Computer blog!

My amazing and talented husband created "Computer Fix SLC" several years ago, and just started a blog for the company! They will post about computer tips and other really helpful things for all of us who may not be computer genius's! So follow them and become more computer-wise!

Computer Fix is an amazing company, with honest, hard working, super friendly employees, with unbeatable prices on repairs, removing virus's, building custom computers, and whatever else you need!

Seriously guys, this is where I would take my computer in a heart beat if something were ever wrong with my computer! So, pass along the word, and write down this number if you ever have any kind of computer questions or problems!
Their number is 801-415-9595 and they are located at  2875 South Main St (SLC UT)


p.s.  My husband didn't ask me to write this! In fact, he has no idea, and will have no idea until he logs on to our blog! :) I just REALLY truly believe he has created an amazing company, and deserves some recognition! 

Star-Struck

While shopping at Costco today (well I was actually done with my shopping and searching for my lost car key!), I walked past one of my favorite fashion bloggers! She passed, and I was pretty sure I recognized her, so I followed her a couple of steps, tapped her shoulder, and with a cheesy smile, told her that I was one of her stalkerish blog followers!  I have to admit, I kind of felt a little star-struck and could totally feel myself blushing.  I just think she is so amazing, and has such a fantastic sense of fashion.  Her name is Sarah, and you can see your wonderful blog here.  And she was so sweet!! And of course she was dressed so amazingly, and I, sadly, not so amazingly.  I wished so dearly in that moment that I had been wearing something totally awesome to impress her, and that my hair had not looked so nasty and that I had put on some more makeup.  Oh well.  That's what I get for thinking I was just making a quick trip to the store, and that I looked fine enough.  At least I had on my cute bright blue scarf that I got while I was in Paris, right? :)

Lately I have really been trying to discover what my fashion sense is, and what it says about me.  I really, REALLY love the fashion blogs that I follow (see list of blogs on right side of screen), and they inspire me so much.  I just think that fashion is such a great way to express who you are through clothes and accessories and I really enjoy it! One thing that I really admire about Sarah, is that she doesn't spend tons and tons of money on her clothes.  In fact, the majority of her clothes, shoes and accessories come from thrifting, consignment stores, are vintage, or are from local auctioneers. How awesome is she?! And she looks incredible all of the time! I have always been really good with purchasing clothes that are on sale/clearance, but now I really want to start thrift shopping!

I have been having Paul taking outfits pictures for the last few months that I have though have been fairly fashion worthy.  A few problems though.  They are taken with an ok, but no where near great camera like most of the fashion bloggers that I follow have, my house only has only a few walls to take pictures against and are boring white, and my dear sweet husband, love him, but he just holds up the camera and snaps the pictures while I feel like a huge cheeseball trying to pose, but coming up flat every time.  No beautiful outdoor pictures with perfect lighting for me.  But I will continue to have him take my pics, and one day when I am feeling courageous, I may post them, and share my journey in fashion-self-discovery.

Extra Energy!

This is one of the many things Conner is now happily doing with all his new found energy and zest for life without the feeding tube in his nose! :)

Picture overload! or maybe just 10 of them...

Conner enjoying his time in his walker. He can walk backwards in it. Smarty pants.

On Halloween day we dressed Conner up in this cute lion costume so he would be warm outside while we trick-or-treated the entire neighborhood 2 houses.

We are working with Conner on sitting. He is kind of getting the idea...kind of... (this is one of those pics where they stay that way for 2 seconds and then do a face plant...into the pillow that is!)

We were a Rock Band family for Halloween. Conner looked so stinkin cute in his little bandanna, I loved it!

Conner in his new favorite place...the bouncer! He loves to jump in this thing, especially when the music is going!

Momma and Conner's "Fall" outfits

Don't quite know how the arm-out-of-the-sleeve thing happened, but he sure has a cute smile for me waking up the first morning home from the hospital!

While in the hospital, we had to cover his hand that had an i.v. on it with a sock so that he wouldn't pull out the i.v. like he did last time after his heart surgery! He didn't mind it at all, in fact, is was a really convenient 'toy' to chew on! (as you can see from the wet spot on it!)

