Claire Goodman

Claire Goodman

April 23, 2011 @ 1555

6lbs 8oz, 18.5in

(birth/labor story to come.)

Our sweet little girl a couple hours old. We love her and cant wait for her to come home. we of course think shes perfect. she has dark hair like paige did but its not quite as long on top. she has her own little look. shes a good baby and a little fighter.

Easter afternoon she started breathing harder and working hard to get the air she needed. She didn't get better so Monday they decided to air-vac her to Tucson to get evaluated by NICU doctors. She had to fly by herself and they say she did a good job. It was hard on me though. Hard to let her leave me and trust the people to take good care of her. The flight was 40 minutes and our drive was 2 hours. My parents were nice and met the Claire at the hospital and stayed there till we got there.

She is a good little eater and sleeper. Feeding is our favorite part of the day because thats when we get to hold her.

This is her little bed in the NICU. She is still working harder then she should to breath. They think she just didn't get all fluid squeezed out and suctioned out when she was born. They have suctioned her a few times which has helped but they can't deep suction her to many times because it increases swelling. she is receiving oxygen through a nasal cnnula and humidified air through a tube under the hood (or clear box over her head.)

Once we can get her off the oxygen for a total of 24 hours we get to take her home. They have tried to decrease it but she hasnt tolerated it yet. She isn't on much oxygen. She's on 1 leader @ 26%.

Paige was so excited to meet her new little sister. She got to meet her when she was 4 days old. My mom came to safford for Claire's delivery Saturday and then took her to Sierra Vista for Easter. As things worked out she has stayed there since. She's had a great time there playing with her cousins. We miss her and can't wait till we can be all together. Paige is going to be a wonderful big sister.

#1 babysitter

There are so many things that I have taken for granted before being on bed-rest. My little sister Megan is here in Thatcher attending EAC and she is one of those "things" I have taken for granted. Last semester I enjoyed her frequent visits and her helping me with Paige when I needed it but, these past 3 months she has really helped me out a ton!!! Since being down I have had more people then I can count offer to help with Paige. Paige now thinks that everyday she should go play with a friend. Paige doesn't leave me everyday but most days out of the week she has had somewhere to go play and get out of the house for a while. Its been really nice for Paige. Most of the people have been from our ward but not all of them. There have been so many wonderful people!! I know that I could ask so many people with out any notice to help with Paige and again I'm so thankful for that. However it has been a blessing having Megan down the road from us. I have called her MANY MANY times to have her come rescue Paige from me. As long as she's not in class she has always come and taken her. And most of the time that she has come and taken Paige its when she has not had a nap and not very happy. Paige loves her Aunt Megan and loves doing things with her. She always does something fun with Paige. Paige always has an "adventure" story to tell me after coming home from being with Megan....some of the things that they do are go on bike rides, make cookies, go on walks, feed the ducks, go to the temple and "play" with the big girls. (Megan lives in an apartment complex for girls only...Paige gets lots of attention). Not only is Megan the best babysitter she has also come many times and helped me do Paige's hair. Paige loves her hair braided and lets be honest....that can be pretty hard to do when you are supposed to be laying down. I love her living down the road from us. We will be sad when summer comes and she leaves and goes back to Sierra Vista. Thanks Megan for all you do! We love you!

These are pictures Megan took for me when she had Paige one afternoon:

Sierra Vista Trip

The 18th of February I had another appointment in Tucson. Garet wasn't able to take me so my mom came a couple days early (cleaned our house) and then took Paige and I to my appointment. My appointment didn't go that great but in the end I was OK so that's all that matters. This time when they measured me I was lower then I ever had been. I measured at 1.0cm. The doctor came in and checked me and said that I was also now dilated to a 2. (that's not much in dilation but at 29 weeks that's not good I guess) Well because of the changes she sent me over to triage in L&D to spend the afternoon. She wanted to see if I was having contractions. (I told her I didn't feel like I was.) So after spending all afternoon/evening there they confirmed that I was having small contractions, that I have an over active uterus and although I was having small contractions they weren't "impressive" enough to keep me hospitalized. I was of course excited to not have to stay. When the nurse was discharging me she said I have to go home on "strict, strict, strict bed-rest". I thought that was funny because I had been on "strict bed-rest" so I asked her to specify. (Surely I couldn't be confined more then I already was to my bed.) She said no sitting but only for meals, just laying down in bed (& its ok to prop myself up), and only getting up to use bathroom and quick showers....so yes the same thing I have been doing the past few weeks. I was also to come back in a week for another appointment. It was again going to be difficult for Garet to miss work so we decided to send me to SV for the week and have my mom take me to my follow up appointment. The doctors also thought this was a good idea because I would be closer to Tucson if anything changed.
So for the next week I hung out on my parents couch. It was definitely not as comfy as my bed but the change of scenery was nice and the constant company was enjoyable. Paige had a blast playing with all her cousins. I guess all the play eventually wore on her though because Thursday while we were there she started running a fever and had one till Saturday. Friday early morning I went to my appointment. Nothing had changed or progressed so I came back to Thatcher. We were glad to be able to come home and see Garet.

This is just a cute picture of Paige and Madi playing. Paige found 2 jump ropes at my moms and played with them all week. She practiced tying things up. Her favorite thing to do was make a "train" with her bike and Madison's bike and then pull Madison. Madison enjoyed this also. The girls were lucky though and only had a few accidents.

Exercising

I thought this picture was cute and worthy of a post. Garet has MANY goals this year and one of them include doing a triathlon every month starting next month and then in the summer months do 2 a month through November. He hasn't started swimming this year yet due to the weather but he has been trying to run, bike and also do P90x. Well Paige occasionally joins Garet in on the P90X...its so cute!

Valentine Fun

For the past 3 years every Valentines Day, Easter, and Halloween my cousin Britni and I have gotten together to makes festive sugar cookies. Its been a fun little tradition that we have started. Britni and I enjoy it probably more then the kids. I figured this year we probably wouldn't do cookies becuase I was in bed. But Britni just brought the kitchen to my bedroom. It was lots of fun and a good change from the norm. We brought a fold out table into my room and chairs for the kids. Britni sat on the bed and helped the kids while I layed in bed with my little table. We frosted lots of cookies and had a good time. So glad that Britni was thoughtful enough to think of this.

Savanna, Macadee, and Paige (2/09)

Savanna and Paige
Paige

In the past 7 years that Garet and I have been married I have usually done a Valentines breakfast. Most years we have done heart shaped pink pancakes or pink heart shaped biscuits and gravy. This year Garet made breakfast and we had pink oatmeal. Paige thought it was really cool. Valentines day was kinda fun though. I wasn't able to do the usual corny things but it still was fun. During the day Paige and I made little Valentines for people and she delivered them to people. Then my VT came over and we had our usual lunch. (My VT are awesome. They come over every Monday and we have lunch together....its so nice to get girl time and visit with them) When Garet got home from work we had some yummy hamburgers and then had a fun FHE. We of course had to do our lesson on LOVE. We then enjoyed dipping strawberries and blueberries in chocolate. Paige was funny. Garet brought out all the fruit first and Paige dove right ini saying how yummy the fruit was. Then Garet brought out the dipping chocolate and she tried that. She said, " WOW Mom this is even better!!!" silly girl...of course chocolate makes everything better. :)

Paige..real proud of her pink oatmeal. She got this shirt from my mom for valentines day and LOVES it. This is the shift she wears now as soon as it is clean.

Garet and Paige...enjoying the Valentines Day treat!!

Silly Faces

I don't know where Paige learned this or if its just something kids do but she has learned to make funny faces. A couple weeks ago while laying on the couch Paige wanted me to take pictures of her making silly faces so here are some that I captured. (She thought she was being so funny it was great)

(my favorite funny face)

We sure love this little girl and we're so so glad that she is in our family.

