Late, Late, Late...

Okay, this post should have been done in December, but I got this disc from my parents, and I had to post these pictures! I love them! The background: for Troy's 29th (wow, can you believe we're that old? I still feel 17!) birthday, we went to Buca da Beppo's and then to Temple Square. It was fun. We witnessed a very odd road rage event in which a driver of a vehicle with a handlebar mustache got out of his vehicle and started brawling with a pedestrian...right outside the temple gates...heard all sorts of language...nice...joking that nobody should mess with a guy with a handle bar mustache...even if that includes about 45% of men in the state of Utah! Hee Hee...anyways, we got some good pics of the family...for those of you who know my bro's...anyways, we don't get together often, due to the fact that we are scattered around the country, so here are some pics!

Jason (green and tan coat) has at least 3 coats on. He lives in San Diego and was frozen while he was here! It was pretty funny!

Here's our little family. I guess not so little anymore. It's been 9 years since we were married and had our wedding picture taken in this same spot!

It's been 30 years since my parents were married in the SLC Temple. Don't know if they got their picture taken in this same spot...it was SOOOO long ago!

Here's a picture of our little Hazy (Haley's nickname - Hazy or Haze - we thought it sounded better then Hells). This was about a week before she was admitted to the hospital, so I'm sure she weighed well under 7 lbs. The outfit and hat she is wearing are gifts from 2 of my best friends! Funny how they went almost perfectly together! I love them! THANKS! THANKS! In case my bro's are reading...miss you! Can't wait to see you at the wedding!

Bathtime

The kids new favorite thing to do is take a bath in our jetted tub. The bubbles go a long way with the jets on! I decided to let Haley hop in too! She loved it!

Haley is now 2 months old! She had her 2 month check-up today and weighs 9 lbs! YEA! Can you believe it!? She is still teeny, but she's so cute! She smiles all the time! For the first time she pooped out of her diaper and all over her clothes! It's a miracle! It's taken her 2 months to do it!

This weekend I (and Haley) was in Anaheim and Las Vegas with Erin(my business partner). I had a convention down there! The weather was incredible! Sure beats this 20 degree weather! We've got to plan a Disneyland trip down there! I also got to scrapbook a little bit. I started Haley's album. It was so fun! That's us lately! Not much happening. Haley is being blessed on Sunday...we are having a brunch afterwards at our house, and I want it to be perfect! I've never got to host something like that! Should be fun! Can't wait to see my friends from Oregon too! (Amy and kids and the Stevensons) I'll post pictures afterwards!

Congratulations!

I forgot to tell everyone that Troy's sister Allisun, is engaged! She is marrying Beau C. (since we ARE online...) originally from Seattle, WA on April 21st! We are excited! We all really like Beau! The kids keep telling us that Beau's going to be their uncle soon! It's the first person entering the crazy Korth family (other than babies) in 8 years, Kenny was the last one! (I think he's made the family crazier!) Anyways, we are all excited for her! Oh, and one reason I LOVE Beau...he likes to look through my scrapbooks (Troy doesn't even do that without patronizing me!) Welcome to the family Beau!

Our little pip-squeek

Hey! Haley got weighed in today. She weighs 8 lbs. 2 oz. She will be 8 weeks old on Monday. She is slowly gaining weight, but that is marvelous for us! Here is a picture of her in her bouncy seat. I'll be honest, she's spoiled, and doesn't last long not being held! It's my fault. I have been so worried about her burning any calories, the second she starts crying, I pick her up. Now that she's gaining weight, I am trying to ween her from being held constantly!

Here is a picture of her smiling! You all remember that newborn toothless grin! It's definately payday when she smiles!She was doing really good in her seat, watching me clean the kitchen. As long as she can see me, she's happy! I love it!

Kristin got sick this week. Some wierd flu bug. Poor girl has layed around moaning for 2 days! She finally fell asleep in her chair from Santa. We are all about blankets here! The blanket she has on, is actually the one I used in college...it's still one of the favorites!

Today, Jake helped me make Applesauce Cake. (Milk-free). He thought it was great fun! It sure is a lot messier when you let them help!

Earlier this week, Troy helped me put up my frames. I added some, and am still waiting on 3 8x10's to be printed at costco. I love this wall...I could look at it all day...I just love pictures! This view is from my kitchen, so I see it often!

Well, I hear Haley crying...gotta run!

Weigh-in...

Just wanted to update everyone on Haley. She got weighed again today. I have been dairy free since last Thursday, and have been strictly nursing since Friday. Since Friday, she has only gained 1 oz. BUT, she hasn't lost weight. The doc said it might take some time for the dairy to leave my system, so we're going to weigh her again on Friday, to see how things are going. Then we'll see if I need to start giving her formula as well as nursing...we'll see...I'll keep you posted.

Today was an INSANE day! I'm starting to think Utah is synonomous with Sick. Kyle's school called me cause he was sick - except, I was at the doctor with Haley, and they didn't call my cell phone, so from the messages on my home phone, Kyle sat in the office at school with a temp of 105 for TWO HOURS before I picked him up(Troy's mom finally got ahold of me). I don't think the school office ladies realized my cell phone was an out of state number. The dumb thing is, there are a ton of people listed in his file at school, who could have picked him up within 5 minutes, and all of them could have gotten ahold of me. I'm a little bit irritated that it took 2 hours for someone to get called to pick him up.

Although, it is my fault for letting him go to school in the first place. During the middle of the night, Kyle woke up and told Troy his ear hurt. Troy said he felt hot, gave him some motrin, and put him back to bed. He woke up and was fine. I told him he couldn't go to school, and that I was going to take him to the doctor. He said he was fine, and begged to go to school. I felt his head, he didn't have a fever, and he told me his ear didn't hurt anymore. I figured it was a passing thing (which has happened in the past) and let him go. The first call from his teacher came 30 minutes after I dropped him off at school. So, after taking Haley in to the doctor in the morning, I took Kyle back in the afternoon. Turns out he has strep throat! Poor kid. He sure is a boob when he's sick though. Motrin is heaven though! I swear when he's on motrin, you would never know he's sick...the second it wears off...beware! Funny story...when the doctor was checking him out, he was asking Kyle what was wrong. Kyle told him that his ear, his head, and his throat hurt. The doctor was listening to his lungs and heart and asked if Kyle's stomach hurt. Kyle said yes. Then, the doctor asked if his legs hurt...Kyle pointed to his left leg, and said, "Yes, this one does" The doctor looked at me and said, "I think I better quit asking questions!" It was hilarious!

So, that was my day! Cherice let Jake come play with Daxton this afternoon, so we could try to keep him away from Kyle. That was awesome. I am fighting a cold myself, so I got a chance to lay down for a bit, which was so nice!

Kristin started going to a little play group today that she was invited to go to. It consits of 4-6 girls (some are moving) that will all be in the same grade when they start attending school. She loved it. My only problem is that the girls played with Barbie's. I know, I know, I played with them, but they're not my first toy or doll of choice(they rank right up there with Bratz dolls - who would buy their kids those? The name should be a big enough warning...), and Kristin is only 2. Kristin told me she had to put clothes on the Barbie's cause she could see their bum crack. Can't wait til she knows what cleavage is! So, I don't know how to deal with that. I want her to make friends, and go to a fun playgroup...but I don't know how to keep her away from Barbie's. I guess I can't keep her away from most things in life, I just have to teach her that a Barbie isn't anything to aspire to be like...wish me luck with that one!

Going off dairy isn't as hard as I thought it would be. It was hard the first few days, but after a trip to the grocery store, and major meal planning, and knowing that it's a matter of life and death for my child, it's pretty easy...I'm just not looking forward to 4 months down the road when I would love an ice cream cone...fyi...sherbet has dairy too! :( OH, I told Troy that I thought he should go off dairy too. He said not a chance! Rude...

Snowstorm

On Thursday, there was a snowstorm. After school, the boys went to jump on the tramp (from Santa) to remove all the snow. They said that they "ice skate" on the tramp.

Cousin Eddie...

On Christmas morning, we were trying to pack up the car and get from my parents house to Troy's parents house. Jason told us that Cousin Eddie (aka Kyle) was in the front yard. (National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation). This is what we found...

Haley's Hospital Pics

Haley loved this mobile! I need to see if I can find it for her! The movers broke her mobile.

This is her little IV. I left the room when they stuck it in!

Here's our scrawny girl hooked up to all the machines! She's almost 5 weeks old in this picture.

Christmas Pictures

Haley update...

Okay, Haley weighed in today. She was a whopping 7 lbs. 10 oz.!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YEA!!!!!! The doctor asked if he could give me a hug, he was so excited! Apparently, he was really worried...So, the prognosis: She has a milk protein allergy. The difference between that and lactose intolerant is that Haley can't digest milk protein while people who are lactose intolerant can't process milk sugar. So, I am going completely off of dairy so that I can nurse her. The alternative is EXPENSIVE formula, so I have to at least give it a try. It's actually my second day off of dairy. It sucks. I'm pretty much hungry all day(great New Year's diet, huh?). Yesterday I lived off of ritz crackers and water. (My fault...not too many groceries still...with moving, Christmas, and hospital...no time) Today I am just realizing there's really nothing to eat. No butter, milk, sour cream, cheese, etc. I can't even substitute it with soy, because soy has the same type of proteins. So, bring on the dairy free recipes! Well, just wanted to give everyone an update...off to bed!

Primary Children's Hospital

Okay, Christmas was great! It was fun meeting Jabani and seeing all of my brothers and Maria! Even though the visit was too short! Hopefully we can all meet up again soon in Santa Cruz for the wedding in the summer! Anyways, I still can't find the camera cord, so another boring post.
Here is what has happened since Christmas...
Last Thursday, I took Haley into her new doctor to meet them, and to have her 1 month appointment. Well, they weighed her, and she weighed 7 lbs. 0 oz. She weighed 7 lbs 1 oz. when she was born, so it was a little concerning...the doctor sent us up to Primary Children's Hospital for some tests. I dropped the kids off at my mom's (Thank heaven's for that!) and headed up. I tried calling Troy's cell phone, but he didn't answer. I left a message and called Erin and had her email Troy at work. I still couldn't get ahold of him. (Later, he sent an email to the people at work "suggesting" that there be a way for spouses to get ahold of people in case of an emergency!) I got to the hospital and they took us right in. I called Troy's mom, and had her keep trying to call Troy (my cell didn't have any service in her hospital room). It took over 2 hours to finally get ahold of Troy. (I was worried about getting ahold of him, because I was told there was a good chance Haley would have to have surgery that day!)

Haley had a million tests done. Almost anything in radiology, was done. An upper GI test- drinking berillium (I think that's the name) and then watching what the food did, a CT scan, an ultrasound, and more x-rays. The findings: nothing anatomically wrong that would cause this. So, they admitted us. The doctors told us we would be there at least for 2 days, until she could gain about 1/2 an ounce a day - although they would have preferred 1 oz. a day. So, I stayed in the hospital with her and nursed. They didn't think I was producing enough milk, so in came the lactation specialists. (Wish I had Lynn around!) They got me started on a breast pump. Let me tell you, pumps suck. (Figuratively, and literally!) I hate it! I was so stressed out feeling like it was my fault, cause I didn't produce enough milk, trying to pump, and being in the hospital, that Haley's doctor thought it would be best to send us home. He said he could monitor her from home almost as good as at the hospital.

