Catching You Up

Sorry it has been awhile since I have blogged about anything. Life gets busy with a brand new baby, summer, school, and all other responsibilities that come with life. Today I decided to put those on hold for just a few minutes and blog about life over the past few months, and what each member of this family is doing.

Dave - sorry to start off with the boring one first, but I figure it can only get better. I am still plugging away at school at the University of Phoenix. I just finished Computer Information Systems and got a B+, which is my first non-A since I've gone back to school. As of today my cumulative GPA is 3.83 which is really unbelievable, I think that the format of one class at a time really benefits my style of learning. Currently I have 7 classes to go before graduation.

DMBA has been good to me, but I am getting bored with it. I have worked there for almost 4 years, and need some sort of a challenge to keep me interested. I will go through periods of real engagement, and then through periods of really needing some sort of motivation. I keep hoping for an opening in another division, that is also a move up the corporate ladder, but with the way the economy is right now, no one is moving. I am trying to stay at DMBA at least until I am fully vested (5 years), but will take something if the opportunity is right.

Kristen - oh my goodness, she is doing great and looking great. She is still working at the University Infusion Center, and loves having weekends off (except once every few months). She is being super supportive with me in all of my schooling and work. She is also teaching Piano Lessons to about 6 people I think it is. She enjoys the challenge of that very much. Kristen is loving the summer, and spending time with Luke and Jack. She is always laughing and bringing joy to the family, we wouldn't make it without her.

Luke - he is almost 4 years old, and has really developed into a GREAT big brother. He is a little singer, often making up words to his own little songs (on occasion he has even sang Jack bed time stories). He has also really became a great baseball player. We went out and bought him a Fat Bat, and when I pitch him balls, he hits them far over my head. Another of Lukes funny things is that he is a dancer (Kristen took a Zumba class at her Gym, and wasn't able to do one of the moves, but Luke has no problem with it).

Jack - as we celebrate Jacks 3 months, we come to just really enjoy each and every stage he is going through. Jack started smiling around the begining of June, and really hasn't stopped. Jack is just such a happy boy, it's amazing what happens when you doing have a child on Prednisone. We have a few nicknames for little Jack. They are as follows, with reasons.

"The Demon Drooler": This boy can drool with the best of them. When holding him in your arms so that he is on his stomach, he will drool so much that your arm will be covered and dripping drool all over your pants, shoes and floor (for a pictorial example scroll up to the first picrute in this post). The term comes from a Qubo Cartoon, Jacob Two-Two (One of Kristens Favorites).

"Jack Attack": this name was given to him by Uncle Mitch. No real reason other than it rhymes. "Jackanator": This nickname comes from Kristens dad. From my knowledge, he calls all of the kids by their name with "anator" at the end. Luke has even said with pride, "my name is Luke, except when I am at Papas house, then I am the Lukanator".

There are other nicknames, but I can't think of them right this moment, I hate it when that happens.

Anyway, I hope that this update has been to your satisfaction. Sorry it has been so long since we have filled you in on the 4 Norths. I will try to be more consistant as time goes on.

Jack Everett North

Baby Jack is here! It has been a long time coming, but he is here! At times the nine months seemed to be more like nine years, and it seems that no matter how much you prepare for it, you still have to make some real life adjustments. For instance we went from not changing diapers back to changing diapers. We went from getting 6 hours of sleep a night to being at the mercy of a baby's hunger (luckily at the hospital we have the nursery that we can utilize).

But let me tell you a bit about how we got here. Last week Kristen had an appointment with her midwife, and at that time she was only dilated to a one, with no end in sight. Then at our appointment just this past Wednesday, we were only at a two, and still there was no end in sight. We were told that we could induce at anytime to start the process, but Kristen was unsure about how she felt about getting an induction. After a night of thinking things over, on Thursday she had decided to schedule an induction for April 20, 2009 a day after his due date.


Well, we believe that scheduling that induction was all that needed to happen to get her system going. Thursday night she had her first real contraction around 9:00 pm and another at 9: 13. The contractions were hard and would take her breath away. They went from 13 minutes apart to 10, and then 8. At this time we had decided that perhaps it would be best to get to the hospital. We called Papa and Grandma, and asked if Luke could go sleep over. Papa came and got Luke around 11:45. Luke was looking forward to a sleep over, but was really tired. When he got to Papa & Grandma's house he was so excited, and was telling them that tomorrow would be Jack’s birthday. He was so wired that he couldn’t sleep; instead he stayed up with Papa singing his ABC’s.

