Happy Holidays!

(This is our Christmas card for the year!)

Happy Holidays to all our friends and family!
This year has been a very good one.
Montana started working for Provo Canyon School in June. It is a school for troubled teens. He absolutely loves it and loves the boys that he works with. We think he has finally found his niche. He was released as the Elder’s Quorum President and asked to serve as the Gospel Doctrine Teacher. He loves to be in front of people teaching and this calling fits him perfectly! He will begin school in January at Utah Valley University and he will pursue a degree in Secondary Education.
Melanie is busy at home with the boys. She keeps everybody fed, clothed, clean, and happy. She was released from her Primary calling and then called as the Ward Music Director. She also continues to accompany the choir as well as play the organ in Sacrament Meeting. The ward definitely keeps us on our toes!
Mason turned three in May and started Preschool in September. It is a Preschool where the moms take turns teaching the children. There are five children in the Preschool and the moms teach every fifth week. It has been working very nicely and Mason loves to learn and play with his friends. He is getting ready to start Sunbeams in January.
Peyton is 16 months old and a huge blessing in our lives. He is truly a miracle baby. To see how far he has come since last Christmas is amazing. He is a totally different child. He has been to many doctors’ visits this year and they will continue. He wore a helmet all year due to having surgery on his skull. He got the helmet off at the beginning of December…just in time for Christmas! His heart is continuing to do well. He will be due for one more heart surgery in a few years. He continues to grow but at a slower rate. He is catching up developmentally and hopefully he will soon be walking.
We are very grateful for this time of year and for the opportunity that we have to reflect on Christ’s life and on the things he did for us. We are eternally grateful for his sacrifice. May this holiday season find everyone happy and well!

Love,
Montana, Melanie, Mason, and Peyton Page

Helmetless Boy and Santa

After wearing a helmet for 12 months, Peyton finally got it off! We go back in January and have his head scanned and if everything still looks good, we are done with the helmet FOREVER. But Peyton still has to visit the plastic surgeon once a year until he is ten. Other than that, everything is going well. It's so weird to have a child who's head doesn't stink all the time. It's more fun to cuddle with him too!

Peyton with the cereal that is supposed to be in the diaper bag!

Before we left the house to get the helmet off!

It's off...Finally!
Tonight we went to see Santa at Kids On The Move. They had craft tables set up and snack foods. Then, Santa came in while the kids sang songs and then everybody got to sit on Santa's lap...and as far as we know, our kids were the only ones that screamed when we took them to Santa. Mason wouldn't even let me know put him down. But it was still fun and we had a great time! Santa even gave them lots of prizes...a blanket, candy canes, pencils, a truck, and a coloring book!




Peyton's first time seeing Santa since he was in the hospital last year!
We also brushed Peyton's teeth for the first time the other night.


Peyton's OT came today and brought him a reverse walker to help him walk. Here is a picture of him in it.

And here are a few more cute pictures of him.

15 Month Check-up/Cardiology

This past week Peyton has had three doctors appointments so I thought I'd send an update as well as a couple of pictures. He went in last week for his 15 month check-up. Everything looked good except that he is still small for his age. But his height and weight are proportionate so there's really nothing to worry about. He continues to gain weight but in small increments. He weighed just over 20 lbs last week. I talked to his doctor about switching his formula because he doesn't like the taste of it. He told me to try PediaSure and he was going to see if we could switch him to that if he likes it. Also, the doctor was going to call a dietician and see if we could put the PediaSure through his tube instead of the formula until he can take everything by mouth. Well, we tried the PediaSure and Peyton loves it! He will take it from a cup...one sip at a time but he likes it. For the tube to come out, Peyton needs to have 1000 calories and 16-24 oz of liquid in a 24 hour period. Well, it took us 3 1/2 days to get one 8 oz bottle of PediaSure in him. So, it's gonna take time and practice but we should get there eventually! Peyton also went back to his Pediatrician yesterday to get his first Synagis shot. The shot is very expensive and is only for certain kids that were premature or have a chronic medical condition. And it helps prevent them from getting RSV. Our insurance authorized Peyton to get it again this year! He got his first dose yesterday and now we go in to get the shot every four weeks! Peyton also went to the Cardiologist on Tuesday and she said he looks awesome. His oxygen levels are in the high 80's and the Card thinks his next surgery will still be sometime betweeen the ages of 3 and 5. His EKG and chest X-ray both looked amazing and his blood pressure, heart rate, etc. looked good too! We will see her again in 6 months! Next Tuesday we take Peyton to the helmet specialist and the plastic surgeon and his HELMET SHOULD COME OFF! We have been looking forward to this day for the past year and I can't believe that the time has already come. It's amazing to look at how far Peyton has come in the last 15 months. We were looking at pictures from Peyton's first 5 months of life and I never would have thought that he would look as good as he does now. So, since he is doing so well, I took a picture of him and one of him and Mason (although Mason thought the TV was more interesting than the camera!). Enjoy!

Peyton - post Glenn last December - 4 months old

Peyton - healthy 15 month old