Stitches . . . again (with pictures)

This time it was B. He was out riding his bike when he heard a loud pop. He thought it might be his tire, so he hit his brakes, got off his bike by flipping his leg onto the opposite pedal and hopped off, then his bike tipped over and his head hit the end part of his hand grips on the handle bar!

Brandon & I were inside and we heard this horrendous scream right before the front door opened. He ran inside and was dripping blood all over the front entryway. I grabbed some cotton balls to push to his head, then walked him into the bathroom. As soon as I saw the cut, I knew we'd have to go get stitches. His pedi's office was already closed (that ALWAYS seems to happen to us), so he & I headed off the to the Instacare while Brandon took Scott and Gavin to Pack Meeting.


A close-up


Poor guy - he was really hurting at this point

They got us in pretty quickly, then put some Lydocaine on his cut to numb it up. While it was numbing, they brought in a little portable DVD player and let him watch "Night at the Museum." He was quite happy about that. They changed the Lydocaine a couple of times, then the dr. came in to start the stitches.


Kickin' back watching his movie

They irrigated the cut to clean it off, then wiped off the excess blood. The dr. told him that it wasn't supposed to hurt, and that if it did, B was to let him know. He put the first stitch in and B was hurting, so they stopped to give him a little shot to finish numbing it up. After that, he was good. He kept very still when he was supposed to, so he didn't have to be wrapped onto the bed like Gavin was, and four stitches later, he was done!


Right before the dr. started doing the stitches


During the stitches - he was pretty relaxed here, but didn't fall asleep

He's feeling quite good right now, although when the Lydocaine wears off, I think he'll probably have a good headache. His favorite part? Well, you might say the movie. Brandon & I did. But, if you did, you're wrong. The Lydocaine made his head numb and cold. When the dr. put the shot in his eyebrow to finish numbing, he said that it might burn a bit as it was going. That was B's favorite part. His head was cold, so it warmed his head up quite nicely so he was comfortable!

So, we have to go back in five days to have the stitches taken out, and he'll have quite a fun scar to show off. Now all of the kids have had stitches - Scott's hand (multiple times), B's forehead, and Gavin's lip. And we're just adding another boy to the mix. *sigh*

Heaven help me!

Rescheduled Toady's surgery

So, Brandon got our new insurance packet and after looking things over (deductibles, my maternity stuff . . .) we decided to postpone Toady's surgery, and get everything in that we can in the same school year. So, his surgery is now on September 21st instead of this coming Monday!

I'm still looking for ideas for good movies to watch with him - oldies, cartoons, non-cartoons . . . :) I just won a Disney's Chip and Dale classics off of eBay, and I'm so looking forward to it! I grew up with Chip and Dale, and I'm sure Gavin will love them too! :)

Haner for the baby's name?

Okay, so I posted this a few days ago, but then posted other things right after it, so it got kind of buried, and only had one response! (Love ya', Jen!) But, I thought it deserved a repost, so here goes!

A couple of months ago, Brandon & I went to Borders to check out some baby names books. We sat down to peruse them and Brandon came across a section in one book on how to make up your own name.

For example, if you want a strong sounding name, you start with this (these) letters, or if you want a masculine name, you use these letters, if you want an athletic name . . .

So, we started playing around with the letters to make up names, and Brandon came up with the name Haner. We sat there and laughed so hard at this name, that it has become a family joke. Anytime we need to laugh, one of us will just say, "Haner."

Anyway, fast forward to a couple of weeks ago. It had been a stressful day, and I was a bit perturbed with Brandon, the boys, life, etc . . . when we got a phone call. Wanna know the name on the caller id?

Steve Haner.

It must be a sign. Oh, and we don't know anybody by the name of Steve Haner.

And, just for the record, we WON'T be naming the baby Haner.

Not even the middle name.

Scott's first Day Camp

So, since Scott turned eight and he became a scout, he got to go to the Day Camp this year. He was SO excited, and was talking about it weeks before the event. The boys had to be at the church at 7:30 in the morning, so Brandon & I got up early with little Scottie to help him get ready. I made lunch for he and Brandon (Brandon went with him), and then sent them off!

