Grandpa Hanks

Last week (early in the morning) I looked out the sliding glass door and I see Grandpa's white pick-up truck. He had hauled over some hay ledge for my garden and was putting it in a pile. He's repeated this thoughtful trip a few times now (rain or snow). I am so grateful.

This is not uncommon of course for Grandpa to go out of his way for others. He's always looking out for other people and willing to lend a hand (or a shovel). lol

He is one of the most hard-working men on this planet - and always has been. Although he's slowed down (deservingly) just a little - he's always taking care of someone or using his excellent green thumb to take care of something.

These are a couple of my favorite pictures of him (at the Sink Hole)

Someday, when I am his age, I hope to have that same work ethic and love.

He is A.M.A.Z.I.N.G

Preschool

(Thank you Gwendy for these photos!)

Ava goes to preschool at EskDale 3 days a week. There are quite a few little munchkins that go this year. It's really comical to see them interacting with one another learning valuable life lessons. Sharing vs tearing each other apart. lol
Gwendy, or "teacher Gwendy" as Ava calls her, is one of the most kind and patient people I know. She's got quite a large ball of energy to balance with this group. Some of the kids aren't pictured in this blog.



On the warmer days they go outside to defuse some of that energy....................

I enjoy the fact that I have a couple of hours to be "toddler-free" and have some down time with Isaac..........

One day I went to pick Ava up at preschool and left Isaac with Grandma Hanks and Audrey (since it was only a ten minute drive). About 5 minutes into driving down the road she looked over and noticed his carseat was absent and exclaimed "HEY! Where's my brother?!"

LOL

:D

Extended Garden

Bryan and I added another plot for our garden. Now we can grow even more of what we want this year (I always wanted carrots). I'm excited to get started but I know that Old Man Winter is still lurking around.

We just used railroad ties and surprisingly the soil was OK - it just needs some attention. So, we've been layering it with compost (as usual), and chicken poop (mixed in with straw) from mom's coop.

We'll just continue to prepare the soil until we plant this Spring........

There is so much I'm going to do in the yard :)

It's going to be fun to get our hands dirty and Ava will be able to help out this year too! Althought she'll have more fun pickin' & eatin' instead of planting. lol

Thanks for this magnet Sarah H !!!!!! LOL
Hopefully this will be a true statement this year! I'll try to grow a green thumb.........

Hand-me Downs

There are several outfits that were handed down for Ava (thank you Grandma Hamilton!) that Bryan wore 30 years ago :) These train overalls are an example:

It's amazing! Ava has trampled through the desert & put them to the test. You know she can't sit still! All her "other" jeans have holes in the knees. This pair holds up to the abuse! lol

They don't make Levi Jeans like that anymore.......... also, notice the Lincoln Log toys? Those were Bryan's too :) We got some great vintage hand-me-down toys along with the clothes.

It will be cute to see Isaac in the near future playing with those toys with Ava and wearing those jeans. I'll try not to think about it now because that means they'd be 2 years older.........

Road to Recovery

Isaac has been feeling better the last couple of days. I've been decreasing his pain med intake and he seems to be just fine with it. We've been taking him out of the house in our normal routine. He's been smiling and cooing at me when I talk to him again. Some of his stitches have already dissolved and the redness is disappearing. Day by day the swelling is going down. I think he's somewhat getting used to the arm restraints (except at times when he wakes up and tries to stretch). As long as his belly is full, diaper is changed, and in someone's arms he's his happy jolly self. lol

His follow-up appointment (when Dr. Morales takes the metal bow off) is March 10th.

Post Surgery (Going Home!)

It was a rough night and we hardly slept. Everytime the morphine IV drip would wear out Isaac would scream in pain. I just wanted to try everything to make him comfortable with all the hardware hanging from his arms and legs. I ended up putting him in bed with me because he slept better with me whispering to him and touching his arms and legs. It definately tugged at my heart strings.

Friday morning he was eating and recovering well from anesthesia so we filled out the papers to be released from the hospital. We were all anxious to get out. We are happy that the anticipation of surgery is over........it'll be nice to recover at HOME :) Isaac is such a little trooper :)

Today (Saturday) he was feeling well enough as long as I gave him pain meds every 4 hours to go to my cousin's wedding reception at Hidden Canyon Ranch. I think he needs the extra TLC and loves to be carried around. He's still a little love bug :)

Surgery Day (Waiting)

What a long and draining day. We woke up Thursday morning, as instructed by the nurse to give Isaac his last feeding at around 8:00 am. The operation was scheduled for 11:15 am. Well, the room was packed with kids (running around in hospital robes) waiting for their turns. 12:30 pm ticks by. Still waiting. Isaac went over 4 1/2 hours without eating. That was the most challenging part - denying my hungry 2 month old food. What seemed like forever - Dr. Morales came in to inform us that they were getting ready to take Isaac back.



