Where has the year gone?!

It's hard to believe that my last post was about the Donut Dash back in November! It's amazing how time flies. Since then, so much has happened:

Thanksgiving

Christmas

Easter

In May I went into labor and during my stay at the hospital we discovered that I had a kidney stone that was causing my contractions. I was given a shot and medication to stop my labor, and it was effective for 10 days. Then, my water broke. There's nothing you can do to stop that! On June 28th, we welcomed Claire Lynn to our family.

She was 4 weeks early, but still 6 lbs 5 ounces and seemed healthy and happy!

She sure is loved by all of her siblings.

In August, we blessed her and were so happy to have Mike's folks and mine come out for it.

A few weeks later I was visiting Utah when my dad mentioned that he was troubled by Claire's breathing.

I had noticed that she held her breath while sleeping, but it hadn't concerned me - Mike has sleep apnea and has to wear a CPAP, and James had to have his tonsils taken out when he was 3 because of breathing problems. Still, when we got home from our visit, I decided to watch her closer while she slept. What I found was that she was stopping breathing for about 15 seconds at a time, all night long. I took her into our doctor, who ordered a sleep test, a chest xray, and a consult from a pediatric pulminary specialist. They discovered that her blood oxygen level was falling to below 80% (it should ALWAYS stay above 90% in infants) for 5% of the night, and below 90 for 20% of the night. They decided to put her on oxygen until either she grows out of it, or we find out what's causing it. It could be that her lungs stopped developing when I went into labor with her, it could be large tonsils, it could be silent GERD that makes her aspirate on milk, it could be neurological. 

Mike has given her (and me) a myriad of blessings, and I truly feel blessed that we caught it before something horrible, like SIDS, happened. Since she's been on the oxygen, she's been more alert, more vocal, and more hungry! I am so happy she joined our family!!!

On the 9th of October, Mike and I celebrated our 10th anniversary! We have known each other for 20 years now, and I am so thankful for the way our lives have progressed. I would marry him a thousand times over if I got to make the choice again!

This month, when we came back up to Utah, my grandparents came by for a visit and got to meet Claire for the first time. It's also the first time in over a year that the rest of the kids have seen them. I'm glad they had the chance to play a little and build that relationship.

SLC Donut Dash 5K

The week after I ran in my first 5K, I ran in my second. The Salt Lake Heritage Foundation had their Second Annual Donut Dash. The premise is that you run the first half of the 5K, reach the donut station, eat as many donut holes as you can (and receive a time reduction based on how many donuts you can down), and run the second half, hopefully without vomiting. I fully planned on gorging on donuts to bring down my time (and, yummo, of course) but by the time I reached the donut station, I couldn’t stomach the thought of anything more than water. Still, I finished with a time of 38:06. Two weeks later, I realized why I was not in the mood for donuts – I was pregnant while I ran it! No more 5K’s for another couple months for me!

Donut Dash VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Moab Adventure 5K

In November, Mike and I competed in our first 5K. The Adventure 5K in Moab touts an incredible obstacle course, including crossing two rivers, hand climbing a rock face, rappelling down a cliff, and running through the sand and rocks of beautiful Moab. It was really fun, and a great first experience, because it motivated me to run a “real” 5K, one where I wouldn’t be stuck behind three dozen other racers, waiting in line for over 45 minutes to climb a wall or rappel off a mountain. Mike was less thrilled about the experience and said he’ll stick to biking the Iron Horse next summer. I’m so grateful my parents and sister met us in Moab to watch the kids and take what pictures they could. My favorite moment of the race was right near the end: as I was coming up to the obstacle course (where my folks were stationed for pictures) I passed by a group of women and I heard one say “She runs just like a deer!” Made my whole day! I also loved that as soon as Lily saw me (and later, Mike) she ran beside us, cheering us on. Such a sweet, awesome little girl.

Before we left Moab, we stopped at a big sand dune for the kids to roll around in. Lily and James love that Grampa will play with them even if it means getting dirty. Especially if it means getting dirty.

		Moab 5K VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Fall Soccer

I wrote about Lily’s first soccer game and how much fun she had. She played in 5 other games and improved significantly each time. By her last game, she was confident and coordinated enough to score TWO goals! Not bad for being the smallest kid on the smallest team in the league. She is so excited for soccer to start up in the spring – so excited that she insisted I make her a soccer goal to practice with. I was more than happy to acquiesce.

Final Fall Soccer VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Grace Loves To Climb

I guess I create climbers – both James and Grace have climbed before they walked! Here is the cutest little climber in variety of situations.

Climber Grace VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

October Carving Pumpkins

This year I tried to be fancy and carve designs into the pumpkins that the kids wanted! It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. Of course, I couldn’t get started until I’d done several hours of research: what tools would I need, what techniques I should use, and where to find the best “pick-your-own” patch so the kids could have some fun as well. Lily chose Hello Kitty and James chose Spider Man.

Pumpkin Carving 2013 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Lily’s First Soccer Game

Lily and her 6 closest friends started soccer yesterday. They are the youngest team (all 5 years old and under) and all super inexperienced in sports. It was fun watching them chase the ball like a herd of ducks. Lily is the smallest by quite a bit, but isn’t the least bit afraid to charge into the fray. We’ll be working on her kicks, but as you can see, her follow-through is fantastic (haha!). Poor James wasn’t feeling well and slept in a papasan chair while Cayenne guarded him. As my mom said, “Every dog needs a boy”. Make sure you view the slideshow so you can see *all* the pictures

9/21 Soccer VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL