Baby Shower

My dear friend, Melinda is expecting a BABY BOY!  
We are all so happy for her.  Cathy and I threw her this Baby Shower.  

Melinda has wanted to be a mother for years now.  Doctors couldn't figure out why she couldn't get pregnant.  But now a little miracle is just weeks away from joining their family.  We know she will be a great (and super energetic/fun) Mom.  In fact, with Melinda as his mom, Baby Gavin will probably learn to 

Break Dance 

before he speaks his first word!

8 Months Pregnant - and still light as a feather!  

Melinda & Caroline 

Cathy *Brittany * Melinda * Annika * Ashley 

It was fun to catch up with good friends and wish Melinda our best.  

We are tickled Pink...Blue for her!

A New Type of Hurt.

Why is it so much worse when your children hurt? Maybe because you want to bubble wrap them so that pain isn't an option in their lives. Clearly - that's not a solution. But I'm learning that all of the hurt I've felt in my life doesn't even compare to seeing your child struggle. Lucky for little CC - she is in really good hands with the physicians up at Primary Children's Medical Center.

We met with surgeons and pediatric urologists earlier this week. Little Sienna's condition is not going to get better, without the help of surgery. With Grade 5 Kidney Reflux on her left side, surgeons say there is an 85% chance this surgery will be successful and stop the reflux. Sienna is scheduled for surgery at PCMC on June 7th. She remains on antibiotics, and she will continue to take them 6 weeks post surgery too. The antibiotics are preventing her from developing another kidney infection - but her urinary tract is full of bacteria due to her kidney (or vesicoureteral) reflux.  Her bladder is not draining properly.  This is why she has been so sick.

Sienna's system looks similar to this picture. Her left side is distorted and dilated. After taking a closer look at her ultrasound pictures - surgeons think she has a partially duplicated system on the left side. That means she has two ureters connected to her left kidney, and then it appears they channel into one tube - attached to her bladder. So it looks like a "Y" shape. Those ureters are twisted and enlarged because fluids, which should be exiting her body...are being held in the bladder and then going back up - making it all the way to her left kidney. The doctors will be able to tell, during her surgery, if she has suffered any kidney damage. The non-working culprit that's been making her feel miserable is a flap-valve that is located inside of the bladder and attached to the ureters. It's not strong enough - so it's been allowing urine to relux back up into the kidneys. Sienna has Grade 2 reflux on her RIGHT side. Usually, with Grade 2, Doctors would put her on antibiotic therapy until her system could mature. (Usually around the age of 6.) But since they will be fixing the greater problems on her LEFT side - they will do the surgery on the RIGHT ureter as well. Surgeons will make an incision in her lower abdomen, much like a C-section. They will cut into her bladder and correct the flap-valve attachment. She will be at Primary's for 3 to 5 days, and then come home with ureteral stent tubes. Since her little system will be swollen, the tubes will come right from her bladder out of her tummy, above her hip bones. We can attach bags to her legs to collect the urine or double diaper her. She will have the stent tubes for a week or so.  

The more people I speak to, the more I learn there are many children suffering from some form of Kidney Reflux.  Doctors say it occurs in about 1% of healthy children.  It's something I had never heard of 2 months ago.  But research shows 1/3 of siblings have Kidney Reflux...so we will definitely screen for this in any future Taitor-Tots.  

Enjoying some milk!  Yummy.  

Sienna really loves to play Duck*Duck*Goose.  She randomly walks around tapping her head or a stuffed animal's head to keep the game going!

Thanks to all who have expressed kindness for Sienna.  This surgery has the potential to make her feel whole.  No more yuckiness and bacteria harbored in her system.  She's going to be okay.  I've been crying. A little.  Okay, more than a little.  I realize there are so many others dealing with things much, much worse...but my heart still breaks for my baby. It's overwhelming.  And yet, it's amazing that surgeons are skilled enough to identify and fix this problem.  

When I Grow Up...

Me: "Gracie, what do you want to be when you grow up?"
Gracie: "I want to be a Mommy, because then I won't miss my family. And Moms get to do Everything."

Everything is right. It's the one job that encompasses about 30 different careers. From counseling to nursing, culinary arts to detective work...Being a mom means you get to do Everything. And I love that she said get - not have to. Because it is a privilege to raise little ones. She about melted my heart when she said that. What a sweetie.

Earlier in the school year, one of my students said to me,
"Mrs. Tait, you only teach second period every day?  Wow.  So do you just go home and hang out until your husband gets done with work?"

If hanging out means scrubbing toilets, changing diapers, playing Duck Duck Goose, running errands and making dinner...then YES.  That's what I do.  Out of all the jobs I have had - being a mom has been the most difficult.  (Even more difficult than knocking on the door of a family who just got news that their son had been killed in Afghanistan...and asking them to talk about it?!)  That was an extremely hard day as a reporter in Montana, and I ended up sharing a very special bond with that family...but yes, being a mom takes even more courage than that.  Because moms shape the future.  And that can be quite intimidating.  However, with the difficulty of the job - comes the overwhelming reward.

Gracie told me yesterday, "When Heavenly Father looks down from his window in heaven - He sees me and He knows me."

How true that is for all of us.

Here are some other recent Gracie-isms: (During her bedtime prayer)
"Please bless President Monson (Pause) and President Obama." She started routinely praying for our Commander in Chief after she saw me watching the State of the Union Address months ago.

Gracie calls the Golden Arches "Old McDonalds" NEVER just "McDonalds".  She is so friendly.  She is always approaching new people when we are out and about.  Gracie doesn't really have a filter.  I mean, what four-year-old does?  But she is is so outgoing and innocent that I can usually count on being embarrassed during our weekly errands.  Here's an example:

We are eating at the Food Court in the mall.  A woman with extremely short hair, a plaid lumberjack shirt and a slightly deeper voice approaches our table.  She asks us where we got the chicken noodle soup we are enjoying.  I tell her we bought it at the Chick-fil-A.  She thanks us for the information and turns around.

Gracie says SO loudly:  "I really liked that MAN.  HE was nice!"

The lady heard.  I felt like yelling, I can see you are carrying a purse...I know you are a woman.  But I didn't think it would help.

It feels like we have been waiting for such a long time to get into the rotation at Primary Children's Hospital.  Pediatric Urologists are scheduled out months in advance.  However, next week is Sienna's appointment.  We are anxiously awaiting that.  She continues to be a trooper - even though she is dealing with discomfort.

Blossoming...

This was the East Side of our house. Charming, right? More like a ghetto trap beckoning weeds and just asking for little ones to fall into those gaping widow wells.

*Before*

This is the side of the yard NOW.

*After*

Jody worked hard to make this look fantastic. Now we have a walking path, with bushes and sturdy window well covers.

Spring is full of COLOR, and I love that. Our backyard is becoming that bright haven that we look forward to during this season.