One Potato,Two Potato, Three Potato, Four!

Yes, yes it's true our little family has now grown from three to four!!! We had our 2nd little boy on December 10th at 10:45 am. He was due December 26th. Kellen Clint Polatis

Kellen is named after my mom. Months ago as we were going through lists of names I randomly took my mom's 1st initial -K- and added it to her middle name Ellen... and there you go Kellen! It turned out that it was a real name! His middle name is Clint. We decided to give him this name in honor of Shane's oldest brother who past away.

For those of you who are interested in his birthday story.....

Kellen wanted to come see us in November, but lucky for us we held his birthday off for about a month. Around midnight (morning) of the 10th I started to have minor contractions. Within the next couple of hours they got stronger. Soon tears started coming with every contraction so Shane decided that we needed to call our "night duty" to come watch Colson. Shane's friend Scott came over and boy was he excited. Both him and Shane were so excited as I sat there in pain on the couch. They kept saying isn't this exciting Heidi?! I just scowled at them informing them it was a little more exciting for them at the moment because they weren't in any pain.

On the way to the hospital my contractions got a little lighter, so I was frustrated that it might be a false alarm. I kept telling Shane that I refused to go into the hospital until I had another really bad contraction. Well, once on the freeway and then again as we pulled into the parking lot of the hospital I was reminded that YES I WAS in labor and YES it was very painful.

After we checked in and got settled they moved me from observation into the Labor and Delivery room. It was a pretty swiftly moving labor. My contractions got pretty bad, I got my epidural as soon as they anesthesiologist got to the hospital, they broke my water and within the next hour or so we were ready to have a baby. I went from a 5 to a 10 within 45 minutes so that was nice not having to wait around for that.

After the doctor came in it was about 3 to 4 pushes and sweet little Kellen was here. This delivery was soooooo much easier than my first and my first wasn't too bad at all. We feel very lucky and blessed that everything went as well as it did. My nurses were wonderful and Shane was fantastic!

We're all at home now and aside from random moments when my irrational monster rears it's ugly head and makes me weepy and a little nuts (Got to love the post-prego hormones right?!)things are going great!

All snuggled in his car seat!

6 lbs 7 ounces
19 inches

Nap time with dad

5 Days old already back up to his birth weight!

And of course happy big brother! Colson loves Kellen. He's still only held him once, but loves to rub his head and point to all of his baby sized features and name them.

The funniest thing is that he laughs hysterically when Kellen toots or poops. He thinks it's the funniest thing ever! I tell you he's all boy!

Last but not least Colson trying to make snow angels in our living room. He saw someone on TV making one and he decided that he wanted to try too!

A Little Trip Down Memory Lane

This past November my mom came out and spent 2 wonderful weeks with us since I was put on bed rest. One of those Sunday afternoons we found ourselves chatting and reminiscing about past times in Indian Springs Nevada. It's about 45 minutes outside of Vegas and where my mom grew up during her adolescent years. We decided it would be fun to load up in the car and make a quick trip since the last time we'd both been there was when I was in 5th grade for my Grandfather's funeral.


This might be weird, but this is one of my favorite memories of visiting Indian Springs when I was younger. The Oasis Bar! It's still there in all its glory! Shane was very entertained by this little show and tell trip! And last but not least the tiniest little LDS church I've ever seen. This was actually the first time I ever remember seeing this church building. This is where my parents were married. My mom was a recent convert to the LDS faith and so my mom and dad had to wait a year to get sealed in the temple soooooo they got married here first and sealed a year later in the Salt Lake temple!
The sad thing about the trip is, my grandparent's house that I remember so fondly is no longer there. One pecan tree is left but other than that nothing.... I guess that's what happens often when we try to go back and grasp at something that once was but is no more. I will always cherish my memories of green shag carpet and glass grape sculptures in the entryway. My grandpa bouncing me on his knee and grandma's big hugs and swats on my backside with her love paddle. No matter what happens, I will always have those memories. And when I'm in need of a big Grandma hug and good paddle, I can just take a trip to Arizona! Lucky me.

Bills, Bills, Bills

This morning as I sat in our office at the computer paying online bills.....

Colson: Mom, what you doin'?

Me: Paying bills.

Colson: Oh, I watch!

Me: Colson paying bills is not something you watch. It's not like a movie. It's something you do.

Colson: Let me do it?

Me: Oh I so wish you could little dude! I wish you could!

* Colson did not end up watching me pay bills he ended up drawingon the office white boards, which I was totally fine with since it entertained him the entire time!