Kristen and I got to the hospital around 12:30 am Friday morning. We checked in, and found she was dilated to a 4. They found her a room, and started going through all of the paper work and such. The anesthesiologist came in and gave her the world’s most uncomfortable epidural. But once that epidural took, it was far better. Kristen and I tried to get some rest, but between the nurses and other staff coming in to check one thing or another, we probably only got an hour of rest between the two of us. At 5:30 am our midwife got there and asked us if we were ready to begin. Kristen was so excited. The staff brought everything into the room, and at 6:15 we began the process of delivery.


Eight strong contractions, and 55 minutes later we had a 21 inch, 9 lbs 7.5 oz beautiful baby boy with inch long brown hair and big hands and feet. Jack is a rather calm baby, curious about the world around him. He loves to open his eyes and look around. He is relatively quiet and eats a lot (which could explain why he is so big).


Luke was the first, other than his Mom and Dad to hold him. Luke was so excited to meet him, and you could tell that there was a Big Brother built into Luke. He held him close, stroking Jack’s face with his fingers. Luke just sat there and smiled while holding his little brother. It was fun to see them interact and build a connection with each other.




Kristen and Jack are both doing well. Kristen has a sore back and tailbone, but has a perm-a-grin. She is so happy to have Jack that it far outweighs any of the soreness’s associated with delivering a 9.5 lb baby.

Dave's Anxiety

Okay so I totally misunderestimated (new word, you heard it here first) just how long Kristen would be pregnant. Now I know that the typical human pregnancy is nine months, and I know that we have only been pregnant for approximately 8 ½ months; however for me it has seemed like the first 7 months flew by really fast, but the last month and a half have taken twice that. I keep anticipating “The Call”, and I think that may be the reason for the long last 6 weeks.

The anticipation for “The Call” all stems from 7 little words: “The baby could come any day now”. In my mind there is nothing worse than being in Salt Lake City, 30-40 minutes away from a wife that is pregnant, and asks every day before I leave for work, “Do you have your Cell Phone?” Each and every time that Kristen’s Ring Tone starts to play, my heart beats really fast (kind of ironic that her ring tone sings the words “You have stolen, my heart”) anyway…whenever it rings I think to myself...here it is, “The Call”. However to this point whenever I answer the call it’s only a question about shopping trips, bills, gas mileage or another usual everyday question. I then take a big deep breath and calm myself down.

I think all of my anxiety comes from having a wife with an incredible pain threshold. As a nurse, Kristen ignores her own pain, and only goes into the doctor when things are really bad. When Kristen was pregnant with Luke, we were about a week late, and finally going into labor. We had an appointment the next morning to go in for an induction, and Kristen was willing to wait until then. I didn’t think we would make it that long, and was barely able to talk her into going in that night. When we arrived at the hospital, Kristen was already dilated to an 8. All the nursing staff told us to come much earlier next time or we would be having our next baby in the car. So my job with Jack is to get Kristen to the hospital much earlier so that doesn’t happen.

Sure this may seem like a simple task, yet I have more to deal with this time. Luke needs to go to a babysitter’s house or the grandparents (depending on the time of day), we are going to a hospital that is further away, and once again I work 40 minutes away from home. From the time the call comes in, to the time we get to the hospital, it is possible that it could be near 2 hours later. Is that going to be enough time? I just don’t know, and it is driving me crazy.

Despite my anxiety, I am very excited for what the near future holds, and can’t wait to welcome our little Jack into the world. Once Jack does come I will be sure to add some pictures and get some of Kristen’s thoughts out there for everyone to enjoy. I know that Kristen is also excited for the arrival of Jack, and I can’t wait to watch her hold him for the first time.

T-Minus Three Weeks or so.

So here we are entering the home stretch of a nine month adventure. Sometimes it has seemed to go by really fast, and at other times it seems to have taken forever. Kristen has done really well this pregnancy. We were a bit worried with her health that having a baby might not be good for her, but so far so good, she even mentioned at one point that this pregnancy was better than her first.

We have decided to name the baby boy Jack. We are still deciding between middle names, but it is down to Phillip (Dave's Step-Dad's middle name) and Everett (Kristen's Grandpa's name). For last names, I guess we will just have to go the traditional way and so the Jack's full name will either be Jack Phillip North or Jack Everett North.

