Normality

The month of April has come and pass, and Autumn growth, development, and experiences continue to bring Becky and I tons of joy. She continues to reach milestones and accomplish things for the first time. Those are some fun, exhilarating times. None were more exciting than her first time not being hospitalized for a whole calender month. :o) It was almost dull around here, knock on wood. We did have some fun times we thought would be worth sharing...

Rained Out

Those who know me, know I kinda like the Mariners... in an obsessive sort of way. Having lived in Idaho for the past few years of my life I had not had the opportunity to attend a Mariners game for a good while. Idaho does not have a major league team in-state or even that close. The closest is the Colorado Rockies, and they are National League. Even before we moved to California we purchased ticket for the opening day game vs the Oakland Athletics @Oakland. Although the game ended up being played in its entirety, it was a cold rainy day and we determined not to push our luck with Autumn's inconsistent health. So, we watched it at home dressed in our Mariners gear, including Autumn who wore her Mariners onsie and a baseball headband. We also had Cheese Fonduta, just like they make at the Olive Garden. Yum. And we took pictures...

Blessings of Blessings

It took a while, but Autumn finally received her Mormon baby blessing. We put it off while we where in Idaho because we wanted it to be done in Cali, where most of Becky's family live and could attend. After settling in, we set a date that worked for the fam. Then Autumn was hospitalized for a week. After recouping, we set another date, turns out it ended up being Ward Conference. On March 21, 2010 she received the blessing. For me, it was a very tender moment. As her father here on earth, I was allowed to orate the blessing, as dictated through the Spirit. I take no credit when I say it was a very sweet and spiritual moment. It was an amazing memory for our young family.

200 Club

Growing up I had aspirations of becoming a great baseball player. I knew I would never be a big home run hitter, but I had a line drive swing and good speed. My fantasies took me through Cy Youngs, Silver Slugger Awards, Stolen Base Records, MVP's, World Series winning hits, and many 200 hit seasons. Each year you will get a small hand full of hitters in the Majors that get over 200 hits in a season. They call it the 200 Club. I dreamed of making it into that elite 200 Club. I never did. Dreams die hard. However, I did recently make it into a different, less prestigious, 200 Club. Thanks to an unwavering diligence to a high carb/protein/fats/sugar and low exercise diet, I have reached 200lbs. I am a little sensitive about my weight now, so please refrain from making fat jokes in the comment box. If you do, I will use my considerable weight and knock you down and sit on your head...

If you build it... you will be disfigured

While waiting for the plethora of paperwork to be processed for my new employment, I had a lot of downtime. I am not much for sitting around, so I decided to do something productive. I built a bridge. Our small family resides on the same property as Becky's parent's house. It is a good bit of land, a few acres. The lower portion of the property has a creek which makes it difficult to access the bottom portion without getting wet. During the summer, there is a shortcut through that area which leads to the community pool. So, as I stated before, I built a bridge. I used an old trailer that had been used 12-15 years back for an old custom door company Becky's family had owned. That and wood just laying around the property and we had a cheap bridge. My reward for building Becky a bridge? Gratitude and a bad case of Poison Oak. Pictures to not do justice to my disfigurement. I had a swollen side of my face, splotchy arms, and blisters on my hand. No good deed goes unpunished... (PS a shout out to Wesley and Monty Sr. for their assistance in building the bridge)

Athlete of the Family

So the other day Autumn went to the doctor... stop me if you have heard that one before... This time was only a checkup and to catch her up on her shots, which is very little fun. As soon as we laid her down on the table and she saw the nurse she freaked out. Apparently the last few times were traumatizing and infants have better memories than we give them credit for. Anywho, as the nurse was looking her over, pre-shots, the nurse made a very interesting observation. She raved that Autumn was a "very strong and athletic looking baby" with "great muscle tone, especially in her shoulders and calves." I guess I shouldn't have been as surprised as I was. Becky is a multi sport athlete and I used to be a good athlete. It's not that I disagree with her, she is a professional, that is what she does everyday for her livelihood, but to my untrained eye she is my little chubby girl! :o) I have to make a bit of a confession, the chunky picture I am posting with this section is a bit before her appointment, and since then she has grown in to her weight, but still...

