Sophie

This blog post is mostly all my niece Sophie. My sister and her family have moved back to Tucson and I am thrilled about that. I just was most excited to get to finally meet Sophie. We had her around for a few days and I absolutely adore her. She is such a good, smiley baby. I really am excited that Marilyn and her family are living here again and we get to see them so much more often. Zoey loves playing with Kylie and both Zoey and Noah love little Sophie. I hope they enjoy their new sibling as much!

Haircut

This was Noah's first haircut being a big boy sitting in a chair. All his previous haircuts he has insisted on being held but not this time. He is getting so big. This is his last haircut as the baby of the family. Next time around he will be a big brother.

He hates having all the little hairs all over him.

He started giggling at one point and couldn't help moving because he said it tickled.

Props to My Hubby

I know some have already seen this on my sister's blog but I had to post it too. I know my husband is embarrassed because he does not enjoy all the attention but I am very proud of him. Jay was named employee of the month at work. He was picked from all the staff from the Northwest Hospital Urgent Cares. It just makes me so proud and happy for him because it shows that his coworkers think highly of him as a person and an employee. Jay very much doesn't see it in himself but he really is a great guy. He is a great worker and is just a nice guy to everyone he interacts with. He gets along so well and easy with people and he does a pretty good job at steering clear or trying to stay out of drama. I can see why everyone likes him so much because I of course love him to pieces. I am just so thankful for these moments of recognition for him. It just means something different coming from people other than family. I love you Jay! Sorry if I have embarrassed you more but I really am so happy for you. You deserve it! I love you more than anything!

All,

Please join us in congratulating Jay McKinlay, Patient Access Representative for Urgent Care Network Employee of the Month.

Jay was selected from among his peers in the following categories:

Humanity: His calm yet friendly demeanor puts people at ease. He consistently provides both patients and their families with comfort measures and assistance as though he were caring for his own family.

Safety: He ensures everyone s safety with his quick and thorough assessment of his surroundings. Patients are assisted and provided with masks, tissues and wheel chairs. He is always aware of the condition of the lobby and keeps it clean and free of hazards.

Teamwork and Excellence: He demonstrates both teamwork and excellence in all he does. This communication to team members and willingness to do whatever it takes to provide our patients with the best care is evidenced by the many favorable comments offered by them. They frequently compliment Jay s friendliness and willingness to assist them in anything they need to make their stay at La Paloma more pleasant and efficient. Each and every patient appreciates his direct and honest answers to their questions and the consideration given to their family.

Integrity and Service: Jay receives may calls at La Paloma and his phone skills are impeccable. He always listens to the customer and provides assistance and direction to their needs. He takes the time needed and never ends the conversation without making every effort to satisfy the caller. If further assistance is necessary, Jay will always put the caller in contact with the appropriate person who can immediately deal with their particular issue. AIDET is always Jay's primary concern.

Overall comments: Jay is often the first contact a customer has with La Paloma Urgent Care. I can think of on one more representable of NMC pillar of values. He is an asset to our organization in every way!

Jay was presented a plaque, $50.00 gift certificate, and 2 passes for a movie of his choice. There will be a perpetual plaque placed at each Urgent Care with his name and picture to be displayed.

Thanks!

Urgent Care Network Management

Happy Easter

We had a good Easter. Unfortunately Daddy had to work all weekend but we still got to have fun with a bunch of other family. We woke up Sunday morning to some fun baskets from the Easter bunny. The kids checked out their loot and then we got to watching General Conference. Of course the talks and music were all fantastic. After the first session my brother and his family came over as well as Aunt Jenn and our friend/aunt Pam. The kids had an egg hunt and had a great time and by the time that was done it was time to get to the last session of conference. After the last session we had a yummy dinner of ham, funeral potatoes, fresh fruit salad, and rolls. It was tasty and visiting with family and eating is always fun to do. It was a typical Easter for us. Nothing really new or different but it was nice. We really are thankful for these moments we have to spend with family.

Goodies from the bunny and from G&G Kinney.

I obviously did not build up the Easter bunny with the kids. We found the treats on the table and I asked the kids where they came from. They told me that Grandma just put them there. Silly me but that's OK because Easter isn't all about the bunny anyway.

Noah has the funniest faces in pictures these days.

Zoey had this cute idea to take a picture with their bunny ears and Reese's Pieces carrots.