Primary

Back when I did our January post I neglected to post about a big event in Paige's life...(hahaha) Paige went to PRIMARY!! I couldn't and still can't believe that my little girl is old enough to be in primary. I was kinda nervous about this transition for her because she absolutely loved loved nursery. She loved her teachers. A couple weeks prior to primary I talked with her about this transition and she did seem excited about the change. She did say though, "Mom what is Sister Paine going to do with out me?" She remembers the primary program and frequently asked me, "Mom when I go to Primary do I get to sing on the stage to?" I told her yes and she is still excited about this idea. On her first Sunday I droped her off in the Primary room. She was the first one from her class there. I couldn't stay and wait for her teachers to come because I had to go and teach my class. She looked up at me and I could tell she was really nervouse. I knew if I stayed any longer she would probably brake down and cry and then it would be really hard to leave her. (I think I was having a harder time myself though..but I never cried) Well she loved primary and everything about it. I think her favorite part as most kids is singing time though. On the first Sunday they gave her a CD with the songs that they'll be learning that year. I told her that she would be learning these songs and then at the end of the year sing these songs on the stage. Paige loves listening to her primary songs and listens to them often. She has taught herself most of the songs on the CD. I'm so proud of her. She practices and practices. Its really cute and I have to admit, it makes Garet and I really proud!! Just the other day at the hospital...(another story) she was sitting with me and asked if she could sing her primary songs. So sitting in triage she sat and sang Praise To the Man. Its really cute to hear her sing this song b/c she can't pronounce all the words.

I can't remember the exact theme in primary this year..(oops) but I know it has to do with the scriptures. Im really grateful for this. I want her to develope a love for the scriptures and the stories at a young age. We've been trying to teach her stories at home and its just comforting to know that it can all be reinforced at church. Her Favorite stories are the stories of Nephi. We've been reading first Nephi as a family and have been talking about him alot. A couple weeks ago Paige went to the neighbors house to play. When my friend brought Paige home she reported they played Nephi, Laman and Lemuel. I thought that was really funny! Again makes a mom proud. A couple weeks ago Paige was also playing with her cousins in the family room. I was laying in bed and couldn't catch everything that was going on but then I heard Paige tell my neice, "Karlee do you want to be like Laman and Lemuel or do you want to obey like Nephi." My brother and I started laughing pretty hard. I promise I did not say this to her before. I think its funny the things kids come up with.

Well Paige loves primary and I'm so glad shes does. I hope she always does!!!

January

Well January hasn't really been that exciting for us. With mom on bed-rest you can't do a whole lot. Like I previously blogged in my pregnancy update I was put on bed-rest the 5th of January. This is when I was 22 almost 23 weeks pregnant. I was on bed-rest from the 5th through the 21st, taking me to 25 weeks. As previously posted I was then placed in the hospital for a week. I then got to come home because my measurements hadn't changed, all my tests were negative and I wasn't dilating yet. Because my cervix still measured shorter then its supposed to I was told to go home on bed-rest....again. This time I do not get up much at all. I only get up to use bathroom and to shower, and I can sit up all the way to eat my meals. I try to be good about this because I don't want to go back to the hospital, but it does get really really old laying around. I am so grateful that I am home with my family. It was hard being in the hospital with Garet and Paige a couple hours away. With frequent phone calls and texts, visits from my mom, an old high school friend, and a family friend it wasn't that bad. It also helped knowing that Paige was in good hands back at home. My little sister Megan and little brother Jared did so much to help. They had Paige the majority of the time. When Megan had class or wanted to socialize (like normal college students) she got help from neighbors, friends and other family. I know Paige missed us but being with other people that loved her helped.
Since being on bed-rest we have enjoyed frequent visits from family in-town, ward members, my mom, sister in-law Laura and my sister Marlee and Brother Justin. Its been very humbling to have so many people help us. I am not one to sit back and not do much so it gets frustrating at times. I am so grateful for family and church. There have been so many people bring books by, meals, activities for Paige to do, movies and other treats. And I have lost count of all the offers to help with Paige.. I can't forget those that have helped me do laundry and "really" clean my house. Again like I said its very humbling...and I have learned a lot from the examples of my friends of how I need to be. I'm just so lucky to be surrounded by so many wonderful people.
Paige and I have had a lot of one on one time. Before being placed on bed-rest it was still just Paige and I. But now that I am just laying around we read a lot more, watch movies together, do crafts, and color. Mom can't get up and do anything else. Paige loves, loves, loves to color right now. Its a blessing right now because she'll just sit by me for hours coloring. We have gone through 6 different wonder color marker books, and 2 different coloring books in just the last 5 weeks. Paige has also had to "grow up" a little bit more this past month. I didn't realize how much I did for her. She now carries a stool around the house and does what she needs to. (turn lights on/off, reach different toys/food/snacks, reach clothes, get dressed all by herself, climbs on to the toilet by herself)
Garet has also been very good to me the last few weeks. He really has had to pick up extra duty around the house. He gets us breakfast in the morning, gets Paige ready for the day, gets me all set up with what I need and then goes to work. When he gets home from work he cleans up the house, gets dinner if needed or just prepares me dinner if someone brought us some. He then cleans up the kitchen and gets Paige ready for bed and helps me with whatever I need then goes to basketball practice. (he's the coach). By the end of the day he is exhausted. We are so so grateful for him!!!

