Mini Summer Vacation, Back to School, and 15 Month Checkup

Mini Summer Vacation

On August 13-17, 2014, We drove down to Mesa Arizona to attend a wedding/sealing for our nephew and spent some time with Grandpa and Sharon Free. We drove during the late afternoon and night to make it more comfortable on little brother.  Surprisingly, it was our first time experiencing Arizona during the summer heat. Every time we stepped outside it felt like an oven (dry and very hot).  At this point, we decided we could never survive in Arizona's summers. We love being outside and cannot imagine paying for the AC running non-stop. Thankfully, Grandpa Free had a summing pool to cool off. We went swimming a couple times while there. It was fun being among our Arizona family members celebrating the wedding of Danial and Rebekah. In fact, Rebekah's family did a fun family tradition! They threw Danial a tool party. We had dinner, guests brought tools wrapped in newspaper or paper bags, and had a great time getting to know Rebekah's family better. When the happy couple opened our gift, we got to ask them a question. It was a lot of fun and they got a lot of amazing tools!
First Day Back to School

Summer of 2014 came and went really fast this year. Usually I'm ready for the girls to go back to school due to the non-stop boredom complaints, but this year I was sad they had to go back to school. The first day of school was on August 18th for big sis and little sis started the next day. Big sis is now a sophomore in high school.  Wow, I can hardly believe it! Am I really that old? Didn't I just graduate from high school not too long ago? Also, 2014-2015 is little sister's last year of elementary school. It's crazy how fast kids grow up! Good luck to big sisters and I hope they have a successful school year! Go Vikings and Grizzlies, GRRRRRRRRR! 

Fifteen Month Old Check Up and Shots

Milestones: On August 22, 2014, little brother had his 15 months old check up. He weighs 19 lbs. 4 oz. and is 31.25 inches long. His head circumference was 18.9 inches.  He is slowly making some progress. To our surprise, he is growing in length, but continues to struggle to gain much weight. I'm happy he is at least on the charts! As for his developmental milestones, he isn't talking much or walking yet... I cannot believe he prefers to scoot on his bum all day long. In the past, he has taken a few steps, but for whatever reason, I think he is not confident enough to walk yet. His doctor warned me that he probably wouldn't walk on time... It's frustrating to see many other toddlers younger than him already walking.  Even though he scoots around, he is getting into everything and opening cupboard doors yet. He does occasionally take some kitchen food out from the "lazy Susan" and pull out all the dish towels and bibs out of the drawers. We finally had to install child proof latches under the sinks. Walking brings on more toddler challenges, but I want him to be normal just like any other toddler his age. I have to keep reminding myself that he had three surgeries and I shouldn't compare him to others because of what he has went through. In the meantime, he continues to have monthly early intervention appointments via Kids on the Move (physical therapy and speech). He had occupational therapy discontinued last month due to making most of his feeding goals and his weight seems stable (not losing but slowly gaining)! We are so proud of him! If for whatever reason, he has issues again his occupational therapist will come back as needed.

Finally Summer

Memorial Day

We were invited to go camping in Nevada, but because of little bro needing g-tube feeds during the night we decided to pass on the idea of roughing it without electricity!  So we had a very relaxing Memorial Day. First, we got up early and went to breakfast to Kneaders Bakery and Cafe since we have heard great things about their strawberry and cream french toast.  Oh boy, they were delicious!  I choose a healthier option (low sugar) on their menu the croissant egg, cheese, and ham sandwich, which was tasty as well. Afterwards, we took baby brother home for his morning nap while Daddy went fishing with his nephew in South Jordan.  Later that day, we went to Manila Pond. Little bro and big sister loved walking through the water while little sis went to a friend's house to hang out!

End of the School Year

During the last week of school, little sis had a field trip to the space center, dance festival, fun run, field day, and awards ceremony in her class, which she received the Best Day Dreamer Award and Most likely to be an Archaeologist.  As for big sister, she went to Lagoon Amusement park and got several awards such as Viking Citizen, Viking and Attendance, and Viking Scholar. In fact, big sis was on the honor roll all school year!  We are very proud of their accomplishments this past school year and hope they will continue to be successful! 

