Simply Adorable

This video makes me happy. Kimmy and my Mom took it of Clark the day after he was born.

Clark Cannon Hill

Clark Cannon Hill

July 26, 2010
9:29 P.M.
7 lbs 14 oz
22 inches
Basically it was wonderful, everything was wonderful. It was such a special experience with a very special little boy. I am so excited to write all about it! However, I got sick in the hospital and it has taken me a little longer than I expected to get up and running. Or up and walking :-) Sooooo tonight I will just post a short post with lots of pictures and a couple of highlights like...

GETTING A NAME
He went from this... to this...
Its good to have a name!

GOING HOMEMEETING BROTHERLuke wasn't a big fan of the whole situation. But he did get a balloon from his Aunt Cori, and that made everything better!

Welcome to Itty Bitty!!!

Our son is finally here!!! Okay, so we still haven't finalized his name, so we titled this post with what we've been calling him in the mean time:)

For a couple days prior to his delivery, Kristi suspected that her water was slowly leaking. We couldn't get in touch with anyone on Saturday (thanks a lot, Pioneer Day) so we waited till Monday. So off to the hospital we went on Monday afternoon to have Kristi examined.

As it turned out, Kristi was right, and she was leaking amniotic fluid. This meant we weren't going anywhere until the baby came (this is where we tell family about our secret trip to the hospital to get examined).

Kristi wasn't in labor. Because Luke came by Cesarean Section, inducing this second labor with drugs would be risky, though, we very much wanted to try a normal, vaginal birth. We had an option to induce without drugs by fully breaking Kristi's water, but her cervix was so far back the doctor couldn't reach it, which was, in his words, very rare.

It was obvious to everyone that c-section was the best option for mommy and baby. We felt really good, enthusiastic even, about our decision to simply move ahead with the c-section and not put Kristi or our son at risk, even though it meant giving up the possibility of ever having a vaginal birth.

Thirty minutes later...













I love this last picture. Kristi being spunky on her way to the operating room!


P.S. - Our little guy was born at about 9:30 p.m. Monday, July 26, 2010. He was 21 inches long and weighed in at 7 lbs. 14 ounces.

P.P.S. - If you want to come and meet our little boy we're happy to have visitors at the hospital. Give me (Andrew) a call and I'll get you the info you need.

Sundance

Brace Yourself

My little man is growing up so fast. I really can't believe it. In march of 2009 Luke got his very first pair of braces, his DAFOS. He has loved them ever since he got them. This is a picture of him the first day he got them. He loves to wear them, and would bring them to us if we did not put them on right away. I remember thinking how huge they made his feet look. And I remember buying shoes for them the very first time. We had to buy a size 5 to fit over the braces. (He was only in a size 3 shoe at the time) I remember how it looked like he had little clown feet. Ahhh memories, but over time he grew into the brace, and we even had the toe extended twice.
But alas, these wonderful little orthotics have become to small. And about a month ago we simply had to put in an order to get a new pair. I have to admit I was a little sad to see the old ones go. Because they were really made for a baby, they where light and thin. And Luke had worn them to a point that they really where almost molded to his leg. But they where two short, too shallow and not what he needed to progress. So we welcomed DAFO #2 to our home. These dafos are much heavier, thicker and have hinges. (This allows for much more movement and stability). But I must admit, I miss my little baby braces. When i went to the store to buy shoes to go over them I was shocked. I had to buy a size nine. A NINE. Oh goodness, I just had to laugh. Luke has always had super long feet but I never thought my two year old would be wearing a size nine shoe. When we get a shoe to go over the braces they have to be wide, and we take out the tongue and the insole. And of course this time, Luke would not allow us to leave the store with anything less than light-up Buzz Lightyear shoes. I don't love the cartoons and the light but hey, they make him happy.
There are custom shoes you can buy that are created to go over braces, but they are pricey and with the way Luke goes through shoes we haven't ever bothered purchasing any. But with his new assistance, Lukey will soon be the owner of these awesome Hatchbacks. Hatchbacks are amazing. They come without padding inside so you can get a smaller size and they also bend in half right in the center so you can slip them easilily over the brace. I am so excited. I am sure he will still wear his buzz lightyears but it is nice to have something a little nicer and easier to wear as well.

What can I say?

Proud of Me

I am not the most organized person in the world, but I like to think I am getting better. I am horrible at having dinner ready for my husband when he arrives home from work. Man o man I struggle with making dinner. But in the past couple of months I have been really trying to improve in a couple areas and today, well today is a good day. So forgive me while I just explain why today is a good day.

Housekeeping I posted a little while back about a book I got for a bridal shower, Mrs. Dunwoody's Excellent Guide to Homekeeping. Yes, it was written in the 1800's and yes, I use it. It has helped me create a housekeeping routine that has worked. Granted, I think one of the reasons it has worked so well is that I have been off work for the past two month :-) But each morning I get up, get Luke out of bed, put on his braces and clothes and start a little routine. I go from room to room with my big basket, making beds, opening windows, putting clothes or little things away and putting things in my basket to take to a different room. Within a half hour the house is 75% clean in every room. With the exception of whatever Luke was playing with while I am doing this, but I can get that put away as we go. Then we get breakfast and while he is still eating I put the clean dishes away. So dishwasher is empty, beds are made, clutter is put away and my day begins. I like that the majority of the housework is done and I can focus on playing with Luke and cleaning up the tornado that follows in his wake. Then if I can get a load of laundry in and clean up after myself in the kitchen I am good to go. So basically my goal is to keep the house in order rather than really cleaning it. I mean I know I still need to CLEAN it (i.e the toilet, shower, dusting, mopping), but I don't worry about it so much. My goal is to keep the house tidy and get to the CLEANING when I can. It is amazing how clean my house feels when the beds are made, floors are bare, dishes are done and most things are in their place. I don't walk in and notice the dust or the un-mopped kitchen floor, I see the space, a place things are in order. I am proud to say I have only fallen off the bandwagon and just completely ignored my housekeeping probably only six days in the last 2 months. But it is so much easier to keep it up if I did it the day before.
One of my favorite parts of the book really encouraged me. It said "Strive for excellence and not perfection... Perfection does not exist... The first is attainable, gratifying and healthy. The second is impossible, frustrating and neurotic. It is also a terrible waste of time."
Perfection is a waste of time. I like that. So its ok that my laundry isn't always done. But I can been proud if it is sorted and in laundry baskets and not on the floor. So I am happy. Happy to find a system that works for me. And hopefully, I will be able to add to it. To include cooking dinner and real cleaning. But as of right now I am just so happy it looks pretty.