Paige and I were watching a movie..and the next thing I new she was out. She had squeezed between the couch where I was and our little table. She looked so cute! (this is when I was on moderate bed-rest before being hospitalized. ( I did take the picture but I wasn't being a bad girl. At this time I could get up more frequently.)

Paige and I making Fruit Loop necklaces in my "Bachelor Pad" as Garet calls it. With the help of Garet, my mom and my wonderful neighbor Brandi they have arranged a nice little space for me. With a little rearranging of the room I now can watch TV, and use the computer in my room. I also have 2 sitting chairs where I can visit with people that come, and a nice mini fold up table that I eat meals on, and do activities with Paige on. But the best feature about the room is a mini fridge. Garet makes sure its nice and stocked before going off to work with water and snacks for both Paige and I. The fridge also works good as a side table where I can put my books, water, lamp and stuff like that.
Crafty Paige

Pregnancy

Well for the past couple of weeks I have been trying to get caught up on my blog. I feel I have done pretty good considering I had about 6 months of catch up to do. i still have the month of December to catch up on but do to recent events ive decided to update on pregnancy then finish December. besides i don't have access to my pictures right now. i figured i cant blog about our Christmas without pictures. so on to pregnancy.

well this pregnancy has been really different from paiges. last January i had a preconception consultation with my doctor. he informed me that when i did get pregnant things would be different this time around. so i cant be all surprised that things are now so different from paiges. he informed me that due to my previous pregnancy with Aubrey this pregnancy would be more stressful. and it has been that way. i tried not to worry about losing this baby as i did with Aubrey but its been hard not to at all. i did find great comfort with prayer, family support, priesthood blessings and temple attendance. i really liked the doctors that delivered me with Aubrey so we decided to use them again. the plan was for me to stay with this doctors office until i reached 32 weeks then if all was well i would switch doctors to a local doctor in thatcher. i like them but i want to deliver in thatcher where i can be close to home yet that's only possible if my body and baby cooperate.

the doctors still aren't really sure why my membranes prolapsed with Aubrey resulting in my water breaking and having to be induced at 5 months. they say it could be due to me having an incompetent cervix. they aren't fully convinced of this diagnosis though because paiges pregnancy was completely fine. so when i reached 12 weeks with this baby girl they thought i wouldn't need a cerclage. they had said that through recent studies that a cerclage isn't always effective unless you are certain you have an incompetent cervix . an incompetent cervix is when your cervix thins to early in pregnancy without always having contractions. a cerclage is when they stitch your cervix closed so it doesn't spontaneously open. like everything else placing a cerclage doesn't come with out side effects. after praying about the decision of doing a cerclage or not Garet and i felt really good about trusting the doctors and not placing a routine cerclage at 12 weeks . we decided that it would be better to place what they called an emergency cerclage if i needed one.