Welcome to Toddlerhood Little Bro!

As for our happy little toddler, he is making some amazing progress on milestones. He loves to pull up to stand, can stand without support for a few seconds, cruise all over the place, and scoots instead of crawling! Little bro is finally eating table foods instead of stage 2 purees and drinking cow's milk! When he gets together with our extended family, he loves playing with his second cousins!

Counting Down Until Lazy Summer Days!

Just a few more weeks left of school. The girls are looking forward to staying up and sleeping in late. We are hoping to keep them busy with swimming lessons and guitar lessons during the Summer.  Certainty they will hangout with their friends a lot.  Big sis and I want to start jogging together a couple times a week in the early hours before it gets hot. As a family, we would love to explore new fun outdoor places and take many trips to the parks.
Mechanical Baby Simulator Teen Living Assignment

Over a weekend for a teen living class, big sister brought home a mechanical baby doll. As you can see in the left bottom photo, she wasn't thrilled since she was rolling her eyes... She was graded on how well she handled her baby (burping, changing, feeding, rocking, head support, etc). No surprise she didn't get much sleep and was terrified to go in public with him because he was very fussy.  Not only did she put up with him crying a lot during the night, she also was woken up by her real baby brother too. After completing her assignment, she admitted to me that she prefers her real baby brother over the doll any day because the doll was very difficult (like the newborn stage, lol)!  I'm glad she got a reality check on what it's like to have a baby and hopefully she learned that parenthood is not easy at all!
End of the Year Concert 

Big Sister had her last choir concert on May 14, 2014, which was held at the high school on the football field.  While preforming on stage at the junior high on Tuesday May 13, 2014, Big sister fell down while doing an interactive dance and choir number on stage. She was very embarrassed and luckily didn't get hurt.
Playing at the neighborhood Park and Miller Park

We have been enjoying the warmer weather and taking trips to the parks! Baby brother loves being outdoors!  We love taking walks, playing sports (tossing a football and basketball), and checking out new parks. We live by two parks that are minutes away from our house. We look forward to finding other neat parks near the area that we haven't been before.
Miller Park (American Fork)

Yikes, He is Eleven Months Old

Milestones:  Life has not been easy adjusting to little brother's medical problems this past year, but I'm grateful we got through it. At this point, I am hopeful that he will be stable. He still has some catching up to do developmentally!  After his surgery, he finally started babbling more since he couldn't move around much.  He loves to clap and say "bababababa", "mmmmm", and "ma ma"! I was nearly in tears when I first heard him say "ma ma"! As for feeding, he can finally drink well through a straw and cup. I recently started him on some chopped bananas, mandarin oranges,  peas, and baby cookies since he is very sensitive to different textures.  He still eats a lot of stage 2 foods. He is very reluctant to try new foods and and hopefully get used to new textures without gagging and throwing up.  A few weeks ago, his GI doctor increased his calories and volume by adding Boost Essentials in his diet because he wasn't gaining enough weight. He didn't tolerate the new diet plan very well due to throwing up and feeling full all the time. We are still figuring out a great solution that will help him gain weight with no adverse effects. In the meantime, we may need to accept the fact that he will gain weight slowly instead of making him uncomfortable with excessive tube feedings and a lot of Boost Essentials. I think a gradual increase would make a difference. Thankfully he has so many people supporting him (dietitian, pediatrician, and OT feeding therapist).  As for gross motor skills, he can properly get in and out of sitting position and is starting to pull himself up to stand. He still isn't crawling or walking yet. In due time once he figures out how to crawl or walk, he will be very actively moving around thanks to his physical therapist and his childhood developmental specialist from Kids on the Move helping him achieve developmental goals! He is definitely as his shirt says my "First Place Champ"! I admire his strength!

Student of the Week

On April 17, 2014, little sister was student of the week. It was a total surprise for her!  The teacher's room Mom got her a purple balloon and favorite treat Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. My assignment was to write a paragraph about her and bring a picture of her.  The class had to guess the clues who the mystery person was. Sister knew right away it was her and after they guessed it correctly, little brother and I came in as her special guests. Then the class asked her questions and little brother and I got to eat school lunch with her.  Little sister was very happy and felt so special that day! 

