I am dreaming of going to Hawaii, or Seattle, or Maine, or Denver, maybe San Fran....hmmm what would it be like to vacation anywhere other than Primary Children's? Last year we had the privilege of a$70K room a night vacation and we got it again this year! GO RSV!!!! Lindsy has been in the hospital for 9 days now and we are really ready to go home.

I am so grateful for this hospital and everything it is able to do for little kiddos. I shouldn't complain about our yearly stint in its rooms because without it we would have a lot fewer kids in the world.

Linds is doing really good right now, she is chewing on one of her many monitor cords right now and thinking that she is so big. I am going to have to put her to sleep with ropes and floss in order for her to feel at home and fall asleep when we get home.

So it has been a week since we have been home and we no longer have oxygen and both kids are doing well. Lindsy has not realized she can sleep all night long. We get 2 hours of sleep at a time if we are lucky, she is used to respiratory coming in and sucking her snot out and vitals being taken. :) We took her outside today for a jaunt around the pond and she was so excited to see everything. Justin saw her new coat and it has this cone like hood on top... "it's like a witch!" he said. Well its still adorable says mom!

Thank you to all our friends and family for offering prayers on our behalf. They were truly felt and I know that our doctors were directed and we coped with this much better because of them. Thank you so very much!

BEST WEEKEND OF MY LIFE....THUS FAR

So I am pretty sure this is the best weekend of my (and Gary's) life. Justin has had two major accomplishments and is turning into such a big boy!

We went to the doctor this weekend for our well baby checks and Justin was petrified. He didn't want to go and get any shots. I couldn't remember if he needed any so I told him we would have to ask our doctor. He cried and whined for hours before we even got there. The doctor told us he did not need any shots and he was so happy. Then the doctor asked about his potty training. I told her that it wasn't progressing very well and that Justin could do it but chose not to. She told him he was a big boy and should do it on his own. After leaving the office I talked to Justin about this topic, I asked him if he remembered what the doctor had said. I "reminded" him that the doctor had offered to give him a shot to help him poo in the potty. His head snapped up and he looked at me in shock "I don't want a shot!" Well I told him I didn't want him to get a shot either but if he needed help to poo in the potty we could give him one....that's all it took. He no longer poos in his pull ups and he is listening to his body ALL the time!! YAY!!! So it has only been 4 days and I am sure something bad will happen (even though poo has been found on the bathroom wall I am thinking of something worse) because I am bragging.

While we were at the hospital we needed to get an extra test done so we waited in the waiting room for our name to be called. Justin decided to go behind the chairs and play for a second. When they called our name and he came out I noticed his pocket had been pulled out, I told him to fix it and thought nothing of it. When we got out of the test Justin ran behind the chairs and pulled a binky/plug out from under one. He said "i can't forget my plug". Oh gross!! Whose plug is that? Does the receptionist know? no she doesn't. Ew I don't know whose that is Justin but there is no way it is yours and I am throwing it away!.....famous last words. Justin didn't even mind too much when I threw it away. But later that night when Gary was putting him to bed and I was staying over at my mom's with my sisters Justin had a meltdown. "why did mom throw my plug away?!?" When I called Gary later that night and he told me what I had done I didn't even believe it. I had thrown his plug away, it was his that he had snuck into his pocket and taken to toddler school and kept with him until he hid it in the waiting room later that day. It all made sense now! Well as traumatic as it was to lose it and to be the one who callously chucked it....we are done with it!!!! yay!!!!!! I thought the garbage can should have looked like this at the hospital, it's how I felt!

NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART......

Tonight was a new lesson in digestion for Gary and I, it's a good story so let's start at the beginning. We started Lindsy on food a couple weeks ago and she has LOVED it! Due to the love of this she eats a lot...maybe a bit more than she should have at first. Sunday she started to get a sick stomach and got really constipated, by Wednesday I'd had enough and called the doctor. I was told to try some prune juice...one tablespoon at a time and nothing more than 6 tablespoons in a 24 hour period. So we started slow since we didn't know how she would react. Nothing was happening so we kept giving more prune juice. With tablespoons of prune juice starting to accumulate I watched her...At the 8 hour mark I waited for the blowout to happen.. but nothing. We kept giving her more prune juice up to the max. At 24 hours...nothing...then 48 hours...nothing...then 72 hours..............OH MY GOSH!!!! 3 days of maximum prune juice and then it finally happened. Gary called me downstairs "i need help NOW!!" I have never seen so much poop come out of a child all at once. Justin acted as our little assistant rushing to get wipes anything we needed. Gary said " go get the garbage can and put it by mom." Justin did it but on his way to bring the can by us he said " are you going to throw Lindsy away?" It was hysterical!! Then I am taking off her cloths and he said" those are so poopy just throw them away." I guess I give up on laundry too easily sometimes.

