Brittany and Boston Update

I thought I'd take a minute and update you on how Brittany and Boston are doing since he was born 2 weeks ago...

Boston is perfect! He's the most content and happy baby I've ever seen. Brittany will feed him and then he'll lay awake forever, just staring and happy to be there. He NEVER fusses - and then you lay him in his bed and he falls asleep. He's quite a little angel!

Brittany, on the other hand - has a few more issues! Last Thursday (after being home from the hospital for a week and still not being able to move her leg at all and it causing her tons of pain) we took her to see the doctor because it didn't seem like her bad leg was getting any circulation. We're glad we did! The doctor thought she had a blood clot so he rushed her into to get it checked and sure enough - she has a blood clot in that calf. We're thinking that the blood clot may have developed when she was sitting before Boston was born. There was about 2-3 weeks that she was down, trying to stop premature labor.

Dave's sister is a nurse and has been coming over every night to give her a shot for the blood clot and she's also on blood thinners. She went back to the doctor yesterday and the diagnosis was that the blood clot wasn't going anywhere and it could be at least 6 months before she regains the use of her leg because of the clot and nerve damage that was caused during the birth.

It's pretty discouraging to her because she can't be up and around like she'd like to be but we're doing everything we can to boost her spirits and pitch in with kids and the house. She is using crutches now instead of her walker - which is much nicer. She gets up and walks around every 1/2 hour or so. The worst part about it all is that her legs burns when she stands for very long and it's very painful. If that pain goes away and the blood clot gets under control, I think she will be much better because then she can just push her leg to get better faster.

We got to take Boston to his 2 week appointment today and he passed everything with flying colors!

He gained 1 oz since birth and grew 2 inches

Brittany and her darling baby

Getting checked out by the doctor

He had to get his heel pricked and he didn't like that very much. But after we got him dressed, he fell asleep on the examining table. What baby does that? He's so good!

Monsters vs Aliens

We took the kids to this movie tonight for FHE and brought Brittany's boys with us too. The kids really enjoyed it - especially because it was in 3D!

I always forget and feel bad when I bring Dave to a 3D movie because you need 2 eyes to see in 3D! Dave only has 1 - so he doesn't get the full effect. He did wear the glasses though so the movie wasn't a big blur!

My favorite line from the movie was when B.O.B. says...
"I think that jello gave me a fake phone number!"

Or the tagline from the movie...
"Oooze going to save us?"

A Happy Sight

A happy sight to me is when the kids are doing the dishes after our big Sunday dinner.

Notice to frowns on Maddie and Talbie's faces. They end up doing most of the work! Oh well :) I remember when I was a kid, my mom had a "job wheel" that we would spin to decide what job you had to do. Somehow - "put dishes in dishwasher" always landed on my name. I never got "wipe off counters" or "sweep floor." I guess that's the plight of an oldest child!

The roasting pan is still sitting in the kitchen sink as I write this (Monday morning!) I guess I'm doing that one!

The "Answer"

I forgot to post Maddie's answer to her prom date...

After much deliberation (and me getting fuming mad at her!) we helped her answer him last week. She got a big bouquet of balloons and wrote "Yes" on them. Then we got the kite string and tied the balloons to it...

She wrote "Pull Me" on the kite string...

And we sent Dave up to the door where he let the balloons go - as high as the kite string would take them. He rang the doorbell and ran! It turned out really cute!

And by the way...


She passed her driving test last week too! She's getting her license on Monday but won't be driving until her Personal Progress is done - and that's even close!

I'M SCARED :<(

Today I'm "40!"

Today is my birthday and I am now the big "4 - 0." I'm not quite sure how I feel about this yet. I guess I don't feel any differently, it's just weird to think that I'm now in my "40's."

But, something happened on Saturday that has never happened before in Dave and I's 18 years of marriage... He surprised me! He had some of our dearest friends meet us at "The Dock of the Bay" up Provo Canyon for dinner. I was so surprised and I still didn't catch on to anything when our friend, Wayne insisted on driving (because their present was in their car) and he used the excuse that "Dave drives too slow!" That was the first time I'd heard those words used together in a sentence - "Dave" and "Drives too slow!"

This is me telling Dave he's a "Dead Man!" I love going to other people's surprise parties but I realized on Saturday and I don't like them when it's all for me!

Our friends Britt, Wayne, John, Caryn

Andrew, JoLyn, Me, Gina, and Mark

Poor Shelly had to sit with "the parents". She said she had fun!

Some of my presents were hilarious! Like these pamphlets from JoLyn on some assisted living centers and medical equipment.

Oh, and my "Affirm" undergarments!

Thank you everyone that came to help me celebrate my bday. I really had so much fun! Thank you Dave - even though I made him swear that he wouldn't surprise me!

I have more pictures on my dad's camera that I will get and post later too.

"Butch Cassidy" and more about Bronson...

My kids are "on" to my blogging and either like the attention or hate it. I will either hear "Mom - you better not be putting that on your blog!" or "Mom, did you blog that? Are you going to?"

This is usually the case with Maddie and Talbie and I didn't even think Bronson knew the blog existed until this weekend...

As you know, the Twilight movie came out on Saturday. Talbie got her copy with Dave on Friday night but Bronson kept asking when he could go buy one. I told him he didn't need to get one and that I paid for Talbie's DVD and so the entire family could watch it. Then the truth came out. He wanted to buy it for his girlfriend at school. Then he said, "Do you think that would be an appropriate gift?" I didn't even know he knew the word "appropriate" let alone want to spend his hard earned cash on a girl!

