An Old Friend

Flashback to May. Brooklyn was only a month old.

These pics represent my hospital routine. I would get up each morning - shower - stop to get my diet pepsi (and donut remember?) - and head up to the hospital. If I was lucky and if she was stable enough I was allowed to hold her.

Holding her on the vent was tough. It was scary. It was a difficult process to get her from her bed to my chest. We always had two nurses and a respiratory therapist standing by to help out. Once she was settled, there we would sit...for as long as her little body could handle it. They said 'skin to skin' always benefited the baby, but there were definitely times I thought otherwise. Or maybe I just didn't like seeing her hold her breath during these times.

We'd sit for up to an hour. My left hand under her non existent bum, my right hand holding my gown closed over her body to keep her warm. I wouldn't rock, I wouldn't move. I was terrified I'd bump her breathing tube. Or hurt her. So we'd sit utterly still. My left hand would be numb by the time they put her back in bed. I'd softly rest my chin on her plum size head and look forward to the day we could rock her to sleep at home instead of in the NICU. Our smart nurses always had me keep my back to her monitors. I was a 'number watcher', my heartbeat speeding up each time she threatened to drop her oxygen levels. They said Brooklyn could sense my stress. Ignorance is bliss, so this was always the setup.

Now fast forward to last night....

We love to be able to rock our baby anytime we want now. In fact we've created a monster at bedtimes because she has to be rocked to sleep. Oops. But we are so grateful we can do this, because for months we weren't allowed to.

Brooklyn is not cuddly, sadly. She does not like to be cuddled, hardly at all. But she does cuddle when she's not feeling well.

So why the trip down memory lane??

We pulled out our old friend - the monitor - last night. Brooklyn gave us a bit of a scare at dinner. She fell asleep in Roger's arms, so we tucked her in her carseat. Roger happened to look over at her and asked me "Does she look pale to you?"

Oh my did she ever. Chalky white in fact. Like I've never seen that color on a baby before - and I'm a nurse! He moved so fast, I didn't have time to blink. He yanked her out of her carseat and put her on her belly and rubbed her back.

We're not sure what was going on and I didn't have time to assess if she was breathing or not. She woke up immediately, but it took her a good few minutes to get her rosy cheeks back. Once we got home she threw up everything she had eaten.

We're fairly certain she had a tummy bug, but still not sure what happened during dinner. She may have thrown up in her sleep and stopped breathing for a minute. Or maybe she was getting ready to puke and that was her body's way of getting ready. We're not sure.

So out came the pulse ox machine to give us some peace of mind. Overboard? Probably. But we'll keep it on her at night for a few days anyway.

And to top off our night, our basement has been full of water the past two days. We have a windowwell on the north side of our house that keeps filling with water from all this lovely rain. So my studly husband has been setting alarms through the night to get up and bail out the water so it will stop spilling over into our basement.

On a lighter note, Merry Christmas Eve!!

Awesome

Just because she's cute, some pics for your enjoyment. Mine too.

Go Jazz

Our Jazz have done very well lately, so you can imagine how excited my husband was when my dad offered us two tickets to the Jazz game last week - in the suite! Oh yummy food. I also love that my inherited brother (aka...Dusty - Roger's brother), was willing to come in my dad's place when he decided he couldn't go anymore. Love that the Gardner men are willing to go with such a random group - my mom, Rog and I, and a dang cute baby! :)

Brooklyn LOVES Uncle Dusty. Just look at that smile. Melts ya every time!

Lights

We love to see the lights. We stop to get awesome hot chocolate and wander until we're freezing cold. This year we spilled the hot chocolate everywhere. And Brooklyn slept through most of our walking (bedtime was way past, awesome parents aren't we?) But we'll most likely go see the lights one more time before Christmas just because we can.

Can you see her little face in there? She was so tucked in and toasty warm. Made us want to crawl in there with her!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Love,

Roger, Ashlee and Brooklyn

Wedding Bells!

Davis popped the question last night!

These two have loved each other since they were just little elementary school kids.

Congrats Whitney and Davis! We are so thrilled for you two!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Oh that's right, Thanksgiving is past. I'm behind, but had to post pics from our Thanksgiving fun.

Pre-Thanksgiving dinner with Meg and Dev. (Meg had to fly home to work the entire holiday weekend.)

Followed by a visit back to the good old stomping grounds to see 'Cinderella' at Hillcrest High School. Roger decided he didn't want to see a bunch of singing, so he watched the munchkin and Callie brought AJ instead!

Came home to have some camera fun with Brooklyn. Love her.

And finally, our actual Thanksgiving at the Gardners. So much fun. Liz and Adam announced that Gardner grandbaby #20 will be arriving next year!! Congrats guys!

This is one of two tables of people. We're a huge family and still growing!

And of course, the day after Thanksgiving shopping...the babies joined us! What a stud this guy is. This would be Kaden Cole. I could eat him up.

Can't believe Christmas is next week!!!!!!!!!!!!

A House Divided

Who to cheer for?

UTAH vs. BYU

Who was there??

The Gardner family. Notice I am the ONLY one cheering on our Utes.

(Brooklyn is neutral at this point)

Did NOT have a happy husband at the end of the game. And Brooklyn was done with all of the insane noise - some of that noise was not 'happy' noise during that last play.

Brooklyn consoling Grandpa Gary

Yes, we are a house divided. So with as much tact and grace as I can muster, I say.....

GO UTES!!!!!!!!

Tis the Season

It's the most wonderful time of the year!!
(Doesn't she remind you of the movie "Christmas Story"?)

I love love love this time of the year! So many fun things to do!

• Time to put the coats back on, light the candles (cinnamon, from Taipan to be exact), buy egg nog, and eat cookies
• First snowfall!! Can I say how fun it is to celebrate the season as a larger family this year!

• Do some Christmas shopping (okay, okay...I started mine in September. Pathetic I know. Can't help myself.), gear up for the holidays, spend time with family....and the list goes on!
• Did I already say eat cookies? And buy egg nog?

Roger and I are in trouble. We have a bad habit of buying frozen cookie dough and baking "a few" on the nights we're both home. Store bought cookie dough is gross, but not straight out of the oven! How about we get an extra present under the tree for every pound we gain? That way I won't feel so guilty. Bring on the holidays!!

Meg and Dev are in town. This was Brooklyn's reaction. Also the picture I sent both of them as they landed at the airport. Don't ya just love this girl?

She has also taken on a new habit. We call this the 'monkey' face. No idea what she's chewing on when she does this, but it sure makes us laugh. She has found her voice and 'talks' to us all the time. Maybe this face is her version of having a conversation with us? :)

And finally, tucking in for her "long winter nap". If you call one hour naps long.

Happy Holidays to all! I've wrapped all of Roger's gifts... who wants help wrapping theirs? I'll make you a cookie if you come over! Two or three if you ask nicely. :)

Yes I'm lame. What can I say...repeat title!