So what did we learn from this evening???? As gross and sticky as kids can get sometimes, they can be rinsed and dried to make them smell so nice again. Oh thank heaven for washable kids!

Christmas for the Westergards... Grandma made this cool hut for Justin, we love to go to Grandmas house and play.

...Uncle Boyd and Justin were shoveling the walk at the cabin and Justin threw a big clump on Boyd....

... but Uncle boyd got a big kick out of it and they both laughed..it was adoreable!

...this is Lindsy's Christmas outfit...I'm liking accessorizing! She's so cute!

.... this is Dave's youngest with Lindsy they are 9 months apart and such super cute flower girls!

...Justin got a lot of legos and Aunt Julie spent a long time with him building, he loved it!

...about mid day this is what my little family looked like...they couldn't even make it through one book. :)

Halloween was so much fun! Our little pumpkins were so much fun to do and looked so awesome with the lights in them. It is the first year that we have really carved them and Justin had a blast sticking his hands into the gunk and ripping out its guts. He was pretty funny. Our family had pictures taken recently at the park and turned out so cute. It's strange to look at a picture and see us with TWO kids. My goodness!

I wanted to post a picture of Lindsy in her blessing outfit. She was so cute in it and I finally got a good shot of her.
Last night was our halloween as a family. We went to a costume murder mystery party and had a fun date night. I made the kiddos dress up since we will never get Gary back in that getup again. It was nice dating again...even if most of the nights conversation revolved around PBSKids.org. ha ha ha!

Lindsy's Blessing Day

Today was great! We rearranged our whole house to accommodate our family for lunch and it worked!! Justin was excited to watch "dad bless my sister Lindsy" and frequently told his teachers and random people he saw at the store. Lindsy was wearing the blessing dress that I wore when I was blessed so it had special meaning for us. Then I discovered this great store "Just for Girls" in Riverdale and I got sucked in to buying this cute bracelet for $12.00 that I think should have cost $2.00 but it was so cute and the sales lady said it was a cherished momento of the day....yeah I better shadow box the whole outfit and the bracelet one day. :)

Okay I am also very frustrated tonight. I have just spent the last 2 hours (give or take a few kid breaks) trying to improve this blog and add playlists and slide shows and all for not. I can't figure this thing out! I need a tutorial!!! So watch out friends if you have a cute blog with these cool things expect a phone call because I need help! :) By the way...GO DODGERS!!!!!

August Update!

This month was great, Lindsy and Justin are growing so fast and it is really fun to watch their milestones. I am back to work and Dad and Julie are watching the kids again, they are such a blessing in our lives and we are so happy that the kiddos can be watched by our family. Lindsy is now 12.5 pounds and holding her head up all the time (still really wobbly, but she is determined). Justin is walking around spouting off movie quotes from Aristocats and Robin Hood, since we watch a bit more TV now that I feed Lindsy. We also discovered "The Big Pumpkin" which is a children's book that Grandma Hadley gave Justin and it is a huge hit! The music that goes with the book is so funny and we get to listen to it over and over and over and over again. :)
Grandma Westergard had her birthday this month and at her party we got a cute shot of the grandkids.

Justin has loved Oggie the mascot of the Ogden Raptors all year long and we got another chance to meet him. We got to the ball park and all we can talk about is Oggie, we look for him, we stand on the seats and yell for him, and then suddenly......THERE HE IS!!! He comes near us and so Justin and mom stand up to go near him and take a picture. Bad idea! Justin starts to cry and run away saying how he doesn't want Oggie. Finally Gary picks him up and walks to Oggie and they take this picture. Right after this he ran for mom, it was pretty funny. Annie and Braden even showed up at the game and got to sit by us for a while. Braden and Jusitn got new hats, they were pretty cool stuff.

Dean and Lindsy were at Grandma’s house together. Side by side these two babies are not too different in size, they were so cute together.

We are new parents!!!!

Our baby goat was born August 13, 2008!!!

Justin has named it Bailer (like the tractor). We are so excited to be real farmers and seeing our animals multiply. ha ha ha!!:)

Our little family got so excited when we looked out the window to see another goat in the corral. Justin and I ran to get our "mosquito gear" on and then run outside. The "gear" did nothing since my son came in the house with about 10 bites on his face and neck...pretty sure we are looking at malaria or west nile or somthing. bah!! the only bad thing about living in the country!!