so when i reached 16 weeks i started having ultrasounds every 2 weeks to measure our baby. the first measurement was right before thanksgiving (i already posted about that visit in my November post) this is when i found out we were having another baby girl. my cervix looked good at this appointment measuring 5cm in length. the normal at 20 weeks is 4cm so i was right on course. at 18 weeks i was about the same. then when they measured me on the 23 of December and i had dropped to 2.4 - 2.1. (they gave the results in a range because your uterus is a dynamic muscle, meaning it can change in a few degrees quickly) well these results really worried me because i had dropped so much in just a little over 2 weeks. after talking to one of the doctors she recommended that we schedule me to place a cerclage. the date was scheduled for the 28th of December. she then sent me home on moderate bed rest with the additional instructions," don't worry. enjoy your Christmas with your family." ha-ha...yea i tried not to worry but that's OK. i was still able to enjoy time with the family. the only thing when i say bed rest to my mother, and sisters that means strict bed rest. they wouldn't let me do anything but lay on my moms couch. they kinda were getting on my nerves with how strict they were being but i knew it was all out of love and concern.

well the Monday after Christmas i was surprised to get a personal call from one of the doctors in the clinic. she is one of the ones i had seen the most. anyways she had seen my scan and wanted to check me again to make sure i hadn't dropped more over the Christmas weekend. she felt that i should have been on strict bed rest. i explained to her about my family and how they wouldn't let me do anything and she was a little re-leaved. she also wanted to make sure i wasn't in labor causing me to thin so much so quickly.

after getting off the phone and thanking my sisters/mom for being so strict with me, garet and i went back to Tucson. they confirmed i wasn't in labor and my scan now showed i went back up to a 3. we all were shocked with these results and contributed this to be an answer to our prayers. the doctors said i didn't need a cerclage any more and i didn't have to be on bed rest. according to what the doctors say and research I'd done myself you don't have to take extra precautions unless it drops below 2.5cm. so we went back to thatcher and i went back to my life. i tried to still take it easy though with taking lots of rests and not being on my feet to long. because all the changes in my cervix in the last week the doctors wanted to recheck me in a week instead of 2. so a week later i went back in and lo and behold....i went back down to 2.4- 2.1cm. this doctor didn't want to do a circlage yet but wanted me to do moderate bed rest/house arrest again. i found it a little harder this time around because i was at home alone with Paige. it was different being at home and not have 24 hour help me like i had at my moms. Paige did great though and has been a champ through all this. we watched a lot of movies and have colored a lot together. a week later i went back in and my cervix was the same so they said ,"great keep doing what your doing and we'll see you back in about a week to check again." so back to the couch i went. we really have had lots of help. dinner and snacks brought in, lunch almost everyday from garets mom and lots of fun play dates for Paige. i feel so blessed to be around so many wonderful, loving people. i have learned a lot of how i need to be better and more serviceable.

for Christmas garet had surprised me with tickets to wicked. i was supper excited but scared that i wouldn't be able to go. after talking to one of the doctors they told me that if my cervix stayed the same i would be able to go but i would have to go in a wheelchair. after laying down for 2 1/2 weeks and my cervix stayed OK we were really optimistic about going. my doctors appointment was at 230 and our show was at 8. my parents were going to go to wicked that night also. they got to Tucson a little early and met us at the doctors office. before checking my cervix they looked at baby first. the sono-grapher took a lot of time and showed us everything. our little girl was so cute. garet thought she looked like Paige. she had what looked like chubby cheeks, defined lips and a cute little button nose. the sono-grapher couldn't believe how pretty she looked in the pictures. he kept making comments. he also had me press on my stomach and touch the baby while he was doing the ultrasound. i could see my fingers indent into my stomach and touch the babies head. it was really neat to see this. after admiring our beautiful little girl they checked my cervix...and guess what....it was 1.7-1.2cm. so again it dropped. from what i had read on line it said that its a critical measurement if it drops below 1.5cm. so when the sono-grapher left to go show doctor i wasn't to surprised when she came back in and said i needed to go to the hospital. she said it was important to get some steroids on board to help the baby's lungs develop. so...instead of going to wicked with my parents we went across the parking lot to the hospital.