Look at that sweet 80's top! Just had to share a pic of it! This was his pre-surgery attire that they gave us to put him in. Seriously, that thing has got to be from forever ago!

Double chin? Yes please! Love me some double chinners!

Happy Conner!

Since Conner had his gtube placed (October 13th), he has been SO.much.happier!! I knew that he would be more comfortable without the feeding tube in his nose and down his throat, but I didn't expect this kind of change. Conner has always had such a sweet, calm, easy-going personality. And he has always been smiley at home for Paul and I. But now, Conner is happy ALL of the time! (of course with the exception of when he is really tired, is throwing up, etc). I can't believe how much more energy he seems to have! I honestly feel like because of the change, and with his newfound energy and being so happy all of the time, he has literally propelled forward socially, emotionally, physically, and developmentally. Conner is always smiling now. And he is even smiling at people at church and in the store! Previously it would be rare that someone could get him to smile that wasn't momma or daddy (or some close family members). But now lots more people get to experience his adorable smile!

Before Conner had his gtube placed, he was learning to scoot around on his tummy, i.e., the army crawl. We were a little worried about his because his gtube would be placed just to the left and up a tiny bit, from his belly button. We could only imagine him sliding across the floor on his tummy and the gtube being pulled out, or yanked, etc. We were also worried that the initial discomfort of the gtube would make it so that he didn't want to be on his tummy at all, and we would developmentally move backwards. Thankfully, neither scenario has happened. Conner loves to be on his tummy, and always has. In fact, when they were wheeling him in this crib from just waking up from anesthesia up to the recovery room, he flipped over onto his tummy before the nurse could stop him! Little stinker just loves to be on his tummy! (we had to keep him off his tummy for the first 3 days...yes it was hard!) After we got back home from the hospital (his surgery was on a Wed and we left Friday), Conner was able to move as he pleased, with still being careful of course. Instead of doing his tummy scoot, he discovered a different way to maneuver. He would get up on hands and knees, and then thrust himself forward, landing on his side, this way avoiding this gtube area. Smart little Conner! In just less than 3 weeks since his tummy surgery, Conner is now officially crawling! I hardly know what to do with myself. I'm paranoid about all the teeny tiny little things I have to make sure are not on the ground anymore! Yesterday while I was pumping, he even crawled out of his little "playground" thing that has 4 walls (kinda bendable) that are about 9 inches (???) tall! Now I don't know how to keep him contained while I pump! :)

Conner is talking so much! Well, babbling and cooing and yelling that is! He is so much louder now! I think his throat just feels like it had a makeover, and he wants the world to know! I heard him say "mammamamamadaaaaadaaaaahhhhhhhhhh" the other day! It was so cute!

It was been so wonderful to see all the changes in Conner and how well he is doing. We went from him throwing up (a mix of spitting up and/or what would be considered actual throwing up) anywhere from 5-30 times a day, to him throwing up only 2-3 times a day, or less.

The past week Paul and I have been thinking about when we want to move Conner into his crib, into his own room. He has always had to sleep in our room (just in his pack n play) because of his reflux, throwing up, feeding tube, needing suctioning, heart monitors, etc. But now is getting tio the point that he seems to be ready, and we are thinking it may be about time! Part of me is excited to finally get to use his room and his crib, and his bedding and have him be a big boy. But the other part of me is kind of sad to see him leave our room. One of the things that I have really loved in the mornings is hearing him wake up and then looking over at his pack n play, to see him peering over the side, staring at me! I.love.it! It makes Paul and I laugh when he does this, because he is propped up on his arms, and stretching his head up as far as he can, with eyebrows raised, straining to see us in bed! Silly silly boy! I need to catch him doing this on camera so I can have the memory captured in a photo. I also love hearing him breath, move around to get comfy, and make funny sounds as he sleeps. We will probably move him in into his crib within the next few weeks when we feel good about it.

