Wyatt is a Crawler

 

Our baby Wyatt is growing up too fast.  He just turned 8 months and we are so excited to announce that he crawled for the first time tonight!  This little boy has beat all odds.  With the very serious (and worrisome) medical conditions this little boy faces, we have been worried about how he would develop.  It is amazing what a happy disposition, a strong will, and an amazing Mommy will do to combat the medical challenges a little boy faces.  There are only 140 diagnosed cases worldwide of people with Wyatt’s condition, and one would be very hard pressed to see one without severe to devastating disabilities.  This little boy never ceases to amaze us, and has met every normal milestone.  Much of the credit goes to a Mommy that works tirelessly to help her little boy and give him all the time and attention necessary.  When she is not working with him, playing with Jonah, cooking and cleaning, etc. she is busy worrying about what she could be doing.  She is the best Mommy ever!  He has learned and grown and we feel extremely blessed for the amazing progress this little boy has made.  We could not be happier to see our little Wyatt become a crawler!  Way to go Wy Guy!

Tulip Festival

This afternoon we went to the Thanksgiving Point Tulip Festival with Grandma & Grandpa Haberle and Aunt Alicia.  The tulips and grounds of Thanksgiving Point were beautiful as always.  We had a great time walking around and talking, and watching Jonah explore everything.  The boys were happy and had a great time.  Afterwards, our little family made our way to the Thanksgiving Point cafe for dinner.  The food was great, and since we were all good little eaters, we decided we could all share one of Thanksgiving Point’s famous banana splits.  It is a little slice of heaven, and enormous.  Surprisingly all of the food actually cost less than the entrance fee to the tulip festival for just Ashley and me…which is probably why we don’t make it down there every year.

Neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt

This morning we went to our neighborhood Easter egg hunt.  We have a big breakfast with everyone bringing food, then we have Easter egg hunts, where different ages go to different neighborhood yards.  Afterwards the kids all cash in their empty Easter eggs for a fun prize.  At the end of the hunt, there are age appropriate games at many different homes.  It is always a fun event and it is great to spend time as a family and as a neighborhood celebrating the Easter holiday.

Weekend Getaway

Ashley and I went away for a much needed break this weekend to Park City.  Ashley’s sister Alicia was so awesome to watch the boys for us.  We walked around Park City, shopped a tiny bit, slept in, and relaxed.  It was fantastic!  Some of our friends even drove up one of the nights and went to dinner with us.  We had a great time on our much needed break.  We missed our little guys, but made up for lost time by playing with them the minute we got home.

Biking

  

We decided to invest in a new bike trailer/jogging stroller for our little boys.  We both enjoy biking and we both want to get back in shape.  With us, that only seems to happen when our exercise involves our kiddos.  We have been biking almost every day and we feel ourselves getting slowly stronger each day.  The boys fall asleep more often than not, and it is cute how they cuddle up to each other.  We also prefer the trailer to our regular strollers as it can handle almost any terrain and actually folds flatter.  We have a lot of fun and we are grateful for the opportunity to exercise in a fun way together.

Six Month and 2 year old Pictures

We had to take the opportunity to get some pictures of our two little boys before they grow up even faster.  These are Wyatt’s six month pictures and Jonah’s 2 year old pictures.    This was our first visit to “Pic Couture” and we could not be happier.  They don’t play games about selling you all sorts of prints.  They also don’t make you feel like cattle that they are just trying to get in and out.  They give you a 45 minute session, and give you every photo they take on a CD.  They release the copyright to you, so you can make your own prints.  They offer prints if you want them, for only like $5 each.  We were impressed with the photographers and the end result.  We would recommend them to anyone.  Overall, they did have some amazingly cute little boys to work with, so I can’t give them too much credit.  We love these two little boys and we feel that these pictures capture so much of their cute personalities.  We have been blessed with such cute little boys with such fun personalities.  It is so fun that we get to raise these choice sons of our Heavenly Father.  Unfortunately, we have not been able to get the twins in to have the pictures taken at this time, so we will have pictures of all four kids taken when they are here more in the Summer.

Funny Boys

Jonah has developed quite a cute and funny personality over his first 2.5 years of life.  We were driving in the car and Jonah said “We need to go to the store MOOMMMMMYYY!”  Ashley said, “Okay JOOONNNAAHH!”  Jonah then said, “say sorry Mommy.” 

He loves to say that he is going to tickle someone’s guts.  “I tickle your guts!” He then proceeds to do it.

He claims that everyone is his.  “Mine Mommy!” or “Mine Wyatt” or “Mine Trevy” or “Mine Ady”

He regularly asks if he can have a Slurpee.  Thanks for the free Slurpee day 7-11, as if you didn’t know how addictive these can become to a 2 year old!

If Wyatt is awake before Jonah, and cuddling in our bed, Jonah will excitedly say, “HI WYATT!”  He then will pull himself up into our bed and at the last second hold Wyatt’s hand at the wrist.  He will then grunt, and come over closer to Wyatt and say “Thank you Wyatt, pulling me up, thank you Wyatt!” as if his 7 month old brother had done all the work while Jonah was dangling perilously from a cliff with his life flashing before his eyes.

 

Last week in the twins’ Primary class they were talking about service.  When the teacher asked about service, Treven must have misheard her.  He teasingly said, “Sacrifice?  Ah, you can have my sister.”  The teachers said, “No Treven what act of service could you do?”  Treven then responded, “Probably hug my sister.”  When Ady retold the events to us later she said, “Apparently my brother wants to hug me…right after he sacrifices me!”