i met another doctor there, he was the head doctor of the clinic. he said pretty much the same thing the other doctor had said. i would be admitted to a room, start me on steroids to help baby's lungs, give antibiotic incase i had an infection.(if you have an infection it can make you go into labor and can also cause your cervix to thin) and they would give me Motrin to help calm my uterus. (apparently i have an over active uterus, i don't have contractions...its just active as they put it.)

so got to my room and hung out with garet. the next morning i continued to just hangout. Saturday afternoon i went and had an amniocentesis done...ouch!!!! the doctor wanted to do an amniocentesis to make sure the baby didn't have tan infection. they stick a thin needle about 3-4 inches long into your abdomen, through your uterus, then into your amniotic sac to take a sample of your amniotic fluid for testing. to make sure they don't hurt the baby they monitor the baby during an ultrasound while the insert the needle. thankfully it doesn't take very long or it would have been very painful. but the doctor was really quick. well that test came back negative...yeah!!! then yesterday morning they did another test called a ffn. during this test the take a sample of fluid by your cervix. if it has a specific drainage you have a high risk of going into labor in next 2 weeks. if the drainage is absent then you have a 98% chance you wont go into labor. well that test was negative also...yeah!!!! after all these negative test results and after completing my steroid injections i was sure they would send me home Monday (today). but then the doctors thought that thatcher would be to far.(2 hour drive) they wanted me closer. so they decided to remeasure my cervix today and then repeat the ffn on Wednesday. if my measurements go up, and ffn still negative then i can go back to thatcher. so today surprising....my cervix measured more at 2.1cm. so most likely I'll be able to go home because my ffn should be negative. I'm so happy!! when i get home i will still have to be on strict bed-rest but i think i can deal with that. I'm just grateful for all our friends and family and for all that they've done for us.

December

I love the month of December. I love the Christmas Season. I love getting out Christmas decorations, lights, listening to music, gift giving and making goodies. Its so fun! Paige actually was old enough to join me in my excitement for the season, which made it even more fun!! We jumped right into the Christmas spirit the first weekend of December. We invited some friends over and we decorated gingerbread men (request of Paige) and gingerbread houses. This has always been one of my favorite traditions. We had a good time. After the gingerbread we ate dinner together and then ran to the Christmas light parade in Safford. Paige really enjoyed it. I thought it was the perfect length of a parade. It wasn't to short or to long, and most of the floats looked pretty good. Paige loved all the lights and the blow up animals/shapes. She wasn't a fan of the sirens from the police cars, semi-trucks and fire trucks. Whenever they drove by making noise she said she was ready to go home. The very next day (Sunday) we got to listen to the First Presidency Devotional. This again has always been one of my favorite ways to jump into the Christmas Season. I have always loved listening to them speak and tell different Christmas stories. On Monday the very next day (12/6) Mom came up to Thatcher with Allison and her kids to dip chocolates. We dipped them like we do every year at Aunt Carolynn's house. Britni, Shannon and Stephani were also there along with Aunt Elaine and Kylane. It was so fun. I ate more chocolate then I needed to but it was fun to just talk and visit. Dipping Chocolates usually just takes about 2 days. We each get to come home with a good amount to give to our friends for Christmas. I can't remember how many pounds of chocolate we used this year but we dipped our version of caramel, toffee, health, almond joys, peanut butter cups, oreo cream puffs, truffle and mint girl scout cookies. (lots of fun treats!!)