The following paragraph is what I wrote about her:
Savannah Jolene Free was excited to join her family. In fact, she came four weeks early on April 15, 2003.  Savannah is the middle child.  She has an older sister Audrey and little baby brother Zachary.  She also has a small poodle dog named Jagger, which she loves to cuddle, run outside with him, and help feed him.  Savannah is unique because since birth she had one stubborn kidney that didn’t want to grow.  It is a functioning tiny kidney that is only 3 cm long and thankfully she also has a normal growing kidney too.  Since Savannah was a baby she had curly locks and loved to smile.  Her hobbies include the following: listening to music by One Direction and Taylor Swift, reading, helping Mom with her little brother, playing card or board games with her family, and doing anything creative such as drawing, sculpting, and painting.  Her favorite foods are strawberries, Nutella on toast, cheese, and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.  Savannah is silly, polite, helpful, kind, and sensitive. The world is a brighter place with Savannah’s beautiful smiling face!  XOXO

Marie Curie Wax Museum

Little sister was Marie Curie the polish scientist for her 5th grade historical hero wax museum! Marie discovered radium and polonium. She also helped with making the first X-ray! She was the first woman to receive a noble prize and awards in chemistry and physics! Her research efforts have saved many lives!

A few weeks ago, little Sis went on a "field trip" with us while little brother was getting his upper GI fluoroscopy done at Primary Children's Clinic in Riverton. She got the opportunity to see what an x-ray machine looks like! We are truly grateful for Marie Curie's discoveries! 

Milestones and Back to School

What a wonderful privilege to be a mother to three fantastic kids. I enjoy watching them grow up and learn new things. 

Little Brother at Eight Weeks Old

Milestones: He can almost lift his neck, smiles, sleeps five hours at night. At his two month doctor's appointment on July 30, 2013, He weighed 9lb. 15 oz. and was 22 1/4 inches long. He is slowly growing and is about 8% on the charts for his weight.
Little Brother at Twelve Weeks Old

Milestones: He is starting to roll all over the place and lifts his head up during tummy time. He is full of smiles for everyone especially for Mommy after he wakes up in the morning. He is starting to hold onto toys and focuses on our faces. He loves baths and music. He may look a lot like his Daddy, but he is a Mommy's boy!  He gets upset if Mommy is in the same room not paying attention to him. 

Back to School

We now have a Freshmen (9th grade) and 5th grader in our household! 
Big Sis-I cannot believe that she will be in high school next year. She is growing up to be an absolutely beautiful young woman. She is very helpful in cleaning the house, making dinner, and taking care of her little brother.
Little Sis- She is not so shy anymore. Her personality is blossoming! I recall last year she suffered with anxiety and so far no problems with it at all during her first week back to school. It could be due to having three of her best friends in the same class with her. Little sis loves being a big sister to her little brother. She enjoys reading and singing and to him. 

A is for Apples: Back to School

On Tuesday, August 21, 2012 was the first day of school for the girls!  We officially have an 8th and 4th grader in our household!  I fought back tears after I dropped off little sister to school (we walked together with our dog Jagger). Big Sis recently got contact lenses.  She is very happy to not have to wear glasses to school any more!  They are growing up too fast! 

In the evening, we made dinner plans with the Sleaper family since Pam was in town from Texas. We shared our favorite treat a sweet and sour apple snicker salad!

 Apple Snicker Salad
1 bag of Granny Smith green apples (10-12 apples)
 1/4 c. lemon juice
1 (16 oz) Cool Whip
2 (3.4 oz) packages of vanilla pudding
2 c. milk
1 (11.18 oz) bag fun size snickers

Directions: Chop the snickers into small pieces, set aside. Cut the apples up into bit size pieces and place them in a bag with lemon juice. The lemon juice will prevent the apples from turning brown and add a refreshing lemon"tart" flavor to the salad.  In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, pudding, and cool whip.  Add the apples then fold the snickers in last. Allow the salad to set up in the refrigerator for a couple hours before serving! Yum!

