What a Crazy Summer - I Guess Things Do Come in Threes!

3 Big Things happened this Summer, all within 2 weeks!

A Long Anticipated Hello

Timothy Justin Bates was born the morning of Friday, June 22. Alexis could provide a more detailed account of the whole story but, suffice it to say, he came very shortly after we arrived at the hospital (Lexie was already dilated to a 9 at that point). With one push and a moment of relaxing, he was out! He was noticeably smaller than anyone expected, coming in at only 4lbs 11oz.

The ultrasound 2 weeks earlier indicated that he should have been well over 6lbs by the time he was born and no one seems to be able to figure out why he came out so small. He had difficulty maintaining his glucose levels so he was admitted into the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) and given a glucose IV starting Friday night. He remained there, with constant heart, respiratory and blood pressure monitoring and frequent blood glucose level tests.  The NICU nurses and doctors were great and helped make the best of a difficult situation. We also came to find out that one of the nurses is the mother-in-law of a brother with whom I served in the elders quorum presidency.

Lexie and I were able to stay in the hospital through Monday midmorning, since they had an available room for us to stay in Sunday night, even though we had technically already been discharged (they call it "nesting"). It was a day by day rollercoaster with Timothy's glucose levels rising and falling depending on how much he ate and what the glucose IV distribution was set at. By Wednesday evening, he got his levels balanced out and we were thrilled to take him home. He is our wonderful, healthy, "Tiny Tim" and we are excited to have him in our family.

Baby Timothy in the NICU (his little 'tin man' hat is for his
glucose IV and the other monitors were under his blanket)

During this whole process, we have had many friends and family members that were super helpful. The Longs and Bates helped to watch Charlotte & Ethan for several days, let us crash at their houses for naps between feedings, helped to feed and walk Nero, and even did our laundry! Since we've been home, we have had ward members stopping by with gifts, dinners, baby clothes and offers to watch our older kids so we can get a break. We have been very blessed and felt our Father's love through the Christlike love of His children. So if you helped, THANK YOU!

Ethan and Charlotte are Timothy's biggest fans and, when it comes
 time to change his diaper, Mom's best helpers! 

An Unexpected Departure

A week ago, Sunday (July 1st), I decided to take Nero (our 6 year old greyhound) out for an evening walk. We were about 3 minutes away from returning home, crossing through a park in our neighborhood, when out of the darkness two pit bulls (or possibly pit bull terriers) came charging at us. I had my headphones on at the time and before I knew it, the two pit bulls were on top of Nero, biting and snapping! Since it was night time, there is an HOA rule about leashing your pets, and how fast it all happened, I was caught entirely unaware.  Usually, if a neighbor's dog comes up to greet Nero, they just sniff each other and that's the end of it - but not this time.

This is how we would often find Nero sleeping
(actually sleeping), with one leg extended, the other
bent, belly up and living the dream.

The owner of the dogs quickly appeared (she had apparently been in the park with them) and, screaming at them, tried to pull them off of Nero.  I managed to use one hand to rip one of them off of Nero by the collar and then, tried to use my other hand to pull Nero away from the remaining dog. My efforts were in vain, though, as the second animal had a death grip on one of Nero's hind legs, creating a gaping, bloody wound. In hindsight, perhaps I should have kicked that remaining dog so hard it would have had to let go, but the owner was right there trying to restrain the animal and I was busy trying to keep the other dog at bay - not to mention the possibility that the dog may then have turned on me...

Finally, the owner was able to rip the dog off of Nero but the damage was done. The whole incident having taken place over the course of about 45 seconds, I was still in shock. The lady kept apologizing, screaming for her husband (who lived in a house just outside the park) and saying she would take full financial responsibility. I quickly handed over the other dog and tried to put some distance between us. I wasn't super concerned with getting her phone number as I knew where she lived (just one street up from me) but was deeply concerned with getting Nero away from the other two dogs and to the animal hospital.

It took Nero a minute to get up but once he did, he hobbled along on 3 legs as quick as he could to get some distance between him and his attackers. I carried him several times when he couldn't walk any further but, given his size, my weakness, and the fact that his injuries were pretty severe, it took a little while. I tried to call Lexie but our cell coverage was sketchy and, when she did answer, I had already put my phone in my pocket.

To make a long story shorter, I got Nero home, my nephew came over to watch the kids so that Lexie, Timothy and I could drive Nero to the nearest animal hospital at about 10:30pm. I sat in the back of the Traverse with Nero who was breathing heavily, though not bleeding as much as I would have thought (it turns out the injuries just missed his femoral artery - otherwise, he would have bled out right there).

The hospital admitted him, put him on some pain meds and assessed the damage. Not only were they uncertain about the extent of the trauma, he was going to need reconstructive surgery, several days stay in the hospital, and might have lost the leg anyway. On top of that, he had more bites and cuts than I had thought (besides just the leg) and there was a possibility of a lung puncture.  When faced with his traumatic and uncertain condition, coupled with the incredibly expensive preliminary estimates, we had to make the heartbreaking decision to put him down. We were blessed in that they let us see him for a few minutes and provided us with his paw print in clay to remember him by. It was a rough evening, and pretty hard to explain to the kids the next day.

Nero was currently on pain meds, which explains his
calm demeanor and friendly smile. The office staff
were gracious enough to put a blanket over the wounds
- we didn't dare look at them.

I went to the neighbor's house a few days later and, fortunately, she was more than willing to cover the medical expenses, as well as the adoption and transportation fees for another greyhound, should we decide to get one in the future; we can never replace Nero, but we would still be interested in inviting another greyhound into our home, to love and be loved by our family.

My plea to all dog owners - please keep your animals on a leash! It may seem inconvenient, but it would have prevented this tragedy, and possibly much worse.  Accidents happen, but simple, responsible preventative measures can certainly minimize those incidents.

The Age of the Minivan

The next day (so last Monday), we had made arrangements to trade in our Traverse and possibly get another vehicle. We had warning signs of a probable, serious, future mechanical issue in our Traverse, so we decided to trade it in and ended up getting a 2012 Toyota Sienna. It was really frustrating, since we had bought the Traverse (a more expensive, newer vehicle than we usually get) so that we could maintain it, keep it, and drive it for the next 10+ years. Unfortunately, the issue that was presenting itself could have been a huge headache so we decided to take the hit and just get another vehicle.

The upside: We love the van and were able to get much better financing through a local credit union than the dealership initially offered, which was a blessing.