Summer 2012

So far we have had a pretty wonderful summer. It has been a lot of relaxation, family fun and celebrations! Our first summer event took us to San Diego. It was our first trip as a family of 4 as well as Edison and Quinn's first time to the beach. The drive went very well, we made 2 stops on the way there and minimal crying on the way. Luckily, Quinn slept the majority of the trip. Once we arrived we checked into our hotel and headed to the beach. Edison had a lot of fun, he wasn't up for swimming in the ocean after he fell and tasted the salt water. ;) Overall, he had a great time though. 

The next day we spent the day at Sea World. We had such a great time walking around and watching Edison check out all the animals. By far the penguins were his favorite. We rode up and down the exhibit quite a few times. Overall, Sea World was a success and we can't wait until the kids are a little older and we can take them to Disneyland!

 Edison got to pet a piggy at one of the shows.

 We got to have dinner on the beach after Sea World

 Our last day in San Diego we went to Sea Port Village 

When we returned from San Diego we had a birthday/graduation/Father's Day celebration. We were celebrating my 28th birthday, Amanda's graduation with her Masters, and all of the dad's. It was fun having the family together to celebrate. 

 My dad can always get Quinn to smile.

 We had a hard time convincing Edison it was Mommy's birthday ;) 

A couple weeks after our celebration it was Edison's turn. If you have been in his proximity in the last month you would know that he was having a race car birthday and that he was turning 3. He told EVERYONE! When the day finally arrived he was over the moon. He had  lot of fun swimming, playing on the slip and slide, playing with friends and of course opening presents. :) 

 So excited! 

 Papa and Quinny

 Quinn & Brinley with their Grandma's. The babies are 2 days apart. Brinley came to visit all the way from Texas! 

 Great-grandma, Quinn and Gavin

 Daddy even enjoyed the slip and slide!

So far we have had a great summer. We hope to enjoy the lake and maybe even a trip up north before the summer is over. Hope everyone is doing well! 

One Day at a Time

It has been three months since my last post. I normally try to update the blog at least once a month. Recently we have been on quite a roller coaster which kept me from writing. Having said that, I have a lot to catch up on. This is going to be a long one. Grab a seat and drink before you venture on! :)

Quinn's First Easter


Where do I begin? So after Quinn was born we began to notice that she just didn't seem well. She was very upset all the time and if she was awake she was screaming at you. She would cry so much that we were lucky to get 2-4 hours of sleep a night. We would have gotten more but Quinn's big brother enjoys waking up when the sun "wakes up" (about 6am). We went for her 2 week check up and the doctor tested her stools for blood. She was positive. The doctor suspected food allergies. It was at that point the doctor put me on a no dairy, soy, wheat, egg, nut, or fish diet. Basically, all I could eat was meat, fruits and veggies. It was awful. On top of her allergies she was throwing up all the time. I know many babies have projectile vomit, Edison graced us with this, but Quinn threw up everything until it was bile. She was in so much pain. We then had to have x-rays taken at Cardon Children's Hospital. It was so upseting. They had to strap her body down while she drank barium. I cried almost as much as she did. They then diagnosed her with reflux. After about 2 months of the world's worst diet and a reflux/colicky baby I was ready to give up breastfeeding. Quinn had different plans. She refused the formula. I didn't blame her, it smells awful. I thought it should be made from gold for how expensive it is! So more dieting for mom. Luckily, we were able to trick her into taking the formula right before I went back to work. Now that Quinn is on the formula she has been doing great! She is a happy, smiley baby and we are soaking it all in. She even began sleeping through the night. She will wake up from time to time if her binky falls out but we get about 8 hours a night. She is already growing up too fast.

Our first Easter as a family of four


While all this was happening with Quinn, my dad was fighting his own battle. As most of you know my dad was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. It originated on his appendix and spread throughout his entire mid-section. We found out in December when we thought he was going in for an appendectamy. My dad then began chemo. He was fitted with a port and went in for chemo once every 2 weeks. It was really intense for my dad. He would have to come home with a pack after a few hours at the hospital. It made him very sick. While he was on chemo we got the news that he was elegible for "hot chemo". The procedure was scheduled for April 23rd. During the surgery they cut out many of the cancerous tumors and doused his insides with chemo. I was able to leave the kids with wonderful friends and family and stay in Tucson with my sisters and mom during and after the surgery. It was a blessing to be there. After waiting about 12 hours the doctor came out to tell us that my dad did really well but the cancer could not be cured. He didn't want to risk my dad's quality of life. This is something they discussed before the surgery. We are now making the most of everyday! My dad still has a lot of life to live and we are going to live it with him to the fullest.

Such a cool guy. On our daily "pajama walk" in the morning.


After the surgery my dad shocked the doctors and nurses by recovering so quickly. He was up and walking the day after this very intense surgery. He was moved out of ICU 2 days ahead of schedule and moved into the transplant unit where they cared for him the rest of the week. My dad was released a week ahead of schedule.

At the hospital in Tucson visiting Papa

My dad was able to come on April 30th (my mom's birthday). After coming home my dad became very dehydrated and re-addmitted to the hospital in Tucson. They released him again on the 4th (my dad's birthday) and by the 5th my dad had taken a turn for the worse. That night my mom had to call the ambulance and they took him to the Chandler Hospital. They diagnosed him with a bowel obstruction but weren't able to give any information on why he was so sick with fever, pain, and a terrible rash the went all over his side.

Edison is a great big brother!