First Surgery for Wyatt

 

Today Wyatt had the first of what will likely be many surgeries.  It is amazing to me that the first time I ever had any kind of surgery or procedure involving anesthesia was when I was 30, and this little guy is having surgery at 6 months.  As with everything else, Wyatt was an amazing little trooper.  He took a while to wake up, but otherwise was fine.  The surgery went very well and we are so grateful for the excellent care that we constantly receive at Primary Children’s.  We are so blessed to have this hospital and its skilled doctors right in our backyard.   We know that the Lord is constantly watching over us.  We are so grateful for Wyatt and for the way the Lord has blessed him through the prayers of so many.  The Lord performs miracles around us each and every day if we only stop to see them.

Big Brother

Treven is such a great big brother.  He is so willing to help his little brothers and his little (by one minute) sister.  He is always willing to comfort or help Ady when she is sad.  He helps and plays with Jonah and Wyatt.  He will come over to one of them in a quiet moment when they are all alone and spend time with them, or he will get them running all over the place and excited.  He really loves to help them, to teach them, and to play with them.  Jonah especially cannot wait until Treven and Ady come back.  The boys have started sharing bunk beds and Jonah reminds us each night that Treven’s bed is above his.  These two little boys really look up to their big brother Trev.

EKG and Echocardiogram

Today Wyatt went in for an EKG and Echocardiogram.  Like the MRI, he had to be sedated.  The procedure took a while and went well.  We were so relieved that despite all of the other health challenges our little champ is dealing with, his heart looks perfectly normal.  What a blessing!!!  Wyatt sort of babbled in Ashley’s arms while the medicine took effect.  He was just happy and cute as he drifted off.  When we decided on Wyatt’s name it was just because we liked it.  We had no knowledge of any health challenges prior to his birth.  A few months after his birth I found out that the name Wyatt actually means “brave warrior.”  How fitting as our little guy has been every bit a brave warrior in all that he has had to deal with in his short life.

Happy Anniversary

 

Four years ago today my life was changed forever.  I am so grateful for you Ashley.  We have been through a lot in only four years and I cannot imagine doing it without you.  I am so grateful for all that we have shared.  I am grateful that you have stayed by my side.  I am grateful for your compassion, your friendship and your support.  I am grateful for your love.  You have been an amazing Mother to all four of our children.  You are constantly putting the needs and desires of others before yourself.  I am inspired and in awe of all you do.  I love you so much for all that you are.  You truly are my best friend.  Thank you for loving me and being by my side.  I intend to stand with you forever both in good times and bad.  There is no one I would rather spend eternity with.  Thank you for being my incredible wife.

Safe Kids Fair 2014

 

We love to go to the Safe Kids Fair each year.  It is free, it lets kids run around inside during the winter, we learn a lot, and we even win prizes or get free things.  Treven and Ady served as photographers and unfortunately did not think to take any pictures of themselves.  We had a fun time and won prizes and learned.  They had fun things for all of the different ages.  The kids even won some fun activities and some karate lessons.  It was great to get out of the house.

Our New Pianist

Since the beginning of the year, Ady has been taking piano lessons.  As the picture shows, she takes this quite seriously.  She decided that she was no longer all that in to dance and wanted to try something else.  When we suggested learning the piano she got very excited.  She has a great teacher in our ward and really enjoys it.  I am amazed at how quickly she is learning it.  She has already learned to play a couple of songs and knows her keys quite well.  We are so excited that she loves to explore new talents.

I Can Sit Up By Myself!

 

 

Our little Wyatt is getting so big.  He is sitting up all on his own.  He is a strong little guy who cries and fusses very little.  We can’t get enough of his smiles and his laughs. 

Slave Labor?

 

Our little Jonah loves to be a big helper.  He wants to help with every household chore from dishes to vacuuming, to wiping walls.  He often uses the words “I TRY!” to get us the message that he wants to help.  So this begs the question: are we committing acts that violate laws against child labor?  Has our home become a sweat shop?  Do we have a CinderJonah?  Judging by the copious amounts of toys that we constantly kill ourselves on and the fact that he is very comfortable using the DVD player by himself (something we are not so comfortable with), I feel confident in saying “no.”  Nevertheless he is an extremely sweet and helpful two year old boy.

Wy Guy MRI

    

Today Wyatt went in for an MRI.  This has been a planned procedure that was considered too risky before 6 months of age.  It is not quite the 6 month birthday present that we hoped to give our little guy, but hopefully it will console him to know that no one else has had such an expensive birthday present.  :)  We want to do everything medically necessary to help our little guy.  He handled it like a champ.  They sedated him and he was in the tube for over an hour while Ashley and I paced back and forth.  We now have a diagnosis, and naturally many more questions and concerns.  Wyatt will still require many, many more MRI scans throughout his life, as well as many other medical procedures.  We love this little guy and pray for each one of our children daily.  We are thankful for the many blessings we have received through prayers offered on our behalf.  We have already seen the Lord’s hand so much in his life.  Despite our worries, we will trust in the Lord as we do our best to care for His special little boy.   

Nerf Commando

 

Jonah is at a funny little age.  He has found one of Treven’s motorized Nerf guns and cannot leave it alone.  He then found an old batter’s helmet and all by himself has become some sort of Nerf soldier.  The first time we saw this, Jonah came out of his room first thing in the morning in his “tactical gear.”  He now does it almost daily.  It is really cute and funny.