An eventful 24 hours

The past 24 hours have been quite eventful. It all started last night at 10:30 when Hollyn woke up with croup. I went in to give her a drink and the next thing I know she has strider and can't catch her breath. I rush her to the urgent care right by our house and they are closed so I have to take her to the ER. After about an hour in the ER and one nasty dose of medicine, we are on our way home and she is breathing normal again. By 11:45 we are back home and in bed, but Hollyn had a tough time going to sleep and kept coming in out bedroom. I thought she would sleep in but she was up at her normal time.
Since the weather outside was a frightful 20 degrees which is actually 2 degrees if you add the wind chill, we where stuck inside and decided to make some banana bread. While making banana bread I dropped a 5 lb bag of sugar on my finger which was on top of a measuring cup. Instantly my finger nail turned black and I felt the worst pain I have ever felt. This may seem strange but it was even more painful than having Paige. Thank goodness I still had a few pain meds left over from having Paige, so I popped in an 800 ml of IB prophen. (I don't think I spelled that right) That didn't even stop the pain so I decided I needed to go see the Doc to make sure my finger wasn't broken. To make a long story short my finger is fine, and the doctor just burned a hole in my nail to release the pressure the blood was causing.
We are all fine now and pain free. Hollyn is breathing and my finger is no longer throbbing.

Christmas Cards

It's that time of year again. You may have already received and email about this, but I thought I would repeat myself for those of you who I might not have your email address. I am in need of addresses. For some reason I can't find any of my past address lists, so if you wouldn't mind please send me a quick email of your current address. For those of you who don't know we have moved since last year, so if you need our address let me know in your email. Here's a preview of our card this year.

What's been going on

I have been a huge slacker in the blogging department. Last month we had Dan's parents in town for a few days visiting. It was great to have them here and to spend time with them. Hollyn had a blast playing with her new polly pockets and playing pretend with her Nonni and Papa. No one plays pretend Santa and Santa princess better. Thanks for visiting and for the yummy food.


For Thanksgiving we got together with our friends the Andersons again. The food was delicious and it was fun just hanging out and letting our huge meal digest. The best part is that our girls are the same age so they keep themselves entertained. I almost forgot. For the ward Turkey Bowl this year Dan and about 60 other guys in the stake got to play in the Husker Stadium. Some guy in our ward has connections and set the whole thing up. Sorry no pictures it was about 20 degrees outside and at 7:30in the morning.



The next morning I got up bright and early with a friend to catch the after Thanksgiving sales. I got all of my Christmas shopping done in one day, and I was even able to snag myself a few things. I don't love getting up early, but you can't beat the sales, plus the weather wasn't too cold this year.

My Girls

 

A friend of mine recently took some pictures of Paige for her birth announcement pictures. There were so many good ones, but I loved this one of both of the girls. This picture shows how much Hollyn loves her baby sister. More to come soon.

Halloween, Goodbye Grandma & More Paige

For Halloween Hollyn wanted to be a princess. Big Surprise! For the past few Halloweens I have been talking her into being something else, because I figured eventually all she would want to be was a princess. She decided she wanted to be Sleeping Beauty. Once she put on her gown and dress you would have thought she really was Sleeping Beauty by the way she pranced around and sang everywhere she went. We decided we would wait till next year to dress up Paige since she would only be a week old, so instead she wore a little Halloween outfit that said Daddy's little devil. For Halloween, my mom, Dan, Paige and I took Hollyn to the outdoor mall by our house for trick or treating. All of the stores pass out candy, so you know the candy is safe. When we got home my mom and Dan took Hollyn trick or treating around our neighborhood. Both of our neighbors are older couples and they absolutely love Hollyn. They are our Nebraska grandparents.



On the 4th my mom went back to AZ. It was sad to see her go. I can't say enough how grateful I am to my mom and all she did for us the past few weeks. Thanks Dad for letting us have Mom for so long. She took Hollyn to all of her stuff, she cooked meals, she cleaned the house, she did the laundry, and she made sure I took naps. My mom basically pampered me. I guess we still need our moms when we get older. Thanks Mom, we miss you already.


A quick update on Paige and a few pictures of our little girl. She is starting to gain a little weight, I think she might even be 7 lbs now. She is awake for most of the morning and some of the afternoon. She doesn't mind being loved on by her big sister, who is usually soft, but sometimes gets a little to excited. One of my favorite things about Paige is that she laughs and smiles constantly in her sleep. It is the cutest thing I have ever seen. She also is a cuddler. Paige can sleep all night long if she is lying on someones chest. We love you Paigey!