Lately Kristen has been having a few contractions on days that she works (she really doesn't like those very much, they are kind of painful). And oh my gosh, that baby is a mover. Each night Kristen and I will watch as Jack pushes and kicks and prods Kristen's belly, possibly trying to make more room for himself.

Jack is going to be a big boy. About five weeks ago, Kristen was at a Doctors appointment, and when they measured him, they came to the conclusion that he was already measuring about 5 lbs! (some say that a baby will gain about 1lb every week the last month, so that is going to make for a BIG BABY).

When we had Luke, Kristen was about 1 week late. We went into the Hospital already dialated to an 8, I think it was. All the nurses and our midwife suggested that next time we come in a little earlier, or we would be having the baby in the car. So this time around, I am wondering when it is that I need to talk Kristen into coming in. This is a hard task because Kristen, as a nurse, hates when people make a big deal out of a little pain, and it turns into being nothing at all, thus her pain threshold is pretty high. So I need to convince her that "YES, this is the time", oh and so it would be helpful if I knew when that time was, it's a mystery to me, but yet I may be the one to tell her that this time is the time.

With Jack, we might just have him at any of three hospitals, depending on where we are. If we are at work, and Kristen has starts going into labor, she may just end up having the baby at the University Hospital. If we are in an emergency situation, we may just go to Davis Hospital as it is the closest. But if things go as planned, and I am home while she starts going into labor, then we will just go to Ogden Regional. Don't worry, we already pre-registered.

We have the car seat ready for Jack, and his room is ready, clothes are in his drawers, and most of all Luke is excited to have a little brother. He already told told us that he is going to teach Jack how to walk, how to talk, and how to eat. The only problem that I am anticipating is that Luke may try to be TOO helpful at times, but that is only because he really wants to be a good big brother.

Kristen is sick

This week has been no fun especially for Kristen. On Tuesday when I picked her up from work, she was so tired, and wasn't feeling well at all. Her throat hurt and she had a fever. So as we went to pick up Luke, I arranged to have our babysitter watch him on Wednesday as well. Kristen seemed to be getting worse and worse as the week wore on.

There have been some times this week where Kristen has seemed to be healthy, but then again, there are times when she is just so worn out and tired, that it makes me feel terrible. Sleeping has not been fun at all. Kristen has a hard time getting comfortable, and ends up adjusting and moving around most of the night, and not getting much sleep at all.

Luke has been a great helper. On Wednesday morning Kristen and Luke were home alone for a few hours, and Luke took great care of her. He went up to the Kitchen, got a baggy, and filled it with ice so that Kristen could put it where it hurts. Luke does some of these little things every day to make Kristen feel like she is being taken care of. He is a great helper and seems to love doing it.

With Kristen on Remicade, it makes it very difficult for her to fight off disease or virus's. So basically when someone gets a cold, it takes them about two weeks to get over it, Kristen might take 3 or 4 weeks to get over it. Lets just hope that this sickness doesn't develop into something more.

It is just 8 weeks until Baby Jack arrives, and we seem to be doing something everyday to get prepared for him. Yesterday, we painted his room. Luke helped and really enjoyed paining. Luke is a great helper. He put the tape on the baseboards, with Grandma's help, and of corse he got his own roller. The other day he helped me put together a toy box, and he has helped me to move the computer. He is a great little helper, and really enjoys doing some of the more grown up things in life.

Everyone keep Kristen in your prayers as she continues to struggle to get over her illness. She has quite a bit on her plate with just 8 weeks to go, and hopefully she will stay strong and healthy.

My Valentine

On this Valentine’s Day 2009, I would just like to mention how much I love my wife. Kristen and I have been married for six years now, and each year has been great. I remember when I first realized that I really loved Kristen. We had been dating for about four months, and my little brother had a few baseball games down in St George, UT. I invited Kristen to go with me and Mitch and my parents.

When we got down to St George, I broke out in a terrible fever, developed a deep pain in my ear, and found it hard to swallow. We went to an urgent care, and got some medicine, but it didn’t do anything for me. Kristen just kept smiling. She took care of me and made me feel so special. At the baseball games, I found myself wrapped up in a sleeping bag, lying on the ground with a fever of 104. I got so sick that Kristen just took off with my Mom, Dad and Mitch, and just spent some time with them (had to be pretty awkward for Kristen). I felt so bad, but when they would come back, and I would see Kristen, she would just be smiling and would be so concerned about how I was doing.

