3 Months Old!

It's hard to believe, but it has been three months since Maycee came to our family. She has been such a blessing to us and a pure joy. She is always happy, except when hungry or poopy. She loves to be carted around by Chloee and even takes baths with Jolee and Chloee. Chloee has turned out to be a huge help with her and I am so grateful for that! Maycee is growing like a weed and filling out her chubby Swanson cheeks nicely. She is smiling a lot now and has even given her siblings a few giggles. There are times when I just want to freeze the clock and not let her get any bigger, but I am trying to enjoy her as much as I can. We can't imagine our life without her and we are so blessed to have her in our family. She is really growing. Maycee weighs 13 lbs. 4 oz. and is in the 75th percentile for both height and weight. I don't know what size category her cheeks are in though.

Christmas Day

What a weekend! Now that the craziness of Christmas is over, I have some time to reflect on just how special family time can be. We were able to have everyone down for Christmas this year, and while Hawaii is an amazing place to spend Christmas, we were glad to be able to make new memories together in our new home.  Of course we had the usual traditions of stockings (I actually have a fireplace in which to hang those stockings now), a jam-packed Christmas tree with presents spilling out everywhere, and the yummy Christmas dinner which Papa heads up. 

It was so fun to watch all the kids open their presents. Santa even brought gifts for Abbi and Kenny, but I think they had the most fun playing with their cousins.

This year, being that we now live on a lake, we decided to start a new family Christmas tradition of playing a game of pond hockey. We invited a few family friends to come play and the game was on! We had so much fun, even though the ice was too rough to skate on. We figured playing in shoes leveled the field since Aaron and Miles are both pretty good players for a couple of old guys. Speaking of old guys, my 62 year old dad even got in the game. While he doesn't make the best goalie, he kept right up with the big boys.

 

He shoots, but I don't think he scored! You are awesome, Dad!

 

Bruno even tried to get in the game. Notice how warm out it was...it was around 40 degrees and we were in t-shirts! Gotta love Alaska!

 

Here is Rizz showing off his mad goalie skills.

 

Here is Aaron schooling Becky. I know Bex, you are pretty dang good.

 

Jaron decided to skip the game and go sledding on our dirt pile instead. What a great day and wonderful Christmas in 2009! Can't wait for next year.

Spelling Stud

Every year since Haylee was in the fourth grade, a Swanson has competed in the school spelling bee. Once again, Brady was one of three in his class to make it to the bee. He made it to the 6th round, but got tricked by the silent "n" in the word "solemn". He says he knew how to spell the word, but it can be stressful competing in front of the whole school. We are really proud of Brady and his excellent spelling and look forward to seeing him compete in the coming years. Way to go dude! 

Merry Christmas!

Another year has come to a close, and what a year it has been. We were blessed with another amazing Swanson baby in our little Maycee. We have finished our dream home (almost), our kids are healthy and happy, and life can't get much better. We are so grateful for our countless blessings that Heavenly Father continues to poor out on our family. We are grateful for His son, our Savior and eldest brother, who loves us so much. May you and your family feel the warmth of His love now and all year long. We love you all.

Our sweet Maycee is the best Christmas present ever.

 

Thanks to Grandma Lynn for the darling Christmas dresses. They were a big hit at church!

For family home evening this week, we all (Hansens, Ponds, and us) went to a local church sponsored reenactment of the city of Bethlehem during Christ's birth. They did a wonderful job with real animals, several shops of the day, the tax collector, and even wicked King Herod. It was a bit chilly, but well worth it. 

 

My Maycee was safe from Herod, but poor Becky kept getting asked if her baby was a boy. Logan was safe, but he did play baby Jesus in the ward Christmas party this year.

More Driving

The good news is that Haylee made her club volleyball team. The bad news is that I will be driving two more nights a week on top of the other two nights a week I already drive for the boys' hockey. Oh yeah, I didn't count the two trips I make for scouts, plus the daily car pool run. Anyway, we are so excited for Haylee making a team. The competition was really tough this year and she really thought she would not make a team. She is getting more confident in her skills and it must have showed. While I am eager for her to get some more playing time in, I am not looking forward to being on the road, with 5 other kids in tow. Oh well, she will be driving soon enough. Way to go Haylee!! 

Maycee Update

Our Maycee girl is growing fast. She is almost three months old already! We took her to Providence Hospital yesterday for a check up on her urinary reflux. She was very good during the ultrasound and I think she actually liked the warm goo they put on her belly. The good news is that her kidneys look beautiful, nothing wrong with those. Her bladder looks fine too, but is a little thick in the lining. I don't really know what that means, but the doc wasn't too concerned. The biggest issue is that her reflux is a solid 3, 5 being the worst. The greatest risk for her is to get multiple UTI's which could potentially scar her kidneys, leading to possible kidney failure. So, to prevent this from happening, she is on 2 doses of antibiotics everyday for most likely until she is around 18 months. At that point, we will need to see how she is doing. There is a 50 percent chance she will out grow the reflux. If she does not, she will most likely need a procedure called deflux that is 90 percent effective in correcting her problem. It is a simple procedure done as a day patient and she won't even need to be cut. We are grateful she is so healthy and happy in all other ways. She is so fun now as she is smiling and cooing at all her adoring fans. Please continue to keep Maycee in your prayers that she will not get any urinary tract infections, that her kidneys will stay healthy, and that her reflux will clear on its own. Thank you to all who love us so much.

Christmas Cheer

We tried wrangling the kids the other night for our family Christmas photo. This one was in the reject pile, but summed up the bliss of taking pictures of 6 kids. Be afraid Jaron, be very afraid!!

Twinners

It's scary how genetics work. When Maycee was born, I wasn't sure who she resembled. I saw a lot of Chloee in her, but she has Jolee's nose. As she has "unfolded" from her newborn face, I am seeing more and more of Chloee. Aside from eye color, Maycee and Chloee really do look a lot alike. Now if Maycee's personality turns out like Chloee's, I am in trouble!! I don't think I can do another Chloee. I love the child dearly, but she really keeps the drama in our family.

Chloee in the dip net boat on the Kenai. (5 months)
 

Maycee at 2 months.

Good thing Chloee is darling if I do say so myself.