Iris is 4 Months Old

Can you believe it? Didn't she just get out of the hospital last week? It sure feels that way, but I've already had to put away a ton of clothes that she's outgrown... so sad. Anyway, she had her 4 month check up the other day, and the biggest worry was her cradle cap. What a difference from a few months ago! I'll take the scaley head any day. She's tipping the scales at a whopping 15 pounds 1 ounce, which puts her in the 78th percentile! Our little Squasher. (It puts it in perspective when you realize that Riley, almost 4 years old, is only 31 pounds.) The doc was obviously thrilled with her progress, and gave me the green light to try some rice cereal so I might not have to continue feeding her every two hours. Keep your fingers crossed for me that this works. She sure doesn't like the bottle, and she gets angry fast if I'm not there to feed her. All errands must take under and hour and a half, as I can't take her with me. It gets old. So we'll see about the cereal. She had some shots, of course, and did really well. She only cried a little, but did give me burning, reproachful looks, as if to say, "What do you think you are doing? How could you let this happen to me?" She has so much personality, and it's fun to get to know her more each day. She's found her fingers, and spends the majority of her time with them shoved down her throat, occasionally gagging herself. We wondered if she might be worrying about her weight and feeling the social pressure to be thin just a bit early! She's a constant tooter, and she and Eric engage in competitions to see who can stink up the place the quickest. It's been a toss up so far. She still hasn't been to church, although I did hold a 9 month old throughout Relief Society last Sunday who was barely 15 pounds as well, so I felt like she was there. Iris is such a great baby, and as long as she's fed and well rested, she's not complaining. We love having her, and thank Heavenly Father each day that she's healthy. I was finally writing about her stay in the NICU in my journal the other day, and I just cried to remember it all. Seeing her hooked up to all those machines and tubes was just awful, and I pray every day that I never have to see it again. We love you, Iris!

Happy Christmas!

Christmas is over. How sad. Now I'll go back to hating winter. But we did have a great time this year! Eric got done with school the week before (earning himself a 4.0 this semester, if you can believe it!) and had a while off from work, so we were able to spend a lot of time together, which is always great. It's amazing how much better behaved Riley is when there are two authority figures around. She's been so much fun!

We had Eric's family Christmas party the Sunday before Christmas, and it was great to see everybody again. I love getting to know these people, who are really becoming like family to me. So even though we just saw them on Thanksgiving, this was really fun. We had a gift swap, and this year we acted out the Christmas story after dinner. (Iris was perfect as Baby Jesus!)

We went to visit Eric's Grandpa Bartlett on Christmas Eve, who lives in Springville. I've only ever met him at his annual birthday parties, which are widely attended. There have always been so many people there that I've never said much more than hello and goodbye to him, so this was a nice chance to talk a little. He's a really funny guy! We left there and went straight to my grandparents house up in American Fork for dinner. It's always a fun time, and this wasn't an exception. We opened up a few presents after dinner, read out the Christmas story, and just visited. Very nice. After we got home that night, Eric and I did a simplified version of the story from Luke, using Riley's little nativity set. We've talked to her about it before, but I think she liked seeing us play it out. We opened up a present each, and then went to bed.

My family came over on Christmas morning, and we all opened up presents together. I love sharing this time with family! Eric and I are so blessed to have both of ours close by. After breakfast, Eric and I and the girls headed over to Patti's for more presents. Scott & Erika and Stephanie were there as well, and we had a great time. Patti and Stephanie had made a Christmas feast, which was delicious! Unfortunately, Eric had to go to work for a few hours, so I stayed there with the girls while he was gone. I thought about going home, but Patti and Stephanie were taking such good care of us, I really couldn't!

Although we received many gifts that we are so grateful for, we have been blessed to feel the Spirit often and remember the real reason that we celebrate at this time of year. How fortunate we are so have the Lord in our lives, and to have let Him in!

Here are a few pictures- sorry I forgot to rotate some.

My dad with Iris's jammies

The girls with their matching PJs- they look like a red polka dotted blob

Riley has a big, bling "R" ornament, and here Eric is trying to get her to give him some rapper attitude.

The girls both passed out on me

Christmas morning, Riley showing everyone her presents all spread out

Iris's yammika. My grandma made her this hat, which is unfortunately a wee bit small

Christmas morning

Eric and Riley coloring princesses

Iris loved being a gift

Grandma Pat and Stephanie in their matching ear muffs

Snow, Snow, Snow!

