Green Beans

We've discovered McKay's favorite treat....green beans!!! My kid likes green beans more than applesauce. Is this okay??!!!?? Is my child going to be normal?

McKay is enjoying the world of solid foods. For dinner he now only eats solid foods instead of a bottle along with. I decided to start weaning the dinner time bottle after numerous people told me that McKay is (these are their actual words): FAT, chunky, chubby. I don't take offense to these comments; I just remind them that this is only a compliment for the first year of life. The doctor told me, "McKay has had some impressive weight gain since birth." Well, isn't that what babies are supposed to do??? :)

Anyways, thanks for reading this post. I am just happy that McKay eats what I "cook." Ha Ha.

Phew!

We made it back to Cedar City after a whirlwind week of fun & vacationing. Here's what we did:

First of all, isn't he cute?

I spoke at the WIN (Western Institute of Nursing) conference in Phoenix. This is me with Dr. Lynn Callister, my research mentor throughout my undergrad at BYU.

This is me with Dr. Shelly Reed, a professor that I worked for during school

This is my cute niece, Beth in Tucson, Arizona

Her younger sister, Abby (1)

We visited Kimball's sister, Dona, who took us up Sabino Canyon on a tram. It was so cool!

Next we went to Logan so Kimball could finish school. Logan was BEAUTIFUL!!! Kind of made me sad that we chose to live in Cedar City. :)

Kimball's friend took us on a wagon ride with real clydesdales! (sp?)

Next we went to Provo to meet our week old niece, Hadley! Kenley & Erin are cute parents

Me and Hadley. It's hard to remember how small they are!

On our way back, we stopped at Cove Fort for a neat-o tour. I hadn't been here in years and Kimball had never been here. It was a good stop.

6 Months

Weight: 17 lbs. (51%)
Height: 25 3/4 in. (26%)
Cuteneness: exceeds 100th percentile (that is my interpretation of what the doctor said)

When he was swinging, he had to keep one arm in and one arm out. Thanks to his aunt Melinda, he has this great hat to shade him from the sun. Me and McKay are loving our time together. Unfortunately, dad doesn't get too much time with him now that he is working a real job.

We are off to Arizona tomorrow for a vacation! Wahoo! I am presenting a paper at the WIN conference (Western Institute of Nursing). It will be a great experience and fun to have Kimball to share it with.

Be an Organ Donor

I have to dedicate a post to this topic because it is something that I have come to be deeply passionate about while being a nurse and caring for patients waiting for organ transplants and then watching their bodies function amazingly after receiving their transplants.

April is national donate life month. There are over 85,000 people across the United States waiting for a life-saving transplant. I have taken care of babies, kids, and adults waiting for heart, liver, lung, kidney, and intestine transplants. It is inspiring to see the deep love and gratitude these people have for their donors that develops even before they receive their transplants.

Working at Primary Children's Hospital has taught me how precious life is. All of the little inconveniences we experience, the minor sicknesses, the small frustrations, or our "bad days" seem to throw most of us over the edge at times. But what if we were waiting for a transplant??? Or our sister, or our brother, or our parent, or our child?

A LDS musician, Paul Cardall, recently received his heart transplant at Primary Children's. In talking about his donor, he said,

"I believe strongly my donor is an angel of God who chose a path that has blessed the lives of not only my family, my community, but also future generations. I'm reminded of a verse of scripture in the Bible that reads: "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:14) I am forever in his debt and will do all I can to serve others as he has served me."

Another patient I know is Miracle Mason- a two year old who received a heart transplant on Easter Sunday! His mom wrote,

"The most tears I have shed this day are in gratitude for our donor family. On this Easter morning they had to say goodbye to their sweet child. They donated their child's heart on Easter almost like our Savior sacrificed his life for us. He then resurrected on Easter just like our Mason has been given a new chance at life this day. I will be forever grateful to this family and pray that they will know of the joy they have brought to our family. I pray that on each Easter they will think of the gift of life they have shared with our family!"

Please please please sign up to be an organ donor if you haven't already!!

Weekend Fun

Egg Coloring Fun

Cousin Fun: Luke (1 year) McKay (5.5 mo)

Eating Fun

Sweet Potato Fun

Football Fun

Basketball Fun

April Fools? I wish!

We woke up to this....

Baby Shower

We had a fun baby shower for Erin, Kenley's wife. Baby girl Hadley is due this month!

The Holt clan: Erin, Kenley, McKay, Mom Holt, Amy, Heather, me
Erin's sisters, Jamie and Jaecey

The bow holder I made for Erin. We can't wait for Miss Hadley to arrive!!