Hello January. Goodbye January.

Happy January.. or almost February!  We have had a wild start to 2019 and cannot wait to see what is in store for our little fam.  The year started off with a new addition to our family... meet LULU the Cockapoo!  I finally caved and told Kam she could purchase a pup.  Kam and Lu are a match made in heaven and she is getting more love than any pup could imagine.  She is mostly a lazy little gal who likes to play tuggy and chew on everything. 

 

 We celebrated Kam's 19th Birthday... yes, I said NINETEEN!!!!  She is a gem and my right hand gal. She is loving ASU, making friends and planning a  Foreign Exchange trip to TRINIDAD in March! 

 This little guy finally got in to see Endocrinology and it was determined he is perfectly fine.  He is hanging out at about 3% for height and weight for growth, but he is alive and well.  His estimated growth is about 5'8" and no need for human growth hormone shots for now.  :)

 Logi likes to one up his brother and the competition between these two is fierce.  Owen has maturity and intellect over Logi's massive strength and endurance.  These boys love to compete, antagonize and tackle each other all day long.  We are soaking up the beautiful weather in the desert this time of year and I love to take these boys out for long bike rides to help them burn off their energy.

 Things had been pretty quiet around here for Owen, apparently too quiet, so his appendix decided it was time to be eliminated.  Owen had an appendectomy last Thursday and he felt immediate relief.  He is still recovering and getting back to his baseline, but it was his easiest surgery to date.

 I spent the last 18 months working my buns off getting all my pre/co reqs done for Nursing school.  It was hard and exhausting but nothing compared to what is to come.  I did really good on my Hesi exam and now I just wait for acceptance or denial into the program.  It's competitive and my competition is young and fierce.  My plan is to get my BSN in Nursing and go on to get my NP degree asap. 

 I have to wish this little dude a HAPPY 11th BIRTHDAY!!  Most kids you wish would stop growing up and you want to bottle up their youth.  I am just so thrilled to be lucky enough to celebrate another birthday with this little guy and pray that I get to watch him grow into a man one day.  Life is fragile and unpredictable, but I have to believe that there are big plans for Owen.  To his donor families.. if you read this... THANK YOU for choosing to say YES because without you, we wouldn't be here celebrating ELEVEN incredible years!!

Now that I am all kinds of teary, I am going to sign off.  Thank you for loving our family!!

Celebrating Logan's 4th!!

I can hardly believe it, but Logan just turned 4!!  I am trying not to blink because I'll miss something.  This little guy is such a joy!  He likes things done a certain way, doesn't like to be messy and always chooses kindness.  He is a friend to everyone and just wants the other kids to play nice.  If he sees another kiddo not playing nice or disobeying rules, he will call them on it.  He is fueled by chocolate, all kinds, and it has to be COLD or he won't eat it.  His favorite person is Kam and the rest of us come in a close second.  He wakes up happy each morning and can't wait to go to bed "it's getting dark!"  He loves to go for long walks and discover new parks.  I love this little buddy of mine and am so LUCKY to be his mom! 

 He woke up early to open his Birthday gifts!  I dusted off Kam's old Casio keyboard from years ago that I held onto for who knows why.. but it sure came in handy!  Logan LOVES it and keeps calling himself the "DJ" and discovers a new jam everyday. 

 Our little Birthday tradition is to hit up all the local eateries that offer FREE food if it's your Birthday!  We got milkshakes and corn dog bites at Joe's Farm Grill.  Then headed to SomeBurros later for bean burritos and rice.  He was so HAPPY! 

 Carson bought tickets for IlluminationsAZ in Tempe to drive through and see all the Christmas lights (this picture isn't the best).  It was pretty awesome and he kept saying "this is such a great Birthday!"

 His only request was hotdogs for dinner so we headed over to Portillo's.  If you haven't been... it's so delicious!!!

 Green frosted chocolate cake and mint ice cream was on his list and he blew out the candles before we even started singing.  Happy Birthday little buddy, I can't wait to watch your grow another year older!!

Christmas 2018

Christmas was wonderful and magical!  December is my favorite month of the year and this year was right there with one of the best!  The weather was chilly in the desert, we attended a few incredible parties and we stayed healthy.  Every morning I wake up grateful for all I have and feel so much happiness I could burst at times. 

 

This year, I tried to keep things simple for the kids and focus on making memories instead of buying a bunch of gifts.  I failed and spoiled them with everything on their lists, but they didn't ask for much.  Kam and Owen got new Fitbit Versas and all Logi wanted was a Megazord.  Owen was already doing push ups this morning counting his calorie burn one calorie at a time. 

 The best part of December is all of the parties we get invited to which gives me a chance to reconnect with all my friends.  The Mended Little Hearts Christmas party is one of my favorites and the Atherton's were gracious hosts again this year.  Their sweet Becca ended her fight with CHD this year at Stanford and our entire heart community was impacted by this incredible woman's life!  The Atherton's have been incredible to me and Owen at Stanford and they will always be family.  The party was incredible with the most compassionate Santa ever!

 Owen had his monthly cardiology visit this month at the hospital and everything looks great!  We found the Donate Life AZ tree in the lobby with Owen's photo and story represented on the tree.  We had plans to write the donor families this Christmas season but I have been at a loss for words.  I am still working on finding the right way to say "THANK YOU" for giving my son the gift of life. 

 Make A Wish invited us to Christmas on Comstock party to make cookies, hot cocoa and snow.  We love Comstock and drive through there several times during the Christmas season.  The entire street is lit up and coordinated to music.. it's pretty fun!

 Our Phoenix Children's transplant team has a huge party for the transplant patients each year.  This year had face painting, a delicious taco bar, Star Wars friends and Roy was on DJ duty.  We danced with Kylo Ren, caught up with all our transplant friends, doctors and nurses.  Santa gave out some pretty awesome presents (Owen got a drone) and we had the best time!!  We are so lucky to know so many wonderful heart families all over the world, but Arizona has some of the best!!

 Every year we find Santa's mailbox at Macy's and send off our letters to Santa.  They give a $1 back to Make A Wish for every letter sent!!!  How can we not get behind that?

 Christmas Eve was low key this year.  Kam made cheesecake, the boys sprinkled reindeer food all over the front walkway and Santa got chocolate crinkle cookies this year.  We usually go out to a prime rib dinner but nixed it this year in lieu of cereal.  Not kidding. :)  The kids opened their Christmas Eve pajamas and we had a quiet evening at home. 

 Owen woke up at 4am and quietly laid in my bed until the rest of the crew woke up.  They all loved their gifts but were more excited to give the gifts they picked out for Daddy.  Kam and the boys surprised me with a new wallet (mine is 8 yrs old) and Kam bought herself a surprise I'll post about tomorrow.  She deserves her own post.

 Logan only eats COLD chocolate, so I laughed when I opened my fridge to find his chocolates taking up an entire door. This boy is a gem.

 We went to my parent's house for Christmas dinner with my Sister and her family.  It was the perfect end to our holiday and we had the best time playing all of Gigi's crazy games.  Never Have I Ever is a super crazy game (take out all the inappropriate cards) and we laughed pretty hard!

 

Look at these pictures... how can I not feel incredibly blessed??  Merry Christmas from our family to yours!!! I hope your Christmas season was beautiful!