Halloween was a little different this year. With Dash in the NICU for his first Halloween, I spent most of the day feeding, holding and singing to him.
You know I am a sucker for costumes, but this little pumpkin hat (from Scummy) had to do for his big day. Hopefully he will warm up to dressing up soon!
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Tristen — the saint of lately — took the other two all day. They headed to RoRo’s beach for the morning. Went home for naps and then she got them all gussied up for Halloween. They went over to Three Arch to walk in their parade, and by the time they were finished, I was home.
Scout was a policeman this year, and Sissy was a “pawisoner”.
Here is his attempt at locking her up.
Too bad for him, she was pretty good at becoming an escapee.
On our way out to make our stops, we ran into some of Scout’s buddies who insisted Scout trick or treat at least one house with them. Scout thought he was such a cool dude as he ran up to the door with his friends.
Here are the weasels in action.
Auntie Gail had big candies and bags of grapes. Wouldn’t you guess that Scout went straight for the bag of grapes, and Sissy tried to sneak about four big candy bars!
(Notice the prisoner’s corn rows. Nice touch Tristen. Nice work Britni.)
Skilly (who wore my tried and true mechanic costume — but looks a whole lot better than I ever did) took the kids up to about ten houses.
Notice my boy — who is eating carrots instead of his bag full of candy!
This policeman found a cowgirl he especially liked.
And apparently she was liking him too — look at the little flirt!
Icka’s crime might have been involuntary manslaughter with how hard she was choking August. But it was all in the name of love!
That cow girl’s dad might just be my favorite part of recent Halloweens! Hank Williams put on many a concert for us that night, and had an entire neighborhood mesmerized!
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I feel a bit pathetic this year — I was supposed to be the ball and chain, Dash - a bag of money the convict stole, Micah - the warden. Oh well. There is always next year. And maybe next year we will carve pumpkins too. All in all, it was still a Happy Halloween. And at least I can partially claim (like only 10%, and my mom was the other 90%) that I made Icka’s costume!
Because of the complications Navy had when she was young with our blood incompatibility, they immediately tested Dash. It turns out that he had the same story going on, and they had him wrapped up immediately for some Biliruben light therapy. He was able to stay in my room for a few hours that way, but they saw his numbers climbing, and wanted to get him up to the NICU. So because of that, I only got to spend a few hours with my boy.
For the first few days, I got to feed the little guy under the lights.
Burping him was my weakest area of expertise, but thank goodness he compensates for my lacking.
It is so sad to see your little tiny baby have an IV in his hand.
Especially when it is in both hands! But it is better than when Icka had one in her head because they couldn’t find good veins in her hands. Also notice his little rash he gets from the lights. Poor little man!
But cute little man.
Don’t you die over those lips and those shades.
While I was up there, my kids got to watch cartoons and eat snacks on my hospital bed for the first few days. I loved having them there, but my sheets were nasty by the time they left!
Of course I got this awesome package from the Brockbanks!
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I am really glad that everything was caught early, and I have really caring and competent doctors taking care of him.
Scout was in his first primary program today. He did a great job, and according to Nonnie — who headed up the whole thing — “He was spectacular!” (And he keeps telling us that he was “spectacular”!) He had two parts, and had both memorized perfectly. He also had “pizzazz” (a Nonnie must), spoke clearly, was loud, put the microphone directly in front of his mouth, and spoke slowly. I was SO impressed, because I thought he would rush right through it once he was in front of a bunch of people, but he nailed it.
His first part was:
“And the most amazing thing is that we voted for this plan. We all raised our hands (he raised his little hand in the air at this part) and said, “YES, We will follow Jesus!” We were SO excited!”
His second part was a talk he recently gave in primary that went along with the program, so Nonnie tucked it in. It went like this:
“Neehow! Did you know that is how you say “hello” in Chinese? When I was a little baby, I went to China. See, here I am. (He is holding a blown up picture of him on the streets of China.) It was a very nice place with lots of nice people. But did you know that because of the rules in China, we aren’t allowed to go on missions there. But don’t worry. One day, China will have missionaries too. Do you know how I know that? In Doctrine and Covenants 133:37 it says, ‘This gospel shall be preached into every nation, and kindred, and tongue and people.’ That means that we will have missionaries in every country. When I am very big, I am so excited to go on my mission. And who knows….maybe I’ll go to China. I better start practicing my Chinese! Neehow. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.”