I heard the back door shut this morning, and looked on our deck to find Riley in my boots. I guess she couldn't resist the call of the snow.

Still doesn't like to have her picture taken, though.

So Fancy...

I walked into Riley's bathroom the other day to find this. She's so meticulous.

Finally Got The Family Picture!

We finally got around to getting our family picture taken. About time, wouldn't you say, since that's all Grandma Pat wants for Christmas? I made Eric promise that we'd do it yesterday, since he's been putting me off for weeks, and of course yesterday was the day that it snowed about a foot. We didn't want to drive up in the mountains, as I'd planned, so we compromised for our back yard. (Everything is so covered in snow that it doesn't make a difference.)

Poor Iris was miserable and finally fell asleep to escape. Eric had to photoshop in this head of Riley, because it was the best of he and I, but Riley was making a goofy face. You'd never be able to tell, would you? Handy having a photoshop master in the fam.

Right after we took the last one, and Riley was about to lose it.

Managed to get a cute/ non glarey one

Ignoring Eric with the camera

Husband Tag

1. Where did you meet your husband? Playing basketball in front of Drew Champion's house when I was in 7th grade and he was in 8th. I don't think I actually played.

2. How long did you date before you were married? Kind of a trick question... we dated for a while my senior year, but then he left on his mission and I Dear John'd him. Bummer. A few years later when we started dating again, I kind of dumped him a few times throughout the course of about five months. Bummer again. He was amazingly persistent. So, the last time we "started" dating after the last time I ditched him, we dated for about three months before we were engaged, and then were engaged for four more. Hurrah for me- I finally got it right!

3. How long have you been married? Two years this March

4. What does he do that surprises you? He's such a hard worker and not a whiner at all. I'm often surprised when I remember just how full his plate always is, because he never complains.

5. What is his best feature? He's got a cute dimple he could store ketchup in, according to some random crazy lady. It's adorable. I also quite like his forearms.

6. What is his best quality? As previously mentioned, his amazing work ethic. He's also got heaps of brains and is a real smartie pants. Also, he never stops trying to make me laugh, even when I'm stubbornly unresponsive.

7. Does he have a nickname for you? Baby Face, Sweet Cheeks, Sugar Sweet... you get the idea. Anything random and cheesy.

8. What is his favorite food? Anything unhealthy. Burgers and fries probably top it all.

9. What is his favorite sport? Baseball. I just don't see the appeal.

10. When and where was your first kiss? Which one? Um, the very first one was just before Christmas in 2002 in my bedroom doorway. (I love that story.) The first one when we started dating again was on my livingroom couch, in March 2006.

11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? Hard to say... we don't get much practice at being together. I'd say just relaxing. We're always going somewhere or doing something, so it's a real treat to just lay together and talk and talk. At least I like it.

12. Do you have any children? Riley, who will be 4 in February, and Iris, 4 months

13. Does he have any hidden talents? Tons! I think some people know that he takes great photograghs, but I bet most don't realize that he's an all around artist. He draws and paints and sculpts and all sorts of things. He also plays quite a few instruments; he'll say that he can't play any of them well. But when he picked up my sisters penny whistle and blew out a tune on his first try that had taken her a while to master, she was sure irritated.

14. How old is he? He'll be 25 on December 30- a quarter dead!

15. Who said I love you first? I did. I had him so terrified that I'd dump him if he scared me by moving too fast that I knew he'd never be the first to say it.

16. What is his favorite music? He's got a wide range, but I'd say that Wilco is probably his favorite band. Their concert this past August was awesome!

17. What do you admire most about him? What a great father he is. Our two girls each take a very different kind of parenting, and he's so confident and capable with both. I couldn't have picked a better man to help me raise our kids.

18. What is his favorite color? Green

19. Will he read this? Eventually

Business in the Front, Party in the Back

Ironically enough, it was while I was drafting that last post that Riley decided to turn my mom's family room into a barber shop. She took to her head with a pair of scissors, and had given herself a mighty fine mullet by the time she was found out. I wish I'd had my camera that day-- there was SO much hair on the floor. Just chunks and chunks of it. I didn't want Riley to think this was OK to do, so I didn't want to laugh, but it was hard not to! She looked so goofy! The lady who cuts our hair wasn't available to fix it till the end of the next day, so she had to go around with a mullet. Like she cared.

