The Limb Family

Our Week With The Idaho Cousins!

2009-02-10T19:19:00.000-08:00

Last week we got to have my 2 nieces and nephew from Idaho stay with us. My sister and her husband went on a Caribbean cruise.I was so excited to have them because we only get to see them a few times a year.Christopher had so much fun with his cousin Dylan.He absolutely loves him and I appreciate Dylan so much.He treats Chris with so much love and respect.Dylan is 9 and so is Chris, but obviously Christopher has a lot of developmental delays so he is into things that Dylan is probably to old for.He has so much patience for Chris and I love him so much for that!

Dylan and Chris at Fat Cats Arcade while we were waiting for Disco Bowling. Cute cousins!

Jayci and Carter playing a Nascar game!

John playing the Nascar game and getting the new high score! We are so proud of him!

New high score.John Franklin Limb (JFL).Way to go honey!!!!!

Here is my adorable little Tori Kay at the Disco Bowling! She is the cutest dang little girl in the world! I miss her!

Carter trying his hand at bowling! He and Christopher's bowling balls took forever to get down the lane, they threw them so slow!So cute though!

Aiden did not have such a great time.He hated the loud Music at the bowling alley.He slept really good that night though!

Here are some random photos from that night.I had such a great time with my other children,as I call them, and I am so happy I got to spend such a long time with them.Plus their mom and dad are incredible people and deserved a vacation together, just the two of them!

Love you guys!

My gamers

2009-01-08T20:48:00.000-08:00

For those of you that know our family, know that my husband is quite a gamer. He loves anything, computer games,XBOX 360, PSP, pretty much any game system that can be modified and hacked.Witch is a good thing since he makes his living as a Graphic designer and Network Administrator! Well, Christopher is following in his footsteps and apparently so is Carter.They have quite the set up for their games. So spoiled!I can't wait until Aiden wants to join in the family tradition!

Carter was trying to get in on the action, what a great shot of him!

Aiden could have cared less.He got his shots today, so he decided to sleep instead!

The Polar Express

2008-12-13T11:23:00.000-08:00

My in laws got the whole family tickets to ride the Polar Express Train in Heber on Dec. 8th. It worked out perfect because Christopher's birthday is on Dec. 9th, so it was like having his birthday spread out over 2 days! Chris absolutely LOVES the Polar Express movie! He loves trains and Christmas, so it is the perfect movie for him.It was a lot of fun to take our kids and hang out with the rest of the family.One thing about Chris is that with his disabilities, he is still so innocent.He is 9 years old, but he still truly believes in Santa Clause.I love that about him and I know it won't last forever, so I am enjoying it as much as I can now.For those of you who have seen the Polar Express, you know that the little boy gets chosen for the first gift of Christmas.He asks Santa for a bell from the reindeer.Every year, never fail, Christopher asks for a bell for Christmas. It was so perfect because at the end of the train ride Santa makes an appearance and gives every child a bell like the one in the movie.I had the happiest little boy in the world!

The Heber Creeper turned into the Polar Express!

The conductor! Chris loved him because he looked a lot like the conductor in the movie.They served us chocolate chip cookies and hot chocolate during the ride.They also passed out books of the Polar Express and we read the story and we sang a lot of Christmas songs!

John's mom bought Aiden a little Santa suit to keep him warm during the ride.It had a cute little hat, but it was to small for his head!

Carter really could have cared less about the whole thing.He was more concerned with climbing under the seats and looking out the window.

Here comes Santa Clause! Chris was super excited

Mrs. Clause came around and passed out her famous chocolate chip cookie recipe!

One of Santa's Elf's!

It was such a fun night. Thanks Garth and Sandy for taking all of us!

Aiden's blessing day

2008-12-06T09:42:00.000-08:00

We decided to do Aiden's blessing at John's parents house on November 30th.We wanted to keep it small, I think it is more special that way.It turned out so nice! We had all of John's family there,some of our closest friends and my cute parents drove down from Idaho.It was amazing to see all the support that we have among our friends and family!

My parents,Chris and our best friends Brett and Emily.

Aiden and Grandma Pat! His little suit was so tight on him!

Carter absolutely will not wear his tie! He always seems to have some sort of food on his face in every photo!

Christopher always thinks he looks so handsome in his suit, so we had to take a picture of him.Isn't he adorable!!!???!!!??

Tater baby is getting so big!

2008-11-26T19:14:00.000-08:00

I can't believe how big Aiden is! He is already 4 months old! It makes me so sad because I know he is my last! He is the best baby ever.If my other two were as good as Aiden, I would have five more!! (John would have a heart attack!)

I had to throw in this one of Carter.Of course he wanted his picture taken after he had just had a big, gooey chocolate brownie!!