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Like I said, he nailed both parts, and he had a very proud fan club out there. But I’ll admit that my fears of him freezing up got my bribery juices flowing. I told him that he would earn a “golden coin” (a dollar coin) for each of his parts if he did really good with a loud voice. He negotiated and got me to agree to three golden coins if he did well. I relented, and three it was. So the program started, he was singing well, he was standing up when signaled, and he was very reverent on the stand. So when he looked at me and mouthed, “How about five” (while holding up five fingers), I knew exactly what he was talking about. He had me between a rock and a hard place, and so I smiled and said, “Fine…..five…..but you better be loud!”
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So our plans tomorrow consist of me doling out five golden coins. Heading to Costco for a churro that he is going to buy by himself. And then heading over to the Dollar Store for whatever his little heart desires!
The day I went into the hospital, I had a few errands to run. I originally had the kids with me, but then I dropped them off at Daddy’s work for about an hour to speed my things up. When I got back, Icka had blood all over her clothes and three bandages on her middle finger. When I asked what happened, I was told that she was holding a piece of popcorn and Scout was cutting it in half, but accidentally cut off the tip of her finger. WOW! And what was Daddy doing? Providing the scissors?
Each bandage kept falling off, so Bella was the one who came up with a great solution to her reopening her wound over and over. She bandaged it and then put on this little finger ??? over it. Navy is hilarious. She won’t take it off, or even get it wet. She has kept it on for four days, and is very protective over her hurt finger. When I tell her I think we need her finger to breathe, she says, “No….it will bleed and get everything bloody. It has to stay on!” I tried to convince her take the bandage off because it gets dirty. But my plan backfired, because she now religiously has Bella change out her bandage every day to keep it clean.
The first day I was home, I had a few things on the agenda. First, I had to head back to the NICU to feed Dash. While I was gone, Micah took them on a run in the jogger stroller and got the kids fed. He made them pancakes, and I heard about the Mickey Mouse pancake he made….and I had “to see the best Mickey Mouse pancake in the whole world”! I checked it out, fully expecting the round face with ears, but saw this instead.
It was an armless, walking Mickey!
Pretty impressive Babe.
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Another agenda item was getting our new baby car seat figured out and installed. In the meantime, the kids found some cardboard boxes to keep them entertained.
Icka said this was where the princesses sat.
A little later, I was walking in the house and had to walk around this box in my way.
After I passed it, I heard a noise and turned around to find….
Spiderman popping out!
This kid must have the patience of Job, because he had been there for at least five minutes — if not ten!
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The rest of the day consisted of a few more back and forth trips to the NICU to see this little dreamboat.
Since Dash wasn’t able to come home from the hospital, I was able to go to our ward’s Trunk Or Treat with my other two kiddos. This year, Scout is a police man and Icka is a prisoner. I would love to show you a picture of them together, but those two found friends and never stopped. So here are the few moments I was able to capture.
Officer Denison.
The little convict.
Micah made our trunk a little too scary for the little ones.
But not Icka — she must be used to that mask, because she just scared Micah back, and then he took the mask off and they had a good laugh.
Dash Kei Denison
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(Kei sounds just like the letter K, and he shares his middle name with his Dad and Scout.)
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Not to be outdone by his big brother who had the cord wrapped around his neck, or his sunny-side-up sister, this little guy came as a cord-wrapped-sunny-side-up special!
And I’ll take it!
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His newly-shaved dad is smitten.
(I am smitten with the lack of facial hair!)
His siblings are in love.
And our new family of five is pretty happy at the moment.
(The baby is there, but doing the skin-on-skin hour that Mission now encourages.)
The hospital stay was perfect.
The doctors were perfect.
Dash is perfect.
But instead of coming home, he has a little date in the NICU desert for a few days.
I avoid pictures like the plague. But in an attempt to keep a record of my third baby, I had Micah snap a few pictures right before we headed into the hospital. This was at about 11:30 pm, and then we headed to In-N-Out to get our nurses some grub during our shift (and bribe them a bit), and then checked in at about midnight.
Once we got there, we had a rather long check in (due to a chatty nurse), then my cervix-softening pill and two hours later, we were heading to dreamland. Too bad for me, our chatty nurse was also the “I hate to close the door because I want you to hear everything that is going on at the nurses station” girl, and the noise kept me awake most of the night. No biggie, and because I was up, this same nurse started in on my Pitocin at about 6:00 am. I followed my Pitocin up with an epidural at about 9:00, just so I didn’t have to feel ANY pain whatsoever! I was fully expecting to have my baby at about 4:00 pm because my last two were like clockwork, and both happened that way. Well, at about 11:00, I was checked and was dilated to about a 5.5. When I told my nurse just a few minutes later that I could feel my contractions, she checked me again and I was already at a 9.5. The immediately started dialing Theiny, as I dialed my Mom, Tristen, Megan and Trilby. They stopped the Pitocin which gave us a little break for everyone to arrive. But within minutes of Theiny arriving, I was pushing, and about 15 minutes later, I had my baby! (Sidenote: Have I ever mentioned that Theiny is the best doctor in the world? My baby, who had the cord wrapped around his neck, and was sunny side up didn’t even concern me because Theiny didn’t allow it to. He is the calmest and most at ease doctor on the planet. I seriously had many pow wows with the nurses about the best OBGYN’s, and Thein was at the top of every single list!)
