A 'Suite' Lakers Victory!

Game 4 - Lakers v. Jazz. In all my years of living in Utah, I had been to a few Jazz games, but never when they played the Lakers. So when my Aunt Sherrie texted me and said Uncle Dave got a suite for game 4 and there were two seats for me, I was ecstatic. Jamie, Tyler, and I made the inter-county trip to the Energy Solutions Arena and were treated to first class food and accommodations. More importantly, we saw the Lakers emphatically pound the Jazz into submission and take a commanding 3-1 series lead. I couldn't outwardly enjoy the victory too much, though. I was the only Lakers fan in the suite (well, the only cheering one. Sorry, Jamie :) ) and I tried my hardest not to gloat. Uncle Dave kept giving me a hard time about cheering for them, though.

Tyler did not like the loud noises of the pre-game introductions or the cheering crowd (to be fair, I ddin't like the cheering Jazz fans either, j/k) Jamie had to take him out of the suite for a while. During half time, I got some earplugs and we used some bandages to keep them in his ears. It actually worked and he slept through most of the second half. I know in the corner recesses of his brain, he'll always remember his first Lakers game. If you look closely, you can see the bandages over his ear in the picture below.



Here's Uncle Dave and Aunt Sherrie. A big THANK YOU to them.

Tomorrow night is game 5 and there will be two 24's on TV. The only question is who will be more lethal - Jack Bauer or Kobe Bryant. I wouldn't bet against either of them.

Another big even yesterday - Kaylin got her first real haircut. Jamie did the honors. Doesn't she look beautiful?! All the nursery boys are going to go nuts :)

Steven, master of the hoop.

While Steven is away in California, he's picking up a new skill. Here is the link to the video. It's kind of long, so I didn't want to put it directly on the blog, but you will definitely want to check it out. Thanks to Grandpa Jones for editing and posting it.

Birthday Party at the Hospital!

There's no better way to celebrate a birthday than at the hospital. Just ask Brandon. Instead of regular ice cream, we bought some Dibs (a registered trademark of the Nestle Corporation). Brandon was creative enough to use the Dibs as a substitute for the candles. It was a little disappointing that the other kids weren't here (they are in California with Granny Jones), but we had a good time.

Brandon was so excited to get his Nintendo DS, he started shaking when he was unwrapping it.

Tyler Update

Tyler is recovering well. For those that haven't heard, he was diagnosed with a low red blood cell count. It appears he was losing blood due to an injury in his bowels - likely caused by his formula. Since Monday, the doctors have not allowed him to eat - he has only had nutrients through an IV. They've also given him antibiotics to help heal the injury. A few of his IVs have broken. One caused his left hand to swell up and turn red. It was pretty nasty. It looks much better now. I know Jamie took a picture on her cell phone. If we have one on the camera, I'll upload it later.

Today he will finally be put back on formula (a different kind than he had been drinking), but through a feeding tube. It will be a slow process to build him back up so he probably won't be home until next Saturday.

One positive note is that Tyler is doing really well without receiving additional oxygen. His saturation levels are right where the doctors want them to be. There's a chance he may come home without oxygen.

We also want to wish a happy 10th birthday to Brandon. He's growing up so fast. We'll probably be celebrating at the hospital. Hopefully we'll get some pictures of him in the next little while, too.

RIP Nick Adenhart

Unfortunately, it often takes tragic events to put life in perspective. As an Angels fan, I was very shocked to hear that rookie Nick Adenhart was killed last night by a drunk driver who ran a red light while driving with a suspended license. Adenhart, 22, was the Angels top pitching prospect and had thrown 6 shutout innings against the A's only hours before the accident. I was looking forward to following his bright future. It's a shame that he died because of the someone else's reckless decisions. I wish I could be the prosecutor on that one.

I got the news while I was in the hospital holding Tyler in my arms as he continues to recover from his current setback. Our little Tyler is a constant reminder that life is fragile. I think it's made me a lot more sensitive to the difficulites others are facing. Twice while Tyler was in the ICU I saw parents the moments after they received news that their child had passed away. It's a very sobering experience, espcially when we really don't know how long Tyler's little heart will last. We can't take for granted any moment that we have with him - or with any of our other kids for that matter.

Tyler's Baby Blessing

After LDS general conference on Sunday, I had the opportunity to bless Tyler. As most of you know, that would normally be done during a regular church meeting, but because of his condition our Bishop allowed us to conduct it when we did.

We dressed him in a little white outfit that we bought when Steven was a baby. He was a very handsome little dude. It was nice that both Jamie's and my parents were able to be there. My dad and Jamie's parent's both made whirlwind trips to be able to be there. Not to get too sappy, but it was a very special occasion that I don't think we could ever forget.
Tyler's beautiful, very happy mother, who you can tell he adores.

Back at the hospital

Tyler was looking very pale today so Jamie and I brought him back to Primary's. It is sloooooow. We've been here for 3 and a half hours and the doctor finally saw him about twenty minutes ago. He looks a lot better now, but not his normal self still. I brought my computer because I had some last minute trial prep to do. Fortunately, they have internet.

Tyler's baby blessing was today. I had planned on posting pictures, but I won't get to it until tomorrow at least.