Not much else is going on. Becky and I are both working, though not at the same time. Are schedules work out so that one of us is always at home with Autumn, but we don't spend a lot of time home together. It is both rewarding but difficult, but I guess you can say that is what parenting is. We have been blessed to find good jobs in a difficult economy. We have a beautiful baby daughter who is healthy, happy and apparently buff. :o) We have a place to live, family close, and each other. What more can you ask for...

Take Three

Consistency
On January 01, 2010 Becky and I gave birth to a beautiful, intelligent, drama-queen! When we found out that we were going to have a little girl I expected drama. I just didn't expect it so soon. Don't get me wrong, typically she is a very mild-mannered and happy-go-lucky little peanut, but something about the beginning of the month. Maybe it is just that time of month... :o) Here is a list of where we have spent the night on the second day of the past three months (since she has been born):

January 2, 2010 - Madison County Hospital (Rexburg, ID): Autumn's Birth

February 2, 2010 - Primary Children's Hospital (Salt Lake City, UT): Life Flight/ALTE

March 2, 2010 - Mercy San Juan Hospital (Carmichael, CA): Fever

If she is anything, she is consistent. Typically that is a very good attribute to have, however, I wouldn't mind if she would break this habit and pick up sleeping from 10pm-8am... I can dream... Before I can get into her most recent hospital stay there are a few things to update..

A Few Things

We now reside in Placerville, CA. To some, this may come as a surprise. Oops. The move itself had its own share of drama. This time, however, none of it can be attributed to Autumn. In fact, she did amazingly well on the 13hour trip. The packing and cleaning, although very grueling and tedious, went smoothly and we left at the appointed time on the appointed day. ---SHOUT OUT: Another thank you for all those who helped us, with a special gold star to Becky's father (Monty) and brother (Nick) who volunteered and flew down to Rexburg to help drive the Uhaul to California while myself, Becky, and Autumn drove in the car. Thank you guys!--- Everything went fine the first ten or so hours. About the time we, those in the car, reached Tahoe a major snowstorm hit. With the purchase of chains and lots of patience we were able to navigate and make it through the pass and arrive to our current residence safely. Unfortunately the Uhaul, who was about a hour and a half behind us did not make it through that night... or the next. In fact, the Uhaul did not make it in until the afternoon of the next day. Thankfully everybody made in safely. Unfortunately we got a lot more video of it all than we did photos, sorry...

Autumn the Hothead
We first noticed that Autumn was spiking a fever on Monday around 6 (about the time all the walk-in medical clinics and pharmacys closed). When she hit 101 we hurried down to the Wal-Mart and purchased some Infant Motrin to try to bring the fever down. She had a restless night and the morning found her still warm and only getting warmer. We headed to a Doc-In-A-Box (Rapid Care) only to have them tell us they did not have means by which to do the tests needed for a diagnoses. Next stop was Mercy Hospital in Folsom. They started the standard tests for Sepsis (Blood Infection) including blood, urine, and a spinal tap... again... and took a couple x-rays of her chest... again... The x-rays came back saying she had Pneumonia in her right lung, center lobe. They also began her on antibiotics. She was then transferred, by ambulance for the third time in her short life, to the Mercy San Juan Hospital because they have a good Pediatric ICU (Intensive Care Unit)

At Mercy San Juan we found out that her x-ray had been misread... again... *We have become big fans of second opinions, especially with newborns. Outside of Children's Hospitals, most doctors do not see a lot of newborns and it is incredibly easy to misread what you don't know* When we got there they took some swabs from her nose to check for viruses while the blood and urine cultures were being grown. For those who may not know, blood and urine cultures are used to detect the presence of bacteria and yeast. They check them every 24, 48, and 72 hours to see if anything has grown on them. They were especially looking for Sepsis and anything that may induce Respiratory Failure. They would eventually come back free and clear, but we had to stay for the three days just in case. During this time her fever reached a high of 104.8, which is dangerously high, especially for an infant. On day two the swabs from her nose (rapid viral test) came back positive for Parainfluenza. As impressive as that sounds, it isn't. Basically she had a very bad cold. Because of how young she is and the immaturity of her immune system, her body was not able to fight it off by itself. An IV, lots of fever reducers, and five miserable days later she is finally home and back to her healthy, smiling self. Yay!