Beating the Heat

To beat the heat on Saturday, we went to the Lehi Recreation Center Pool. As we pulled up to the pool, Kylie said, 'excited ... excited'. She loves the water as you can see. Kylie got to go down the small kids water slide. "Wee, wee' ... she said. She got to wear her new swimsuit. Isn't she cute?

Even Abbey and Mom got in the water. Abbey loved the water as well, spending her time in the kids wading area with Grandma and Grandpa Hobbs.

I'm a mess!

Yes, I am a mess! Abbey is now eating rice cereal. As you can see, she loves it!

She recently had her 4-month doctor visit. She is in the 95th percentile for her height (26 inches) and 27th percentile for her weight (12 lb 13 oz).

Abbey has also recently learned how to compete for attention with her older sister Kylie. It is not uncommon to find her making sounds and grabbing her right foot. It is as if she is saying, 'hey, look at my new trick'.

She is a our little lovebug. Love you Abbey!

Ratatouille (Rat-a-too-ee)

All four of us went to see the movie 'Ratatouille' (Rat-a-too-ee) this afternoon at the theatres near Daybreak. Or, as Kylie would say 'too-ee'.

Yes, all four of us! At first, Stephanie and I were wondering if we had made a horrible decision as both girls were crying right up to entering the theatre doors. However, a miracle occured. Abbey finally fell asleep (first time for today) and Kylie became occupied on the large screen and the buttery popcorn. She loves popcorn!



After the movie we drove by our home to check on the progress. The trusses were installed and they were finishing up on the roof plyboard. Supposedly, heating and air conditioning will be done by next Monday, with the electrical and plumbing completed by the end of next week or the beginning of the following week. It is fun to see it come together.

Asleep at last!

The task of putting Abbey to sleep can be a bit of a chore. Already you can see her personality coming out ... in wanting to be a part of everything.

These photos were taken this evening. As you can see, not only did Abbey fall asleep, but so did her Dad!

A broken heart

We spent most of Friday afternoon at a heart clinic near LDS Hospital in Salt Lake. Previous tests indicated that Stephanie has a small hole in her heart between the right and left ventricle. This afternoon was spent testing the hole's severity and focusing on identifying the right treatment.

During normal fetal development, this same hole allows the fetal blood to circulate through the placenta to the mother to receive oxygen. Before birth, 2 sections of the wall grow towards each other. After birth, these sections seal and the connection is closed. However for 20% of infants, the connection remains open. Stephanie is a part of this statistic.


Two tests were conducted today: 1) Transcranial Doppler (TCD) and 2) an ultrasound of the throat. The throat ultrasound indicated normalcy. However, the TCD showed that during rest Stephanie has a shunt rating of 1. During intense activities, she has a rating of 5 - indicating a large hole.

We were educated on several treatment options. These include: no treatment, medical therapy with blood thinners, open heart surgery (now only done for severe cases) and catheter-based PFO closure. At this point, we are leaning towards the last option - catheter-based PFO closure.

What does this entail? A double umbrella or double disk device is inserted through a catheter from a large vein in the leg. These devices are collapsible and can be ballooned across the PFO defect. This technique is fairly new, having been developed in the year 2000. However, over the past 7 years, they have been found to be very effective.

For more details, refer to the following web reference (http://www.clevelandclinic.org/heartcenter/pub/guide/disease/congenital/pfo.htm).

It takes 3-6 months for the inner linning of the heart to grow a layer of tissue around the fabric of the device. Religious taking of blood thinners is critical during this time frame to prevent clots from forming.

Following the surgery, Stephanie should be back on her feet in 2-3 days. Lifting restrictions will be in place for 30 days (< 10 lbs for 1 week, < 50 lbs for 1 month). While we are a little overwhelmed about another surgery, we are also relieved in knowing that we finally have a diagnosis that includes specific answers and next steps. For months, we have been in the dark, not knowing the cause. It will be a relief to no longer have the facial numbness, headaches and lack of balance.

We meet with the surgeon on Monday morning to learn more. Sorry for the lengthy essay, but we wanted to share more information since many of you have been asking. We will keep you updated.

Bear Lake Blue

Abbey has been referred by her Grandpa Hobbs as 'Bear Lake Blue'. This nickname stems from her eyes that resemble the blue that you would find at Bear Lake just outside of Logan, Utah. She definitely has big blue eyes. We think she gets this from her mother!



Tomorrow, Abbey will be 4 months old! Wow, she is growing up fast. Kylie would argue though, as she can't wait to have a 'princess' buddy.

She has recently found her hands and fingers. You can often find her trying to put her whole hand in her mouth.

For now she is fairly content laying on her back or being held (It has to be facing out though). However, if she gets mad enough, she can almost roll over onto her stomach.

She is close to sleeping through the night, which brings great excitement for her parents.

We love you Abbey Lynn!

And then there were walls ...

Our new home is progressing quickly. As you can see from the photos, the basement and main floor framing are almost complete. It looks as though we may moving around the middle of September, pending any unforeseen construction delays. It is neat to see our dreams come true.

Earlier this week we spent time trying to secure a decent mortgage rate. We will be working with Countrywide. We locked in a rate and will sign initial paperwork on Monday.

For those that our interested, we plan on giving a tour next weekend some time.

Going Bananas!

We couldn't help but capture Kylie dancing today while eating one of her favorite foods - a banana. Normally she is fully dressed, but today clothes were not her thing.

As we took these photos she said "dance ... nana ... spin ... fun ... watch daddy." She is growing up so fast!

Cooking Partners

Stephanie recently acquired a new cooking partner. Yes, Kylie Jo! She loves to help Mom in the kitchen. However, she often creates more messes than she cleans up.

In these pictures she wanted to wear an apron just like Mom. She is growing up so quickly.

By the way, Kylie got her first official haircut yesterday. Doesn't she look cute?

Slip-n-Slide!

After a 4th of July barbeque, we played on the slip-n-slide with Sam & Alex that are visiting from California. As you can see, the kids loved the water. Even Ryan got into the fun by sliding in his clothes. Needless to say, the kids thought he was funny.

As for Grandma and Abbey ... well, they tried to stay cool in the shade and take a nap. What a fun activity for a very hot day!

Home Construction Underway

Our home builder dug for our new home this past week, to our big surprise. We were given a tentative dig date of June 28th (this past Thursday). However, we learned on Friday that they started a few days early. As of yesterday, the footings and basement walls are now poured. Wow, they are moving quickly!

We hope to create a timelapse video of the construction if possible. However, it may be difficult to keep up.

If they continue on this schedule, we will be in just in time to celebrate Stephanie's birthday in October. We are excited.