Surgery

Emma was born with a mole on her left ankle. It's kind of interesting because while I was pregnant with her I had moles removed on my face. Anyway, the pediatrician said to watch it and see if it got any bigger or darker. I didn't think it was getting bigger or darker, but at her 6 month check up he asked me to take her to a dermatologist and have it biopsied. A couple of weeks later the results came back and the mole was A-typical (I believe that's what it's called). Basically it meant that the mole could turn cancerous. Not cool! We were sent to a pediatric plastic surgeon in Phoenix so we could get the low down on how they'd remove it and when we could get in to have it done.

The procedure was really similar to mine, except that since she's a baby and squirmy they had to put her under. The surgery was scheduled for the Wednesday after we got back from Utah at 9 am. We had to be at the surgery center at 7:30 am to get all the paper work done and Emma all ready for her big day.

Ken and I got there with her and had plenty of waiting - not really fun when you're thinking about your baby going through this, but it turned out fine. The doctor was very skilled. The nurses were really nice and the anesthesiologist was really kind and answered all the questions we had.

It turned out to be really fast too. After only about 20-30 minutes they were calling "the parents of Emma Checketts". The bummer was that in recovery only one of us was allowed back there at a time. I went back first (and only as it turned out) to see how the little miss was doing. She was crying and pretty upset, but calmed down really quickly. All the nurses and doctors were impressed with how well she did for the procedure and how quickly she calmed down and had some juice. We were able to leave about 15 minutes after she came out, which they told me was really fast for a baby coming out of general anesthesia. She's such a trooper!

We went to lunch and then took Ken to work. Emma fell asleep while we were at lunch and ended up sleeping a fair amount of the day (I can't blame her - I'd want to sleep too!). She couldn't go swimming for 10 days after and that was really all the direction they gave us. The stitches were internal and would dissolve and the doctors got everything that they needed to. The bummer about not swimming was that she wouldn't be able to go into the ocean while we were on vacation in San Diego - oh, well.

Utah Trip (conclusion)

Monday, after taking Ken to the airport so he could get back to work, we packed up the car to head back to Arizona. Our original plan was to drive to St. George, stay the night with my Grandma at her condo, and then drive back to Mesa the next day. Saturday morning I got a call from her telling me she wouldn't be there but we were still welcome to stay. I asked what was going on that she wouldn't be around and found out she had a boyfriend! Isn't that awesome?!? A little background, my grandpa passed away 13 years ago. Grandma has served two missions and just kind of figured she would finish this life on her own. It turns out that there was another plan. She had been praying for guidance about what to do with her life, and Lincoln had been praying for a wife! He is a very sweet, kind and loving man and treats Grandma like a princess. They are so cute together and I'm thrilled that they found each other.

Just so you know, we met Grandma and Lincoln in Provo/Orem to visit and have lunch. It was a really nice time. We drove to St. George, spent the night and got home Tuesday evening, safe and sound. I had just enough time to wash all our laundry, make sure the house was clean and relax for about 5 minutes before we headed out for our family vacation! I'll put that in another post...

Utah Trip (part 3)

Isn't family the best? I certainly think so! While we were up in Utah, Ken's family organized a family gathering on Sunday. It also helped that his brother's family was blessing their newest addition at church, but then we all got together at their house for visiting, food and fun!

I told Shallon that he was responsible for getting pictures of everyone, and the boy did an amazing job! He even took a self portrait after he'd gotten everyone else - he's just so fun!

I love that when we're in Utah the kids have a chance to visit and play with their cousins - I think that those are some of the strongest bonds that we create as kids. I'm thankful that my children have that wonderful opportunity. Lots of love to all the cousins, their fantastic parents and of course the super grandparents too!

Utah Trip (part 2) AKA the GIANT Slip'n'Slide

So, Uncle Brent is the coolest-ever! They have a big, beautiful back yard and on Saturday Uncle Brent made a GIGANTIC slide for all the kids to enjoy. It was about 70 feet long and the kids just loved it! Their kids were there, Shallon and Draven and even a few of the other cousins were there from Provo. They all had so much fun.

Thanks Uncle Brent for having such a cool yard and making the wonderful slide for them to enjoy!

What do you get when...

You cross brothers who don't always pick up after themselves and a curious 9 month old sister?

Here's the answer:

A little girl covered in chocolate frosting! Do you see the frosting jar in the edge of the picture? The boys (maybe just Draven) had made a snack of graham crackers and frosting (a treat he learned from me unfortunately) and didn't put everything away. I'm not sure if the frosting was on the ground or if she managed to get it there from a table or chairs, but nonetheless, she was able to get more than enough in her mouth, on her face, hands and clothes. The moral of the story - TAKE CARE OF EVERYTHING!

I made the boys come out and see what had happened. Shallon took Emma and cleaned her up/changed her clothes. Draven's job was cleaning up all the frosting in the kitchen. I guess we'll see if that was enough to make them remember to put things away.

Utah Trip (part 1)

We had so much fun in Utah! The weather was beautiful and the kids had a ton of fun with Grandma and Grandpa and all the family up there! In the first couple of pictures we had just arrived at my aunt and uncle's house. Emma was on the floor, acting like she might want to crawl. My cousin's son, Carson, was crawling all over the place! I thought that maybe seeing how it was done would be an incentive for her. She liked watching him move, but she wasn't going to be tricked into crawling before she's ready!

Next, we have a couple of pictures from the park. The boys and I took Emma to a park that I thought was just below my aunt and uncle's. Turns out it is below their house, but by a 1/2 mile or so. Oh, well! It was good exercise and we all had fun. The boys each took Emma down the slide and she liked it pretty well.

That night we met Grandma and Grandpa for dinner and then they took us to Uncle Brent and Aunt Ann's to see their super cool yard! It was so much fun (and there will be more on the yard later). Grandpa took Emma down the slide, the boys played tether ball (I think I even played a game with each of them) and then there was a little basketball action too. Really a super fun place for kids to play. Grandma and Grandpa took a break on the swing and Emma had a nice time relaxing with them - pretty cute!

The last couple of pictures are of Emma and cousin Lady. Emma loved all the great toys to play with at B&A's (they have 4 girls) and Lady was thrilled to have a girl smaller than her to love on. We had a great time! There's still more to come, but my baby is asking me to love on her. I'll post more soon...

What a month!

We started our very busy month on the 4th with a BBQ/swim party at our house. I didn't get a single picture so there are none to share here - oops! I will tell you that we had a great time. My family that lives here came over, plus a couple of extra friends. It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed swimming with Emma and the little girl cousins too. It's so fun to have so many baby girls around now - I love it!

I have plenty to write about the rest of the month, but to give myself a little break I'll put that stuff in different posts! Keep close for the rest of the update...