Miss Reagan

The past two weeks have been really crazy, so I have some catching up to do. First things first. This will not be news to everyone, but I haven't posted about it, and for all intents and purposes this is my scrapbook, so I am going to record it all.

Little Miss Reagan, in all of her Swain girl glory, was born with some anomalies. The extra toe, as it turns out, is one of them. Along with a clubbed foot, clubbing in her hands, a very high and miss-shaped pallet and tracheaomalasia (soft trachea). She has also struggled to gain weight. All of these things separately are really not a big deal for the most part. The toe will come off, we are in the process of fixing her foot, her trachea will harden with time (for now it just makes her breathing noisy) and her hands should normalize as she gets older. The roof of her mouth isn't too much of an issue now but it may give her problems with speech later on. And her weight is getting better, after 2 weeks on a higher calorie diet she had gained a whole pound! (She weighed in at 9 lbs. 4 oz.) All in all, nothing too crazy or serious.... separately. But because of the collection of things our doctor is concerned about a heart defect and possible genetic syndromes. So, Miss Reagan has (or will) become acquainted with a few specialists.

The Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon is working with us to straighten her foot and will be taking off her toe. He also confirmed to us after seeing her that her heart is most likely a factor and suggested genetic testing as well.

And after LOTS of dr. visits and consults, we are now waiting to see the Pediatric Cardiologist. Depending on what we find there, we will move on to the Geneticist. Just to be clear so there isn't any undo concern about this, genetic syndromes can be very serious, but not all of them are. They are also not all mental/developmental. (This is her having a conversation with her dad. He is currently her favorite person!)

She is developing right on track, other than being a little on the small side. But she is doing all of the things she should be. And she really is a happy and very sweet little addition to our family! We love her SO much!

There are not words for how I feel about my kids... but I LOVE them, so much more than I could ever say! The past few weeks have been challenging and exhausting and kind of scary. I'd be lying if I said I am not stressing. But I am grateful for this experience. No matter what the outcome may be! It has made me so acutely aware of my kids and their importance to me and how very happy they make me! I am so incredibly grateful for the blessing it is to be their mom!

"Patrick's" Day

Yep, it's his! (Just ask the Chapman's!) :) He's secretly thrilled that they gave him his own holiday! haha. They always get him all kinds of green goodies! AND HE LOVES IT! The kids got cards from Grandma and their cousins, Sammy and Erica! They get pretty excited whenever they get mail, but these were kind of special! They miss their cousins A LOT! So naturally they were VERY excited to get something from them! :) (Reagan literally fell asleep as I was taking the picture! haha.)

I kind of dropped the ball on the green holiday! I didn't even remember to dress the boys in green! (I know, I'm a slacker!) So instead, we made Harrison his long overdue Super Harrison cape! (With green!) And they were Super Heroes instead of Leprechauns! :)We also had some surprise visitors! Nolan and Carolyn stopped by, they were taking a trip to pick up a new (to them, it's actually 55 years old) car! A classic 1955 Chevy BelAir! :) They ended up staying with us for the night. It was a nice surprise to have them here!

What a randomly fun holiday! :)

Elder Swain

Today at church Jackson learned about 'missionmaries'. He looked pretty handsome with his totally cool name tag, so we had to take his picture. He seems to think being a missionary is cool, but he's not totally sold on the leaving home part yet.... I can imagine to a 4 year old, that probably seems a little extreme! haha. Don't worry dude, no one is rushing it!
...Patrick got his old name tag out to show the boys. (The thing was covered in tape and stickers! I had to laugh because he kept telling them not to break it! haha. Granted, they can break just about anything! ...But it did survive for 2 years clipped to a teenage boy in the jungle so... lol.)

They think making funny faces for the camera is the funniest thing ever! (And Harrison smelled like something had died in his pants!)

Naturally when it was time to get ready for bed we were graced with a pretty amazing gun show!

Oh my gosh, they are funny... and we are never board! :)

**Totally random side note: I love it when Patrick gets to go to church with us!!! Not only is it easier getting there and keeping kids in line, but it's just better!

Best Camping Trip EVER!

This is totally my kind of camping! (I have weakened in my old age, I like having a warm bed and a bathroom! I know, I'm a wuss!) We didn't have to deal with weather or bugs or outhouses or anything else. And the only wild animals we had to worry about were the 2 inside the tent!

Jackson got it in his head that we needed to have a camp out! So... we went all out... but never actually went anywhere! haha. The tent was a little bigger than we remembered, it almost didn't fit in the house. But we worked it out... and we are now officially THE COOLEST PARENTS EVER! Please, hold your applause!

So it was a little bit of work, but we had 2 VERY happy boys!

Reagan even took a little nap in there today with Dad. (Or maybe he napped, she snuggled.)

I am going to petition for this kind of camping more often! All the fun of actually doing it, without ever leaving the house! :) Perfect!