Right before I started to push, my photographer showed up and never stopped snapping! Here is a picture of yours truly and the best pushing helper on earth. He is convinced that he doesn’t need my help at all next time!
Here is some of the “party” that is in my room each time! I wouldn’t do it any other way!
Some of the cousins were there to support and babysit!
Aren’t the Brockbanks the best!!!
Grandma and Grandpa were in the waiting room also, and brought treats for Scout and Navy!
About ten minutes before the baby came, I wanted my kids to see what was going on, so they came in and kissed me before their brother showed up.
And then at 12:38 pm, the slimiest yet sweetest little thing in the world came out to join in on the fun.
(I kid you not, Navy came out spotless clean, so I could not believe my eyes when I saw this little mess!)
They immediately put him on me so we could spend an hour skin on skin. Scout and Navy came in to greet their new brother, and Scout even brought him his coveted baseball trophy. It was the sweetest gesture I have ever seen, and really did bring tears to my eyes.
When Micah tried to take Navy away, she wouldn’t even consider leaving her “new baby”.
She ended spending most of the afternoon on the bed right beside me.
It wasn’t an hour until they weighed him. We all had guesses in, and I hit it perfectly. He was 7 lbs. 11 oz. and 19 inches long. Scout was only 6 ounces heavier than Dash, and Icka was exactly 1 lb lighter.
Don’t you just want to suck those little lips up!
He wasn’t into being measured.
Or into getting his footprints done, but tradition was in full force as Micah got his stamp!
And this time around…he got both feet!
That is one sweet little face, but we were all surprised that he doesn’t look like Scout or Navy at all.
It turned out that his bath wasn’t his favorite time either.
But when he got all cleaned up, this sweet thing was as perfect as a little angel.
Even when his older sister just smothered him with kisses.
And when we were trying to get a picture of the three kids.
Or when the cousins were all taking their turns adoring him.
(Can you tell my other two kids were running off of fumes at this point?)
He did start to fuss a little, so Nonnie grabbed him to work her magic.
And it was only moments before he was calm and back to sleep.
It turns out that even though I was the one who pushed a baby out and didn’t seep a wink the night before, it was my husband who died out. The poor guy fell asleep in the sitting position — smack dab in the middle of the room!
On his way to the NICU, our poor little guy didn’t have a name yet, so he went in as “Carruth”. Although I like that name, I am glad the baby namer (Micah) made it official the next day with Dash Kei Denison. Not after the Incredibles. It has nothing to do with the Kardashians. I am not sure where it came from….but please keep in mind that Micah ran a huge race just a week before, and there seems to be a theme in his life lately. So Dash it is. I like it. I wasn’t a fan of narrowing it down in the hospital, but that is kind of our M.O. But I will say it here and now…..there will be NO bet next time…..there will be no negotiations! I will be the namer of our next baby. END. OF. STORY.!!!
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I literally don’t have a clue what I have written down as of lately. But there have been a few things lately that I don’t want to forget.
Such as:
1. The other night, as usual, Icka ended up sleeping in my bed half way through the night. Micah was out of town, so I love the little body all snuggled up next to me. When she woke up, and I was still in dreamland, I heard, “Turn over…..turn over……Mama…turn over!” I was literally still just waking up, and hadn’t turned over when she finally said, “It’s not Daddy….turn over…it’s not Daddy, it’s me!” So when I finally did turn over, and did the whole surprised-it-was-her act, she said, “I’m better than Dada…huh?”
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2. Sweet Scout, who might be the pickiest eater in history, is constantly asking for “big dinners”. Talk about the guilt I feel as we came off summer with very few family dinners. So I told him that he will have a big dinner (one with all of the characters around the table) at least four times a week. The other three consist of weekend nights where we go out and the day the cleaners come and we usually head over to Brit’s house. So far, so good. And nothing beats his excitement as he walks in the door and gasps, “Huhhhhh….Icka, we are going to have a big dinner tonight. YAY!!!”
