My New Project

Since Noelle has been in the NICU she has favored sleeping and turning on her right side more than her left. This has caused a flat spot on her right side. We've tried and tried turning her head for her but it always ended up on the right side. For months of going to the doctor, he, along with a lot of others, kept saying that it would even out and not to really worry about it. Most babies heads go flat but even out with time. Well a little over a month ago her doctor saw her and everything was fine except that he saw her head and told us that she needed physical therapy. I didn't really know what this meant except that if her head got much worse and we didn't do something about it she would need a helmet to re-shape it. So last week we went in to see a physical therapist. It's a good thing we did too. If we had just gotten her a helmet her head shape would have been fixed but none of the underlying problems that caused it to be that way would be fixed. So we found out that she has what is called Torticollis and Plagiocephaly. If you don't know what those mean (as I didn't) here ya go - Torticollis, in short, means a tilting of the head to one side. Plagiocephaly is a flattening of the back of the head, in Noelle's case the right side. So the physical therapist did a lot of different tests to see what else was going on. Her vision is good and her body shape is good and even on both sides. What she did notice, which led to the diagnosis of torticollis, was that her right neck muscles are really tight and it makes it very uncomfortable to turn her head to the left side. Lots of other things were said and we learned so much. So the physical therapist gave us some home excersizes and stretches to help fix the problem. We have to do this consistently and many times throughout the day. That is why she is my new project. If we work hard enough her head will re-shape on it's own and she won't need a helmet. Within a month or two we should know how we are doing and how her head has changed and if she will need a helmet or not. This should be fun especially with Noelle's stubborn, yet cute attitude. Wish us luck! Noelle sleeping next to Dad.

Noelle has learned this spitting thing. It's really cute and I think she does it to get our attention.

Tribute to Eric

Today marks a year since my brother Eric passed away. This last Saturday (May 16th) was his 19th birthday. My Mom and Dad decided to do something special to observe his birthday as it was also the day he went in to the hospital last year. They wanted to spend the day with our family, and invited my Dad's side to come and observe it with us. All of us met Saturday evening at the cemetery. They had about 20-25 balloons and paper for all of us to write Eric a note on. Afterward we all sang "Happy Birthday" to Eric. All the notes were attached to the balloons and then the balloons were released. After that we all met at my parent's house and my dad barbecued hamburgers and hotdogs for everybody. It was a really neat experience. When we started singing "Happy Birthday" I started crying and really felt close to Eric. This year has been hard for my family. Especially my parents. It really makes you look at things differently when a family member passes away. You always feel that it will never happen to you. Our faith has been pulled and stretched in so many ways. I know we all have grown closer to each other and to the Lord because of this. His plan of salvation becomes so real. I know it is true and that the atonement is real. He can lift and pick us up when we just can't do it alone. I know Eric is happy and is healing and becoming closer to the Lord and to us. This year we were blessed as my sister Alyson left on a mission and my daughter, Noelle, was born. I know Eric had something to do with all of that and that he was there at those special moments. Eric has the biggest heart and he was always friendly to those around him. I hope he knows how much he is loved and how much we miss him.

These pictures are of Eric at my wedding in December 2007. I love Eric in the little girls apron. It's so like him to put it on and make fun of it :).

When Eric was getting ready for my wedding stuff he wanted to really look his best and wanted to get some brand new, bright earrings for that day. As you can see in this picture, he did just that :). He makes me smile so much.

New Blog

So I decided to create another blog. It's called "Recipes, etc..." As I am not a great organizer I decided to make this my place to organize my favorite recipes and any other random thing that is on my mind, hence the "etc" in the title. I would love to get your comments and opinions. Also I would love to receive different recipes from anyone who wants to share them. This blog is just for fun. Please share it with others. Thanks!

My other blog: Recipes, etc...

gratitude

This mother's day meant so much to me. Sometimes I wake up and I still can't believe that I have a daughter. But I thought a lot about how far Noelle has come over the last six months. I even found myself looking at her NICU pictures and comparing them with pictures of now. I felt so grateful for her in my life and so grateful for a husband who is so unconditionally kind and takes care of us in so many ways. Everything was perfect on Mother's Day because I got to be with my amazing husband Michael and sweet daughter Noelle. Not to mention I was with my family who I love with all of my heart. Who have done so much for us. I would not be the person I am today if it wasn't for the love and the examples that my parents, and family are to me. To top it off we got to talk to my sister, Alyson, who is on a mission in Spain. It made me realize how much I miss her but how grateful I am that she is serving the Lord. The only thing that was missing was us being able to see Michael's mom and the rest of the family. We miss you guys so much and love you!

I know it's late but Happy Mother's Day to my mom and mom-in-law! I love you both so much and am so grateful for all that you have done for me and my little family.

I wanted to put a picture on here of Noelle in the NICU and some pictures of now. Just to see how much she has grown and how far she has come. I'm so grateful for the many nurses and doctors that made it possible for Noelle to live. Seriously, she would not be here if it wasn't for the amazing medical technology that is available. I'm so grateful to my Heavenly Father, as he is the one that made that amazing medical technology exist. My heart is very full of this gratitude and I can't even explain it in words.

I want my friends to know that have lost their own mothers (two in particular) that I thought of you a lot on Sunday. You are amazing people and my life has been changed because of you. I know other lives have been changed because of the example and joy you have been to them. Thank you for your wonderful examples of love and strength. I know your moms are watching you today with enormous gratitude of how far you have come in life and how strong you are.

Thank you everyone for who and what you are. I hope you all have a wonderful week!

pics of Noelle (as you probably can tell, I have a really hard time picking just one or two pictures-sorry about that)

Just one day old (i think)a few days old (this was the first time I held her)
A few weeks old6 months old with her crazy hairdo after her bathNoelle with her great-grandma Fullmer (she was soooo tired)Noelle has been really tired lately and we were playing on the floor and she just fell asleep.

For those of you interested in watching a video of Noelle talking and trying to laugh :), here ya go:

Noelle's Blessing Day

Well it finally happened, Noelle was blessed last Sunday, May 3rd. Because we haven't been able to take Noelle to church we didn't bless her until now. It was the first time she came to church and she did so well. We did go to my parent's ward and my mom took care of her for most of the time, but all in all she did great. She was one of the bigger babies I've seen getting blessed, but it didn't matter. It was such a good day. The spirit was there and it was so neat hearing those words come out of Michael's mouth. I know that the spirit was speaking through him. I'm so grateful for the priesthood. It was also cool to see all our family members in the circle. I have such an amazing family, immediate and extended. We are so close to my side and Michael's and I'm so grateful for everyone and their support. Her blessing day marked such a milestone in our lives. Noelle has come so far and I can tell that she is such an amazing and strong girl. She has been such a blessing in our lives in so many ways. This last year has been hard and she has been such a joy in so many people's lives. We love her so much and feel so blessed that she is a part of our family. I don't really like this picture, but it's one of the only ones we have of the three of us. I know I've been bad at family pictures, I'll try to do better. Don't you love how Noelle's tights are huge on her :).Happy baby girlWe bought this dress all white and my mom glued in some pink beads inside the little white flowers. We wanted it to have a little color.