Brother T -Shirts

A friend of mine from work gave these T-shirts to me when we found out we were getting Griffin!

Pedicures and a Pile of Poop

I have been going to physical therapy twice a week. For one of the exercises they have me using this machine that I am bending with support, but while I am bending I am looking at my toes. For the past few weeks every time I look at my toes I have thought, "I REALLY need a pedicure!" Well, today I finally got one! My toes are now pretty. When I came home from getting my pedicure the man we hired to help us with our landscaping was there and wanted Kurt and I to walk around with him so he could mark things. The only little problem was the Bishop had come over that day and had dumped manure all over our yard. (It's suppose to help the grass grow.) So as you can see in the picture, I have pretty toes in a pile of poop!

Our Little Monkeys

For Easter AJ and Griffin received matching monkey pajamas. AJ thought it was really fun that he and his brudder matched! AJ loves to give Griffin 5 or to give him "knuckles", so here is a picture of AJ getting Griffin to give him knuckles. :)

Pictures of the boys!

I went up to my friend Emily's and she took some pictures of the boys. It was really hard to get a good one of AJ because he was much more interested in the toys, but we did the best we could! Emily is a very talented photographer. Check out her website... portraitsbyemily.blogspot.com

Bumbo Chair

Griffin likes his Bumbo chair. It allows him to sit up and see what is going on, he likes that. After about 10-15 minutes though, it kind of wears him out. He sure looks cute sitting in it! When he is not sitting in it, AJ likes to try it out. It's kind of funny because AJ couldn't fit in it when he was over 4 months because his thighs were too chubby. He fits in it better now than then!

L5 S1

My Mom has had trouble with her back for a long time, the BIGGEST turn of events was in 2002 after she retired. That has led to a couple of surgeries and some major medication. She is doing quite well now, but because of some issues associated with her back she need to use a walker to assist her most of the time.

Knowing this I have had quite a scare recently. After having Griffin home for about 2 weeks I noticed I was having increasing pain in my lower back. I went to the chiropractor for a few weeks, but it seemed to be getting worse and not better. The pain was increasing and started going down my right leg. On Monday March 29th I decided to go to Now care. The Dr. said he wasn't sure, but I may have a herniated disc. He told me to take the medication he gave me and come back in a week if I was not significantly better. He said I may need an MRI. I went to the chiropractor later that day seeing if I could get some relief and when he went to lean me back I yelled out, "NO!" and started to cry. He told me he didn't think I should wait and he would order an MRI.

I went for an MRI on Tuesday the 30th and when I came out the tech said, "You are in quite a bit of pain aren't you." He then went on to say it was VERY OBVIOUS I had a problem between L5 and S1 in my lower back. He suggested I get a hold of my medical Dr. ASAP. It was nice to know someone knew what the problem was. I called the Dr. as soon as I got home. I was told I couldn't get in to see him until Monday April 5th. I cried again. On Thursday, April 1st my Dad saw me and told me to call Steve (my doctor who is one of my Dad's former athletes) on his cell phone. I don't use his cell phone very often, but I was in A LOT of pain and it was worth it. He answered it on the second ring and I explained everything he said he would order some stronger medication and check on me Saturday. The stronger medication seemed to help a bit, Steve did call Saturday and check on me. He's a great doctor!

I went to see Steve on Monday April 5th and he confirmed what the tech had told me. The spot between L5 and S1 is suppose to be in the shape of a kidney bean. Mine looked like a head of cauliflower sitting on top. Steve told me I had some degeneration of discs in L4 L5 and a protrusion in L5 S1. While I was there Steve had me go through a bunch of exercises to see the strength in my leg. It was REALLY BAD. When he told me to be careful when I drive because it is my the leg I use for the gas and break pedals I was SCARED! All I could think of is I need to keep the use of my leg, I need to drive my boys to T-ball and soccer. I want to be able to play with my boys! Steve ordered an epidural for Thursday April 8th to be followed up by physical therapy. Steve said the epidural would take the pain away, but not the problem. Hopefully physical therapy will do that.

Just before I was to get the epidural, Kurt took pictures of the medical instruments and the table I would be lying on for the procedure so I would have a picture to put with this post. When I got up from the epidural I could tell a small difference. It didn't really kick in until early that evening. On Friday when I got up with the baby it was almost enjoyable! (Before the epidural I would be in tears by the time I got his bottle and sat down to feed him because of the pain.)

When I went to physical therapy for the first time and went through some of the same exercises Steve had me do it was even worse! This time I couldn't push up at all on the ball of my right foot. It is a very weird sensation when you are telling your foot to move and it doesn't. The physical therapist assured me it would improve. I think he could tell I was on the verge of tears again.

Well, I have now been in physical therapy for 2 weeks and I am happy to report I am getting better! I don't have full strength yet, but it is coming! As the nerves have started to heal it has felt like I am walking with a large piece of macaroni stuck to the bottom of my foot, strange!