After almost a week in Chandler and no resolve to any of his ailments, he was transported to Tucson again. Almost immediatly his doctor diagnosed him. His bowel had detached and my dad had gone septic, thus the rash. My dad was taken to surgery right away. His surgery was on Friday. He will continue to be taken care of at UMC in Tucson for 2 weeks. Hopefully he will be able to be released after the end of those two weeks.

Hanging out waiting to head to the hospital to see Papa



Our family has been through so much this past couple months. I know many of you have been following my dad's blog which my mom updates religiously. We need as many prayers as we can get. My dad has a long road ahead of him but we know how strong he is and he will get though this. Check out my dad's progress on his blog, http://joekahler.blogspot.com.

My dad after the initial surgery

After my dad's initial surgery I returned to work on April 30th after 11 weeks off. I thank heaven above that I was able to take the time off to be with my sick little baby and my dad. Upon returning I applied for a new job at the school I am currently working at. I was elated when I got the news that the job was mine. I am now the reading specialist for Walker Butte. I will be responsible for working with the students who struggle to read. It will be a little sad to not have a class of my own but I could not be more excited to take on this next big step in my career. I begin my new job at the beginning of next year.

At my cousin Sarah's wedding. We had a blast.

Thank you for bearing with me. I know this was quite the entry! I will try and update more often. :)

It's a Girl!!

Our little bundle of joy has arrived! Quinn Beverly Campbell was born on February 10, 2012 at 11:37pm. She was exactly 3 weeks early. I ended up going into labor Thursday during the day. I worked all day then Doug and I worked like crazy to get everything ready for the baby's arrival just in case. Thank goodness we did because she was ready to come into the world. I worked all day Friday fighting inconsistent contractions. I left work, took a walk, and sure enough the contractions started coming about 2 minutes apart. Doug and I decided to go in just in case. Edison got to stay at his best buds house while we made it to the hospital.

When we got to the hospital they took us straight to triage and confirmed I was in labor. After that they were pretty quick in getting us prepped for surgery. The anesthesiologist came in and assured me that everything was going to go well and after our previous c-section those words were music to my ears. Sure enough, the c-section went great. I didn't even feel the pressure they warned me about. I was thrilled. When they cleared the baby they let Doug announce that we had a girl. I was so surprised. She was beautiful and healthy. She was 6 pounds 6 ounces and 19 inches long.

Recovery has been a breeze compared to Edison's delivery. Thank goodness because Edison is bundle of energy these days. I am so grateful that I have 2 months off work to spend with my little ones. Edison has been a good big brother. He is very interested in his sister and calls her "Baby Quinn". I am looking forward to watching their relationship grow as Quinn gets older.

On a side note- Edison has been growing and learning so much in these past months. He is constantly making us laugh with some of the things he comes up with! He is so much fun and is really growing into his little personality. It is hard to believe that he is almost three!

We hope everyone is well and we will continue to update our blog on our family of four. :)

Happy New Year

Well it has been quite some time since our last post and much has happened in the Campbell household. First, we celebrated Halloween and this year Edison was more animated than ever. It was the first year he really took to "trick-or-treating". He had a great time going to do the door and getting candy. He was very impressed that all he had to do was knock on a door to get something. :) Edison was Woody from Toy Story this year.

Earlier in the month my sisters and I completed the Race for the Cure in honor of our mom's best friend Leslie Whitfield who we lost to breast cancer earlier in the year. She fought for over 19 years and was an inspiration to all. We took Edison with us which was interesting considering he only wanted to be held. Thank goodness for the best aunties in the world! You can tell by the picture below he wasn't a happy camper that day. My sister Amanda was able to complete the race and then meet us back close to the starting line and walked it with Shelli and I.

The newest member of the Campbell family continues to grow like a weed and I am feeling every growth spurt. :) As most of you know, this child has managed to crack or break the cartilage that attaches my pelvic bones together. It has been pretty uncomfortable to say the least. This little one has been quite different than my first pregnancy. I was very sick with Edison and turned vegetarian early in my pregnancy. With this baby I am finding food to be magical. I am curious to see if this baby is a boy or girl due to my different symptoms. I still believe that I will be having a boy where as Doug is pretty sure we will be having a girl. Our scheduled c-section is set for Friday, February 24th. We can't wait to meet this little one! I included our last ultrasound pictures. Let me know what you think we are having! I love to see what people think.

As most of you know we got some pretty bad news over the holidays. My dad got very sick and went in for what we thought was going to be an appendectomy. Unfortunately, that was not case. When he was opened up they found his stomach was full of tumors. They turned out to be cancerous. My dad is now undergoing chemo therapy which has been very rough on him. With prayers and the support of friends and family we have all been strong and hoping for the best. If you would like to follow my dad's fight you can log on to his blog at joekahler.blogspot.com.

So needless to say our holidays this year were a little different but very very special. We had a wonderful Christmas. We spent the night laughing, watching Edison be a goof, and truly enjoying our time together.

This year Edison got really into the Christmas season. He loved (and still loves) anything that has to do with Santa and continues to make me sing Jingle Bells and Frosty the Snowman to him. We even had an "Elf on the Shelf" join us for the holidays from the North Pole. Edison named him Happy and Edison even gave his binkys to him to bring to Santa. We have been binky free since! (There is a picture of Happy bringing Edison a firetruck in place of the binky.)

Overall we have been very busy spending as much time as we can with family and getting prepared for the newest member of the Campbell family. We hope all is well and everyone enjoyed their holidays!