July 2014

July was . . . I won’t even try to put one word on this month.

Kayla has a really tight neck muscle from the way she was in my belly.  She had her first appointment this month to loosen that.  It was really interesting when the muscle released.  Her head just feel to the side and it had never done that before.  We will go back for another treatment sometime since it was so sever.  

I really do love the 4^th of July.  It was a great time again this year.  Centerville parade is a great parade.  My Aunt Melody is always so nice to host the Doris Barlow reunion at her home.  Most of my cousins were there this year. We were just missing one or two from each family.

Landon had a great birthday.  The day before his birthday my parents bought him an ice-cream cake and we sang to him.  On his actual birthday Gray was nice enough to let us crash his blessing day to celebrate Landon.  He again felt so special.  This little guy is such a character.  Some of his comments and actions sure are surprising at times.  He keeps us on our toes. He is 3’ 2.5” and growing big and strong.

Ericka has been doing swimming lessons with the boys.  They simply love it and practice their skills all the time.  Here’s to hoping that they make some good progress this summer. 

Jaron was able to go to his fist scout camp and really loved it. Jaron also really looks forward to spending some time down in Washington, UT with his cousin Chandler.  Tricia & Gordon were nice enough to have him down that way for 5 days.

Our next big adventure was to move.  After weighing all the pros and cons of different places to live we decided on Foxboro Terrace Apartments in North Salt Lake.  Packing wasn’t too bad and we were so grateful for all those that came help Don move us.  We sure had a lot of stuff. A little side note of moving day.  Don said that he was to a breaking point in the day, when he was about to just up and leave.  He was holding Kayla and she stated just belly laughing at him.  That little tender mercy was what we both needed to get through the rest of that day.  She hasn’t done it since.  Back to that stuff; that stuff, just wouldn’t fit into 1,100 sq/ft and has taken me two weeks to get everything organized and taken Don many trips to our little storage unit.  Beside the material side of things the boys really seem to like everything about our new home.  The only one that seems to be struggling is Landon.  He keeps saying he wants to go home and doesn’t understand that this is home. He is happy here and loves the pool, walking trails, and playgrounds.  I will be the first to admit that Don has been my rock through this move.  It has been extremely difficult for me to adjust to our new life as it always is.

Little miss (Kayla) gave me a little scare.  I notice that her labial adhesion was almost completely adhered.  We defiantly saw the hand of the Lord in this situation.  I usually check her daily, but with the move and everything I missed several days in a row.  I had the distinct feeling that I should check her on the 14^th.  When I did I was alarmed as was the pediatrician.  I took her down the next morning and to the surprise of the pediatrician and myself he was able to open it with a little pressure.  He told me it must have just sealed for that to happen, because he had never had one open like that.  We also got her weight and she is at 13lb. 11oz.

Many have asked how the new ward is and if the boys have made any friends yet.  The ward suffered a great loss the first Sunday that we were there.  A boy Landon’s age drowned in his grandmother’s pool and the ward was in mourning for the first few weeks.  People were still very friendly but there was a distinct sadness at church that was very difficult.  Landon has been to a birthday party and the other boys love going to church to see their new friends.  Now that our home isn’t a disaster area maybe we will start to have some play dates.

As for now we are just enjoying summer together hoping to get a lot of little things done before school starts on Aug. 25^th.