The newer tradition of the bunny cake. My mom makes it every year and I think it's cute.

The grandkids listening intently to the egg hunting instructions from Grandma.

Zoey was paired up with Elyssa to help her find all her eggs. It was cute how the 3 bigger kids helped the 3 smaller kids hunt for their eggs first.

Noah always has to stop and start checking out his goodies a couple eggs in.

Sorting through all the goodness. Eggs filled with chocolate AND money!

Zoey had quite a time finding some of her eggs. It was fun to watch her and she was actually very patient which for her is kind of a big things sometimes.

Surprise Baby Shower

I have been meaning to blog about this all week but my laziness has put it off until now. On Monday afternoon my husband's wonderful coworkers out at the La Paloma Urgent Care threw him a baby shower. I had been called about a week and a half earlier to be let on to the secret and to invite me and the kids. It was such a hard secret for me to keep because I thought it was so cool they were doing it for him and I was so excited. I did manage to keep my mouth shut though. I did have a little bit of fun messing with Jay's head. I told him his boss had called and that I had a secret. The poor guy just couldn't figure out what was going on. I think I about drove my poor hubby crazy.

I took Jay to work that day which is out of the norm but he still had no clue. That afternoon I showed up at his work with the kids and he questioned our being there. Sometimes we go out to see him but not too much because it is a little ways away and I hate to use up gas. I told him we were out and just wanted to stop by and say hi. Eventually one of the nurses came out and asked if she could take the kids back to get them a treat. I followed along and then she told Jay that he should just come along too. I wish I had a picture of the quizzical look on his face. We walked toward the back and he noticed the break room door was closed and was pretty sure something was up. The nurse opened the door and the few people inside yelled "Surprise!". We both ended up being quite surprised because of how much they did for us. The room was all decorated and there was lots of yummy homemade food and there were many gifts. It really was such a great little party and I am glad my hubby could enjoy such a nice surprise.

I just can't say enough how awesome I think my hubby's coworkers are. I would have never thought they would have gone all out like this for us. Just the fact that they did something for us at all was so awesome and thoughtful. It says a lot to me of what they think of Jay and how much they like him and enjoy working with him. I know I wouldn't throw a shower for my coworker unless I really liked them. It really was such a nice thing to do and we are so incredibly grateful for it. We had a great time eating and chatting and opening gifts. I think we hung out in the break room for about 2 hours which means the other person working the desk was covering things on her own so Jay could just enjoy the party. It was a good time and I am so thankful to everyone who contributed to the food and the gifts. It was all amazing and I could have never even expected any of it. It sounds so cheesy but it really did give me that warm fuzzy feeling. It was definitely a day to remember. What a blessing this little party was to us.

Nurse Dee, Jay, Christena, and Doctor Colvin

The gift table. There's a diaper cake on the right and the little stack of stuff on the left with the Easter grass is a baby hoagie. Hadn't heard of it before but it was all stacked up like a hoagie with the grass as lettuce and the baby socks on top for toppings. Totally cute!

The most unbelievable thing we got. They pitched in and bought us a brand new stroller/car seat combo. Seriously?! We were so shocked and I will admit that my prego self got a little teary eyed. It was just too much. Such a nice, amazing thing to do for us.

The nurse Dee made these cute bunny sandwiches for the kids. It was just PB&J but the kids LOVED them. Another cute, thoughtful idea.

Opening the gifts for big brother Noah and big sister Zoey. I thought it was sweet that there were a couple gifts for them too. Zoey said later that it was too bad that they didn't get any presents for me and Jay. I did my best to explain that the party and the baby stuff and what they did for Zoey and Noah was a present to us.

Noah got this awesome airplane that comes with a power screwdriver. The whole thing comes apart and goes back together. So cute and so much fun. It is a popular toy in our house.

These next few are pictures of all our loot. We came out with great, cute stuff. I still can't believe that all this came from basically a handful of people.

I love the little feetie jammies in the above picture on the right. My favorite thing we got besides the car seat of course.

Here's my ginormous self at 36 weeks and 3 days.

Zoey and Noah wanted a picture with Mommy and all our goodies.

Zoey and Noah posing with their new things. Noah got that cute, big puzzle and the airplane. Zoey got a cute dress up bear/puzzle thing and a princess book that she gets to paint.

Awwww

There aren't many things that melt my heart more than sweet pictures of my hubby and my kids. This one is certainly one of my top favorites of all time.