Tub Time

Cooper always loves his bath time. I try to give him one every day (due to spit up and chewing on his fingers). He always splashes, kicks, and giggles. He also toots often creating fun bubbles! :) Today was a little different. He went from the fun toots to an unexpected blow out! Now this is from the boy who has firm, solid stools every three days or so. Never did I expect him to poo two days in a row! AND his stools were super loose! It's the one time that I wish he pooed solids. After I hurried him out of the tub, I look down and he was smiling and giggling.

This boy sure knows how to really frustrate me and then make me laugh. It ended up being a fairly easy clean up and I scrubbed our tub (which I planned to do soon anyway).

On a lighter note: he is eating baby food for one meal a day now! He has had sweet potatoes the last two days and ate the entire jar! He giggles and smiles through most of the feeding unless I am not fast enough. He wants to be independent and likes to try and feed himself. He'll grab my hand with both his hands and my arm with both his feet...then try and shove the spoon in his mouth! It's super cute.

Several Posts

I just posted several new posts of this weekend. They are kind of long but there are pictures!

Father's Day... with Cooper!

First of all, I want to recognize the best father I know! Brady is an amazing dad!! I can see it in the way he cares for Cooper. He is gentle and so loving. He has always been a "hands on" kind of dad, which I knew he would be when I married him. I can see the joy he has when playing with Cooper, or even when he tries to comfort him (which can be very difficult without mom)! I am so happy that Brady is the father of our children and I look forward to many more days dedicated to him!

Kegan was born a few days before Father's Day so it has always been a little rough for both Brady and I. It's hard to celebrate a day dedicated to father's when the child is not there to be with them. But we made the best of it and now we have Cooper to celebrate with! The day started out rough. We were going to go to a 9:00 sacrament then drive to Sun Valley to have a picnic and walk around. We ended up sleeping in too late and decided to check out the branch that had sacrament at 11:55. We were hoping that this singles/student branch would have people our own age and maybe even small families (considering that there are no babies in our ward - we thought maybe they go to the student branch). Boy were we wrong! It's more of a singles branch than a student branch...not a single married couple! We did not feel comfortable and will not be going back again! ALSO, I had heard that Sun Valley was only 45 minutes away but mapQuest said that it was about 2 hours away. We didn't want to drive that far so we decided to check out a nearby park. Here are a few pictures of our day!

Pretty waterfall on the trail

Going for a walk

Picnic

Watching us eat

After church (in front of our home)

Happy Birthday Kegan

Our baby boy would be 3 years old! It's amazing how fast time goes. A lot has happened since he was born and I don't think there has been a day where I haven't thought of Kegan.

Brady's favorite cake is confetti cake with rainbow chip frosting. We decided that we would make this cake every year for his birthday. We plan to celebrate this day with our children hoping to make it a happy memory. This year we didn't do much. I attempted to go to the temple but it was closed for cleaning. We spent the day together fixing things around the house and talking about our memories of him. We went to Chili's for a late lunch/early dinner and then came home and relaxed as a family. Brady and I also watched a movie together without any distractions (which is extremely rare)! I am grateful to be Kegan's mother. I am so thankful for the short time that I was able to be with h

im. I feel that I did everything I could to give him the opportunity to have a life here on Earth. Heavenly Father had a different plan for him. Kegan is perfect and I am so proud of him.

Watching a movie

I am not sure how many people know the story of our little Kegan. I tried to make it short but I think I added in more details just for me. It's really long so don't feel like you have to read it.

I got pregnant at the beginning of the year. I had been having stomach pains that I didn't think we're normal. I was in my first trimester and was a little worried so I went to see my midwife (because I thought it might be pregnancy related). She said it was probably just stretching of the muscles and ligaments and sent me home. Through the next several weeks I was unable to sit comfortably in the car, wear a seat belt, wear anything that touched my stomach or lay down flat. I wanted to go to the doctor but I've been told my whole life that I over exaggerate pain so I talked myself out of it. One night I ended up sleeping on the couch because I couldn't get comfortable in bed. I woke up the next morning soaked in sweat, in excruciating pain, and vomiting non stop. Brady rushed me to the hospital. After 6 hours of no pain medication, constant poking, several ultrasounds (this is when we found out we were having a boy), and tests the doctors finally decided that we needed to go in for exploratory surgery. They had an idea that it was my appendix since they couldn't see it on the ultrasound but they were not for sure. Surgery went well and they were surprised with what they saw. The surgeon told us that it was for sure my appendix but they didn't know if it had ruptured or been leaking. He said by the amount of infection and drainage it had been leaking for a while. Recovery was going well and I was supposed to be in the hospital for 2 weeks.