When they got home, Scottie was just beaming! It was so fun to listen to him tell me all about his day, the things he had won, earned, or bought, and the activities that he got to participate in. He went to bed with a big smile on his face 'cause he was so happy!

Promontory Point & the Spiral Jetty

So, for one of our day get-aways this summer we decided to head to Promontory Point where the Golden Spike was driven in to finish the Transcontinental Railroad. The day we decided to go they had a re-enactment of the event, plus, we got in free! Bonus!

Part of the re-enactment

One of the engines "whooshing" its steam


All of the groups during the re-enactment

It was raining and cold, so Scott was hiding in his jacket


Watching the re-enactment in the rain

After we watched the re-enactment we went inside the museum and watched a demonstration on the use of the bayonet. At the end the presentation, Braden hobbled over and told me that his toenail was falling off. (A week or two before that, he was running outside and fell and scraped up his toe pretty badly. We had just been waiting for the toenail to fall off.) It started bleeding, so we sat there until everyone left, then Brandon went in search of a bandaid while I took our little Swiss Army knife scissors and trimmed the rest of it off.

After that, we saw that people were climbing right up next to the engines, so we went back outside and took some pictures next to the engines. We couldn't get in them, but we got some good pictures up close.

Up close to the engine

B next to one engine - these engines are HUGE!!

My sweetheart

We noticed the sand on the track, and decided it must be for traction when they need it

Follow the gold tube up - the top of that is the sand "bucket"

B trying to pull the engine - he must not have had his Wheaties this morning!

By then, everybody was freezing, so we loaded back up in the truck and headed out to the Spiral Jetty in the Great Salt Lake. We had overheard a museum worker telling someone else that you had to have 4-wheel drive to get out there, as it was a bumpy ride. And it was. Very bumpy.

But, we made it out there, saw the jetty, picked up some cool pieces of salt, and then it started to rain. So, we hiked through the rain back up to the truck, where I realized that my feet were quite sore. So, I took off my sandals and found that my feet were really swollen. The marks from my sandals stayed on my feet for another couple of hours before fading. Yikes!

The Spiral jetty

Gavin & Brandon posing - G insisted on wearing his swim suit even though we told him it would be cold

Standing on the jetty looking out at the lake - you can see how wet Scott's jacket was

The sandal marks on my feet

As we left, we were looking out the window at the lake, and saw this HUGE ball out in a drained part of the lake. So, Brandon & Scott headed out to investigate. They decided that it was probably an old, rusted out anchor that was used to anchor a boat dock at some point.

The anchor

Scott investigating the ball

All in all, we had a lot of fun, even if it was cold and rainy! If you ever get a chance you should come out this way and check out Promontory Point, and if it's warm, head to the lake to play in the salt, then head our way for a visit! My door's open!

Ultrasound Pictures

So, as I was writing down a list of topics that I needed to include in updating my blog, I realized that I hadn't posted pictures of our anatomy ultrasound. Including some very obvious boy parts! So, here they are! Enjoy. (Sorry they're small; I had to scan them in. But, if you want to see them close-up, just click on them.)

Definite boy parts!!


His spine, and a 3D of his arms over his head

3D of his back and the back of his head (turned looking towards the right)

a 3D of his spine and the tops of his legs. He's sitting cross-legged.

Toady needs surgery

So, we went to the ENT this morning to have him confirm our suspicions that Gavin needs to have his tonsils and adenoids out. We scheduled his surgery for August 31st with the time to be determined. The boys (for some reason) are very excited that Gavin gets to have surgery. I'm getting ready to hunker down on the couch with him for a couple of days and watch some movies while we eat ice cream! Can anyone recommend some good movies that a 4-year old will enjoy? I can only do Mickey Mouse Clubhouse so many times in a day!

Haner for the baby's name?

