Orthopaedic Ski Retreat 2010

A week after we got home from vacation, Blake's department took him along with the other interns, 3rd years and 5th years on a 5-day ski retreat in Colorado as his chairman Dr. Schutt's cabin. The residents drove up together and enjoyed 5 days of relaxation and fun. 2 of the days Blake skied and the other days he utilized Dr. Schutt's supply of snow shoes to go snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. The retreat sort of came at bad timing with it being so close to our vacation, but it was a great opportunity for the program to give back to the residents for working so hard. The poor 2nd, 4th, and attendings had to stay home and hold the fort down at the hospital while everyone was away. We are also pleased to announce that Blake no longer has to do any more rotations with surgery, he's now with the Ortho department for the next 4.5 years!! He's loving that he can completely focus on his chosen specialty now.

Unfortunatley Blake didn't have any pictures taken of him.

2 Month Appointment

I'm a little late in posting list--say a month late, but better late then never!! Here are Lanaea's 2 months stats:

Weighed: 12lbs. 1 oz.

Height: 22.5 inches

She is just a bundle of joy!! She truly is our little angel :) In these pictures she is about 2.5 months.

From with the Brown's

We made our last stop at the Brown's. And what do you know? We welcomed again with yet another birthday celebration!! Kelsey and Blake had never been so spoiled on their birthday!! Before the birthday celebrations began Kelsey and Blake went on a daddy-daughter date up the canyon for some skiing and me Lanaea, Mylee and my parents went to the Living Aquarium in Salt Lake. It was really neat!! Mylee even saw Nemo and made sure that she showed him to us ;). My favorite animal was the an octopus. I had never seen an octopus in real life before. Wow, what a neat animal!! The jelly fishes were really neat too.

At the party my Grandpa and Grandma Brown came along with my two Aunt's Cindy and Denise and their families. It was a full house!!

Kelsey opening her presents

My 3 cousins holding Lanaea

A 4-Generation Picture. From left to right, Grandpa Brown, Dad, Lanaea, and me!!

Grandma Cheryl with Lanaea. Lanaea loved Grandma Cheryl and gave her some really great smiles!!

Fun at the Astorga's

After staying with the Clifton's we took an afternoon to go by BYU and a few other places before we landed at the Astorga's home. We were welcomed with yet another birthday party for Blake and Kelsey!! Before the big celebrate, Mary and Kelsey wasted no time and got dress-ups on and adorned theirselves with make-up and accessories. Kelsey was in heaven! Mylee tagged right along with them finding herself something beautiful to wear as well. When we sat down to celebrate Kelsey and Blake's birthday my mom pulled out a pinata!! That was a hit!! It was strong though and took some really strong hits from Spencer to break the thing. I'm sure Mylee's hits helped as well ;).


It was SO great to see my sister Megan too with her new baby Brighton Russell Parkes. He is such a little prince!! It was weird seeing my little sister walk into the room with a new baby!! But so wonderful too! At the time he was only two weeks old. He and Lanaea will be great friends one day.

I got to go out with just my mom for an afternoon one day so I could go to the Distribution Center and get some things. I totally took advantage of the blessing it was to have those store so close. Visiting Utah and being able to go to Deseret Book, the Distribution Center, Temple Square, and other lds stores and sites is a major highlight for me!!

On another evening my Aunt Diana and her family came over along with my Aunt Tammy and Uncle Sam for dinner. It was so great to visit with them. Diana's baby is due in a couple of weeks. We had a wonderful visit and left with memories to cherish. Thanks Mom for being such a great hostess!!

Ski Trip 2010

While on vacation in Utah we of course made it up to the slopes. We all went together as a family along with Trevor and 2 of his boys and Tanya and her 3 girls one day, Blake took Kelsey on a daddy-daughter date on another day and Blake went with Trevor alone another day. When I went up with the family with Lanaea at only 7 weeks old, I stayed in the lodge most of the time, but was able to take a few runs. Mylee got to spend the day with her Aunt Amy and her cousin Talia. Blake was smiling ear to ear and I'm sure imagining what his teaching will eventually produce one day as helped Kelsey learn to ski. She did very well both times Blake took her. She didn't like being cold--don't blame her-- and she thought the pie was way elementary--she gets that from Blake. She wanted to go fast. She would get going and Blake would have to go save her before she crashed. She crashed a few times and apparently didn't think that was too great.