It was the way that she would smile at me, and the way she would put her hand on my back. It was the way that amidst all the adversity she kept treating me like I was everything to her. And all the while, I had nothing to offer, I found it painful just to talk, I couldn’t even sit up straight. She calls it the weekend from Hell, but for me, it was the weekend that I fell in love.

Since that day, I have been devoted to Kristen. She has been everything to me, she helps me to be a better person and I am truly the lucky one in our relationship. She has to deal with me and all my little annoyances. I know that I am not a perfect husband, I make mistakes all of the time, but just like St George, Kristen has stuck by my side and made me feel good about myself at all times. Kristen is the love of my life, and I am lucky to have found her. She is my Valentine, and I am in love with her.

Church Ball has always been a fun thing for me. I have found that when I play church ball, I get closer to the members of my ward. After about a two year absence, I found myself playing ball again for the Chapel Hills Warriors. I call us the Warriors because we usually only have five people show up, and we really have to fight to keep up with the other wards. So far our record is a blistering 2-2.

Today however was my last day of church ball for the season at least. You see, I think I may have torn something in my knee (ACL, MCL, or PCL). Let me tell you the story, because there are parts that are kind of funny.

We were playing another ward in our stake, it was the 11 o'clock game, and we were playing a team that had 7 players, one of which was an ex-Weber State Wildcat. He is a big kid, and is by far the best player on the court. We were in the fourth quarter and it was a close game. I believe we were up by four points when one of our towers blocked a shot and kicked it ahead to me for a fast break lay-up. As I was racing down the right side of the court, a defender was coming down the left side (not just any defender, but the one that was complaining about every call, and fuming from the ears because he wants to win so bad). There was under two minutes left, and I was going to take the ball to the rim, draw a foul, and dunk on him. Well everything was looking good, I had done the same thing a million other times, I jumped into the air. There was contact, and so all I had to do was dunk the ball in the rim, and sink a free throw. The only thing is, I can't dunk, heck I can barely jump. The defender and I collided, and came crashing down to the floor. I felt something in my left knee, and looked down to see that it was bending in a way that it shouldn't (kind of towards my other knee). In very slow motion, I thought "Crap there goes my knee" but those weren't the words that came out of my mouth, all that came out was a high pitched blood curling "Aaaaahhhhh". Kind of like how a girl would scream at a Haunted House. Then I thought to myself "Man, I just scream like a girl". I held my knee, as I laid on the hardwood. My team huddled around, and after a few moments, we got me up off the floor, and over to a nearby chair where I watched the last few minutes. Good news, we won the game.

After I was helped out to the car, I drove my way home. At a stop light, I had a moment to reflect about how this injury would change things. I wasn't really worried about any of the finances, but more concerned about how I was going to clean out Baby Jack's room, a worry that has been on Kristens mind for about a month. As I thought about this, I started to cry a little bit because I felt that I have let Kristen down. The last thing I wanted to do was to let Kristen down. So somehow, someway, I will get the two desks out of the room and get the room painted.

Boys can play Dress Up too.

Luke has always been such a good little helper. It seems that whatever the task, Luke is willing to get his hands dirty. He wants to be dressed up for whatever the task may require. If Dad wears gloves, Luke needs to wear them too. If Mom wears an apron, then Luke wants to wear one too.

But dressing up in work clothes isn't the only thing he does. The other day Luke wanted to dress up in his Spiderman costume while Kristen and Luke ran their errands. Kristen called me at work to tell me what he wanted to do (I think that was by far my favorite phone call ever recieved at work). So Kristen let him. Luke got dressed up from head to toe in his spiderman costume and put on his Spiderman mask, and they were off. They went to Lukes "Circle Time" (kind of like preschool) to return a game, and then they went into the Elementry School to say hi to his Grandma who is the principal where Luke goes to Circle Time. Grandma took him around to show all of her teacher friends. Lukes favorite stop was the First Graders. They all thought that Luke was really cool all dressed up like Spiderman. Luke would shoot pretend webs at them and even strike poses as all the kids hooted and hollered. The next stop on the Spiderman tour was to Lukes Grocery Store (we have to go to a special health food store to get all the food that he isn't allergic too). Spiderman looked really cute as he pushed around a kid sized shopping cart.

When I got home we went out for our Monday Night Snack, and Luke was once again dressed up like Spiderman. My favorite part was watching all of the smiles that Luke put on other peoples faces. He didn't realize that that he was making so many people happy, but he was and it was cute.

