Scott Lincoln Harvey

Scott Lincoln Harvey

Yesterday June 17th we were blessed to bring our first baby boy into the world. He was born at 8:05 by cesarean section. Philip was a trooper and was able to stay by me the whole time even with his severely weak stomach. The doctors cleaned him off as Philip watched, and then he came back and said his name is going to be Scott Lincoln Harvey.

As most of you know already, Scott has Anencephaly. We have been preparing for this over the last several months, and awaiting the day to meet him and send him of to our Father in Heaven. The doctors did not really think he would live past the recovery room. Scott was able to fight and stay strong for us to hold him and get to know him. He did cry when he was born and had several little whimpers throughout the day.

It was so special for us to hold him, sing to him, and just love him until it was his time to go. Summer has loved having a baby brother to hold and kiss. She did not want anyone else to hold him and she called him her baby. In his dad's arms, Scott returned to our Heavenly Father at 4:50pm. We were able to be with him for almost exactly 9 hours. The time definitely flew by, but gave us an amazing experience.

We love our little boy and know that we will be with him again someday. Isn't the gospel wonderful and comforting. It continue to be hard for us, but we are just happy to have been able to hold him alive for as long as we did. We are all doing well considering, and want to thank all of you for your support and prayers throughout the last months and going forward.

This is Scott in his daddy's blessing outfit when he was a baby. This is also the outfit we have picked to bury him in since Philip was blessed in it. All four of us shortly after Scott was born. Philip felt so special in the scrubs that he did not take them off until he went to bed at night.

This is Philip adoring his little boy. I think Scott was making little noises to Philip.

Summer giving her baby brother one of many kisses. She did not want to stop loving him. She makes a great big sister.

Happy Birthday Summer

Summer turned 3 on June 9th, and we can't believe it. Time has gone by so fast. I look at her baby pictures and wish I could go back just for a day. I look forward to watching her grow and experience new things in life.

To celebrate her birthday we had a pool party/BBQ on June 7th with many of her friends here in Houston. It was really hot that day, and we were all happy to have the water to cool off in. It is always fun to get together with friends. Thanks to everyone who came you made the party a blast. Here are some pics of the events.

This is the best picture I have of everyone. I forgot to take pictures of everyone in the pool.

Summer and Brinley chillin' after swimming.

The cake and presents melting in the sun.

Summer's Tinkerbell birthday cake made of fondant. I don't think I will have the motivation to do this ever again. We'll see.

The wind kept blowing the candles out, so Philip let Summer try to blow the torch thing out instead.

Presidential Canidates

I have to admit that I am not the most political person. In fact the last time I did decide to vote even without knowing anything about any of the candidates. I have given attention to this campaign a lot considering I never did before. I am no political buff like you Rishelle, however I did take an interest for the first time. I was very saddened when Mitt Romney dropped out, and I totally almost stopped watching everything. I watched every now and then, but it was just boring and annoying. Anyhow, now I am in a dilemma because I don't know who I will vote for in the fall. What do I do if I don't like either candidate? I have thought about not voting at all, but then I would not be able to complain in the future when mistakes are made or when I don't like something about the government. For now I will try to gain interest in following again, and of course my dear friend Rishelle I hope I can ask you what is up. Anyhow, all I know is I'm confused.

Huge Spuds

Growing up in Idaho eating potatoes almost daily it was never a special thing or a big surprise to see a massive potato. My mom worked at a potato warehouse when I was really little and she would bring home potatoes 2x the size of this potato. That was rare and special for me.
Here in Houston when I buy my potatoes they are usually 3 inches long is all like this itsy bitsy one shown on the right. I have never had any that are much larger than that. Also most of the time it is hard to find Idaho potatoes in the bag, however, I think I could by them individually. Most of them are grown here in Texas. One bag that I bought a few weeks ago happened to be a bag of Texas grown potatoes. To my surprise this huge potato was mixed in with little baby ones and a few descent sized baker potatoes. I could not believe my eyes. It was large enough to make a good amount of fried potatoes to feed my whole family.

Now, you may ask yourself why the random post about potatoes? Well, being from potato country I must like my potatoes. So, to all the Houstonians out there, there is hope that someday you too will get lucky and come across a large potato hiding under all the miniature ones.

Camping

So we decided to go camping last weekend since it has been long over due. We have not been since before Summer was born. I do still wish there were mountains around, but camping at Huntsville State Park was nice and green with tons of trees and a lake.

Summer absolutely loved it. She did have the hardest time falling asleep though. I think she just loved being outside and being creative for fun. Also she had free rane to get dirty.

Philip enjoyed playing Frisbee, and just being away from the city and out with friends. Some friends of ours Jodi and Denzil brought bikes, so Philip took advantage and went on some trials with Denzil. It really makes me want to invest in some bikes.

OH MAN!! Now I remembered why I did not want any pictures taken of me being pregnant with Summer. The least I could have done is worn normal clothes. SICK. I had fun camping except for the sleeping part, and I had mega allergies that decided to start the morning before driving up there. It was still so much fun, and I look forward to camping way more in the future.

This is Brinley and Denny having fun. Or maybe just Brinley, Denny looks like he is sleeping or pouting.

Camping always brings so much fun and relaxation. I did remember the Starburst this time. Hopefully I did not disappoint the Scott's or the Roger's by talking it up so much. It really is so yummy.

Daddy Daughter Date

So, every other Tuesday I have to go to the church for Achievement night. This was perfect this week, because Philip was given some Astros tickets. He really wanted to take Summer with him on a date. He said she saw the vendor selling cotton candy and her eyes lit up so he bought her a bag. She ate half of the bag and all the sugar streamed through her body into the next day. They had a lot of fun together. I am so greatful that Philip tries to take her on dates every now and then so that they can bond. He really is a great dad.

Around Houston

Philip's sister Leanne came to visit last week before she started school for the summer. We had lots of fun showing her around Houston.

Our first stop was the Houston zoo. If you are wondering what a Texas Longhorn is here you go. The zoo here is a really good zoo to me because the most exciting animal at the zoo back home is the ostrich. My favorite part is the Orangutans because the baby and dad are always playing together.

This is a statue at the zoo. Summer really wanted a picture on it. The turtles head got cut off oops.

The Next stop was the beach where we had a lot of fun playing in the sun. That day was a bit more chilly, so we did not go in the water too much.

Summer really enjoyed her new sand toys. I think if the water would have been warm she would rather play in the sand.

This is the only picture we got of Leanne while she was here. Next time I will be more on top of things.

Summer actually let me bury her in the sand. She was so calm and relaxed the whole time I did it. Then the fun part of course is breaking through the packed sand.

Last but not least was a shopping trip the the new Houston Premiere Outlets. Summer loved trying on all of the jewelry while Leanne was trying on clothes.

In all it was very fun to have Leanne around. She was nice enough to watch Summer so we could go to the temple. Summer was very entertained and gave me a nice break. It is definitely nice to have family around.