Updates

Its been a VERY long time since I have updated. Whoops! I can't believe I did that. So much has happened! Callan left on November 27 for the Air Force. We went to his swear in. We are so proud of him. Right now he has in on week 3 of BMT (Basic Training). Hes called me only twice, and I still haven't gotten any letters. But they keep them extremely busy. During Callans first call he told me all about BMT and how it was MUCH easier than he thought. It was hard, but he was enjoying it. Can you believe it?! The first week was crazy, when they got off the bus they had them run laps, do pushups, situps, pullups etc... till 5am. He was exhausted.

He said him and the older guys are having an easier time than the younger kids, and he feels pretty bad. He also said having the physical strength and lack of sleep from working at Kennecot helped him out a lot! He was glad he had that. He says the food is better than he thought, and the weather is great! His first job was guard duty, which he hated! They had him up at 2:30am and he had a shift until 10pm. Poor guy. He has a bad cold too! I wish I was there to take care of him. 

Hes doing so good though! I am so proud of him. I love him so much. Being away with him is so very hard. I have had multiple breakdowns, and its difficult. But, I know he is doing what brings him great happiness, and  it is a great opportunity full of adventure. It has so many benefits. And its going to be so much fun. 

He graduates January 24th. I can't wait to see him. From all of the research I have done (and believe me its a lot) I have heard that the graduation weekend is very emotional, and very amazing. I can't wait to witness such an amazing time in my husbands life. I'm going to need to stalk up on kleenex! 

Callan had quite a few people show up to support him for his swear in ceremony. It was awesome. It was nice to know how many people love and support Callan and I and Archer. 

Thanks everyone! I will update some more in my next post, there is just SO much!

 

since my last update!

Archer 4 months

Archer turned four months on the 13th. My cute little Roo is 4 months old. Not only does being 4 months being the start of solid foods, some pretty cool milestones, and BIGGER clothes, but its also another immunization month. Shots are always the absolute worst for me, and for Archer. The scream that comes out of those little lungs makes me start crying. It breaks my heart. But then I usually get lots of cuddles for the rest of the day. Anyways, at Archers 4 month appointment Dr. Corry said Archer didn't need surgery. That was A LOT of weight lifted off our shoulders.

Archers 4 month stats:

-15 lbs
- 25 1/2 inches tall
- 17 inch head circumference

He is getting so big. When his doctor walked in he said "Wow! he is getting so big." and I would have to agree. His hair is starting to come in, and at only 4 months he is getting VERY close to crawling! He scoots... haha and wants to go faster but can't so he gets really mad.

Archer has started on rice cereal, avocados, and sweet potatoes. He loves them all. Except avocados make him not so regular so we stopped feeding them to him.

Archer rolls both ways now.
He talks all the time, and laughs at everything.
He loves to play and snuggle.
His favorite noise is to sound like a Chewbacca.

We love our handsome little guy. Hes so funny and has us constantly laughing. We sure enjoy being parents.


Callan leaves for Basic Training in 6 days. We are getting really nervous, well I am. Callan is getting excited. We are going to miss him so much. He is going to do so good!
Since he doesn't get a Christmas we did it for him last week. His dad, step mom, and 2 younger step sisters came up, and we opened presents and played Would you Rather. It was a lot of fun. It was weird to celebrate Christmas early, but I am glad Callan got to have his Christmas.

Updates

Callan leaves in 14 days...I am starting to get pretty stressed. Well, not necessarily stressed, just nervous I guess. We have been waiting for this for a very LONG time! And boy, has that time gone by FAST! Callan has been working so hard to get ready. And he has done an amazing job. Lets hope that all his hard work pays off! 

This is going to be an amazing experience for us. Our lives are about to change in a very big way. The thing is, we have already had a huge change in our life with Archer being born. And with my current predicament. With Callan leaving and having a squirmy little boy, and with my arm being paralyzed, this next chapter is going to be difficult.

I don't think I could do any of this without the support of family. My parents are letting Archer and I stay with them. I have been staying with them while Callan stays up in Utah while he finishes working. I came up a few days ago to stay with him during his last week of work, and to start preparing for the big move to Arizona. Archer is still at my parents because I really can't take care of him without any help. I'm  so excited though, Callan's last day of work is Friday. And Archer-Roo will be here Friday too. Our last week together is going to be so fun. I am so excited for our little family to get the time to bond and spend the Thanksgiving holiday together before our lives change.