We have been so happy with all the positive changes we have seen in Conner. He is tolerating his 'practice' feeds much better and doesn't throw up every time he swallows a tiny bit of baby food. We do 2 practice feeds of baby food a day, and 2 practice feeds with a bottle, with a special nipple called a pigeon nipple that makes sucking the milk out easier. I feel confident that Conner is improving, even though it is a very slow process of teaching him how to eat. His feeding therapist gave a general statement that he will probably have his gtube for about a year. Which means it may take Conner that long how to learn how to eat all of his food by mouth. Or it could be less time. Or it could be more time. There are no guarantees. We just take the feeding issues day by day and hope for the best! He has an amazing feeding therapist and we love her. She helps me so much with little tips and advice for how to make his feeding practices a positive experience so that he will make progress and understand that food in his mouth is a good thing! :)

Conner did not end up needing/getting a nissen done (basically a wrap of his stomach around his esophagus that would prevent throwing up the rest of his life) because he passed the ph probe with flying colors! His results came back with only 4% reflux (the normal child/adult refluxes 5% every day) instead of his previous 19%! We were so grateful that he didn't need this procedure done! There seemed to be so many negative side effects, and so we are so happy his reflux is "normal" now!

Now we just need to teach someone all about his gtube and how to take care of it (it's actually really easy!) so that Paul and I can take a much needed vacation on a cruise! (hint hint to family members... ;))

Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers for Conner and us as we went through this last, and hopefully LAST surgery! He is doing so well and we are so happy!

PH Probe and G-tube surgery soon

So today we are taking in Conner for another PH probe test. They will put a tube down his nose (he will still have in the feeding tube in the opposite nose hole, so he will have a "tube mustache") and what this does is it will measure the amount of times he is refluxing during a 16 hr time period. They will feed him only apple juice (for some reason it has to be apple juice for the probe to be able to pick up the acid levels). When he had this done back when he was still in the NICU his results came back at 19% reflux. The normal person refluxes about 5% of the day, but a healthy esophagus will pretty much keep it down (reflux is similar to heart burn). The surgeon that will be doing the G-tube said that 19% is a pretty high number and actually one of the highest that he has seen. We are just hoping that this PH study will be the most accurate it can be, so we can make the best decision for Conner (if he needs a nissen). He is getting his G-tube placed next week. (A G-tube means that instead of a feeding tube going into his nose, the feeding 'port' will now be surgically placed in on his tummy). There are several benefits to having a G-tube. The biggest thing is that it *should* help him be more willing to learn how to eat, because he will no longer have a tube down his throat that activates his gag reflex when he swallows food. He won't have the tube taped to his face anymore, and that alone is supposed to help the whole feeding aversion going on. Another huge plus is that I will no longer find Conner with the tube wrapped around his throat twice when I get him from naps, or get him up in the mornings. Yes, it's quite disturbing to find him like that. (and I always check on him, but it still just happens! He is thinks he needs to roll a million times before finding his comfy spot). I will also no longer have to carry around his pump everywhere I go since he has been on continuous, 24 hr/day feedings. He will begin to get 'bolus' feedings, meaning I will pretty much 'feed' him like a normal baby- every few hours or so he will get milk put into his G-tube. All in all, it should be a very positive change for him, and for us. I'm still really nervous about having to learn and know how to take care of his G-tube, but I know in no time, it will be a piece of cake. Wish us luck!

Happy 5 Year Anniversary to Us!

Dear Paul,

I love you so much. You have taught me so many things. You truly are my inspiration and make me want to be so much of a better person. You make me laugh more than any other person (actually, you and Conner are tied). We created the most beautiful perfect little baby who has increased our joy exponentially. Sometimes when you are asleep, I lay awake in bed, looking at you. I wonder how I would ever live without you, and commit to making every moment count that much more. I love your ridiculously long eye lashes, your big blue eyes, your generous smile, and so many other things. I love that you always put others first. Not just me. You serve others and are such a great example to me of charity and love. I want to give you the best of me, and I know that you accept me and love me dearly with all of my faults and weaknesses. I love those precious moments in the House of the Lord when we are reminded so tenderly of our covenants and of our Eternal marriage and family. What a beautiful life we have together with our little family. I am so happy to be married to you. You have completed my life and given me all that I adore and love. You and Conner are so perfect for me. I love you.

Love, Annie

P.S. Yep, still haven't figured out the whole color thing. Please someone, come to my house and fix it for me. :)