Bryan wanted to watch the surgery in action but they didn't permit him to. lol

Yet another l.o.n.g. wait............(and it wasn't very reassuring when there was a "Code Blue" over the speakers on our floor of the hospital.

When they came to get us to see Isaac in recovery - my heart just melted. I wanted to hold him so bad just to let him know that his mom and dad were still here. His stitches and stents looked really good - but I felt so bad for him as morphine masked his pain. He looked like a different kid - but he groaned his familiar groan and whined with a squeaky voice. They let me hold him.

In about 3-4 weeks he'll have a follow-up with Dr. Morales. He'll have to have the stents (which are plastic clear tubes) in his nose for a few months. The stitches will dissolve. The swelling will go down.

Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers

xoxoxox

Isaac's Pre-Surgery

Isaac has his (unilateral incomplete cleft lip) surgery tomorrow (Feb 11th). They will repair his lip (stitches) and nose (inserting a stent) at the same time. It is expected to be 1 & 1/2 hours and he'll need to stay in the hospital one night to recover from anesthesia (and so we can learn how to take care of the repaired lip/nose) at home. Although I have a general idea ;)



Ava has never noticed (or at least commented about) Isaac's lip since we first brought him home from the hospital. This always surprised me because she's very observant. I have a feeling when she looks at his stitches she'll say something like "Ohhhh, he's got an Owweyyy!"



Please pray for us and keep us in your thoughts. Although we are glad he's getting this done early it's always hard to see a baby go into surgery.

I'll post more later; including pictures.

Toddler Tumbling

Once a week we get the toddlers together in Baker Hall for some tumbling fun. This is just one of the activities I recorded:

Afterwards, they are ready for a nice nap ;)
Yippee!

LOL

Precious Moment

This is one of those precious moments I'm so happy I caught on video............
(Make sure the sounds up)
Is that a giggle? :)

Two Months Old

Isaac is two months old today. He is more expressive these days.

He's been smiling at me a lot more this week when I talk to him.

He's a little lovebug and wants to be held all the time :)

Hands-on Sister

Isaac was still around 1 to 2 weeks old and was swaddled (tightly) on the couch. Bryan was watching something on the T.V and I was in the kitchen trying to make dinner. I saw a blue flash go by around the same time Bryan looked at me and asked "where's Isaac?" We looked at each other for a moment and our eyes got really wide. We quietly walked down the hall to Ava's room. I was almost afraid to look. Isaac was on her bottom bunk bed asleep (still tightly swaddled). Ava looked at us and we looked at her as our hearts pounded from our chest. Heart attack # 2 !!!!!!!!

I'm glad we kept our cool and didn't yell "AVA!!" because I can just see her dropping him and running to hide. LOL
The last couple of weeks she's been really good (not trying to pick him up), pushing him in the swing, talking to him, and putting his stuff animals next to him when he sleeps. She has EVEN offered him her precious purple pillow a couple of times ;)





However, we will still have to continue to keep our eye on this one...........

Ava Tackles the Roof

Most of you have already heard this story -

In October 2009 while Bryan was fixing the roof and I was in the house cooking (both of us thought the other was watching Ava) she decided to climb the ladder to, I guess, "help" daddy.





I hear Bryan yelling "Jenny! Ava is on the roof!!!!" We both almost had a heart-attack.

He told me later that when he went to go get Ava she thought he was playing and RAN around on the roof trying to get away!!!!! YIKES! We underestimated this 2 year old!!

Eventually after scary things happen like that - you calm down and laugh about it later :)

Purple Pillow

You know how kids get attached to something - whether it's a blanket or teddy bear...............

For Ava, it's a purple pillow that she won't sleep without.

To this day - it's one of her most prized possessions :)

Christmas Jar

As part of my Christmas gift "last" year - Bryan gave me this jar.......................

Inside were these little homemade tickets. I melted when I read them:

I can cash them in anytime Bryan said. How sweet & thoughtful is this?

Toesies

Both Ava and Isaac have my grabbing "monkey" toes !!!!!! Ha ha!

Blast from the Past (Part 2)

These are the only 2 photos I had on my computer of me. I wish I had some others to post; maybe later.

Blast from the Past (Part 1)

Oh baby!...............

33 years ago a little scientist was born. Little Bryan Tyler Hamilton.

Now can you see those "Hamilton" traits in Ava and Isaac? Thank you Deb for these photos!

My first blog - Woo Hoo!

Ok, I've been hooked on my friends and families blogs and decided (with a little inspiration & persuasion) to create one myself. Hopefully I can find time to update it regularly. Mostly I thought this was a great way to document stories (mostly about my family) and share them as life happens. I know, I should have started sooner. Better late than never. Here goes................