Ward Christmas Party (12/18)
The weekend before Christmas we had our ward party. Paige was so excited to see Santa. After dinner we had a short program by the primary children. It was so cute. The kids really did a good job playing their roll. We then sang Christmas carols....and then Santa walked in. It was really fun seeing the look on Paige's face when Santa walked in (pure joy and excitement.) Santa walked around the room greeting different people and as he got closer to where we were sitting I was a little surprised that Paige started getting really nervous. She LOVED santa from afar but not as much close up. Thank goodness Kylee my neice came with us to see Santa. I think because of her Paige got the nerve to go sit on Santa's lap. At first Piage was a little timid but she quickly warmed up.

I was able to catch a picture of her when she saw Santa Walk in. I love it!!!

Paige standing in line with Kylee waiting to see Santa.

I love this picture of her looking up at Santa.
I am grateful for this season that we get to reflect on the life of our Savior and celebrate his birth. I try not to get caught up in the "worldly" aspects of the holidays and remember our Savior. I do however love the "magic" that Santa brings to the Season.

Christmas Dress (12/19)
One of my favorite things when I was little was getting a new Christmas dress. I can't say I still buy myself a new dress every Christmas but I sure enjoy getting Paige one. In the past 3 year I have always gotten a red dress or something close to red. This year I wanted to get her a different color. I thought she looked so cute in it! (Yet I think she's cute in just about anything) I am excited for next years Christmas and having 2 little girls.

Christmas Eve
I have always loved Christmas Eve..and even though this year I was on bed rest it was no exception. We celebrated Christmas in SV with all my family. All of my brothers and sisters and their families were there so it was A LOT of fun and a good crowd. We started the night with the traditional Mexican fiesta dinner. Along with all my siblings Grandma Lunt, Grandma and Grandpa Haymore, Aunt Jan, Uncle Flint and their family, Uncle Ron, Uncle Gary & Aunt Del Anne, Ryan, Camille and their family, Brek and Leah were all there. It was a fun crowd. I didn't take alot of pictures of everyone socializing because I was stuck on the couch but Garet got a few. After eating we had our little Christmas program. This year Paige was a "girl Sheppard" She was so cute. Again I didn't get many great pictures...this time it was because the lighting was bad. Paige loved putting on the "show" as she put it and wanted to do a " Baby Jesus" show every night we were at Grandmas. Actually this past month at home she has been playing Baby Jesus and Mary all month. She found a basket of mine and emptied it for the manger. Then she got some dish towels for swaddling clothes (said Paige) and made a bed for Jesus. She would then try to dress as different rolls (wiseman, Mary, Sheppard, donkey) Its been really cute watching her. Anyways. After the program we had dessert then everyone went home except my brothers and sisters. We took pictures of all of us in our PJ's and then Justin, Karisa and their kids went home. Everyone else stayed at moms. (allison and down)

Kade, Paige, and a little girl I don't know (my cousins friends also came) finishing up dinner.

Justin, Garet, Landon, Mom (in back), Allison, and Grandma Lunt

Paige and I. Don't know what kind of smile this is from Paige....goofy girl. This is where I hung out pretty much all Christmas weekend.

Our Christmas Nativity: Paige, Jacie, Hallie, Cooper, then 2 girls I don't know (again cousins friends kids) and then Karlie as Mary.

Our complete Nativity with the addition of Kade and Brycen (and another kid I don't know in the back by his sisters)

Garet, Paige and I in our matching pjs. This year mom bought all the material and we all made our own families pants. It was fun with everyone matching. Mom said she bought 42 yards!

Grandma & Grandpa with all the grandkids: Kade, Taylor, Teagan, Madi, Hallie, Jacie, Paige and Karlie

All the "Haymore" girls: Madison, Marlee, Allison, Karisa, Mom, Me, Jacie, Hallie, Grandma Lunt, Paige, Megan, and Karlie

Grandma Lunt and Paige- It was so fun to have Grandma Lunt there with us!

Grandma Lunt with the Great Grandkids of the Steve Haymore family

Grandma Lunt- I thought she looked cute in this picture

Paige getting her stocking ready for Santa to come. (I love how her stomach pokes out here.)
The whole gang!!