Unexpected Hospital Stay

FYI- this is a long post. To say the least November has been what I'd like to call an eventful but yet uneventful month.
Saturday the 12th of November I had so much I had planned to do. Being admitted to the hospital was not on my list! I had woke up that morning and to our surprise started bleeding pretty bad, which is really really scary. Every reason flashed through my mind as I hysterically cried and cried. Shane being the level headed one packed Colson up to stay with my aunt and took me to the hospital. If things couldn't get more crazy on the way to the hospital I started to have pretty bad contractions.

When we first got to the hospital they just had me there for "observation". They got my bleeding to stop, but since my contractions started to get worse and 3-5 minutes apart they had to admit me. First they started giving me shots in my arms every 20 minutes. Supposedly the shots were for slowing down the contractions but they didn't work, so they started giving me a stronger medication by mouth which once again didn't slow my contractions. By this point they checked me for the second time and I had dilated from basically nothing to 2 centimeters so they decided it was time to start doses of steroids to help the baby's lungs in case they couldn't stop labor. As for their next attempt to stop labor they were going to start me on Magnesium. At this point I really had no idea what was about to happen to me for the next 30 hours. I should have known that it wasn't going to be good, when three nurses came in and started hooking up IVs and monitors and one nurse had me start filling out paperwork and signing release forms as fast as I could before they started giving me the magnesium.

Within 3 minutes of starting the magnesium I started feeling like I was on fire. I was sweating and they kept putting cold wash rags on my head. Next, I started feeling really sick and what do you know the wonderful Quizno's sandwich Shane had brought me was no longer in my stomach. After that I slowly began to loose control of my arms and legs. I could barely move. It was the worst thing I've ever experienced. No lie, I would have rather gone into full on labor without an epidural it was that bad. I would not wish magnesium on my worst enemy. I was only supposed to be on the magnesium for the next 24 hours, but it ended up being longer than that. Through this whole ordeal the blood lab would come in and poke me and take my blood. My arms were so bruised. I'd like to think of myself as a pretty tough girl, but it got to a point where I just wanted to cry when they would come into my room.

Well, I made it the 24 hours without delivering so they could give me the last dose of steroids for the baby. (Did I mention those shots were "peanut butter shots" and were given in my rump) Once again not fun!!!! They finally started to lower my magnesium levels which was wonderful!!!!! After they completely took me off the mag. they started giving me the meds I had been taking the day earlier.

In the end my doctor released me that Tuesday afternoon. But with the condition that I was still on medication and I had someone at home to help me with Colson for two weeks until I reached 36 weeks. (Once I reached 36 weeks they wouldn't stop my labor) Mom to the rescue. My mom has been here with us for the past two weeks which has been absolutely wonderful. She's washed dishes, done laundry, cleaned, bathed Colson, helped cook, changed diapers, picked Colson up and down for me you name it. It's been a huge help to not only me but to Shane as well so he could keep as focused as he could on school.

I am now 36 weeks and we could not be more excited that the next time I go into labor we get to see our sweet baby boy!!!!

Sukkot Vacation Part 3 Denver

Our last part ofour vacation was spent in Denver. It was fun to get to spend time with our family in Denver. Colson took full advntage of wrestling and using his uncle Casey and Brian as his personal playgorund equipment.

Uncle Casey is a big golfer just like Shane so we thought it would be fun for the four of us to take Colson Putt-Putt Golf for the first time.

I now have a strong beliefe that you grow out of the fun factor of getting yourself dizzy and noutious. Colson had us all seeing stars as he had uncle Brian spin him round and round the living room. Thinking it was the next best thing than an amusement park.

Sukkot Vacation Part 2

The thing I love about Shane's family living in the country, are all the fun outside things you can do. Colson hardly ever watched any TV. He was outside playing a lot. (Which was so nice since we'd been cooped up inside in Vegas because of the heat) One afternoon I was with a couple of my sisters-in-law and Shane texted me these oh so fun pictures of Colson and some of his cousins making a huge dirt volcano back by the barn.

I've never seen Colson so muddy. I'm glad dad cleaned him up before I got home :)

Colson looks like he's directing everyone but all he was really doing was wandering around playing while the others labored diligently trying to make the lava aka water flow just right.


Playing in the dirt is never complete until you throw a little.

The older cousins were very patient with Colson. Colson just loves being around all of them!

We just had to go and climb around the potato cellars since we were there during harvest. I love the smell of freshly dug potatoes and dirt. If you haven't had the chance to smell it, you should try it!

This was Colson's first time riding a horse. I think he liked it!