Happy 4th of July

Kayla's 3rd Month

Little Miss didn't have her 2 month check up until June 24th.  She was 12lb. 14oz.  At three months she was 13lb. 11oz.  Her growth is consite
nt and she is in the 80-90th percentile for everything.
The doctor noticed that she had a slight labial adhesion. Let me just go into this now.  It was very  slight and he didn't seem too concerned since it wasn't closed enough to cause infections.  So we just let it be.  Well on July 14th I had this feeling I should check things out. I noticed that it was closed.  She was still having some wet diapers so there was an opening somewhere but i couldn't see it.  So I called the pediatrician and we took her down the next day to have it looked and and taken care of.  Dr. Peterson was really surprised it was so closed and he tried applying a little pressure and it popped right open.  Dr. Peterson said that it must have just sealed to open that easily.  What a blessing and little Miss is back to normal.
I also noticed that her head was not turning to one side and that the back of her head was flatter on one side than the other.  So I took her in to have that taken care of.  Her neck muscle is so tight from how she was in the womb that it will take a few treatments to get it loose enough that she can move her head like normal.  Yes, I guess the lack of fluid in the womb and the position she sat in (head down and turned side ways, ouch!) contributed to this tight muscle.
Kind of a negative start, but Kayla, is doing great.  She is much happier now that she can move her head more normally. She HATED her two month shots.  I think that it is so sad.  She didn't get a fever so that is good.  She also recovered within a few days so future shots are still going to happen even if mommy takes it rather hard when she cries so much.
Kayla is not a good sleeper.  She has a hard time sleeping at night.  Not really sure what is up. She takes three distinct naps in the day and eats every 3-5 hours.  At night it seems she does really well some nights and other she is up every hour.
Daddy was lucky enough to get some really good belly laughs out of her on moving day.  Which we have both agreed was a tender mercy.  On a regular basis a few giggles is all we get at a time. 
Kayla first this month included: the Zoo, fireworks (she did great), and swimming.
Kayla likes to be held.  She requires a lot of attention when she is awake.  But I wouldn't trade our little princess for anything.  So if you visit and our house is a mess, just know that it's all okay and that this little spirit I was blessed to be given is taken care of, NIGHT and day.

Landon is 3

Landon Wenzel Hughes is such a unique cute kid. He loves to sing "I am a Child of God", "The Wheels on the Bus", "Happy Birthday", and "Let It Go". He is 3'2.5" He has many silly phrases such as "What the Heck!" and "You GOT to be kidding me!" He has absolutely no fear, which attributes to him getting injured often or going under water during swimming lessons. He isn't at all frightened by his injuries or near drowning experiences. He loves to ride his bike, play the I-pad, and do EVERYTHING that his brothers do. Live would be very dull without him.

June 2014

Hey family. It was a very busy first month of summer. We started off with June 1st and Kayla's blessing. Don has always done a beautiful job at giving blessings to our children and this one was no different. We are blessed to have family that loves and supports us.
It was so nice to see the Eves family several times through the month. The boys had a great time making memories with cousins. It is so important that we keep family close and this was a great month of doing that.
We were happy to go down to see Grandma and Grandpa Gray before heading to Zion's. The boys know right were the toys are and love the treats grandma and grandpa give. Grandpa did a great job making Mac&Cheese for the large group.
We had the Barlow family reunion this month at the Zion's Ponderosa Ranch. The whole clan was there minus two grand kids. Camille is serving a mission and Cameron was with his father. Tricia worked so hard with her family to make it a nice time. Kayla went on her first hike. Bryson fell on the hike and is going to have a really nice scar on his knee from it. We probably should have stitched it, but scars give us character and good stories to tell right? For our family talent Jaron practiced and practiced Let it Go from Frozen. We used him playing the first verse to sing to.
This was the last month of piano for Jaron until after we move. He is done with his second year. We were so grateful for such a good teacher and are sad that we have to find a new one. She gave him a few books with fun songs so he can keep what he has learned. He really has enjoyed it.
We are officially homeless and debt free! The house closed on June 27. We now are trying to move forward with a place to live. My parents have been more than generous in letting us live with them but it is time to move on. We are hoping that all goes well and we can move into the foxboro community in North Salt Lake by the 15th of July.
Kayla is growing strong. She is 13 lb. and in the 79 percentile for weight and 84th for height. So not super big. She now smiles a lot and is sleeping a little better. We have bad nights every now and again but she usually is down by 10 and doesn't stay up when she wakes to eat. She has even done a few 8 hour stretches without eating. Shots were horrible. But I think we both will survive. She does seem to have some miss alignment in her neck that we will be fixing. The way she was in the womb and low fluid caused this. But it is nothing big. She has labial adhesion, we are just going to watch it for now it shouldn't be a big problem and might even correct itself. We also think she might have been a dog in another life, she likes to lick things.
The rest of us are just taking one day at a time waiting for life to get back to normal a little and loving summer while we wait.
Love to all.
Don.Pam.Jaron.Bryson.Eldon.Landon.Kayla