I still can not bend to pick things up off the floor or bend very far down at all for that matter, but I am gaining strength and now don't have to worry about loosing my driving privileges; that's a BIG relief! I am still in physical therapy but things are looking up! It's not nearly as difficult to get up with Griffin 3 times a night when I am not in excruciating pain. Yes indeedie, things are on the mend! YEAH!

Little Man

When we went to a surprise birthday party for Gisela's twin sister Rita, Griffin got dressed up for the occasion. He looks like a little man! He is only 7 weeks in this picture!

Long Fingernails

Griffin's fingernails grow like weeds! They are out of control. Kurt clips/files them. I refuse. I did AJ's when he was a baby and his little fingers bled. I felt so bad! After that I turned it over to Kurt and he has been doing both boys ever since! Griffin scratches his face really easy; Kurt can clip his nails and it seems like two days later Griffin is scratching himself again. ugh!

Leatham Trait

When I am tired or need to really unwind sometimes I will lay down and put my arm up in the air. One day my Mom saw me doing this and told me her dad, my Grandpa Leatham used to do the same thing. The other day when I saw Griffin doing this it brought a smile to my face.

Keeping my Word

Kurt's work gave us a card and some money when Griffin was born. As a thank you I wanted to make some kind of treat. Kurt asked me if I would make some cinnamon rolls. I told him I would make them Wednesday night. Although when I came home from therapy I was exhausted and asked if I could put it off a day. He said that would be just fine. When I went to bed that night I couldn't get the fact that I told him I would make them off my mind. So I got up and decided to clean the kitchen. Then I made cinnamon rolls. I made them from scratch, baked and had them frosted by about 4:30 AM. Griffin got up for a feeding about 4:45 and then Kurt left for work about 5:30. I ended up going to sleep when Kurt left for work. But he went WITH cinnamon rolls! He said they were a hit! YEAH!!!

Moments I Would Miss

I LOVE seeing AJ try to play with his "brudder." I just had to post a few pictures of moments I would miss if I had been working.

Pips

I was lying down on the floor doing some of my back exercises from physical therapy and I realized it had gotten awfully quiet. I called for AJ and he said, "Pips" I knew I had to get up and go check it out. I found him at the side of the table with the Penaten Cream. He had it open and was spreading it on his lips. Penaten cream is a cream from Germany, we use it on the baby's bum, but it can also be used for dry chapped skin. Sometimes when AJ gets red skin around his mouth from licking, I will spread it on at night and in the morning his skin is clear. AJ obviously thought it goes on your lips too!

AJ also loves to play with the nasal aspirator. Anytime he gets a chance he brings it to me saying, "Nose, nose!" He knows what it is for and sometimes tries to use it himself!

(FYI In other circumstances Pips can also mean chips.)

Runaway Bum!

AJ thinks it his hilarious when he can run away from you. Mom & Dad on the other hand don't find it quite as funny. But I have to admit, when I got him out of the tub and had to quickly put him down because of my back and I saw his little naked bum running down our hall, I did think it was pretty cute!

1st Park Experience

We took AJ and Griffin to the park when Kurt got home from reserves. AJ LOVES to be outside! He was happy to be able to play outside. Griffin was happy because he was being held; this was his first time at the park. Kurt was happy to be hanging out with his boys and Jill was happy to have her family together! Good times!

Elynn & Family Came to O-town!

Mark's brother Dave was married on April 8th so the Housley family came to visit! Elynn and the little girls came over to our house on Tuesday the 6th. It was nice to have Elynn over to our home. We have been out to her home several times in Kansas, but usually when she comes to Ogden she has so many people to see she doesn't have time to come over to our house we just get to see her at other places. But this time she came over to our house! THANK YOU ELYNN! I wasn't the most gracious hostess because of my back, but I tried. Morgan, Maddie and Reagan enjoyed holding Griffin. I liked seeing them hold him too! They also had fun playing with AJ!

Meeting More Cousins

Mark, Marissa and Rob flew in late Wed. night for Dave's wedding on Thursday. They flew out again on Friday morning so the only time for them to be able to see Griffin was at the wedding reception Thursday night. I was walking kind of gingerly because I had just had an epidural that morning, but I really wanted them to meet Griffin. Elynn had Sallie take a family picture, I snuck in and took one too. So you can see my sister's good look'n family!

Playing Ball With Cousins!

AJ loves ANY kind of ball. When Rob was a little tyke he did too; he still does! When we went out to the wedding reception we brought a little basketball so Rob could play with AJ. Cooper joined in the fun too! (He also loves to play ball!) It was GREAT to see the boys playing together. Rob was REALLY sweet playing with his younger cousins!

Picture Perfect

Allie noticed me taking pictures and came up and asked me to take a picture of her. After I took one she asked me to take another. She was so cute! So here are a few pictures of our adorable niece Allie!