Easter, Birthday, Life

 

This picture was taken before Gideon's heart surgery. You can see his bluish lips and cheeks.  That was a pretty common site before surgery. The stairs are a challenge because he is so unstable. We don't know if he is wobbly from being light headed at times or because he lacks muscle tone due to the lack of proper nutrition during the first two years of his life, but whatever the reason, we hope he gets stronger and more stable quickly now.  More oxygen to the brain has to be a good thing!  

We are noticing how much weight Hyrum and Bria have gained in the 18 months we have had them.  So we expect Gideon will do the same, especially now that his body is working better.

 

 

Gideon with his handsome older brother Creed.  It's been hard to catch Creed with a good smile in pictures lately - so either he really likes his new younger brother or he is not embarrassed anymore by the braces he just got taken off.   Maybe both.....

 

Here is another special little guy in our life.  Grandson Preston Heath.  

The cuteness continues to the second generation!

 

Hyrum showing off his Easter treasures.  He loves hard boiled eggs and he had to wait 3 days after coloring the eggs to have the Easter egg hunt.  He ate every one in his basket.

 

Mom pulling weeds during the Easter egg hunt.  Or at least that is what I accused her of.  You see, Deanne has this urge to pull weeds whenever she is outside.  The kids can even substantiate this.   And it's a disorder that doesn't just manifest itself in our yard.  Oh no.  She can be anywhere, anytime and if there are weeds in sight, she starts shaking and breaks into a cold sweat until she can satisfy her addiction to become one with nature and rid the area of the offending weeds.  She thinks it is due to a lack of minerals so she needs to get her hands dirty to provide the supplemental nutrients she lacks in her diet.  I was already a little embarrassed that I had not fired up the weed eater this year yet.  After all, we had been home from china for an entire week before we had the backyard Easter egg hunt.  So when I saw her pulling weeds I had to take a picture of it.  Actually, she was helping Gideon in his FIRST EVER Easter egg hunt and she said he wouldn't reach his hand down through the tall grass to grab the hidden egg.  So she explained that she was clearing the grass so Gideon would grab the egg.  At least that is her story and she is sticking to it....   

 

Gideon caught on really quickly to competition side of the fun. 

 

Clayson's birthday that had to wait a few extra days when Gideon was admitted to the hospital.  He wanted a white chocolate fountain with all the fixin's for dippin.  What happened to cake and ice cream for a kids birthday??

 

Life still happened while Deanne and I were rotating our shifts at the hospital.  Here is Casey taking advantage of the lack of parental supervision.  At least he put on his helmet and pads  :)  BTW - for those of you wondering about how we get mobile for long road trips, our 22 passenger bus is in the background.  Deanne drives the 15 passenger sport edition Chevy around town. 

 

Cuts, pokes, tube holes, etc...

 

Still smiling all the way!

 

Doing what 2 year olds do best...

 

With a little help from his brother and sisters.