Happy 1st Birthday Braxton

Braxton turns 1 today! Where has the year gone? He is so big now and walking all over the place. We went to The Living Planet Aquarium this afternoon for the first time and he was obsessed with it—talking to the fish and splashing in the water with the stingrays. Thanks Aubrey for inviting us to go with you!

My Little Daredevil

Last Saturday we went to Logan to hang out with Brian’s family and celebrate Jason’s daughter Taylor’s birthday. We watched her play soccer and then went up to grandpa’s farm to ride four-wheelers and motorbikes and have a hot dog roast. Braxton rode his first four-wheeler and he was in love with it as long as his dad took him around. I swear this kid loves everything with wheels. The other day on the lawn he crawled after a car—scary. I may have a daredevil on my hands. Here are some pics:

First Hair Cut

For those who see Braxton often, the first thing people notice (besides his amazing blue eyes) is the curly mullet going on in the back with no hair on top. Some people think it is adorable to have those curls and some people think it is just funny looking on a boy. Brian and I fall into the latter of the two and have wanted to cut his hair for some time. Finally on Easter, we did it and we think it is so much better. He actually smiled through the whole process. Here are the pics:

Easter

This year we had Easter at home. My mom was here and my sister came down for dinner. We watched an awesome General Conference and between sessions our cute neighbor organized an Easter egg hunt. Here are some pictures of Braxton on his first hunt.

St. George Vacation

Braxton and I went to St. George with my parents for almost 2 weeks. We did a lot of fun things and had a good break from the daily routine. I got to go golfing for the first time in 2 years, since last summer I was recovering from a C-section and the year before I was pregnant. I did a lot better than I thought I would and was actually very happy with how I was hitting my driver and irons. My short game needs some serious work though. We also got to spend some time with my Grandpa and Grandma Merkley. We took Braxton to this really nice park by my parent’s house. His favorite things were the swing and the dog park. He literally giggled non-stop as he splashed in the hot tub and we took some really great pictures when we took him hiking up in the turtle reserve behind my parent’s house. Here are the pics:

Could it be love?

Maybe, but definitely the start of a beautiful friendship. Braxton and I have started doing some playdates and it is going pretty well. Braxton and Kennedy play so well together—pretty much they just follow each other around and try to play with the same toy. It is cute.

Also, we decided to enjoy the snow before it is all gone for the summer (not that I want it to stick around or anything). Here are some random pictures of my boys sledding. I think Braxton liked it!

Worst Three Minutes of My Life

Parenting comes with all kinds of highs and lows. Two weeks ago I definately had a low point. Braxton and I were just hanging out on the floor watching American Idol. He was crawling behind the couch and came around and sat down by me. He went to put a toy in his mouth, when all of a sudden he scrunched his face up like he was going to let out a major cry--but the cry never came. I looked at him closer and he started turning purple and convulsing. My first thought was that something fell off the toy and down his throat, so I picked him up and started the heimlich over my arm. I swear I pounded his back so hard, I was expecting broken ribs. I am not sure how long it lasted but the girl on AI that had just started singing when he started choking was being judged by the time he was breathing again--so at least a minute or two.

I am grateful that I acted so quickly; however, I came very close to stopping the heimlich and calling 911. The object would dislodge every 20 seconds or so, but when he tried to breath in, it would get stuck again. After this repeating 4 or 5 times, I started to panick and that was when it came dislodged for good. Unfortunately, it didn't come out and he spent the next minute swallowing with great effort to get it down. Once it reached a certain point, he just looked at me, sighed like 'thank you mom' and then wanted put down to play again.

I immediately ran over to the toys and looked them all over--nothing was missing of course--and spent the next 20 minutes hysterical and on the phone to Brian, my parents, and the after hours nurse at my doctor trying to decide whether or not to go the hospital for an X-ray or ultrasound to find out what it was. The nurse told us as long as it wasn't a battery or 2 magnets together and he could eat and drink and act normally, then we should just wait for it to pass.

Well, it's two weeks later and we still have no idea what he swallowed. The best ideas we've come up with is some change--like a penny or nickel that was just under the couch--or a sales receipt. The nurse told us that paper can block the airway like that and we won't see it come through.

Sifting through diapers is disgusting and even though I think I have looked through them good, I still have probably missed the item and we will never know what it was. All I have to say is that choking is definately on my top 5 list for things you hope never happens to your children. It was terrifying and for sure the worst 3 minutes of my life.