Here's her mug shot-- it doesn't show just how short it is above her ear.

This, also, doesn't quite do it justice; it was all I could get.

At "Rabacky's" (Becky's) for the fix

Ta Da! Of course, this was after Becky blow dried and curled it, which I certainly won't have time to do. So it looks a little more, uh, masculine now.

She's already been mistaken for a boy twice-- considering we don't get out much, that's practically 100%. The guy at Little Caesars called her Little Buddy. Oh well, what can you do? It was pretty funny.

This was taken the morning of the Big Cut- isn't that a cute hair cut? Oh well.

Iris's Blessing

We've had such a busy week, and it's taken me a while to get around to posting about it. Last Wednesday, I made pies for the first time! My mom and I got together do do it, and had about a dozen pies at the end of the day (literally... the last one finished baking just before midnight). Eric had to work on Thanksgiving, so I took the girls up to Sandy to Eric's aunt and uncles house myself. It was really good to see all the family, and I was so glad that Eric got off early enough to come up that evening. He works so hard and misses out on so much. Dinner was, of course, delicious, and I managed two helpings of almost everything, and a third of the potatoes and gravy. I think the younger cousins Garrett and Spencer were impressed.

We had Iris's blessing the next day to avoid the germs of church and so that the family in town for Thanksgiving could also attend. We had so many people coming that we actually ended up holding it in the church house because our house wouldn't accommodate. It was supposed to start at 2:00, so about 15 minutes to, I started to feed Iris so she would be happy during the blessing. As I was feeding her, she let out a big ol' explosion (which happens frequently), and I thought, "Wouldn't it be funny if that blew through her diaper?" That used to happen a lot, but not much recently, so I didn't think too much about it. A few minutes till 2:00, we finished up and I made to pick up Iris to take her back. Yuck, yuck, yuck- of course it HAD exploded through her diaper, and was now all the way up her back, covriing the back og her dress and all over my skirt... and hand. Riley was with me, so I told her to be quick and go get Eric and the diaper bag. I thought I'd been urgent enough and put the fear into her. Apparently not. Eric said she ran into the room, alright, but sat primly down and said not a word. Meanwhile, I've got a hand and lap covered in excrement, and I'm unable to grip Iris with my one clean hand without touching her back, which is also covered. Quite a pickle. So I sat and waited for Eric... and waited. After more than 10 minutes, I manned up and carried Iris in to get the diaper bag myself. Eric came after me and made the mistake of laughing. I'm sorry to say that I got quite snippy with him. Luckily we live really close to the church house- obviously- so Eric ran home to get me another skirt and another white dress we happened to have in Iris's size. We were in such a rush to get her cleaned up and changed that I didn't even look at how my new skirt looked. We finally got things started, and Eric gave her a beautiful blessing. The bishop then surprised me by asking me to bear my testimony. A double surprise, because when I got up in front of the big group, I noticed that my slip was now showing about 3 inches below my shirt. The pooped on skirt was much longer, and I hadn't even noticed. Why, oh why can't I be the kind of person that things so smoothly for?

Well, we got through it all, and the most important thing is that Iris is blessed. I guess it will make a funny story for later. I seem to have a lot of stories like this. I didn't have the heart to take pictures after the blessing, which I of course now regret, soI'm going to put the blessing dress back on her and take pictures later.

"White, White, White, White..."

I was getting Riley dressed the other morning and noticed we were putting Snow White panties on her. So I started singing, "I'm wishing (echo: I'm wishing)... for the one I love (for the one I love)... to find me (to find me)... today (today). " Then she started singing the first line and I echoed. But she soon stopped me and said that instead of echoing with a Snow White song, I should be singing about my panties. So she told me to sing, "White, white, white, white, white." So now we sing, "I'm wishing (white, white, white)... for the one I love (white, white, white)...". Love it.

I found a bunch of pictures that I meant to post, but never could, because I was waiting for Eric to touch them up, or whatever he does. I don't know if these have been worked on, but they look fine to me.





Riley's cast when she broke her leg for the second time last April. It didn't slow her down at all.

Eric took Riley fishing up Provo Canyon this summer. Like the hair? She wouldn't ever let us brush it, so we had a rag-a-muffin child. Hence the cut.