A couple of months ago, Brandon & I went to Borders to check out some baby names books. We sat down to peruse them and Brandon came across a section in one book on how to make up your own name.

For example, if you want a strong sounding name, you start with this (these) letters, or if you want a masculine name, you use these letters, if you want an athletic name . . . So, we started playing around with the letters to make up names, and Brandon came up with the name Haner. We sat there and laughed so hard at this name, that it has become a family joke. Anytime we need to laugh, one of us will just say, "Haner."

Anyway, fast forward to a couple of weeks ago. It had been a stressful day, and I was a bit perturbed with Brandon, the boys, life, etc . . . when we got a phone call. Wanna know the name on the caller id?

Steve Haner.

It must be a sign.

And, just for the record, we WON'T be naming the baby Haner.

Not even the middle name.

Wrestling boys

Sometimes my boys seriously fight, are mad at each other, and just can't get along. Other times, it's like this (all day long):

And this, about six hours later:

Toad's birthday

So, for Gavin's birthday, we had a two-day celebration. The whole Shaffer clan was up and together, so we decided to have a BBQ with cake & ice cream afterwards. It was fun to have the whole family together and to watch all of the kids interact with each other. Gavin was spoiled (or should I say "much loved?") and enjoyed his b-day BBQ very much.

Opening his present from Grandma Shaffer


Loving the squishy ball he got from his cousins


These two boys are the same age and it was so fun to watch them compare notes about things they knew - space, math, science . . .

Blowing out the candles


Diggin' in


He wanted his blue sucker more than his cupcake

The next morning was his actual birthday so we got up and let him open up one of his presents. He LOVES Mickey Mouse, and I found some MM underwear at Target that I knew he would love. And, he did!! He was so excited to have MM underwear, and every morning he gets up and asks if he can wear those ones. If they're in the dirty clothes waiting to be washed, he's disappointed.

Hmm . . . which ones should I wear today?

After breakfast, we let him open the rest of his presents. At school when the kids celebrate their birthdays, they get a crown that they can wear the whole day. So, I decided to make a birthday crown for our birthday celebrations. I got a foam crown, and then glued large jewels on it. The boys thought it was awesome, and any time Gavin would take it off his head (which wasn't often that day) they would sneak it onto their head.


This monster truck sticks its tongue out when the body is lifted up, and Gavin was copying it! You can see how much he's enjoying sticking his tongue out!


He was so excited to open this present that he was just throwing the paper off

A few weeks prior to his b-day, we were at his cousins house and he found a doll with a magic bottle. He sat there for 15 - 20 minutes feeding this baby, burping her, rocking her. Sometimes he'd lay her down and walk away, then come back and check on her, so we decided to give him his own baby. He has loved this little doll!


Feeding his baby - which he named Joy

The boys had to take turns feeding the baby, too

Sitting with his loot - lots of Mickey Mouse

The baby started to fuss, so he had to feed her

We love you so much, Gavin, and are so thankful you're a part of our family. You keep us laughing and entertained, and on our toes! Happy 4th Birthday, little man!

Air Show 2009

So, in June, HAFB had an air show that we just had to go to. We love their air shows - walking through the airplanes, seeing the different eras of planes and how they've evolved, watching the stunt planes, but most of all, we love watching the Thunderbirds perform their routine and stunts.

We got to the base early afternoon, grabbed a spot to sit and enjoy the show, then Brandon went off with the boys for a bit to wander through some planes. The boys always love walking through these, and really love getting to sit in the cockpit in the pilots' seat. They always have a blast, so we've decided that anytime there's an air show nearby, we'll be going! Enjoy!

A monster truck that was parked at the entrance

Some of the awesome planes there

We watched this cargo plane take off - straight up - watched it fly around for a bit, then come land. It was pretty cool!

Me & Gavin watching the Thunderbirds

The Thunderbirds in action

This plane was parked right behind us . . .

. . . so the older boys went and walked through it . . .

. . . and sat down for a minute . . .

. . . and came out totally happy!