So, my arm is doing okay. Having a paralyzed limb is a very difficult challenge. It actually hurts quite a bit. Which I thought by now that the pain would minimize just a bit. I'm curious if its just my body still trying to recover from my surgery. They said up to 8 weeks, and its only been 4... So we shall see. I have been teaching myself to do things differently. Its pretty amazing what the human body is capable of. I am so happy I still have use of my right hand. That would make this A LOT worse if my hand didn't work. Anyways, for those of you who have been wondering how I have been doing, I have been doing alright considering.

I am just so thankful for my family, and my support system. I have quite the team of cheerleaders. Having people who love you, and support you, and cheer you on daily makes things so much easier. I am so sad that my biggest cheerleader is leaving. But he has helped me so much already, and has said and done so many things to cheer me on. So even with him gone I still feel like he is with me. Cheesy much? Haha

Callan will do such a good job at basic training. But he will need lots of love, and prayers. He gets to make an occasional phone call. Sorry everyone I\already called dibs on the phone calls! He can write letters as well. And we can write him. I will be posting on this blog about updates on how Callan is doing, and I will post a few of his letters as well. For those of you who would like to write him please let me know.

Until our next  adventure....

Updates...

The most amazing thing in the entire world happened!!! Archer rolled over! My mom and I laid him on his back to watch the ceiling fan. Which is his favorite thing in the entire world... And my mom and I turned around and Archer was on his tummy! We both started jumping up and down we were so excited. I wanted to cry I was so happy! I'm a total freak...but all of Archer's milestones get me teary eyed. Well, he sat on his tummy for like 10 min (he HATES his tummy) I'm guessing he was contemplating how he got there.... Silly boy. 

Archer loves to Skype his dad. Every night we get on the computer and use the web camera and we get to see Callan and talk to him every night. That explanation is for those of you who don't know what Skype is. One of my biggest fears is that Archer will forget his dad. He is so young and not being with Callan makes it hard for them to bond. But I am a firm believer now that Archer knows exactly who is dad is. Every night Callan laughs and makes noises and pulls faces at Archer. Archer just laughs, and shrieks and tries to get his dad. The cool thing is, he never laughs so hard with anyone else. He knows exactly who is daddy is. I can not wait for their reunion. I better bring some kleenex.
I am so excited. I get to go and see Callan a week early on the 8th! Like 4 more days!!! And since Callan's last day is the 16th my mom has decided to keep Archer for me, and bring him up on the 16th. I am so excited to see my husband and spend so much time with him and Archer before he leaves for Basic Training. T- 23 days.

Well... Archer has had a fabulous time down in Arizona. He loves being with his Aunt Olivia and Nana and Papa. And don't forget his Uncles. Anyways, he's enjoying all of the love he gets. And believe me its A LOT! Not only does he receive around the clock attention from everyone in the Nixon household, but every ward function, every Sunday, any visitors that come to our house all want to hold him and babysit him. At church alone I had 5 different offers today. One woman said "I never thought I would say or even think this, but he is so much cuter than any of my kids."  HAHA
He is very loved.

Archer had such a fun Halloween. He had 3 different costumes this year. So Saturday (a church Halloween party) He wore his cow costume. I was a cow girl. We were pretty dang cute. I will get some pictures of us up later. After that we had a community Trunk r' Treat. So we changed him into his Skeleton costume. He matched Livvie. It was so fun! We took pictures next to Star Wars people. Liv got so much candy. And everyone just kept saying how cute Archer was. I make cute kids.

Halloween was so much fun. We dressed Archer in his lion costume and Liv, mom, Archer and I headed out to get some candy. Archer and momma went home and Liv and I headed out on our Halloween adventure. We went to SO many houses. We counted 345 pieces of candy, and that didn't include all of the candy from the Trunk r' Treat. She is such a kind and loving girl, she shares her candy with all of us. I love my sister so much. She is such a great example to me. She makes me want to be a better person. At only 9 years old she inspires me daily. I love her so much.

 Here are some pictures of our latest adventures.....

Until next time.....  

Archer 3 months

So...  I am a little late on  updating Archer's 3 month birthday...but what can you do?  I think I have a pretty valid excuse.
Anyhoo, Archer turned 3 months on October 13. He is such a perfect, funny, and smart boy. As of today (Oct.24) Archer is 3 months 2 weeks (almost, 2 more days)

Here is what Archer has accomplished in his young and fruitful life so far...

-He has found his hands and loves to suck on them, grab things, such as his binky. He thinks its hilarious to grab his binky out of his mouth, fake cry and make you put it back in, which then he smiles really big like its the funniest thing hes ever done. Silly boy. He also loves to hold onto his bottle when you are feeding him. He has really good hand eye coordination. Such a smarty pants!