  Although it was the first day of school, we played like it was a lazy summer day by swimming and boating with the Sleaper family on Utah Lake.  What an A+day!

Back to School Layouts

Since the kids start school next week, I decided to share some of my favorite back to school scrap pages.

First Day Jitters, 2008

Credits:  The template is by Claudia ?.  The papers and elements are from "Falling for You", "Shabby Shack", and "Simply Irresistible" kits by Gina Cabrera, Shabby Princess (pink an blue bows), Natalie Braxton (brown button ribbon), the alpha and pink glitter elements are by Carol Abram and the font is love you like a sister.  

Preschool Days, 2008

Credits: The template is by Cindy Schneider from the Sweet Shoppe Designs. The black paper is by Karah Fredricks.  The other papers and elements are by Kate Hadfield from The Lily Pad I used kids written for my font.

First Day, 2010

Credits: The layout, paper, elements, and word art are from "Hopscotch" kit and "Hopscotch School Additions" by Shabby Princess. As for the font, I used kids written.

Back to School Junior High, 2011

Credits: The template is a 2011 cookie from the Sweet Shoppe Designs. The papers, elements and wordart, are from "Hopscotch" and "Hopscotch School Additons" by Shabby Princess. I used the following fonts: princess BV, peace, and mareen's print.

M&M Teacher Appreciation Gift

On the last day of school, I sent little sister with a cute gift to give to her third grade teacher Miss Wright.  We bought 2 packages of M&Ms and a clear plastic jar.  I was inspired by this website Domestically Speaking that had a perfect poem to accompany with the gift.

Green is for the inspiration you give me each day.

Blue is for your patience in showing me the way.

Orange is for your warmth and caring style.

Yellow is for the way you always make me smile.

Red is for my life that you have touched this year.

You’re a very special teacher just like this jar, that’s clear.

You place knowledge in our children’s hands

and melt into their hearts and lives forever.

You’re a "Magnificent" & "Marvelous" teacher

Thank you for being my M&M.

Back to School! Where Did Summer Go?

Ack!  What happened to my little girls who are not so little anymore?  My oldest daughter is now in junior high!   As for little Sis, she is a third grader!  Where did the summer time go? Good grief, I hardly completed my Summer 2011"to do" list, ugh!  We had quite the eventful summer to say the least!

First Day of Junior High August 22, 2011

First Day of 3rd Grade August 23, 2011

We were definitely busy this summer with our box garden, went on hikes, attended  the Worthen family reunion, had a couple summer BBQs with family, went to a couple parades, went swimming, my oldest daughter survived her first year at girl's camp (river rafting, hiking, and camping).  I did some digital scrapbook page layouts and my youngest daughter had her first sleepover at a friend's house!  We went to my mother's funeral (July was a blur to me), went to the Taste of Utah Valley and got free makeovers (nails, and hair do's).  I planned a couple activity days for my church calling and went to the Jordan River Temple with my nephews and nieces.  Then, I went on my trip to Cape Cod in August with my brother to see my Grandfather and step Grandmother.   My husband passed his college English class this summer.  By the way, John is working on his bachelors degree in marketing and business through an online school Western Governor's University. Lastly, my oldest daughter needed new glasses and both girls went to the dentist.  Then, we bought school clothes and school supplies at the very last minute. 

  It has been a crazy summer!  I totally went off my diet and exercise routine.  Due to stress and the loss of my mother, I gained weight, UGH.  I need to get back on track soon!   With the kids in school now, I have a better schedule for myself that includes working out during the mornings!  Also, I am taking one class this semester at Salt Lake Community College.  I signed up for a nutrition class, which meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  It is a long 40 minute drive to the college from my home, but thankfully I have a radio in my car to blast some great pop music!  I decided to not overwhelm myself too much by taking too many classes since John is currently in school and working two jobs.  This class will be super easy and a great way for me to get out of the house a couple times a week.  