So, I had to start keeping a log. I had to pump at least 8 times a day, give Haley at least 4 oz. of milk every 4 hours, (yes, I did formula too) and watch her diapers. We came home late Saturday afternoon. I did awesome! We logged everything, and I pumped...till the cows came home (hmmm...not meant to be a pun...but when you're hooked up to a breast pump, that's kinda how it feels) and we gave her all this reflux medicine. She seemed to be doing okay, until yesterday. She started vomitting constantly, and afterwards, she would be starving! We kept making little bottles, and she would gulp them up, and gradually puke it all up again. (Remember, nothing anatomically wrong - and now we know she's getting enough food)

So, we took her back to her doctors office this morning, to check her weight! I was feeling hopeful...well, she now weighs 7 lbs. and 1/2 an ounce. So, since last Thursday, she's only gained 1/2 an ounce and she's actually lost weight since we left the hospital. SO FRUSTRATED! So, the doctor gave us some hypoallergenic formula to try. Said she may not be able to process milk proteins (he said it was something other than being lactose intolerant). So, we have to try that for 3 days (while I continue to pump) and then if that fixes it, I can continue to nurse, I just have to go off of dairy. If it doesn't fix it, I have no idea what the next step is. At some point, I would think they would have to give her a feeding tube...I mean, come on, she's 5 weeks old, and under her birth weight(normal babies should gain at least 1/2 oz a day, so by my calculations she should weigh at least...8 lbs. 3 oz. I am so frustrated!

Anyways, trying to be hopeful that this formula works! We'll deal with whatever happens next on Friday. So, this formula is CRAPPY! It stinks, and tastes bad. Haley doesn't even like to drink it, and sobs while she's drinking it. Since she is so pukey, it is really crappy, cause then the stink gets on us and everything! That's my life lately. I wonder if I'll ever get unpacked? In order to do so, I have to stay up late, and now I have to make bottles and pump in the middle of the night, so when do I sleep?

Anyways, we may have to have a special fast for her...I'll keep you posted if anyone would like to fast with us! Hope everyone is having a happy New Year! I have pics of Haley in the hospital (my camera was in my purse from Christmas!) and of Christmas. I'll post them whenever I can find the cord...hmmm...where is that thing?

We're finally home!

Hello everyone! We made it home. It has been an eventful week! The airplane ride went without a hitch! I am so grateful for my friend Steff from VA. The night before I left, she left on my doorstep a little bag of things for the kids. Not normal things. I had told her I wanted to go buy pipe cleaners for the kids to play with on the plane. I know, a wierd thing, but I saw some kids playing with them in Sacrament Meeting and thought it was worth a try. She had some on hand, and brought them over (to save me a trip to Michael's with 4 kids) along with a few other surprises. She sent some left over felt, and cardstock and glue sticks and those wiggly eyes. Those few items kept Jake and Kristin entertained for at least 30 minutes on the plane. That was HUGE!

We got home to a house full of all of our stuff...why we think we need all of it, who knows? After living in VA with the bare minimum, when I am unpacking, I am realizing just what we need, and what we don't, and throwing a ton of stuff away! Our new appliances were here, and needed to be installed. Kenny had painted most of our house for us (THANK YOU! WE LOVE IT!) and most importantly, the kitchen cabinets. All day Friday and Saturday, we had constant visitors. Everyone was being so nice and helpful but it was something we definately were not used to...we are now! We love our family! So much needed help this week! A big surprise was when Scotty and his family stopped by (good friend from High School). There was wet paint in the house, and needless to say, they didn't get past the entryway, but once things are sane again, we'll have to invite them over. We really appreciate our family - they've helped us tons.

It has been almost a week since we got here, and I have already made 2 trips to Urgent Care for Haley. Poor girl is only 3 weeks old, and has a horrible cold. She has reflux too, which makes her cold worse. In 4 days, she lost 3 ounces. On Tuesday night, she weighed 7 lbs. 6 oz. Only 5 oz. more than when she was born. I am especially worried for her lungs...due to prior experience with all the other kids. As of now, I think she's over the worst. She's on Zantac which has made a world of difference and hopefully, she'll be fattening up soon.