and on to the other part of my good day...

Bills and Paper work. Insurance and finance. We get a lot of bills and I am not talking about monthly electric, rent or phone bills, Andrew takes care of those. But I am in charge of all of the insurance and medical bills. I did it after Luke was born and in the first year of his life. I still have an entire file box containing all those bills and insurance statements. But now that Luke is having more bills and more Dr's visits, and now that we are on Medicaid D and SSI, and since there is a new little baby joining our family oh, next week... Well lets just say its been more important than ever for me to keep things in order.
So first I will tell you how we usually handle it. Luke starts going to the Dr. I get stressed about his health and can't even deal with the bills until he is doing better. So as the bills and the insurance statements come I place them in a basket in the kitchen. Then when we get our first notice saying. "If this bill is not paid in the next 12 buisness days your account will be sent to collections." That is the point when I usually start to get things in order. Which was- last week. And I am happy to say- i did it. I rocked it. I kicked those bills butts ;-) not that they are all paid hahahahaha. But every bill is stapled to its insurance statement and stapled to other bills from that corresponding facility. The deductible is highlighted on each bill and written clearly at the top and underlined in highlighter. A pink sticky note on each bill gives the further action that needs to be taken. (i.e check back and make sure claim was resubmitted, call and set up payment plan)
I have a bills paid folder and an Un-paid bills folder. But I keep them all handy. Any bill that need further action stays in the Un-paid bills folder. Then once a week I go through and follow the instructions on the sticky notes. I use the huge industrial style accordion folder- It looks like a large briefcase. It has all of our pay stubs, bank statements and all of Luke's current medical records so I can access them quickly. It has taken me almost 4 years of marriage and hundreds of bills to feel like I have created a system that works for me. Once again Yay! :-)
Its nice to feel like I have these parts of my life in order. Especially because nothing is going to be in order come next week and the addition of a newborn. :-) But I like to think that even though I won't be able to be on top of things like I am now. I will be worlds ahead of where I would have been if I hadn't gotten things in order before.
Bring on the infant poop and sleep deprivation. I am ready. Bring on the bills. I will take um down. Bring on my mom. Who will be the only reason my house will not fall to shambles in the next couple of weeks. And bring on the challenge of trying to get back into my routine again. I can do it. I think the biggest thing I have to remember is simply to get up and do. I really prefer to be lazy. But starting it all again will make me happy. My life is happy, I have Andrew and I have Luke! And soon I will have one more.

Sometimes I let myself get overwhelmed. But today, I am proud of me.

This is at breakfast this morning. Andrew brought me flowers this week and I thought they were so pretty I had to take a picture and share. I love him!


Oh- I referenced that more stuff is going on with Luke- But basically he is awesome and doing so well. But we found a few things from the MRI we have to look into further and we can't meet with the specialist until Aug 23. So when I understand it I will do a big post and explain it all in detail. But in the meantime. Know he is doing well. And I will explain things when we have a little more information.

The Grotto

Look at our hike, isn't it neat wouldn't you think our adventures complete.... Yesterday morning was beautiful so we decided to take the morning and go on a little adventure up Payson Canyon. Payson is a little town about 30 minutes south of Provo. Andrew took his scouts to the Maple Dell Boy Scout Camp and heard about this hike that is just a little farther up the mountain. So we decided to explore. It is a wonderful family hike. It is short with a beautiful waterfall at the end. The waterfall is about 15 ft high and makes a super fun splash area at the end. The path leading up to it is not too steep and Luke loved the 5 or 6 logs you have to cross. Man o Man did he like crossing them! When we got up to the falls Luke was so excited. He loved the water, and the people. But he didn't love the noise. What our son? Not like noise? So we went back to Luke's favorite activity of all time. Throwing rocks in the water

Luke was so excited to be out in the sun shine. And so was I. It was such a beautiful day!

Independence Day

The Provo Freedom Festival

We had a wonderful 4th of July this year. On Saturday morning we headed to downtown Provo to attend the Provo Freedom Festival. We went to this last year and had a fabulous time. Let me tell you about the highlights. First you put Luke in the stroller and give him a balloon. Then eat, push Luke and chase Luke- Basically Luke is in heaven. We walk around look at the hundreds of booths with thousands of people, eat food, find a secluded location, let him run around and then we chase him. What more could a little guy want.

The Food

Rib Sandwich, Grilled Corn, Funnel Cake, Frozen Pina Colada Lemonade and Cheetos= Happiness

Chasing Luke

It was such a fun day. Later that night we went to a BBQ at Andrew's Brother's house. It was great. Luke played with his cousin. He played with the dogs and played with the bears. They actually aren't bears, but super big white dogs. Later that night we went up to Andrew's parents house in Syracuse and spent the rest of the weekend there. It was marvelous and super relaxing. On Monday morning Andrew took Luke to the airplane museum at Hill Air force Base. It wasn't Luke's favorite part of the weekend :-)