The finished Wedding cake

2008-11-16T10:13:00.000-08:00

The wedding was so pretty! Here are some pics of the finished cake and the night.

They seemed to like it, I am so glad it is done! I am used to working with rolled fondant on cakes, so I must say using icing was a bit challenging.I had a lot of fun making it though!

Here are some photos of my handsome boys.Carter was being a stinker and would not hold still for a photo.Chris was all smiles as usual!

John can never be serious for a photo!

The beautiful bride and handsome groom!

Welcome to the family Laurie!

P.S.

After the wedding, I went to a concert with one of my good friends from Idaho, Melissa.I have not seen her for like 8 years and she looks great! It was so fun because we used to be so silly together and when I saw her it was like no time had passed at all! I wish I had some photos, but I did not take my camera because you are not supposed to take cameras into the to the E center.After the concert started, EVERYONE had cameras!! That is what I get for following the rules! Oh yeah, did I mention the concert that we went to was The New Kids On The Block! Yes, I said the New Kids On The Block, go ahead and finish laughing. For those of you that know me well, you know that I was a HUGE New Kids fan in Junior high.I even attended a few concerts of theirs back in the day, so I was very excited when I heard they were coming to Utah.I also have to say that it was awesome! I had a blast and I am so glad that I got to go with Melissa! She was dancing and singing right along with me and the concert was packed!They sang all their old songs and some new ones.I had such a great time, it has been awhile since I have had that much fun!Oh yeah, and Natasha Bedingfield opened for them, she was good to, I guess!

Lets Bake A Cake!

2008-11-11T16:57:00.000-08:00

So my brother-in-law, Landon, is getting married on Saturday to a really awesome girl. They asked me if I would make their wedding cake which I happily agreed to do. I made my sister-in-law's wedding cake two years ago, so I was flattered when Landon asked me to make his.The reality of it is now setting in since the wedding is only days away. I always get so freaking nervous when it actually comes down to making the cake, I mean this is for someones wedding!

There will be photos of this cake that they will look at for years to come!(no pressure!!)

So I decided to make the flowers for the cake out of gumpaste, which is basically sugar paste.It was a lot cheaper to do it this way because real flowers are more expensive this time of year.Here is a sample of what they will look like.They are Calla Lillie's and pink Roses.

Here is a photo of all the tools I will need to make the cake look pretty!I cheated and bought pre made frosting, it is way cheaper that making butter creme frosting! (easier too!)

We also decided to use boxed cake mix as opposed to making the cake from scratch.It was a lot cheaper.Cake flower is so expensive and I was trying to make this as inexpensive as possible for them.We ended up buying 23 cake mixes and I also like to put a pudding in the mix to make it a little more moist.It is going to take 6 dozen eggs to complete the cake!

I will post a photo of the completed cake after it is finished.Wish me luck!

Our Annual Hydrocephalus Parent Support Group Halloween Party

2008-10-24T21:42:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, Christopher has had non communicating Hydrocephalus pretty much since birth.He developed it from a severe brain bleed in his cerebellum when he was 9 days old.This damaged/blocked the flow of CSF (Cerebral Spinal Fluid) from being drained from his third and fourth ventricles, thus requiring him to be shunted. He has had so many revisions and problems with his shunts over the years. As first time parents, we had to learn everything we could about Hydrocephalus from the Internet, books and doctors. A few years ago some nurses at PCMC that work on the NTU (neuro-science Trauma Unit), where Chris is always a patient, formed a much needed support group for parents. It is such a wonderful program.

We had the yearly Hydrocephalus Parent Support Group Halloween Party at Primary Children's Medical Center tonight. It is such an awesome group of parents and hospital personnel supporting an educating parents and children. They educate parents of newly diagnosed children as well as give us veteran parents education on new technology and research. Plus they have parties and fun activities for the kids. I love taking Chris because he gets to be around other children with the same types of struggles as him.I also take Carter and Aiden so they can see other siblings of special needs children.It is an incredible experience and I am so thankful for it.Chris actually feels special that he gets to go to a party that not everyone else can go to, he thinks he is pretty cool!Here are some pictures our fun night!

This is the bag toss, he made all three bean bags through the holes!The baseball player is Sydney, she is the Neuro Surgeons Nurse Practitioner and she is the most amazing lady! I feel like we have known her forever!

Ghost bowling and pumpkin golfing!

He made a green worm cupcake for his daddy!

I accidentally took this picture without knowing and I just happened to get him after he threw the ball in mid air, knocking down the tower.I am such a great photographer!!

Chris getting a hand painted tattoo! I tried to talk him into getting a candy corn, but of course he wanted the skull!!

Chris doing the pumpkin walk.He won!(they make sure every child wins!)