This video is really poor, but it's kind of fun. As a side note, we've been trying to teach Colson to say "Yee Haw" instead he says "AHHHHHHHH, UHHHHHHHH". It's stinkin cute.

Sukkot Vacation Part 1

So we LOVE that Shane is going to a Jewish University. You know all those holidays you see written on calenders and you think to yourself "Huh, I wonder what that is?" Well, we get all those off. Rosh Hashanna, Yom Kipper Etc. It just so happens that during October there are tons of Jewish Holidays. It's the Jewish New Year and their Feast of the Harvest. Sukkot is their holiday to remember the 40 years they wandered in the desert. So anyway, Jewish holiday = last family vacation for a while for us since I'm about on the verge of popping. We drove from Las Vegas to Blackfoot. Blackfoot to Denver then Denver back to Vegas. Our entire trip we drove around 2,900 miles. I don't think we will ever try to travel this much in one trip ever again.

We got to go and see our Nephew's last football game. It was an awesome game to see. Rhett is the only one not looking goofy in this picture. Colson was having a blast even though his moaning look says otherwise.
Colson loved watching his cousin play, and have fun running around with Aubrey his other cousin. (Of course we can't go anywhere without his blanky. It was covered in mud and he threw a fit when I tried to wash it)



We got to meet up with our friends Jason and Alisha and their three kids while we were in Blackfoot. We decided to head to the ISU student center and go bowling. It was Colson's first time and he loved it. He even did great with waiting his turn and not standing too close to the ball return.

This is skipping ahead a bit. These last pictures are from the very last part of our trip from Denver back to Vegas. For some reason or another Colson decided to bundle himself up with only his face poking out. It gave me a good laugh.

For anyone who has ever driven on I-70 through the Rocky Mountains you're aware that there are quite a few tunnels you have to drive through. We took this opportunity to teach Colson correct protocol when driving through tunnels. Holding your breath through the whole thing for good luck. He thought it was the funniest thing. It kept him occupied for a little while. It was just a bummer after there weren't any more because he relentlessly kept asking for more tunnels.

He's such a happy kid!

We Are Thankful

I have tried to do little activities with Colson to make everyday a little bit more special. Last week I decided that we'd sit down and make a "Thankful Tree". I had to make the tree before hand and traced and cut everything out before except his hands; we did that together. Colson had fun, and even had me trace his feet for some of the leaves too. I had to think of the things we were thankful for, but then I would ask him if he loved that certain thing. To every single one he smiled big and yelled yes. Colson especially loves his blanky, and his daddy and mommy. We are so thankful for our little (growing bigger) Colson as well.

He looks at the tree several times a day, smiles, and says "My Tree".

Halloween 2011

Halloween quickly came and went this year. Which I'm totally fine with. Colson was a generic "Polatis" Super hero. I wanted to make a sweet cape so our boys would have it to last through them playing with it. Colson loves it and zooms around the house with it on. Even though I made it a size three, it's still pretty long which is ok he'll just be able to play with it for a long time.

This is the most still he was for me to ever get pictures of him. He kept on wanting to flap his arms to fly.

We or I should say Colson and I only braved the trunk-or-treat at the church this year. Shane got a fantastic deal on an amazing golf course in Summerlin Nevada so his game overlapped the trunk-or-treat. As for the actual day of Halloween, we went to Costco and ate hot dogs and came home to wait for all of our many trick or treaters........ oh wait we had none! lol So we're stuck with tons of candy. I guess I'll just have to take it for all the ladies in Relief Society the next time I teach! I just can't rationalize eating it all myself. (Even if I am eating for two)

A Crisp White Coat

Yesterday we had the joy of getting to watch Shane's White Coat ceremony at the Rio Hotel. For those of you who are not aware of what a White Coat ceremony is, it is basically when students who have entered the medical field and who are working towards their Doctorate degree (ie. Dr.) are presented with a White Coat they will wear during their practicals, clinicals and residencies during their education and then after in their different medical fields. The White Coat has come to represent and symbolize many things throughout history.

How handsome is the future Dr. Polatis in his white coat?!

"The dress of healers of primitive societies was an important part of the paraphernalia of healing. The white coat, wore by individuals to connote their education and credentials as healers, is a symbol widely recognized by today's society. The White Coat ceremony is a tangible demonstration of the accomplishments, and commitment these students have made so far in their journey to becoming our communities future health professionals."

Not only is the white coat symbolic, but the receiving of the White Coat is as well. There were three professors that "coated" each student. The first shook the coat out to represent the preparation of the student. (Studying, research, clinicals etc.) The second put the coat on the student to represent the support system and group of professionals there to help the student through their education. The third shook the student's hand showing congratulations in ensuing this educational/professional journey.