Dave and I both told him that that we thought that was a little extravagant and why didn't he just get her something little. He said, "Well, she told me not to spend very much money on her but then she also said she wanted the Twilight DVD."

I told him he could do what he wanted so first thing Saturday morning, we went to Costco together and he bought the DVD. He came home and put a big bow on it and put it in his backpack.

I wanted to get a picture of him holding the movie but he was on to me and said, "NO! You'll put it on your blog!"

I think it might be love because this morning when I made him breakfast he said, "OK I'll eat but then I have to brush my teeth again." WHAT??? It's like pulling teeth to get him to brush at night. Then he ate his breakfast and then spent about 10 minutes on his teeth. Then came out and said, "Mom, do you think if I use hairspray on my hair today it would look better?"

I'm at a loss.

Oh, and the above picture is his poster on "Butch Cassidy." The 4th graders are having a Wax Museum and they have to pick a famous Utahan to be. He will dress up like him this week for the program. More on that later...

Dad of the Year

The Twilight DVD went on sale at midnight last night and Talbie and her friends wanted to go to the midnight party at Borders so they could be one of the first ones to see it! I didn't think it was a good idea for 3 12 year olds to be there alone so Dave agreed to go with them. He was a trooper because I could have never stayed up that late :)

Then they had a sleep over to watch the movie - over and over!

Update on Brittany

Many of you know that Brittany had some complications after Boston was born and she hasn't regained the feeling in the lower half of her left leg. They didn't know if this was a complication of the epideral or what so they did tests and this morning she had an MRI done. They ruled out a lot of things they thought it could be but after all the testing they said it is mostly likely a pinched or damaged sciatic nerve. They don't know if this happened when the baby was born or if it's because she laid on her side for so long and the nerve was pinched but she didn't know it because of the epideral.

They don't know a whole lot about this because it doesn't happen very often. The studies they did find say that when this happens, the feeling usually comes back within 6 weeks to 3-4 months. We're hoping this is the case and this is not a permanent situation. She can't stand on her leg at all or put any weight on it so that makes it VERY hard for her to get around.

Please remember Brittany in your prayers and I think through our faith and prayers, this situation can be shortened and she can get back to normal soon!

Hang in there Brittany and consider me your full time nurse and slave :)

Choir Concert

Talbie had her first choir concert last night. She did a great job and she has really discovered her voice and she loves to sing. She's going to audition for one of the choir groups for next year and she just started voice lessons this month and loves it!

Introducing...

"Braden, Lincoln, or Boston" Clark Heal

As of 2:30 this afternoon when I left the hospital, Brittany and Jared hadn't decided on his name - but it will be one of the three listed above.

Our little St. Patty's Day baby
7 lb 10 oz
(he would have been 7 lb 11 oz but he peed all over the doctor when he came out!)

UPDATE: I JUST READ BRITTANY'S BLOG AND IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S
BOSTON CLARK HEAL!
Me - the proud aunt! I've been so lucky to be in the delivery room with each of Brittany's 4 boys. I feel like I've been able to bond with each of them because of this (and because I'm their 2nd mother since they live behind us). I was the 3rd person to hold him :) I tried to be 2nd but Jared thought he needed a turn!

Need Some Ideas

Last night someone rang our doorbell 3-4 times and then RAN! I opened the door and found a beautiful bouquet of flowers laying there. I was so excited until I saw the note "12 Reasons Why You Should Go To Prom With Me." I knew they couldn't be for me - but I was still excited!

Hidden inside the flowers were the 12 reasons...

She's of course going to say yes - but we need some ideas! What are some cute ways to answer someone? We've come up with a few but need some more ideas - Help!

Congratulations Maddie!

A few weekends ago, Maddie auditioned for BYU's Summer Advanced/Intensive Ballet Workshop. She was pretty nervous about it but auditioning is such great experience, even if you don't end up getting what you've tried for.

But - we got a letter today from BYU and she was accepted. It's for 2 weeks this summer and luckily she lives locally or the cost would be a lot more than it already is. Now we just have to come up with the $625 to send her. She needs a job!

Happy Birthday Zoey

Saturday was our dog, Zoey's birthday. We usually don't have a huge celebration for her birthday but Bronson insisted that we celebrate it this year. We even made a cake that wasn't chocolate so Zoey could have some.

Bronson and McKay getting ready for the party!

My parents came over for a minute with their dog, Brinkley to help celebrate. The 2 dogs were only in the house long enough to try and get a picture (dogs don't like to pose for pictures very well) - then they were sent outside!

Emmie made her this birthday hat but Zoey wasn't too crazy about it!

Love Notes

Remember when you were in elementary school and someone would hand you a note that looks like this...

"Me + Bronson = forever - is the only math we need to know"

Bronson came home from school today and this fell out of his pocket. I thought it was so cute. He claims he doesn't know who it's from or he just won't tell me.

Learning from the Master

Dallin (Brittany's little boy) came over the other day with his DS. Bronson noticed he was playing a game that he had - and that he was better at it than he was. This is Dallin (who is 3), giving Bronson some pointers!



Bronson doesn't have any brothers but he sure loves being a "big brother" to Dallin and the two little boys that live next door to us. Tommy and David live next door and they sit by us at church. Bronson will spend the entire first hour of church drawing with them, making paper airplanes (maybe not the most reverent activity) and playing tic tac toe with them. He's such a good boy!

The Visiting Teaching Movie

Today in RS we had a wonderful lessons by our president, JoLyn. She showed this great video on visiting teaching. Unfortunately, a few of these scenarios hit a little too close to home :) We can all take a lesson from this and learn to be better visiting teachers. Enjoy!