The Surge & other schtuffs.

Well, let's start this shiz out on a light note. Here is Addy May for Halloween:

We went to Boise and strolled down the historic streets. It was sooo fun! The leaves were gorgeous as we walked down the street looking at houses. Here are some of the things we saw:

Addy May loved our stroll.

Aaaaannnndddd the next day we (my mom and I) headed over to St. Luke's for her surgery. I was a wreck. Addy was happy as can be. :) Aren't these baby hospital gowns adorable?!

She was sooooo good! I wasn't allowed to feed her after midnight the night before, and she was pretty okay with that. I just love this little pumpkin.

The surgery went well!! All they had to do was make a little incision to clean out the socket, place the femur bone in the hip socket, and cast her up! She was so groggy afterwards and the breathing tube made her throat really scratchy. It was so sad and pathetic sounding. It nearly killed me. So we headed home towards Blackfoot, and the ride home wasn't too fun for her, but when we got home, she was almost back to her normal self! It took a few days for all the meds to wear off, and the past month has been tough as far as sleeping, but she is doing great! I am so grateful that my mom was able to come up here and be with me for this. I couldn't have done it without her. It also helps that she was in this exact position 23 years ago with me!

Addy May fell asleep after her xray a week later.

Sooo we spent much of November watching football with our family, the Lovelands. And lounging.

In mid-November, we went down to Salt Lake for an eye appointment for Matt. While we were there, we went down to Provo to see Elin play a rugby game. They won! And Addy May was so happy. This is her after the game:

Thanksgiving was awesome. All the Nate's got together for some serious games and food. Addy May was awake for most of the day and in the afternoon, she CRASHED. It was neat to watch Carlee play with her and rock her to sleep. I've got pictures of that somewhere. But I'm too lazy to get up and get my other camera. Maybe I'll update this post in the future. Don't bet on it.

And these are just some other cute pics:

All tuckered out. She was playing too hard.

Addy May & Mommy have matching toesies!

We head over to Boise this week for Addy's final surgery and cast. 6 more weeks people. I will soon be able to squish my baby's legs again!! Wish us luck!

Relief.

Ready for the GREATEST NEWS OF MY ENTIRE LIFE? Well, I think you'll need a little background first. I have PFFD. That's an acronym basically describing my hips. My right femur bone didn't develop correctly and I am missing the neck and head on my femur bone. Without the head, I do not have a normal hip socket. Also, my right femur is shorter than the left. So if you've known me for a while, you know that I often make fun of my short leg and such. Well, I didn't think that this was genetic.

When Addy was born, I thought everything was perfect with her. The doctor came in the next day and told me that they noticed something wrong with her hip. My heart sank. I didn't want my perfect little girl to go through all that I did growing up, and even now. Well, they noticed that her left hip was out of socket. Exactly how I was when I was first born. We went to a specialist that gave her a harness to wear to keep the bone in the socket so the socket could develop correctly. She was diagnosed with hip dysplasia initially. There was still a chance that she could have PFFD too, as they can't really tell the anatomy of the hip until later (5-6 months when the bones start to develop). So for 5.5 months, I have been worried sick that she would have PFFD. We went to the doctor today, and he took an x-ray of her hips. He came back into the room and showed me the x-ray. Her femur bones are developing normally, and she in fact does not have PFFD, but only hip dysplasia. Our prayers were answered. Her condition is not severe, and a simple surgery and a cast for a few months will correct the problem, and then she'll be like any other kid. I bawled as I called Matt and my Mom to tell them the wonderful news. I know that most of you are thinking But she'll need surgery and she'll be in a cast for a few months?! Doesn't think break your heart? The answer is: no. This is such a small hiccup in the span of her life and ours too. She won't remember any of it, and she'll grow up with normal legs and everything will be fine. I think, really, the only people that can really understand why this is such good news are Matt, and my family. They know what I have been through and how hard it was for all of us to deal with. So the fact that Addy May will grow up normally is such a huge blessing.

Hanging out on the exam table, loving life. Her hair cracks me up.