PS. You may not be able to tell, but Patrick was as bad as the other 2! He had a lot of fun! :)

Family Home Evening

This week has been really difficult and crazy and exhausting for a lot of reasons, some of which I'm not ready to talk about yet! But the good news is... some of it is passing. :)

Both boys are doing much better, we are mostly infection free! (Harrison still has a cold.) So we had FHE tonight (it's easier for us to do it on Patrick's days off) and we chose to do it on faith and priesthood blessings. We don't do long or elaborate lessons, because we obviously have an attention span issue. :) But the boys were really good, they sat and listened and Jackson was just full of answers! After talking a little bit about priesthood power, he decided it was like magic! haha.

They really love to go to church and to have FHE, they even fight over who gets to bless the food or say family prayers! It warms my heart to see my kids growing love for the gospel. It's always been such a huge part of my life. And I LOVE to hear them talk about the Savior! They have the sweetest spirits and testimonies. ...To end this week, that has often left me struggling to breath, with a night together as a family talking about faith and blessings was exactly what I needed!

We ended the lesson with Patrick giving Reagan her very first fathers blessing. It was wonderful. ....Which means I cried like a baby! :) My concerned little men were right there giving me hugs and consoling me. I told them I was happy, but I don't think they believed me! :) (Jackson told me I should get a Pepsi "because it always makes you happy, Mom." LOL! He knows me too well!) Oh, my kids... They are like little pieces of me... Vital pieces! And Patrick... I wish there was a better word than "love" to express how I feel about that man! "Grateful" doesn't seem adequate either! So maybe there aren't words! ...Hopefully he knows!!!

Mostly, I just needed to remember this day! I have been SO emotional this week. But at the end of this day I was really overwhelmed with Love. Love for my Father in Heaven and for my Savior. For the priesthood and the man in my home who holds and honors it. Love for the 3 very special little people who have completely changed my life and completed it. And love for the people so far away who love us.

...So memory saved!

Sunday Best

Reagan went to church for the first time last Sunday. It was interesting trying to get all 4 of us there by my self, but I managed to get there on time. (Which is a small miracle if you know me!) The boys tested me all through Sacrament, but went to their classes without any trouble. And Reagan was really good the whole time, she mostly slept, but I wasn't complaining. I had to take some pics of her when we got home though, she looked SO cute! :)

And as it goes with small kids and church, we are not going today. Why? Because we managed to contract 2 cases of pink eye, an ear infection and a horrible cold since last Sunday. Jackson started it with the pink eye and ear infection, which meant it was only a matter of time before Harrison got one or both. So far it's just been the pink eye and a horrible cold.... and he is now fevering, so probably the ear infection too. Reagan is doing well, thank goodness. And I.... am EXHAUSTED! So is life! :)

R is for Rodeo

As it turns out, Arizona is gradually growing on Patrick. He's not so much of a hater now that it's winter... and AWESOME! But this past week his love grew a little deeper! In the big AZ the Rodeo is pretty much a holiday! Yep, even the kids get out of school! haha. Instead of Presidents Day they get to have Rodeo off. haha. It's almost like we've died and gone to the make believe world in Patrick's head! :) So naturally, he took the boys... and, as shocking as it's not, they LOVED it! They also got them some cowboy gear. They look pretty sharp in their new hats!

Harrison kept talking about people falling, it included a lot of sound effects. He is hilarious, he even cracks himself up! And Jackson spent the rest of the day walking his bull around. (Nope, there isn't a bull. Not even a toy one. This one is better, I don't have to feed it or put it away! ) It could do tricks. And he was very good at riding it all over the house! :)

In the area we are in they also had a little carnival type thing going on. It was fun for the kids... ponies, petting zoo, train rides, mechanical bull, and jumping castles.

There was also a live band (they were pretty good) that caused some issues for Jackson! (He HATES loud noises) This is him hiding behind a garbage can! HAHA!

So, here's to Rodeo week! :) There really should be a holiday just for Rodeos... oh wait... that would probably fall under the 4th of July. Too bad AZ doesn't really get into that one! :P It's more of a Cinco De Mayo crowd down here! haha.

The FRO (the brown one)

I was trying to get some good pictures of her hair, because I LOVE it! (And I'm secretly scared that it might fall out!) Since she looked so cute yesterday, it seemed like a good time! It is getting SO long! And it totally does it's own thing, it can get pretty wild. (I need to take some pics of the back of her head.) I can clip things in it, which is great. Because her head is really small, so her headbands don't fit yet. I just look at her and can't believe she is mine! ...Actually, most people look at her and can't believe it either! haha. (The camera was kind of close... it makes her eyes cross! lol.)
She literally looks like this the entire time she is awake. She never makes a peep unless she is hungry. She is the best baby ever... like the kind you don't actually believe exist! haha. She is even sleeping for about 5 - 7 hours already at night! I don't know how I got lucky, but I am not complaining! She is the sweetest thing ever! And I love her to pieces!