Paige Lee Broadbent

Our sweet little Paige joined our family on October 20 at 12:23 pm. Her middle name is after her grandma and pomp. The bonus is that she has the same initials as her nonni. Everything went smoothly thanks to great doctors, nurses, anesthesiologists, and all of grandma's help. Paige was 6lbs 6 oz. and 18 1/4 inch long. She looks a lot like Hollyn, except that she has lots of blond hair. Hollyn's hair was much darker when she was born, so who knows how blond Paige is going to be. Paige and I came home from the hospital yesterday afternoon. We couldn't have been more pleased with the hospital and staff. All of my nurses were wonderful, the food was great, and the hospital itself was really nice. Dan, Hollyn, and Grandma couldn't get enough of the hospitality room. They have a room for family stocked with food, snacks, drinks, and treats.
Paige is a wonderful baby. She is eating well, sleeping lots at night and loves hugs and kisses from her big sister. Hollyn can't get enough of her and wants to hold her all day long. She is learning how to cradle Paige and kiss her softly on the cheek. Now I just need to teach her how to change Paige's diapers.




Thanks for all your calls, emails, prayers and visits. We are doing great!

Tomorrow is the big day

So tomorrow at noon I am going under the knife and coming out with a new addition to our family. The closer the date has come the more nervous I have become, until last night. Last night I had some serious contractions for a few hours until the baby dropped. This morning I realized that having a c-section is not so bad, especially when I don't have to go through labor and a c-section. I decided to make a list of the things I am most excited about:
1. Seeing my feet again
2. Not bumping into everything with my stomach
3. Not having to pull up my pants every 5 seconds
4. Being able to climb out of the foam pit (you had to be there)
5. Working out again
6. The best part is seeing my beautiful baby girl for the first time and holding her in my arms
The next time any of you see me I will probably look like I'm a few months pregnant, but I will have a baby with me.

Baby Shower but still no baby

On Saturday some great friends here in Lincoln threw me a baby shower. It was great to get together with friends, have some delicious cheese cake, and receive some wonderful, very needed gifts. I think we are ready to roll now all we need is for the baby to come. As of today I have 11 days left until my scheduled c-section. I am trying so hard not to go early so that my mom will be here to take care of Hollyn. I am so grateful to have her coming for two weeks. I don't know what I would do without her. Hollyn is extremely excited to be a big sister and hopefully a big helper.

Pumpkin Patch

Apple Jack Festival and Pumpkin Patch

A few weeks ago we went to the Apple Jack Festival with some friends. It's in a little town called Nebraska City. They have a great parade and beautiful Apple Orchards to go see. The weather was a ton warmer this year than last year. Last year we were in long sleeve shirts and pants. This year Hollyn was in a tank top and shorts. Hopefully this means we will have a much shorter and warmer winter.




Last week we went to a Pumpkin Patch with our friends the Johnson's. Mandi took her two boys Jet and Rex who Hollyn absolutely loves to hang out with. This is no ordinary Pumpkin Patch, it's more like an amusement park. We spent five hours there and didn't even get to see and do everything. The kids had a blast feeding the goats, riding tricycles, jumping on a big bouncer, watching pig races, watching a pumpkin eating dragon, going on a hay ride and much more. Mandi and I attempted to take the kids on a bike ride. They have three seats in front and two in back for peddling. We didn't think it would be hard at all, but let me just say my legs were burning by the end. We got stuck at least three times and had to push ourselves to get going again. Between Mandi's laughing and my huge prego self we must have looked pretty funny. I wouldn't be surprised if someone took a video of us and it ended up on U-tube. Sorry no pictures, but I'm sure the picture in your head is just as funny. All in all it was a great adventure.

Labor Day Weekend

Since Dan and Hollyn both had school off on Monday we decided to go do something fun as a family. We had wanted to go to Kansas City, but didn't decide until late Sunday night so instead I got on the internet and looked for fun things to do around Lincoln on Labor Day. I found a great parade in downtown Omaha. Most of the people in the parade where labor workers, electrians, plumbers, steel workers, etc, but each one had a fun large balloon they carried with them. None of the balloons matched the profesion, but they were fun anyway. They had Uncle Sam, Handy Manny, a Wizard, and a few others I forgot. Hollyn loved the parade and I'm pretty sure she got more candy there than she did on Halloween. Those labor workers don't mess around. After the parade we went to the mall and walked around and let Hollyn play in the cool air conditioned play area. Then to end our day we had dinner at Cheesecake Factory. Dan and I shared the Miso Chicken and it was delicious. Not bad for last minute planning.

First Day of School

Last Monday was Dan's first day back as a second year law student and Hollyn's first day of preschool. Hollyn will go three days a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 12:45-3:15. I'm not sure I'm going to know what to do with my little buddy gone. We decided to do our annual zoo trip to the Omaha Zoo before school started and things got crazy. The zoo was great and we had a fabulous time spending a full day together without the worries of studying, or at least Dan worrying about studying.












