Link's Birthday, Among Other Things

So, it's been a crazy month. My mom got very sick and was in the hospital for almost two weeks. She was admitted on her 50th birthday (we told her that just because she was getting old didn't mean she had to start falling apart) to Bingham Memorial for spinal meningitis. They did a lumbar puncture and took blood to culture. They kept her from the 12-16 with her cultures coming back negative for meningitis. Her doctor told her she was "unlucky enough to have a stiff neck" and sent her home in more pain than she was in when she was first admitted and told her to follow up in a week.

Five hours later, my dad took her to the ER at EIRMC. They did a CT scan and would have done an MRI right away, but they thought they would have to remove a BB from her cheek. My dad convinced them that it wasn't steel, it was lead, and they did the MRI. The doctor that was overseeing my mom told her that there was definitely something there, but it was "weird". He assembled a group of doctors which included him, an infectious disease specialist, an Ear Nose and Throat doctor, a neurosurgeon, a radiologist, and a few other doctors. They were able to determine that it was an epidural abscess and once they knew that they prepped my mom for surgery right away.

The surgery went well, but it was worse than they thought once they got in there so they had to do a little more than what they originally planned. They went in through her throat and removed the front half of C-6 and part of C-7. They then vacuumed out and scraped out the infection. They replaced the removed vertebrae with a titanium cage, plate, screws, and a graft from her hip. She felt so much better after surgery than she had before. The doctor that performed the procedure told my parents the next day that at the rate her abscess was growing, she would have been paralyzed within 12 hours and then eventually died and had it ruptured she would have been gone.

Anyway, she is home now and doing well. She has to wear a neck brace and has to have antibiotics administered through a PIC line for another month or more. Very scary, but we are so glad for good doctors who were definitely answers to our prayers.

Then, on the 27th, my little Linkers turned two! We celebrated a couple days later, but let him open two gifts on his actual birthday. Here are some pictures.

Then he got to open some presents when we partied too.

And of course we had to have cake.

I think that he enjoyed his birthday and I can't believe he's not my little baby anymore. Where does that time go. He also had a well check and is in the 25th percentile for his height and 10th for his weight. He's just growing up so fast. Tomorrow he goes in for an echo cardiogram to make sure the heart murmur he has isn't caused by a valve problem or a hole in his heart. So keep him in your prayers and I will post again when we know more about that.

On a different and very happy note, we are expecting Simonson baby #3 in October! We find out in a couple weeks if we are having another boy or a girl. Corgin told us that he knows it's a girl. When I asked him how he knows, he said "because I asked Heavenly Father." He's very excited and has shared the news with everyone! Another cute Corgin story: He was riding his scooter in the basement the other day while Clint was working. Clint hears him saying, "And Chicken Bullion wins the race!" And so Clint asked him about chicken bullion and he replied, "That's my racing name." So funny. I love my kids!!!

Life at the Simonsons

Here are a few pictures of some of the things we have been up to lately.

For my dad's birthday we went bowling. Corgin loved it. Here he is, he would hold this pose until his ball was about halfway down the alley. It was cracking me up.

We went to see my Grandma Stander and the boys had to try out the swing. They loved it.

Link was making me laugh so hard because every time the swing would go down it would take the air right out of him and he was making the silliest sounds.

Aren't they so cute!

Saturday, we had run some errands and were pulling into the garage when Corgin told me that he saw a moose. I stopped and, sure enough, there was a moose in our neighbor's yard.

I think it was scared of us because it started running away and headed into the road. I took the pictures with my phone, so they aren't very good, but you can still see the moose. It was exciting to see it so far from home.

EASTER

Easter morning came and the boys were excited to see what was left for them.Link found his basket.Then he had so see what was inside.Corgin found his basket.He also had to examine the contents.New beach toys!They were enjoying their new toys! They even got to take the beach ones in the bath with them later and that kept them entertained for quite some time.

And, they got new church clothes, but I'm terrible and forgot to get pictures while they were in them, but they did look super adorable!

After church and a delicious dinner, the boys went outside for an Easter egg hunt.