Our Little Lindsy

We are finally home from the hospital. Lindsy had some problems with her heart and had to have surgery to repair her PDA valve. We have spent the past 3 weeks of her little life in the hospital trying to diagnose and then waiting for our surgery date. Gary, Justin, and Lindsy are finally home with mommy and we are learning what it is like to have two children....no sleep. We have had such a great support from all our friends and family members during this time. It is truely a testimony building experience to receive such acts of service and love. We have truely felt the comfort from all the prayers being asked on our behalf. Thank you all so much we appreciate that help and support so much!

Gary participated in theQuestar Gas Rodeo. His team took 4th place and it was such a fun time for our family and the whole Questar gang. His team name is the Gashouse Gang (it does have some sort of baseball connotation, don't worry it's not all about the gas :)

This is the Westergard family of 3 before we add to it and become a family of 4!

Lindsy is here!!!

We have a new family member at the Westergard household! She was born Friday and was 7lb 15oz and 20.5" long. (SOOOO much smaller than Justin that mom's recovery has been lots better). Just after Lindsy was born she was monitored for her oxygen saturation and was a little too low. It turns out that she has a valve that didn't close in her heart that is causing the distress and a little time spent in the NICU on oxygen and more testing is what we have been doing. She is growing like a weed and eating like a champ and so we are so excited even though we are not at home yet. Check out how cute she is and how much she looks like her brother...except maybe a bit darker.

Christmas Letter December 2007

This year has been a wonderful year for our family. Our little family has experienced a lot and seen a lot of change. We moved 1 1/2 miles away from our A-frame rental home into a multi-level home on one acre. We are discovering how to manage weeds, build fences, plant grass, install a gas line, paint, carpet, exterminate mice, raise goats, plant trees, rototill, kill zuchini, attempt tomatoes, oh the list goes on an on. With the addition of our two goats, Torro and Kenneth, our family has more than doubled. Torro is an old goat who is onery and doesn't like to listen to me very well. The first time that I met torro in the corral at my house he looked at me and knew I was no match for him. He darted past me and ran out the gate that I had left open. I tried to catch him but I was wearing Gary's boots (as if that is a good excuse) and so couldn't run very fast. Gary ended up chasing him to our neighbor's house where the goat began to run with the horses. They were kicking and raring so much that when Gary reached to grab the goat he got kicked in the hand by a horse. It was his first wound of our new house, but definately not his last. Even after that experience we are considering babysitting horses in the future but that hasn't happened yet (much to my neice Megan's dissapointment). We are pretty happy to take care of ourselves and our little boy, it may be too much to ask to take care of a large animal like that. :) THis is a picture of Justin at the property at Sunridge. All the Hadley's have rediscovered it this past year and have had a fun time going up and clearing weeds and trees in hopes of getting a truck down there one day to camp.

Gary is still working at Questar Gas in the Operations Department, which means whenever there is a gas leak at a home or on a construction site he is the one who can go fix it. He is happy there and really enjoys his co-workers. He doesn't get in as much hunting time as he would like and so to compensate he will regularly call his friends and co-workers over to our house to check out the antelope we have hanging in our family room. ( it's downstairs at least). I think the whole reason we moved to where we did was for
Gary and his love for hunting. He can leave the house and go down the street for 1/2 hour or so and get his hunting fill for the day (even if he doesn't see anything he likes it). I am trying to break into the hunting world and this christmas took Dave and Elise shooting clay pidgeons. It was an adventure as I strutted my non-existant "stuff". :)
I am working at McKay-Dee Hosptial as a Health Educator and Student Coordinator, which means I'm a know-it-all who orients employees and students to our hosptial. :) I do this two days a week and then the other days I am able to be home with Justin. I like being a mom and am learning what a play group is. The thing I covet most right now is a season pass to the Tree House Museum in Ogden. My my how my prioroties have changed. This picture is of the Hall Christmas party and Justin is proud as he wears his Yankee hat that Santa gave him. Jerry and Joanne Hall had gone to New York this year, during one of the coldest bus rides they were on the ducked into a little Yankee shop to warm up. While in there they had a great idea to get Justin a yankee hat and an antenna ball for Gary. They knew Gary loved the Yankees! When they got home the news was broken to them that Gary loved the Dodgers and the only baseball words that Justin knew were "Yankees BOO! Dodgers Yay!!" Santa still gave the hat and antenna ball to us and everyone thought that was really funny!!