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3. Poor little Scout has had a fever, and what we think is the flu all day. I have tried to get him to eat and drink, but he resists both. By almost 6:00 he finally said that he felt better and that he could finally think of something that would make him feel better. I was so excited because I keep wanting him to get something in his stomach. So I asked what it was, and he said, “Mom, I think sugar will make me feel better.” I asked what kind of sugar — was it a candy he wanted, or some oatmeal with brown sugar? No. He said, “Probably just a handful of sugar would make me feel good.” Maybe it would….but handsome little boy, I have some limits!
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4. The same time Scout was sick, Icka was pretty cute. She really tried hard to take care of him and had him lay on her lap while she played with his hair. When I brought out the Tylenol, she talked Scout into taking it. She told him it was, “Yummy, and good for you, and is purple.” (Not red — the kind both don’t like.) After he downed his dose, she then informed me that she needed some also. I told her medicine was only for sick kids, and she told me her “tummy hurt”. When I told her that I would need to put her to bed if her tummy hurt, she told me that her “head hurt”. I told her rest was the best medicine for that. She went through a few more, but didn’t like the repercussions of any of the illnesses, so she finally came up with her best yet. She said, “Mommy, I need medicine ’cause I have the hiccups!” Sorry Sis!
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5. Amazingly enough, Sissy did get sick the next day with the same little fever that Scout had. When I tucked her into bed, she asked me to “cuddle her” for a “really long time”. I obliged for a few minutes, and the following one-sided conversation took place. Icka told me, “Mama, B, Ka, NayNay, Nonnie and me are all gurls. Scout is a boy, and so is Baby Sumo. But when Baby Sumo is born, I am going to turn him into a princess.” I asked how she was going to do that because boys aren’t princesses. She said, “I am going to get him a pink bear, not a black one like Scout. And I am going to love him SO much.” Well Sissy, I am SO pleased that Scout is going to trump everything you said….and more importantly, that you like being the solo princess with what will now be TWO knights in shining armor adoring you.
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6. Tristen was talking to Brit who was having a bad day. So she went and picked up Grey for an hour or so, and asked if she could take Grey’s buddy Icka. I said sure, and they all headed to the Dollar Store and then went back to Brit’s to hang out. I was really surprised when Tristen came home about four hours later, since I thought it was an hour jaunt. But I wasn’t surprised when she came in, plopped down on the chair and said, “I am beyond exhausted….and your little girl is HORRIBLE!” I told her I understood the exhaustion, but what was this thing about horrible? I guess she spoke the truth because I would call my niece horrible too if they had taken crayons and colored all over Brit’s playroom wall, and then spilled a huge glass bottle of purple juice all over the same room’s carpet. Tristen said she was humiliated, and didn’t understand how naughtiness could just ooze out of Icka’s pores. I had to be a little defensive, and asked what she had been fed for dinner. When the answer was, “She might be hungry”, I replied with, “No nap and no food equals major naughtiness!” So Tristen — although I feel for you, I also blame you!
(Picture from our recent field trip.)
Scout has always been such a saint. Icka has always been such a stinker. But the two of them together is usually a dream. They adore each other, play well together, are each others best friends, etc. That is until Scout became the “cool guy” that goes to preschool. He loves school to death, but has picked up a few new habits from having his little bit of independence. About two weeks in, I was shaking my head after Scout’s third timeout of the day. I didn’t know what caused his little shift from perfection. Then my Mom….the voice of reason….simply said, “It is just a stage. He is going out into the world for the very first time, and he is just testing the waters a bit. Don’t worry. Just stay on top of it, and he will come around quickly.”
So I heeded her advice, and she was completely right, and has come around. He is respectful again. He is nice again. He is sweet again. But one thing that didn’t come back around was his tolerance for his sister’s stinkiness. She was born a tease, and teases everyone including her best friend Scout. In the past, he just disregarded it. Now days, he gives it right back. I don’t blame him one bit, but man did I love the days where he just ignored the teasing. I guess it allows me to teach my son patience, and my daughter her distaste for time outs.
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Going along with what is happening in our household is a simple illustration. Both kids know that I won’t allow them to call the other any sort of name. So to get around the rules, Icka started saying, “Scout, you are a bad word!” This is where Scout would have told her that saying that wasn’t nice, but instead, he has hopped on the band wagon with, “Yeah right Icka…..YOU are the bad word!”
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Don’t worry, I put a stop to this. But when this exact interaction took place a few days ago in the car while Micah was with us, I stopped the ordeal and then asked Micah, “Can you believe these weasels!?” His response…….”I think it’s kind of funny.”
Funny?
Well, so is me walking into man night with lingerie on.
But some things, my main man, are inappropriate and just shouldn’t be tolerated!
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