It was such a fun experience. This has been a long time goal for Shane. Since I've known him he's wanted to be a Physical Therapist and now he's even closer to his goal. I'm proud of him for never giving up and never excepting mediocracy for himself and our family. I'm so grateful for Shane and his desire to help others and heal those who are in pain and in need of medical assistance. Even though this is just the beginning, we plan on cheering for Shane every step of the way!

GO TEAM POLATIS!!!!

Did Jesus Really Live Again...

A few nights ago as I was tucking Colson into bed, we finished up our stack of books with one of his board books about Jesus. It talks about the premortal life (the life before this when our spirits lived with our Heavenly Father), the creation, Christ's life and death, Joseph Smith restoring Christ's church on the Earth once more, and then finishes up with talking about how Christ will come again. Well, half way through the book I stopped to talk about how Christ prayed for us in the Garden of Gethsemane and how he died for us and how he was resurrected. In my mind I was thinking "Okay Heidi nice big word to try to explain to your 2 year old" But of course Colson was so sweet with his words. He looked really puzzled and said "He dead?" and so I said "Yes, he died but he was resurrected which means he still lives today and He loves you very much." Colson then attempted to say the word resurrection which was actually a pretty good try. And after that he had a look like 'ok mom, I think I knew that'. And that was that.


I am astounded at how much little ones understand when we take the time to stop and explain true and simple principles of the gospel to them. Do they understand them in their entirety? No I'm sure they don't, but I do believe that we start to speak familiar words to them from when they, such a short time ago sat and learned all they could in the Premortal life to prepare them to come to this Earth. These righteous spirits just yearn for truths to be taught. It doesn't need to be a huge production with lights and signs and colors. Often like tonight, it was a quiet room sitting side by side with soft words. I feel blessed tonight to see a gospel truth through the eyes of my sweet little boy.

Knit One, Purl Two

I have a secret passion. The more I do it the more I become obsessed. I love to knit. Back in college a family friend Kathy Lay taught me the basics of knitting. She showed me the two basic stitches and how to cast on and bind off. I was quite the quick scarf maker back then. Then when I was on my mission there was a senior sister (Sister Hill) who I discovered was an amazing knitter. During the slow winter months on the Joseph Smith Farm she helped me increase my knitting skills by teaching me different stitches and teaching me how to fix mistakes and read knitting patterns. She even helped guide me as I knitted a baby blanket for my niece. We made a pattern together, and I even got to share that pattern with a nonmember lady from Denmark who was visiting the sites and asked if she could have a copy of my pattern to knit a blanket for her grandbaby back in Denmark. Sister Hill is such an amazing women! I have fond memories of sitting and memorizing scriptures as I would knit, purl, knit. In a way it made me feel connected to the Smith family girls who I would like to believe sat in those same homes where I sat and learned the same skills I was learning. In fact most of the sister missionaries learned how to knit that winter. We had so much fun!

Now I'm so excited because I get to knit for my own family. I knit a blessing blanket for Colson. And I have just finished this baby's blessing blanket. But this time, I decided that it was time for me to teach myself and increase my talent for knitting once again. I found a neat pattern online for a pinwheel blanket but I had to knit in a round with circular needles. I practiced trying to make a little hat first, and soon found out that I needed to learn how to use double point needles too. So I sat down and looked at a few tutorials on YouTube and began to practice. I think I started and restarted this blanket like 20 times no joke. After an afternoon of struggling and laughing at myself I finally conquered using five double point needles at a time.

This might seem weird for me to say about knitting, but looking back at this past week, I am so grateful for this skill/talent my Heavenly Father has given me. The thing about it is I have had to work really hard at learning how to accomplish this. Line upon line precept on precept. I felt such joy as I was able to search out and learn for myself how to acquire and increase this skill. Whether it was finding the person who could help me learn or finding a resource that could help teach me. I feel like I've learned a very valuable lesson that doesn't just go with knitting. Shouldn't this been how we approach all "good, praiseworthy things" in our lives? I know I'm guilty of not always worked on all things in my life with such vigor and excitement, but starting today, I'm going to try. My scripture study. Preparing for church lessons I teach. New fun things I do with my kids at home. Everything that I need to be seeking after that is good!

And now the pictures...... (If you had the patience to read that whole post lol)

This is the start. I started with 3 double point needles then added 5 and then eventually switched everything over to a circular needle which is 2 needles connected by a piece of clear soft plastic.