Catching You Up

I have received enough feedback on the blog that I have decided to no longer write in the third person. I thought it would be cool because you wouldn't be able to know who was or wasn't the blogger of the family, but the critics have spoken and found it to be a little annoying. Thanks for those of you that put your opinion in the hat. It really was appreciated.

In November Kristen and I celebrated our 6th anniversary. What a great six years! My wife is truly amazing, and does so much for me. She is terrific! We did go out and spend a night on the town. It seems like that is something that just doesn't happen as often as we would like. Babysitters are so hard to come by, but we were able to get out and have just a wonderful time together.

In December, we have had quite a busy schedule. We have had Christmas parties galore. We have had two work parties, three family parties, and then we have pictures to get taken, family to see, and all sorts of other activities that seem to conflict with something else that we could do. Then on top of all that, you have to find time to shop. It really can be a stressful month. One of our goals to make this a less stressful month was to get all of our Christmas shopping done by December 20th (that's today), and I am pleased to say that I have done all the shopping that I needed to do. Kristen and I are going out today to get a few last minute gifts all taken care of. And after today we will be all done.

One of the exciting things that happened to me was at work. I was the winner of the Presidents Award. This is an award given out to three or four people each year that have proven to be outstanding associates. It is Deseret Mutuals top award. I didn't think that I would even be in the running, but I guess that I was. I was nominated by a fellow associate (I don't know whom) and they wrote some pretty nice things about me. When they announced my name at the company meeting, they had arranged to get my family there to share in this honor. Kristen (my wife), Luke (my son), Craig and Karen (my Father and Mother in-law), and Karen (my Mom) were all there to celebrate with me. That was a fun surprise. When I got back to work, I had several emails from family telling me all sorts of congratulations and support, and that was just a huge blessing and honor for me.

We recently got another Ultrasound for Kristen and Baby Jack. Kristen is almost 23 weeks into the pregnancy, and is looking and feeling great. We were really nervous about this pregnancy since Kristen would be on her medications and we were not sure how she would react while being pregnant. Thankfully she is feeling even better that she was when she was pregnant with Luke. Everything is looking great with Jack, and we are getting more and more excited by the day.

Halloween 2008

Well, another Halloween has come and gone. This year Kristen made Dave dress up as something other than a cowboy. Kristen likes to tell the story about a friend at work seeing Dave for the first time on Halloween dressed up in his cowboy hat. Dar, Kristen's work friend, didn't think that Dave was dressed up, but that he was just a cowboy. The next time Kristen and Dave were with this work friend, he asked Kristen, "Who's this guy, I thought your husband was a cowboy??"

This year Dave wanted to be the Transformer, Optimus Prime. It would have matched perfectly with Luke's costume Bumblebee (another Transformer). However, we couldn't find an Optimus Prime costume in Dave's size anywhere.

So the Monday before Halloween, the whole family went out to a Halloween Store, and tried to find something that would work. Well, to make a long story a little shorter, Luke said "Please" a lot, and the next thing you know Dave was buying a Fred (from Scooby Doo) costume, and we had borrowed a Scooby Doo costume (for Luke) from Kristen's brother. The next day we went to Trunk or Treat as a Witch, Fred, and Bumblebee (you can never count on a little boy not to change his mind a time or two).

Without a little Scooby by Dave's side people were not quite sure what to think about Dave's costume. People would ask if he was Austin Powers, Chef Ramsey, Olivia Newton John, Marilyn Monroe, and even the "Girl from Scooby Doo".

On Halloween, we went to Dave's work, Kristen's work, and Grandma & Papa's house, and collected a lot of candy in the process. The good thing about having a little boy with food allergies, is that Mom and Dad get a lot of the candy that Luke received. However, it's hard to keep candy out of a little boys mouth, and so Luke did get some things that he shouldn't have. After Mom and Dad had a chance to go through his candy, Luke would look into his little pumpkin and ask "Hey where is all the chocolate?" he did get a few pieces of chocolate from time to time, usually Tootsie Rolls. At the end of the day, we were driving home, and asking Luke about his day. Dave asked "What was your favorite part of the day?" to which Luke replied "THE CHOCOLATE!"

It's a Boy, Three Crowns, and Pizza

This past Thursday was a big and eventful day. Dave's first final as a student at University of Phoenix was due, Kristen had an appointment with Karen McBride CNM, and Luke was going into the dentist to get some cavities filled.

