties we went to, we put the kids in their costumes four different times. They were really good sports and wore them really well. Even Traxton kept his on a lot better than I thought he would. Ashten was little Bo Peep, with Traxton being her little lamb, and Treyson was a bull fighter. We got tons more candy than we need and sadly I will probably end up eating most of it. I need some self control.

Ashten and Treyson both had little parades at school and loved wearing their costumes around for everyone to see.

Our first annual Harvest Hop

2009-10-23T10:14:00.006-06:00

The other day we went to our first official school function. Ashten's school was doing a dance performance for family members as a fundraiser for playground covers. We bought pizza with our tickets and put the remainder in the raffle hoping to win the big prize. Ashten really wanted to win the helicopter ride, but was only disappointed for a minute since she won movie passes instead.

Seeing all the little kids sing and dance was so fun and Ashten did a really good job. The kindergarten kids did the hamster dance so we got to paint whiskers on her face. She was the cutest little hamster ever.

The boys enjoyed eating the popcorn more than watching Ashten's performance. Traxton ate as much as Treyson did. Look at him with his whole arm in the bag.

What A Year!

2009-10-07T10:24:00.017-06:00

It has been a whole year since Traxton got his little hearing aids. I can't believe it has been that long. When I think back over everything we have been through in the last year and a half, I am both so amazed and exhausted. After the initial devastation of finding out our newborn had hearing loss, we set our minds on finding out what we could do to help him. At three months old he was fitted for hearing aids. As most of you know, this was a very bitter sweet thing for me. I was so glad there was something to make it possible for him to hear me, but I also was kinda prideful and didn't want people to look differently at my little baby. The hearing aids made a night and day difference for his world. He started responding to things that he never had before. Other than all the questions and looks we got from acquaintances and complete strangers, our days were pretty easy.
One day it all changed. Our sweet little Traxton gained control of his little arms just enough to reach up to his ears, pull off the aids, and either put them in his mouth or throw them across the room. I would either dry them off or find them from their new location and place them back in his ears. This was literally repeated hundreds of times a day. We found ourselves so anxious to put him to bed at night because that meant we could have a break from the battle. Sadly, that is exactly what our days were. A battle of wills. I refused to let him win and think that if he tried to pull them off enough times I would give in, so we would go through that routine all day long.
Then it seamed like (many months later) one day he just stopped pulling them out as much. It was such a welcomed relief. He still will pull them out when he is confined somewhere, like in the car seat or highchair. I think he does it out of boredom and for attention. He will also come up to me holding onto one if it fell out so that I can put it back in. I think he is starting to realize that he can hear better with them in.

The only understandable word Traxton will say is Dad. We are really working on trying to get him to say more words. He is very vocal and has always been a little talker, but I have been getting worried and frustrated with him not saying more yet. Yesterday I was at Target and a lady stopped me to ask about his hearing aids. She said she lost her hearing as a child but didn't realize the problem until she was in her twenties. We talked for a few minutes and as she went to leave, she said goodbye to Traxton. He immediately smiled and started jabbering to her. She looked right at me and said "he talks". I told her yes, but not really words. She was shocked. She said most kids will try to talk, but no noise will come out. I really feel like I needed a complete stranger to help keep me in check with everything that I have to be grateful for. We really don't feel like he is any different. He hears most everything that goes on at our house and sometimes I actually forget that he can't hear everything. We are so grateful for this little "challenge" that our family has, but even more grateful for our little boy who is still completely perfect and wouldn't be him without his special ears.

Hearing clearly for the first time! Sep 30, 2008

**OUR DIFFERENT STRATEGIES FOR KEEPING HIS EARS ON.

1 Traxton pretty much spent the whole winter in this hat to prevent him from reaching his ears. He hated it and would get so upset when he couldn't reach under the flaps to pull his ears off.

2. Probably the most painful method. It looks horrible, but it did work for a while. Eventually, he was able to even pull the tape off. Poor kid!

3.The current and most effective method. They are similar to chums for glasses. They slide over the back of his hearing aid and with an elastic cord, hook to a clasp on his shirt. They won't prevent him from pulling the aids off, but if he does, they won't get lost. My anxiety level dropped drastically when we started using these bad boys.

Kolob

2009-09-27T15:35:00.010-06:00

This weekend we went camping on Kolob mountain. It was so nice to get out of town and enjoy some of the fall colors. It didn't seem that hot up there, but somehow we all still came home with sunburned faces. We just hung out together and let the kids play in the sand and eat junk food. Isn't that what camping is all about!