I went to take this picture up close and she spit as soon as I snapped the picture. Notice the lovely spit mark on the camera. Nice. Also, it looks like her cheeks are lop-sided. Weird. They aren't. Hahaha The rest of the day, I didn't get much done. I hung out and played on the floor with this little person til Daddy got home. I couldn't help it.

HELLO McFLY!!

Have you checked out my new blog???

http://www.lauracutler365.blogspot.com/

If not: do it.

Please.

It's more interesting than this neglected piece. PLUS there are a ton of pics of the Beeter Bubs.

Convinced yet?

http://www.lauracutler365.blogspot.com/

There's the link again.

My proj.

I have started a fun, new way of documenting the day to day schtuff that goes on around here. I am going to attempt to do a 365 Project. I started a few days ago, and created a completely new blog for this situation. If you care to follow, click here. Enjoy.

P.S. I have a super dooper post about this past weekend in UT at the Stadium of Fire. That will come shortly*. Thanks for your patience.

* - Meaning anytime in the next month.

Family

My little sister came up this weekend to surprise me for my birthday, and while we finally had a 4th person to take a good pic of the family, she graciously took a few for us on our front porch. THANKS NITCH! This was just after the third time we took her to church, and she did great! Not a peep all three hours! She was just saving up for later that night. When I say later I mean between 1 and 6 am. :) Enjoy.

Girls become lovers who turn into mothers.

Well, here we are. Addy May is over a month old, and time has FLOWN by. I am excited to say that I've gotten into the swing of being a mommy. And I love it. Matt and I have been loving hanging out with our little person and seeing how she grows and changes every day. A lot of people have asked how I have been feeling and the answer is: great! I have recuperated from the painful first couple of weeks, but I'm feeling good now, and I'm slowly but surely losing the baby weight. Well, here's a photo documentation of what we've been up to. I'll add captions as necessary. :) Enjoy!

Addy May in Daddy's arms.

Looks like we went to church? Nope. We stayed home. I kinda milked that. But we've repented and now we're church-attending, God fearing folk again.

Addy May is helping Daddy play the piano. IN HER SLEEP!

She didn't quite enjoy her first bath, but she's warmed up to them. As sad as her face looks, it still cracks me up.

Addy May giving Daddy some loves on Easter. That is the special Easter dress Daddy picked out for her. Presh.

Our first day at church as a family. She did great in Sacrament and half of Sunday School. After I tanked her up, we peaced out. She's a great excuse. :)

Hanging out on Daddy's arm.

When we got home from church, we brought her in and when we lifted up the car seat cover this is what we saw. We laughed hysterically, and then fixed it. We went back out to the car to get our church materials, and when we came back in, it was like this again!! She's already a Star Trek junkie. We'll have to figure out something else to watch with her. ;)

Other things we've been up to:

• We just got our entire garden planted with the help of Matt's buddy Gundy. We've got corn, peas, green beans, 3 types of potatoes (we're in Idaho after all), bell peppers, jalapenos, tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, 3 types of squash, carrots, onions, and beets. Whew. That's a lot. Hopefully we get something out of it.
• Matt got a new position at work. He works swing shifts now. That means that one week, he goes to work at 2pm and comes home at about 12:45am. The next week he leaves the house at 5:45am and comes home at about 5pm. So far so good. We get lots done the mornings that he's home, and Addy May and I hang out the rest of the time.
• We've moved our 6 new chicks out to the chicken coop because they are big enough. They won't end up laying eggs for another few months. Now we've got 10 chickens.
• Matt is blessing this little pumpkin butt on Sunday, June 5th at 11 am in the Moreland 4th Ward for those of you that are interested in attending. Also, I made a little electronic birth announcement for Addison. It's a lot easier to send an email than get it all printed out and sent via USPS. Just sayin:

That's about it. Any questions?

Introducing...

Little Addison May Cutler!

Our little pumpkin was born on April 15, 2011 at 6:27 pm. She was 6 lbs 15 oz and 20 inches long. Everything went as easily as possible, and we couldn't be more happy that she is with us! :)

"What is this freaky place? It's all bright, and not womb-like!"

The night before...

Here we are the night before D-Day! We're counting down the hours!! :)