Kristen's Appointment:
In the morning we had Kristen's appointment. This was her 14 week check-up, and possibly the day that we may be able to tell if our little baby is a boy or a girl. We had been teetering back and forth thinking that it was going to be a girl, then we'd think it was a boy, and back and forth. Luke even did some teetering too, however he decided long ago that the little baby would be a boy. We would even try and trick him by asking "Luke, what should we name the baby girl in Mommy's tummy?" and he would even get mad and say "Its a boy! not a dirl" (sometimes he has a hard time with his "G's"). So we finally got into the exam room, and they started up the ultrasound, and after a few moments of pushing around, she had located the little legs, and spotted something in the middle... she said that she was 80% sure that it was a little boy. She pushed around a little more, and says "oop, I am now 90% sure".

When Dave started to call family to tell them the great news, he found that everyone was just as excited as we were. Dave's sister Carrie told him one thing that she had found with her own children is that they are born in a certain order for a reason, and that they may have unique talents, behaviors, or personalities that makes them a perfect fit right where they are in the family. We thought that point of view was pretty cool, as we had never thought of it that way before.

We have a lot to do now, we have to box up our computer room and turn it into a bedroom for our little baby boy. We have to repaint since we painted the room purple about 4 years ago. We have to figure out a name for the baby, and other things in order. We are so excited to have another little baby in our family. Yahoo!

Luke:
Luke has a few cavities that are needing to be filled. When we went to the dentist for the first time, Luke was not very cooperative, and who would be... its a dentist, and he wants to shove sharp things in your mouth. They were not even able to get x-rays the first time around. So this time we had a very different plan. We were going to go in, and put him under some anesthesia, and then take some x-rays and fix all of the cavities, and get him all polished up.

When it came time for Luke to go back, the Anesthesiologist came out, and kind of gave us a little game plan on what they were going to do, and how they were going to do it. Luke was so nervous, he kept telling us "I'm going to cry". We got him into the back room, and they gave Luke a shot in the arm as Daddy held him. Luke was not very fond of this shot. However, the shot worked really fast, and soon Luke was limp in Dad's arms, with eyes wide open and unable to focus. This is the part that made both of us tear up. We didn't like to see Luke like that.

We went back into the waiting room, and sat there for over an hour and a half as they got Luke all taken care of. When they came and got us, we were so relieved that everything turned out okay. We went back to post-op, and Luke was laying there on a bean bag, mouth open, still under the effects of anesthesia. We sat there for another 30 minutes until Luke woke straight up. Pushed off the towel covering his eyes from the bright light, and tried to get over to Dad. Dave picked him up and just held him for awhile. Kristen kept praising Luke for being a brave boy, and Dad just loved that Luke was being a Daddy's boy (Dads live for the moments when their child just wants Dad). Luke kept saying "my mouth feels funny", and would start to cry, and bury his face into Dads chest.

We took Luke home, and turned on a movie for him, as Kristen cuddled with him on the couch. After a few hours Luke was up and running around.

Dave:
After the dental appointment, Dave had to get the family home, change clothes, and get to school. It was the end of his first class at the University of Phoenix. Dave had to turn in an individual paper, a team paper, and also do a team presentation about ethics in an economic environment. Dave had invested five weeks into this class, and has worked very hard to do his best. Dave's presentation went well, and the class even got out early. The University bought Pizza for the students, and at the end of class the teacher told the students to take home a few pieces, and so Dave did.

When Dave walked up the drive way with an arm full of folders and few slices of pizza, Luke was waiting at the garage door for his Dad. Dave was so excited to see that Luke was up and walking around. As Dave approached closer Luke got even more excited and gasped and said "Yeah Pizza!".

All in all it was a very good Thursday. We were excited for our family, sad for Luke's experience at the dentist - but pleased that he was able to be taken care of, and proud that Dad was able to finish his first class back at school (he got an A in the class).