Ashten couldn't get enough of riding the 4-wheeler as long as she could be in charge of the throttle. We discovered she has a major need for speed.

Treyson loved feeding the ducks and, when we ran out of bread, throwing rocks at them. Good thing he wasn't that accurate with his throwing.The kids were having so much fun digging and playing in the sand that Jared couldn't just sit back and watch. It just goes to show that he will always be a kid at heart.

Where is this kid's mother? I'm still cleaning dirt out of his hearing aid.

Best Babysitting Tool Ever!

2009-09-10T08:42:00.002-06:00

Two Christmas's ago we got the kids a little driving jeep. It was a huge hit and has driven around our circle so many times we can't even count. The last few months however, it has pretty much been parked in our garage. I'm not sure if it was the heat or just that the kids have been more interested in riding their bikes and scooters. Lately I have discovered that Jared has been pulling it out of the garage while I was at work for the kids to drive Traxton around in. It was solely as a babysitting purpose so he could get whatever he needed to get done. When I first found this out, I was a little concerned. I wasn't sure how safe it was for my baby to be riding around in. However, I have to admit that after being stuck in the house with a teething, cranky child, I too have pulled the jeep out and strapped him in. Traxton absolutely loved riding co-pilot with Treyson around and around our circle. I absolutely loved the chance for a break from him pulling on my leg and crying. I guess I have to hand it to Jared for being so innovative in his babysitting methods. I'm pretty sure I would have never thought of sticking him in there myself. Probably because I wouldn't be able to get past the dangers of it to even try. I guess that is why dad's are more fun.

First day of Preschool!

2009-09-01T11:12:00.003-06:00

Today was the big day for Treyson. The day he has been patiently anticipating all summer long. The first day of preschool. He has been so excited and ready to go since Ashten started school. He wore his backpack all morning long waiting for it to be time to go. He looked like such a big kid all ready for school. My kids have gotten so big without me realizing it. I definitely need to slow down our pace and enjoy all the little things, before its too late.

Big Day!!!

2009-08-13T10:06:00.003-06:00

All summer long when people asked me if I was going to have a hard time when Ashten went to kindergarten, I totally said no. I was so excited to get a break with her and Treyson for a few hours. But this morning when I dropped her off at school, I about died. She seemed so young to be left at elementary school. The hardest part was that she really didn't even want me to stick around. A lot of the other kids were clinging to their parent's legs, while she was telling me to leave. I guess I'm glad she feels confident enough to be in a new environment and eager for new challenges, but apparently I wasn't as ready as I thought I would be. This just means that she is officially grown up now; she's not my baby girl anymore. I hope I have taught her and prepared her enough for the big scary world. There's no turning back now!

Happy Birthday Ashten

2009-08-10T12:41:00.006-06:00

Last week Ashten turned five and we had a couple of parties for her. On Thursday we took some of her little friends swimming and had a really fun time. They swam and ate pizza and cupcakes. It was so cute to watch them all play around in the water.

Last night we had a family party which was also a lot of fun. Sometimes the parties can get crazy with all the family and cousins in one room, but everyone has a good time. Ashten got a lot of fun stuff and loved being the center of attention. I can't believe she is five years old and will be going to kindergarten this year. She is such a good helper and the best big sister ever. We love having her as a part of our family.

Walking

2009-07-31T11:41:00.004-06:00

Traxton has started standing alone and taking steps this last week. He is always on the go and seems to forget that he can't walk yet and will step away from things only to fall. It has been very exciting for Ashten and Treyson to see him try to walk. They always run up to me and tell how many steps he took. It is very sweet to see their excitement in his new found skills. I am just hoping that he will be able to walk well enough by the time it cools off that he can "play" with the kids outside.

Girls Weekend!

2009-07-19T13:18:00.005-06:00

Because one of my best friends is moving to St Louis in a couple of weeks, we decided we needed to spend a weekend together with just the girls in Vegas to enjoy ourselves before she moved. We all work together and have become such good friends over the last few years. Our kids are all about the same age, so we have a lot of play dates together, but mainly we have scrapbook parties. We have been talking about going to Vegas all summer, but finally planned the trip a few weeks ago. I am so glad we did. We stayed in the MGM Grand, but spent most of our time shopping and well, mostly walking. My feet still haven't recovered from all the walking in heels. We ate at the Cheesecake Factory and saw a Cirque du Soleil show, which was really good. The best part of our whole trip was just spending time together for one of the last times. It was really kind of bitter sweet. I know I am going to cry when she leaves us. She is such an amazing person and we all will miss her so much.

Enjoying the Vegas nightlife.