We love our house. It feels so good to be home. It would feel even better if it was clean and everything was put away and out of boxes...but all in time. I can't even believe Christmas is in a few days. Troy is in Vegas now, at the bowl game - Congrats BYU for KICKING THE CRAP OUT OF OREGON! So, that leaves Saturday for us to Christmas shop...woopie! I can't wait...shopping on the last Saturday before Christmas...could there be anything worse?

A fun thing...my brothers are in town - Jason and David (in tow with girlfriend Jabani - David's girlfriend...not a shared one!). Michael and Maria will get here tomorrow. It's been fun seeing my brothers, and I can't wait to spend Christmas with my whole family. It has been years since we all spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning together. After an hour with my wild kids, my brothers are definately worn out...oh well, they only see them once a year - roughly. They should enjoy every second! Troy turns 29 tomorrow too! We are going to dinner and to temple square to see the lights. It should be a fun day!

Well, I think that describes my week. Of course, I don't know where the camera cord is, so pics will come later! Now, back to the boxes...

National Christmas Tree

On our way to the TREE!

We got a new stroller. It is a sit and stand one. The baby carrier hooks into the front ( I was wearing Haley in my front pack during this particular picture). We like it, cause Jake and Kristin can both fit on the back. It was on clearance at Babies R Us, which is why we got this particular model, but it works! Our old double stroller, we had lost (or who knows, it's somewhere in the move) the attachment where you can attach the baby carrier, which makes it pretty useless. Plus, it has gotten so much use, it's trashed! Now we have 2 double strollers...let's go to Disneyland!

Here's your National Christmas Tree:

We went downtown the other night for one last hurrah! We went to see the National Christmas Tree. It was pretty cool. They have a tree decorated for every state. Some organization donates the stuff to decorate it. It is usually done by a girl scout troop, or school, or something. Around the bottom of the Christmas Tree, there are tons of train sets that are going. The kids loved watching that! It was such a gorgeous night out! Here's another crappy pic of the kids...still can't figure that whole flash thing out...honestly, I haven't tried...too much to do!

I took this picture so that you could see the White House on the left side of the Christmas Tree. You can see more of the train sets too. Okay, here are pics of some of the state trees. All of the trees are exactly the same height, and they all have see-through ornament balls. Each state decorated the inside of them.

Here's the Oregon State Tree. It was kind of cheesy, all they did was put ribbons in their ornament balls.

Here is the Utah State Tree:

It was decorated pretty cool, with snow in the bottom of all of them, and ski's and such in the snow...then some of them had sand and the arches...

Here's the Nevada Tree, just for you Erin. I honestly don't remember what the balls had in them...
Oh, I forgot to tell you about what happened on the way home. We saw the presidential motor cade. He must have been out shopping, but we were stopped at a light, and he came (with his enterage - however you spell it) past us. Pretty cool...for some odd reason, our family keeps seeing the presidential motorcade...David in Indiana (I think), Troy and Doug in Wyoming (on their way to the BYU vs CSU game), and us in DC. What are the odds? I tried to take a picture...but this was all I got...

Santa Pics

Here's the pics I promised...not that great...oh well...that's my kids...no trying to disguise it! Oh, and yes, that's another bruise on Jake's forehead! He's just not Jake without a bruise on his forehead!

Just wondering if it was possible if any of my kids could look at the camera at the same time? Guess not...

Santa Claus

The kids have been begging to go see Santa. Delilas invited us to dinner last night, so we went to the Manassas mall to see Santa. I thought it would be less busy than Dulles Town Center, which is always packed! I was right! There was 1 family in front of us! Kristin was the most excited. This is her first year of being old enough to know what's going on. She asked Santa for a kitchen. Jake asked for a train(why? he already has one), and Kyle asked for 2 soccer goals (he originally wanted a soccer ball, but he must have realized he already has one, so went for the next most logical gift - the goals.) The Santa was really nice. He even held Haley, and a big bonus, we didn't have to pay the $20 for the mall picture, they let us take our own, but I only got 2 tries! So, here are the 2 pics I got...whoops! I haven't dowloaded the pics yet...my camera is in the car so I don't forget it tonight. We are headed to downtown DC to see the National Christmas Tree! I will upload the pics later!