Here's Kelsey taking a run. Notice her skis are straight--she likes to zoom.

Blake doing what he loves!! There aren't too many things that get Blake noticably excited, but skiing is definitely one of them. He talks about it all year and anticipates when he will be able to go next. It was a great reward after weeks and weeks of LONG work hours and high demands.

Fun Times at the Clifton's

Blake took a week vacation the week of Kelsey's birthday so we could go to Utah to ski and visit family. It was SO wonderful to get away and be together as a family and visit our extended families. We drove, stopping halfway at my Grandpa and Grandma McGee's house in Farmington, NM to stay for the night. It was so great to visit with them and let them get to know my girls better. Kelsey and Mylee made themselves right at home and had no reserves in giving my grandparents lots of loves. Much to his surprise and I think delight, Kelsey made her way into my grandpa's lap ready to have a conversation with him. Seeing my children play with toys I played with as a child brought back lots of memories. The next day we continued our drive to Utah stopping in Mapleton where Blake's parents' live. We had such a wonderful time there. We arrived Saturday and on Sunday had a big birthday party for Kelsey and Blake. Blake's brother Trevor and his family came along with Blake's sister Tanya and her family. It was such a fun gathering. My sister-in-law Amy even made Kelsey a princess cake that Kelsey couldn't stop talking about. Thanks Amy!!

Along with cake we had ice cream sundaes, but before we could have a sundae we had to earn it by passing off the Articles of Faith. The kids were separared into groups and had to work together with their adult team leader to pass off all the Articles of Faith to the moms. It warmed my heart to see Kelsey recite them, especially when she got to the big words like transgression. She, Kambria, and Uncle Trevor worked great as a team.

The girls loved being with their cousins and they played so well together. Kelsey thought it was so cool to have sleepovers with her girl cousins. Kambria and Kelsey even got to have a sleepover with Grammy Joyce one night--brave grandma!! Needless to say that only lasted one night :).

The girls also enjoyed sledding on Grandpa and Grandma Clifton's famous hill in their back yard. Mylee had never been sledding before. She had SO much FUN!! Look at that smile!!

Watch this video and listen to her giggles!!

As far as Lanaea, well she did this a lot!!

Bedtime Drama and Snow!

Mylee was my perfect sleeper before she got a new bed at Christmas. Before she was able to adjust, Lanaea was born and then we had visitors for two weeks straight. Cutting naps out of her day didn't work because this would happen later in the day and make our bedtime drama even worse.

Sending her back numerous times didn't work, bribes didn't work. The only thing that would eventually worked was turning all the lights off in our house, making sure the pantry and fridge were locked and then going to bed. She didn't cry because she thought she was free to be awake. She would wander into our room and we would of course pretend we were asleep so she became bored and left to wander somewhere else until eventually this would happen. I'm happy to report that bedtime is MUCH better, but still not solved. On a different note Lanaea got to see snow for the first time. She of course didn't get to enjoy it, but her big sisters took advantage of it--you know we live in a place that doesn't see a lot of snow. Mylee was sooo happy to play in the snowman (snow). She made snow angels, threw snowballs and had a grand ol' time. What did Kelsey do you ask? Need you ask? She is Blake's daughter, she SKIED!! And it was her idea even. She lost one ski in the picture below.


The only problem is that Lubbock is NOT the best place to ski. Watch the video and you'll understand why.

2 Week Photo Shoot

While my mom was here I took some pictures of Lanaea. These are pictures of her at two weeks old. Every time the flash went off she grimaced a little bit. That is why she is grimacing a little bit in some of these pictures.

So precious!!
She found her finger

My 3rd little princess

Hurry quick, her eyes are open!! This doesn't happen too often at 2 weeks old.