Hanging out at the pool.

Kourtney and I. (She's the one who's moving)

Bundy Reunion Time!

2009-07-09T12:13:00.005-06:00

Every fourth of July weekend we pack up all our stuff and go camping for the Bundy reunion. It is always a lot of work to get everything ready, but finally getting there and relaxing makes it all worth it. The kids had such a fun time playing in the dirt, running around with cousins, and staying up way past their bedtime. I was really worried about how Traxton would do, since he is at the stage where he always wants to be down crawling around. He did so good. He just played in the rocks with the big kids, and surprisingly, he didn't eat too many of them either. His favorite thing to do was ride the four-wheeler with dad or grandpa. A couple of his naps were taken on four-wheeler rides.
Coming home and unloading seems to always bring way too much work, but we still seem to go back every single year.

Ashten and Treyson did the little bb gun shooting contest and were so cute. They were so proud of themselves.

Treyson got 2nd in the races for his age group. He loves his little red ribbon.

We took a four-wheeler ride to a the top of a mountain where we could see just about everything. It has been said that on a clear day you can see five different states from there.

We put the older kids in the tent for the first time this year, and it was awesome. They really liked it and I loved not having to clean up their beds every morning. Hopefully next year we won't have to get up every night to take Treyson to the bathroom.

All cleaned up to go dancing. What cute little cowboys and cowgirl I have.

Happy Birthday Traxton!

2009-06-25T10:41:00.006-06:00

Yesterday was Traxton's first birthday. I can't believe how fast the time has gone. It definitely doesn't feel like it has been a whole year since he came to our family. He didn't have that great of a birthday since he didn't feel too well throughout the day. He was really cranky and even threw up at one point. He has been getting a lot of teeth, so I am just hoping this is all related to that. We had a family party last night for him and I forgot how not into it they are at one. He did pretty well with the first few presents, but needed help with the rest. Good thing he has some siblings who were willing to jump in.
Traxton is such a good little boy who brings so much love to our family. I love being his mom and can't wait for all the future birthdays with him.

Happy Fathers Day!

2009-06-21T14:56:00.002-06:00

I just wanted to wish Jared a happy fathers day. He is such a good dad and helps so much. I know I couldn't stay sane without him. We love you.

Great News

2009-06-18T08:06:00.003-06:00

We took Traxton into the audiologist yesterday to have his ears tested again. This is something that we have to do about every six months to make sure his hearing loss hasn't gotten any worse. Such a relief to find out that it hasn't. We love our little Traxton, and wouldn't love him any less if he lost his hearing completely, but we hope so much that it will never happen. Now we won't have to worry for a little while again. He is such a fun little guy who babbles and makes noises all the time. I don't remember loving it as much with my older kids, but every time I hear him make noises, I am reassured that he is hearing. It is a beautiful sound, especially since the doctors told us that at six months old he might stop making noises all together. We are so grateful for the hearing that he has and for the blessings he has brought to our family.

Branding!

2009-06-07T15:52:00.008-06:00

Last weekend we went out to my Grandpa's ranch on the Arizona Strip to brand calves. This is something that I did as a kid every year, but surprisingly my kids have never done it before. We had a great day. The weather was great. Ususally it is so hot and dusty that everyone comes home scorched and covered in dirt, but this time we actually had to run for cover from the rain for a few minutes. The kids had a great time playing and "helping". I think they will want to go every year now.

The kids had to be right there for most of the action.

Traxton and my aunt Margie. She is such a lifesaver. Everytime our kids get sick of their parents or we of them, she steps in and takes them. We don't know what we would do without her.

Traxton and my cousins little boy, Clay. They spent some time together in the back of the truck. One day they will do more playing together and not just sitting next to eachother.

Better Days Ahead!

2009-05-27T21:55:00.004-06:00

Over the last few months Traxton has had multiple ear infections. Recently, his ears have just been full of gunk that wouldn't clear up with antibiotics. Because of his hearing loss, the infections made his hearing even worse. We really couldn't afford to have the reoccurring infections impact his long-term hearing, so I pushed to have tubes placed. We felt like this was the best option to clean them out and hopefully prevent any more infections. So on Tuesday morning we went to the hospital at 6 am for his surgery. It was a really basic procedure which literally only took fifteen minutes. He did so well that once we got home and had a nap, you couldn't even tell that anything had even happened. I have also even been able to tell a difference in his hearing. He has been responding better in only the short time since the tubes were placed. He also got his first tooth yesterday. Kind of a big day for our little one.

He was such a happy boy while waiting to be taken to the OR. A little different than when they brought him back.