These are from when we went to Marilyn and Gerry's cabin for the weekend this summer and Eric taught me to fish. Man, what a belly!

I Miss My Family

Eric has been sleeping on the couch for over a month... now he's kicked out of the house altogether. Not to fear- it's not marital discord, it's germs. Iris's inability to sleep anywhere but in bed next to me had him on the couch, and the germs that attacked him this week have him at his Mom's. Patti's going to start some gossip in her neighborhood. (It wouldn't work here, because he's already gone so much, our neighbors won't notice the difference.) The coughing and all-around-yuckiness has been coming on for a few days, so he's just kept his distance. It was getting worse yesterday, so we decided that he could sleep here last night, and if he woke up this morning feeling worse, then he's move to his mothers until he felt better. He did feel worse- and it's a good thing he got out of the house, because he felt even worse-er later. He went to the doc and they gave him something or other... he ditched classes today to sleep... he called in sick to work to rest up... I have high hopes that this will be a short separation. I really miss my husband. Having him gone is no new thing- actually, as I write this at 11 PM, this could be a normal day. If not sick today, he would have gone to school before I woke up, then gone to work straight from school, and wouldn't be home yet. I wouldn't have seen him before now anyway- so this really isn't different. But we've been so terrified that I would get sick that he hasn't so much as given me a high five for days. (Can you imagine if I got sick, too? What a disaster. If Iris had gotten the shots like she should have, this wouldn't be this unnecessary big deal.) I miss my hubby.

And to cap it all, Riley is also sick. Her cough has been coming on for days as well, and when she
woke up this morning, she was also worse. I've had a time trying to keep her hands and lips off Iris, I can tell you that. Her little friend had strep throat the other day- the day after they had been playing. So when I saw her red and raw throat, and heard her hacking cough this morning, I took her to our trusty pediatrician. (I swear I should have his office on speed dial.) Luckily, it's not strep, but she's spending the night at my parents, just in case. As hard as it is to have her craziness all day, every day, I now find that I've missed her today. She knows that she shouldn't touch the baby as long as she is sick and coughing, so when she coughed last night, she said, "No more coughing, Throat!". And when she coughed again a few minutes later, she said, "What did I tell you, Throat?" It was adorable. I miss my girl.

So Iris and I spent a lazy day watching the beloved A&E five hour version of "Pride and Prejudice". I haven't had time to watch that in one sitting in precisely three years and nine months (the length of Riley's life). So, cheers and thanks to my mom and dad for taking care of my Little Sicky, and cheers and thanks to Patti and Stephanie for taking care of my Big Sicky. I wish I could do it.

Look at the Bright Side

These things bother me:

• Couples canoodling at church. 'Nuff said.
• Christmas lights turned on before December 1. (See also: Christmas music played before previously mentioned date, as well as any kind of blow up decoration... for any holiday.)
• The Library Nazi. She is my nemesis.
  
• The geniuses hired to work the phones at insurance companies, billing offices, etc.
• Drivers of SIX door trucks (that's right... THREE cabs) who pull enormously long trailers and run red lights.
  
• Hannah Montana
  
• People who go to school sick and get my husband sick.

As this is kind of a downer post, I'll add a few pluses:

• My super kettle. I have about four cups of hot chocolate a day now that I've pulled it out. Tons of sugar, but as I've all but given up Dr. Pepper (the second love of my life), I don't feel guilty.
• I have a solo date planned for this Saturday night. It's Eric's night off, so I got an advance ticket to see "Twilight", because yes, I am one of those girls. I heart Edward. So I'm going to some restaurant (I haven't decided where yet) where they will serve me food, and I can eat it without once saying, "Please stop that" or "Stop throwing your food" or "Did you spill your milk on purpose?". And I won't have to clean up any food or milk, or stop Riley from suffocating Iris with a hug, and my food will be warm when I eat it, because I won't have popped in and out of my seat nine times to get more milk or apple sauce or whatever before getting to eat. Ahhh, bliss. Then I'll go to see the movie. I don't have hopes that it will be as good as the books- I'm not an idiot- but I think it will be alright. All in all, I can't wait for my date with myself.
• And as much as I complain, I really do have it great. I have a husband I never see, because he's always either at work at at school. He never gets time to do what he wants for himself, and he never complains or guilt trips me. He works so hard to provide for us and to get good grades- I am grateful, in a roundabout way, that he's gone so much. I have a daughter that bounces off the walls with unrestrained energy. She isn't shy or slow, and she's full of love. Sometimes it's hard to have all that energy trapped in our house, but I'm glad that she has it. I have a baby girl who is out of the hospital, when it could have been so much worse. She's home with us, when other babies born with similar problems aren't nearly so fortunate. Yeah, I can't go anywhere because of it, but we have a god shot at keeping here healthy this winter, and hopefully she'll then be healthy for life. I'm grateful that we were given a solution, no matter how hard it is to carry out.
  