Hollyn loves, loves, loves preschool. We got to meet her teacher a few days before school started. Her name is Mrs. Jensen, Barbie Jensen. Now who wouldn't love a teacher named Barbie. Hollyn couldn't wait to start school and when Monday came around she kept asking me if it was time to go yet. I kept telling her after lunch, so right before 11 Hollyn tells me, "Mom, I'm ready for lunch." When she got to school she wasn't nervous at all. She gave Mrs. Jensen a big hug and walked right in. This kid is nothing like I was. I'm sure I was crying at the door for my mom not to leave. Everyday when I came to pick her up she had a huge smile on her face and talked all about what she did that day. On Friday they got to see a caterpillar make a chrysalis. I had no idea what that was at first, until I realized it was a cocoon. My kid is already becoming smarter than me. Isn't that suppose to happen later in life?

A not so welcome back to Nebraska

When we arrived home, in Nebraska, on Sunday I noticed a strong smell in our house. Not a food smell, but a moldy smell. I immediately went downstairs and found that our basement had flooded and their was black mold everywhere. So for the next few days we kept the basement door shut with a towel pushed underneath it. We also started looking for a new place to live. Within a few days we located a new place and moved in by the following day. Dan was a amazing. He moved everything up from the basement, while I disinfected everything with bleach. Especially all of Hollyn's toys that we could save since they were all downstairs. We must have looked pretty silly. We both had things covering our mouth and rubber gloves protecting our hands. Dan pretty much single handily moved us all by himself with little help from me. I felt pretty helpless being 8 months pregnant and not being able to move anything heavy. We found a cute three bedroom house that is only three years old and doesn't have a smelly basement. We love it! Hollyn has a little playroom now that she will spend hours in. We are a little farther from campus and we had to move out of our old ward, which was a real bummer, but the place is perfect for our family. We are definitely staying here for the next two years. I already told Dan the next time we move again it will be permanent.(At least for 5 years)
I will post pictures of the new place soon. Here's a few pictures of the moldy basement and one of Dan after a long day of moving. Too bad I can't add the smell too. Not the smell of Dan but the smell of the basement.

Farewell AZ Hello UT

We left AZ, but not before a trip to Sedona with my parents and some swimming lessons from Grandma. Hollyn has become an amazing little swimmer. She took all summer from me and from Grandma. She can dive, do all the strokes, and swim the whole length of the pool all by herself. Hollyn is a little fish or a dolphin as her aunts liked to call her.
We made the drive to Utah August 3rd and stayed for a whole week. My grood friend Holly and her husband Danny were grecious enough to let us stay at their fabulous home. We had the whole basement to ourselves. Hollyn especially loved their golden retriever Alli. It was great to spend some time with them watching the Olympics, going to dinner, and just hanging out talking. Thanks again you guys.
We were also able to see all of Dan's family while we were there. Dan's grandpa Pomp passes away so all of his siblings, cousins, aunts, and uncles where there for the funeral. It was nice spending time with all of them and to hear all of the amazing stories of Pomp's life. He was an amazing man. Hollyn had a great time playing with her cousins everyday. She keeps asking when they are going to come and visit us in Lincoln. Thanks Papa Charlie and Nancy for your generosity and hospitality. We had a great time.

Andrew

On July 11, my younger brother Andrew died. He was only 19 years old, but he lived an amazing life. Andrew was born with Cystic Fibrosis, which he battled with until he was 18. On February 17, 2007, he received a double lung transplant and for the first time was able to breath without difficulty. The recovery was difficult, but Andrew pulled through and faught just like he has faught his whole life. For the past year and a half Andrew has had some ups and downs, in and out of the hospital, but he has also been able to do so many thing he has never been able to do before. He was able to do something as simple as swimming the length of the pool twice without a breath.
Before Andrew died our family was able to stay in a beach house on California over the 4th of July. We had so much fun spending time together hanging out on the beach, going to surf shops, having bon fires, watching fire works, playing rock band and much more. We were all so grateful for that time together. Dan, Hollyn and I have also spend lots of time with Andrew this summer since we have lived with my parents while Dan did his internship. What a blessing that has been for our family.
The day before Andrew left for Heber, AZ to hang out with my grandpa at his cabin he took Hollyn swimming. They had a special little bond together. She loved swimming with him, diving for rings, racing on the kick boards, and diving off the diving board. They also loved to play tickle where they would lay on the floor and take turns tickling eachother. I am so grateful to have these memories of my brother.
Andrew died unexpectantly in Heber, AZ with one of his favorite people, his grandpa. After years of hospital stays, surgeries, treatments, and pills, Andrew's heart finally stopped beating. Although it was hard, I know that he would have much rather died doing something he loved than being in a hospital for days, weeks or months.
We know that our Heavenly Father has a mission for Andrew to fulfill. He will be missed greatly. He was an amazing brother, son, uncle, and friend.
We love you Andrew!