PIP Camp!

2009-05-17T14:23:00.005-06:00

This weekend we traveled to Salt Lake for the Utah PIP (Parent, Infant Program)camp. It is put on by the Utah School for the Deaf and Blind. What an amazing experience this was. Just seeing how many families there are who are either in the same situation as us or worse was so overwhelming. Treyson even commented on how many kids there were with hearing aids on. It was such an eye opening experience to see so many kids with either hearing aids or cochlear implants on. There were even a lot of kids with other more serious medical problems as well. The camp was themed around a cruise so all their classes had something to do with that. On Saturday they had classes for the kids to go to while the parents had guest speakers. Both Ashten and Treyson loved their classes and the leaders were so good with them. They were actually only a few of the hearing kids in their class. When we met back up with the kids at lunch, Ashten said that she wished that she had hearing aids. I got all emotional when she said this, just because I love how innocent and non-judgmental kids are. We also saw a little boy who had multiple medical problems and had to walk with a walker. Ashten asked why he had to have that, so I said to help him walk. Ever since then, she has said that she wants a walker to help her walk as well. Instead of seeing all these kids as different with their hearing devices, oxygen tanks, and walkers, they saw something that seemed cool.
Our guest speakers were so good. Justin Osmond, who was born deaf, talked about his life and how he has overcome so many challenges. I sat in my seat and cried the whole time. At lunch we sat with a small group of other parents and talked about our stories. It was so neat to hear how other parents have struggled with some of the same things as we have. Knowing that we had our experiences in common brought a feeling of closeness and unity. It was really nice to see and talk to people who have been through exactly what we have and who really know the feelings you feel as a mother towards your child who can't hear. The fears about the future and the unknown.
The whole camp had such a spirit about it that made me want to cry. Everyone was there with the same goal in mind; to help their loved one. I am so glad that we decided to go and my kids are already asking when we can go again.

Mr Mess-Maker!

2009-05-09T21:09:00.005-06:00

We have officially arrived at the stage where Traxton is into everything. He will open and empty anything and everything that he can get his hands on. I am realizing that our house that was once child friendly, needs some work. A lot of our child locks for our cabinets have broken and need to be replaced so that we can contain his messes. Treyson gets so worried when Traxton gets into things. He must be afraid that he will be stuck cleaning it all up. I try to tell him that Traxton is fine and that I will clean up the mess, but still doesn't handle it very well. Besides the messes, Traxton is at such a fun age. He loves to crawl around and follow the kids, or usually me, and make himself part of everything that's going on. He still loves his mom and seems the most happy and content when he is in my arms. Sitting by or on me isn't good enough, he climbs up me until he feels like he is close enough. Sometimes it makes things hard, but I sure love that he wants to still be my little cuddle bug.

Traxton doesn't want to ever miss out on anything, including bedtime stories.

Our Future Firefighters!

2009-05-03T21:01:00.004-06:00

Last week Jared was called by the fire department to help them take care of a swarm of bees. I was working so he had the kids with him. The firemen were so nice and gave my kids these cute little hats, which they have worn all weekend. The ironic thing about it is that Ashten has said that she wants to be a firefighter for a while now and Treyson has said that he wants to be a fire pole. Yes a pole!!! Now they really want to. I am glad they had a good experience and the firemen were so good to them.

Ear Infections, Burns, and Stitches!

2009-04-23T18:08:00.011-06:00

I know this sounds like it should be the title of a chapter out of a medical book or something, but sadly it was just the title of my day. It was a day from #@%*$!!! It all started out when we were hurring to get out the door to an early appointment for Traxton at the audiologist. He needed to get new ear molds made for his hearing aids, because he has outgrown the ones he wears now. As I was just finishing getting ready, Traxton crawled into the bathroom (yes, he is crawling now) and pulled the still hot curling iron off the counter onto him. It hit him on the head and landed next to him. Before I could grab him he put his arm onto it. I ran it under cold water for a few minutes, but it didn't look too bad so we left. Once we got to the audiologist's office I had him look inside Traxton's ears. He has had a really runny nose and been cranky, so I wanted to make sure they looked okay. Well, they didn't. Because they looked all red and infected, the audiologist didn't want to stick more stuff inside to make the molds. So, we left without ear molds but with an appointment to go see the pediatrician. By this time, Traxton's arm looks awful. The skin is peeled off and red everywhere. The pediatrican confirmed what we thought about him having an ear infection and gave us a cream for his arm and orders to bandage it up.