Justin turned two this year and as a two year old has had some major accomplishments in the past year. He is walking...wait scratch that, he is RUNNING, JUMPING, SKIPPING, everywhere. He likes to talk on the phone and responds really well when you ask him closed ended questions. "Yeah", "No", "Good". He amazes Gary and myself when he sings songs to us, when he asks us questions, or responds using small sentences. It is great being the parent of a genius! (Who in this pictures shows his love of tomatoes (rotton or not) and the fruit that causes extreme exema in my Justin...live and learn)

The Hadley family is doing well this year and seems to be relishing in its grandchildren. Mom and Dad are doing really well. Mom is still in remission and receives glowing reports from her doctor about her health, she is also looking super skinny lately due to her great eating habits (which I am jealous of). Dad is still as busy as ever working on projects and trying to convince me I need to have more of them. :)

We have exciting news at this year...we are PREGNANT!! We will be having a baby girl the first part of July and are very excited!! Hope to see you soon!!

Long time no write, I know I know!!! I really think about everyone all the time but it took Mother Russell to snap me out of my "no-communication" phase. :) I want to let everyone know that I love reading the emails from you and hope you are doing well in everything you do. I wanted to update you as to what is going on in my life...cause it's been a lot in the past 6 months :)
Gary and I have now entered the world of grown ups and we bought a house!! (I put our new address in the email so you all know) We got the keys to our new home the day after christmas, so it made our christmas time one of little decoration and lots of painting and cleaning (BORING!!) We have 1 acre with a barn and two corrals. The only animals to our name are two dogs, Zip and Gunner. They take up 1/3 of the barn and feel very important doing so. Justin is growing up like mad!!! He is so cute and fun! He is walking everywhere and saying words that suprise us he knows....not those 4 letter words. :)
This is a picture of our kitchen with a very cute boy just learning to walk in it. These are the red cupboards that scared us at first but now we really like because it feels so warm and nice.









This is the only picture we have of our house that I could find. It doesn't show the whole house or the backyard but it is showing you what it really looks like with dirt piled up and a back hoe all over the yard breaking sprinkler line (we didn't realize it would do that but it certainly did a number on all our sprinklers, they are almost all fixed now thankfully. Just in time for summer).

A story of our family :)

Welcome to the Westergard Family Blog! Since your flying with someone with little experience please keep your arms and legs in at all times and HOLD ON!!! :)

It all started (or eneded) in December when Gary and I were expecting an un-named little boy who was promised by their OB/GYN to be under 10lbs at birth. I had a pretty okay pregnancy and a wonderful labor (didn't remember any of it thanks to the lovely epidural and how sleepy it made me) and we gave birth to a 9lb 13 oz 21inch long baby boy who much to the annoyance of our family still didn't have a name.

It did take an extra day and a half but we finally figured out a name for our little boy, Justin Frank. He had lots of sandy blonde hair with highlights that made the nurses smile. Everytime he came back from the nursery he had a new hairstyle. We had a lot of great visitors at the hospital and people called in as well to wish us luck and tell us congratulations. We really felt the love of all our friends and family.

After maternity leave I went back to work at the credit union three days at 20 hours a week. It was hard to leave Justin but he was being watched by Mom and Dad and Julie so I knew he was being extra loved.

This May a lot of things happened in the Westergard family. Mom had finished her chemotherapy and radiation and was recovering, so we all decided to go to California and celebrate the end of that time in our lives. We headed to SanDiego and stayed in a very fun condo right on the beach. We went to Sea World, the outlet malls, DODGER STADIUM!!Petco park (to see the Padres) and the temple. It was such a great week we all really enjoyed it. We only missed one family, but Dave and Elise are going to come for Christmas so we will all be together then. We are trying to raise Justin to be a good Dodger fan and so when we caught the dodgers game we made sure to take this picture so we could frame it in our house to remind ourselves who we need to be loyal to. Justin fell asleep through most of it but it was fun to hang out with family at the game and listen to Gary give me play-by-plays.

In June of this year I was able to get a job at McKay-Dee using my degree in Health Promotion (shocker, I didn't think that was ever going to happen). So now I only work 2 days a week and still leave Justin with my newly retired Dad and Julie.

Gary is working for the gas company and really likes it there. This summer I liked to call him on really hot days and ask how things were going. My office is kept at a frigid temperature of 67 degrees and it just made him jealous to hear my teeth chatter as he was working in the sun. :)

Justin is now 9 months old and just figured out the crawling thing. He has four teeth and is heavy as a log! Gary and I are trying to baby proof the house but it is more and more difficult since we don't anticipate Justin grabbing as many things as he does!

This picture is the first of the four teeth that Justin has. He got all his teeth within a three week period and also began to crawl at the same time. We think if he progresses at this pace he will become a genius by 1 yr old. :)

That is all for now, the rest is history in progress. :)