Maleah Ella Bigler

Born: May 18, 2007

12:23 pm
American Fork Hospital
7 lbs 15 oz
18 inches

She is a chunky monkey...and has a lot of blonde hair. We know now what Kaya would have looked like if she doubled her weight at birth.


Tasha is my hero. She did awesome. The labor was primarily in Tasha's back, which required me to push on her sacrum (to create some counter-pressure and relief). Contractions began late Wednesday, and by Thursday afternoon they were consistent (10 min apart) and by Friday morning we were at the hospital at 7am with contractions about 5 min apart. 10:30am they had to break her water b/c the contractions weren't "strong" enough (I thought they were plenty strong). By noon, her contractions became very "strong" and 25 minutes of good pushing and Maleah arrived.

How did Kaya react? She is very hyper about having a little sister, and very fascinated with all her little features. Kaya thought we were having a boy, so when she found out we had a girl she said: "I didn't get my little brother...I think he's lost." Well, maybe next time. :)

Kaya is already being very motherly and helping with EVERYTHING!!! We have to give boundaries or she will completely maul her with love.

Oh, yeah, I had my time in the bed too. :) My take on this birthing experience is: 1. It is truly a miracle. 2. After pushing on Tasha's sacrum steadily for 9 hours, I felt like I went to the gym and never put the weights down. My arms and shoulders hurt so bad!! But, of course I couldn't say anything because what I had to endure was weak sauce, compared to my hero, Tasha.

Proud Grandpa Cusick

Kaya's first "pony"

Well, she finally did it. We woke up one morning and Kaya had a pony tail. She makes her parent's proud!!!

Siding

As if we don't have enough to do before the baby comes...we are now working full steam ahead on our exterior. We hired a guy that recently moved here from Ohio and is starting his siding business back up. He was recommended to us by a neighbor, and so far so good. We are very excited about possibility of transforming our Smurf Blue house to something a little more palatable. But just in case you thought our house couldn't get any more ugly, just look at it without our blue cedar shakes:
Completion date is expected in one more week. I'm sure our neighbors will be just as glad as we will be to have it done--we had a neighborhood cleanup project last Saturday, where everyone helps each other with yard work. We most help the elderly and try to steer clear of the houses like ours that would occupy the rest of our lives with work if we let it. But nonetheless, we still managed to clear out all the railroad ties from our backyard.

The next day, Sunday, when the Bishop realized there were some big piles of green waste that needed to be removed from our street, he mentioned we would need helping hands to help with the project. And then he specifically requested that the owners of the green waste be there to participate as well (I'm sure he had me in mind--looking at a pile of railroad ties weighing in at a mere 200lbs/each make any good man think about the easier road to remodeling a 30 year old house: arson...any kind).

Noah's Ark in my basement

Alright...who opened the umbrella in our basement??? This flood couldn't have happened just because we live in a 30 year old house...it had to be something else right? Well, Noah only has one edge on me: My flood didn't require me to live in a self contained zoo for 40 days (although sometimes it feels like that around here :) The culprit was our outside faucet. It's funny...everytime I talk to someone about what caused our flood, they say, "You didn't unscrew your hose before winter, huh." Sometimes I wonder why I'm always in the dark on these important subjects, and why I always have to learn as I go. I'm liking the idea of "preventative maintenance".The quick story is this: Ryan (Tasha's brother) was outside washing his truck...noticing that he had low water pressure. After about 30 minutes he went inside to get something from his room. That's when he noticed the water coming in his shoes. Tasha and I were in Provo showing our duplex, and got the call that something was wrong. We hurried back, and 4 wet/dry vacs and 5 hours later, we got about all the water up we could.
You know when something happens that creates a domino effect...well, that was this flood. Now that the carpet is out, we can do what we were wanting to: texture the walls (old world style), replace baseboards and trim, tile--you know, simple stuff that only takes a minute. We are in the process now, and hope to be finished before the baby comes.

Easter

We spent Easter in Kaysville with my fam (which coincidentally almost equalls the total population of Tasha's home town :). My nephew got baptized, so we all went up to celebrate...and talk about an Easter egg hunt! For a while I thought we hired a young army to find all the loot. Kids were everywhere!! It took us 30 minutes to hide the candy, and they found it in 10. It was a blast.All the little kids paired up with a bigger kid so the candy would be equally distributed (I promise we don't practice Marxism!!!...but sometimes you have to equally distribute the wealth or the little kids just get trampled). The best part about Easter (aside from all the candy)? Seeing all the parental styles adjust to the influx of sugar in their kid's bloodstream.

Hiking

Sometimes little legs go real fast...sometimes not. Kaya has been feeling so good lately that when we hiked up to Bridal Veil Falls, she was outpacing the pregnant women and fatty daddy. At least she walked all the way up (with little coaxing). The way down however was another story. Thank goodness for all the people running the trail with their dogs! It was enough of a distraction that Kaya took her mind off "how long and boring" the hike down was turning out to be. It has been so nice to see Kaya with so much energy!

Build-A-Bear

We took Kaya to the Build-A-Bear shop in Orem...she had a blast.

The first 20 minutes were spent helping Kaya decide on only one bear. Naturally she liked every choice, and wanted all twenty options. We finally narrowed the selection and moved to the next station, where she was stuffed and where Kaya could put in the bear's heart. After the bear was "alive", Kaya had to give her a bath. Then came choosing the new bear's clothes (yet again, another 20 minute decision). We added an accessory backpack to the mix and then chose the new bear's name: Becca.

Kaya was so excited to have another friend (we can't wait until May when her brother/sister comes to be her new friend...she really needs a friend that moves--and cries, and sleeps and poops :).

Sticker monster!!

I think we forgot to lock the desk drawer...

Tasha's Tummy

29 Weeks along...we are getting a lot closer (and Tasha is feeling a lot fatter)!!!

Kaya's BIG 4

This is a really LATE post (Kaya will kill me later when she's a teenager), but hey, 1.5 months later is better than never! Kaya and Tasha were in Arizona visiting Tasha's grandparents on Kaya's b-day, then we had another party when she got back here. So she really had two birthday parties. In Arizona she went on a merry-go-round, went shopping, playing in the swimming pool (while we were freeeeeeezing in Utah), and to the circus. In Utah, we had all her cousins over for a big party(Thanks to Caitlin Nibly for these pics)

They really liked these glow in the dark sticks...it got dangerous in the dark. I think my eye almost got poked out.

It's fun to see Kaya growing older (I wish she was growing taller and heavier...she's probably the lightest 4 year old--21 lbs). Opening presents is fun (she actually likes her toys and clothes), she actually blows out candles, and she eats her cake (at least a couple bites).
We are hoping for 30 lbs next B-day, but 1st Quarter results are a little disappointing and we need to make up ground in the 2nd Quarter. Otherwise, the shareholders (Tash, me, all of you) will be in an uproar.

Baby Girl v Baby Boy.

We went to the doc today to have our 20 week ultrasound. We were excited and nervous all at the same time. After arriving at the American Fork hospital, we had a very welcoming surprise: the ultrasound tech was one of the nurses that helped Kaya a lot right after she was born. She was such an awesome person, we even set her up on a date with one of my brothers. (Side note, she's still single and still cool, so maybe my bro has a second chance).

Shortly after reviewing all the surgeries and issues that Kaya has (we've done this so many times that it becomes second nature after a while) we entered the same room where we were told of the many problems Kaya was going to have and that she had a 1% chance to survive after birth. It was surreal being in the same place...except the news this time was quite different. Our baby is doing GREAT, and nothing abnormal can be detected (except that it's related to me, of course). We are very excited!!

Oh yeah, we don't know what we're having either...boy or girl, the baby's still coming home to a pink room to share with Kaya.

Remodel update

We finally got our mantle. And we finally painted our old dining room light and put it in the entry way...

Happy New Year!!!

Every year keeps getting more fun. We are excited to see how another little Bigler will change our lives...note: I said "change" not "rock our world". Hope all your resolutions last longer than the 1.5 month average in America

Nachooooooooooo

Sometimes when you're a girl, you wear stretchy pants in your room...Pink boots...red tights...stripped shirt...she picked this outfit out...I promise. But all her dance moves she learned from me.

Christmas time, oh Christmas time

Our favorite time of the year! This was the first year that Kaya really looked forward to Santa. We didn't realize how lucky we were that she likes Santa. We had a party and had a "drop-in" from Santa and all the other kids her age ran to their dads and moms...scared to death. Even a free candycane couldn't pursuade them to go sit on his knee.

Snow came with fun mini snowmen and snow angels..."Kaya size", as we call them.

Kaya really likes the snow, except when she gets hit in the head with a snowball (we have really good snowball fights in the back yard, and sometimes Uncle Ryan missfires) or trips and put her hands in the snow. When she's warm she smiles and when she's cold, she screams. It's as simple as that.


After making snow angels we would come in the house and sit by the warm fire.

Christmas in Colorado was especially fun. We were missing Tasha's sister Heidi because she's still in cooooooold Wisconsin serving a mission.

While there we got really sore cross-country skiing. I knew I was out of shape, but didn't know I was that off track! Maybe it was more strenuous pulling our heavy-weight 22 lb daughter behind me on a slick sled, or the high altitude...

whatever the cause, I could barely walk the next couple days.My saving grace was being able to lay down on the couch and listen to Kaya play beautiful music on her new harmonica. Even dog ears liked it. Their dog, Dakota, almost howled he liked it so much.

Kaya's favorite gift was her new pink outfit, including her pink cowgirl boots. More than the gifts, we just enjoyed relaxing. There are so many things to do down in Durango, and we just scratch the surface when we go down there. I'm amazed at all the deer they have in the orchard right behind their house. One night, we counted over 15 deer...about 6 big bucks too.

Every year we have a tradition of attending the Bethlehem Night at the Sorensen house. It is an awesome event that creates the environment of a mini Bethlehem...and what Christmas is really all about. We hope you all had a great Christmas!

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving with my family in Farmington/Kaysville. We realized that these pictures are probably going to be the last ones we'll get of Tasha with a normal sized tummy (since we're now expecting another kid, Kaya has been prepping to be a "mommy". It's fun to hear how she thinks she'll give the new baby a bottle, rock her to sleep, and put her to sleep. She realizes what a new baby does though...she says the new baby will "drink a lot and poop a lot".)

Memorable moments of Thanksgiving:
1. First time a Bigler family picture has been taken in a long, long while.
2. Lots of good food (I redeemed myself from a previous Thanksgiving mashed potatoe mishap...this time they were delicious)
3. Sleepless night with kids
4. Red Vine Licorice
5. BYU 33, Utah 31 - one of the best rivalry games of all time!

Post-cast bath

Pabla?

Ang would have killed me if I didn't publish this pic. Paul's going to kill me when he sees it. I guess I'm more scared of what Ang will do than Paul... :)

Cast

Dr Stott said that the greatest trial any parent would ever endure is for a 3 1/2 year old to have a hip cast for one month or more...he was right.This surgery resulted because of Kaya's hip dispacia, a condition where the hip joint doesn't wrap completely around the ball of the femur. The extra wear and tear that this creates makes a future hip replacement innevitable. For Kaya, that would have occured in her late twenties had we not done this surgery.

So, as with every surgery, we prepared Kaya by bringing her doll Emily with her, so she could have the same "surgery". The doctors raised their eyebrows when we requested them to put a cast on Kaya's doll, but they did it.

The first cast soon became a nightmare. With Kaya's vesicostomy and feeding tube, they had to be very creative with the cast around her abdomen. With the cast originally around on two legs, the urine from her vesicostomy soon began eating away her skin. It was terrible...probably the worst skin break-down we've ever had. Only 1.5 days after the cast, we decided to take the cast off the right leg and leave it on the left. We are very glad because the bar between the legs was removed and Kaya's mobility increased substantially.

Still, we had to adjust everyday activities; eating and bathing were the biggest changes for Kaya.
At first Kaya's movement was pretty much nothing. She always wanted to be carried. And talk about HEAVY. We have no idea what a regular 4 yr old feels like. The extra 10 lbs was a workout!!! (Or I'm just getting soft).






All in all, we're glad it's off...although it was fun to carry her by the cast and twirl her around in circles on the new wood floors. So far, so good though. Her leg is a little tender, so walking is still a little slow. But for the most part, she's doing good.