We had literely been home from the pharmacy no more than five minutes when Ashten and Treyson started running around. I'm sure it had nothing to due with the sugar they had inhaled from all the Dr's office candy. I'm not sure what happened, but the next thing I know Ashten is screaming and holding her head. Once I moved her hand away, I saw a big gapping hole above her eyebrow. It took every ounce of self control I had to not scream. I took my boys over to a neighbor's and headed to the hospital once again. Ten stitches later, we walked out. They had to put three stitches inside the wound and seven on top. She did really well and didn't fight the doctor or tech at all. As I drove home, I wanted to say "what now?", but I am at least smart enough to never say that. Things can always get worse. The bright thing about it all is that I'm hoping tomorrow will be an easier day.

Brotherly Love!

2009-04-20T23:15:00.007-06:00

I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a mother and to have such good kids. Ever since Traxton was born, Ashten and Treyson have been the best older siblings. They have been so excited to learn sign language and they amaze me with the signs they can retain. They are always loving on him and are so willing to help. It is easy to see why he loves them so much in return. For some reason Traxton and Treyson have such an awesome bond. Traxton just adores his big brother. Maybe it is because Treyson is so loving and kind towards him. He takes the time to pay extra attention to his every need. Treyson loves to play with his farm animals and he welcomes Traxton's company. He will even search through his bag to find Traxton an animal without a "pokey" so that he can play and not poke himself on a sharp edge. The other morning I was getting ready and the boys were in their room playing when Treyson came running in saying that Traxton had spit up. Before I had time to turn around he had climbed onto my bed and had grabbed the spit rag. He then bounced onto his bum and onto the floor while yelling "I'm coming bud"! He ran in and cleaned up the spit and continued to talk to him like such a cute little friend. It was a really neat thing for a mom to hear. That same night I put the kids to bed and for some reason they weren't very tired. Traxton and Treyson just kept looking at each other and laughing. I finally had to tell them to quit and go to sleep. I love their little friendship and I just hope that it will continue to grow as they do. I hope that Treyson will always be there to say "I'm coming bud" anytime that Traxton needs him. Especially with the unknown future with his hearing. But then we have all been given that same blessing. We have an older brother who has said the same thing to us. All we have to do is have the trust and faith of a little child to let him. I have known this my whole life, but it seemed to take the example of my three year old to remind me of the simplicity of it all. I love being a mother and am thankful for my kids who constantly help make me a better person.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T21:01:00.005-06:00

What a good Easter weekend we had. Lots of family time and good food. The kids were able to play with cousins on both sides and really loved it. We had planned on taking the kids to an egg hunt at the park yesterday, but we drove up and left because of the cold, rainy weather. The kids were pretty bummed but the egg hunt today at Grandma and Grandpa's made up for it. It didn't take them very long to find all 100 eggs. I have always loved Easter because it meant Spring wasn't too far off. This year I still feel the same excitement.

Traxton wasn't into finding eggs, but he really liked his basket.

The big egg hunt.

Grandpa and the kids. Pictures were easier when the kids were smaller and couldn't run off.

So Close...

2009-04-04T15:36:00.004-06:00

Traxton is just about able to crawl. He will get up on his hands and knees, but the only direction he can go is back. He hasn't figured out how to move forward yet. It makes him pretty frustrated to not be able to move the way he wants. He is rolling all over the place though. I am sometimes amazed to see how far he can get his little body by rolling. I am excited to see him start to be mobile, but I also remember how much more difficult things will be.

Lysol Anyone?

2009-03-28T15:01:00.003-06:00

We have had a very bad case of the sickies at our house for the past week. Jared came down with the flu and was sick in bed for four days. I was sick for a day and now our kids are sick. Traxton got so bad that I finally took him into the pediatrician. Apparently he has an ear infection. I hope his ears can handle more stress. To make the whole situation better we were planning on going camping with my family this weekend, but instead I'm home with cranky, sick kids. I am totally bummed about our plans being cancelled, so today I decided to clean the sick germs out of my house. I guess I should have done it before now and maybe our whole family wouldn't have been wiped out. I am still sad about being left behind and would much rather be riding 4-wheelers in the great outdoors, but at least when everyone else gets home and has to clean up from their weekend adventure my house will already be clean. Hopefully my kids will feel better by then too.

Baja, Mexico Cruise

2009-03-20T14:40:00.004-06:00

Jared and I went on a cruise to Baja, Mexico with some friends, Erik and Kourtney Kelder. It was such a fun time hanging out together and relaxing. I feel like we are hooked on cruises and could go about every year. There is nothing better than having someone make your bed every morning, unlimited amount of food at every waking moment, and experiencing another Country and culture. All while relaxing on the deck of a ship. We are definitely hooked!