I agreed to do a carpool exchange with some other junior high parents in my neighborhood.  It will be very helpful for all of us since we only have to transport kids once a week. I signed up for Mondays to drop off and pick up!  Mondays are early out day so I will need to be there a hour earlier than usual. There are five kids total three girls and two boys.  My daughter could ride the bus, but the stop is a couple blocks up the hill and technically we do not live in the bus zone boundaries. Carpooling kids is the next best option, which I am very grateful to be apart of since most of these mothers are busy working or taking care of small children.  I am glad to be helping out in a small way.

Even though summer went by so fast, I am looking forward to the fall season!  I love the autumn colors and cooler weather.  

Sixth Grade Graduation, 2011

Congratulations Big Sister!

Oh my goodness, I cannot believe that I am a mother of a pre-teen already! Where does the time go?  I wish my kids would stop growing up too fast!  In August she will enter the most awkward phase of her life- dreadful junior high!   Junior high memories were my least favorite phase of growing up.  Peer pressure was the pits, my hormones were out of control, and I spent hours grooming myself in front of a mirror because I could never leave the house without perfect hair, outfit, and make-up!  I see my daughter already doing the same crazy behaviors that I did at her age! I sure hope she survives through the next couple brutal years of junior high better than I did.   Anyway, on Friday May 27, 2011 @ 10:00 AM, John and I attended big sister's sixth grade graduation.  A couple months ago, we bought her a darling black and white striped dress with a belt around her waist that she planned on wearing during this special occasion.  She wore a cute silver heart necklace, white leggings underneath the dress, and black flats for her shoes.  For her graduation cap, she had a plastic fedora black hat with blue ribbon tied around it.   The gym was decorated Hollywood style (stars, a vintage popcorn machine, and old film strips were all over the walls with baby photos of each child)!  In the photos below, Big sister was with her teacher Mrs. Day and above Mrs. Day's head is her adorable baby picture! It was a lovely ceremony!  The teachers and principal gave a small talk and there was a slide show of each student that included a baby picture and their current school year photo.  They all received their sixth grade certificates and file organizer for junior high!  We checked out little sister so she could be apart of the event too!  The school gym was packed!  Many people had to stand in the back or sides of the gym!  What wonderful job the PTA and mothers who volunteered to make the graduation a huge success!  We had refreshments from Mimi's Cafe delicious banana and carrot/walnut bread. 

  Way to "GROW", Big Sister!   

The Stylish Dress

After the graduation, we took the girls out to lunch to their favorite BBQ 

restaurant The Smoking Apple!  Big sister ordered ribs, corn bread, sweet cream corn, and yummy fries!  She also enjoyed some bubbly apple beer non- alcoholic of course, duh!  After stuffing ourselves, we dropped the girls off back to school.  Big sister had a talent show (which she didn't sign up for but enjoyed watching her friends perform) and little sis needed to practice her dance moves for the dance festival next week with all the second grade classes.  After school, big sister went to her friend's house.  A bunch of girls and a couple boys were all invited to a graduation party.  Big Sissy was so excited to be among many friends.  She is definitely my popular social princess with TONS of friends who adore her!  Look out junior high, big sissy is coming!

Student of the Week and Japan Report

What a fun day!!! Since next week will be little sister's birthday (my tax baby) and school is out on spring break, she was student of the week. Today John went to her classroom at 11:00 AM.  He talked about little sister's poster that I made as well as passed out Reece's mini eggs as her birthday treat. Her teacher decorated her desk with paper like a present and gave her a couple presents (colored pencils, candy necklace, some paper, a crown, and a coloring page).  This week she received a postcard from her teacher that said the following:

Dear Parents,  

I have the pleasure of letting you know that Savannah will be our student of the week.  She has shown through her great improvement in academics and wonderful behavior that she has earned this great honor.  Thank you for raising such a responible behevior.  

Love, Mrs. Litchford

 Her classmates made cute birthday cards too!  Later in the afternoon, "Big Dave" (Mrs. Litchford's husband) read little sissy's favorite book Wacky Wednesday by Dr. Seuss to the class. 