Lanaea didn't think this photo shoot was all that great.

Grammy Polly Comes to Visit

After some great R&R in HAWAII!! my mom came to visit to help with the baby 2 weeks after Lanaea was born. It was very generous and sweet of her to come after being away from my little brother and sisters a whole week previous. Thank you Roland, Spencer, Abby, Lizzy, and Mary for letting her come!! It was nice to have some help at 2 weeks postpartum too. At that point the newness of having a baby starts to rub off and reality starts setting in, so it was nice to have my mom during this transition period. With Blake's demanding work schedule it's usually just me and the girls and I wouldn't say I was ready for it to be like that just yet. But by the time she left I felt stronger and ready to face my new reality.

Having my mom come is always a delight. She's a champ at cleaning and organizing things and I always appreciate finding little things that she did. She also did what grandmas do best, LOVE my children. Together they made chocolate chip cookies, played games, read books and had lots and lots of snuggle time. Mylee is my snuggler and took advantage of as much snuggle time as she could get.

1st photo shoot

During some quite moments when Kelsey and Mylee were at friends' homes I snapped some pictures of Lanaea during her first week of life. Having a new baby always has its challenges, but thankfully I am glad to report that having 3 is not as demanding as I thought it would be. During the last few weeks of my pregnancy I remember thinking that I was perfectly okay with my sweet little girl staying in there for a little longer because I wasn't sure how I was going to handle the responsibility of taking care of three. As many of you know, Mylee is quite the handful and can't be left unsupervised without grave consequences. But Heavenly Father has strengthened me and has blessed me with a REALLY GOOD baby. She's practically perfect in every way. As far as Mylee's michievousness, she seems to be doing better.

One night when we were all sitting in the living room together. Kelsey and Mylee were playing really sweet together and Blake was enjoying his family while sitting on the couch. I looked at each one of them and had this overwhelming feeling of COMPLETE JOY!! My whole body tingled and I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. My heart was so full of love. I was overcome with the blessings of having a family and being a mother. Being a mother is not easy don't get me wrong there, but there is nothing else like it and nothing else that I would rather do with my life. As I have welcomed three precious children into this world I become more and more convinced of this. Being a mother is my calling and I thank my Heavenly Father every day for letting me fulfill it and entrusting me with his perfect children. It's in caring for them that I am learning to become more like Him.

Right after a bath


Precious little toes--I LOVE pictures of baby feet.

Grammy Joyce Comes to Visit

A week after Lanaea was born my mother-in-law came to visit to help me with the baby. She was so sweet and considerate to come and help. My mom had scheduled a trip to go to Hawaii over a year ago and ironically it was scheduled right on Lanaea's due date, so she wasn't able to come and help me right after Lanaea was born so my Mother-in-law filled in her spot. During Lanaea's first week of life I got help from friends and Blake was able to take 3 days off for work. I was very grateful for the help.

While Grammy Joyce was here she did what she does best, LOVE my girls. My girls couldn't get enough of her. They sang songs, played endless hours of Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, Memory, went on walks, she was even able to join in on a movie party where we watched Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. (Every Friday that Blake has to work overnight, me and the girls get a movie to watch together.) I loved having that much extra sleep in the morning and having help with the daily chores around the house and making meals. I utilized her cooking skills and had her make some cinnamon rolls to give out as thank you's to those that helped me the week previous. The girls of course helped and made great dough cookies. Kelsey was very proud of her cooking skills.

Mylee thought it was the greatest thing ever. When the rolls were finished we delivered them around town, stopping by the Lubbock Temple to show Grammy Joyce. From gathering all the cinnamon rolls and the cute little notes I had made to gathering all that I needed for the girls and the baby and making sure I had all the addressed I needed, it took us about 30 minutes to get out the door and in the car, but we eventually made it there. Thankfully I have reduced the time it takes to get ready and out the door.
The girls also had lots snuggle time with their new sister. Mylee has lovingly nicknamed her Baby Naea. Grammy Joyce was a good sport and was probably exhausted by the time her week's stay was over. We love you Grammy Joyce thank you for coming to help!