Birthday Boys!

2009-03-11T14:26:00.003-06:00

We had Jared and Treyson's birthday party yesterday and had a really good time. Treyson loved everything he got and was so excited about the "bee cake" that I made. Happy birthday guys.

Best husband award!

2009-03-08T20:56:00.007-06:00

I am the enrichment leader in my ward and when we have a big activity I tend to get a little stressed. Actually that is an understatement! Last week we had our Relief Society birthday which always takes a lot of work. When I have these big activities, Jared always is amazing. He is not only patient with me, but he also helps in so many ways. Sometimes I actually think he is a better assistant than I could ever find on my own. Last week he made me three cows out of wood and a fence for decorations for my night. It was a huge success and everyone raved on how good everything looked. Jared is always so supportive and it makes such a huge difference for me to fulfill my calling. I love him so much and am so grateful for his love and help. Love you babe and thanks for all your help.

These are the cows Jared "whipped out" for me.

Bath Buddies!

2009-02-26T08:58:00.004-07:00

Treyson always wants to get in the bath tub with Traxton so this morning I let him. They had the cutest little time together. A lot of splashing went on and I ended up pretty wet so it probably won't happen very often, but they sure had a lot of fun. Love these boys!

My Little Tumblers!

2009-02-16T22:34:00.003-07:00

My kids have been going to gymnastics for about a month now and they totally love it. I think they enjoy it so much because it is okay to run around and do "tricks" as they call it. Ashten says that she is going to gymnastics so that she can go to the Olympics some day. We told her that would be a great idea.

Yard Sale Anyone?

2009-01-26T21:53:00.003-07:00

Thanks to the fact that my neighbor has had multiple yard sales in her front yard my kids are familiar with the concept. I came outside the other day to see that my kids had loaded our front grass with a bunch of random things. When I asked them what they were doing, Treyson said they were having a yard sale. Ashten then said that they needed to get rid of "all this junk". I thought it was so funny to see all the things they gathered together from our garage to have in their yard sale. Eventually I made them clean it all up and I don't think it was as fun to take care of it as is was to collect it in their bucket the first time. So if anyone is interested in any of the items pictured, my kids might be willing to let them go. That is for the right price of course.

Ears!

2009-01-08T16:21:00.003-07:00

It seems like a while since I have posted anything about Traxton and his ears, so I will try to update everyone. He seems to be doing really well. We took him in to the audiologist last Friday to have them tested again, but he didn't cooperate long enough to finish the whole test. We have to go back in this week and hopefully be able to finish and find out if his hearing loss has gotten any worse. Last week we had a state advocate for the hearing disabled come into our home and talk about a lot of resources that are available to us. Apparently, the state of Utah doesn't feel like children with hearing loss have enough help before they get to school so they have started a program where an advocate is with the child until the age of three. Our lady will be able to come into our home 1-3 times a month until he is three. She also told us about speech pathologists who can help him learn to talk, signing classes for us, and even a physical therapist who can help him with balance since the aquaducts (which are enlarged and causing his hearing loss) controls our balance. The best thing about all this was that she said everything is FREE! I couldn't believe it. I actually cried when I got off the phone with her. We have had a lot of people tell us about different programs and "help" we could get, but to have someone actually tell us exactly what we can do to help him and be ready to jump right in and get started with it all is awesome.
Stefanie, our state advocate, watched him for a little while and was really impressed with how much he "talks" and rolls around. We have been told that if he wasn't hearing, he wouldn't be jabbering like he is. Stefanie also said that most babies with aquaduct problems don't roll at all because it makes them too dizzy, so Traxton is doing really well to be able to move around as much as he is. We feel really good about things right now and are excited to get things started with Stefanie. She will start teaching us different methods to talk to him that will best help him learn to talk. He is such a good little boy and we love him so much. I have even become quite fond of his cute little hearing aids, if only we could get rid of the hidious tape.

Christmas celebrations!

2008-12-29T21:25:00.007-07:00

We had such a good, busy Christmas holiday that I am both happy and sad to have it over with. I love the Christmas season and the excitement that it brings. I remember counting down the days until Christmas as a child, and even now I find myself anticipating the big day with the same excitement as I did back then. It just seems to keep getting better as my kids get older. Now they get to share the excitement with me.

We got to host our family Christmas Eve party at our house this year, and we all had a really good time. It was a little crazy at times with all the kids. Every year it seems to just get noisier. We even got a surprise call from my brother who's in Argentina. I just hope it didn't make him too homesick to hear all the celebrations going on without him.