Big Sister had her country report fair.  She picked Japan as her country to research on since her Aunt Chiaki is from Tokyo and her cousin Justin served a mission in Nagoya!  I was able to see her present her tri-fold this afternoon!  She did a fantastic job and I must say Japan has a fascinating culture filled with cool traditions!  I would absolutely love to see Japan someday!  My heart aches for the people of Japan who are suffering so much after the recent natural disasters.  

Book Report and School Play

During the month of March, Little Sis was one busy little girl!  For the past several weeks, she has been working on her first big book report project and school play.  At the beginning of March, all the second graders were assigned to pick their favorite animal.  The first week of April she will being sharing her book report to her classmates. John took Sissy to the public library.  She narrowed down her choices to parrots, monkeys, chameleons, and elephants.  After reading books about those animals, she decided to do her book report on elephants because she has two plastic elephant toys, which will be handy for the book report display.  She checked out two books about elephants.  She has been slowly researching and answering questions like the following:

Where do they live? They are found in rainforests and deserts.

How long do they live?  Elephants can live up to 60 years, wow! They lose their teeth before they die.
How big do they get? They can grow up to be 10 feet tall!

What is an usual elephant family? It consists mothers, daughters, sisters, and babies.

What do they eat? They love grass, bushes, and leaves.
Do they know how to swim? Yes, they love to swim and can swim in the ocean.

What is the difference between African and Indian elephants?
African- Their back dips, have large ears, curved forehead, have two long tusks, and deep ridges on their trunks.
Indian- They have a rounded back, smaller ears, domed forehead, shorter tusks, and smoother trunks.

We, as a family, helped her put together a diorama (a shoe box display).  She drew some clouds, cut out leaves, and glued on some pieces.  She and Daddy decided to make a grassland, pond, and desert out of colored contraction paper to represent where they are found.  John also made a tree trunk. Big Sister and I helped her make a sun, flowers, grass, lily pads, and water lilies.  Sister placed the elephants in the box. We tried to accomplish a 3D effect by bending some pieces to stick up and using foam (raising height on a flat surface)!  On the back of the shoe books, there is information about her animal, which she will share with her class.  We are very happy with the end result.  She cannot wait to share it with her teacher and classmates.

As for the Glow play, her second grade class did an incredibly cute job!  The play was about birds, bugs, flowers, and insects.  They talked about each insect, bird, etc wonderful qualities.  Little Sister was a dancing butterfly.  They sang a lot of fun songs too.  I loved all the props and costumes!  It was such a darling play! 

They sang a couple songs with flowers.

Sissy with her best friend.  

My dancing butterfly!

She wore an orange flower too!

  

During one of the songs, they got to shine a small flash light!  

The beautiful dancing butterflies (Sissy is on the right with orange wings).

Overall, it was a great busy month for her.  Now she is looking forward to her 8th birthday party in a couple weeks and being baptised a member of  the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on May 7, 2011. Go Sister!  Yay!

First Day Jitters!

August 25, 2010

I feel so old! My daughters are now in second and sixth grade. An interesting fact is they will no longer be in the same school after this year (sniff,cry)! When my oldest daughter turns sixteen, my youngest will be starting young womans (12 years old). ACK!



They were a little nervous on their first day back to school this year. My oldest got Mrs. Day, which is a combined 5th and 6th grade class... The school district had some major budget cuts obviously. By the way, my daughter was on honor roll last year so having her in the combined class had nothing to with her intelligence. She was hand picked by her 5th grade teacher who believed that she could handle staying on task and getting along with the other kids in her class. I feel bad for the teacher though because she has to prepare double material everyday! My daughter has rotations with the other sixth grade classes for science, social studies, etc. One of the biggest pros of her being combined with 5th graders is she has double amount of field trips this year! Woohoo! BONUS! She was so happy about that! As for little sister, she got Mrs. Litchford who is an amazing teacher. I like that Mrs. Litchford pushes her students to do well. I have already noticed a major improvement with her hand writing, spelling, and reading! Her husband is a professor at the University of Utah. He is so awesome because he comes in every Friday to teach the kids something special. The best part is he always brings treats! My youngest daughter adores him because he is so silly and fun!



Do you love that they HAD to buy the same black high top converse shoes? Too funny!