They hurried out the door.Link got right to it and picked up lots of eggs.We told Corgin he had to find the ones that were actually hidden and to not pick up too many that were just on the grass. He was looking all around.There's one! He found it in the plants.Link filled his basket so full that he had to set it down and bring the eggs to it since it was getting too heavy for him to lug around.Corgin found one in the rain spout (with a little coaching).Here is Link's basket. All three little boys made a haul and now have too much candy!We had a fun Easter! We are so grateful for a wonderful family that we can spend our holidays with and for a loving Heavenly Father. We are thankful to celebrate this time of year and the Resurrection of our Savior and all the new life that comes with Spring. We are so truly blessed!

I Can't Believe it's Already March!

So, I like to try to blog at least once a month, but I obviously missed February. But we have been keeping busy and having fun (even if I haven't taken lots of pictures of the fun).

In February, I had a birthday. I celebrated by having dinner with my family and then going to get set apart as the Primary President in our ward (part of the reason for no blog, busy, like I said).Jake and Maddie also blessed little Zoey.My mom, Maddie, Brianne, and I took a girls weekend and went to Utah and did some shopping. We had way too much fun and decided that we are going to have to make that a yearly tradition. We got some stick-on mustaches from a little vending machine and walked around Trolley Square. When my boys saw the mustache I brought home, they wanted to see what they would look like with mustaches.

Link

Corgin

Earlier this month some of Clint's siblings were able to come visit. So we spent almost a whole week hanging out and having fun. I didn't get any pictures of the kids playing with their cousins, but one night we had a little excitement.We were getting ready to leave, loading up the car, coming back for the kids. Corgin was telling his Grandma Hamblin how fast he could run, then decided to show her. He ran smack into the corner of the table and busted open his eyebrow. Here are some pictures of that.

We weren't sure if we needed to go to the ER or not, but our sister-in-law is finishing up school to be a PA, so we asked her. She said that she would just glue it shut. This is before we glued it.

This is after we glued it.

Here's the next morning when Corgin got up. His eye was so swollen then, but it is looking much better now. This happened about a week ago and now he has a little bit of a yellow bruise left, but the swelling has gone away and the glue has almost worn off. After he did it and calmed down, he told us that he wished he didn't do that and we told him to watch where he is going next time he is running fast. When we were at my in-laws house the other night, we saw that he left a big dent in the corner of her table (so sorry, Kristi).

The other night we went out for dinner as a family and it happened to be kid's night at the restaurant. There was someone going around making balloon animals and giving them to the kids.

Link got a brontosaurus and loved it, especially when he was pretending like it was eating his food.

Corgin got a pteradactyl. He also had lots of fun playing with his, even when we got home.

Lots of fun in February and March. Looking forward to April.

My Boys!

Here are some pictures of my boys. They're not the best quality because they are from my phone, but some were too cute to not post.

We went to Brent and Kristi's to watch a Boise game. We had nachos and wings. Corgin loved the BBQ ones.

Here is Corgin in his Hero costume. He did it all by himself and said he was my hero.

The boys got some play shaving cream and razor in their stockings and they love it. Here's Link before Corgin shaved him.

And here's Corgin shaving himself.

Corgin and Link playing nicely together. I love it when they get along.

Corgin told me he was "Mr. Home Depot man, how can I help you?"

Link loves the camera now and always says "cheeeese".

Again, I love it when they get along and play together. Link likes to get rides on the back of the tricycle from Corgin.

And this morning we found them like this. I love that Link has his arm around Corgin while he watches him play his game.

I was caught taking pictures.

My sweet little boys!

Corgin's Fourth Birthday!

Corgin turned four this year. His birthday was Sunday, but we celebrated it a day early so that everyone could be there. We started with lunch at Texas Roadhouse with his grandparents. He got to ride the saddle while the servers sang to him and then yell "Yee-haw". He thought it was pretty fun.

Then back at our house, his aunts and uncles and cousins joined in the celebration and we had cake and opened presents. He got a cool helmet from Grandpa Brent and Grandma Kristi.
They also got him a little folding table with chairs.

Opening another gift. A moon bounce from Grandpa Dewey and Grandma Merri.

(See the little boys at the table and chairs. It has been a hit at our house since he got it.) He also got a bag of candy and rechargeable batteries and a game for his Innotab that he got for Christmas.

Time for cake!

Blow out the candle.

He loved his party and was happy everyone could come. Corgin was excited to get a card and treat at church on Sunday, his real birthday. He loved it and can't wait for his next birthday.