Brandon turns 3!!!

Brandon turned 3 on May 30th. For those of you who don't know Brandon had rough entry into this world. He was born 3 weeks early and when he was born he was not breathing. The doctors and nurses were able to get him breathing and I was able to hold him for a few minutes before they took him to the NICU where he began his 13 day stay. He struggled to breath for about 1 full day until they put him on a ventilator to help him breath. He was not getting any better so a day or so later they put him on a high frequency ventilator. The doctors told us that a baby in Brandon's condition has only 4 steps they can do for him and he was already on step 2 and getting close to step 3. Once they do step 4 and it doesn't work he might die. Not the words parents want to hear. Matt and I were of course freaked out. Our wonderful ward in Fontana, CA had a ward fast for him 2 days later and the next day he started to improve. It took him more than a week to be completly ventilator free but he did it. The picture below is Brandon on the first ventilator.

This is a picture of Matt and I the first day we could take Brandon out of his bed and hold him. He came home 3 days later.

This is a picture of our healthy baby boy. This was the picture we sent in his birth announcement. Don't you just love the eyes.

This is Brandon eating his birthday cake on his 2nd birthday. I love the chubby cheeks.

This is Brandon on his 2nd birthday in our backyard on the swingset in Fontana, CA.


And finally my sweet Brandon at 3 years old. I can't believe how fast time has gone by. Dispite all the trauma of his birth and first couple of weeks of life he has been a real joy to have around. Emma and Jake adore him and he loves them right back. Brandon is a true miracle and blessing to our family. We love you Brandon! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Memorial Day Weekend and Brandon's Birthday

We went to Utah for Memorial Day and to celebrate Brandon's birthday with family. Usually when the kids have a family birthday party it would just end up being the 5 of us so, it was so fun to have aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents there to celebrate. As you can see from the picture Brandon had mixed emotions about his birthday. Half the time he was laughing and smiling and the rest of the time he was pouting and crying. Oh, the life of a 3 year old.
Brandon had a Diego party as you can see from the poster behind him and his hat.

I love the pictures of people blowing their candles out, and this picture did not disappoint.

On Memorial Day we went down to the RV park my brother and dad own in Marysvale, Ut. We all got busy helping out where we could. Emma is busy cleaning the Ranger...

Brandon and Matt are doing some repairs on the Kawasaki...

and Jake is now where to be seen. He was probably playing by the creek. I of course was supervising everyone. :)

We got a backyard!!

Okay so when we moved in to this house we received a voucher to have our backyard done. It was not a huge amount of money but enough to get a little grass and some trees and bushes. This first picture is the before picture. This is a picture of the curbing for the backyard that was put in a few days before the grass and trees.

This is the finished product. There was not a whole lot to do so it only took the landscapers one day to do it all. The best part is that it was all FREE!! Eventually we will have a patio and maybe one day in the far distant future we will have a pool. You cannot see from this photo but the other half of the yard is all gravel with a few trees. It would be a great place for a trampoline. Maybe we will get one when the weather cools off. Anyway we are enjoying the yard and the kids love having grass again.