Chris deciding on which pumpkin to pick.I think he made a pretty good choice!

Poor Carter was so excited to put his monkey costume on and go to the party. He fell asleep on the way up there and stayed asleep through the whole thing.Chris was so sweet to make sure he got some fun prizes for his brother.

Aiden and John stayed awake for the whole thing!The rest of the photos are just pictures of all the people at the party.We had such a fun time.Thanks to everyone in the Hydrocephalus Parent Support Group for all the hard work and time you put into the party! Thanks for loving our kids as much as we do!

So people have told me I never put pictures of myself on my blog (I HATE photos of myself!)John snapped this one as we were leaving for the party, so here ya go!

My Wonderful Mom!

2008-10-20T20:39:00.000-07:00

My mom is the best mom in the world. I had to have some surgery last week so she came to Utah to help me with the boys. She is so great, she used some of her vacation time to help me out and I didn't even have to ask her.It is the best feeling knowing that no matter what, I can always count on her. Of course, my boys absolutely love Grandma Pat and have the best time when she is here. She cooked, cleaned and got my laundry all caught up so I would not have a lot to do after she went home.I think John and I gained 5 pounds because she fed us so well! I love you mom!!

Grandma Pat and my boys

Grandma and Aiden

These are just some random pictures of my cute boys that I had to throw in!

You've been tagged

2008-10-14T10:11:00.000-07:00

(sorry this photo is so blurry, I don't have many of us together.Sad, huh!!)

A) The rules are posted at the beginning.

B) Each person answers questions about their sweethearts.

C) At the end of the post, the person then tags people and posts their names; then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment, letting them know they have been tagged.

1.What is your husbands name? John Limb

2.How long have you guys been married? 9 years

3.How long did you date? 2 months and engaged for 3 months

4.How old is he? 30

5.Who is taller? John

6.Who can sing best? John for sure! He has a beautiful voice.

7.Who is smarter? Definitely John.

8.Who does laundry? Me

9.Who pays the bills? Me

10.Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Me, I have tried to switch, but John loves his side.

11.Who mows the lawn? John

12.Who cooks dinner? Me for sure! That is the one thing John can't do well!

13.Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? John, he has always been the peace maker, even when I am being ridiculous.

14.Who kissed who first? John, while he was sitting with me while I was doing laundry at my old apartment.

15.Who wears the pants? I would like to say me, but it is John

I tag Melissa, Randi, Tanalyn, Sydni, Lacey,Annette, Vicki and Angi to tell us about their wonderful husbands!

Great Grandma Limb

2008-10-11T18:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday John's Grandma Limb came over to visit the boys and bring them some gifts.She lives in St. George, so it is always so nice to visit with her.She is the neatest most positive lady I have ever met. I am so glad that my boys are getting the chance to know their great grandma!

Carter loves grandma.He climbed up by her and fell asleep holding her hand.It was so cute! I can't even get Carter to slow down long enough to hold him and take a nap.Way to go grandma!!

My Cute Birthday Cake

2008-10-11T17:44:00.000-07:00

My husband made me a super cute cake for my 31st birthday.He bought the cake from Smith's and then put his decorating skills to use.He was so cute because he got pizza and invited the whole family over to his parent's house for the party.

Grandma and Grandpa Robinson were able to make it over!

John's brother's and sisters

Thanks everybody for coming over and making my birthday so special!

Bedtime

2008-10-02T12:03:00.000-07:00

My boys were being so silly last night.I was trying to get them to bed and of course I was exhausted as usual.I had Aiden on my bed trying to get his jammies on.Carter and Christopher thought it would be funny to take over my bed also.They were being so silly and making Aiden giggle, so even though it was 10:30 pm, I had to break out the camera!

Christopher and Carter were resisting getting their jammies on, as usual.

It was really hard to get Carter to sit still for the pictures.He is the most wiggly child!

I can't believe how much Aiden has already changed.He will be 8 weeks old tomorrow!

My Cake Hobby

2008-09-23T21:19:00.000-07:00

I started baking and decorating cakes as a way to relieve stress, and I found that I really love it. I love all baking in general (especially sweets!)

This is a cake I made for Father's Day

I made this one for my Mother-in-Law's birthday.She loves gardening.All of the decoration is made from fondant and completely edible.

I made this one for Christopher's school Halloween Carnival.It cost me 10 bucks to make and sold for 38 dollars!!!!

I made this sugar cookie bouquet for my friends birthday.The cookies are made from scratch and I just baked them onto sticks.It was super fun.I have some photos of a wedding cake and some birthday cakes I made and I will post them as soon as I find them. My hard drive crashed on my laptop and of course that's where I had them saved.I believe I have them backed up somewhere else (I hope).