Ward Christmas Party

We had our ward Christmas Party on Saturday. It was amazing! Such great food and a program. The thing I was most impressed by was the orchestra that was made up solely of people in our ward. There were probably about 12 people, and they played the song, "For Unto Us a Child is Born", which the ward sang along to. It was amazing! I think easterners are much more artistically refined than those in the west. To prove my point, I was telling a friend (from Oregon) that was what I thought (about being more refined) and she said that someone brought a guitar to theirs for a sing-a-long. Not that that is bad, any music is better than none, but that is the difference...Anyways, it made me want to sign Kyle up for violin lessons. I want a piano more than anything now! I can at least get him started in piano! Anyways, back to the party...They did a program, based on the nativity. Kyle and Jake were asked to participate. Kyle was to be Samuel the Lamanite, and Jake was a cow. At first, I couldn't figure out what Samuel the Lamanite had to do with the nativity, but Troy reminded me he propheside (I know I spelled that wrong...) of the birth of Christ, so that was Kyle's part. Jake was a cow, who got to hang out in the same stable as Baby Jesus. Jake thought that at the end of the program, he should HOLLER into the microphone..."THANKS FOR COMING!" Troy and I were trapped in the middle of the audience and could do nothing...
Kristin and Haley stayed with us in the audience! Man, they are so much better behaved than the boys would have been. My only complaint about Kristin was that she couldn't quit singing. Everytime they played a song, she would have to sing too. It was never the same song as in the program, and it was always loud. She's such a diva!

Haley

Just a picture of Haley in her carseat! She's so cute! She can't wait to meet her Grammy and Papa and her Grandpa Korth!

Kyle-ism

So, we found a mouse here in our garage. Thank HEAVENS we only have 4 days left here! I am the one that spotted it first. Troy thought that my hollering was me splitting open my incision...it wasn't...it was a mouse. The only things on this planet, that literally make me squirmish thinking of...anyways...

We bought a mouse trap. Not the normal kind, it looks like a hockey puck, you put bait in it, the mouse goes in, eats poison, dies, and you can throw away the disc without having to look at the mouse. It has these indicators on the top of it that tell you if it's set, not set, or mouse caught. Well, it's been almost 2 days since we've put the trap out, and no mouse. The boys have been anxiously waiting and watching the indicators!

We got home from church today. Kyle went and looked at the trap. He looked up at Troy, and in an exasperated voice, said, "I know why it's not catching any mice! There's a picture of a mouse trap on the side of it!" OF COURSE! Why would a mouse go into a little house with a picture of a mouse trap on it? Love his logic!

Washington DC Temple Lights

We decided to go see the lights at the temple tonight. The kids were crazy, and needed to get out of the house. We listened to Christmas Music on the way there. It was really nice. It wasn't too cold outside. This is the view looking into the Visitor's Center. Look closely, and you can see the Christus.Here's Troy and Kristin. The pictures aren't that great. I need to figure out my camera a little bit better, with shutter speeds, etc...so that my pics aren't all blurry...

Here's our family in front of the temple. I thought this was a gorgeous setting, but again, I've got to figure out shutter speed...

Here's Grandma Korth with the kids, watching the LIVE nativity. They asked a couple in our ward to volunteer to be the nativity couple, but we will be back in Utah. It would have been cool though!

Here's a picture of me and the girls. We had to squat down by the pink lights (thanks Kristin). I was praying I wouldn't fall over.

It was such a fun and pretty night at the temple. I think we were there a total of 15 minutes, but it was perfect! I wasn't too sore, and the kids got some energy out before bedtime. Haley stayed perfectly warm in my new "New Native Infant Carrier". I think I got a size too big, but I am going to try to shrink it. Merry Christmas everyone! I can't wait to go see the lights at Temple Square...I've got to figure out the whole shutter speed thing first...any tips?