Here it is after I bound it off.

And in Colson's own words "TA-DA" After I put the edging on! I'm so excited to use it on my baby boy!

Argentinean Empanadas

Being a stay at home mom has given me a lot more time to cook and bake and venture into some new hobbies I neglected a bit when I was working. Shane is happy that he now gets yummy food and sweet treats. Because after all not only do I have more time, but I'm pregnant and I'm loving every minute of it. (Trying to eat in appropriate amounts .... but not always!) One night I decided to make some yummy empanadas. The recipe I used was from a family back home who is from Argentina. Thank you Carina Capriz for putting this in the ward cook book! They were super good. Shane kept coming in and just eating the filling out of the pan. I guess that means I can keep this dish on our family menu!

I thought I'd share the recipe! Hope you try it and enjoy it! Colson even like it!

ARGENTINEAN EMPANADAS


2 lbs shredded meat (beef, pork or chicken)

4 hard boiled eggs
1 big white onion

green olives (about 15 diced)
1/2 green pepper

1 tsp salt
1/2 red pepper

2 tsp ground cumin
5 green onions

3 cubes chicken bullion flavoring
2 dozen empanadas covers

1 tsp Italian seasoning


1. Chop down onions and peppers into small pieces, put into a skillet with a bit of oil. Cook on medium heat 10 minutes give or take with a lid on it.

2. Mix in meat.

3. Once everything is cooked, add chopped down hard boiled eggs, green olives and all the other ingredients.

4. Let the mixture cool down.

5. Spoon onto empanada covers then fold in half. Use a fork to seal the edges.

6. Cook at 400 degrees until pastry shell looks baked.

7. Let cool for 15 minutes.

8. Enjoy!

High On a Mountain Top

This past Sunday we decided that we needed to get out of the house. We opted for skipping the traditional Sunday nap and headed North East towards the Mountains and the Las Vegas Temple. It was oh so very hot like 108 degrees, but well worth the extra bottles of water we all had to drink to rehydrate ourselves after! The temple is right up next to the mountain and overlooks the city of Vegas. Such a great reminder to "Be in the world, but not of it."

Captain/Angel Moroni. Colson asked me a few times to "Get him down from there".

One of many attempts to get a family picture to prove all of us really were there.....

Colson was having a hayday with the grass, and to be honest so were Shane and I. I think that was like the second time since we've moved here that I've walked across grass.

Such a great sabbath day. I can't wait until the day we're all together with our kids inside the temple instead of outside.

Monthly Check Up

Yesterday we made the trip downtown to the baby doctor. I was pretty excited when the doctor started talking to us about where we wanted the baby to be delivered. It just seemed so weird since I have a few more months to go. But it was fun to think about. I also talked with the doctor about my concerns about being due on December 26th. He said he's delivered every single one of his babies so far, and he's not working on Christmas Eve or Christmas, so the deal is I get to pick a date once we get closer to the b-day "D-day" IF I haven't gone into labor year like I did with Colson. He said his plan is for us to be at home with our baby for Christmas. I like this plan a lot!Once December 1st comes you might find me running up and down the stairs or doing extreme jazzersize!

3,2,1 Blast Off!!!!!!!

When we found out we were having a boy I immediately started to think about the type of room the boys would share. I had to be a little creative, because living in an apartment, the boy's room is not very big at all. I'm not a big fan of animals like zoo themes or monkey themed etc so I decided to ask Colson what type of room he'd like. Now he's almost three so it's not like he could give me a straight answer, but my little Colson LOVES stars. So from that I decided to make the boys room a star/space/rocket room. The best thing about it is it's completely done! I'm all set for this little baby to get here.

This is the star mobile I made from scratch. Except for the novelty star light. I bought that online and them wrapped it in seam binding. Each star on the top of each planet has the planet's name. Colson loves when we plug this in at night and his whole room glows.

Since the room is so small I couldn't get one nice big picture, so you'll just have to piece it together in your head. Here's Colson's bed and toy chest and star rug. Might I add I put the bed together all by myself.... it only took 3 hours lol. I'm feeling like quite the handy gal. We were going to get Colson a twin bed, but once again the room is so small it would have taken up much needed play space for him.

The lovely rocking chair my parents gave us to use for all of our kids. I love rocking Colson in this chair even though there's not too much room on my lap anymore.

Last but not least the baby crib and dresser. I was so excited when I found matching bedding for the boys. Colson is already talking about how the baby is going to sleep in the crib. I still might make some curtains, but I'm not quite sure yet. I guess if I get really board one day this fall it might get put on my list of things to do!