-As I said above he has a fake cry. He does it a lot. Basically he has found out his voice can do different things. If he cries, whether its real or not, he can get our attention super fast. He hates it when the attention is not on him. Haha He also found that he can talk. Sometimes I think he thinks that we can understand him. We can carry on a whole conversation together. Its nice having someone who doesn't judge a single thing you say, to talk to. Haha

-He is VERY close to rolling over. Seriously, any day now. Its exciting and scary at the same time.

- He also figured out he has legs. He can kick. What an amazing discovery. He likes to lay on his back a few hours a day, and just kick and kick. We think with how strong those little legs are, and how much he loves water, that he will be the next Michael Phelps. My little Olympian. 

-Archer loves to giggle and smile. He loves it when we sing and talk to him. He even laughs in his sleep. Its seriously the cutest thing I have ever seen!

-Archer LOVES the ceiling fan, mirrors and TV. His favorite show is white collar. He really talks and giggles at that show more than any other show. He has good taste. 

-He loves his swing. It has music and sounds too, and his favorite setting is the cricket setting....crazy kid.

So far in Archer's 3rd month of life he has made the transition to having is momma with him 24/7 and holding him all the time, to his Nana, Papa, Auntie, and his 2 uncles taking my place.
I can sometimes hold him, I try to hold him at least once a day. We usually fall asleep in the rocking chair watching cartoons.

He has left his daddy behind in Utah to move to Arizona with mommy to move in with Nana and Papa.

He is either teething or has his first cold....either way he is just miserable. Poor fella.

He has had his 2 airplane rides. And he didn't cry once. Good  boy!

He now has a nanny (Aunt Olivia) who can't seem to get enough of him. She has his crib set up in her room. She gets up to feed him in the night, she changes his diaper, and carries him around everywhere. She is basically a professional.

Archer and I miss daddy a lot. We skype a few times a week, and talk on the phone every day. We make sure to send lots of pictures and videos to dad too. We can't wait to see him for Thanksgiving!



Here are some pictures of Archer 3 months and other things...Enjoy!
Until our next adventure.......

He loves car rides

I love that gummy grin.

Olivia is the best Auntie in the whole world. She loves Archer so much and has deemed herself his nanny.

Don't mind the booger in his nose.....

Best friends.

Some Nights

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Hello blogging world. I'm back. And ready to start getting better. Maybe... I don't think there will be as many blog updates for a few months and I will go into why in just a minute. But for now I am just happy to be here typing away with my left hand. Here is a picture of the MRI of the mass in my right shoulder area.


Lets start with Tuesday night:


My Aunt Camille rode the shuttle bus down from Idaho so she could take care of the little fella Archer. My momma and daddy flew in from Arizona. Callan, my Grandma Gail, my parents, and Camille and I all loaded up our bellies with Chilis. I had until midnight to eat as much as I wanted. Haha We basically cleaned the place out. We were so stuffed we could hardly move! But it was a fun night of laughing and remembering old times and talking about new ones. After dinner my momma took Archer so Callan and I could get some rest before the BIG day.
It was my first night away from Archer, well first time away from him longer than 30 min. So I think the whole idea of me getting rested back fired. I was up every 2 hours in cold sweats and a panic looking for him. Haha Basically I am an over protective mom. Which I swore I would never be.

Wednesday: The BIG day....
We had to be at the hospital at 7:00am Which was awesome so I wouldn't be so hungry. Can you tell that's almost all I am worried about? FOOD!!! Haha Anyways, Callan and I met my mom and dad and grandma there. They took me back to the pre op room and had me get in my rockin' hospital gown and hair net. Which let me tell you looked pretty dannng sexy! My surgery, with how the tumors are all set up, wrapping around nerves and through the middles of them. All around the muscles and bones. This surgery was VERY risky and very difficult to preform. My Dr. asked his colleges and there was about 50/50 of them that would perform this difficult of a surgery. Anyhoo, after my surgeon came in to brief us (all 3 of the surgeons) one at a time...we thought that we were ready to go... Haha boy were we wrong!

Apparently my case was so rare and so complex all of the interns and other surgeons wanted to ''observe" haha and come take a look at who I was. Kind of like an animal in a cage at the zoo that people just come to look at. After a dozen or so people shuffled in and out, and after I had my IV put in it was time to go! It was about 8:30am when they wheeled me back.

My family went to breakfast. The Hunstman Cancer Institute where I had my surgery has the best food in the world. SO yummy. I guess they want everyone to feel more comfortable  Its also a beautiful hospital. My grandma says "The Hilton" of hospitals. Haha

They ate a big breakfast and they were ready to go to lunch when they were called back to counseling  Of course by now they were already so tired. And when people are called back in the middle of a surgery, that is never a good sign.They assumed the worst and started to prepare themselves for it. Callan told me he felt like he was having a heart attack and that he was going to die. After 20 or so minutes of making small talk a Dr. came in and said "Oh wrong family! We need the Nix family not the Nixons!" Can you imagine?!?