Exactly 1 week after surgery my water broke. At that point several nurses came in, I was put on bed rest, and was told to not eat anything (in case of surgery). The doctor came in and said he bluntly told us the possible outcomes. We decided to schedule an ultrasound in the morning to make sure it was my water that had broke. During the ultrasound they discovered that my water had indeed broke and that our boy was breech. After a day of frustration all the doctors sent me home. They told us to come back in a week for another ultrasound to see if my membranes had fixed themselves. Unfortunately, they had not and we were referred to a specialist. At that point we were told that if our boy did not get the amniotic fluid that he needs he would have a 5% chance of living once he's born and that we would have to deliver him through c-section. The next several weeks were awful. I stayed in bed hoping and praying for a miracle. Around 24 weeks I went into the hospital because I had some mild cramping. I happened to be in labor and dilated to 3 cm. They rushed me into a room and stopped the contractions. I was put on bed rest once again and told that I would be in the hospital for the rest of the pregnancy. During the stay I was informed that they would not be able to give me the medication to stop the labor again and they would only try to keep him alive if I made it to 26 weeks. Two days after I made it to 26 weeks I went into labor again. The doctors did end up giving me the medication to try and stop the labor but it did not work this time. They rushed me into surgery and our boy was born. 1.5 pounds, 12 inches long, and brown hair. They showed him to me and then started CPR (I guess his heart stopped). Once his heart was beating they took him to NICU. Brady went with him and then I was sent into recovery. The day was long, exhausting, and emotional. He was doing good until the ventilator blew a hole in his lung. The doctor did surgery and fixed it but his oxygen saturation was consistently dropping. At about 45% we had the option of continuing the ventilation or taking him off. The doctor said he had no chance of living either way. So we decided to take him off and hold him. It was the worst and best moment that I have ever had to live through. It was the first and last time that I was able to hold my little boy until we meet again.

Brady said that he was moving his little legs and arms. He even opened his little eyes a few times. Crazy enough, our camera battery had died and we were only able to get one picture of him. The other pictures we have are a few that the nurses gave us but I do not have them on the computer.

The following is a letter Brady wrote the night he was born:

Approximately 9 hours after receiving a life and body to reside in this mortal state, our little baby Kegan returned Home. Our loss has sent us through a whirlwind of emotions that have tested our physical and mental state, along with our religious beliefs. It is very hard to stay positive in a time like this. It really makes you think about the meaning of life and the marvelous plan our Heavenly Father has for us. Although we didn't get much time with him, we miss our son very much. We love him and truly feel his spirit with us. It may be a long road ahead, but we know we'll be with him again for all eternity. After being sealed together in the Chicago Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Kelsey and I anxiously await the time we are able to embrace our first born. We know that he is a great soul; strong enough to withstand the devils snare placed upon this Earth, which is the reason his time on this Earth was so short. He was here long enough to receive a body so that he might be resurrected again one day. Kegan did not have to be tested and prove his loyalty and love for our Heavenly Father, for it was proven long ago. Instead he is a chosen spirit that will teach the mysteries of our Father above to those who have passed before us. What an amazing mission. My only hope is that Kelsey and I can be so strong as to make it to our judgement seat, look Heavenly Father in the eyes with a clear conscience, and say "I am Home." Kegan we look up to you. You are forever on our minds. We will never let down. We will never give up. We are so proud of you. We love you!

Your Parents,

Dad and Mom

first time swimming!

My bestie, Alisha, has a little girl who is 18 months. She also babysits a little girl around the same age. The weather has been really sunny and warm so she decided to fill up a kiddie pool for the girls to play in. I thought it would be fun to have Cooper in the sun for a little bit and enjoy some time in the pool. Of course he's too little and didn't splash around and play but he seemed content. He chewed on his fingers the whole time and wiggled his toes. The water was actually really warm and was perfect for him! We only stayed in it for maybe 10 minutes because I got tired holding him and Alisha and I were going out for some girl time without the kids! Thank you Travis for watching Cooper!

100th Post - Weekend with family

This weekend Brady and I headed to Rexburg to spend time with his family. His brother and girlfriend are visiting from Hawaii so everyone was going to get together for the first time in almost a year. Since the last time we were all together 3 children have been born. We had 2 late nights, a lot of talking, and overall great time. Unfortunately I didn't take many pictures but here are a few that I did end up getting of all the little kids!

Little Eva

Gabe giving "Coopers" kisses

Phoebe relaxing

Cooper loved Caro! - Chubby little Baron

Cute little kids

Also, Cooper is 4 months! I can't believe how fast time goes. I love his little personality. However, I do not like that he is completely different around other people that he doesn't really know. For example: this weekend he whined a lot and smiled little. Very frustrating because he is a happy, happy baby and no one really gets to see his true happiness :(

Recent Happenings...

Johnny Jump Up

Many, many clothes

I went to wake him from a nap and this is how I found him. He broke free from being swaddled!

A little attitude but getting chubby

He's so fun

Kelsey - Things are starting to slow down! FINALLY!! I am however studying as much as I can for the NCLEX-RN. It's a struggle to find time but I'm working on it. I love being at home with Cooper. My days seem to repeat themselves but baby is happy so mommy is happy.

