A Good Day For Babies!!!

Today I got a new niece and new little "friend". My very good friend, Jamie, had her little boy today around 3:30pm MST. He was 9lbs 30z and 21 inches long. Liam James.

My baby brother, Brett, and his wife, Shendi went to the hospital last night to be induced. They administered Cervadil to soften her cervix and then it was a waiting game. This morning at 5am they started pitocin to increase contractions and then broke her bag of waters around 8am. She got her epidural (pitocin makes for some MEAN contractions) around 9am. At 1pm she hadn't dilated much past 3cm and her blood pressure was up. This has happened a lot during her pregnancy and her dr decided it was time to make a decision. Shendi was wheeled in for a C-Section. Blakelynn was born at 3:03pm MST. She weighs 6lbs 12oz and is 19 1/2 inches long. She has a tiny bit of hair. She has reddish-blonde hair. She is a cute little peanut that (in my opinion) strongly resembles her father. She took to nursing right away and Shendi was happy to finally be holding her. She has a pretty nasty bruise on her face because she tried to come out face first. My 3 little kiddos were in awe of the new little spirit. Christopher, especially, felt the tenderness of the moment. He told me that Blakelynn made Brett and Shendi a mom and dad just like he made me and Bret a mom and dad.

Dodged a bullet... this time.

Today I had to go to the pediatrician and have Darci tested for diabetes. For the past 2 weeks she has exhibited a lot of the symptoms; excessive thirst, frequent urination, loss of appetite, and tired all the time. At first I blamed it on the heat and how hard she likes to play. But we don't take diabetes symptoms lightly in this family. Type 1 and 2 are prevalent on both side of the family. So, we finally got her an appointment. All tests came back normal. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Our pediatrician says that she has allergies and is breathing through her mouth. With the heat and allergies she is getting really thirsty. She drinks so much and that accounts for her frequent diaper changes. She's so tired because it's hot and she plays hard and some people just need more sleep than others (she goes 11 hours a night and still takes a 3-4 hour nap every afternoon). He said that it's great she is recognizing her thirst and her sleepiness. Funny of the day. We had to do a urine sample. I don't even attempt sitting my children on a toilet until they are over 18 months. Darci is just shy of 18 months. I thought trying to get her on the potty would be a disaster. The nurse brought her a popsicle and we sat on the floor and talked to her while she sat like a big girl on a big potty over a big urine sample bowl. After about 5 minutes she did her thing and the nurse and I cheered and Darci grinned like she had just won a great prize. Maybe she'll be easy to toilet train. She looked like a big girl on that potty. :( She needs to stay my baby longer. I've accepted that I may one day have to deal with diabetes, whether I get it or one of my children. I'm just glad that time isn't now with an 18 month old. My sister-in-law, Audra is the mother of Brady who was diagnosed at a little over two years old. Brady and Audra are both so strong for dealing with this trial right now in life as well as they have.

Pingel Family Reunion and Independence Day

All because 2 People Fell In Love


Our little family with Grandma and Grandpa

Everyone!

Original Pings

Ping kids

This year was the 1st annual Pingel Family Reunion. My parents, their children and their spouses, and all their grandchildren. The whole family hasn't been together since Brett and Shendi got married over a year ago.
What a fun time. The festivities started on Wednesday (July 2nd) with some of the family hiking up the Y above BYU and the others going to the Bean Museum on campus. Then lunch at the Provo Mall food court and lots of sun and water in Salem. Justin and his family brought this huge thing called the Sidewinder. It was a massive inflatable waterslide that had two slides (one big and one little) going into a small pool. I'm not joking when I say that the kids played on this for HOURS. Christopher and Xander probably went up and down that thing 200+ times. With it being inflated Christopher would launch himself from the top; jumping all the way to the middle of the slide and then racing down to the bottom.
Thursday was Cafe Rio and the movie Wall-E. Then family pictures at Salem Pond and a pizza dinner. Of course it was Xander and Darci that screamed and resisted the entirety of pictures. So, you will see that they are crying and I don't look all that happy and smiley.
Friday was the 4th and Karen (my mom), Scott(brother), Lindsey(Scott's wife), and Carrie(another sister-in-law) all ran the Freedom 5k and finished with great times. My mother astounds me. Since last August she has lost 30+ lbs and has gone from barely being able to walk 3 miles to running 6 miles a day. She didn't do it for vanity, she did it for her health and to keep her diabetes in check. She's my hero. Anyway, we all gathered after lunch back in Salem and the kids got to dig through sand for treasure. We also took pictures of everyone with their faces on a "Wanted Sign". Then we had a relay race that Lindsey thought up and it included EVERYONE. Bear with me.... OK, so, my mom, dad, and youngest brother Brett had to run around the island in the yard with Darci, Grady, and Luke (youngest grandchildren) on their shoulders. When they got back then Xander, Rachel, and Easton (all 3 years old) had to throw a ball in a bucket. Then Christopher, Jackson, and Stella (6,6, and 9) had to run and put on a bandana, cowboy hat and cowboy boots. Then Me, Carrie, and Shendi (9 months pregnant and just had to sit at her post) had to shoot 3 cups off a table with a water gun. THEN Bret, Scott, and Justin had to run around the island with a water pitcher clutched between their knees. IT WAS HILARIOUS AND PERFECT!!! Oh, and my family won :) !
On to more water sliding and tunes and talking. Then a big BBQ and s'mores and what fireworks we could do in the wind.
Saturday night we had an adults only dinner at Winger's and said good-bye to my out-of-state brothers and sisters-in-law.
WHEW!! I ended the week with too much sun and allergens and a cold. But it was fun.

**** again, no camera; need to get pics off of my mom's.




Luke, Grady, and Darci... the "babies"


The Wii Boxing championship