Our New Furniture

2008-09-23T16:32:00.001-07:00

We got our new furniture! I was taking some photos to send to my mom and Carter kept popping into all of the pictures.I love these couches because they are easier to clean with children, you just wipe them off!!! My kidos destroyed our last set, I washed the cushion covers so much, they started coming apart. Not to mention they had faded to a lighter color than the rest of the couch!

The sofa has a hidabed in it and the boys think it is so fun to lay on. They want to pull it out every day!I wish they wanted to sleep in their own beds this much!

Carter Michael Limb

2008-09-15T13:24:00.000-07:00

Carter Michael Limb was born on December 24, 2005 and weighed in at 5 lbs 14 oz and was 18 inches long. He definatley surprised us because he was not supposed to make his appearence until January 17th. Carter is a very loving little boy who loves to be a helper. He for sure has his own way of doing things and is very independent. He can be quite a challenge at times, he is very opinionated already at two years old. I think he is going to be my little daredevil child. I can see him being the child who gets the broken bones and stitches because he is such a daredevil. He is one tough little boy!

Carter Loves to be outside, he would live outside if he could! He loves to have his picture taken. As soon as he sees the camera, he starts saying "cheese"!

Christopher John Limb

2008-09-15T12:03:00.000-07:00

This is my amazing first born son, Christopher. Christopher was born on December 9, 1999. He weighed in at 2 lbs 2 1/2 oz and was 14 inched long. Obviously he made his appearance early, 14 weeks early to be exact. Christopher has had a lot of challenges in his life. He started out life in the NICU at The University of Utah Medical Center. He was a patients there for 10 days until he developed a bowel perforation with NEC, then he was transferred to Primary Children's Medical Center for emergency surgery. The doctors there did not think he would survive the surgery because he was so very sick. He ended up losing 7 centimeters of his intestine including his Ileocecal Valve. This valve is found between the small and large intestines.Basically it regulates when waste is moved. Christopher has a very hard time putting on weight as a result of losing this valve.

After surgery he had a colostomy for about 3 months until his intestines healed enough to hook them back up.I was so relieved to see him survive the surgery.The doctors were surprised as well, they had told me to start thinking of funeral arrangements for him before they took him to surgery, he was that sick.

Christopher 2 days after his birth at the U of U Hospital.

This was the day that the U of U transferred him to PCMC for his NEC and bowel perforation. He was so sick and looked so terrible.This was one of the worst days of my life.

Christopher hours after his bowel surgery.He already looks a million times better.What a trooper! Chris would end up staying in the NICU for almost 6 months. After his scare with NEC, he developed a brain bleed in his cerabellum.The bleed destroyed almost all of his cerabellum.He developed Hydrocephalus as a result of this.The Neurosurgeons put a shunt in his brain to drain off the excess fluid because his third ventrical became obstructed from blood.Over the months in the NICU we faced feeding problems, shunt infections, yeast sepsis and so many other health issues. We had so many middle of the night phone calls from the NICU Neonatologists telling us that he was crashing and to get up to the hospital asap so that we could hold him before he passed away.Every time, my tough little boy would pull through.The NICU is a wonderful and horrible place.The people there are amazing and do a fantastic job, and I saw many miracles there, I also saw and went through so much heartache.I would not wish it on my worst enemy.

Eventually our little miracle was able to come home.That was certainly very bittersweet for us.I wanted him home, but leaving the security of the NICU scared me beyond belief. I was actually glad that we were going home with monitors, feeding tubes and home health services. Over time, we adjusted to having him home and our lives have been so full of love. Chris is doing so well now.He has Ataxic CP and he had to get another shunt placed. We have had 65 shunts to date.That is a lot of time in the hospital for a little boy! He has had shunt infections, endocarditis and so many other illnesses and surgeries. We were told he would never talk,eat,walk,situp or communicate at all. Today he runs, talks, reads, goes to school and eats like a piggy! He still has a lot of chronic health problems, but he deals with them so good and has deified all the odds. He is my little miracle and teaches me something new everyday! I love him so much!

Our New Baby

2008-09-11T10:48:00.000-07:00

We have a new addition to our family. We welcomed

Aiden Robert Limb on August 8, 2008. He weighed in at

7 lbs 3 oz and was 19 inches long. I now have 3 beautiful children, 4 if you count John!

Carter and Aiden

Christopher holding his baby

I am now a blogger!

2008-09-11T10:05:00.000-07:00

I finally decided to start a blog! A lot of my friends have one and it really does make it easier to stay in touch and keep up on what is going on with them. I am really new at this, so don't be surprised if my layout changes from day to day! I still have not decided what colors I like yet. Anyway, I plan on updating it a couple of times a week, so enjoy!