The kids getting rides from Grandpa.

All the kids in their new jammies!

I was too anxious to wait for my kids to wake up on their own so I had to get them up at about 7:30. Jared wanted to wait until later, especially since we were up in the night cleaning throw-up out of the carpet. Ashten had some sort of a bug. The kids were so fun to open presents with. Treyson busted through his and was ready to play, while Ashten opened a few and then she would stop to "take a break". I guess next year Santa will have to bring less. Jared's parents came over to see the kids and their presents before we headed over to my parent's house for breakfast and more presents. We spent the day at my parent's visiting and playing a lot of Wii. It was a really fun day and the kids did really well handling all the excitement.

Ashten got her barbies from Santa.

Treyson on his new bike.

Traxton "enjoying" his new stuff.

The rest of our weekend was spent with more family during a reunion with my grandma's family from back east and at my cousins wedding. We had tons of fun, but it is also really nice to have it over with. My kids need a couple of days to recover and get back to our schedule, and so do I.

Snow and birthday all in one!

2008-12-20T15:55:00.003-07:00

Treyson was one lucky boy this year. He woke up to a yard full of snow. That is just not something that happens very often when you live here. Jared took the kids out as soon as he was able and not only built a snowman, but an entire snow family. It was our family. I couldn't believe how well the kids did. I pretty much walked outside to snap some pictures and then went back inside my heated house, but the kids stayed out for so long and didn't complain about the cold at all. I realized that if it is going to continue to snow, I will need to purchase some water proof gear for my kids. Their clothe gloves and jeans, just don't cut it.
After building a snowman, Treyson went on a lunch date with Aunt Dally and grandma. He was so excited to go and thought he was super special. When Jared came home from work we took the kids to jumping jacks and then to dinner. It was a super fun day and I think Treyson really enjoyed himself. He is such a good boy with such a soft heart. He loves his little brother and is very protective of his big sister. If she gets in trouble, he usually cries more than she does. We love him so much and are so thankful he was sent to our home. Happy late birthday bud.

Trip to the North Pole!

2008-12-10T09:30:00.004-07:00

I have been really out of this blogging thing lately; mainly due to the fact that our computer is still out of commission. So much has happened, but I'm going to have to skip most of them. Last weekend we went up to Salt Lake for Jared to attend meetings at the Bee keepers Convention (yes they actually have a convention for that) and also to celebrate Christmas with his family. While we were up there we went up to Heber City to go on the Heber Creeper's Polar Express ride. We went with all Jared's family and the kids had such a fun time together. They had little elves serve chocolate milk and cookies before santa climbed aboard and gave all the kids bells. Ashten has had a lifetime fear of santa, so she didn't even want to get on the train when I told her he would be there. She was really nervous, but she did really well and didn't even cry-which is a big deal where santa is concerned. Afterwards she even talked about how nice he was. I'm really hoping that we are over the fear now. The whole weekend was so much fun and it was great to spend time with all the family.

Getting ready to board the train

All the cousins on Jared's side.

Most Thankful For...

2008-11-27T18:34:00.004-07:00

On this wonderful Thanksgiving day I have so much to be thankful for, but I am the most thankful for my family. I know everyone feels that same way, but I think mine is the best. I couldn't imagine my days without them. Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Love this Boy!

2008-11-15T19:28:00.003-07:00

We have a new toy at our house and Traxton loves it. He will sit up in the little bumbo for quite a while looking at things going on around him. I actually wanted to wait and buy him one for Christmas, but I am too cheap and didn't want to spend almost forty dollars on something I will only use with this little guy. Thanks to my wonderful friend, Chelsea, I didn't have to. The only problem is now trying to keep my older kids out of it.