Brady - He is still working as hard as can be. He enjoys his job, which makes the days go faster. Yesterday was crazy for him. Someone had ran their car into their office and created a lot of damage. So he had to deal with that all day and make sure things were to get done. The lady that hit the building actually drove off! Brady had to run out and get the license plate number. The police eventually found her and things are settled. This isn't the first time he's had to deal with a car running into a building! When we lived at Milham Meadows (in Michigan) we had two incidents that occurred. Crazy huh?

Cooper - He is happy as can be! He is still sleeping through the night and taking wonderful naps. He is starting to eat rice cereal with carrots mixed into it. Yesterday I couldn't feed him fast enough! We just bought him a Johnny Jump Up and he is extremely content in that thing! I can't seem to keep him content for longer than 10-15 minutes. He gets bored so fast. I hope that this will be a fun toy for him for a while. His spit up is getting better! Woohoo! He still spits up a ton but it depends on the day. Some days he'll only have a little spit up (like a regular baby) and then other days it's constantly coming up and projectile at times. The milk is not coming out his nose as often either, which is a relief! He's starting to grab at things more and is becoming more coordinated. He LOVES his diaper changed - or maybe is it because he's naked? Not too sure! But he kicks the whole time when we change him and giggles a lot. It's cute :) He's getting used to missy a little more. He giggles really hard when Missy barks or growls. It's hilarious!

Anyway, that's all for now. We are headed to Rexburg this evening to visit with Brady's family! Then Brady is off to another business trip - oh joy

Ready to go fishin'!

Like my new hat?? I can't wait to go fishin' with my grandpa's!

Happy Anniversary!

Four years ago today we were married! Our special day was perfect and just as I imagined it would be. Here is a list of a few highlights of our day:

- The weather was a bit unusual - super sunny, muggy, a major hail storm that delayed the ceremony because family were stuck on the highway, and then sunny again!

- Brady had poison ivy on his feet (between his toes) and was miserable wearing dress shoes

- my dress was beautiful! It took about 10 people and 30+ minutes to pull the train up

- All 4 grandparents were able to be there

- Brady was so handsome! He also danced in front of everybody! I had never seen him dance before

- Dinner was yummy! We had mashed potatoes, ham, macaroni and cheese...the typical Brady and Kelsey food!

- We were married at sundown on a Friday evening. We had twinkling lights everywhere!

- The party was done around 10 and we even helped clean up a bit.

- Brady and his siblings watched Friends while I watched the news (haha not by choice)

- On our wedding video our ring bearer threw the pillow down and yelled "touch down" after we kissed!

Here are a few pictures:

I can't help but think back on the past four years. So many things have happened. A lot of happy moments and a few sad ones. Here is a list of major events that took place:

Honeymoon - June 2006

Temple Sealing/1 Year Anniversary - 6/2/07

Kegan Gage - 6/19/07

First home/moved to Idaho - September 2007

Weird...but I can't think of anything too exciting that happened in 2008! We both were in school.

Kelsey started Nursing School - January 2009

Brady graduated from college - May 2009

Hawaii - December 2009

Cooper Jace - 2/12/10

Kelsey graduated nursing school

Brady accepted job offer in Filer, Idaho - May 2010

Life is full of excitement! It's amazing how time flies when you're having fun! I am anxious for many more years to come and for eternity with my best friend.

Memorial Day

We wanted to do something fun for Memorial Day weekend. Alisha and I were talking about how going to a zoo in Boise would be fun! We checked the weather and it was supposed to be mid 70's and mostly cloudy. We thought "PERFECT!" We then planned a day at Boise...1. Go to zoo 2. Tour old prison 3. have picnic. However, we woke up to clouds, cold weather, and rain. BUT we still packed our cars and drove up there anyway.

First: picnic! We drove around to find a park with covered seating. We ended up at a church pavilion! It was a little chilly but we enjoyed ourselves and our meal.

Second: Prison! This is an old prison site that we were able to tour ourselves.

Third: Mall! We headed to the zoo but it started to rain again. So instead of going home we went to the mall. We walked around the stores, sat in a $4,000 massage chair (marked down to $3,000) for 8 minutes, and grabbed some Panda Express.

Overall, GREAT day!

Rice Cereal

Well, it's official. We tried rice cereal with Cooper. I know he is still really young for it but with his spitting up we need to do something different. The other day I grabbed a spoon and put it up to his mouth and sure enough he went for it! So maybe he's ready after all? He did surprisingly well! At first, he was just spitting it out and even gaged a few times! But after a few tries he got the hang of it and swallowed a few bites. It didn't last long though...he really REALLY did not like it.

Then we tried it again last night. He swallowed a few bites and then started to hate it again. I don't think he likes the taste or something. It's something we'll keep trying. We hope that he gains more weight and doesn't spit up everything he eats.