Reba & Kelly

After a week of head aches, long nights and long days Dave and Kristen went for a night on the town. This was a welcome relief for Dave because he had been laying down for most of the previous week, and would finally get some time with his wife. Kristen had been looking forward to this date for a long long time. We were going to go to the Kelly Clarkson and Reba McEntire concert. We went to a Kelly Clarkson concert the first time Kristen was pregnant, and so we had to go to her concert this time around since Kristen is pregnant (it appears that this Kelly Clarkson concert thing is going to be a pregnancy tradition).
I know what you are thinking, because I thought it too, Kelly Clarkson (Pop) and Reba McEntire (Country), but the opening act ("Barbara Jean" from the show Reba) was the opening act, and described it as Peanut Butter and Jelly, two apparent opposites that when combined make something even greater. Now I wouldn't go that far, but they did put on a pretty good show.
Dave enjoyed watching the people at the concert that you know practice in front of the mirror. The crazy thing is that some of those crazy people were 15 years old while some others were 50+, but all of them were standing up dancing and singing their lungs out.
Kristen really enjoyed the Kelly Clarkson's songs, though she wasn't one of the crazy people Dave was watching. She would stand up and cheer, do a little dance move, and then tone it down a little, in case someone was watching.
Dave and Kristen had a wonderful time at the concert.

Septoplasty with Turbinate Resection

For at least over a year, Dave has known that there was something medically wrong with his nose. He has always had difficulty breathing through it, but it seems like it has gotten progressively worse over the years. About a year ago, Dave went into an ENT to have something done about it. He was told that he was suffering from two problems, a severe deviated septum to the right, and inflamed turbanates to the left. After getting this news, he was supposed to schedule a date to have them both surgically repaired. However, he didn’t do that. Dave was a bit nervous about going under the knife at that time, and decided to put it off.
Now 12 months later, Dave felt that this just had to be done. He couldn’t wait any longer with another child on the way, and so he went back into the doctor, and to no surprise was still suffering from the same two ailments. We scheduled the procedure for October 6, and Dave had no reservations about it this time.
Yesterday Dave went in to Davis Surgical Center in Layton to have a septoplasty with turbinate resection to correct his nasal problems. The whole procedure took about 45 minutes, and was deemed a success. For those unfamiliar with this procedure, the problem is that Dave’s septum (nasal bone) was sitting crookedly on the cartilage. This caused problems with his breathing through his right nostril. The left nostril had some larger than normal turbinates, which made it difficult for him to breathe through his left nostril. Combined together it made breathing very hard for Dave and sleeping very hard for Kristen (his snoring would keep her awake).
Dave’s pain was pretty bad at first. It took him about 4 hours and a few percocet to get on top of the pain. He would wear a gauze bandage under his nose to catch all the post surgical drainage and bleeding. And also would wear an ice pack over his nose to help calm down the swelling (though the weight of the ice pack was a little uncomfortable from time to time).
Luke has been rather cute through this whole process. He keeps checking on Dave and asking things like “You doing Okay there Dad?” and when Dave took off the gauze this morning Luke said “Hey Dad, you are getting better, that is sooooo good”. He really wants to help Mom take care of his Dad.
Last night was an unusually long one. Dave got most of his sleep during the day, and did get some during the night, but was waking about every hour to readjust. Kristen had spent the last 14 hours tending to the needs of Luke (which can be demanding) the needs of Dave (which were more demanding than normal), putting herself last on this list. Kristen is a wonderful nurse, mother and wife, and was totally exhausted from running up and down the stairs to wait on both Luke and Dave. When night came, she was really hoping to get some much needed rest. However, her instincts to nourish her family kept getting her up in the night just to check on the others. We finally got up in the morning around 6:00 am, but it felt like we had been in bed much longer.
Today Dave is doing much better. He is still taking the percocet every four hours, but is feeling that is probably not necessary any longer. He has taken the gauze from under his nose, and can now see the two tubular splints that are holding his septum in its new place. There is a little swelling, but that is to be expected. The bleeding has, for the most part, stopped. Kristen was able to get out of the house, and just be a mother for a few hours while Dave slept.
We will reward Kristen for all of her efforts this week by going to the Kelly Clarkson, Reba McEntire Concert on Friday just a few hours after Dave gets the splint removed from his nose.

New News

Okay, so here it is, our very own blog, and this is the very first entry. Our family is going through a little bit of a transition. For starters Luke is going through the rough time of life known as Potty Training. He does pretty well, but has a few accidents from time to time. Dave has returned to school, this time at the University of Phoenix. He is determined to get everything done this go around. Kristen has the most life changing news of the bunch, she is 11 weeks pregnant. Yipee! We are so excited to have a new little addition to our family, and we should know if it is a BOY or if it is a GIRL within the next few weeks. Stay tuned for more exciting news.