Parenting Stress

2008-11-03T19:57:00.001-07:00

First off our computer is giving us problems so I can't download my halloween pictures. You will just have to wait for them until we get it fixed. Hopefully it will be soon.
Secondly, I am really struggling right now with knowing the right way to handle a situation going on with Ashten. We have a couple of neighbor girls who are Ashten's age and they play together pretty good for the most part. Lately the little girls have been so mean to Ashten and I don't know what to do. I actually watched them both reach out at the same time and push her the other day. I almost died. You probably could have seen smoke coming out of my head. I will admit that I am not one of those mothers who can just say "play nicely" and look the other way. I wish I could be a little more like that. I basically yelled at them and told them never to touch her again. I try to convince Ashten to stay away from them, but she just wants to play and be included even if they are being so mean to her. It makes me so sad just thinking about it. When I told Jared about them pushing her, he was more upset than I was. He told her that if anyone ever pushes her again to push them back. He also told Treyson to do the same. I am torn between not wanting to teach my kids to be aggresive and not wanting them to be bullied. Jared said he will not have one of his kids be a victim and I agree, but I also don't know that just pushing them back will always be the answer. Especially with all of the violence you see between kids at school. Just the other day I saw a internet video of two girls fighting. I don't want that to be my daughter in a few years, but I also think that if she wasn't so sweet she wouldn't get bullied around. Today she was playing with one of the girls and she crashed on her bike and was crying. I looked out the window to see the neighbor girl stick out her tongue at Ashten as she rode past. Who does that? She is only four. I have been trying to find other things for Ashten to do so that she won't want to play with them, but whenever she sees either girl outside, she wants to go play. I try to tell her not to because they won't be nice, but she always wants to. I don't think it is fair to punish Ashten and not let her go out to play because they are so mean, but seeing how they treat her makes me so sad and mad. I really don't know what to do and would love some ideas on how to handle mean girls. Please help!!!

Latest Happenings!

2008-10-25T17:05:00.005-06:00

It has been way too long since the last post. I am the enrichment leader in my ward and yesterday was our super activity, so I have been pretty busy with that. Blogging hasn't been the only thing that seemed to go undone. I felt like I needed to introduce myself to my kids this morning. They have been shuffled around all week. Jared has been awesome with picking up the slack with the kids and house. Thank you so much.

I need to post about so many things that I don't know where to start.

*Traxton turned four months old yesterday. He weighed 13 lb 1 oz on his Dr visit and was 23 inches long. He rolled over from his belly to back the other day, but has only done it a few time since. He hates to be on his belly, so I haven't made him very much. He seems to be getting big way too fast. He has started jabbering a lot more and loves to tell us "stories". He also loves to smile, which always makes me smile. *Treyson has turned into quite the big brother. He loves being by Traxton and wants him to sleep in his bed with him. He is always so loving and soft around him. I can't wait to see how the two of them will interact when Traxton gets a little older. *Ashten had to go to the dentist this week to have her "sugar bug" fixed. My mom works at the dentist so it has always been such a fun place to go. Ashten has had her teeth cleaned a few times, but this time she had a filling put in and I'm not sure if her attitude about "grandma's work" will ever be the same. They gave her the gas to help her relax and she did so well. Towards the end she started getting wiggly, but I was really impressed with how she handled it. The gas made her really giggly, so it was funny to watch. After it was all over and done, Ashten was really frustrated with her face not waking up. She apparently scratched her chin to wake it up so hard that now she has a huge scrape. It looks so bad that everyone asks her what happened. I can't believe we have to say that she was trying to get her face to wake back up. I just hope it doesn't scar too bad. Well that is it. Now everyone can get off my case about posting. :) Enjoy.

Home Grown Pumpkins!

2008-10-06T14:55:00.005-06:00

Ashten told her Grandpa Taylor that he needed to grow some pumpkins in his garden for her. He is so cute with his little grandkids that he did just that. We went over to his garden in Santa Clara last week and got as many pumpkins as we could carry. They aren't very big, but are perfect to be displayed around my scarecrow. The kids had a blast picking out their pumpkins. Thanks grandpa Taylor.

"Whenever I hear the song of a bird."

2008-09-30T11:19:00.003-06:00

Traxton's hearing aids came in yesterday so he has his "new ears". Seeing him with his hearing aids is bitter sweet. It kind of makes me sad to think of the trials he will be forced to face, but I am also so excited for him to finally be able to hear. As soon as they put the aids on, his eyes got so big. It was almost like he was hearing the world for the first time. He has been so much more alert and has responded to things that he never did before. We had his MRI last Friday and it showed that he has enlarged vestibular aqueducts or EVA. It is something that developed wrong in the inner ear and cannot be corrected. There has been cases where they tried to surgical fix this condition, but it just made the hearing worse. EVA can also make the hearing worse over time and even cause deafness. We will just continue to pray that his hearing will stay the same. I just love the fact that my baby can finally hear me clearly.

Two out of Three!

2008-09-24T16:06:00.002-06:00

I finally took Ashten in for her four year old pictures. I waited until now just so I could do Traxton's three month at the same time. Every mom knows that the fewer trips to the photo studio, the better. I was so excited to get cute ones with both kids. Treyson was a little upset that it wasn't his turn, but I am making him wait until his next birthday. I can't believe how big Traxton looks. It's something about looking at him through a picture instead of in person that makes me realize how fast he is growing up. Where has the time gone?