It's Better to Look Good Than to Feel Good

As I write this I am sitting in the Salt Lake City Airport, hoping to somehow get a flight home. I am on a Southwest stand-by ticket. I got a great price and it worked well going to Salt Lake, but it is not as easy going home on a Sunday. I've been here since about 2:00 and it's now 7:30. I have one more shot tonight and then I'll just go to a hotel for the night. Unfortunately, my luggage and any hope of comfortable shoes went to Seattle.

Baby Brooks went home from the hospital today. He is doing well and spends a lot of his time sleeping. He is going to be a well dressed baby and he had a special outfit designated for his trip home. He was fine with what he was wearing.....


a plain white t-shirt...





He wasn't happy with the 3 piece outfit.

But he looked cute!

It was really hard saying goodbye to the baby. I guess I just got very attached to him in the past few days. I was so lucky to be able to spend the time with the family as little Brooks changed everything. It was obvious that he was left in good hands with parents that have fallen in love with him and I know will take very good care of him.

I'm looking forward to being back in Utah for his blessing and Daddy Brooks' graduation in late April.

More Baby Pictures for Jacki

Jacki wanted to be with Heather this week but with her busy schedule and having 2 kids of her own, it was too hard for her to get away. She wanted more pictures so Jacki, these are for you. We can't seem to get him to keep his eyes open for more than 2 seconds so it was tough getting this shot. His face looks much wider than it actually is.

Heather is doing well today with all of the tubes and needles removed from her body. She is up and walking around and feeling good, but I say she could still use more rest.

This was going to be an open eye picture but it turned out to be a yawn instead.

More Baby Pictures and a Video

Is it just me or do Brooks and Heather look a little tired here?

Uncle Jason

Brooks did an awesome job of changing a diaper for the first time.

This is What a C-Section Looks Like

I was a bit apprehensive about actually being in the room when Heather had her c-section, so I was a little relieved when they said that only one person could go in with her. When they were about 10 minutes from the actual surgery, a nurse offered to let me watch from a window. She told me that the blinds would be closed at the window but that she would open them.




Brooks did a great job of keeping Heather occupied. He was calm and said just the right things. He recorded the whole thing from Heather's perspective and we all watched the video this afternoon.

I wasn't so sure I wanted to watch when I started seeing blood. But then things started getting interesting.

Time to break out the heavy artillary

The doctor said he was very high and ended up having to do some digging to get him out.







Here he is! The whole thing took about 6 minutes.


The second he was born, they showed him to me at the window and closed the blinds.

Happy Birthday Baby Brooks!

Today was a big day for the Lively family. Heather got up bright and early to do her hair and makeup so she would look good for pictures.

Then, she had to choose which clothes she wanted to have in the hospital. With a c-section, the baby and Heather will be in the hospital for 4 days.

We had to check in before 6:30 am. I am not sure I have ever seen Heather anyplace that early in the morning since seminary days.

It turned out that Heather was the 3rd c-section. There was one scheduled before her and a second was scheduled for next week, but the mom's water broke so she went ahead of Heather.

The hospital had a lovely selection of gowns to choose from.

Brooks got to wear a head to toe hazmat suit.

Dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's House

There is nothing like living close to the grand-boys. As I write this, Connor and Corey are just finishing up their dinner. Jacki and Terence went out to dinner and we love having the boys come over to hang with us. When you are a 2 year old as cute as Connor, you pretty much get whatever you ask for at Grandma's house. Grandpa keeps a stash of ravioli and Connor said that was what he wanted, until he remembered the Banana Nut Cheerios in the cabinet from last time he was over. He decided to have both. And Corey, he can eat in his sleep as you can see.

We had just eaten dinner, right before the boys got here, so we didn't think about saying a second blessing on the food. Connor has obviously been taught well. He insisted that the TV be turned off while he prayed. It was so cute to hear him thank his Heavenly Father for Grandma and Grandpa's house and Cheerios. I guess they were more popular than the ravioli.

I love being a Grandma!

Strong Convictions? Maybe not!

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love baseball. My favorite holiday is not Christmas, Thanksgiving or even Mother's Day. I love opening day and we typically celebrate at our house with hot dogs and apple pie. When Patricia was born on April 9th, opening day, I thought her nickname should naturally be "Homer". Somehow that never caught on.

This year Ady came up with an ingenious idea so that no matter what, someone would end the year happy and there would be a celebration at the end of the World Series. We all got to draw a team name and that would be our team for the year. All 30 teams were distibuted and the holder of the winning team gets their own "Cinco de Miko" style celebration, complete with lots of presents. Gift cards are nice!

Some would call me lucky, but I drew the Boston Red Sox of all teams. One of my 2 least favorite teams in all of baseball. When the Yankees play the Red Sox, I root for both teams to lose.

That being said, the Red Sox have been given 3/1 odds of winning it all this year. 3/1....that's pretty dang good. So am I willing to stand up for what I believe in and trade away my team for one that is easier to root for? Heck no....3/1 odds, would you give that up?