CHRISTMAS DAY!!
I remember as a kid waking up really early Christmas morning. I couldn't wait to see what Santa had brought us. It was always so much fun and really exciting. This year was no exception besides the fact we woke up a lot later then we usually did compared to when we were kids. Megan, Jordan and Jared woke up fairly early saw their presents and then went back to bed. The rest of us didn't wake up until our kids woke up around 730. It took awhile for Paige to completely wake up but when she did she was excited. Paige got a bike this year from Santa, Garet got a video game and I got 2 watches. There were lots of presents to unwrap under the tree because the amount of people that were at mom and dads. It was fun watching Paige, Kade and Teagan open up presents. While we opened up presents we had the usual hot chocolate, cinnamon rolls, pull apart and orange slices. It was all so yummy!!!
The rest of the the day I just laid around (because I had no other choice :) but the kids just played with their presents and we all visited. Grandma and Grandpa came back down along with Ron, Flint and Jan for the traditional ham and potato casserole dinner. We had a great day. It was fun to be surrounded by all the family.

Paige just saw her bike from Santa and is on her way to check it out.

It was hard to get Paige to take a picture. She was just to excited.

Paige checking out the contents of her stocking.

Unwrapping presents. She was into opening presents a lot more this year then last year.

Our little family Christmas morning,.

New Years Eve
Garet and I really didn't have any plans for New Years. We were kinda waiting around to see what the Goodman's were all doing. When we never heard anything we decided very last minute to go to the cabin with my parents, aunt Jana, and Grandma Lunt and play in the snow. I was still trying to take it easy because I was just taken off bed-rest so I didn't get to play a whole lot in the snow. It was really pretty though. As soon as we turned onto the dirt road there was nothing but snow. It took us awhile to drive from the dirt road to the cabin just because of all the snow. We got there Thursday late afternoon so we didn't have a lot of time to play before it got to dark. It was pretty cold up there to because the sun wasn't out. Friday morning was a little warmer because the sun came out. We had a good time playing in the snow though. That night was New Years Eve. We had different kinds of treats and snacks and played games. Saturday morning we played some more in the snow and then got ready to go home. We had a good time. Paige loved the snow. I am so glad that we had the right clothing for her. I know if we didn't she wouldn't have lasted very long.

This is the road when we turned off onto Turkey Creek.

Paige and Brandi excited and ready to go play in the snow.

Again I'm so glad we had the right snow attire.

Uncle Jared was nice enough to take Paige down the hill a few times on the sled.

Paige and I

Dad and Mom

Garet and I- this is where I sat most of the time watching the kids go up and down the hills. Boy did it look like fun. wish I could have gone on a ride.

Paige had fun going down the hills but decided she liked playing in the snow more.

New Years Eve party..Hallie, Brooklyn, Grandma Lunt, Austin, and Jordan

Brandi, Brenna, and Megan

After eating all his snacks, Garet took a little nap while we played some games.

Playing a game of catch phrase. We played a few games but this one was a favorite. People of all ages can play this games.

Mom eating a snack....we had a good selection

Happy New Year! I love you Garet!!!!

Brenna, Me, Paige, and Megan...and our tiny snowman. From the moment we new decided we were going to go to the cabin and play in the snow all Paige wanted to do was build a snowman. We tried and tried to build a better snowman but the snow was really powdery....this is all we could do. Paige was pleased so that's all the mattered.

Dad brought the horses. i wasn't aloud to ride them because of baby but Jared took Paige on a little ride. she lobed it.

And now a close up of Jared and Paige

Garet tied a long rope to the back of the truck. The kids all sat on their sleds and held onto the rope while Garet drove. They had a good time doing this. I sat with Garet in the front.

Hallie Brandi and Brooklyn also were in the truck with us...until they decided that it looked like lots of fun and joyed the other kids.

Paige even decided that it looked like fun so she got brave and took a ride. She had lots of fun until snow started getting in her face. (Kyler, Paige, Megan, Breena, Brandi, Hallie, Jordan, Brooklyn and Austin)

Close up of Paige and Megan

Paige on the sled by herself.