After that they couldn't eat, poor things. :( Callan couldn't move the rest of the day.His mama and Lester came at around 5:00pm after I got out and was in recovery to wake up.When I woke up I had 4 very tired looking, loving faces looking down at me. I was put in the ICU for pain management because it was going to hurt pretty dang bad. So I was only allowed 4 visitors at a time and No Archer. I cried and cried about that. All I wanted was my son. Melanie and Lester traded places with my mom, dad, and grandma to come see me. I was probably still sobbing about Archer... I was so grateful that I had so much family there to greet me when I woke up. It made me feel so loved, and helped me feel a little bit better about not seeing Archer.

Callan couldn't stay with me that night because he had to take work off for Wednesday, and because we used all of our vacation days for Archers birth, he couldn't take any more paid days off. And with our budget that just wouldn't work. Callan is probably going to kill me for saying this, but he wanted to stay so bad he was just crying. My poor hubby, he was so emotionally drained. He is such a kind man.
My mom and dad stayed the night instead to take care of me. I love my parents so much. I am so grateful for the love that they show me each day. I am so lucky to have such an amazing set of people to call my mom and dad.

Thursday:
The next day I spent sleeping, and crying about Archer (I'm such a boob) and I found out that I was going to have to stay another night in the ICU. Thursday was just horrible! I was emotionally hurt, and physically my pain was excruciating.

My right arm has lost complete function, and my arm is now paralyzed. The good thing is I can move my fingers. But not without a lot of pain. Which is good, because I need those fingers. Haha The Drs. have a theory that because the tumors were compressing on my nerves that helped my hand work for so long, that they had to learn to function on over drive basically.  And now that most of the compression is gone, the are so tired they just don't know how to work normally and they are just so worn out they are basically sleeping. But with a lot of determination and physical therapy we can get my arm back in the next 3-6 months. My best friend Emily came to visit that day too. Even though I was sleeping basically throughout her whole visit. I love that lady! :)

My amazing Aunt Camille and Grandma Gail had been taking good care of Archer, and sending me updates of what Archer was up to....
Here are some pictures...














He was in great hands and had such a fun day with his Auntie.

Callan came to the hospital after work to relive my grandma from her position. He was so excited to tell me that his boss wanted him to take Friday off and to let him know that he was paid for Wednesday and for Friday. How nice is that?!
I felt much better knowing my hubby would be there with me.
I think the nurse took pity on me and said that I could leave the ICU to go to the lobby for an hour to see my son. I almost died of excitement. Apparently you aren't supposed to be able to leave the ICU at all.
That was so kind of her. I had missed my boy so much.
                               

Thursday night after my hour was up, and I had to say goodbye, Mel and Lester came to see me. We had a good night just hanging out and laughing. Once again, I LOVE how wonderful my family is.

Friday:

Friday I got moved to the surgery floor, but not until later at night. Callans dad, step mom and step sister came to see us. My mom, dad ,Aunt Camille, and my 2 favorite boys were there too. It was good to see them and chit-chat a bit. I feel bad. I don't think they realized how extensive my surgery was. They looked a bit frightened. Don't worry you guys, I AM A TROOPER!
Friday night I think my nurse gave me a tad too much medication. I was very very loopy and crazy! HAHA We should have got that on tape. It was better than what I said to Dr. Randalls team who came to check on me though. Apparently I was ticked he didn't come himself (he was in a meeting  or else he would have)
and I said "so dr. randall sent all of little people?" haha poor shmucks. I don't remember that at all.

I got to go home, after much pleeding Saturday afternoon. YAY! I stayed at my Grandma Nixon with my mom and dad. So I had a lot of helpers to take care of me and Archer.

My mom and dad and Archer left today to head to Arizona and I will follow them on Thursday. I have to wait at least a week before I fly. So I am hanging out with my Melanie.

My grandma will come with me to help me out on the airplane on Thursday. My poor Callan has to stay behind and work until its time to leave for Basic Training. I am going to miss him. But we will fly up in November for the weekend and then again for Thanksgiving and to see him off to Basic.
We will be packing up my apartment then too.

My mom has a room all cleared out for me and Archer. I am really excited to be down there and have so much help and support. But, I am going to miss everyone in Utah like crazy.
Life is crazy and SOME NIGHTS I wonder what I did to deserve such an amazing life despite my trials.
I am so grateful for the amazing support system I have and all of my amazing friends and family. Without you guys I would be so lost.

Goodnight blogging world!
Until our next adventure......