Blessings are all around me, hidden in the middle of my obstacles. If I can only remember to wake up and pay attention, I'm in awe of all that I have been given.

Boo! Hiss!

I am angry. We found out the other day that Iris' appeal was denied. How can that be, you ask? I wouldn't know. The insurance company is sticking to it's age guidelines like stink on rot, and even the pediatricians letter urging them to change their minds didn't do it. We're trying a second appeal, but I don't have very high hopes. Oh, and when I asked the doc's office for more specifics, in case we tried to pay for these ourselves, I found that it would probably be just under $15,000 instead of $8,000. The price goes up according to her weight, so we estimated the rate she would gain (it's all in those cheeks!), and viola. $15,000. Not possible.

So thanks to all you who prayed for us. I guess it's not over yet, but I'm not very hopeful. We can't qualify for Medicaid because we already have insurance, and there aren't any supplementary programs in Utah. Write your congressman.

Iris 'Tubbs of Fun' Bartlett

Iris has been such a fun baby so far! We're loving having her (Riley sometimes a little too much so...) and are so grateful for her. For those of you who wonder about her current medical situation, I'll give a brief update. Her pediatrician recommended that she get a series of six shots to help prevent her from getting RSV this winter. Because of the condition of her lungs at birth, and the full week she spent on the ventilator, she would likely have to be hospitalized if she did get sick this winter, and could very possibly have lung problems the rest of her life. We obviously want to avoid that. The doc says that this first winter is critical: if we can get her through this without getting sick, she'll probably live normally for the rest of her life, with no residual problems. That's why I've become a hermit of late- I'm avoiding all germs. But, back to the shots: six of them, at about $1,200 a pop is a lot of money. And the insurance won't cover it unless it can be proved that it's medically necessary. Apparently working for an insurance company gives you more insight than a doctor to whether it is necessary, because even though the doc says it is, she was denied. Don't even get me started on insurance companies. So, we're appealing, and will know either way by December 3. I'm asking everyone to keep us in your prayers. I really feel that she should get these shots, and I don't know how we'll pay for them if the insurance company denies her again. Please, please pray that this will work out. Thanks!

But in the meantime, we love her and we're thrilled to have her!

Warning: Nudie Shot!

When Riley gets herself dressed!

Denim cape, anyone?

A Fun Day

In my efforts to keep Riley and myself from going crazy during our autumn/ winter imprisonment, I've tried to take her out to do fun things that don't involve germs. (It's amazing how little there is to do...) The other day, I, along with my brother Graham and his dog, Dusty, brought the girls up to Sundance to run around. There were hardly any people there, so that helped with the germs, and she and Dusty could run around to their hearts content.

Graham and Riley by the indian statue

Graham had a rope that he was throwing for Dusty- then it got caught in a tree! Here he's trying to knock it down with a large piece of wood he found. (The wood is the blur in the middle left of the picture.)

You can't see it well in this picture, but the wood got caught up next to the rope. It just wasn't Grammy's day. He eventually got the wood down using another piece, but never got the rope. Bummer.

I tried and tried to get Riley to let me take her picture, but she kept hiding behind things. I guess I really irritated her, because just after I took this picture...

...she charged!

Later that evening, I met up with best pal Melanie and her son Kyson- best pal of Riley. With my mom taking care of Iris, we were free to take the kiddos to Hee Haw's. It's got a corn maze that we didn't do, and lots of fun things for kids.

Melanie took the kids down the slide- I confess, I was chicken.

(I was shamed into it later.)

A train ride using barrels with animal heads as cars.

When we went to the pumpkin patch, Riley strayed from the path and came back covered in burs! Those suckers hurt to get out!

Melanie and I took turns pulling the kids around in a cart.

Kyson and Riley liked making "corn angels" in the big pit of corn.